Web Staff
There are two public hearings tonight for a proposed Bedford County real estate tax rate hike and the Fiscal Year 2015 budget. The board of supervisors has advertised a real estate tax rate of 53 cents per $100 of assessed value. That is up 3 cents from the current rate. Supervisors say it will not necessarily go up that much, but it cannot increase any more than 3 cents.
The public also will be able to weigh in on the board of supervisors’ proposed budget for the year beginning July 1. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Bedford Science and Technology Center on Edmund Street.
State police are investigating a Bedford County crash that killed a woman from Moneta Sunday morning. Police say it happened around 9:40 a.m. on Route 747, near Route 122. The investigation shows Shirley that Jean Branscome was traveling north in a 2004 Nissan Sentra, when the vehicle ran off the road and overturned. Branscome did not have on a safety belt at the time of the crash. She died at the scene.
FROM VDOT: As part of a maintenance project to rehabilitate pavement on northbound Interstate 81 between mile markers 121 and 125 in Montgomery County, a multi-day detour is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 6. The detour will be in place 24 hours a day for approximately eight consecutive days. Traffic impacts will differ for day and nighttime traffic during the detour.
Daytime Detour: Between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. each day, one lane of northbound I-81 will remain open for tractor-trailer traffic. All other traffic, including wide loads over 11 feet, will be detoured onto Route 11/460 at exit 118C in Christiansburg.
Nighttime Detour: From 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. each night, all northbound I-81 traffic will exit onto Route 11/460 at exit 118C in Christiansburg and return to northbound I-81 at exit 132 (Dixie Caverns).
Roanoke Fire-EMS says a residential fire Saturday morning in the 3400 block of Pittsfield Circle was caused by cooking. When crews arrived shortly after 9:00 a.m. they found three occupants had escaped the kitchen fire without injuries. The fire did an estimated $75,000 damage. The American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Roanoke County fire investigators say a house fire on Underhill Avenue Friday displaced a family of four and did $50,000 damage to the house. Two dogs and a car that were originally missing later were found alive and well. No one was home when the fire started. Investigators say the fire started in a front bedroom. They were not able to determine a cause, but believe the fire was accidental.
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From Roanoke County Fire & Rescue: “Crews were dispatched to a reported residential structure fire in the 1400 block of Underhill Avenue at about 2:45 this afternoon. When fire crews first arrived they reported a single story residence with flames showing from the front of the house. Crews entered the structure and knocked down the flames in about 15 minutes. Crews from the Mount Pleasant and City Station 11 are currently on scene conducting overhaul. No injuries have been reported at this time.”
Fire investigators are still on the scene as of 2:45 pm.
The Virginia Department of Transportation says the left southbound lane of Interstate 81 in Roanoke County is closed between mile markers 132 and 133. A VDOT contractor working last night on a bridge had expected to be finished by 6:00 this morning. An equipment breakdown caused a delay in reopening the lane. Officials hope the closure will be lifted by noon.
Roanoke Fire-EMS says crews responded to an electrical fire in the 1500 block of Aspen Street just after 12:00 this morning. While there are no reports of injuries, there is approximately $15,000 damage. The American Red Cross is assisting the four residents and two dogs displaced by the fire.
General Motors has recalled more than 3 million vehicles due to power steering and/or ignition switch problems. That means area dealerships soon will be in the repair business hot and heavy, just in time for summer maintenance season. The problem right now is that the parts are not yet available for to fix the cars. GM’s website says, “We expect the first parts to be available beginning in April, with parts availability improving as time goes on.”
In the meantime, GM says not to carry anything on your key ring while the key is in the ignition. You should remove all key chains, key fobs and other objects, and only use the key. The website say, “If you are driving an affected vehicle, until the safety recall repairs have been performed, it is very important that you remove all items from your key ring, leaving only the vehicle key. The key fob (if applicable) should also be removed from your key ring.”
State police say a series of crashes on Interstate 81 a few miles southwest of Wytheville killed two people and seriously injured another person. It started when tractor-trailer overturned sometime before 3:30 a.m, coming to rest across the median and one travel lane. The truck driver was able to escape without injury before a passenger vehicle hit the truck. The driver of the passenger vehicle died on the way to the hospital. Police say moments after the first incident, a tractor-trailer traveling north on I-81 struck a guardrail left on the roadway from the original accident and ran off the left side of the interstate. It struck a bridge and crashed below onto Rt. 90 (Black Lick Road). The tractor-trailer caught fire upon impact. The driver of that rig died at the scene. A passenger was ejected from the sleeper cab and flown to a nearby hospital for treatment of serious injuries.
Click here to read the full State Police news release
(Continue reading for State Police photos at the scene.)
From Virginia State Police:
WYTHE CO., Va. – A Pennsylvania man faces multiple charges after fleeing from Virginia State Police just outside the Wythe County line. Kevin L. Ranck, 47, of Mount Joy, Penn., is being held at New River Valley Regional Jail in Dublin, Va., on one felony count of eluding police, one count of resisting arrest and one count of reckless driving. Shortly before 9 a.m. Monday (March 31, 2014), Virginia State Police Trooper A.W. Crigger attempted to stop a 1997 Buick sedan traveling south on Interstate 77 near the 49 mile marker in Bland County. The traffic stop was for speeding in excess of 100 mph. When the trooper activated his emergency lights and attempted to stop the Buick, its driver, Ranck, refused to comply and a pursuit was initiated. Continue reading