Web Staff
This weekend will be a busy one for downtown Roanoke. The Strawberry Festival starts tomorrow, and the Chili Cook Off and Cinco De Mayo Festival are Saturday. Downtown Roanoke Incorporated says weekends like these have a big economic impact for downtown, as WFIR’s Starr Anderson reports.
Ride Solutions and other local groups are encouraging people to participate in bike month. Ride Solutions’ “Clean Commute Challenge” kicks off today, and people can participate in the challenge by pledging to use a clean source of transportation at least one day during the month. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
2,500 students will be able to experience the Roanoke City Public Schools Plus program this summer. The program was developed to create a more hands-on approach to summer school with the goal of achieving many positive changes that will impact the students and teachers. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
If you receive a letter in the mail saying you have won two round trip airline tickets to anywhere in the United States, you have plenty of company — and it is most likely a scam. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
Click here for more information on this Better Business Bureau scam alert.
More than 500 veterans came out last year to the first veterans-only job fair at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Salem, and this year, 30 companies hope to hire those who served our country. Officials say another goal is to help vets now working part-time to find full-time jobs. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
Feeding America Southwest Virginia and local young artists are teaming up to help feed the hungry. The event is called “Young Artists Against Hunger” and local youths will be showing off their music skills and selling their art work. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
Young Artists Against Hunger starts at 6:30 Tuesday night at the Jefferson Center. Click here for full information.
For 40 years, one Appomattox man has been donating blood to help save lives, and in Roanoke today, he joins an exclusive club that only has five members from the Appalachian Region. Phillip Lucado first rolled up his sleeves to donate blood in April 1973. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has his story.
The Salem Civic Center remembers country music singer George Jones as being a good man who did not put on airs and would always talk with them backstage. Jones passed away in Nashville Friday at the age of 81. He was scheduled to perform in Salem May 9th after his recent illness forced postponement of his originally scheduled date. WFIR’s Starr Anderson has the story.
Salem Civic Center officials say tickets for the George Jones concert can be returned for a refund where they were purchased.
Local Carilion doctors are putting on their walking shoes every Saturday for “Physicians on Foot”. It is a two-mile walking program for the community that started two years ago, and 30 Carilion doctors now take turns leading the public each week. WFIR Intern Reporter Lindsey Piland has the story.
The next walk begins Saturday morning at 8:30 at the corner of Belleview Avenue and Hamilton Terrace. That below the parking ramp just east of Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Click here for more “Physicians on Foot” information.
Roanoke College is losing one of its historic icons today, a tulip poplar tree that is known as the Bittle Tree. The tree is suffering from old age and a lightning strike and has been identified as a safety risk. But as WFIR’s Starr Anderson reports, its legacy at the college will live on thanks to “Baby Bittles”.