Local Government, Civic Affairs and Education
G Marrano photo
The Kiwanis Club of Roanoke had a brainstorm for its annual Pancake and Auction Day fundraiser in May – it would auction off the Mill Mountain Star. Actually, just the sponsorship rights for a year, with proceeds going to support Kiwanis community programs. Lionberger Construction had the winning bid and this morning a plaque noting their sponsorship was unveiled at the base of the Star. Sam Lionberger III is the company CEO; he said they won the bidding “cheap” at $1250 dollars. Lionberger hopes to see a higher amount when the Mill Mountain Star sponsorship is auctioned off again by Kiwanis next year.
Robert Jeffrey jr
At a political event in downtown Roanoke today Mayor Sherman Lea Sr. said there was “nothing” he could add about the embezzlement charges announced against fellow City Council member Robert Jeffrey Jr. – saying the matter was in the courts. Jeffrey, also a magazine publisher, has been charged with felony embezzlement in a period covering from May 2020 through this past April. As to how well Lea knew Jeffrey before he was elected to Council last year:
Starting with an event next month, Fleet Feet Roanoke will start distributing new running shoes (and socks) to as many as 8000 children in the Roanoke City Public School system identified as economically disadvantaged. They’ve raised $55,000 of the $240,000 needed to purchase those shoes at a deep discount from the manufacturers. See the Fleet Feet Roanoke website or the Facebook page to make a donation, or the link below. Each $30 donation pays for one pair of shoes. Robin Lewis with Fleet Feet Roanoke says its an initiative for their non-profit, “Project Forward.”
Donate here:
https://www.fleetfeet.com/s/roanoke/projectforward
Robert Jeffrey, Jr.
A Roanoke grand jury has indicted Roanoke City Councilman Robert Jeffrey, Jr. on two counts of felony embezzlement. Commonwealth’s Attorney Don Caldwell says the investigation began with a complaint from the Northwest Neighborhood Environmental Organization — and the amount involved is “substantially above” the $1,000 felony threshold. The alleged embezzlement covers the period from May of last year through this past April. Here is the full news release from Commonwealth’s Attorney Don Caldwell:
Four on the 4th is one of the main annual fundraisers for the Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA, and they rely on the financial support from this race to provide summer camps and after school programs for disadvantaged youth in Roanoke City, Franklin County and Montgomery County. In 2020 [when the race was virtual], we had a record number of participants and were able to raise over $30,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of SWVA.
Four on the 4th has become a 4th of July tradition among friends and family in the Roanoke Valley to kick off the holidays’ festivities. We invite you to help us break our record of participants (513 4-milers), and register for Four on the 4th!
Sign up today until 6pm at Fleet Feet Roanoke, or by 7:45 tomorrow morning before the 8am race starting and ending at the Wells Fargo Plaza in downtown Roanoke.
Vice Mayor Joe Cobb (left, Luke Priddy (Right)
(Roanoke resident Luke Priddy seeks to have the Roanoke City School Board elected – not appointed by City Council, and recently mounted a petition drive)
ROANOKE – I believe in an elected school board, but first, we need to get it on the ballot. Sadly, I do not see that happening this November.
In April, petitions were approved for circulation in the City of Roanoke for a November referendum to change the selection of school board members from appointment by the governing body to direct election by the voters. In May, alternate electronic petitions were approved to collect signatures online, and in June, I launched “Roanoke Votes” with parents, teachers, and community leaders to engage the public in discussions about why it is so necessary to let the voters decide how the School Board is selected: either appointed or elected.
Today, with two-thousand signatures on hand, I recognize that I will not have enough by the deadline to place this question on the ballot this November. The path to a referendum is arduous. Over six-thousand, five-hundred registered voters in the City of Roanoke would have been required to sign the petition by July 14. The same number of voters cast ballots in the Democratic Primary this June, however, my volunteers were not able to capture every single one. Additionally, the alternative method to collect petition signatures electronically was limited to the duration of a State of Emergency, which expired on June 30. This development coupled with the inability to reduce the amount of signatures required has made this an impossible task to complete by the deadline.
While the path to a citizen-led referendum is arduous, I want to stress that Roanoke City Council possesses the authority to bring this question to the voters as a proposed change to the charter. The results of a citizen-led referendum would have been binding, but any change to the charter pursued by Roanoke City Council would require confirmation by the General Assembly. I believe that either path to the ballot requires leadership from City Council with continued demands from the public to let the voters finally answer this question after three decades and now three citizen-led initiatives.
I am proud of the public for positively engaging in this conversation, a conversation that must be kept alive every time that Roanoke City Council considers applicants for School Board. In the future, I hope that City Council will be encouraged to forgo closed-door discussions and instead deliberate publicly on applicants. But ultimately, that is up to them to decide.
Elect of Appoint? One day, Roanoke voters will finally have the opportunity to answer this question, and hopefully, they will get the opportunity to select members of School Board themselves. But now is the appropriate time to announce a pause for this effort. On July 1, three School Board Members began their terms of service. I want the public to place their faith in them to effectively govern and to engage with them positively and professionally throughout their tenure. Appointed or elected, each of them have made sacrifices and are dedicated to serving the people of Roanoke.
(From DSLCC Facebook page) Following a unanimous vote on June 21, the Local Board recommended to the State Board that Dabney S. Lancaster Community College will no longer use the name of the former Superintendent of Public Instruction for Virginia, following the recent discovery of new information regarding Dr. Lancaster’s history [having to do with his apparent support for segregation]. The State Board is expected to approve the recommendation on July 21st. The college will use its tagline “We are more than a community college, we are the Community’s College” in lieu of the former DSLCC name, where appropriate. The college will follow a guided and diligent process to rename the college which could entail community surveys, faculty and staff input and feedback from students. College officials expect to have the new name selected by October 2021.
Brooke Gill-UWRV. G Marrano photos
United Way of Roanoke Valley’s “Day of Action” that saw volunteers install free food pantries at several locations last week continued today with bird houses being put up at South Roanoke Nursing Home, where residents can see them from their windows. The Day of Action volunteers also installed bird houses at Richfield Living near Salem. Brooke Gill is an investor relations specialist with United Way:
Jacob Vance-Don Holliday. J Ditmore photo
The 35th recipient of the Don Holliday Memorial Scholarship – named for a late Piedmont Airlines regional executive with a fondness for golf – is Jacob Vance, who just graduated from Lord Botetourt High School and plans to attend Liberty University. Jacob was surprised with a $30,000 check at Roanoke Country Club this morning. Vance was an honor roll student who volunteers at the Rescue Mission and Ronald McDonald House; he was also on the L-B varsity golf team all four years. To date the Don Holliday Memorial Scholarship has awarded more than $460,000 to local high school seniors, male and female. Justin Ditmore is a member of the Don Holliday Memorial Scholarship Tournament board: