🌱 City Car Tax Rebate Update + 24th Annual Salem Ghost Walk

Hello and happy Friday!

First, today's weather:

Mostly cloudy.

High: 81 Low: 63.

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Here are the top five stories today in Roanoke:

1. A tanker truck carrying 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel overturned at the intersection of Peters Creek and Williamson roads around 5 a.m. Thursday morning. The crash caused the closure of the intersection for hours while a team made up of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, HazMat teams and a private clean up contractor were brought to the scene to clean up the fuel that was seen leaking from holes in the tanker. At the time of this report the driver had been taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. No reason for the accident had been determined. (WSET, WFIR)
2. "The check’s in the mail," Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea said of a personal property tax rebate for residents of Roanoke City that was approved by city council decades — urr —months ago. Now that the August 31 deadline for paying personal property taxes has come and gone, City Council cast a final vote Tuesday night in favor of the rebates and will begin process the 17.5% refunds soon. The decision to rebate excess tax dollars to citizens rather than using the funds for projects such as street maintenance was designed to help at least in some small way to ease the burden caused by high fuel prices and spiking car values. (Roanoke Times)
3. The Salem Museum & Historical Society has announced that it will be hosting the 24th annual Ghost Walk in East Hill Cemetery this October 6, 7 and 8 with groups departing between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. every 15 minutes. Ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and free for children three and younger. Tickets will be available at the Salem Museum or on the museum's website. The tour is just over half a mile in length and the 2021 tours sold out, so reserving your place early is recommended. (Roanoker Magazine)
4. The downtown Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) abruptly ended on September 7 rather than the planned date of September 25 despite area businesses reporting increased foot traffic and no problems. The issue, Downtown Roanoke Inc. said in an Instagram post, is one with the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which suddenly decided it was against the rules for an entity to hold both a retail license and a banquet special event license at the same time. "This [ruling] means we cannot keep our contractual commitments, execute our events effectively/efficiently, and also have DORA. We have four events remaining this month and we must be able to utilize our Banquet Special Event License in the same manner that we always have," the post went on to say. Officials said they are trying to work through the issue with VABC in hopes of finding a way to bring DORA back in the future. (Editorial note: I have it on good authority that someone inside a back office was heard shouting "Swiper no swiping!" as ABC agents made off with the retail license.) (WSLS, Instagram)
5. Roanoke Valley Libraries has announced that it has decided to implement a community engagement system known as OCLC Wise, which will function similar to an online catalog, but allow patrons to discover the many other experiences and resources public libraries have come to offer in the digital age. RVL is a collective of the Botetourt County, City of Roanoke, City of Salem and Roanoke County public libraries. "We often hear people say, ‘I didn’t know you had/did that!’ when they talk to our staff. OCLC Wise will make it much easier not only to find what you’re looking for, but also to discover and take advantage of opportunities you didn’t know existed at your library," Sheila Umberger, Roanoke Public Library director said. (Roanoke Star)

Today in Roanoke:

• Friday Coffee Club Ride starting at Sweet Donkey Coffee (9 a.m.)
• UWRV Inaugural Golf Classic - Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce (10:30 a.m.)
• Book Sale at the Salem Library (1 p.m.)
• VIP Night at Beaver Dam Farm Sunflower Festival in Buchanan (4 p.m.)
• 2nd Annual Roanoke Run for Refugees 5k/10k (6 p.m.)
• Big Lick Conspiracy at 5 Points Music Sanctuary (7 p.m.)

Five Question Fridays:

This week we're introducing a brand new section of the PATCH Roanoke Daily in which we will post the answers to five questions from area leaders, influencers, and newsmakers in an effort to help get you, our reader, more familiar with the people who are often quoted in our news stories. With this being the first edition of Five Question Fridays it only seemed fair that the guinea pig should be none other than me, Ian Graham, your friendly neighborhood, stubbornly non-conformist freelance writer and host. So, here goes:

First, please introduce yourself by telling us who you are, where you came from, and what you do for a living here in Roanoke.

My name is Ian Graham, as if you didn't know that already, and I am the host/writer of the PATCH Roanoke Daily. I was born in New Hampshire, raised in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, and landed in Roanoke when my parents moved here in my early teens. In addition to writing the Roanoke Daily I am also a published novelist with titles available in English, Spanish and German. My newest gig besides the Daily is as a screenwriter of action movies, some of which I hope to be able to announce in the coming weeks as they enter active production and hit "the trades."

1. What attracted you to Roanoke and why have you stayed?

As I said above I moved here with my parents and wasn't given a lot of choice in the matter. We did get to choose between Waynesboro and Roanoke since my mom had job offers in both places and Roanoke seemed like the more urban choice, which was attractive to me at the time having come from suburban Atlanta. Since becoming an adult (notice I didn't say maturing) I have traveled all over the United States and Europe and have always found Roanoke to be the happiest of mediums among urban, suburban and rural, so I've stayed despite my family having moved away over the years.

2. What is one thing you would like fellow Roanokers to know about you personally? (i.e. you volunteer for a certain charity or cause, you hope to write the great American novel someday, you sing funny songs to your dog every morning before you leave the house, etc.)

I truly feel like one of the most blessed people on the planet to be able to do what I do for a living. It's the perfect fit for my personality and interests, which vary widely and are always changing. I feel like it's important to give back to the community and in an effort to do so, I volunteer some of my time for nonprofit organizations doing things such as social media management and even occasional physical labor. And yes, I sing funny songs to my dog in the mornings and provide my family with regular voiceovers for the three dogs and two cats that own the house we live in.

3. What is something that you would like to see come to or happen in Roanoke that is not presently being seen or done? Have you done anything yourself to try to make this happen? (i.e. an industry you think would thrive here and would like to see have a presence, a social movement you think is currently underrepresented here, etc.)

I think Roanoke with its historical architecture and industrial past would make a fantastic location for shooting movies. I regularly pitch the Star City to the various producers I write with and for and hope to get some takers at some point. Unfortunately, much of the film industry is attracted by things like tax credits and state incentives, something Virginia isn't too shabby on, but is still towards the bottom of the list compared to states such as Georgia and Alabama.

4. What is the thing you are most proud of having accomplished since being in Roanoke and what is something you wish had turned out differently? (i.e. you were instrumental in getting a certain statue placed prominently or a building named in honor of someone in particular, you wish you hadn't admitted to singing funny songs to your dog above, but it's too late because we got you now, etc.)

I suppose the thing I'm most proud of is having stuck to creative writing over the last decade and some change despite experiencing many of the setbacks all writers seem to face at some point or another. As anyone who is trying to make a living as a full time creative (writers, musicians, actors, etc.) will tell you, it's easily one of the hardest careers paths a person could choose.

Honestly, if I'd thought at the time that I would be the one answering these questions I would have made them a little easier, so that's something I wish I'd done differently now. Whew.

5. How would you describe Roanoke to someone visiting for the first time or planning a trip here?

I think I accidentally answered this above when I said Roanoke is the happiest of mediums among urban, suburban and rural that I have found. Seriously, we're blessed with being able to travel no more than half an hour in any direction to experience just about anything. Downtown dining and events? Roanoke's got you covered. Lakes, rivers, and outdoor sports? Roanoke's got you covered. Comparatively safe and active neighborhoods to call home? Yup. Roanoke's got 'em.

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I hope you've enjoyed this new feature in the Roanoke Daily. My plan is to roll it out somewhat sporadically as I have the opportunity to get in touch with people around the valley who might be interested in appearing. Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas for victims — urr — I mean targets. No, no that's not right either. Let's see — quarries! Yeah, that doesn't sound too terrible. You can email me personally at roanoke@patch.com.

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That's it for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning!

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. He is a firm believer in being yourself… unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Roanoke Daily? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com