🌱 Fill The Bus At Area Walmart Stores + Melrose Streetscape Completed

Hello, neighbors! I hope you're all enjoying this weekend. Here's a look at some news...

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Now, today's weather:

Humid; a stray afternoon thunderstorm.

High: 88 Low: 71.

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Here are the top five stories in Roanoke today:

1. Pastor Chuck Miller and his congregation at Wheatland Evangelical Lutheran Church started a community garden project about six years ago on the property in Botetourt County. Called the Garden of Grace, recent times have seen a dramatic uptick in traffic. The church website said it has harvested over 1,000 pounds of produce to be given to anyone in need and taken produce to the local food pantries for distribution to the greater community. "We just had a Fresh Food Farmers’ Market last Friday and had an upwards of around 200 people. Multiple people tell me when they come through the line on Fridays here, is that they come here first before they even go to the grocery store so they can figure out how far the amount of money they have to spend on groceries for family will go," Miller said. (WDBJ, church website)
2. Four Walmart stores across the Roanoke Valley will be hosting Fill The Bus donation centers through today. The Fill the Bus program gives people the opportunity to donate school supplies or money for school supplies to school districts across the area in an easy, convenient location. At Friday’s kickoff event, Verletta White, Roanoke City Public Schools Superintendent, said, "We’re so excited today. This is the most wonderful time of the year. It is back to school time. And this is the time for us to make sure that all of our students have what they need for a successful start to the school year." Fill The Bus will be at the Clearbrook, Salem, Valley View, and Bonsack Walmart stores from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. (WSLS, WDBJ)
3. Roanoke City leaders celebrated the completion of the Melrose-Orange Target Area on Friday with an official ribbon cutting in the parking lot of the Community Solutions Center. The $1.85 million dollar project, officially titled the Melrose Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project, included updated sidewalks, bike lanes, repaved roads, more landscaping, better lighting, and two, brand new covered bus stations. The project is the result of years of resident input and lifelong resident Stan Hale said, "They key factor there, being heard. It’s most important of course. And it’s great that they rose to our concerns and put it out there and here we are a better community and a better Roanoke." (WSLS)
4. The Roanoke City Health Department has announced it will now be accepting requests for the monkeypox vaccine, but that people must meet the criteria for high risk. So far, the vaccine is only recommended for adults at high risk of exposure. To see if you're considered high risk click here and if you wish to schedule an appointment for the vaccine call 540-283-5050. (WDBJ, VDH website)
5. Branch Group, a construction company with ties to the Roanoke area for over 50 years, held a ribbon cutting ceremony recently for its new 58,000 square foot headquarters located on Peters Creek Road near the Northside schools. "We are excited to continue to grow our presence in the Roanoke community where hundreds of our employee-owners call home. Making this move to bring all of our business units under a single roof supports our long-term vertical integration strategy to provide a full suite of construction services to our customers while also providing an exceptional work environment for our employees and partners," said Donald Graul, Chief Executive Officer of Branch Group. in a statement on the company's website. (WSET, Branch Company website)

Today in Roanoke:

• Mountain Valley Cluster Dog Show at the Salem Civic Center (8 a.m.)
• Big Lick Comic Con at the Berglund Special Events Center (11 a.m.)
• Wine & Death Murder Mystery Party at Well Hung Vineyard (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke College: "Only 26 days until the first day of classes for the class of ‘26! We can't wait to have all of our Maroons back on campus. (Roanoke College via Instagram)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "This is why you don’t keep wildlife, folks. This juvenile Eastern Screech-Owl was rescued from Floyd after being found and kept by someone for weeks and was encouraged by others online to keep this bird rather than take it to a rehab." (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Police Department - VA: "Roanoke Police Academy Class 83 was honored to help Mission BBQ celebrate WWII U.S. Navy Veteran Jack Cassell’s 96th birthday. Thank you for your service, Mr. Cassell. We hope you have a happy birthday!" (Roanoke Police Department - VA via Facebook)
• Roanoke Public Libraries: "We are here to help. ❤️ Afraid to come in because you might have a blocked library card? No worries. We understand and will put you on a computer with a guest pass." (Roanoke Public Libraries via Facebook)
• Roanoke Outside: "Have you heard about the new e-bike Brews & Views tour that Roanoke Mountain Adventures has put together? We just ran into them. It's an 11 mile tour that includes stops at the top of Mill Mountain and Starr Hill Roanoke Pilot Brewery." (Roanoke Outside via Facebook)

You're officially in the loop for today! See you tomorrow morning.

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. His interests are in politics, history, and religion and the stories and characters he writes about are centered on the explosive conflicts created when the three intersect. 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