🌱 Gun Violence Talent Show Goes On + AoA Opens New Pet Food Pantry

And it's Monday! You all know what that means, right? 😱😱😱

Yup! It's time for the dreaded Monday edition of the Roanoke Daily — dreaded because it's Monday, the start of another week, and the weekend is over. Anyways, here's what's fit to print about what's happening locally, including updates on:

• Docs for Morgan basketball game upcoming
• New grants for Roanoke Greenway
• Local leader sponsors Catawba Hospital bill

Let's motor!

But first, today's weather:

Partly sunny and not as cool.

High: 58 Low: 42.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. Doctors from Carilion Clinic will soon take on Virginia Tech School of Medicine students in the annual Docs For Morgan basketball game, a tradition that raises money for the Morgan Dana Harrington Scholarship at VTCSOM. The scholarship was started to honor Morgan Harrington who was an intern at VTCSOM before she was murdered in 2009. Gil Harrington, Morgan's mother, said "Something I particularly love about the Docs For Morgan game is that as a direct response to our injury we are endeavoring to send healers back into the community." The scholarship helps make medical school more affordable and to date has raised over $500,000. The event will be held at the Patrick Henry High School Gym on Feb 1 at 7 p.m. and more information can be found here. (WDBJ)
2. The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Roanoke County an $800,000 grant in which to expand the parts of the Roanoke Valley greenway system the county is responsible for. The money will go to complete a 1.8 mile section of greenway that when constructed will run from the intersection of Highland Road and Rutrough Road to Explore Park. The county agreed to a partial match for the grant of $217,529 and VDOT kicked in $70,114 to help complete a section of the East Roanoke River greenway that crosses the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway. In total, the county will be almost two miles closer to the goal of a connected series of trails that run through Roanoke City, Salem, Vinton, and Roanoke County. County officials said there was no firm date on the start of the project as many issues such as easements with landowners are still being worked out. A map of the current greenways and planned future projects can be found here. (Roanoke Times)
3. Angels of Assisi has announced the opening of a brand new pet food pantry in the former Saleeba's Grocery building at the corner of Tazewell Avenue and 10th Street. "We get a lot of people who come in, we do have a pet food pantry at our downtown location, but a lot of people walk and are not able to reach us. So, this is an opportunity to reach a different community," said Dayna Reynolds with AoA. The new store is also a food pantry for area residents and is being called Saleeba's Store of Hope in honor of the former tenants who operated at the location since 1946. The store will only be open on select days and times. More information can be found at AoA's website here. (WSLS, WFXR)
4. Roanoke City Delegate Sam Rasoul is sponsoring a bill before the General Assembly that will see Catawba Hospital transformed into a modern treatment and recovery center for those suffering from addiction. The bills comes in the wake of a state sponsored study that identified the expansive property in rural Roanoke County as a great location to expand the number of mental health beds in the state and revealed that more than half of the patients being seen in state psychiatric hospitals are also in need of substance abuse treatment. Rasoul's bill has passed a House of Delegates subcommittee and will now go before appropriations where it will receive funding if it passes. "Imagining this large campus in Catawba several hundred acres, why not have it offer everything from acute care, residential treatment, outpatient services, and a true recovery campus," said Rasoul. (WSLS)
5. A talent show being hosted by the Gun Violence Prevention Commission that has drawn some recent fire (not gunfire mind you) from City Council due to the cost is going on. Around 30 children from around the Star City showed up Saturday to audition for the show and when asked by the organizer who present had been affected by gun violence most raised their hands. In order to audition kids had to take part in a workshop hosted by Better Agreements, a Roanoke-based nonprofit 'whose mission is to increase individual and community problem-solving skills through education and training' according to their website. One of the children who attended, Salem Langoski, said she learned about "Resolving conflict, how we feel about conflict. We learned about dealing with our emotions. And how conflict isn’t always a difficult thing. There’s good conflict and good results. And we just learned a lot about breathing and controlling our emotions and how that can affect other people." The talent show is scheduled for March 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Jefferson Center. (WDBJ)

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Today in Roanoke:

• Golden Cactus Pub Run starting at Golden Cactus Brewing (6 p.m.)
• Irish Jam Band at Big Lick Brewing Co. (6 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke Fire EMS Department: "While congratulations are due to the Hoses on tonight’s victory, a round of applause is also due to our community who came together to sell out tonight’s Guns and Hoses Hockey game and raise nearly $50,000 for Carilion Children’s Hematology and Oncology Clinic to fight childhood cancer!" (Roanoke Fire EMS Department via Facebook)
• Roanoke, Virginia: "Reminder that the Mill Mountain StarCam is still under construction. We will provide future updates once the StarCam is up and running again! Even though the camera feed is down, the views from the Star are still spectacular!" (Roanoke, Virginia via Instagram)
• Roanoke Regional Chamber: "It's official! 🎉 The Chamber's Lifetime Achievement Award will bear the name of our inaugural winner, Joyce Waugh. 👏 Joyce retires with a 44-year legacy of steadfast dedication to economic development and effective service to the businesses in the Star City!" (Roanoke Regional Chamber via Facebook)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "Do you want to name our next ambassador? You could name her after a loved one or a friend. Maybe you don't like opossums and that's ok, but in that case, you could name her after someone you don't like. (We won’t hiss and tell.)" (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "Cruelty to animals is a serious offense and is never acceptable. Venus is a wonderful dog currently in our care who is, sadly, a victim of cruelty herself. We can't begin to understand why this happens, but there are ways to stop it. If you witness or suspect animal cruelty or abuse, as a resident and taxpayer you have the right, and responsibility, to report it." (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! I'll see you back in your inbox tomorrow with a new update.

— Ian Graham

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. To connect with Ian, you can visit him on Facebook and Instagram. He doesn't bite. Except on full moons.

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