🌱 'Holiday Inn' Shows Canceled + Elf On The Shelf Returns

Morning, everybody! It's Thursday. There really aren't any good taglines for Thursday. It's just a pit stop on the way to Friday. Anyways, here's the Roanoke Daily with what's going on in town. In this issue, you'll find:

• RPS Votes on school time changes
• County school board passes memorandum on new school
• An update on a controversial housing project

Ready?

But first, today's weather:

Periods of rain.

High: 35 Low: 34.

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Here are the top stories today in Roanoke:

1. One of the biggest issues on the Roanoke City School Board's docket at its most recent meeting on Tuesday was the possible change of school start and end times to help ease the transportation issues still being faced. "Honestly if you guys are in favor of doing it, it’s on you too. I am not going to allow my kids to get the short end of the stick because Durham has an inability to get our kids to school on time,” said parent Sarah Jones. Over a dozen people spoke at the meeting to air various disagreements with the idea and in the end the board voted to suspend the measure for the rest of the school year. Other measure suchs as using RCPS staff or outside businesses to help with vacancies were passed. (WSLS)
2. Mill Mountain Theatre has announced that they are canceling several performances of its Christmas show, "Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn" due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the cast and crew. The Dec. 14-16 performances are all canceled after theatre staff spoke with health care professionals for their recommendations. The theatre said any tickets that have been purchased will be fully refunded, can be transferred to another show during the 2023 season, or be donated back to the theatre as a tax deductible donation. (WDBJ)
3. The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors passed what they called a 'memorandum of understanding' at their most recent meeting Tuesday in relation to the funding of the brand new career and technical education school. The move is intended to provide written intent by the governing body to fund almost all of the nearly $100 million project, which is planned for construction on Peters Creek Road over the next handful of years. The school is intended to replace the aging Burton Center in Salem that has been in continual use since 1962 and has seen little in the way of updates since. (Roanoke Times)
4. A controversial housing project I've written about before on Brandon Avenue in the Wasena area of Southwest Roanoke has received the approval of the city planning commision. The plan approved at Monday's meeting has a 58 percent reduction in housing density than the previous two plans for the development, but area residents are still concerned about the effects of traffic at the already congested Sherwood Avenue, Brandon Avenue, and Main Street intersection as well as stormwater runoff into the nearby Murray's Run. The proposal will now go before city council for full approval on Monday, Dec. 19. (WDBJ)
5. The Elf on the Shelf adventure has returned to downtown Roanoke with the chance to win $1,000 dollars if you turn in your completed passport card. This is the third year for the popular game that sees participants looking for elves scattered around downtown Roanoke businesses and positioned in different spots each day. "The elf is in several stores, maybe about 15 stores. So, they all come out and the kids are looking for the elf and the parents. They’ve never been in a lot of these stores and so they come out. So it’s a good way to expose our store to the local community," said Diane Speaks, owner of She’s International Boutique. (WSLS)

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Today in Roanoke:

• Gravel Adventure Field Guide Launch Party at Parkway Brewing Company (5 p.m.)
• Roanoke County School Board Regular Meeting at the Cove Road Central Office (6 p.m.)
• Southern Fried Yuletide Comedy “Christmas Belles” at Attic Productions (7:30 p.m.)
• Charissa Joy & the High Frequency at Martin’s Downtown Bar and Grill (9:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke College: "Roanoke artist Jon Murrill ’09 recently completed three murals along the Roanoke River Greenway as part of a public art project that included input from a Roanoke College art history class!" (Roanoke College via Facebook)
• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "One of our overwintering birds is this House Wren from Roanoke College who was caught by a cat and sustained severe feather loss — now we are just waiting for his tail to fully grow in and for the spring season to arrive!" (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Downtown Roanoke, Inc.: "Every Thursday head over to Roanoke Diversity Center to hang with local young adults in the lounge, watch the latest music videos, play games, and mingle. Bring your controllers and play your friends with RDC's Nintendo Switch!" (Downtown Roanoke, Inc. via Facebook)
• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "Thanks to WFXR News for showcasing sweet little Milo this morning! He's an absolutely wonderful little senior dog who should be available for adoption Thursday! We think he will find a home very quickly, but we also have lots of other pets!" (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)
• Roanoke Sheriff's Office: "We would like to congratulate our deputies who were recently promoted to Master Deputy. Included are MD T. Graybill, MD B. Jefferson, MD S. Stephens, MD I. Swortzel, and MD M. Myers. We appreciate all your hard work!" (Roanoke Sheriff's Office via Facebook)

There we are — the Thursday edition! Thanks for following! I'll see you tomorrow morning for the Friday edition because, well, that's what comes after Thursday.

— 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. 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