🌱Local NAACP Reacts To Nichols' Death + Best Of The Blue Ridge Awards

Good morning, everybody! It's Friday! Time for the Roanoke Daily to get you all caught up on what's going on in the 'noke and surrounding areas, including news on:

• Fire marshal warns about vacant buildings
• Road Safety Grants for the area
• Mental health awareness month events

Let's motor! 🛵

But first, today's weather:

Winds subsiding and colder. High: 36 Low: 19.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. Just a few days after a house on 13th Street SW burnt down almost completely, Roanoke Fire Marshal Rebecca Smith is warning property owners about leaving vacant buildings unsecured. Southeast Roanoke has had a rash of fires in recent years at such homes and the danger of them spreading to nearby homes is great. "If it’s unsecured anybody can go in. People can go in and decide they’re going to stay there. People tend to get cold during the winter months. They do warming fires, little cooking fires even on the inside," said Smith. Roanoke Fire-EMS responds to around 70 fires a year and Smith estimates that about 10 of those are at vacant buildings. "Homeowners who have these structures that are vacant, they need to be secured. It’s irresponsible to not take care of your property." (WSLS)
2. Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine has announced its 2023 Best of the Blue Ridge Awards for venues, parks, businesses, experiences, and pretty much anything else located in or near the Blue Ridge Region. Roanoke was voted "Best Place to Raise an Outdoor Family" and many area businesses received awards including Parkway Brewing Company for the "Best Drink in the Blue Ridge" for their Get Bent Mountain IPA named after Bent Mountain. Other recipients included Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint for "Best Dish" for the Greg Brady Burger and McAfee's Knob for "Best Hiking Trail." To take a look at the full list click here. (Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge)
3. The Roanoke NAACP Youth Council gathered to speak out and offer local reactions to the beating death of Tyre Nichols by five Memphis police officers. The council was joined by several area law enforcement representatives including Roanoke City Police Captain Jamey Bowdel, who read a statement from RCPD Chief Sam Roman, and Roanoke City Sheriff Antonio Hash. Jayvon Tucker, president of the youth council, said "How much longer are we going to sit back and keep begging and praying that one day our elected officials and our justice system will do their taxpayer job?" Brenda Hale, president of the NAACP Roanoke branch, was also in attendance and said, "Brother Tyre Nichols’ civil rights were violated. But we can’t do anything about his civil rights right now. What we can do is make sure that nobody in the Roanoke Valley ever has to suffer like this." When asked about an idea floated in City Council in recent weeks that would create a citywide youth curfew, many in the room expressed their dislike of the idea asking why good people should be punished for the actions of a few. (WSLS, Roanoke Times)
4. Two area mental health agencies are teaming up to bring attention to the mental health issues being faced by many youths. The Suicide Prevention Council of Roanoke Valley and Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare are hosting the second annual Mental Health Awareness Month throughout February with a series of events and activities aimed at increasing understanding of underlying and sometimes undetected mental health issues. One of the central events is a sticker designing contest in which youth are asked to use their creativity to make an image that can be used a sticker on water bottles, laptops, notebooks, and other daily items youth carry that features a positive message about mental health. The winning entries will be used for Suicide Prevention Month in September. For a full list of events click here. (WSET)
5. The U.S. Department of Transportation through its Safe Street and Roads for All Grant Program has awarded the Roanoke Valley a combined total of $760,000. The money is to be used to implement road safety action plans with Roanoke city receiving $460,000 and Roanoke County receiving $280,000. Additionally, a visualization tool released by the department identifies Roanoke as an area with below average road safety with the average county said to experience 59 traffic related fatalities and the Roanoke area weighing in at 76 since 2016. The news comes on the heels of the Virginia Department of Transportation's decision not to back a proposed upgrade to Williamson Road, a community singled out in the visualization tool as being historically disadvantaged with eight pedestrian deaths associated with it in recent years. No word has been released from the city or the county on how exactly they plan to use the funds. (Roanoke Times)

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Today in Roanoke:

• 13th Annual Greater Roanoke Home & Garden Show at the Berglund Special Events Center (2 p.m.)
• Late Nights: Poetry Celebrating Positive Fragmentation at the Taubman Museum of Art (5 p.m.)
• Winterfest Beach Bash at the Salem Civic Center (6 p.m.)
• Line Dancing with Ashton at Corned Beef & Co. (7 p.m.)
• Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs vs. Pensacola Ice Flyers at the Berglund Center Coliseum (7 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: "Did you know today is Serpent Day? As we recognize and celebrate our scaly friends today, we want to show you one of our youngest patients, a tiny baby Eastern Ratsnake who we hatched out of an egg! Her and her siblings all came to us this way after their nest was disturbed. Snakes are super important for the ecosystem and help keep pests in check." (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "Leia is practically growing up in the shelter, and that's not good! We can't understand why this sweet girl keeps getting overlooked for adoption. Her siblings were adopted weeks ago, and we know the right person is out there for Leia! She can be a little shy at first, but she opens up quickly and LOVES to play! She's going to be an amazing companion." (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)
• Roanoke Police Department: "February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and remember the heroes of Black history — the wayfarers, torchbearers, and path blazers who made a difference for generations to come. We want to highlight the Roanoke Police Officers who paved the way for the officers of today to serve their community." (Roanoke Police Department via Facebook)
• Downtown Roanoke, Inc.: "Our mission is to make Downtown Roanoke the preferred place to live, WORK, and play. Today, we're sharing downtown businesses that are hiring. Here are the job listings we've spotted so far. Links are available on our Facebook post. 🔹" (Downtown Roanoke, Inc. via Instagram)
• Roanoke City Public Schools: "We had a great time connecting with more than 200 students from Roanoke City, Roanoke County Public Schools, and Salem City Schools with employers across the region at this week’s Student Registered Apprenticeship Showcase!" (Roanoke City Public Schools via Facebook)

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Go forth and do great things today fellow 'nokers! You're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Friday.

— 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