🌱 New Life For Salem Factory + City Council Candidate Campaign Fined

Good morning, Roanoke! I'm back after 10 days of visiting family in Western Montana where the internet is still a little spotty. So, here's the Thursday edition of the Roanoke Daily. Today we'll touch on stories including:

• Boones Mill Police upgrades
• A standoff in Vinton
• A car suspected in recent chases found

But first, today's weather:

Mostly sunny

High: 68 Low: 40.

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Here are the top stories today in Roanoke:

1. Boones Mill has thousands of vehicles pass through its roughly mile long stretch of Route 220 on a daily basis and prior to this month the Boones Mill Police Department (you know the one with the legendary Camaro Cop) had no way of knowing anything about the vehicles they pulled over or their owners. Now, thanks to a recent purchase, the city's two patrol cars are equipped with computers and docking stations that allow them to instantly access the Virginia Criminal Information Network and the National Crime Information Center. "If I do a traffic stop, I run the tag, and it gives me who the car belongs to and if that person is wanted or missing. And it could be a gang member. And it doesn’t really matter which state you’re from we can run all 50 states,” Police Chief Kelvin Pruett said. (Franklin News Post)
2. Vinton was the scene of a multi-hour standoff between police and a resident who didn't like being served with an Emergency Custody Order Tuesday night. When police attempted to serve the order, known as a TDO in some departments, the subject made threatening statements and barricaded himself inside his house on Ramada Road. Roanoke County's SWAT team was called in as well as a negotiation team and the man was taken into custody without being harmed around 9:30 p.m. His name was not released, but police said he was taken to Lewis Gale Hospital for evaluation. (WDBJ)
3. The brand-new Burton Center for Arts & Technology, that is to be located on Peters Creek Road in Roanoke County, has been given a cost estimate of $90 million dollars, making it the most costly capital project in the county's history. Engineers and Architects from Balzer and Associates and RMMS Architects presented the estimate for the 150,000 - 200,000-square-foot building to the Board of Supervisors at a Tuesday evening meeting garnering comments from BOS Chairman Paul Mahoney who said the county is still trying to figure out how it will fund the project and won't be likely to begin construction until the 2024-2025 school year. (Subscription: Roanoke Times)
4. A long vacant meat packing factory in Salem that once employed thousands of people has finally found a new lease on life — sort of. The factory itself, long since outdated for modern commercial and industrial use, will be torn down and the property used to house up to 300 upscale apartments that will include amenities such as pools, terraces, a clubhouse, a gym, and a dog run. The current property owner, Ed Walker, said, "I wish we could have preserved the building, but this new Valleydale project in its identity, architecture and public space decor will celebrate the history of the company and the generations that worked there. Demolition of the factory is expected to begin in December with a project completion date set for 2025. (Subscription: Roanoke Times)
5. Roanoke County Police and other area law enforcement agencies converged on a Hollins area neighborhood Tuesday afternoon after a vehicle believed to have been involved in two recent car chases was found abandoned. A black late model, two door Bentley that police had tried twice to pull over for traffic violations in recent days was found in a cul-de-sac at the corners of Brookview Road and Clearwater Avenue, but not the driver. The chases were both called off for safety reasons and no one was hurt during either incident, but investigators would definitely like to locate the individual driving for a curt chat. (WFXR)
6. The campaign of a candidate for Roanoke City Council, Jamal Jackson, has been fined over $3,000 dollars for submitting late financial reports, according to Andrew Cochran, the director of the Roanoke Department of Elections. In a letter dated Tuesday, Cochran informed the campaign that four of the most recent five reports had been submitted after the deadline, one of them was over two months late, and that they needed to file amended reports by Nov. 4. When contacted for comment, Jackson said he wanted to be clear that he wasn't "doing anything with anybody else's money. It’s strictly my money out of my own pocket." He went on to say that if mistakes had been made and his campaign was at fault he would have no problem correcting what is wrong. (Subscription: Roanoke Times)

In partnership with T-Mobile:

Nominate a local hero. Heroes aren’t just the people behind grand gestures and life-saving measures. They’re also folks from all walks of life who make things better in Roanoke with small gestures, acts of selflessness, or just by showing up. We're working with our friends at T-Mobile to give thanks — and a bit of recognition — to some of these folks. So, if you know a teacher, health care provider, veteran or someone else who's making a difference in Roanoke, give them a shoutout! Just fill out this form, and we’ll do the rest, by following up and doing stories about them on Patch, so the whole neighborhood can celebrate how awesome they are.

Today in Roanoke:

• Intro to Furniture Painting at Black Dog Salvage (9:30 a.m.)
• Roanoke Veteran Outreach Halloween Block Party at Brady's Distillery (6 p.m.)
• Author of "Valleyesque: Stories," Fernando A. Flores at Hollins University (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "We're having a friendly competition between our staff, and we need you to help choose the winner! The rules were simple. We could choose to carve or paint a pumpkin and of course the theme had to include cats and/or dogs. Click the link to see the photos and vote." (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)
• Roanoke City Public Schools: "Please join us in congratulation Megan Floyd for being appointed Acting Program Director of Noel C. Taylor Learning Academy at the Oct. 11 School Board meeting! Ms. Floyd most recently served as assistant director of the academy." (Roanoke City Public Schools via Facebook)
• Roanoke Regional Chamber: "The people have spoken! 🗳️ Attendees at last week's Small Business Celebration (& Awards), Presented by Member One Federal Credit Union, voted for their favorite businesses. 🏆 Congratulations, Olde Salem Brewing, winner of our 2022 For-Profit People's Choice Award!" (Roanoke Regional Chamber via Facebook)
• Botetourt County: "Please join us in welcoming six new people to the Botetourt County Team! We are so happy that you all are here and chose Botetourt County! We are still hiring for a few positions — take a look at opportunities at the link here ➡️" (Botetourt County via Facebook)
• Dr Pepper Park at the Bridges: "We can’t wait!! We’ll have Clutch Smoked Meats, Buddy's BBQ VA, Tinker Mountain Kettle Corn Co., The Buffalo Hemp Company Roanoke, and more onsite for our event with Chris Cagle! Get your tickets now and save $ with advanced pricing!" (Dr Pepper Park at the Bridges via Facebook)

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There you have it! You're officially in the loop for today. I'm glad to be back at the helm and will see you tomorrow morning with a new update.

— 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