🌱 One Dead After Grandin Area Shooting + Nationwide MS Walk Coming Up

Hey, neighbors! It's Tuesday and it's time for the Roanoke Patch Newsletter to get you caught up on what's happening in town, including updates on...

• Rail Yard Dawgs hanging in there for the SPHL playoffs.
• Museums to begin offering free admission.
• The Poetry in Place Workshop tonight at the Grandin Theatre.

But first, today's weather: Windy with plenty of sunshine. High: 70 Low: 50.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. Roanoke's History and O. Winston Link Museum will begin offering free admission to area residents on the second Saturday of each month on May 13. The program defines area residents as anyone who lives within one of the seven areas that surround the museums including Craig, Botetourt, Roanoke, Bedford, Montgomery, Franklin, and Floyd counties, as well as the cities of Roanoke and Salem. The offer will continue through October and is part of an effort to open up access to Roanoke's cultural and historical offerings. The free admission dates will be May 13, June 10, July 8, Aug. 12, Sept. 9, and Oct. 14 and will all include a free in-museum activity packet for youth and families. You can learn more about the museum on its website here. (NRVN News)
2. The Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs will soon be facing the top seed in the SPHL Playoffs, the Peoria Rivermen, thanks to the Birmingham Bulls who knocked off the Fayetteville Marksmen in an upset win. Roanoke is the fourth seed in the series and tied 1-1 with the Rivermen in the regular season. The three-game series will begin this coming Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. and continue on Friday night at 8:15 p.m. If neither team wins both games, they will play a third game on Sunday at 5:15 p.m. If your humble correspondent is reading the upcoming SPHL schedule correctly there are only four teams left — Peoria, Huntsville, Birmingham, and Roanoke — and after this next three game series two of those teams will battle it out for the President's Cup. Let's go Dawgs! (WSLS, SPHL)
3. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society will be hosting its annual Walk MS fundraising event on April 29 and the Roanoke-based event will begin at the River's Edge North Complex at 10 a.m. There are one-mile routes and three-mile routes and interested parties can register on the NMSS website here. Options for strollers and wheelchairs are also available. Walks will be held across the country to raise funds for MS research and the Roanoke area fundraising goal this year is $68,700. MS is a disorder that causes immune system cells to mistakenly attack the central nervous system often manifesting in cognitive and physical impairments in patients and is among the harder disorders to diagnose as symptoms vary greatly. (WFXR)
4. Roanoke City Police responded to a shots fired call in the Grandin area of Southwest Roanoke around 9 p.m. Sunday night. Officers arrived to find one man dead at the 7-Eleven store on the corner of Grandin Road and Westover Avenue. No suspects were found at the scene and police are looking for any information about the circumstances leading up to the shooting death. Area residents are being asked to send in any CCTV footage or cell phone footage they may have captured around the time of the crime to fsu.photos@roanokeva.gov or share them to the department's social media here. (WDBJ)

Today in Roanoke:

• Author reading with Cathryn Hankla at Market Gallery (5:30 p.m.)
• The Poetry in Place Workshop at the Grandin Theatre (6 p.m.)
• Music Bingo at Big Lick Brewing Company (6:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke: ""Get off my case mom, see I DID fold the towels like you asked!" This Great Horned Owl is recovering from a broken beak and has an attitude about it, getting loose in our raptor room and deciding a pile of towels was the best place to brood and avoid his caretakers." 😂 (Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "Did you know that cats have a free-floating collarbone? This is what helps them squeeze through tight places. Since their clavicle isn't connected to other bones and is instead secured only through muscles in the shoulder, they can normally fit through any place that is large enough for their head to fit!" 🐱 (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Facebook)
• Roanoke Pride: "Do you have a proud puppy you want to showcase at Pride 31? Does your courageous canine have a winning personality? Do you want to help raise money for the Greyhound rescue program, aka Frank's Fund? If you answered yes, here's your chance!" (Roanoke Pride via Facebook)
• Jack Browns Roanoke: "We have nothing fancy to say, no pretty words or awe-inspiring sentiments. Nothing to sell you, and no event to advertise. Normally what is understood doesn’t need to be said. This Sunday we want to make an exception! We genuinely appreciate every single one of you who comes and visits us! We love you!" (Jack Browns Roanoke via Instagram)
• Roanoke Public Libraries: "Looking for a fun way to burn some calories? Join us at your Belmont Branch Library on Mondays at 6 p.m. for Fitness Fun with Tracy! This hour-long class is high energy, for all fitness levels, and just plain fun! We can't wait to see you!" (Roanoke Public Libraries via Facebook)

You're officially in the loop for today! If you have Hulu and like action movies, be sure to take a look at 'Section 8' which launched this weekend on the streaming platform. It's not one I wrote, but my name still appears in a fun way since friends of mine did write it. See you all tomorrow morning for another 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 Patch newsletter? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com