🌱 RCACP Restarts Adventure Dog Program + Another Williamson Fatality

Hello, fellow Roanokers! Here's your Sunday edition of the Roanoke Patch newsletter. Keep reading to find out what's happening in town, including updates on:

• Roanoke Health District partnered with Seattle in grant program
• Concerned parents address county school board
• Roanoke needs more hotels

Let's motor!

But first, today's weather:

Turning sunny and mild.

High: 62 Low: 41.

🏘️ Looking to differentiate yourself from other real estate agents in Roanoke? Partner with the Roanoke Patch and gain access to a targeted, engaged audience through our premium newsletter sponsorships. Click here to learn more.

Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. The Roanoke City Alleghany Health District has announced that they have been approved for a Reducing Overdose through Community Approaches or ROCA grant to help combat opioid addiction. The grant is a program from the National Association of County and City Health Officials based in Washington DC, which serves as a resource to help connect community health agencies around the country. The ROCA grant program pairs agencies with a mentor agency to help them grow in areas of need. While the overdose rate in the Roanoke region declined slightly in 2022, Dr. Cynthia Morrow, leader of the district, said "Regardless of whether there’s a slight improvement or not, there are still far too many people who are dying of overdoses. So we’re going to be partnering with King County, Seattle, on identifying opportunities to improve our data collection in a way that we can help our partners change some of what they’re doing, hopefully, you know, do evidence-based data informed real time decision making with our partners." The partnership is expected to last a year. (WDBJ)
2. A pedestrian was hit and killed on the 2900 block of Williamson Road just north of the New Yorker Deli on Friday morning adding to the death toll along the road in recent years. Shortly before 6 a.m. Roanoke City Police and Fire-EMS were called to the scene of a man struck by a car. When officers and crews arrived they found a man lying in the road with severe injuries. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The driver of the car stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the police investigation. Early reports indicate the man was in the road when he was hit. (WSET)
3. The Regional Center for Animal Care and Protection has recently restarted their Roanoke Adventure Dog Program, which was put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is designed to get shelter dogs out of the shelter for what amounts to a field trip. Anyone who is 18-years-old, has a driver's license, a cell phone, and has outdoor plans for the day can stop by the RCACP shelter to be paired with a dog to take along on their adventure. RCACP Director of Operations Melinda Rector said, "We really want to give our dogs some enrichment. There are a lot of dogs in here who are ready for their adoptive families and they have a lot of energy they need to get out and there isn’t enough staff to get that energy out for them and they love going on field trips." The shelter provides everything you'll need including a leash. More information can be found here. (WSLS)
4. Members and attendees of Thursday’s Roanoke County School Board meeting were shocked when three speakers stood to address the board about issues at Northside Middle School. The problems being addressed were student safety and a lack of school administrative response to recent bullying and a a teacher who allegedly lost control of her classroom and temper. "In January, [my child] was confronted by students that blocked him in desks and blocked the doors so that a child could repeatedly punch him in the head," said April Singleton, one of the speakers during the public comment period. Board members seemed saddened by the revelation and promised to look into the situation immediately. "Speaking frankly, I really wasn’t aware of anything that was going on in these schools, in terms of safety. I can tell you that we’re going to get to the bottom of it. This isn’t the last you’re going to hear of this," said Cheryl Facciani, the school board’s Windsor Hills District representative . (Roanoke Times)
5. Visitors to Roanoke are saying it’s harder to find a place to stay in the Star City than you might think. Despite a number of new hotels opening in the area in recent times including some boutique options, Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge President Landon Howard said the agency is seeing over 5,000 new customers visiting their website each day with an interest in the areas upcoming sporting events, conferences, and outdoor tourism events. "[That] means we're going to need more hotels. What we’ve found is that the more diverse the product we have, the more people we’re going to attract. So if we have different name brands of properties, boutique hotels, and different kinds of attractions, we’re more likely to have people come here instead of our competitors down in North Carolina or West Virginia,” he said. (WFXR)

From our sponsor:

Today’s Roanoke Patch newsletter is brought to you in part by T-Mobile. T-Mobile has invested billions to light up their best network ever, covering 99% of people in America with LTE, which helps to keep communities like ours informed and connected. We thank T-Mobile for their support and for making today’s Roanoke Patch newsletter possible.

Today in Roanoke:

• Salem Mayhem vs. Elmira Renegades at the Salem Civic Center (1 p.m.)
• Paint Nite: Blue Mountain Summit at Big Lick Brewing Company (2 p.m.)
• Star City Swag in Concert at Talmadge Recital Hall, Hollins University (4:30 p.m.)
• Will Overman/ The Mallett Brothers at The Spot on Kirk (7:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke Sheriff's Office: "We would like to congratulate the following deputies for being selected as Deputy of the 4th quarter (2022) - Good Samaritan Award - Deputy Nance, Community Service Award - Master Deputy Scott, Valor Award - Corporal Shepherd, and Trifecta Award - Master Deputy Graybill." (Roanoke Sheriff's Office via Facebook)
• City of Roanoke Government: "Black History Month Day 17: William G. Dabney William G. Dabney (1924 - 2018) was an African American Veteran of World War II and a Roanoke native. He served as corporal in the 320th Anti-Aircraft Balloon Battalion, the only all-Black unit in the D-Day landings on the Omaha and Utah beachheads." (City of Roanoke Government via Facebook)
• Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge: "Thank you to Southern Living for featuring some of the beautiful campsites in Virginia's Blue Ridge! Be sure to see their list of "17 Best Places to Camp in Virginia for Every Type of Adventure" to plan your spring-time camping trip!" (Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge via Facebook)
• Roanoke County Public Schools: "Last night the Roanoke County School Board honored the TWO TIME state champion Glenvar High School volleyball team! This team had the best season in school history - undefeated! Congrats to the Highlanders!" (Roanoke County Public Schools via Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Featured events:

• T-Mobile Tuesdays: Get Delighted Every Week (February 21)
• Add your event

There you have it friends! You're officially in the loop for today. I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early for the dreaded Monday edition! 😱 😱 😱

— 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