🌱 Valley Preservation Foundation Awards + LewisGale Bomb Threat

Happy Hump Day, neighbors! Here's the Wednesday edition of the Roanoke Daily with what's happening in town, including these stories and more...

• An update on 5 Points Music Sanctuary
• Roanoke Symphony Orchestra's holiday schedule
• Roanoke College survey on holiday spending

Let's go!

But first, today's weather:

Some rain and a thunderstorm.

High: 61 Low: 31.

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Here are the top stories in Roanoke today:

1. A patient at LewisGale Medical Center's emergency room was arrested after claiming there was a bomb in the building. According to reports, Brandon L. Moore, 37, of Salem, was waiting in the facility when he began acting out and was eventually asked to leave. Instead, Moore claimed there was a bomb in a trash can, and police were called. According to Virginia's Court Information System, Moore has a long history of such behaviors and has done multiple stints in jail and on probation. The hospital was cleared of any threats and Moore was arrested and taken to the Western Virginia Regional Jail. (Roanoke Times)
2. Roanoke College's Institute for Policy and Opinion Research has released its annual holiday spending report and the results say Virginians plan to spend more this season than in previous years. 65 percent of the survey respondents said inflation won’t stop them from spending more this year. Respondents also signaled their intent to do less of their shopping online with numbers dropping from 2021's 80 percent online to 50 percent this year, which is great news for area small businesses. "So, people in Virginia say they plan to do half of their spending online, and the other half in actual stores, so I think that’s a very good sign," said Dr. Alice Kassens, a John S. Shannon professor of economics at Roanoke College. (WDBJ)
3. The Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation presented its annual awards last week and this year the focus was on African American history and the contributions African Americans have made to the Roanoke Valley. Each year the awards are held at the Historic Fire Station No. 1 in downtown Roanoke and awards are given for restored buildings, programs, and individual accomplishments. The awards are named in honor of the foundation's longtime leader George Kegley and this year's awards went to the restoration of the Melrose-Rugby Neighborhood Entrance, the Botetourt County memorial to Colonel William Preston, and the adaptive reuse of Historic Fire Station No. 1 among others. (Roanoker)
4. The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra has announced its Christmas performances, a sure sign that the Star City holiday season is on like Donkey Kong. RSO Conductor David Stewart Wiley recently appeared on WDBJ's Here @ Home and said, "December is a really busy month for our orchestra, I love this time of year, and Holiday Pops is the largest holiday concert in the Commonwealth of Virginia." In addition to Holiday Pops on Dec. 2, this year's schedule also includes performances of Holiday Brass on Dec. 9 and Handel's Messiah on Dec. 13. Tickets are available at the RSO website. (WDBJ)
5. Five Points Music Sanctuary, a downtown Roanoke nonprofit that aims to make the arts more accessible for people with disabilities, is in danger of losing its venue in January. The organization needs to come up with $500,000 with which to purchase the former church they call home or else it will be sold by its current owners. "We fund and promote programs like music therapy, hearing loss advocacy, accessibility initiatives, and more," said founder Tyler Godsey, who was inspired to open the organization by his two sons who are deaf but have both received cochlear implants allowing them to "celebrate the gift of sound" with their father. (WDBJ)

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Today in Roanoke:

• 31st Annual Legislative Meeting & Breakfast at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce (7:30 a.m.)
• Yoga at the Taubman Museum of Art (5:15 p.m.)
• Opening Night: Irving Berlin’s “Holiday Inn” at Mill Mountain Theatre (7:30 p.m.)
• Ben Trout Band at Martin’s Downtown Bar and Grill (9:30 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• Roanoke County Public Schools: "Good luck to Northside High School's Taylor Puscha as she returns to compete again on Food Network tonight!" (Roanoke County Public Schools via Facebook)
• Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism: "Illuminights at Explore Park resumes on Thursday, Dec. 1 through the 30! Visit https://www.roanokecountyparks... for tickets and information!" (Roanoke County Parks, Recreation and Tourism via Facebook)
• Roanoke Valley Television: "Today we were saddened to learn of the recent passing of former staff member George Warner, who retired from RVTV in 2014. George spent his career in television production here in the Roanoke Valley, and will be truly missed." (Roanoke Valley Television via Facebook)
• Shield Chaplaincy: "Thank you to Patrick and Kelsey Perkins for providing a fun Christmas photo shoot for so many first responder families and for these two chaplains. You two are amazing!!" (Shield Chap via Facebook)
• CHIP of Roanoke Valley: "✨ We're just a few days away from Breakfast with Santa... let's celebrate with a ticket giveaway! ✨ Win a 4 pack of tickets to the noon seating. To enter, simply share this post and tag a friend you'd like to see at the event." (CHIP of Roanoke Valley via Facebook)

Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! 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 Daily? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com