Jerry Gordon

A Bedford County man charged with making a February bomb threat was arrested Tuesday, according to Maj. Ricky Gardner of the county sheriff's office.

Jerry Gordon, 40, is accused of calling in the threat to the county courthouse from a pay phone.

He is being held without bond in the Blue Ridge Regional Jail. A preliminary hearing is slated for July 24 in general district court.

The courthouse was evacuated for about an hour on Feb. 6.

-- Courtney Cutright

No evidence of arson in business center fire

A Saturday evening fire that incinerated a Forest business plaza has been ruled accidental.

The exact cause could not be determined but Bedford County officials said Tuesday that the blaze was most likely started by a discarded cigarette or match.

"It's mostly a process of elimination," said Bedford County Fire & Rescue Chief Jack Jones. "There was no sign of arson like accelerants or multiple points of origin, no electrical fire, no lightning strikes."

Officials said cardboard boxes were likely the first items ignited near the back porch of a business in Jefferson Business Center, located on U.S. 221 near Lynchburg.

Six businesses were destroyed by the blaze, including California Nails, Virginia Farm Bureau, Scene 3 Boardshop and Blackwater Bike Shop.

-- Courtney Cutright

7 people displaced by electrical fire

An electrical fire at a Southeast Roanoke home displaced seven people Thursday, but no one was hurt, a fire department spokeswoman said.

Fire crews were called to the house in the 700 block of Montrose Avenue about 12:20 p.m., spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury said.

When crews arrived, they saw thick smoke coming from the two-story house and went in to extinguish the blaze.

Three people were home when the fire started but were outside by the time help arrived, Bradbury said.

The fire started in a light fixture near the kitchen and caused $45,000 in damage.

The house did not have working smoke alarms, Bradbury said. The residents are being helped by the American Red Cross.

-- Amanda Codispoti

Virginia Intermont regains accreditation

A small private college in far Southwest Virginia is no longer on probation and has full accreditation restored.

Virginia Intermont College officials announced the action Thursday by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The association placed the school on probation two years ago, when it nearly closed because it was running out of money. Probation is one step from having accreditation removed.

Since then, college President Michael Puglisi said fundraising has brought in nearly $12 million to bolster the school's finances.

He said the Baptist-affiliated college also made its budget and business operations more efficient.

-- Associated Press