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Version 8.0 RSS Component http://backend.userland.com/rss2 News from the Roanoke Times http://www.roanoke.com Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.roanoke.com/wrapper/images/bottom_logo.gif http://www.roanoke.com <br><P>The&nbsp;University of Maryland&nbsp;has announced that the Virginia men's basketball game scheduled for Wednesday night at Maryland has been postponed until Monday, Feb. 15.</P> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/breaking/wb/235968 <br>Fir<a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/112009@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/112009@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235994 Third candidate assures contested race<br>A t http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235992 <br>Law http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235991 <br>For http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235990 Public will have another chance to comment on Feb. 23.<br>The http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235970 Tabled today: Legislation to privatize state-run liquor stores and a fee to discourage the use of disposable grocery bags. Revived: Perennial "guns in bars" bill advances to the House.<br><p><strong>Quick bill updates:</strong> <a href="/news/breaking/wb/235967#AEP">AEP power rate charge</a> | <a href="/news/breaking/wb/235967#liquor">Liquor stores</a> | <a href="/news/breaking/wb/235967#guns">'Guns in bars'</a> | <a href="/news/breaking/wb/235967#bags">Disposable grocery bags</a></p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1609886@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1609886@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235967 <br><!-- BEGIN SIDEBAR --> <div id="story-add"><a href="/winterweather"> <img src="/news/images/1217_ weathermast.jpg" width="230" alt="Winter weather in Southwest Virginia" style="border: 0px;"></a> <h3>Related</h3> <h4>Weather Journal blog</h4> <ul> [webmin-rss-links#2#-skip#0#-globalid#17#-rssurl'http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal/feed'] </ul> <h4>From today's paper</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235918">Snow-weary folks brace for more</a></li> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235938">Roanoke Valley crews head north to help with snowfall</a></li> <li><a href="/news/nrv/wb/235898">Snow causes roof to collapse in Pulaski</a></li> <li><strong>Dan Casey:</strong> <a href="/columnists/casey/wb/235906">Southerners scoff at shoveling sidewalks</a></li> </ul> <h4>Winter weather resources</h4><ul><li><a href="http://roanoke.com/multimedia/winterweather">View the latest road conditions, flight delays and more</a></li></ul><h4>Snowcam</h4><ul><li><a href="/snowcam">LIVE: Snowcam in downtown Roanoke</a></li> </ul><h4>Your photos</h4><ul><li><a href="http://cs.roanoke.com/media/g/winter/default.aspx?Sort=PostDate&PageIndex=1" target="_blank">Snap a pic in the snow? Share it!</a></li> </ul><h4>On Twitter</h4><script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script><script>new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: '#swvasnow OR #swvawx', interval: 6000, title: 'What people are saying about', subject: 'Snow in Southwest VA', width: 230, height: 230, theme: { shell: { background: '#8ec1da', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1985b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: true, loop: false, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, behavior: 'default' }}).render().start();</script><p class="image-desc">Use <strong><a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=%23swvasnow">#swvasnow</a></strong> to send your comment!</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235954 <br> http://www.roanoke.com/news/breaking/wb/235953 A provision in the budget bill working through the General Assembly asks colleges to deposit some student fees in the state's bank account.<br><p>Virginia college and university students may have to pay more than tuition increases to help balance the state's budget.</p> <p>A little-known provision in former Gov. Tim Kaine's final budget bill currently working its way through the General Assembly proposes something unheard of in higher education: taking a portion of mandatory student fees paid to universities and depositing that money in the state's bank account.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235875 Nearly 40 percent of truck traffic could be culled from the road, but only if billions of dollars are spent on the railroads.<br> <p>Virginia could eliminate about one in three trucks from Interstate 81 with extensive --and expensive -- rail improvements, a consultant says.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235894 Court Rosen said the revenue would help Roanoke's school system.<br><p>Roanoke City Councilman Court Rosen did something Monday that you don't see every day from a politician: He sent out a news release calling for a tax increase.</p> <p>Rosen avoided what can be the most politically charged of city taxes, the real estate levy. Instead he wants a "two-year emergency meals tax increase" that would raise that rate by 2 cents, with the revenue going to a Roanoke school system hit hard by a slow economy and state funding cuts.</p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1165752@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1165752@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235880 The Blue Ridge Mountains Council took part in a centennial celebration that spanned the nation.<br><p>The connection between Neil Armstrong and Nick Socky, an 18-year-old with hair falling over his forehead, could be drawn Monday night in Roanoke's Boy Scouts headquarters. </p> <p>On Monday, leaders of the Blue Ridge Mountains Council celebrated 100 years of the Boy Scouts of America with decorous speeches, and Socky stroked the Eagle Scout handkerchief around his neck and listened. </p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235945 <br><p>RADFORD -- The Radford City Council named David Ridpath as the new city manager Monday night. </p> <p>Ridpath, who had been assistant city manager, was made acting city manager when City Manager Tony Cox left to become city administrator for Morristown, Tenn.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235948 The next wave is expected to drop a few inches today in Southwest Virginia.<br><!-- BEGIN SIDEBAR --> <div id="story-add"><a href="/winterweather"> <img src="/news/images/1217_ weathermast.jpg" width="230" alt="Winter weather in Southwest Virginia" style="border: 0px;"></a> <h3>Related</h3> <h4>Weather Journal blog</h4> <ul> [webmin-rss-links#2#-skip#0#-globalid#17#-rssurl'http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal/feed'] </ul> <h4>From today's paper</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235918">Snow-weary folks brace for more</a></li> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235938">Roanoke Valley crews head north to help with snowfall</a></li> <li><a href="/news/nrv/wb/235898">Snow causes roof to collapse in Pulaski</a></li> <li><strong>Dan Casey:</strong> <a href="/columnists/casey/wb/235906">Southerners scoff at shoveling sidewalks</a></li> </ul> <h4>Winter weather resources</h4><ul><li><a href="http://roanoke.com/multimedia/winterweather">View the latest road conditions, flight delays and more</a></li></ul><h4>Snowcam</h4><ul><li><a href="/snowcam">LIVE: Snowcam in downtown Roanoke</a></li> </ul><h4>Your photos</h4><ul><li><a href="http://cs.roanoke.com/media/g/winter/default.aspx?Sort=PostDate&PageIndex=1" target="_blank">Snap a pic in the snow? Share it!</a></li> </ul><h4>On Twitter</h4><script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script><script>new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: '#swvasnow OR #swvawx', interval: 6000, title: 'What people are saying about', subject: 'Snow in Southwest VA', width: 230, height: 230, theme: { shell: { background: '#8ec1da', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1985b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: true, loop: false, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, behavior: 'default' }}).render().start();</script><p class="image-desc">Use <strong><a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=%23swvasnow">#swvasnow</a></strong> to send your comment!</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235918 <br><p>A 20-year-old man was shot late Saturday night, and he told Roanoke police that he was assaulted in an apartment on Day Avenue.</p> <p>Terrance Alexander Cannon of Roanoke was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Roanoke Police Department spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said. There was no information available about Cannon at the hospital Monday afternoon, a hospital spokesman said.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235939 <br><!-- BEGIN SIDEBAR --> <div id="story-add"><a href="/winterweather"> <img src="/news/images/1217_ weathermast.jpg" width="230" alt="Winter weather in Southwest Virginia" style="border: 0px;"></a> <h3>Related</h3> <h4>Weather Journal blog</h4> <ul> [webmin-rss-links#2#-skip#0#-globalid#17#-rssurl'http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal/feed'] </ul> <h4>From today's paper</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235918">Snow-weary folks brace for more</a></li> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235938">Roanoke Valley crews head north to help with snowfall</a></li> <li><a href="/news/nrv/wb/235898">Snow causes roof to collapse in Pulaski</a></li> <li><strong>Dan Casey:</strong> <a href="/columnists/casey/wb/235906">Southerners scoff at shoveling sidewalks</a></li> </ul> <h4>Winter weather resources</h4><ul><li><a href="http://roanoke.com/multimedia/winterweather">View the latest road conditions, flight delays and more</a></li></ul><h4>Snowcam</h4><ul><li><a href="/snowcam">LIVE: Snowcam in downtown Roanoke</a></li> </ul><h4>Your photos</h4><ul><li><a href="http://cs.roanoke.com/media/g/winter/default.aspx?Sort=PostDate&PageIndex=1" target="_blank">Snap a pic in the snow? Share it!</a></li> </ul><h4>On Twitter</h4><script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script><script>new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: '#swvasnow OR #swvawx', interval: 6000, title: 'What people are saying about', subject: 'Snow in Southwest VA', width: 230, height: 230, theme: { shell: { background: '#8ec1da', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1985b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: true, loop: false, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, behavior: 'default' }}).render().start();</script><p class="image-desc">Use <strong><a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=%23swvasnow">#swvasnow</a></strong> to send your comment!</p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1675177@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1675177@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235938 <br><p>Roanoke City Councilwoman Gwen Mason is taking the "green" path.</p> <p>Mason, who is not seeking re-election for her term ending June 30, has been named the next executive director of the Clean Valley Council. She will replace the council's longtime Director Ann Masters, who died of a heart attack in December. Masters, 74, led the organization since 1994.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235931 <br><p>Marc C. Conner</p> <p>Conner is professor of English at Washington and Lee University in Lexington.</p> <p>J.D. Salinger's stories could only have happened in America. Ours is a children's literature. Huckleberry Finn, Little Pearl, Rip Van Winkle, Jay Gatsby -- all our great characters are children, or at least childlike: They charm and enchant because they promise that, like Peter Pan, we might never grow up -- that the defining American innocence can stay with us forever.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/235878 Stimulus funds will help build a cable network from Blacksburg to Bedford via Roanoke.<br><p>More than $5 million in federal stimulus money will help pay for 110 miles of new ultra-high-speed broadband Internet "pipeline" twisting from Blacksburg through six counties to the new Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in Roanoke and on to Bedford.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/235912 <br><P>An electrical outage Sunday forced Celanese Corp.'s acetate products plant in Narrows to shut down.</P> <P>Dallas-based Celanese is working to correct the electrical outage and determine the cause, spokesman Travis Jacobsen said. The company has not yet determined if a weekend snowstorm caused the outage. </P> http://www.roanoke.com/business/wb/235905 <br><p>More than $800,000 in federal stimulus money will help maintain trails in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests.</p> <p>The U.S. Forest Service and the Student Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization with a labor force of high school and college students, will work together to improve up to 175 miles of trails in the two national forests.</p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1158199@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1158199@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235907 The complainant was a Virginia Tech student at the time, jailed on a drunken driving charge.<br><p><strong>Editor's note [Feb. 09, 2010 ; 3:50 p.m.]:</strong> <em>An earlier version of this story misidentified defendants in the former prisoners' lawsuits. The story has been updated to reflect the defendants in the case.</em><br></p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235897 Erik Mollin, who will remain as a captain, said he has in mind some projects to work on.<br><p>ROCKY MOUNT -- After a little more than two years on the job, Police Chief Erik Mollin is stepping aside to allow for new leadership in the department.</p> <p>He will remain second in command as a captain, town officials announced Monday afternoon.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235947 However, the Senate panel killed a measure that would regulate future rate increases.<br><p>RICHMOND -- A key Senate committee endorsed legislation Monday that would lead Appalachian Power Co. to suspend an interim rate charge it imposed in December, and killed a measure that would have put the utility under more rigid regulation and limited its ability to increase rates.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/235935 A proud team saw all of its drivers shut out of the 2009 Chase. But after a strong start to 2010, perhaps RCR is back.<br><p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- They celebrated together, just like they did last year. Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress back in Victory Lane at Daytona.</p> <p>Last year, it was their only highlight in what became a dismal season. Questions arose on if Harvick would remain with Childress' team. Those questions persist with Harvick's contract expiring after this season.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/racing/wb/235941 Christiansburg wrestlers win eight individual titles as the Blue Demons eye a 9th straight state title.<br><p>CHRISTIANSBURG <!-- 2013(unknown) --> This past weekend's snowstorm may have prevented a lot of things from happening, but in the case of the River Ridge District wrestling tournament, perhaps it just delayed the inevitable.</p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1664152@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1664152@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/235946 <br><p>The free ride may be ending for some saltwater anglers in Virginia.</p> <p>The General Assembly is considering a bill that would eliminate some of the common license exemptions for saltwater fishermen. </p> http://www.roanoke.com/outdoors/marktaylor/wb/235903 <br><p>MAX MEADOWS -- Parker Mabe hit a 3-pointer with 4 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then he and Hody Viars hit shots to push Fort Chiswell ahead, as the Pioneers held on to beat Galax 94-87 in a Mountain Empire District thriller.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/235949 <br><p>The pace was often as plodding as motor oil pouring on a bitter cold night, but the Salem boys basketball team stayed mostly on task to stop deliberate Hidden Valley 52-25 in a River Ridge victory that leaves open the possibility of an end-of-the-week playoff match with Cave Spring for the regular season title.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/235930 <br><p>Northside basketball coach Bill Pope called out the reserves Monday night.</p> <p>It was not because he was in any trouble.</p> <p>Pope made liberal use of his bench against visiting Blacksburg after the Vikings' first unit turned the game into a blowout that resulted in a 73-39 nondistrict victory.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/highschool/wb/235928 <br><p>DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Maybe you missed that Danica Patrick finished sixth in the ARCA race on Saturday.</p> <p>Or maybe you didn't see her in a commercial during Sunday's Super Bowl. Or maybe you won't have time to catch her Wednesday night when she's on "CSI: NY" as the top competitor to a racing star who dies under suspicious circumstances.</p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1626915@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1626915@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/sports/racing/wb/235927 Radford reopened its schools Monday after students missed four days last week because of winter weather.<br>RADFORD -- On Monday, three of Lee Slusher's eight students remembered to bring their homework. The eighth-grade English teacher at Dalton Intermediate School expressed disappointment but did little to reprimand students. <p>She gave the assignment -- writing three sentences to support each of three thesis statements -- on Thursday, a school day that began with a two-hour delay and was followed by a snow day. </p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235900 The Conny Oil building on Commerce Street is considered a total loss.<br><!-- BEGIN SIDEBAR --> <div id="story-add"><a href="/winterweather"> <img src="/news/images/1217_ weathermast.jpg" width="230" alt="Winter weather in Southwest Virginia" style="border: 0px;"></a> <h3>Related</h3> <h4>Weather Journal blog</h4> <ul> [webmin-rss-links#2#-skip#0#-globalid#17#-rssurl'http://blogs.roanoke.com/rtblogs/weatherjournal/feed'] </ul> <h4>From today's paper</h4> <ul> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235918">Snow-weary folks brace for more</a></li> <li><a href="/news/roanoke/wb/235938">Roanoke Valley crews head north to help with snowfall</a></li> <li><a href="/news/nrv/wb/235898">Snow causes roof to collapse in Pulaski</a></li> <li><strong>Dan Casey:</strong> <a href="/columnists/casey/wb/235906">Southerners scoff at shoveling sidewalks</a></li> </ul> <h4>Winter weather resources</h4><ul><li><a href="http://roanoke.com/multimedia/winterweather">View the latest road conditions, flight delays and more</a></li></ul><h4>Snowcam</h4><ul><li><a href="/snowcam">LIVE: Snowcam in downtown Roanoke</a></li> </ul><h4>Your photos</h4><ul><li><a href="http://cs.roanoke.com/media/g/winter/default.aspx?Sort=PostDate&PageIndex=1" target="_blank">Snap a pic in the snow? Share it!</a></li> </ul><h4>On Twitter</h4><script src="http://widgets.twimg.com/j/2/widget.js"></script><script>new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'search', search: '#swvasnow OR #swvawx', interval: 6000, title: 'What people are saying about', subject: 'Snow in Southwest VA', width: 230, height: 230, theme: { shell: { background: '#8ec1da', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#444444', links: '#1985b5' } }, features: { scrollbar: true, loop: false, live: true, hashtags: true, timestamp: true, avatars: true, behavior: 'default' }}).render().start();</script><p class="image-desc">Use <strong><a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=%23swvasnow">#swvasnow</a></strong> to send your comment!</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235898 Harley Helms' spirit "won't be replaced," Mayor Ron Rordam says.<br>A Blacksburg institution has passed into history. <p>Retired cobbler and avid league bowler Harley Helms died Saturday at home. He was 86.</p> <p>Born deaf, Helms never learned to read or write but worked as a cobbler for seven decades, until he was put out of his downtown shop in 2008.</p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/wb/235889 <br><p>A former Martinsville fire and EMS assistant chief was indicted by a grand jury Monday afternoon for "discrepancies" in his time records. </p> <p>John W. "Jay" Russell Jr. was charged with grand larceny, embezzlement, obtaining money by false pretense and misappropriation of public funds, according to a news release from the city. </p> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235951 <br><p>A blaze at a vacant house in Southwest Roanoke on Wednesday has been ruled arson, officials said Monday. </p> <p>Crews were called to the house in the 2300 block of Buford Avenue shortly after 3 p.m., according to Roanoke Fire-EMS spokeswoman Tiffany Bradbury. No one lives in the home, and no one was injured in the fire. </p><a href="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/click_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1108878@Position4"><img src="http://oas.roanoke.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_nx.cgi/www.roanoke.com/rss/1108878@Position4" alt="Advertisement"></img></a> http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/235950