What's News Today for Wednesday, June 7, 2017

News and events happening today

The case against three people accused of murdering a teen moves forward today.   It's been more than two months since the murder of Lynchburg teen, Raymond Wood.  His body was found on Roaring Run Road in Bedford County.   Two of the suspects' charges were upgraded last week to Capital Murder, Robbery, and gang related abduction charges.   The third is also now charged with First Degree Murder.   Investigators believe they were part of the MS-13 gang.

Pulaski County school leaders will talk about building a new middle school tonight at 6 p.m. School leaders will reveal the location where the proposed school could be built, design, number of classes, electives and how to pay for the building.  Superintendent Kevin Siers says his recommendation is to build a new middle school, not renovate existing schools.   Dublin Middle School was first built in 1951, and neither of the existing schools have air-conditioning.   It would be about $45 million to build the new school.  It's up to the board of supervisors to approve construction.  The meeting is at 6:00 p.m. in the Little Theater of Pulaski County High School.

More than 80 area middle school students will spend the day at Virginia Tech learning about dozens of different career opportunities in the traditionally male-dominated facilities industry. Rising eighth graders from public middle schools in Montgomery County and Roanoke City will have the opportunity to see what goes on in various areas of the university's Facilities Department by touring construction sites, learning how Hokie Stone is harvested, and observing campus utility systems in operation. According to 2009 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, women comprise 48 percent of the American workforce but just 24 percent of workers in science, technology, engineering, and math related fields. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that in the construction industry in particular, women comprise less than nine percent of the total workforce.

Today is the Grand Opening of Save-A-Lot Food Stores in Danville. The store is in the 700 block of Piney Forest Road.

You can compete against people around the country... Without leaving southwest Virginia today during The Big Run 5K. More than 200 people are registered for the run sponsored by Fleet Feet at Fallon Park.  It starts at 6:30 p.m. The event benefits Project Forward and it's a National Event, which means the results funnel to a national leaderboard to determine the fastest runner in the country.

Today is the last day of the Special Olympics Virginia Torch run through our area. Runners will start at Longwood Park at 8 am running to the Amherst County line. The games kickoff in Richmond. More than 2,000 law enforcement officers have been involved in the torch run. Since last June, they have raised a record $1.3 million for Special Olympics, pushing their overall fundraising total to more than $19 million since the Torch Run started in Virginia in 1986. 


About the Author

You can see Jenna weekday mornings at the anchor desk on WSLS 10 Today from 5-7 a.m. She also leads our monthly Solutionaries Series, where we highlight the creative thinkers and doers working to make the world a better place.

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