What's News Today: April 23, 2018

A grand jury will hear the case of a Danville woman, accused of drowning her newborn baby and concealing it in a duffel bag for nearly three years.  Vanessa Poteat is charged with first degree murder.  According to court records, the child was killed on September 20th of 2013 and discovered in June of 2016.  Investigators believe she concealed her pregnancy and the birth.  Information about a motive has not been released.

A new bike sharing station is coming to Vinton today.  A ribbon cutting takes place this morning at 11:30 a.m. at the Vinton Farmers' Market.  Staff will be at the site through the lunch hour to help people with accessing the bikes, download the app and out free stuff from Zagster.

A public information meeting takes place about changes to the Graves Mill Road Corridor in Lynchburg.  The route is a major connector between Lynchburg and Forest.  With development, like an apartment complex, coming to the area, the Region 2000 Local Government Council wants to address safety.  The meeting runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lynchburg Humane Society.

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors will vote to establish a bike sharing program.  An agreement has been worked out between the county, Virginia Tech and the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg to start the program.

A community meeting takes place tonight about changes to the Melrose neighborhood.  The improvements are part of a grant program.  City leaders hope this will encourage private investors to come into the neighborhood.  City leaders say Virginia Tech students have been working on several projects, including building covered bus stops, cross walks and walking paths to the library.  The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Goodwill.  

The Concord Turnpike Convenience Center in Lynchburg will have extended hours today.  It will open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist with storm debris from the tornado earlier this month.  The service is free for storm debris from people living in the city.

Construction gets underway today for the 5th Street Utilities and Streetscape Project in Lynchburg.  5th Street between Jackson and Polk Streets will be closed.  Crews will replace more than 100 year old water lines and install a new raw waterline, connecting the James River and filtration plant.  Work is expected to continue through June of next year.

Milling and paving operations will take place daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Easley, Oakland and Mosby Avenues in Lynchburg.  Traffic will be down to one lane.