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How to tell spam phone calls from VDH vaccination calls

ROANOKE, Va. – The Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts are begging you to answer your phone. Up to 50 percent of calls to make vaccine appointments have gone unanswered and local health officials don’t want people to miss out. The districts have been making calls to people who don’t have email or internet to set up vaccine appointments, but staffing shortages have made it tough. However, people aren’t picking up the phone worried it might be a spam call. VDH may ask for your name, address, date of birth and some health information over the phone, but they’ll never ask for a credit card or social security number.

Thousands without power as winter weather hits Southwest, Central Virginia

AEP outages as of 5 p.m.Thousands are without power as Southwest and Central Virginia are experiencing wintry weather. Below are the worst outage areas among the 2,724 Appalachian Power customers in Virginia without power:County/City Customer Outages Pulaski County 1,347 Montgomery County 500 Wythe County 162 Roanoke County 148 Giles County 144 Pittsylvania County 94 Carroll County 28 Smyth County 20 Franklin County 41 Grayson County Fewer than 5Here’s a breakdown of the Dominion Energy customers in our region without power:Charlotte County: 44Halifax County: 169Alleghany County: 36Danville officials say that 1,200 customers on Memorial Drive, Lanier Avenue, Park Avenue, Bishop Road and across the river on Piedmont Drive are without power. Here’s a breakdown of the Mecklenburg Electric customers in our region without power:Halifax County: 608Pittsylvania County: 459Here’s a breakdown of the BARC Electric Cooperative customers in our region without power:AdHighland County: 109Here’s a breakdown of the Southside Electric Cooperative customers in our region without power:

‘Get this little town back on the map’: Hulu series films in Clifton Forge

CLIFTON FORGE, Va. – It’s lights, camera, action for the Alleghany Highlands. The production of the upcoming Hulu mini-series “Dopesick” moved to Clifton Forge on Friday. “We need to get this little town back on the map like it used to be and move the town forward,” said Clifton Forge town manager Chuck Unroe. “You’ll definitely know you’re in Clifton Forge,” Unroe said. “They’ve included the town and the townspeople and really made it a community thing.”“Dopesick” will continue filming in Clifton Forge through next week.

‘Let us play’: Alleghany High School students protest postponed sports season

ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. – Alleghany High School is experiencing a season without sports due to COVID-19 concerns, but a group of students walked out of class in an effort to get the games going again. More than twenty students, including many athletes, protested in front of the high school Friday morning. The protest comes three days after the school board discussed the future of the athletic season during their board meeting. It’s nearly impossible to play winter sports at this point.”Some parents such as Kim Anderson also showed up at the high school to support the students. “Sports and everything else is being cancelled and they don’t get to go to school every day,” said Anderson, who’s son attends elementary school in Alleghany County.

1,200 more COVID-19 vaccines arrive to Roanoke Valley

ROANOKE, Va – As millions of Americans travel for the holidays, hospitals are preparing for another potential surge of COVID-19 patients. Almost 100 people are in the hospital being treated for COVID-19 across the Roanoke and Alleghany Valleys. Some experts say what happens in the next couple of weeks could have a huge impact on health care going into 2021. While most Virginia hospitals have a manageable burden right now, some health experts believe a high amount of travel during the holidays could change that. Some local health experts also believe cases in our region are being under-reported.

Roanoke health leaders expect a spike in coronavirus cases due to Thanksgiving plans

ROANOKE, Va – The Roanoke City and Alleghany health districts are expecting a major increase in COVID-19 cases in the next two weeks. Health Director Dr. Cynthia Morrow said the prediction of cases rising will likely be reflected on a national level. Morrow emphasized that if people follow the guidelines over the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s not too late to change what health experts are predicting. “If we all do the right thing, we can prevent what we think is inevitable, we only think it’s inevitable because we believe people aren’t going to do what they know that they need to do,” explained Morrow. The health district will be holding several testing events soon:

Roanoke Valley has nearly 20 coronavirus outbreaks, seeing an increase in cases

ROANOKE, Va – The Virginia Department of Health said coronavirus cases are on the rise in the Roanoke City and Alleghany health districts. During her weekly update, Dr. Molly O’Dell with the Virginia Department of Health discussed a rise in hospitalizations, deaths and outbreaks in the Roanoke Valley. As of Tuesday, there are 18 outbreaks across the region, 10 of which are in a business setting. O’Dell said the rise in cases and outbreaks are because of a lack of enforcement on COVID-19 guidelines in the workplace. These two health districts contain the cities of Covington, Roanoke, and Salem and the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig and Roanoke.

Roanoke Valley sees largest two-week jump yet in coronavirus cases

In the past two weeks, the Roanoke City Health District and the Alleghany Health District have had a combined 392 new coronavirus cases. Roanoke, Botetourt, Alleghany and Craig counties, as well as the cities of Covington and Salem make up the Alleghany Health District. With regards to percentage increase, these two health districts have seen a 90.95% increase in cases since June 15. Thats the highest two-week period percentage increase since May 12, when it was number is the highest since May 12, when that percentage was 110.68%. On that date, the two health districts reported 114 new cases over two weeks, for a total of 217 cases.

‘He’ll always be a hero now’: 10-year-old honored for saving grandfather from house fire

ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. – 10-year-old Dalton Pennington started April 19 playing video games at his grandfather’s house in Falling Spring. He went to open the door to his room and flames went flying in his face.”Pennington and his grandfather, Robert Persinger, escaped the fire. Falling Spring Fire Chief Thomas Andrews heard about Pennington’s actions, and decided to surprise him on Saturday. "I definitely would take him on as a future firefighter.”The Falling Spring Volunteer Fire Department drove their fire trucks to Pennington’s home in Low Moor. Andrews presented Pennington with a plaque to honor his actions and an Xbox One to replace the game console lost in the fire.

Covington parent concerned for suspect who had 'hit list' of peers, employees

ROANOKE, Va.- - Questions linger after deputies say a student at the Rivermont School created what they call a hit list. It included names of students and teachers from Alleghany, Covington and Rockbridge schools. For as long as it's needed, there's extra law enforcement presence at all schools in Alleghany County and Covington as a precaution. 1 priority," said Eugene Kotulka, superintendent, Alleghany County Public Schools. The list contained the names of students and employees at various schools plus the name of an Alleghany County sheriff's deputy.