For the first time, the Roanoke Valley SPCA held a drive-thru pet food pantry. “We are able to provide this assistance because of a generous gift left to the Roanoke Valley SPCA by long-time friend, Dorothy Hannaford,” said Hayes. The pet food pantry is also available to individuals at the shelter. Roanoke Valley SPCA Dot's Drive-Thru (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.) The Roanoke Valley SPCA is participating in an adoption event and golf tournament at the Blue Hills golf club in Roanoke.
CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Downtown Christiansburg is celebrating its high school graduates. They coordinated with the school to gather a group of students to create unique artwork and well-wishes on the windows of ten participating downtown businesses. The result is a blue and gold themed celebration of the accomplishments of their peers up and down Main Street. CHS and downtown leaders want everyone to take a drive down Main Street to see their fantastic work for themselves, and they say there will be more celebrations of the Class of 2020 throughout the Town of Christiansburg.
GILES COUNTY, Va. – A New River Valley community came together to show a young girl she is loved, and to wish her well on an important day. In a video posted to Facebook, you can see her mom Nikki Horton bringing Alexius to the front yard to see the surprise. The surprise parade was a warm sendoff of good wishes before surgery. In the fall, Giles High School teamed up with cross town rival Narrows High School to honor the JV cheerleader at their football game, raising thousands of dollars for her medical expenses. Giles and Narrows players held fundraisers and collected donations in helmets before the game.
ROANOKE, Va. – A local pilot flying out of ROA sent all moms out there a Mother’s Day greeting from the skies! Rick Gillmore set a flight course Sunday morning that, on radar, spelled out the word “Mom” in the middle of a heart. “We wanted to do something for mothers," Gillmore said. "At first, I was going to write, ‘Hi, Mom,’ but that’s kind of cheesy. “I thought no one was going to see it, you can’t really look up in the sky and see me,” Gillmore said.
SALEM, Va. – A local teacher is working to spread some joy to those who may need it most. Katie Morris is a 6th grade English teacher and English Department Chair at Andrew Lewis Middle School in Salem. She is having her students take part in National Poetry Month through a project called “Poem In Your Pocket,” which is all about sharing uplifting published poems. Morris’s middle school students are finding uplifting poems and mailing them to seniors living at Richfield, Snyder nursing home, and patients at the VA Medical Center in Salem. She said some of her students chose to send the poems to their grandparents or relatives, while others sent them to strangers in need of some cheer.
Giles County – A major milestone in a child’s life was caught on video, and is sure to bring a smile to your face. Witten Atkins of Giles County caught his first fish last week in Glen Alton. Throwing his own cast, he pulled a citation brook trout and reeled it in by himself. He and his sister were fishing with his parents Zach and Morgan Atkins. As shown in the video, he was a little scared at first at what he pulled out of the water, but that quickly turned to excitement as he clapped and yelled, “I caught a big one like daddy.”
Roanoke – The beauty of nature was caught on camera as a local man gets a close encounter with a black bear and her three baby cubs. Terry McKim was on Bent Mountain in Roanoke when he spotted a large black bear crossing the road into the brush. He was a safe distance away when McKim said he heard the bear grunt, then spotted three small cubs following behind her. She was trying to get the cubs across the road safely, but they trio didn’t seem to be in too much of a hurry, but instead playfully followed their mother as she grabbed one of them by the scruff of it’s neck to safety. The experience was posted on the Facebook page “Preserve Bent Mountain.” In the post McKim said his entire year was made by witnessing the experience.
