sot: "they have made so many friends"one mom - using a sciene fiction convention - to help build a stronger family. **and**

marco rubio... coming to our area. how you can get events - before super tuesday. ** then **drone dilemma1:06 -- sot: " to get the maximum amount they can out of this little bitty plot of land."the highs and lows - for farmers - looking for help from above. thanks for being us tonight at ten, i'm bill wadell. this weekend - a lot of cleanup - and questions about an alert system - after the tornado that wrecked dozens of homes in appomattox county. reveal 1f.e.m.a officials arrived today - to survey the damage in evergreen. reveal 2appomattox county schools - are expected to reopen for classes - monday morning. one polling place for super tuesday - has been moved. central baptist church was damaged by the 'e-f 3' tornado. anyone who was set to vote there - can cast their ballot - at friendship baptist chuch. reveal 3and today - we learned - 3 thousand people who signed up for automated phone calls from alert appomattox - never got the call about the tornado warning wednesday. the 9-1-1

us - they are focused on recovery and clean up right now. the company that puts out the automated calls - is working to figure out what went wrong. our thanks to joshua cruse - for this look at the damage from above. appomattox county - is not the only area cleaning up from storms this weekend. folks in patrick county - left with a mess - from another tornado. w-f-x-r's kristen eskow spent the day in bedford county. kristen - no confirmed tornado there - but you say - one family lost a lot in the storms that rolled through? that's right bill - strong winds tore through a farm county - causing a lot of damage and even tossing debris as far as a quarter mile away. now the owners of that farm are trying to figure out what lies ahead. :13-:18:30-:36:57-1:02 this is all that's left of a garage and barn at triple m farms in goodview. lesley morris was at her job - driving for the bedford county schools - when first found out what happened. lesley morris: "one of the

and you know, the first thing, i was like, 'well, the back barn, are they ok?'"luckily - none of the horses were harmed during the storm. morris says she feared the worst for her horses - when she first lesley morris: "i don't, i don't want to think about that." david morris: "it's not really what it means to me, it's what it means to my wife. it really was her dream to own a farm and have horses on a place where she could ride and teach kids and do riding lessons." david and lesley morris say some of the horses - are being kept under the care of friends. they have put up a fence around much of the debris - to keep the horses still there - away from the damage.david morris: "i think everybody that was here in disbelief like we were because i hadn't seen any other damage in bedford county or anywhere close." standup: "the morris's say the support they have received so far from the community is overwhelming. they say friends came to help out with cleanup the day the storm happened."lesley morris: " you know you have friends and you know you have family, but like this happens, you know, it really comes together."the morris's say

insurance company assesses the damage. they say right now - they're still not sure how much they'll be able to rebuild.lesley morris: "we'll rebuild something. but it depends on how much we get from the insurance as to what we'll be able to put back. you know, expect to lose a 40 thousand dollar barn." dollar barn." 40 thousand expect to lose a 40 thousand dollar barn." the morris's say many friends and local groups have reached out to them - asking for way they can help.if you are interested in helping the morris's - they say you can call them at the farm. we have their number up on our website - virginia first dot com.live in the newsroom - kristen eskow, wfxr news. thanks kristen. taking a live look outside our studios in roanoke county - a chilly night ahead. a bit of a breeze. but we've got a beautiful sunday to look forward to. taylor's in the pinpoint weather center - you're saying

with 70 degrees tomorrow? that's right, bill. it's going to be about as close to perfect weather as we can get in late february. we warmed up a little bit today with highs in the 40s and 50s, but again the real warm up arrives tomorrow. normal highs for this time of year around the roanoke valley are in the low to mid 50s. we are in line for mid 60s tomorrow afternoon and that trend may continue into the first half of next week as well. we'll take a closer look coming up in my full forecast. taylor thanks. we'll see you

in roanoke - one dog is dead - after a house caught fire - in the southwest side of the city. the call came in just before 11 last night - on lynn avenue. roanoke fire and ems says - another dog escaped and is okay. no people were hurt. damage is estimated at 130 thousand dollars. authorities are now working to try and figure out - what sparked the fire. in roanoke county - we've learned the suspect involved in an officer-involved shooting - has died at the hospital. police were called to walgreens - along electric road and brambleton - last night - for reports of a man seen waving a gun. a spokesperson said - at least one officer opened fire - hitting the suspect. he died last night at a hospital. several roanoke county police officers are on administrative leave - as part of protocol - during the investigation. so far - the name of the man who was shot - has not yet been released. in rockbridge county - two

interstate 81.troopers say the crash happened - around 12 thirty this afternoon - at mile marker 194.the vehicle went off the northbound lanes - and hit a tree in the median. the driver and passenger were trapped inside - until they could be rescued. interstate 81 northbound was blocked for several hours - but the highway is back open tonight. in franklin county - a rescue group is nursing 7 horses back to health. roanoke valley horse rescue says - the animals were seized from a farm on thursday. organizers say - many of the horses were filthy and malnourished - with no access to hay or water. some of the horses - were even eating bark off of trees. the group is asking for donations of grain and blankets - to help care for the horses.... we have a full list - of what the group needs - and where you can send help - on our website - virginia first dot com.

dressed up in their favorite character costumes for the mysticon convention today in roanoke. amid the fanfare - one family - that takes fiction pretty seriously. w-f-x-r's charlie cooper shows us how one mom is using the world of "make believe" and mystery - as a confidence lesson for her kids. 00:00 19:19-24:00charlie cooper, reportingfor some people costuming is something they do a few times a year at conventions like this one but for others they say it's a way of life. skyler ireland - bedford dressing up here i feel accepted and just like myself. lindsay stewartit's a chance to of the ordinary.track 1for mera babineaux and her family dressing in costume often is a must.mera babineauxyou take a mental vacation and costuming is kind of a physical representation of that mental break.track 2she's the mother to several kids who have austism. babineaux says they often are uncomfortable socializing with that all changes when they dress up. mera babineauxgiven them an outlet and so we've helped them learn how to function with their social skills through track 3and when they dress up they gain a wind of

character on tv, we dress them as the character and then they act as the character. they have made so many friends. they have really developed the ability to interact with other children.track 4they're an example of how diverse and accepting the costuming community really is.mera babineauxwe have a great geek community here and i think the more you get kids into imagining and developing that creativity and that sense of mysticon has the more you develop something that's really promotes that citizenship.track 5into a community where geeks, grimlins and even mini dinosaurs are welcome. in roanoke, charlie cooper w-f-x-r news. news.cooper w-f-x-r roanoke, charlie cooper w-f-x-r news. in botetourt county - protesters say - they have not given up their fight - to stop the relocation of two historic buildings. a former slave dwelling - and a kitchen house

home - after being moved off the greenfield plantation site this week. botetourt county officials say - they will preserve history - but they're clearing the way for economic development. several natioanl historic groups - are critical of the move - especially during black history month. and a quick note out of radford. today's new river polar plunge - was postponed. emergency officials say - the current in the river is too strong - and unsafe. the polar plunge - benefiting the special olympics - has been rescheduled to march 19th. two presidential campaign trails - making a stop in our region. coming up - which event is sold out - and which candidate you still have a chance to see in person. jeopardy. the warning international officials have - about honey bees - and other important pollinators. we're going to get a little

a shift in our winds from the northwest to the west helped boost temperatures back near normal on saturday. as we head into sunday, those winds will shift to a more southwesterly direction which will throw some unseasonably

sunday's high temperatures will be about 10 - 150 above average for late february, ranging from the upper 50s out west to the upper 60s around the piedmont. on monday morning, a cold front will quickly move through the area.

west of the blue ridge some light rain showers wet the pavement. the best shot at rain around the new river valley will be around sunrise. the showers and the east by noon, and the rest of the day should be sunny and mild with highs once again in the 50s and 60s. a more vigorous storm will track just to our west tuesday night. it bring the entire region a good soaking tuesday evening flooding isn't expected, but we certainly can't rule out a little bit of ponding on the roads. some models are hinting late in the week, but it's still way too far out to if that will come to fruition or not. for now, we'll say it's

two top republican candidates - are set to make campaign stops - right here in southwest virginia. marco rubio - is set to speak at roanoke college in salem - tomorrow night. doors open at 7 thirty. the ev start at 8 if you want to see rubio in person - you're urged to register ahead of time. a poll - released by roanoke college - shows rubio in a dead heat for second place - with ted cruz. /wipevo b/ c1 ctr both candidates - are trailing behind donald trump. the frontrunner is set to speak at radford university - at noon on monday. that poll from roanoke college says - likely voters in virginia - favor trump two - to 1. tickets to see trump have reportedly sold out - but tickets are still available to see rubio. we have the link on our homepage - virginia first dot com. super tuesday - is right around the corner. we have you covered. don't miss our special report - your local election headquarters - presidential primary. it's set

night - right here on w-f-x-r. an eye in the sky - helping farmers on the ground. coming up in our ag life report - the benefits - and pitfalls - of

on the ground - arc looking for help from above.across the country - crop growers, dairy farmers, and vineyard owners - are turning to drones..to make the most of their property. amid all the possibilities - farmers and researchers - are hitting a lot of red tape. josh berry - of our sister station k-a-r-k in arkansas - brings us this special report.

"everybody wants a piece of it."americans bought an estimated one million over the holidays.the sky really limit -- if not for a hurdle keeping most of a drone's practical applications grounded. 06:32-4"he's got a hotspot here.but a shop in downtown little rock makes it work -- putting drones to use. so in the summertime this right here is gonna stay hotter."businesses like ark-uav have drones capable of creating a change in the winds for industries like agriculture.from their office downtown.-- to the field -- 14:12-1"preflight checklist." drones range in ability from a gopro strapped to a manually piloted drone.to a fully robotic machine that pilots itself around dunbar community garden in little rock.33:47-8 "in the past dunbar gardens has really only had a old map to go off of but they brought in drones and it really has changed the whole perspective." 40:23-7"it's going to allow dunbar to redesign the garden to get the maximum amount they can out of this little bitty plot of land."ceo of ark-uav -- brad fausett works with his team analyzing every corner of drone takes hundreds of pictures -- building a hi res map -- using various imagery like thermal... which -- can show how the sun reflects off a green house roof onto a crop. something project coordinator -- damian thompson might not have ever realized -- without this birdseye view.47:10-11"a lot of things get fried over there in the summertime. so you have noticed that? yeah there's a correlation going on which is really cool."but fausett and ark-uav have been waiting since last july for through the f-a-a to even charge for what they do. what they're get these machines in same kind of work beyond dunbar gardens.55:13-5"the single answer that's limiting extension specialist james robbins - used to fly this

extension service.he touts the many advantages drones could provide in agriculture. taking plant inventory. checking on crop health. or pinpointing areas to apply pesticides 54:29-6"this is potentially a much more timely application then the current approaches that we use."but it took them 11 months to get what's called a certificate of authorization through the federal aviation administration. the f-a-a even requires this the aircraft. 01:00:23-2"it's expensive and extremely time-consuming."the extension service decided to let its license expire in 2014. and now the drone -- sits in a box in an office.meanwhile of the commercial licenses like ark-uav's the f-a-a has allowed -- agriculture use ranks fourth."the regulations needed in this industry but it is a monumental hurtle in a lot of ways."their fingertips... many hope those controlling the regulations -- can come up with something a bit earth.to help those -- trying to farm from above.in little rock i'm josh berry. the f-a-a mandates say - the f-a-a

above.in little rock i'm josh berry. the f-a-a mandates say - farmers who want to use a drone for commercial use - as

certificate - medical certificate under a class 2 medical exam - and a government issues i-d. as of december - even drones for recreational use - must also be registered with the f-a-a. an alarming study out - from the united nations. reveal 1bees, birds, butterflies and beetles are among a growing list of pollinator species in jeopardy of extinction. researchers warn the trend could threaten the world's food supply.at risk are thousands of species of pollinators that play a significant role in the world's food production.reveal 2factors causing species decline include loss of habitat, agricultural pesticide use, disease, and climate change.recommendations to help species recover include sustainable agricultural practices; diversified crops; and eco- friendly food production. clinton - bags another win tonight. a look at the south carolina primary - and what to

and from the shiny - to treasured - we'll show you the coins on display this weekend

tonight - in south carolina. the victory comes - as the name calling heats up - between republican contenders. caroline shivley - has the latest primary results. 0:00-0:080:08-0:120:45-0:57 1:07-1:16 1:16-1:281:28-1:41 shively on cam: voters in south carolina handing a solid victory ...as "the first in the south" primary wraps up.clinton says: "thank you so much south carolina!" all polls had hillary clinton projected to do very well in the palmetto state, and it's welcome news for her campaign, after losing this primary to barack obama in 20-08.clinton says: "when we stand together, there is no barrier too big to tomorrow, this campaign goes national!" the clinton campaign is now looking to harness this momentum that started with her win in the nevada caucuses earlier this week. senator bernie sanders, meanwhile, didn't hold any rallies in south carolina today, focusing instead on key

of you come out to vote and you bring your friends and neighbors and we are going to win here in texas." on the republican side, jabs from all camps are turning downright nasty as donald trump holds solidly on to his lead, and sentators cruz and rubio jockey for second place.rubio says: "he has a terrible spray tan, it's not just the spray tan, it's perhaps the worst i've ever seen. this is a guy who can afford to get a better spray tan and as i said he's a very litigious guy, he needs to sue whoever did that to his face."trump says: "i call him "lightweight rubio."// i have never any human being sweat like this guy// thank god he has really large ears-the biggest i've ever seen, because they were protecting him.shively tag: up until tonight the focus on individual states, but with super tuesday just three days

south carolina, caroline shively, fox news coin dealers from all country... rolled into salem today. the best... brightest and most unique coins were on sale - at the salem- roanoke valley coin show. a variety of coins from collectors to chose from-- including ancient roman and greek coins that date all the way back to 600 b.c. right now gold coins are very popular and a surprising number of people now are beginning to collect world coins because they're somewhat more reasonably priced.dealers say the price for coins range anywhere from 25 cents up to 50 thousand dollars. the coin show is hosted four times a year. the next one will be held may. was your tax form - stolen by cyber criminals?coming up - the new warning from the irs. warmer air is on the way, but

a shift in our winds from the northwest to the west helped boost temperatures back near normal on saturday. as we head into sunday, those winds will shift to a more southwesterly direction which will throw

our direction. sunday's high temperatures will be about 10 - 150 above average for late february, ranging from the upper 50s out west to the upper 60s around the piedmont. on monday morning, a cold front will quickly move through the area. since our air mass is so is only expected to bring areas west of the blue ridge some light rain showers much more than wet the pavement. the best shot at rain around the new sunrise. the showers and clouds will quickly clear to of the day should be sunny and mild with highs once again in

tuesday night. it looks like that storm will bring the entire region a good soaking

wednesday morning. widespread flooding isn't expected, but we certainly can't rule out a little bit of ponding on the roads. some models are hinting at some snow for the region late in the week, but it's still way too far out to know for certain if that will come to fruition or not. for now,

keep an eye on. keep an eye on your mailbox. the i-r-s is expected to warn affected taxpayers - if they are at risk - of potential identity theft. people caught up in the theft of tax-payer data last year is *seven* times larger than originally thought.720-thousand people - may have had their tax forms stolen last year. if you are

you will be offered free credit protection.taxpayers affected also get an extra personal identification -- or pin -- number to protect future tax filings. a big time top ten match up in the acc as the 3rd ranked virginia cavaliers host the 7th ranked north carolina tar heels. this game is big for uva if their want to keep their acc regular season title hopes alive. coming

for highlights and a post game

stick and stay please. the 3rd ranked virginia cavaliers this season has been a dominate team at home. uva is perfect at the crib........tonight might be

take on the 7th ranked north carolina tar heels. the lights were bright as espn college gameday took over john paul jones arena.1. malcolm brogdon three point play - 17- 14 uva 2. joel berry ii three one of five on the one point uva lead 3. with time expiring in the first half london perrantes lobs it up to isaiah wilkins at the buzzer 38-35 uva lead at intermission 4. unc never led monster slam from isaiah hicks ties it up at 455. brogdon for three finished with a game high 26...57-49 uva 6. marial shayok leave th pass for anthony gill who had

the cavaliers get the win today 79-74. malcolm brogdon led uva with 26 points. our very own kevaney martin is on the scene for the game and has all the reaction for the hoos and heels. :26-:30:44-:49:56-1:00in front of a packed john pa jones arena, the number 3 ranked virginia cavaliers pulled off the 79-74 win over the 7th ranked north carolina tar heels. with 4 separate cavaliers scoring in double figures. but the story was malcolm brogdon's 26 points. he has been terrificc as conference play. and really most of all in his career. but i thought about malcolm alot. as i was thinking about the game today. there iss a lot of stuff a lot of things. hanldeld it was great. he might have done his traditional yamn before tip off. just to make sure he was steady. he was rock solid. i am always talking to malcolm to be

out team that much better. because after a while he is drawing t2 or three people. he great passer. he is setting other guys up. and hitting open shots. bro the best players in the league last year and this year. he has always been. he is a tough match up for anybody. and he was a tough match up for us. this win keeps the cavaliers in the running for the acc regualr season title. they ahve 2 game remaing on the schedule. they travel to clemson then they wrap up the here with a game against louisville. repporting from the john paul jones arena in charlottesville, kevaney martin wfxr sports. big south action.....liberty hits a school record 17 3 pointers as the beat gardner-webb on senior day 86-81. radford's justin cousin scored a career high 24 as the highlanders lose their senir day game to longwood 92-81. in the southern wins their senior day game......111-95 over the citadel. qj peterson lead the keydets with 26 points. in big south women's action, congratualtions to liberty head coach carey green.....he

school as liberty beat longwood in lynchburg 67-47. coming up......we roll over to the salem civic center for semifinal saturday as teams try to punch their ticket to sunday's final/ plus, a pretty good match up in vinton as the george washington eagles battled the william byrd terriers. highlights are coming up on

the salem civic center....the headquarters for odac hoops this weekend. today its the semifinal round of the tournament. the first men's semifinal game featured a battle of the bees......its the 5th seeded emory and henry wasps and the top seeded lynchburg hornets. fans fired up for both teams lynchburg-alex lynchburg-odac player of the year austen arnold....4-0 lcemory &

burnett also step back shot......hornets-omar kemp triple.......11 of the teams first 17 pointslynchburg advances to their 7th odac title game as the sting the wasps 94-64 bobby ford led the hornets with 18 6-9 from 3 the second semifinal featured the 6th seeded randolph wildcats and the 2nd seeded virginia wesleyan marlins. randolph-jason eddie to nick goble 13-6 catsvwc-justin watson triple 13-9 cats randolph zack desgain randolph-eddie triple...cats go up 9randolph-josh freund inside the wildcats hold off virginia wesleyan 69-61. it will be a hill city final as lynchburg takes on randolph at 3:30 at the salem civic center. on to the ladies.......the 4th seeded washington and lee generals

lynchburg hornets. 2nd quarter w&l emily perszyk with an ankle breaking move to the hole tied at 27. defancesco with a dipsi do move to the hole.........lync hburg would take a 35-34 lead at the breaknot much clowning around in the second half lynchburgh going inside to chaney forbush for 2....hornets up 5lynchburgh caroline naumann the hornets advance to the finals for the second straight season as they beat the generals 71-57. lycnhburg talks about how they turned it on in the second half. 01-05abbyits tournament time. everybody is going to give their best shot. we have been doing that the entire year. being preseason one and going down the stretch. we talked about at halftime getting on the court. at their place the last game we were up 25-24 at halftime before we really pushed through. our conditioning is strong our balance is good. i was real proud of our kids for

hornets will play guilford in the odac finals tomorrow afternoon at 1 at the salem civic center. pretty good high school match up for 3rd place in the 4a west region. the george washington eagles flew up from danville to vinton to play the william byrd terriers.gw cameryn lewis to patrick robinson 8-4 eagleswb dylan gravely inbound to ryan dippel for 2.....8-6 gwgw lewis behin off th dribble gw gets a

da big anniversay - for these little pocket monsters. what pokemon is unveiling - for

finally tonight - the "pokemon" entertainment franchise turns 20 today.in honor of the milestone, the pokemon company released a new video celebrating two decades of "pocket monsters".that was the series' original name in japan, where it debuted on the game boy handheld video game system.since then, pokemon has grown into a multi-billion- dollar empire of video games, trading card games, movies, toys, and t-v series. (phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates

americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise)

hoi! looks like the american takes this one. - ( laughs ) - ( speaking japanese )