friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & continue this afternoon in southwest virginia. appalachian power says more than 500 workers are helping restore power, including more than 300 employees and contractors from outside the area. currently, there are more than 12 thousand people without power which is down from the peak of nearly 50 thousand yesterday. appalachain power estimates that most customers should have service restored by thursday night, but some work may continue into friday.### seven people are without a home following a fire in roanoke county. it happened around 9 last night in the 1600 block of chapman ave. according to roanoke fire e- m-s the fire started in the attic. the cause of the fire is believed to be electrical. the red cross is helping the

about 12 thousand dollars in damage was done to the home.### the state supreme court is hearing arguments about the mountain valley pipeline. the proposed pipeline will cover around 300 miles in the commonwealth and west virginia. landowners from giles county are against surveyors coming on their land and plotting a path for the natural gas pipeline. a circuit court judge previously rejected the case where landowners questioned a state law that allows surveyors on their land under virginia's eminent domain law. ### a handful of veterans can get free legal services in the commonwealth. attorney general mark herring is teaming up with the department of veterans affairs and the virginia state bar to provide estate planning services to low income veterans. volunteer attorneys will draft wills ... powers of attorney and advanced medical directives for vets. the clinics take place next month in roanoke ... richmond ... hampton roads and northern virginia. veterans can sign up on the

apple says it will not help investigators break into the i- phone of one of the san bernardino killers. a judge in california has ordered the company to help the f-b-i get into syed farook's phone. however-- apple's c-e-o says the order could potentially make millions of devices vulnerable. investigators have farook's phone but cannot unlock its passcode. farook and his wife killed 14 people in december. ### residents in flint michigan are being heard following the water crisis. the u.s. surgeon general is in flint today to hear how the community is being affected. the doctor says the filters in the city's water are working and does not believe flint water is the cause of the legionnaries outbreak. dr. vivke murthy / u.s. surgeon general - "a lot of help is on the way and has already arrived in flint. not to say it's nearly enough we have to do a lot more to get flint back to the place where the water is safe for everyone to drink from the

a new study says people in flint paid the highest rates in the nation for their water. the survey done by a public interest group shows that residents paid over 860 dollars a year for water service. that's nearly twice the national average. ### the f-d-a issues new guidelines for donating blood as part of a way to prevent the zika virus from spreading. the agency asks people who recently traveled to affected countries to wait four weeks before donating. this also applies to everyone who had sexual contact with those travelers. doctors say the wait should be enough time for the body's immune system to clear the virus. ### one of the suspects charged in connection to the disappearance of the lyon sisters pleads no contest to a perjury charge. leslie engleking entered the plea in bedford county circuit court tuesday. during the hearing ... commonwealth's attorney randy krantz said engleking testified twice and made false statements to protect his sister patricia welch. she's also charged with perjury.

missing from a maryland mall 40 years ago. police believe the two were eventually brought to bedford county. engleking returns to court on june 7-th for sentencing.### a richmond woman faces a murder charge in the death of her son after his remains were found in her car 10 years after he went missing. court documents show that tonya slaton was indicted earlier this month on a second degree murder charge. the indictment alleges that slaton killed her son, quincy davis, in 2005 when he was around 15 years old. state police pulled slaton over last june for an expired registration. found. the medical examiner has not yet determined why davis died.### the snow and ice are done, but now that it's all melting, we're seeing more problems develop. parts of the area are experiencing flooding . earlier this morning we saw river in danville. water levels are now dropping

will continue going down this afternoon. for more on the flood potential and our forecast... lets check in with kristina montuori.### today: increasing sunshine with highs in the upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & lower 50s saturday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 60s sunday: isolated showers 60s monday: isolated showers

highs in the middle 50s tuesday: passing rain showers with highs in the upper 30s and crumbling roadways emerge. a new triple-a study finds that pothole damage has cost american drivers 15-billion in vehicle repairs over the last five years. potholes start to show up when the pavement starts the cycle of freezing and thawing .. and they can cause some costly damage to your car. here are some ways to avoid the trouble... triple-a says inspect your tires and make sure they're inflated properly. when you're driving, slow down so you can avoid the pot holes in a safe manner. and beware of puddles. you don't know how big of a hole could be hidden under the water.### roanoke county police officers were up bright and early this morning having coffee with people in the community. this is the first time the police department has held a "coffee

it's something that more than two-thousand departments across the nation are doing to connect with community members.. build relationships coffee. roanoke county officers take events but say this one has a different atmosphere. we do safety day down at tanglewood mall, we're talking about highway safety and getting a message out-- here it's just come hang out and hang out with the citizens and have conversations. it's very low key, so it's a neat experience for them also. the department is already planning similar events for this spring.### after several years of negotiations and more than a year of construction... the countryside soccer fields in roanoke city are almost complete. the city and a local soccer club that's bringing big benefits to the local soccer community and the star city as a whole. wsls ten's erin brookshier has more.### after more than a year of work.. the first phase of the

on the actual land is complete... all that's left to do is plant the grass this spring.. vo and wait for it to grow before the first soccer games are played this fall. the soccer park is being built as part of a first-of-its- kind lease deal between the city of roanoke and the "roanoke star soccer club... it's part of a growing trend as many local governments partner up with private businesses to develop unused land into parks.. and in this case, soccer fields. includes three full sized world cup soccer fields.. which can be converted into six junior fields. the fields are being built right behind fleming high school... and danny beamer, the club.. tells me this project will have a direct neighborhoods. sot it has shown where green grass areas in neighborhoods increase home values and increases the ability to have fitness and things like that available to neighbors and

businesses, we'll be bringing in a lot of events. so it will help hotels the restaurants around the mall. it will be a positive, a win- vo the fields will be used to host local and national soccer live in hopes of bringing in teams from all across the east coast.. to stay at hotels, work roanoke. i'm erin brookshier, wsls 10. important news if you're planning on boarding the class j-611 steam locomotive in roanoke this spring. organizers say don't wait to buy your tickets because they are selling fast. the virginia museum of transportation says after the first day of public sales.. 70-percent of the seats on the trip to radford were sold. 60-percent of the seats to lynchburg are gone. if you miss the chance to buy a ticket for the roanoke excursions ... you will have to travel to greensboro or northern virginia for a ride. ### kristina updates your storm team 10 forecast next.

in an age of texting and social media ... a couple's love blossoms through handwritten letters. how they're relationship stands the test of time. and ... retailers in the country ... coming up in a wsls 10

today: increasing sunshine with highs in the upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & lower 50s saturday: sun & clouds with

sunday: isolated showers lower 60s monday: isolated showers possible with highs in the middle 50s tuesday: passing rain showers with highs in the upper 30s and lower 40s upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & lower 50s saturday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 60s sunday: isolated showers possible with highs in the lower 60s monday: isolated showers

highs in the middle 50s tuesday: passing rain showers lower 40s upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with 50s saturday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 60s sunday: isolated showers possible with highs in the lower 60s monday: isolated showers possible with highs in the middle 50s tuesday: passing rain showers lower 40s

tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & lower 50s saturday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 60s sunday: isolated showers upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with highs in the upper 40s & lower 50s saturday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 60s sunday: isolated showers possible with highs in the lower 60s monday: isolated showers

highs in the middle 50s tuesday: passing rain showers on this wednesday ... a couple's love stands the test of time. "i just fell in love with here there and then." james chatham and his wife florence met only briefly. james was in the army air corps and met florence during a 48 hour leave in los angeles. the couple began writing each other ... 937 letters across oceans for three years. then, james showed up with a ring. the couple have been married for 70 years. speaking of rings ... take a look at this rock. one of the world's largest

the rare 404 point two carat diamond makes up less than once percent of the world's diamonds flawless. heart. the man you see here was caught camera. it turns out the package was 300 dollars worth of birthday gifts for the homeowners 12 year old daughter. the thief returned the gifts along with a note outside the home. this helps. i know i can't make it right but i hope this helps." police are questioning two men they believe are involved. so far no one has been charged. ### still ahead -- good news if you are taking to the skies this year. how it may be easier to apply for your passport in a

general motors is recalling about 200,000 saab and saturn cars to replace the air bag inflators. it involves the saturn astra from 2008 to 2009 ... the saab 9-3 from 2003 through 2011 and the saab 9-5 from 2010 and 2011. the air bag inflators can explode with too much force ... causing shards of metal to hit drivers and passengers. so far 50 million takata inflators have been recalled worldwide. ### good news for those planning to travel this year. u-p-s is expanding its passport services at all of its stores across the country. the company announced last year it would allow customers to schedule appointments for passport photos. u-p-s reported an eight percent increase in passport services sales last month. this comes as nearly 50 million american passports are set to expire over the next three years. ### thousands of americans

shop til you drop. market force surveyed more than 57 hundred consumers for its annual satisfaction and loyalty report. taking the top spot is nordstrom for the fourth year in a row. the department store is voted as america's favorite fashion retailer. coming in second is marshalls ... while h and m and ross dress for less tie for third. rounding out the top five is kohl's and macy's. ### we're now just a few minutes from daytime blue ridge.. for more on what's coming up today-- lets check in with natalie and lindee.### coming up today on daytime blue ridge.. ever order a dress online only to try it on and it doesn't look anything like the picture advertized?? with prom season coming up -- we'll get tips on what to do .. and what not to do when buying that perfect dress. plus.. we are making cocktails.. ahead of the cocktail classic -- coming up this weekend..

out what to expect at this year's event.. we hope you can join us today at 12-thirty.. we're coming up

today: increasing sunshine with highs in the upper 40s tonight: partly cloudy with lows in the upper 20s thursday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s friday: mostly sunny with

welcome to date on the blue ridge. >> we are starting today show here in the daytime kitchen.

up and we have a special chef let's talk about the big lake classic coming up. >> this saturday at the hotel celebrating 90 years. it has been in operation since it was built we are raising money for the leap for local food and we showcased different restaurants doing craft cocktails. there are some incredible craft beers and you try all of these are from different breweries and get to this when you try nine different ones from a blue apron to wall street to local roots fortunato lucky river and rail margins downtown. it is crazy. >> we are lucky to have such great restaurants. >> a mentor that. that folks