wdbj7's khiree stewart tells us what residents think of the new plan. jim hoover loves explore park. 11:03:17 - 11:03:23 "the old settings, the displays and exhibits they use to do. it just feels like a piece of history." he and his wife are one of dozens of people at the vinton war memorial to view and comment on the most recent plan for the park. over the last few months, park leaders collected feedback from hundreds of people online and at community meetings to come up with this plan. 11:12:44 - 11:12:57 "people want to have overnight camping, they want to have cabins, they want to have zip lines and ropes courses, they want to have more river access, they want to be able to put their kayaks and canoes in and out of the river at more points." doug blount is the director of parks and recreation for roanoke county. he says ideas from the public are important... because the changes they make to the impact on the surrounding community. 11:14:56 - 11:15:14 "this is a very special opportunity, that's why we think it's very important to ge

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. virginia ranks number five in the country for human trafficking calls. that's why straight street wants you to get educated this saturday at the blue campaign. it's an event that's focused on trafficking in virginia, how to recognize it, and what to do about it. those who work on the front lines will be there to speak and you'll learn more about sex trafficking from a victim's perspective. "if you know the signs and symptoms of what to look for you may realize there may be more of a problem right before you than you thought was there so are goal is to do our best to educate " the event will also give an update on the shelter street ransom for sex trafficking victims coming to roanoke. it's an eight bed thirty acres of land and you'll see pictures of the progress. the event is from one to four on saturday, more information is posted at wdbj7.com. tax refund loans have grown in popularity over the years, but are they a good idea? gigi peck is a tax preparer and says nothing is free. it's not a scam, the money is backed by a bank and is usually available th

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. we are your hometown news leader, wdbj7. coming up, special members of the police force in one hometown get fitted with some much needed gear. and, a high school math wiz accomplishes next. vulenerable members of the norfolk police force are getting more protection. specialists visited the department today to fit the k-9 officers for bullet proof vests. it's thanks in part to a donation from c- n-n anchor anderson cooper, as well as money raised by the "spikes k-9 fund." norfolk p-d lost a k-9 earlier this month after a suspect shot him. the dog didn't have any protection and might have survived with a vest. doctors are trading the hospital for the hardwood. carilion clinic physicians will take on medical school students on the basketball court next week. we caught up with them at practice- they're getting ready for the 4th annual docs for morgan game to raise money for the "morgan dana harrington" scholarship to help medical school students. the competition is spirited. perkins/emergency medicine physician: we know the stud

kelley said he expects all mail khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. theauthor back to normal the virginia ski season looking pretty good yellow fresh powder on the ground got all kinds of mates no earnings and good in nelson county skiers are taking advantage of that as well and here's the issue it was a little bit warm today snowmelt revealed the twenty seven write-down washington and lee is a good idea what's happening at the temperatures have dropped off can be pretty cold tonight. it is going to freeze might not be prepared for it you might think you're in a dry parking lot. just be careful tomorrow can be slippery first thing the morning we get the rather chilly overnight set up because of high pressure just to our west creating a northwest wind. it's fairly lights he fairly cold now to look at hour by hour for the next twelve we find yourselves in partly cloudy conditions cloudy skies during the afternoon i think organist a dry during a break that down for you in the case of a virginia transgender student went to richmond today. this marks the f

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart spoke with those neighbors, and tells us what's likely causing the problem. 10:36:25 - 10:36:30 "just concerned about what could be coming in that i need to take care of." roy forbes sorts through several letters for the first time in days. he and others on ridgecrest drive said they haven't received mail since thursday... the day before last week's snow storm. 10:34:44 - 10:34:50 "we have bills and regular stuff that comes in that we need to pay and we just kind of wonder about them." 00:02:56 - 00:03:04 "our employees go to work. they try to get the mail delivered everyday. they're at the mercy of whatever the plow crews are able to do themselves." tad kelley is a spokesman for the united states postal service. he says part of the reason could have to near mailboxes, walkways, and some of the rural and secondary roads. kelley said they don't want mail carriers to risk slipping or falling on ice or snow. 00:08:29 - 00:08:41 "we see injuries rising because employees take a little bit too extra of a chance to try and make delivery. we

khiree stewart, wdbj7. funkhouser says they're holding a fundraiser at 2 o'clock on sunday at the hampton inn in lexington. click on this story at to find out how you can donate. when we return, we have a 2 month old puppy we want to introduce you to who's looking for her forever home. get ready to meet dolly on pet stories. and later on this morning in sports, we have highlights from around the region. meet dolly: dolly is a 2 month came to us from pulaski. believe it or not, inside this little 5.6 lbs frame comes a might bark. she is really quick and nothing but happy and playful. a great home for her is a family with the time to train her and keep her active. she will get along well with kids and other dogs. she has been spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, and tested for heartworms. dolly is all set for her forever home! meet dolly: dolly is a 2 month old spaniel/hound mix that came to us from pulaski. believe it or not, inside this little 5.6 lbs frame comes a might bark. she is really quick and nothing b

wdbj7's khiree stewart tells us what residents think of the new plan. jim hoover loves explore park. 11:03:17 - 11:03:23 "the old settings, the displays and exhibits they use to do. it just feels like a piece of history." he and his wife are one of dozens of people at the vinton war memorial to view and comment on the most recent plan for the park. over the last few months, park leaders collected feedback from hundreds of people online and at community meetings to come up with this plan. 11:12:44 - 11:12:57 "people want to have overnight camping, they want to have zip lines and ropes courses, they want to have more river access, they want to be able to put their kayaks and canoes in and out of the river at more points." doug blount is the director of parks and recreation for roanoke county. he says ideas from the public are important... because the changes they make to the park will have a big impact on the surrounding 11:15:14 special opportunity, that's why we important to get all of how they think that we think we have an opportunity not

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart sat down with the man behind the idea and tells us how he plans to make it happen. very soon a raptor, triceratops, and other jurassic creatures will call natural bridge their home. "dinosaur kingdom is so outrageous, it's fun. it's just fun." mark cline is their owner and will soon open an attraction called dinosaur kingdom ii. this comes four years after the first park was closed after a fire. "they enter into a train car that's been ravaged by a dinosaur. as they go through go through that they enter into a time cone and that's cline said people will take a self-guided tour with a spin on civil war history... while running into more than 25 automated and motionless dinosaurs. he plans to build the park here...across from the natural bridge zoo. "it's a lot of opportunity. lower part of the county has natural bridge, the zoo, and this is another attraction i think will fit in with that." sam crickenberger is the director of community development for rockbridge county. he says it's too early to say what the impact of the park will be... but he hopes it enco

khiree stewart, wdbj7 cline says construction is expected to begin in around june. construction is expected to begin in the spring and the park should open around june. a roanoke and new river valley based animal clinic is offering deeply discounted operations thanks to a chairty grant. mountain view humane says if you don't want to be kitten grandparents now is the time to get your female cat spayed. through a petsmart charities grant, mountain view is offering spay operations for twenty dollars in the month of february. the clinic says these operations help prevent unwanted future pets from being put down. (corrie prater/mountain view spay and neuter assistant director):"operation is very simple, you bring them in in the morning, they go through the procedure, they go home with a pain medication injection so you don't have to try to give your cat a pill because that's never an easy thing to do, so they just come in it's a very simple procedure." mountain view says the discount appointments are already filling up fast. you can find out how to book an appointment on our website wdbj-7 dot c

khiree stewart has that story. neither wind, nor rain, nor snow can stop these big wheels from rolling... (sgt. rick hyde, virginia national guard) "it takes a lot to get our vehicles stopped." over the weekend, these four members of the virginia national guard have been on a mission. they're trying to keep emergency services running by transporting workers like ashley broughman home, so they don't risk driving through the snow. (ashley broughman, emergency worker) "we're able to help people. somebody's on the side of the road and they're scared and they're able to talk to me because i'm able to get to work." in their two humvees, they've been transporting nurses and doctors back and forth to work at hospitals, and even transported blood (sgt. rick hyde, virginia national guard) "it keeps your critical workers, your first responders, your dispatchers, your state troopers...it keeps them safe. it keeps them out of harms way. yes, it does put us in harms way, but that's why we all volunteered." sergeant rick hyde say

i'm khiree stewart in natural briage and tonight at 11, hear when this attraction will open the area." been great at home over the course of the season and not quite as good on the road. zac glover is in winston-salem, north carolina where the hoos face wake forest just after 7 tonight. zac glover: while the virginia cavaliers have won 30 of their last 31 games at john paul jones arena in charlottes ville, the road has been a completely different story. all four of the cavs losses have come on the road, including an 0-3 mark in acc games on the road. so when they take on wake forest tonight, on the road, the cavs might be the favored team to get the win, but a win is certainly not a lock. anthony gill/virginia forward: they have guys back from last year so they are a really talented team. i know they have really good big men. mitoglu and devin thomas. they have really good guards that we match up with well. london perrantes/ virginia point guard: these are the games where we need to find our way. we've got to keep doing what we are doing, keep pushing, keep chipping and keep playing d

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. tonight, how an sparking outrage for a school in the new river valley. recommendations on screening for depression, as a new hope to patients. shot barrage of bullets in 2012 that killed two unarmed people. the shooting happened after a high speed chase. six other officers were suspended, and another officer retired. one officer was acquitted of manslaughter for firing 49 of those 137 shots. all had been cited for endangering other officers by creating a crossfire situation. tonight, fans are remembering beloved character actor abe vigoda. he died in his sleep today. vigoda was a veteran of the stage when, in 1972, he got his big hollywood break as mobster sal tessio in "the godfather". he then moved to television, earning three emmy nominations as a worn-out new york sitcom "barney miller". in his later years, vigoda regularly appeared on david letterman and conan o'brien's talk shows. he was 94. authorities in richmond say a homeless woman committed felony vandalism and assault last

cnn's khiree stewart has the story. " neither wind, nor rain, nor snow can stop these big wheels from rolling... (sgt. rick hyde, virginia national guard) "it takes a lot to get our vehicles stopped." over the weekend, these four members of the virginia national guard have been on a mission. they're trying to keep emergency services running by workers like ashley broughman home, so they don't risk driving through the snow. (ashley broughman, emergency worker) "we're able to help on the side of the scared and they're able to talk to me get to work." in their two humvees, they've been transporting nurses and doctors work at hospitals, and even transported blood for the american red cross. (sgt. rick hyde, virginia national guard) "it keeps your critical workers, your first responders, your dispatchers, your state troopers...it keeps them out of way, but that's why we all volunteered." sergeant rick hyde says they were activated when the governor declared emergency. (sgt. rick hyde, virginia national guard) "he adds us into his realm to keep the state running safely and keep the resident