live in lexington, khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. the inaugural season of roanoke's downtown outdoor ice skating rink is coming to a close this weekend. r-o-a's elmwood private partnership. wdbj-7's shayne dwyer is live at the rink tonight. shayne how did the rink do this year? jean downtown roanoke inc and the city are calling the first year of this program a success. there are some people out here right now braving this cold. the rink more than broke even and it always seemed like it was packed. which is so satisfying to the people who made this happen. where you could ice skate outside in downtown roanoke was still just a dream. but by thanksgiving it was reality, and by how many people came out a lot of you must have been dreaming. "we did pretty good for the first time and not really knowing what to expect." r-o-a's elmwood on ice needed more than just ice to be "we knew if we could get around 10,000 people or so over the 12 weeks we would be doing pretty well so that was kind of our goal going in." more than 13- thousand people

live in lexington, khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. new at eleven, dominion resources incorporated has chosen a new, alternate route for the atlantic coast pipeline. it's a response to concerns from federal officials over its initial path through sensitive areas of the george washington national forests in virginia, and a national forest in west virginia. dominion says this the natural gas pipeline's path through them by one-third. but, it will add 30- miles to the project and impact 249 new landowners- some of whom live in highland, bath, and augusta counties. the virginia national guard says financial issues is behind the closing of its readiness center in chatham. authorities made the announcement today. the unit, along with more than three dozen soldiers stationed there will relocate to danville's readiness center next month. a state lawmaker is criticizing democratic leadership for the treatment of black legislators. senator louise lucas says african american lawmakers are treated differently from their peers. much of that critici

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart joins us live from northside high school with more details. khiree... that meeting will take place inside the northside high school auditorium. there have been several concerns over the past couple of weeks for parents and schools leaders to talk about. earlier this month, northside high school principal frank dent announced he was stepping down because of personal and family reasons. almost a week later, there was a social media post threatening violence against the school. there was an increased police presence but classes were not canceled because police could not verify the threats. that had several parents on the edge. many of them concerned about the amount of time it took for them to be notified. school officials later said there were no direct notifications to parents because their first priority was keeping the students and faculty safe. definitely a lot of concerns for parents and school leaders to talk about. i'll be at the meeting when it starts at 7 o'clock. tonight at 11, hear from school leaders and parents. live in roanoke county, khiree

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. montgomery county has voted to stop paying its circuit court clerk following controversy after erica williams did not rehire four clerks and another quit. this following a long discussion at their meeting tonight. wdbj7's eamon o'meara was in the boardroom and has board made the just after nine p-m monday, the montgomery county board of supervisors voted to stop giving erica williams a supplement to her salary of more than 20-thousand dollars. that's 4 i's and 3 nays. the vote was down the party line, 4 republicans to 3 democrats. (darrell sheppard, district e) i hate that this is a split issue. it's not my intent at all because i can assure you that there's a lot of democrats in district e that feel the same way. (chris tuck, district b) if you fire half your staff and then we have to get folks in, i'm not going to be voting for you to have a supplement, and any other constitutional amount but if we're going to pay them extra, we expect exrra. (stand up) but the issue took so long be

data shows that in 2014, there were more than 23- w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart tell us how this program could save several lives. today, yovaso, or speak about traffic safety, began their yearly campaign. educate teenagers on the dangers of speeding and the importance of buckling up. "the perfect person want to be. her shirt off her back and give it to a stranger. just the typical person to be." describes her step- killed in car crash deer. overstreet supports yovaso to try and prevent others from being involved in a car crash. on monday, they launched their mission possible campaign. its goal is to spread the word at schools that speeding and not wearing a seatbelt could lead to deadly consequences. "we try to get a lot of real life stories, so the teens do see like wow, this could happen to me. cause a lot of teens are going to say 'this could never happen to me'." of the 67 teenagers killed in car crashes in 2014, almost half were unrestrained. "they're young and they don't realize sometime the risks and that's what we're here to do, to help them to see that. " casey taylor is the pr

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. lee-anne walters/lives in flint: "broken policies and procedures are smothering the outcry of an entire community suffering financially, physically, mentally michigan spoke out on capitol hill today about the water contamination that's left folks there exposed to lead. the woman you just heard from says her son developed speech issues and a compromised immune system because of the tainted water. virginia tech professor marc edwards also testified today. he traveled to flint and independently researched the town's water quality and says someone failed to comply with the law, and tried to cover up the results. virginia tech professor marc edwards: "it's very clear to me that they misled the epidemiologist who were looking at that. the very first thing they did was to reach out to these mdeq employees and say 'is there something wrong with the water?' and the talking points- the notes from that memo used by the epidemiologist basically repeated 1 lie after another after another about the

live in salem, khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. a teenager was hit by a train this morning while he was walking on railroad tracks in roanoke. he was taken to the hospital, but amazingly he did not suffer serious injuries. norfolk southern says the teen was wearing ear buds, and didn't hear the train approaching on the tracks near brandon avenue. the conductor sounded the horn, and hit the brakes but could not stop in time and the train carrying 93 cars struck the teen. a roanoke police spokesman says he was conscious and alert when officers taken to the hospital as a precaution. despite heavy controversy botetourt county is moving the historic slave homes from the greenfield center. the slave cabin was moved off the property this morning, and the remaining kitchen building will be moved thursday. a handful of people voiced their displeasure with the county at this afternoon's board of supervisors meeting. wdbj-7's shayne dwyer will have protestors' last efforts, and what the county plans to do with the land coming up tonight on wd

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. the college of william and mary says a student contracted the zika virus while traveling in central america during winter break. the centers for disease control and prevention does not believe this poses a health risk to anyone on campus. the world health organization is estimating there could be up to 4 million cases of zika in americas in the next year. the agency has declared a global emergency over the mosquito-borne disease which has been linked to birth defects. (doctor margaret chan/director- general world health organization):"the clusters of microcephaly and other neurological complications constitute an and a public health threat to other parts of the world." last month, the c- d-c issued an alert- warning pregnant women about traveling to areas where zika is spreading. the zika virus is causing problems for indian automaker tata motors. it plans to unveil its latest hatchback this week. it's name? the zica. that's z-i-c-a, as opposed to the virus, which is spelled z-i- k-a.

live in appomattox county, khiree stewart, w-d-b-j-7. outside help isn't all these damage stricken communities are receiving. shows us, some of the biggest support comes from those closest to home. this evergreen community used to get overlooked " " but now it's hard to look away, this photo will tell the tale for decades, destruction now reality. "then we got out and all of our houses were destroyed, completely destroyed." four homes stood on debbie garrett's property. now one, the one that saved her family's lives. and community is the only thing keeping them alive now. "we all went to granny b's in appomattox fantastic restaurant, they gave us our breakfast on the house as i was sitting there one of the waitresses stephanie walked up to me and handed me a 100 dollar bill and said this is from one of our customers just to say we're sorry then as i was sitting there another customer walked by me shook that hand, and in that hand was a 20 dollar bill." fewer people live north across route 460 , but the tornado still obliterated everythin

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. money from richmond is flowing into bedford's downtown. the virginia main street program is giving the town a 20- thousand dollar bedford main street will use the money to offer zero-interest loans to people who want to operate or expand a business downtown. matching amounts will come from the town and county, bringing the total amount of funding for the program to around 40-thousand. jim messier/bedford main street president: "ultimately what we're looking for is a downtown with 100 percent capacity, beautiful buildings, and thousands of people coming to shop." bedford isn't the only town getting money. virginia main street awarded grants totaling 150- thousand dollars yesterday to 10 communities. altavista is getting 10-thousand to renovate some of its buildings. find out about the safety issue that has toyota recalling more than a million suvs. michigan officials want to take action soon on the flint, michigan water crisis, but two very different plans could bring things to a stand-still. this virginia fast food worker found out the har

in appomattox, khiree stewart, w-d-b-j- 7. county leaders say all volunteer positions they needed have been filled, after the tornado turned lives upside down. earlier today though, volunteers set up donation tables and food trucks to feed both people and pets. companies brought in cleaning supplies, boxes and items to help people get rid of the debris and store recovered belongings. mike comerford lowe's store manager "i'm very we help our people where they live. you know our customers are important to us and this is in action what we do everyday" only volunteers from disaster relief agencies are being sent to the affected areas. loved ones are telling us more about the man who died during that tornado. keith harris was one of 18 children. he grew up in evergreen and stayed there the rest of his life, farming a piece of land along twin tunnel lane. a wooden cross now marks the spot where harris' home stood. he was found about 400 yards away at the bottom of a hill. harris' family took wdbj7 there today and said he died in a p

in blacksburg, khiree stewart, w-d-b-j-7. headed south to spencer north carolina for its annual federal inspection. crews fired the locomotive up today. it will leave roanoke comes up tomorrow. the queen of steam is sporting new wheels as well; they replaced the original ones from the 50's. this inspection is needed for the locomotive to run excursions this upcoming year. it will take about two months. spring excursions are right around the corner, you can find ticket information on wdbj7 dot-com. a madison heights man has a million reasons to smile tonight. that's how much christopher parrish won in a scratch off ticket from the virginia lottery that he bought at triangle market. the store will get 10-thousand dollars for selling the winning ticket. parrish is the third player to claim the million dollar top prize in the "20 he says he plans to use the winnings to pay bills. the world war ii veteran from virginia we told you about over the last few months has reunited with his wartime girlfriend. norwood thomas and joyce morris embraced each other for the first time in more than 70 yea

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart tells us about a project hoping to make a difference. "you look at other facilities and you say 'why don't we have that here?'" members of the rockbridge area recreation organization are a step closer to making it happen. executive director john trudgeon says athletes have a limited amount of space to practice,. they're planning to extend their practice fields at the brewbaker field complex on this 2 "there will be a baseball diamond so there will be baseball practices held there and there will be lacrosse practices in the spring time, soccer practices in the fall. probably even some football practices as well." on top of that, he says they'll also construct a chain link fence around the field. the project will cost around 180- thousand dollars. aside from grants, 50-thousand will come from the city of lexington and rockbridge county through their capital improvements plan. they're planning to start a fundraising campaign later this year. "there are more interest in using facilities then there are to use. so, there's been a lot of cooper

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. general motors is recalling more than 400-thousand trucks and s-u-vs because of a brake pedal problem. the car company says the brake pedals can loosen and fail to work properly. this recall covers certain 20-15 and 20-16 chevy silverados, g-m-c sierras and tahoe police vehicles. g-m says so far there have been no reported crashes or injuries. dealers will inspect the brakes and retighten them if needed. gm says the recall should begin shortly. president barack obama has signed help upgrade cybersecurity in the u-s. this after several data breaches hit agencies including the department of justice. the president wants to increase cybersecurity spending by more than 35-percent from last year. a republican- dominated congress will need to sign off on the proposal. the president says he's hopeful that the cybersecurity initiative will pass. the court martial of sergeant bowe bergdahl is officially on hold. the judge is waiting for an appeals court to make a decision about whether classifi

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. botetourt county is moving forward with the plan to relocate two slave houses on the greenfield plantation. leaders have hired a team of archaeologists to investigate and confirm whether there are unmarked grave sites of slaves on the land. the decision to move the two houses has caused a lot of controversy in the county. there's also a lawsuit pending from a woman who says her relatives buried on the land. county leaders say the plan is to move the houses a mile away to a historic preservation site. botetourt deputy county administrator david moorman: "the anticipation is that the building work will continue and those buildings will be relocated as planned" judy morris "i'm completely against it. there are slaves that are buried all over this hilltop. they should be honored and they should stay exactly where they no date has been set on the relocation. roanoke valley stakeholders are hoping to help find the right buyer for the former happy's flea market. it's been on the market now f

khiree stewart wdbj7 leaders say the programs are now in effect. you can read more up for the programs on w-d-b-j-7 dot com. virginia is experiencing heartbreak tonight. nats of video: "daddy's little girl." why he says his more than his daughter being taken women drafting into combat roles in the military? you may be surprised by who's behind the idea. no clowing around here! all the snow we got last month means circus. these lil' chickies and lil' doggies are small, -but they're intense. -oh, yeah. small but intense like my niece, hannah. oh, yeah. and you, uh, take karate? yeah she does. show him how intense you are, hannah. -yah! yah! ah! -(karate sounds) oh, my... hey! yes! now finish him. -bow to her, peter. -i'm not gonna bow to a... bow to her, peter. (gong) big flavor in a little package. new lil' chickies and lil' doggies. and grab a burrito and drink for $3.00 delivered in two minutes-- -guaranteed. -(click) virginia father, a day after police found his wife who disappeared with his young child. cornelius simmons says it's been two month

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. new tonight, a homicide investigation in northwest roanoke. police say a man was killed along westwood boulevard, shortly after 4:30 this afternoon. investigators are talking to witnesses and gathering evidence. no arrests have been made, and a police spokesman says officers are not actively searching for any suspects. authorities have not identified the victim. tonight a man is in the henry county jail, accused of beating another man with a baseball bat saturday night. today deputies arrested benny stone for forcing his way inside scottie rose's home on philpott dam road in bassett and attacking him. rose was eventually taken to a roanoke hospital for head injuries but has been released. stone is being held without bond tonight. a salem man faces several charges tonight in the alleged sexual assault of a child. detectives talked to the mother, who said the mother's live-in boyfriend. julio cesar deleon the second is in the roanoke county/salem jail without bond. michelle wilkins/baby cut from womb: "what i do want to express is my frustration

khiree stewart, w-d-b-j-7. virginia officials and business prospects wined and dined last month, and all you get is the bill. how much virginia taxpayers are paying for a pricey party during an nfl playoff they helped highlight the magnitude of a water crisis hundreds of miles away. now, the next step virginia tech is taking to get flint, michigan safe tap water. and new insight tonight on what happened for a ship captain to sail video from hawaii of a tour helicopter crashing near the u-s-s arizona memorial at pearl harbor. were hurt, one critically. five people in all were on board. the man who shot this video said something didn't seem right, with the helicopter being as low as it was. other witnesses to the crash jumped into the water and helped pull the victims to shore. it's not clear yet what caused the helicopter to go down. day three of hearings into last year's sinking of the cargo ship el faro. today, a second mate on the ship testified before the coast guard panel. he said while on vacation, he text

khiree stewart, wdbj7 workers tell us that that gas pump incident was seriously hurt. you can find more information about road and weather conditions across the region with the wdbj7 weather app. yesterday it was the snow and ice, today it's the heavy rain. leo, how much can we expect to see today, and when is it expected to clear up? youall by the time the rain is all said and done inch to an inch and a half that salve qaeda finding some minor flooding issues across erie also areas of dense fog especially toward carol county danville area up toward the highlands a slowdown there for those fog we also have slowdown for the areas of freezing rain. still finding some freezing rain across the roanoke valley so even though were all roads look just that watch out could be black ice other areas just think i so be aware southwest sections mainly rain an and a few snow showers is you had back toward taz well county roanoke lynchburg at the freezing mark martinsville below freezing. still finding some wintry weather there thirty four charleston forty one though as he head towar

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart tells us why some think a new program will help bring more people into the shops downtown. melissa, business owners say a sign for a new store or restaurant can be expensive. that's why city leaders are helping owners improve the look of their business. signs, signs, everywhere those signs. they're all over downtown lexington. "it's like a visual soundbyte. in one image, you get a whole sense of what that business is about and that's what people take away. we're visual creatures." amenie hopkins is getting ready to open a new cafe downtown and says getting a sign is a huge component that usually gets put on the back burner. "especially with a unexpected up and suddenly at the end, there's not enough to put a new sign up." that's why she's hoping to get help making her sign through a new program through the city. and you get approval you'll need from the architectural review board and then you go out and will match the funding that you pay up to 300 dollars for a sign and 600 dollars for an awning." stephanie wilkinson is the executive director of main street

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart tells us about a project hoping to make a difference. "you look at other facilities and you say 'why don't we have that here?'" members of the rockbridge area recreation organization are a step closer to making it happen. executive director john trudgeon says athletes have a limited amount of space to practice,. they're planning to extend their practice fields at the brewbaker field complex on this 2 acres of land. "there will be a baseball diamond so there will be baseball practices held there and there will be lacrosse practices in the spring time, soccer practices in the fall. probably even some football practices as well." on top of that, he says they'll also construct a chain the project will cost around 180- thousand dollars. aside from grants, 50-thousand will come from the city of lexington and rockbridge county through their capital improvements plan. they're planning to start a fundraising campaign later this year. "there are more interest in using facilities then there are to use. so, there's been a lot of cooperation." right

wdbj 7's tie re-stuart -- khiree stewart joins us from the bedford area. khiree, how is it looking where you're at right now? >> i'm in downtown bedford, and right now it's not coming down. earlier we had lots of snow that came town and rain. ago. we didn't have rain down here. right now it seems like everybody is in cleanup mode. we saw lots of crews going around like streets and parking lots in the area. and we passed snowplows on the way. the roads in this area were clear and in good shape. we were actually pretty impressed. there wasn't a lot of traffic, but people had been doing the good job of staying off the roads so the plowers can do their job. now, some people might think of shoveling now, shoveling driveways and sidewalks. according to the national safety council, thousands of deaths occur from people who do snow shoveling. so they ask to you keep in mind, they suggest pushing snow instead of lifting it. they say that you should not shovel if you're eating or drinking. and you should lift with your legs and not your back. so those are pretty good

khiree stewart, wdbj7 you can read more of these lifesaving tips on w-d-b-j-7 dot com. just click on this story. a salem man is facing several charges in the alleged sexual assault of a child. detectives talked to the mother, who said her daughter had been assaulted by the mother's live-in boyfriend. julio cesar deleon the second is in the roanoke county/salem jail without bond. police are investigating a homicide in northwest roanoke. a man was killed boulevard, shortly after 4:30 yesterday afternoon. investigators are talking to witnesses and gathering evidence. no arrests have been made, and a police spokesman says officers are not actively searching for any suspects. authorities have not identified the victim. new this morning: police in danville are investigating a murder. it happened just after 12:15 this morning in the 200 block of halifax street. a man was found dead with apparent gunshot wounds. the name of the victim has not been released. anyone with information about the shooting is asked to ((cold toss to leo)) weretry to get i you still see people doing al

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart tell us how this program could save several lives. "the perfect person that anybody would want to be. outgoing, would take her shirt off her back and give it to a stranger. just the typical person anyone would want to be." gracie overstreet describes her step- sister ashley. in 2012, she was killed in car crash after her car hit a deer. overstreet supports yovaso to try and prevent others from being involved in a car crash. on monday, they launched their mission possible campaign. its goal is to spread the word at schools that speeding and not wearing a seatbelt could lead to deadly consequences. "we try to get a lot of real life stories, so the teens do see like wow, this could happen to me. cause a lot of teens to me'." of the 67 teenagers killed in car crashes in 2014, almost half were unrestrained. "they're young and they don't realize risks and that's what we're here to do, to help them to see that. " casey taylor is the program coordinator campaign is a peer- to-peer program. "sometimes it doesn't always take us, sometime it tak

i'm khiree stewart in roanoke and tongiht at 11, hear what you should and shouldn't warm at night." defending daytona 500 champ joey logano drew a crowd today at media day leading up to sunday's race. travis wells had a front row seat for all the festivities at the world center of racing. travis: joey logano's season last year began with a win here in the daytona 500, but it ended in disappointment as he came up short in his bid for a championship. as he tries to go back to back in the 500 here this week, logano was in the spotlight on media day. joey logano/ defending daytona 500 champ: maybe i'm just one of those guys that likes to look forward and doesn't take the time to look back but it's really cool that we won the ment. but it's last year and it's in the past now. we've got to look forward. you want to have your name on that thing twice. you don't want to have it once and that's it. you want to keep adding to that. logano is proud to call himself a daytona 500 champ, but his boss, roger penske has refused to allow him to become complacent. joey: he has the ability to motivate

for now, live in bedford, khiree stewart, wdbj 7. >> george w. bush returned to the campaign trail for his brother jeb. he rallied voters in north charleston, south carolina, sharing what it takes to be president. he says he's sure his brother can do the job. >> it's a serious job that requires sound judgment and good ideas, and there's no doubt in my mind that jeb bush has the experience and character to be a great president. >> the former president point to the name-calling that's taken place in the 2016 presidential election. he also told the crowd, quote, we do not need someone in the oval office who mirrors and inflames our frustrations. >> the death of antonin scalia on saturday is leaving the with four conservative and four liberal justices. every gop presidential candidate has said the next president should appoint the replacement, but president obama pledged he would do it. >> i plan to fulfill my constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time. >> today, demonstrators gathered on the snowy steps of the supreme court

i'm khiree stewart in tonight at 11, hear from school leaders expect. covington high school is putting on the production, "always, patsy cline" tonight. it's the story of the famous singer and her relationship with louise seger, a fan who met cline at one of her early shows. it's a special performance for the alleghany highlands; as cindy williams, of laverne and shirley fame, takes the stage as louise. wdbj7 anchor nadia singh reports. cindy williams/actress "if they had a theater at the end of every school in this nation you would just see people flourish." these covington high school students got to hear words like that from veteran actress cindy williams, best known for her role as shirley feeney on laverne and shirley. we met up with her as she prepares to take the stage at curfman hall as louise in always patsy cline. cindy williams/actress "being on this stage in this auditorium, this theater it just takes me back to my high school and doing plays in high school." the play, written by ted swindley puts williams opposite jacqueline petroccia as th

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart is live on the wdbj7 weather deck with the do's and don'ts of heat melissa, roanoke is on the outage map, so officials want to safe and comfortable until those power comes back on. "the tv was on, and all of a sudden at 6:49, no more cable, no more tv, no more internet." "just came over here opened the shop and there was no power over here either." with cold tonight, it has many people thinking about how they're going to stay warm. "at least we have the flashlight and the candles. tiffany bradbury is roanoke city's fire specialist. she says the key to staying warm is layers. "cover up you extramedies, maybe socks, and gloves that's going to help you keep flashlights and things like that ready. a battery always good." bradburry says you should use battery instead of real ones... never put gasoline into a kerosine and never use a generator indoors. in carbon monoxide which of course is the silent killer. i gives you the and dizziness, cherry red lips, but if you're asleep, you're not symptoms and might on top of that, bradbury says you should never burn charco

i'm khiree stewart in lexington and tonight at 11, hear about a new program that will help customers. the world a president has to grapple with. sometimes you can't even imagine. that's the job. and she's the one who's proven she can get it done. ...securing a massive reduction in nuclear weapons... ...standing up against the abuse of women... ...protecting social security... ...expanding benefits for the national guard... the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who'll make a real difference for you. dale earnhardt, junior served notice last night in the can am duel at daytona that he and his 88 chevrolet will be a force in sunday's daytona 500. the two time 500 champ says there's no secret formula to his restrictor plate prowess. dale earnhardt, junior/starts third in daytona 500: it's sort of like you walk through this maze all day long, making choices on right or left, straight. and when it comes down to ten to go, you kind of take stock in what you did and see alright, am i in position to win? if you are you made some good choices that day. you don't real

khiree stewart, w- d-b-j-7. for the first time in there is no incumbent running roanoke. tonight, people were able to hear from both candidates hoping to take over. wdbj7's christian heilman was there as the two democrats talked the discussion few similar themes -- education, job working together as a region. it was part of a larger candidates forum hosted by the chamber. david trinkle is the for the city. sherman lea is a both are running for mayor. trinkle suggested offering the same usually reserved for smaller, existing ones. lea proposed town hall meetings in neighborhoods each quarter. brought up their largest concerns that they would tackle as mayor. david trinkle, roanoke mayoral considered a desert for mental health care, primary care and substance abuse care and for food -- sherman lea, mayoral candidate "i think that's because people need to have hope. people need to have shelter. people need to have a job." nine city council members also discussed issues earlier in the evening. we have more on that on wdbj7.com the democratic primary is this saturday from noon

w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart spoke with some of the people at the shelter. right now the appomattox community center is the only shelter open in the county. several volunteers and the red cross are there to help families who are going through a tough time tonight. "these are the kinds of things that we prepare for and train for all year long." when the wind and rain comes down, the community gets up and help. "trees snapped in half, houses cut right down the middle. we saw a couple of houses, all that was left was the foundation. churches with a lot of the roof ripped off. " nathan wittkamp is the executive director of the american red cross. he says they have about a half dozen volunteers at the appomattox and another 30 on standby to help feed and comfort victims. wittkamp says they'll provide the basics such as pillows and blankets, but said people seeking help should try and come with important documents. "forms of identification, prescription medicines, their wallets, their purses, their cellphones. just those emergency items they might need to identify

wdbj-7's khiree stewart talked with leaders at saint vincent's home in roanoke and tell us how they plan to make these people successful. "it's a daily struggle because we don't know how to help him get a job." jeanne oostdyk's son ryan takes classes at the blue ridge autism and achievement center. he's 18 years-old and oostdyk says she and her husband are concerned about their son's future. "once he's out of school, of course we want him employed. he wants to be independent, he wants to get married, he wants to live on his own. he doesn't want to live under our roof." those dreams are closer to becoming true for him and other young adults with learning disabilities. on tuesday, leaders of saint vincent's home announced the creation of adult and help the disabled find jobs and help families in crisis find counseling and take part in support groups. "there are multiple calls every week from parents who have adult children who are sitting home everyday. we have calls from adults that have to quit their jobs to care for their adult children after they age out of the public school district a

in lexington, khiree stewart,wdbj7. for the first time in more than a decade, there is no incumbent running for mayor in roanoke. last night, people were able to hear from both candidates about issues facing the city. this was part of the roanoke regional chamber's candidates forum. both candidates stressed the importance of working as a region to help attract businesses while explaining why they're the best person for the job. david trinkle is the current vice mayor for the city. sherman lea is a city councilman. david trinkle/roanoke mayoral candidate: "i will dedicate myself, my enthusiasm, my energy, to this city and i will be a great advocate for our city which i think i've shown and demonstrated." sherman lea/mayoral candidate: "i will commit to you that you will have a great neighborhood, a place to go. we'll have a strong educational system, your homes." nine city council members also discussed issues earlier. the democratic primary is this saturday from noon until 7 at the berglund center. researchers at virgin

thanks for joining us, i'm khiree stewart. it's been a breezy and cool start to the day. meteorologist lindsey anderson is in the weather center with more on what we can expect for the roanoke county police are still piecing together what happened after confirming that a man was shot by an officer. at 7:15 last night, they received a call that a man wearing a bandanna and hoodie was waving a gun off of route 419. we spoke with a witness who made the call to police. he says he was driving when he saw the man. thomas gill, witness "i saw his gun in the right hand. so he was waving it at cars and he turned around and he was waving it at me so i turned around and took a left and i called 911." amy whittaker, roanoke county spokesperson "officers then arrived on scene and they confronted the suspect which is just up the road from walgreens parking officer involved shooting that took place. the suspect was transported to the hospital." we do not know the person's condition right now. that witness tells us he heard at least five shots but it's not clear who fired all of them. da