Friday Night Scores

Brookville 19 Rockbridge County 14

Liberty Christian 50, St. Christopher's 8

Covington 29, Bath County 9

Magna Vista 36, Salem 35

Jefferson Forest 21, Staunton River 7

Riverheads 21, Stuarts Draft 14

Wilson Memorial 42, Appomattox County 35

Broadway 50, Amherst County 23

Northside 42, Robert E. Lee 14

Section of Parkway still closed

Part of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Bedford County remains closed due to a wild fire.

Forestry officials say the fire was started by a spark from a piece of mowing equipment.

The fire, in the Thunder Ridge area, has consumed at least 215 acres.

Up-to-date road closure information is available by calling (828) 298-0398. 

Wildfire closes section of Blue Ridge Parkway

About 20 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway is closed in Bedford

and Rockbridge counties, as firefighters battle a forest fire in the Thunder Ridge Wilderness area.

Firefighters closed the Blue Ridge Parkway between mileposts 66 and 85 to fight
the fire, which has claimed at least 215 acres.

No buildings or people are at immediate risk.

Christmas Baskets

The annual organizational meeting for the Rockbridge Area Christmas Basket Program will be held Monday, November 28, at 7:00 that evening in the Old Courthouse Meeting Room on South Main Street in Lexington.

All clubs, churches and civic organizations involved with delivery of the baskets should have a representative present.

Organizers of the program will review the setup and logistics for the program and the delivery of the baskets.

In its 63rd year, the Rockbridge Area Christmas Basket Program provides food and toys to needy families at Christmas.  

The packing of the baskets will begin at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Howard P. Anderson Arena at the Virginia Horse Center. Volunteers are needed and the packing is usually finished by noon.

Applications for a basket are being taken at the RARA Food Pantry, the Department of Social Services and the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic. The deadline for applications is Wednesday, November 30.

Financial donations to support the program can be sent to: P.O. Box 1030, Lexington, VA 24450.  

Football Playoffs

Rockbridge County defeated Rustburg 33-7 Friday to advance in the Region 3 Division 3 playoffs. The Wildcats will play in the Region 3 semifinals Friday night at 7 o'clock at Brookville. You can hear the game on Classic 96.7, 3WZ starting with the pre-game show Friday at 6:45 p.m.

Other Group AA regional semifinal matchups include Robert E. Lee at Northside, Amherst at Broadway, and Staunton River at Jefferson Forest.

In Group A playoff action Friday, Covington defeated Parry McCluer 28-12.

Election Results

Voters on Tuesday decided a number of state and local races.
In the 25^th Senate District, Democrat Creigh Deeds defeated Republican T.J. Aldous, receiving approximately 64 percent of the vote. In the 22^nd Senate District, Republican Tom Garrett defeated Democrat Bert Dodson by more than 8,000 votes. In the 23^rd Senate District, Republican Steve Newman easily defeated Democrat Robert Short Sr. If Tuesday's results stand, the Senate will be split 20-20 between Republicans and Democrats, giving the GOP a working majority, since Republican Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling holds the tie-breaking vote.
Republican Matt Fariss won the House seat from the 59^th District while independent Lacey Putney captured the House of Delegates seat from the 19^th District.
In Rockbridge County, Bucky Joyce was re-elected as Commonwealth's Attorney. Chris Blalock was elected Sheriff, Ronnie Campbell won the Board of Supervisors seat from the South River District, John Higgins took the seat from the Buffalo District and Betty Trovato was elected Treasurer. David Hinty ran unopposed for the Board of Supervisors seat from Natural Bridge.
In Buena Vista, Frankie Hogan was elected Mayor. It appears Margaret “ Sam “ Byers was the leading vote-getter for the School Board while Jane Armstrong, Lisa Clark and Steve Baldridge were elected to City Council.
In Glasgow, Sam Blackburn won the mayor’s job while Monica Dock and Ruby Ogden Clark took seats on the Town Council.
In Campbell County, Eddie Gunter Jr. won the Board of Supervisors seat from the Concord District, Steven Shockley took the seat from the Sunburst District, and James Borland won the seat from the Spring Hill District. Steve Hutcherson was the easy winner in the race for Sheriff.
In Bedford County, Bill Thomasson, Annie Pollard and Tammy Parker were the winners of seats on the Board of Supervisors. Julie Bennington and Kevin Willis took seats on the School Board and Mike Brown won the Sheriff’s race.

Robert Curd was the winner of the District 3 seat from the Amherst County Board of Supervisors.

In Appomattox County, Barry Letterman was elected Sheriff and Ronnie Spiggle won the Board of Supervisors seat from the Falling River District.

In Botetourt County, the winners of two seats on the Board of Supervisors were Billy Martin Sr. and Jack Leffel Jr.

Kevin Hall was elected Alleghany County Sheriff. Meanwhile, 62 percent of the voters in Covington and 55 percent of the voters in Alleghany County rejected a proposal to merge the two governments, to create the city of Alleghany Highlands.

Election Update

Ronnie Campbell won the race Tuesday for the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors seat from the South River District. Campbell got 589 votes, roughly 52% of the vote. John Higgins won the Board of Supervisors seat from the Buffalo District with 733 votes, compared to Janet Mogensen's vote total of 659.

Bucky Joyce was re-elected Tuesday as Commonwealth's Attorney for Lexington and Rockbridge County. Chris Blaylock was elected Rockbridge County Sheriff and Betty Trovato led in the race for Rockbridge County Treasurer.

In the race for House and Senate seats, Democrat Creigh Deeds led in the race for the seat from the 25th Senate District, Republican Tom Garrett had a big lead in the race for the seat from the 22nd Senate District, and Republican Steve Newman was coasting to victory in the battle for the seat from the 23rd Senate District.

You can hear complete election updates Wednesday morning on both Classic 96.7, 3WZ and AM-1450.

Body Found

In Rockbridge County, a hunter found a decomposed body Saturday near Natural Bridge, possibly the body of a U.S. Marine missing since September. The body was discovered in a wooded area near the Botetourt County line.

The body may be that of 30-year-old Stephen Wolchok, who went missing in September. His vehicle was discovered in Botetourt County September 22.

The body has been sent to the state medical examiner for autopsy. Authorities have not ruled out suicide.

Election Day on Tuesday

Voters go to the polls Tuesday, as Virginians decide a number of state and local races throughout the region.

Statewide, all 40 seats in the Senate and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are up for grabs.

In the 25^th Senate District, Republican Thomas “T.J.” Aldous is challenging the Democratic incumbent, Senator Creigh Deeds. In the 22^nd Senate District, Democrat Bert Dodson is battling Republican Tom Garrett. Dodson is a former member of Lynchburg City Council while Garrett is commonwealth’s attorney of Louisa County. In the 23^rd Senate District, Republican incumbent Steve Newman is taking on Democrat Robert Short Sr.

In the race for the House seat from the 59^th District, Democrat Connie Brennan of Nelson County is squaring off against Republican Matt Fariss of Campbell County. Linda Wall of Appomattox is running as an independent candidate. In the battle for the House seat from the 19^th District, Independent Lacey Putney, the incumbent, is taking on Republican Jerry Johnson and Democrat Lewis Medlin Jr. In the 24^th House District, Republican Ben Cline is running unopposed.
In local races in the Rockbridge area, Bucky Joyce and Josh Elrod are battling for Rockbridge County and Lexington commonwealth's attorney. There are three candidates for Rockbridge County Sheriff, Vernon Reynolds, Roger Clark and Chris Blalock.
In the battle for seats on the Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors, in the South River District, Ronnie Campbell, Gene Tilles and Eric Sheffield are the three candidates, while John Higgins and Janet Mogensen are the two candidates for the seat from the Buffalo District. Jay Lewis is running for the Rockbridge County School Board seat from the Walkers Creek District. In Glasgow, Sam Blackburn and Lynda Mundy-Norris Miller are vying for Mayor while Monica Dock, Ruby Ogden Clark, Sarah Funkhouser and Caleb Keckler are the candidates for three seats on Glasgow Town Council.
In Buena Vista, Frankie Hogan and Tommy Keiser are running for Mayor. City Council candidates include Jane Armstrong, Steven Baldridge, Lisa Clark, William Henry Fitzgerald, Lewis Plogger and Bob Thomas. Candidates for the School Board include Margaret "Sam" Byers, Teresa Ellison and Wayne Flint.

In Campbell County, in the race for the Board of Supervisors seat from the Concord District, the candidates are Gary Stewart, Edward Foster Jr. and Eddie Gunter Jr. In the Sunburst District, the two contenders are Tip Killingsworth and Steven Shockley, while the two contenders for the seat from the Spring Hill District are James Borland and Lorraine Blanks Potter. In the race for Sheriff, the candidates are Steve Hutcherson, Paul Adams and Richard Irvin.

In Bedford County, in the battle for seats on the Board of Supervisors, Dale Wheeler and Bill Thomasson are the candidates in District 1. In District 6, the contenders are Annie Pollard and Martin Leamy while the candidates are Tammy Parker and Kyle Williams in District 7. In the race for seats on the Bedford County School Board, L. Ricky Wilkerson, Julie Bennington are running for the District 5 seat while Kevin Willis and Debbie Steele Hoback are running for the seat from District 7. The contenders for Sheriff include Mike Brown and Chuck Reid.

In Amherst County, in the race for the Board of Supervisors seat from District 3, Robert Curd is challenging Leslie Irvin.

In Appomattox County, the candidates for Sheriff include Butch Bailey III, W. Todd Craft and Barry Letterman. There are two candidates for the Board of Supervisors seat from the Falling River District, Chad Millner and Ronnie Spiggle.

In the race for the Nelson County Board of Supervisors seat from the South District, the candidates include Joe Don Johnson, Johnny Ponton and Larry Saunders. The candidates for Commonwealth’s Attorney include Anthony Martin and Daniel Lee Rutherford. The three candidates for Sheriff include W. David Brooks, Mac Bridgewater Jr. and John Wright.

High School Football Playoffs

 

The pairings are set for high school football playoff action Friday.

In Region 3 of Division 3, Rockbridge County hosts Rustburg Friday at 7 p.m., a game you can hear on Classic 96.7, 3WZ, starting with the pre-game show at 6:45.

In other Group AA action, Staunton River plays at Harrisonburg, Amherst County is at Heritage, Fort Defiance meets Robert E. Lee, and Pulaski County is at Salem.

In Group A, in the Division 1 playoffs, Parry McCluer plays at Covington Friday night at 7 o’clock, with the pre-game show starting at 6:45 on AM-1450.

Elsewhere in Division 1, Altavista plays at Lancaster and Bath County is at Franklin. In Division 2, it’ll be Virginia High at Riverheads, Union at Stuarts Draft, Grundy plays at Appomattox County, and Central-Wise plays at Wilson Memorial.

Winter Storm Warning Update

The NWS Blacksburg office has updated their Forecast Area for a Winter Storm Warning. The Warning is in effect from 10:00 pm until 11:00 am Saturday.

The Warning includes Amherst, Bath and Rockbridge Counties in Virginia and Greenbrier County in West Virginia.

This Warning primarily applies to locations above 2500 feet and includes significant snow and sleet with accumulations from 4 to 6 inches. Precipitation will begin as snow and sleet this evening and transition to snow. Winds gusting up to 30 mph are possible.

Travel will be dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

I-81 Work

 

There will be bridge deck work on the southbound Interstate 81 bridge over Route 11 at exit 195 in Rockbridge County, in the Timber Ridge area, north of Lexington. There will be single lane closures on the bridge beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8 and lasting until 7 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13. The lane closures will be 24-hours a day.

There will also be a single northbound lane closure on Tuesday, Oct. 11 from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. at the Interstate 81 truck climbing lane project in Rockbridge County. The right lane will be closed between mile marker 196.5 and mile marker 197.5.

All work is weather permitting and motorists can expect delays. Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by dialing 511. 

Rockbridge County defeats Parry McCluer

Rockbridge County defeated Parry McCluer Friday night 48-7 in the 2011 high school football season opener for both teams.
It was the first regular season meeting between the two schools since 2002.
Ling Zheng scored two touchdowns while RCHS quarterback Porter Able rushed for a touchdown and threw for another score.
Parry McCluer quarterback Zack Stinnett scored the Fighting Blues' only touchdown of the night.

Fatal Accident

There was a fatal motorcycle accident Saturday in Rockbridge County.

The crash resulted in the death of Lee Woods of Craigsville. He was killed after his motorcycle struck a tree on Route 39 West, about a mile east of Route 780.

Woods was wearing a helmet. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Brush Fire

A brush fire in Rockbridge County has consumed roughly 15 acres.

Forestry officials say the brush fire is located in the Glasgow area.

Reports are the fire has been contained.

Rockbridge County Administrator Resigns

Rockbridge County administrator Claire Collins turned in her resignation on Monday. Collins became the Rockbridge County administrator in the fall of 2008.

Bob Claytor, director of fiscal services, will serve as the interim county administrator until a permanent replacement for Collins is appointed.

Drowning Saturday

35-year-old Wendy Lynn Tyree Maness of Madison Heights drowned Saturday after falling into the Maury River in Rockbridge County.

Authorities say Maness died Saturday afternoon around 1 o’clock during a tubing trip near Locker Landing in Glasgow. Her body was eventually discovered floating downriver where the Maury and James rivers intersect. Maness was pronounced dead en route to Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital in Lexington. Her death has been declared an accidental drowning.

Rockbridge County Investigation

The Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a larceny at the Orchard Creek Convenience Center in Raphine.

Two white males entered the store Saturday, broke into the manager’s office and removed nightly deposit bags, departing with an undisclosed amount of money.

Anyone with information on the case can call Rockbridge County Crimeline at 463-2878 or the Rockbridge Sheriff’s Office at 463-7328.

4th of July

Plenty of activity in Lexington and Rockbridge County for the 4^th of July holiday weekend.
There will be piloted and tethered balloon rides during the annual hot air balloon rally at the VMI Parade Ground. Other highlights during the event include food, music, vendors, kids activities, a tag sale Sunday and Monday, a balloon glow Sunday night and fireworks Monday night.
The annual Children’s bicycle parade will also be held in downtown Lexington Monday morning.

Ben Cline launches re-election campaign

 GOP Delegate Ben Cline has officially launched his campaign for re-election to the House of Delegates seat from the 24^th District. Cline made campaign appearances on Tuesday in Buena Vista, Madison Heights and Stuarts Draft.

Cline has been in the House since 2002. He says he’s been focusing on improving the local economy in several areas, including infrastructure, instruction, and incentives.

The 24th House District includes the Cities of Lexington and Buena Vista, Bath and Rockbridge Counties, and parts of Amherst and Augusta Counties.

Cline, who was re-elected to his fifth term in 2009, is Chairman of the Joint Health Care Commission and a member of the House Commerce Committee, Public Safety Committee, Finance Committee, and Courts of Justice Committee.