Blacksburg ushers in the holiday season with Winter Lights Festival featuring Christmas parade

By Lynn R. Mitchell

 

The night was perfect for a Christmas parade … clear, a seasonably cold 35 degrees, and a small town in the mountains of western Virginia. It was the Winter Lights Festival and Christmas parade in Blacksburg as crowds lined the streets to watch the show … and entrants didn’t disappoint.

I walked out of the house and left my camera behind so had to use my iPhone for photos. Sorry for the blurry images and sometimes-poor lighting … but the merriment of it all comes through in the looks of happiness on children’s faces and the festive atmosphere. It was perfect.

Traveling the back roads from Staunton to Blacksburg offers a slice of America

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Thursday road trip! With SWAC Daughter and her husband now living less than two hours from Staunton, it was time for a day trip to meander the back roads and take the kids to lunch. With maps and a cooler in the car (the places we go aren’t GPS-friendly), we headed out to begin our trip to the land of Virginia Tech and expansive mountain vistas. It was time for a road trip to Blacksburg. Following Rt. 11, we traveled from Augusta County into Rockbridge where we passed through Natural Bridge and its scenic Blue Ridge Mountain backdrop.

On the back roads it’s easy to pull over and read historical signs with information about those who settled the area, nearby landmarks, and other events from the past. This sign is a reminder that the Shenandoah Valley was once the western frontier of the New World with outlying forts that protected settlers in this once-wild land.

Friday: The Weather Channel live from Blacksburg

By Lynn R. Mitchell

The Weather Channel is on the streets of Blacksburg, Virginia, this morning with the well-known Jim Cantore making live reports to Sam Champion back in the studio (see The Weather Channel broadcasting live from Blacksburg on Friday morning). Reporter Kevin Myatt noted:

If you see Jim Cantore somewhere in Blacksburg today or Friday, rest easy, all weather mayhem isn’t about to break loose … (and, sorry, Southwest Virginia snow lovers, it doesn’t mean your 2014-15 snow drought is about to be interrupted by thundersnow). Cantore along with Weather Channel severe weather expert Greg Forbes are scheduled to appear in a series of short live segments on The Weather Channel between 7 and 10 a.m. on Friday focusing on a visual presentation of the May 20, 2013, Moore, Oklahoma, tornado in the “CUBE” at the Institute for Creativity, Arts & Technology at Virginia Tech.

As a snow lover, if Mr. Cantore could break our snow drought, it would be appreciated.

Dominion’s Growth – What, Why, How, and Controlling Features

By Calvin T. Lucy Jr.
Guest Post

I would like to explain my opinion of the what and why of Dominion Resources’ general philosophy in dealing with customers, under any and all circumstances. Dominion’s basic business is service. I write from 40 years’ experience (1948-1988) of employment by Vepco – now a Dominion subsidiary —  to provide that service.

I am a Virginia Tech educated electrical engineer  — major electronics, minor 60 cycle power systems. By virtue of the well planned internal training philosophy of the company, my job varied functionally, first as an FCC licensed mobile-radio technician, through the ranks of electric distribution and transmission, electrical operations (at the Outer Banks and northeast North Carolina), human resources, executive level administration, information technology, business systems analysis, telecommunications and staff engineering.

Sad closure: Hannah has been found

By Lynn R. Mitchell

We all suspected the ending would be this way when human remains were found last Saturday at a remote house in Albemarle County which prompted police to call off all future searches and notify eighteen-year-old Hannah Graham’s parents. What, we wondered, had there been that made them so sure their hunt for the missing University of Virginia student was over?

Today officials escorted Hannah’s parents to the Old Lynchburg Road crime site in the morning, and then released the information that Hannah had, indeed, been found. Her parents have closure as opposed to wondering where she is, but what a sad way for this six-week journey to end (see Hannah Graham’s parents visit Old Lynchburg Road crime scene and Medical examiner confirms Hannah Graham’s remains found in Albemarle).

Dr. Kurt Michael appointed to Augusta County Library Board of Trustees

By Lynn R. Mitchell

Dr. Kurt Michael was appointed by Supervisor David Karaffa Wednesday night as a trustee to the Augusta County Library Board, a move that was unanimously approved by the board of supervisors. His term begins immediately.

Dr. Michael is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Liberty University. Before joining Liberty in 2012, he taught applied statistics and research method for ten years to gifted and talented high school students at the Shenandoah Valley Governor’s School. His experience includes more than a decade of teaching in the public schools plus several years at the college level.