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The last couple of weeks have been fun, but busy. I have been casting people and working with Mike Mathis Productions In LA on a Documentary . Which was supposed to be shot Monday and Tuesday, well the snow came and they didn’t reschedule, which means some people cast can’t make it. So on the phone and computer for more finds. TLC TV does a show called Accidental Findings. This one is about a rare coin find owned by a gentleman in Salem & sister in Northen Va. It was owned by their Grandfather. Would tell you more but it would ruin the show for you. You might see some faces that look familiar. My Thanks to Fred Anderson, Patrick Moore, Chuck Lionberger, William Webster, Ed Easterling, Ben Umpenhour, Aaron Holland, Jayne Brill, and Kathyrn Sowers (Stand By). The stars from here. Thanks to Steve Musselwhite for use of his office for several scenes and Robyn Smith of the Roanoke Civic Center. Also Charlotte Bootie Bell Chewning Glover MM Productions LA & Bob Wise Director. & the family BOO_TEE@msn.com in Salem were so nice to work with. I’ll let you know when the show airs so you can all tune in to see our stars. Congratulations to Kevin & Kellie Goins who recently celebrated their 16th Anniversary. Hope you have many more. Also To Liz & Frank Radford on Feb 10 celebrating their 54th Anniversary. Now that is hard to believe. Congratulations !!!!!!! Jackie Glover has returned from a fun filled trip to Raleigh / Cary N.C. where she spent time with daughter Sarah and her family and on to San Francisco Calif. with daughter Laura. Where she
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stayed longer due to the weather. Travel these days can be tricky. . Glad you are back safe & sound. Happy birthday wishes go out to Brian Cramer, Susan Wood, Rodney Gentry, Sherrie Goins Gardner, Scott Luke , Bonnie Cramer, Barry Thompson, Dreama Ferguson Howard, Todd Booth Todd Foutz, D.C. Peters, Tyler Lyon , Kathy Beard, Hope you all Had or have a good one. Get well wishes and prayers go out to Becky Shaffer (Surgery Mon), Bill Hufton, Michele Yeatts (at Home), Eva Craig, May it help to know you all are in our thoughts. Welcome home Corrol Camden Sandhu . Corrol has been in for a few days from California visiting Mommy Sara and Brother Lee and Friends. It’s always good to see Corrol. Come back soon.
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In Brief Play for the Cure Night raises money
The February 3 Play for the Cure night between the William Byrd Lady Terriers and the Lord Botetourt Lady Cavaliers grossed $787.76 according to a released statement from WBHS Athletic Director Crystal Worley. “What a great life lesson for our athletes to compete in an athletic event, but to work together to fight a much bigger opponent,” Worley said.
Vinton firefighter Dip English, President of the Business Office
BRD Basketball Tournament Change
Alleghany was not able to travel Monday night to start the Blue Ridge District girls basketball tournament as planned against Northside. The play in game was scheduled to take place instead on Tuesday (Alleghany at Northside 6:00). The semifinals will now take place tonight (Wednesday, Feb. 17) at William Byrd between the playin winner and Staunton River and also the Lord Botetourt/William Byrd contest.
Main Photo by Dan Vance, Secondary by Danny Cruff
116 S. Poplar Street - Suite 1 Vinton, VA 24179 540-904-5836 - Office 540-904-5838 - Fax info@vintonvoice.com www.vintonvoice.com
EDITORIAL Chris Manning Publisher chris@vintonvoice.com Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief dan@vintonvoice.com Jacob Clifton Delivery/General info@vintonvoice.com
COLUMNISTS Bootie Bell Chewning General Info BOO_TEE@msn.com Erin DeLauder-Brooks Pharmacy askthepharmacist@vintonvoice.com Michele Gunter Lifestyle avoiceofreason@vintonvoice.com Amanda Stump Lifestyle (Female) news@vintonvoice.com
CONTRIBUTORS Danny Cruff Contributor dannycruffphotography@cox.net June Eanes Contributor news@vintonvoice.com Danae Wensley Contributor news@vintonvoice.com Barry Brooks Photography Special Contributors news@vintonvoice.com
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The Vinton Voice accepts and encourages letters to the editor. Letters must not exceed 400 words, must be signed and accompany contact information of the writer for verification purposes. Send to editor@ vintonvoice.com with the subject line ‘Letter to the Editor.’
Local band with Vinton ties to release CD Solrevolt, a local blues and rock fusion band, are hosting a CD release party at Blue5 Restaurant in Downtown Roanoke at the intersection of 2nd Street and Kirk Avenue on February 27, 2010 at 8pm, where they will be performing to promote the new release. The band, who has been playing together as Solrevolt since 2007, is comprised of four Roanoke City Forensic Crime Scene Investigators, Chad Sacra on keyboard and vocals, Buck Sink on drums, Rick Drewery on rhythm guitar, and Travis Barber on bass guitar, as well as Botetourt County’s Commonweath’s Attorney,Joel Branscome on harmonica. Lead guitarist and vocalist Scott Neal’s background is unknown. The band’s original music is heavily influenced by blues and rock artists such as B. B. King, Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers, among many others. Solrevolt performed for a fundraising benefit show at Blue5 Restaurant for injured Roanoke City Police Officer Brian Lawrence in June 2008,as well as two other related events following. The band performs monthly at area venues, and their schedule of upcoming events can be viewed at the band’s website, www. myspace.com/solrevoltband. Solrevolt’s new CD will be available at the upcoming February 27, 2010 event at Blue5, and the band very much hopes that anyone who loves improvisational rock and blues music will be in attendance.
Vinton Domino’s Pizza one of three to close.
Local Domino’s Pizza owner Tom Wallace has closed three local locations, including the Vinton location on Washington. The Williamson Road location in Roanoke and one in Rocky Mount also closed down last week. Reportedly, the parting of the ways between Domino’s and Wallace Family Enterprises comes due to issues with realignment and operations.
Obituaries CHARLIE PATTON ARTRIP, 67, of Vinton, took his last breath on earth and his first breath in heaven on Saturday, February 13, 2010. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Maureen and daughter, Jodi; brother, Rodney Artrip and wife, Mabel; sisters, Bonnie Shortt, Carolyn Artrip, and Marilyn Kuhn; and his special friend, Kevin Blocher. He will also be greatly missed by his faithful four-legged “boys”, Riley, Coco, Bud, and Skip. The family suggests memorials be made to Beaverdam Baptist Church. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Oakey’s Vinton Chapel and Crematory, 982-2221. FRED ALLAN WHEELER, 60, of Bedford County , went to be with his Lord on Sunday evening, February 14, 2010 at home with his family around him. Fred was a painter and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during Vietnam. He was preceded in death by his father, Creed L. Wheeler and nieces, Nicole Croft and Susan Wheeler. Fred is survived by his mother, Eva Dooley Wheeler of Vinton; daughters and sons-in-law, Alishia and Lynn Robertson of Blue Ridge, Crystal and Robert Hall of Thaxton, and Eva and Josh Sprouse of Hardy; special grandchildren, Chasity Shifflett and husband, Cory, Kayla and Brandon Hall, Emmy Sprouse, and Victor and Julie Robertson; great grandchildren, Haylea and Core Robertson; brothers, Doug, Bo, and Gary Wheeler; sisters, Jean Croft, Patty Mann, and Bonnie Henley; loving former wife and best friend, Libby Jones; special furry side kick, Buster; and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be conducted 12 noon, Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel with Rev. Carter Sloan officiating. Burial will follow in Old Dominion Memorial Gardens with military honors. The family will receive friends from 5-8 p.m., Tuesday, February 16, 2010 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 982-2221.
WAYNE LEE LOVERN, 58, of Vinton, went to be with the Lord, Saturday, February 13, 2010, after a long courageous battle with cancer. Wayne worked at Roanoke Gas Company, have 28 years service and enjoyed working on old cars. He was preceded in death by his father, William Lovern and 1 brother, Ted Lovern. He is survived by his wife, Yvonne Lovern; his children, Laura Hall; Stephen Lovern and wife Susan; Brian Lovern and wife Karey; Ginny Hultquist and husband Aaron; Kimberly Carnes and husband Michael; 4 grandchildren, Amanda, Kirsten, Brandon, Kayla, and 1 expected in May, 2010, “almost A.J.”; his mother, Katherine Lovern; 2 brothers, Kenneth Lovern and wife Doc. Ralph Lovern and special friend Diane; and many other loving relatives and friends. The family wishes to express a special thanks to Dr. Susan Marten and the staff of 10 South Oncology unit of Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Funeral Services will be conducted 12 noon, Monday, February 15, 2010 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel. Burial will follow in Franklin Memorial Park. The family will receive friends Sunday, February 14, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel (982-2221).
VOICE 03
So, I know a lot of people are tired of the snow about now. Currently, they say that we are on par with Anchorage, Alaska (I didn’t verify this, just took Jacob Clifton’s word for it) for snowfall for the winter. That’s got to be enough, don’t you think? Well, it got worse for me this weekend in those regards. My wife Ashlee had spent the last week with her sister who lives in Wilmington, NC. Essentially my kids Parker and Piper refer to this trip as a “trip to the beach.” Yes, I realize it is mid-February, but we decided to take this weekend and head down there for a short trip to see Mommy and Payden and hang out “at the beach” (also, I wasn’t going to miss Valentine’s day with Ashlee) There weren’t any big plans to go swimming or anything like that, but we figured the heavy coats and sweaters might be able be left behind. No such luck. The first three quarters of the trip was fine, we were making good time and figuring we’d get there just a little late for dinner, but enough time to hang out with Ashlee and Payden before everyone had to get some rest for the big day we had planned for Saturday. Around the time we got to Wallace, which is about 40 miles outside of Wilmington, the snow just started to pour! I went from doing 70 miles an hour (never a single mile over the speed limit officer, I promise) to doing 20. People were slipping and sliding all over the place and people were driving in the middle of the road because you couldn’t see where the lines on the road started and stopped. At one point it was pretty scary and that was from someone who has gotten used to driving in the snow all winter long, I can only imagine what it was like for these people who haven’t seen a real snow in so long they can’t remember. Some people just pulled over to the side of the road and refused to move. We finally got there and it was nice to get into a nice warm house, especially one with my gorgeous wife and the cutest little toddler you’ve ever seen waiting on the three of us to get there. Ashlee’s sister Megan was in awe, because she had only seen snow one time since she’s lived there and that night it was pouring. They eventually ended up with at least four inches, maybe five and it was strange to see this tourist town know for easy access to the beach, covered in snow. It Chris Manning didn’t last long, but it did last long enough for the five of us to chris@vintonvoice.com head to the beach. It was neat to see the snow covered sand and Parker and Piper were curious as to whether or not the ocean was going to be frozen when we got there. (It wasn’t, but when Parker got a little too close to a wave and got splashed from head to toe, it was him who was frozen.) We got to spend Valentine’s day together, the best Valentine’s day of my life until it was back on the road. We got back to putting this paper together Monday night so all of you would be able to read it Wednesday, but it was kind of funny, by the time I got to the office Monday morning, guess what it was doing…snowing. Spring time can’t come soon enough!
2010 the voice of vinton...this year and beyond 04 VOICE
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Vinton Chamber of Commerce Carpet Re-Stretching Professional and/or and Repair Business space has moved offices available, 540-776-9591 and is looking for the approx 400 sq. ft. following things. 116 S. Poplar St. 116 S.Poplar St., Suite Typist available for Woodland Square, 1A – Vinton, VA 24179 professional work off of Washington Ave. 540-354-8289 Call: 540-343-1364 580 4675
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Honor Roll for Bonsack Elementary School 3rd Grade A Honor Roll Brian Andrews Sarah Burnett Preston Hall Abbey Ingram Rashad Vaughn Bradley Woodcock Sam Dantzler Zachary Feininger Megan Grant Julie Nicely Parker Strauss Allyssa Davis Zac Jones Anna McSherry Maddy Nance Caleb Schaubach Emily Wheeler Megan Wu 3rd Grade AB Honor Roll Nick Cook Alex Fitch John McMahon Carson McRoy Hailey Paris Steven Sledd Rachel Warren Jacob Altice Katie Dillon Kerrigan Fallon Morgan Fletchall Rane Garman Grayson Hedrick Katey Letz Sumi Sekar Matthew Teatino Ellen Webb Trevor Weiler J.D. Castleman Alex Cosoreanu Madison Hensley
Jacob Lanning Carson Lilly Jordan Logan Quinton Mayhew Shane McCarthy Austin Nardo Melissa Phillips Gabe Plichta Blake Price Aaron Stanley Kayla Turner Katharine Williams
4th Grade A Honor Roll Brenna Donahue Everett Fetchall Julia Burek Luis Jerez Abigail Angel Elena Boitnott Andrew Brooks Emily Brooks Jared Brown Bailey Browning Ryan Buxton Luke Johnston Evamarie Pascoe Richard Qiu Joshua Tate 4th Grade AB Honor Roll Teju Algubelli Madison Byrd Riley Fininger Caitlin McIntosh Kaley Shoemaker Aalysa Stuckely Amber Asten Bryson Byrd Chloe Doss Allymarie Faulkner Lindsey Galliher
Bryan Johnson Will Johnson Prachi Kadyan Autumn Martin Hannah Sowers Jaylen Wheeler Jonathan Williams Kayleigh Wyatt Lauren Heck Christina Lee Shelby Northen Jack Rice Lauren Andersen Ashton Ashley Tanner Claybrook Maddie Craig Caleb Divers Kody Harper Joshua Hilliard Savannah Johnson MaryKate Price Courtney Brown 5th Grade A Honor Roll Kayla Altice Leah Andersen Adrienne Band Juliann Callaway Adam Catron Derrick Chocklett Alyson Dayton Anna Haught Madison Moses Keira Naff Jessica Stanley Nicholas Ward Molly Carpenter Britney Justus Westin Recktenwald Ryan Stanley Tyra Thompson Logan Henderson
Adam North Ashlyn St.Clair Grant Watson 5th Grade AB Honor Roll Bryce Campbell Megan Collins Ian Cossaboon Zane Duncan Nathan Garland Kelsey Harris Brock McRoy Jesse Settle Jason Spaar Meredith Webb Jacob Woodcock Madison Bailey Thomas Bryant Chase Caldwell Reagan Castleman Jensen Chrisley Trent Robinson Autumn Sayre Christopher Vandeberg Savannah Lindsley Josh Barker Jake Barker Ashley Davis Paige Garner Gehrig Spradlin Leah Gillespie Kayla Grubb Abby Neidigh Reed Plunkett Seth Schaubach Ali Shail Hannah Stewart Lauren Stringer Chase Dorsey
VOICE 05
Visualizing Vinton’s Past
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Barry Brooks Photography provided the Vinton Voice with our first edition of “Visualizing Vinton’s Past” with this photo of Vinton’s first Recreation Cheerleading Squad in 1960. The girls pictured, from left to right, are Janet Collins-White, Ellen Wilbon, Chee Chee PhillipsCroft, June Ellen Kelly and Jennifer Collins-Brooks. A special thanks to the gang at Barry Brooks Photography for this look back in time.
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Danae Wensley Town of Vinton For the past two months, the League of Roanoke Artists VinEvent Art Show at the Vinton Municipal Building has been home to the work of Donna Nevers, Carol Ftye, Barbara Perdue and Jane Wood. Their work was beautiful, and enjoyed by all who visited the gallery. We now welcome the paintings of Judy Lochbrunner, Rita Carroll and Lauri Waterfield to the gallery. Judy Lochbrunner (Roanoke, Va.) has painted since grade school and loves having fun with art. She has experimented with many different media and alternates between media depending on the piece, sometimes mixing them if the piece calls for it. Her pieces for the art show are fun, abstract acrylic paintings with a little bit of collage as well. Watercolor and oil artist Rita Carroll took art classes in middle
and high school, but started painting seriously in the early sixties. Her husband Steve gave her the first set of oils she owned. At that time her interest was in doing landscapes and still life and the oils greatly inspired her . Carroll is originally from Roanoke, but moved away when Steve’s job with Norfolk Southern transferred them to four different states. She continued her love for art by taking classes in Alabama, Florida, Indiana and Georgia. Carroll has a special story behind most of her pieces, such as traveling to France and painting the Entrance to Moulin de la Roque in Provence. She takes great pride and care in naming her pieces, in hopes that some of these personal stories will come through. Carroll still takes classes and workshops today as a way to learn new styles and techniques. “I don’t have any amazing technical skill or formal education [in painting]; it’s just God-given talent. But it’s rewarding and gratifying,” she said.
Lauri Waterfield (Martinsville, Va.) has been doing fine art work for as long as she can remember. She spent many years working as a textile designer and now paints with watercolor and oil. She credits middle school and high school art teachers, as well as her mother, with inspiring her love of art. “Growing up, I was not allowed to have electronics. My mother handed me a drawing pad and pencil instead,” she said. Waterfield finds inspiration from wildlife and landscapes. She particularly likes to paint little everyday things that go unnoticed, such as a flower growing out of the side of a rock or a red bird sitting in an icy tree. “People often forget how incredibly beautiful those things are. I want them to walk away with an appreciation for simple beauty,” she said. For more information about Lauri Waterfield, including a biography, gallery of her work and
her online journal, please visit her website at www.lauriwaterfield. com The LRA VinEvent gallery is located inside the Vinton Municipal Building, 311 S. Pollard St. The building is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Lochbrunner, Carroll and Waterfield’s work will be available for viewing or purchase until April 7, 2010. For more information about the Town of Vinton and the programs we offer, please visit our website at www.vintonva.gov. You can find us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook by searching for “Vinton.” In celebration of reaching 1,000 Facebook fans, we are giving away wonderful prizes! To enter the free drawing, go to our Facebook page, click the link and fill out the short form by February 18 (Town of Vinton employees and their immediate families are not eligible).
Everybody Reads the Voice
Sitting in the cab of a fire truck with the February 10 issue of the Voice in hand, Vinton’s Chris Linkous shows that even when you should be fighting fires... Everybody Reads the Voice.
VOICE 07
A Female Perspective
Its every teenage girl’s dream
It’s almost that time daughters, moms (and dads)…. Prom! Dinner, flowers, limos, after prom, pictures they are all fun but for most girls their more stressful decision (and might I say your stressful decision mom) is of course THE DRESS!! Where will you get it, how much are you going to spend, what type, what color the list goes on and on….. and on. Never fear though because there are plenty of options for this year’s prom goers! Let’s start with one of mom’s first priorities, the cost. Now times have definitely changed since I was in high school with the amounts that girls will spend on their “dream dress”. With all the expenses that accompany girls’ plans for prom (nails, hair, makeup and accessories) it might be best to sit down and make an overall budget with your daughter for everything that falls under the prom umbrella. One of the problems you might experience living in Roanoke is that there are realistically only a few places to go for prom dress shopping. Amrheins, Panache, Amanda Stump Patina’s and Brides House are info@vintonvoice.com usually the top four places in Roanoke for girls to shop. If you were lucky enough to have went to “It’s My Prom” in January you were able to see all of these stores and many of the dresses they have to offer in their stores. I have personally had some of my best experiences in shopping for prom and pageant at Amrheins and Brides House! This year there are so many options for girls from short form fitting cocktails to long princess and mermaid bottom dresses. Some of my personal favorites you can scan from the comfort of your home are Tony Bowles, Sherri Hill, Terani Couture, BG Haute, Alisha Hill and Jonathan Kayne ( I was fortunate enough to meet him in January and he is a great designer!). One thing girls sometimes forget when trying on and purchasing dresses for formal events is comfort… make sure that she is going to be able to move and dance in the dress (oh and breathe!). Also another option is to find a simple prom dress with only one color and use statement jewelry to finish your look. Large rings, chunky necklaces and earrings can make just as big a splash as 23,435,734 sequins and rhinestones…. oh and it’s a lot less messy! Now hair and nails… I would suggest booking your appointments early as many will wait til the last minute and then you are left running to crazy spots all over town to get to appointments! A lot of girls make the decision to do their own hair which saves you anywhere from $30-$50 dollars (mom and dad will thank you) but if you do want to make an appointment I would suggest The Best Little Hair House and Day Spa. Remember that the night will be fun and long with not only dinner and dancing but also After Prom! Be prepared to sweat a little and think
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about that when choosing your hair style. Up do’s you can never go wrong with at a formal event but keep it simple with little to no hair accessories. Side knots are in and corn rows are way out! For a little help here are a few of the latest from some of Hollywood’s red carpet events!
Lastly makeup… Number one BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT EARLY! Remember that your high school is not the only one in the valley probably having prom and make up counters can only handle so many appointments on Saturdays so if you have a preference give them a call soon! Also remember that when you book these appointments generally there is either a charge or they require you to purchase their products, you can never go wrong with at least purchasing the powder and lip color they use on you that day as you will probably need to re-apply throughout the night! Personally I’m a MAC girl so that is my recommendation to all Voice readers! Be sure that you go in with some ideas of what you would like your makeup to look like to help them make you feel and look your best, remember these pictures will be with you for years to come! I will leave all of you young ladies with one last thought… This is your prom so make sure that what you choose from the dress to your hair (oh and your date) makes you happy! This is one of the nights you will remember for the rest of your life so you need to enjoy it from beginning to end! “I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls.” –Audrey Hepburn Keep it Classy, Amanda
Michele Gunter, MSW, LCSW AVoiceofReason@vintonvoice.com Hello everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful week and enjoyed your Valentine’s Day. Take it easy on the chocolates; there is an ongoing battle against heart disease in this country. However, that’s another topic for another time. For this column, I would like to examine the healing power and qualities of forgiveness. In our last column, we examined love and Valentine’s Day. Well, forgiveness is closely tied to love and a key component to any love relationship we may have. “… If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.” – Mother Theresea We cannot have a healthy love relationship without forgiveness. If we cannot forgive our parents, past love partners, children, siblings, bosses, or anyone who may have “done us wrong”, we cannot move onto healthy relationships. Holding onto past hurts keeps people trapped in the past, unable to focus on the gifts and blessings of the present moment. We open ourselves up to healthy possibilities
for the present and future when we allow the healing power of forgiveness to work within us. Forgiveness is not easy. It also is not a single act, but rather a journey. We may sincerely forgive someone for a transgression against us, but we may not forget. We may never forget. However, you can CHOOSE to forgive today. The pain may return tomorrow, next week, or even next year. If that happens, choose to mentally forgive again. Remember the teachings of Jesus, in the gospel of Matthew: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven times. Matthew 18:21-23 (New International Version) It is difficult. Often, the attitude is, “No way! Not after what happened to me! I will not forgive.” Well, remember, to not forgive keeps you in the struggle. You are holding onto past hurts, past problems, and possibly creating a sense of anxiety, depression, and anger within yourself. If these emotions take root, they can affect other areas of your life, and even appear as physical symptoms such as a back pain or digestive issues. Remember, refusing to forgive can make your own life miserable and will allow the betrayer to claim you as a victim once again. You have a choice. When you do not choose forgiveness, you (by default) choose to remain the victim. So, at this point, the question is, “How do I forgive?” Perhaps the first step is to grieve the loss you have felt before making the choice to forgive. You’ve lost a moment of joy, or your
peaceful Saturday morning was interrupted. Yes, take a moment to grieve these losses. Maybe you suffered a larger hurt, such as a betrayal from a spouse or being bullied at school. Most likely, it will take you longer to grieve such an offense, but it is still an essential part of the process. In the event of a life altering, or even unthinkable offense, such as a divorce, or being the victim of a crime, it may take months, or even longer, to grieve. Yet, the grieving process is essential to move onto the task of forgiving. Next, empathize with your offender. Yes, that’s right, empathize. This is going to be difficult; it may even seem impossible. This does not mean excusing or belittling the behavior. Take off your own shoes and put yourself in your offender’s shoes. Ask yourself what would cause this person to behave in the way they did. Could they have misunderstood or misinterpreted the situation? Could you have maybe misunderstood the situation? Was there some misunderstanding or misinterpretation by both parties? Are they, or you, perhaps insecure, or somehow emotionally handicapped? Were assumptions made that maybe should not have been? Could you have been wrong? Once you have taken these steps, and feel comfortable with them, you are ready to make the choice to forgive. As a final thought, remember, forgiveness does not make you weak. Rather forgiveness is an attribute of the strong. You are opening yourself up to a better, healthier tomorrow. Until next time, I wish you all peace, love, and happiness.
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VOICE 09
The next two weeks we will be taking a look at the Vinton Fire and EMS departments. This week we will take a look at the career, or paid, side and next week we will look at the volunteer side. The town of Vinton has provided paid emergency services since the early 1990’s, the Fire & EMS is a combination of career and volunteer personnel. The career division has sixteen employees assigned to the town of Vinton. Together, with the volunteer team, they cover an area of seven square miles within the town limits and in the eastern part of Roanoke County. According to Lt. Chris Linkous, “the mission of the Vinton Fire and EMS is to serve the citizens of Vinton and East Roanoke County, protect lives and conserve property through the provision of professional fire, rescue and emergency medical services.” Prior to the town providing the paid services, an all-volunteer staff was the only protection for the town in regards to fire. Due to work and family demands, it became difficult, if not impossible for volunteers to fill the needs of those services during business hours, typically 6am to 6pm, while the volunteers serve nighttime and weekend hours. The Vinton Fire & EMS Department is lead by a professional paid team. The career captain serves as the department head, in charge of the career division; the fire lieutenant is in charge of the station when the career captain isn’t there; the EMS lieutenant is in charge of keeping the staff up to date with new EMS procedures, training and protocols. The Town staff is completed by four medic/firefighters and two firefighter/Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s). Roanoke County has assigned a fire lieutenant that shares the responsibility of the Town fire lieutenant in the absence of the captain, as well as three medic/ firefighters and three firefighter/ EMT’s. The leadership team provides a comprehensive training curriculum, including everything from basic fire suppression courses to Paramedic. The majority of the career staff works Monday thru Friday from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. on one of three 12-hour shifts. One Town medic/firefighter and one County medic/firefighter works on one of the three 24 hour shifts to cover an Advanced Life Support (ALS) medic unit around the clock. According to Linkous, a typical day for the career staff may include “answering many different types of emergency calls. Calls include,
Photos by Chris Manning (top) and Dan Vance (above)
The Vinton Firehouse, located on West Jackson Avenue is home to the local firefighters, who take on hazards large and small, including last month’s Burger King fire. but not limited to: structure fires, brush fires, vehicle accidents, hazardous material calls, EMS calls ranging from a minor scrape or
“We take great pride in working with our locality and look forward to providing excellent service for years to come.”
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cut to cardiac arrest, car fires, dumpster fires, carbon monoxide calls, and service calls such as downed power lines.” Also the department could also be seen answering mutual aid calls
for departments in other Roanoke County areas such as Hollins, Read Mountain and Mt. Pleasant. Occasionally they provide aid to Bedford County and Roanoke City as well. Along with providing fire and medical response, the town also provides public fire education and fire prevention including giving station tours to young children and making visits to Herman L. Horn and W.E. Cundiff Elementary schools to talk about fire prevention. Typically this is done during fire prevention week in October, but can be done throughout the year if there are special requests. They also give fire extinguisher training for local businesses. Linkous and the career staff are committed to excellence and serving the citizens and businesses of the town and surrounding areas, “we take great pride in working with our locality and look forward to providing excellent service for years to come.”
Valley Hall helps community, provides entertainment Chris Manning Publisher Next time you’re at a William Byrd sporting event, check out the uniforms they wear, same thing with Staunton River. When you read about something good that has been done by the Roanoke Civitan Club or the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce, wonder how they were able to do that. There is a pretty good chance the money for the uniforms and some of the things done by the Civitans were able to be paid for by money earned by the hours put in at Valley Hall Bingo.
Tom Frazier has owned Valley Hall for the last three plus years, and the Saturday and Sunday Vinton hot spot has been around since 1993. Frazier, after spending nearly two decades with McDonald’s, wanted to get into business for himself, and had been working bingo at Valley Hall as a volunteer for different organizations for a few years, “he [the owner at the time] approached me one day and asked if I was interested” Frazier remembers “and I was so I ended up buying it.” Frazier always wanted the opportunity to get into business for himself and this opportunity presented itself, “when this came around, it was a good opportunity and we wanted to keep it around for the booster clubs and other clubs like the Civitans” Frazier
says, pointing to some of the larger budget cuts that are now taking place, especially in the schools, realizing this revenue stream is now more important than ever for some of these non-profit organizations, “most of the sports groups wouldn’t be able to do their sports if it wasn’t for this” Frazier remarks. While the clubs are still going strong based on the “bingo money” a combination of a new Virginia law and the economy has made the start to 2010 a bit of a struggle. “Since we went non-smoking, we’ve taken a little bit of a hit, attendance has been down” he says. Some other places have decided to ignore the ban and deal with whatever the health department decides to do to offenders, but Frazier has been by the book since the law went into effect December 1. Currently, there is construction underway to create the legally approved smoking section and Frazier sees that being a huge benefit to getting some people to come back “we’ve had several phone calls asking if the section is complete yet, so I think its going to be good.” The players will be separated, but will still be playing the same game and the TVs will still be there and the room with be speakered and have a microphone so everyone can hear all the action. “The nonsmokers will not have to breathe the smoke and the smokers can smoke without having to go outside in thirty degree weather” Frazier says with a laugh. While bingo is as simple as B-I-N-G-O, there are many different ways to play and many different elements to make the games more fun and exciting as Frazier was able to point to six variations of the game off the top of his head. Frazier points to the bingo players themselves as what keeps Valley Hall going, “some people goes to the movies or out to dinner, these people play bingo, it’s their entertainment” he says. There are people who have been attending Valley Hall for years, in some cases since their doors were open and is a great benefit to have for everyone involved. Valley Hall has sessions every Saturday and Sunday and each session is run by a volunteer from one of the various clubs that partners and fundraises with Valley Hall, so the next time you’re looking for some weekend entertainment, give Valley Hall a try, no matter when you go, you’ll be helping someone in your community.
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Living during the War June Eanes Contributor Have you ever heard of “Meatless Tuesday”? Yes, it really happened during World War II. We ate only vegetables on that day. The government was sending so much food to our armed forces; we just gave up some things willingly. Gasoline was also rationed. Each family who owned a car was given a sticker to place on their windshield. One of three stickers – A, B, or C indicated the amount of gasoline you could buy. A being the smallest amount allowable, B received a little more and C meant the most gas. Sugar, coffee, meat, aluminum foil and anything made from rubber were a few of the things rationed. Grocery stores only received so much and when that was sold there was no more for that store for a while. The government sold Savings Bonds to raise money for supplies for the war effort. We had little books that we filled with savings stamps. Each stamp cost ten cents. You turned in a book that was full that had $18.75 worth of stamps. After 10 years the bond you had bought was worth $25.00. As a student at Roland E. Cook, I proudly stood in line to buy my two stamps each week. Louella T. Scott, the Principal, would sell stamps at a counter that once was used to sell candy bars. Hershey bars, like most other candy bars, sold for five cents. Chewing gum and coca-colas were also a nickel. As time went on these prices inched up to seven cents and then to a dime each. Since there was no TV, the only news we heard was on the radio. If you were lucky enough to have money for the movies, the newsreels gave us real moving pictures of the horrors of war. These bits and pieces of news served as conversation pieces for all who saw them because everybody knew someone in the military services. Young girls and ladies could not get nylon hose so they painted their legs with a lotion purchased at the drug store. After the lotion dried, a special pencil was used to draw a line down the back of the legs. Just try to draw a straight line down the back of your legs. Very hard to do! This gave the impression of a seam. Oh yes, hose used to have a seam in the back. It was a real job trying to keep those seams straight. At last, seamless hose came to the market much to the delight of women. Ott Goode owned a dry goods store on Lee Street. It was the closest thing we had to a department store in Vinton. One whole storefront window was turned into a photo window. Families would let Mr. Goode borrow a picture of their sons and brothers in their uniform. Most of the pictures were 8x10, so we could see the young faces of those men and women who were drafted into or had joined the service. Many young men gave false birth dates so they could go to fight for our country. As news came that some were wounded or killed the families allowed the pictures to remain. All of Vinton could express their love and concern for the families. This was the patriotic thing to do. Things settled down after the war, but for our generation those days are embedded in our hearts and minds. Our respect for those who went to war is enduring.
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Edsall heads to state to end swim season >WBHS sophomore will be lone Terrier as pair of relay teams fall short in their bids William Byrd coach Krista Martin described last weekend’s Region III swim meet as ‘bittersweet.’ While top Terrier swimmer Kacy Edsall will return to the State meet next weekend in two events, a pair of highly regarded relay teams will not be joining her. The 200 Medley team of Courtney Heck, Michelle Rose, Caitlin Gerig and Edsall and the 400 Free team of Heck, Gerig, Edsall and Morgan Liptak both placed in seventh place, but did not make the state cut time to advance on. “We had some close races and some best times,” Martin said. “Our girls relay was really disappointed that they did not place in the top four or make the state cut to earn them a spot at the state meet this weekend; I’m disappointed for them too. I was really hoping to take a group up to compete at state.” Edsall however flourished in the James Madison pool, placing fourth in the 200 Free
and third in the 100 Free to advance to the State meet this weekend and Old Dominion. It is the second trip to the State meet in as many years for the Terrier sophomore. “I can’t wait to watch her swim and see what she can do. There’s going to be great opportunity to race and go for a best time,” Martin said. “Kacy’s goal is to be one of the top finishers in each of her events, I think she can do it.” As the majority of the swim season has wrapped up outside Edsall’s state appearance, Martin is happy with many strides the program took during the course of the season. Several girls, according to Martin, were close to making state cuts in individual races leading her to believe Byrd may have a strong showing next year in Regions. “Overall, I am very pleased with our season; I’m happy that so many kids came out for the team,” Martin noted. “One of the best parts of
my job is watching them get better and better all season and they really did that. The swimmers worked hard in the pool this year.” Martin also noted her boy swimmers stepping up in areas where they lacked roster depth, how excited she is for the current eighth graders to be able to compete next year and the leadership of captains Ariel Lackey and Brittany Lane. The girls, as Martin noted with pleasure, took home a Blue Ridge District title –a highlight for the season for the girls, Martin herself and assistant coach Kyndal Terrell. In addition, Martin was the BRD Girls Coach of the Year. “I was really honored to be named BRD Girls Coach of the Year. I’d like to think of it as a reflection of how hard the girls worked this year and what they accomplished,” Martin said. The state meet starts Friday at ODU and will continue on Saturday.
Grapplers end season with no state placement The William Byrd wrestling team’s season came to an end, Saturday the 13th at Turner Ashby. The Terriers fell in the Region III tournament, not making much of an impact overall as a team. The Terriers finished thirteenth, behind district foes Alleghany (12th) and Staunton River (3rd.) Turner Ashby was the Regional champion. Another disappointing fact for the matmen is the fact that not a single wrestler qualified for the state tournament, after several having high expectations from Coach Reed Carpenter, “I expected to qualify a couple guys” Carpenter said “we thought two or maybe three guys would have gotten through, we lost our best guy earlier in the year, I’m sure he would have qualified, but things just didn’t go our way and we didn’t wrestle very well.” Derek Sheehan and Dustin Woods both finished fifth, just one win away from qualifying and Zack Johnson finished sixth. “There were a couple other guys, if they wrestled better, they could have qualified” Carpenter said “if Garfield [Harris] would have won his last match he could have qualified too.” All year long, Carpenter pointed out that he had a young team that was still learning and with only losing two seniors, the bulk of this team returns with another year under their belt and possibly a chip on their shoulder with their disappointing finish. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen and if we can get these guys interested in working out a couple times a week in the off-season and going to off-season tournaments we could see an improvement” Carpenter remarks “but it isn’t going to just happen, they have to put the work in.”
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Saturday’s extended senior day included honoring several cheerleaders, including Amber Cannaday (1). Also between the girls and boys varsity games, all eight WBHS boys basketball seniors (Jake Mankin, Derrick Palmer, Will Trent, Ben Hayden, Michael Hammond, Leon Williams, Jordan Ronning and Eric Pearson) were honored. The high energy was also clear in warmups as Ronning (2) and others took flight with a barrage of dunks. In the game, the Terrier unleashed a flurry onto the Cavaliers of Lord Botetourt, starting with Hayden who hit four three-pointers and scored all 15 of his points in the first half (3). Other seniors, Palmer (4) and Pearson (5) took on some of the scoring load as well by being part of 12 different Terriers to score during the 50-point thrashing. The big game for Byrd also gave the crowd the chance to see what next year will look like for WBHS when juniors Zach Barnes, Nick Janowicz, Tyreik Talley, Scott Cole and Eric Slone took to the court together late in the game. The five scored a combined 17 points in the contest, led by five points from Barnes (6), who hit one of eight Terrier three-pointers. On Sunday in Salem, longtime Vinton coach Ricky Carr was inducted in the Salem-Roanoke Baseball Hall of Fame (7) with Billy Wells, Gary Gilmore and Dick Williams. Several of Carr’s former players were on hand to take in the festivities (9, adjacent page). Photos by Danny Cruff (1, 3, 4, 5), Dan Vance (2, 6) and Jacob Clifton (7)
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The girls basketball team seniors “wrapped up” their Senior Day on Saturday by giving coach Fran Recchia’s car the plastic wrap treatment (1) outside the school. The fun followed the game, where several girls helped bombard Alleghany, including rebounds from Haley Overstreet (2), buckets from Jodi Overstreet (3), first-time varsity play from freshman Brianna Mack (4) and the typically hardnosed play of Ashley Smith (5). Before the game, each of the four seniors (Emily Hanna, Lauren James, Brittany Mattox and Samantha Webster) were honored (6).
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The JV basketball teams took the court once each this week with Kassie Brammer (7) and the girls falling to Staunton River Thursday and Timothy Buchikos (8) outreaching Lord Botetourt in overtime in the final game of a triple header on Saturday afternoon.
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Williams’ double-double helps route of LB >Senior posts 15 points, 11 rebounds – is joined in double figures by three other Terriers in 50 points BRD victory Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief
Photos by Dan Vance
ABOVE: Senior Leon Williams takes the ball up for one of his baskets on Saturday. Williams came off the bench to post a career-high 15 points in the win. RIGHT: Michael Hammond is fouled as he takes a shot on Saturday. One of eight seniors honored, Hammond scored 15 points for his second consecutive double-digit game against the Cavaliers.
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If you told most people that Byrd senior Jake Mankin was held to 15 points and did not score his first field goal until over two minutes into the second half, they may go as far as to question if the Terriers managed to even win their game Saturday hosting Lord Botetourt. Not only did they win, they did so in style, pouncing the Cavs 89-39 on Senior Day. Where Mankin may have lacked from his 25-plus point per game average, 11 other Terriers picked up the slack, led by 15 points and 11 rebounds from Leon Williams, the senior who was instrumental early in the season on defense against post players, including Cave Spring’s Josh Henderson. Williams played aggressive and took the ball strong to basket, catching the Botetourt team – clearly planning to key in on Mankin – off guard. “They had the same plan a lot of people have had with Jake and we have guys that make shots,” coach Dave Culicerto said. “Shooting the ball is kind of contagious either way. You can shoot it well and thats how everybody shoots it or you can shoot it poorly and thats how everyone shoots it.” Williams was far from alone in shining through in the trouncing. Two more seniors, Ben Hayden and Michael Hammond pulled their weight with 15 and 13 points respectively. The game was already out of hand for the Cavs in the first half, where the Terriers hit them with a barrage of three-point shots including four from Hayden, who had all 15 of his points in the opening half. Senior point guard Derrick Palmer also chipped in a rare hit from deep early on, leaving the Cavaliers to have no choice but to give up their ‘box and 1’ defensive strategy meant to contain Mankin’s scoring prowess. “It makes the game a lot more fun when you are shooting well,” Culicerto said. The area’s leading scorer
wrapped up the first half with just four points, all free throws. The Terriers led 47-17 at the break. In the second half, it was the Byrd reserve players causing the damage, still led by Williams and fellow senior Jordan Ronning. Even as Byrd held back some, on this particular day they were too strong for even the best Botetourt team, even outscoring the Cavs 24-8 in the final session, pushing the lead to 50 on a Zach Barnes three-pointer. Ronning led the non-double digit scorers with seven, followed by five each from Barnes and Palmer. Tyreik Talley and Nick Janowicz had four a piece, while Eric Slone, Scott Cole and Eric Pearson each scored two to contribute to the overwhelming cause. “We don’t want to embarrass anyone,” Culicerto said. “We stopped our presser and went into our half court man. We haven’t had so many wins where we could coast to victory and it was a good feeling to have.” The win came one day after Byrd lost their bid for second place in the Blue Ridge District regular season standings with a loss at Alleghany, 57-45. The Terriers trailed by 12 after one quarter and never made up the deficit, keeping things even the rest of the way. Mankin led with 25 points, Palmer and Slone added 10 and eight points each. “They took the take to us early on,” Culicerto said. “We just couldn’t get going, we were very sluggish and lethargic. They were pretty sharp and we couldn’t answer their energy at all.” Byrd pairs up with the Mountaineers tonight at Staunton River in BRD Semi-Final action. “I think our guys realize that we have to play at our best to beat anybody, particularly a good team like Alleghany,” Culicerto said. “They feel good about themselves and I think they are ready to play on Wednesday.” Prior to Saturday’s game, seniors Mankin, Palmer, Hayden, Hammond, Williams, Ronning, Pearson and Will Trent were honored.
Byrd tops Alleghany, earns three-seed for BRD >Girls bounce back after third Staunton River loss to throttle Mountaineers on Senior Day, avoid BRD play-in game Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief
Photos by Danny Cruff
ABOVE: Samantha Webster scraps for the ball against Alleghany on Saturday. The win for the Terriers, plus a Northside loss on Saturday night, puts Byrd as the threeseed for the District tournament. RIGHT: Senior Lauren James brings the ball up the court last week at Staunton River. Byrd struggled to score in the second half, putting up just five points and falling for a third time this season to the only undefeated team in the District.
Saturday was simple for the William Byrd girls basketball team if they wanted to avoid a District tournament play-in game and potential semi-final meeting with Staunton River. All they had to do was win and hope for a Northside loss that night. As it turned out, winning was the easy part. Coach Fran Recchia got help from all over the place and deep into her bench with a 64-45 win over the visiting Mountaineers of Alleghany. “We felt like we had something to prove from the first time we played them,” Recchia said. After the emotions of the senior day presentation were wrapped up, the girls went quickly to the offensive, shooting out to a 14 point halftime lead off the inside -out play of Samantha Webster and Brittany Mattox specifically. “The emotions were high, the kids were very excited to play; they played with each other, the played together and they played for the seniors,” Recchia said. Samantha Webster led the way with 24 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Brittany Mattox’s 12 points and five assists. Jessica Rhodes had eight points, Haley Overstreet had six. “Getting the young kids in there is great because they are going to be the future of this program,” Recchia said. The girls went through their entire bench, including seeing freshmen Lindsey Carver, Katie Abelseth and Brianna Mack seeing playing time. Recchia also received help off the bench from Haley Overstreet, who picked up the slack when Rhodes was put in foul trouble early and without Kam Hagins, who was sick and not in the lineup on Saturday. The other half of Byrd’s perfect day came at night when Staunton River shutdown Northside and elevated the Terriers to third in the Blue Ridge District, setting up tonight’s game at Byrd against
Lord Botetourt. Last time the two teams played, Byrd missed seven uncontested layups. “That’s very important for us,” Recchia said of moving from the fourth seed to the third seed on Saturday. “Really the most important thing for us is that we are in control of our future.” The win for Byrd Saturday was critical momentum-wise coming out of Thursday night and a tough loss visiting Staunton River, 3931. It was Byrd’s third loss to the Eagles this season and came after opening up an eight point lead at halftime. After that lead, the Terriers managed just five second half points with only one made field goal. Staunton River countered the low scoring half of Byrd with 21 points to stay perfect in the District. “They did a good job defensively covering Sammi a little bit better in the second half,” Recchia said. “We were able to get some high-low looks [in the first half] that just weren’t there in the second half.” Staunton River had foul trouble with their key post player in the first half. Rhodes had 12 points to lead the Terriers, followed by 10 from Webster, who hit WHBS’ one shot from deep. Emily Hanna added five and Mattox had four points in the loss. “If you score five points in a half, you aren’t going to win too many games,” Recchia said. Recchia also hopes that Wednesday’s fourth meeting with Lord Botetourt will not be the end to the season for her senior class who was honored Saturday, then later celebrated their coach by wrapping her car in plastic wrap outside of the school, all in good fun. Webster, Mattox, Hanna and Lauren James all exit at the end of this season. “They are a great bunch of girls, they are smart kids that come from really good families,” Recchia said of the seniors. “They’ve kind of helped me build this program. So it’s going to be bittersweet to see them go.”
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Offensive showcase salvages Valley Shootout >Weather postpones event for one week, leaves previously large slate with single game Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief It was not as planned and with plenty of hitches, but the Member One Valley Shootout – or the remnants of what it once was to be – took place on Saturday night as Christ School (Arden, North Carolina) paid Roanoke a visit to do battle with Patrick Henry. While the “Battle of the Big Men” between Christ School’s 7-foot Marshall Plumlee and Cave Spring’s sub-7-foot Josh Henderson was preempted by a combination of weather and Cave Spring’s rescheduled District game with Salem, the Greenies and Patriots still put on a show. In what was once planned to be an eight-team showcase of some elite national talent, the two teams more than picked up the slack with Christ School’s offensive barrage being just a little too much when all was said and done, 96-76. The game between PH and CS was finalized just in the past week with so many cancellations forcing Cave Spring out of the Shootout. “With such short notice, you don’t really know what to expect,” Plumlee, a junior, said. “We came here and this is a wonderful opportunity and I know we all really enjoyed it.” Plumlee, the main target of the Patriot defense, managed just 13 points but pulled down 11 rebounds. “The fans and the atmosphere...it made a great environment. It was a lot of fun,” Plumlee added. After an early crowd-pleasing run for Patrick Henry, Christ School ran away in the second half, including back-t0-backto-back trips with big time dunks from Plumlee, Demarcus Harrison and Brandon Lopez “We came in knowing this was going to make us better,” said game high scorer Harrison, a junior with an offer to play at Virginia. “It’s a wonderful opportunity because we have states coming up and we can get used to playing back-to-back.” The Greenies had played Friday night in Greensboro. “First thing is first and our state championship and some teams we are really familiar with. We are going to work hard to get another one,” Plumlee added. The diversity in opponents in various states will only help the nation’s 16th ranked team, who received a national high school tournament invite recently. Saturday’s win pushed Christ School to 32-1 on the year. “We get exposure and we get to play a lot of guys,” Harrison said of playing so many different teams from different areas. “We get to get our confidence up and go in strong.” T.D. Dixon led the way along his fellow juniors Plumlee and Harrison, he had 24 points. South Carolina-bound guard Eric Smith had 13 points and Tony Kimbro had 12 for the Greenies. Recent Western Valley District champions Patrick Henry were led by Ty Smith’s 25. Smith hit four of PH’s 12 three pointers in the game. Christ School sank nine from deep.
COMEDY NIGHT IN VINTON Presented by the Vinton Voice! SATURDAY, FEB. 27 - 8:30PM ADMISSION: $8.00 STARRING:
Kelly Terranova
Be ready to be taken on an energetic, hilarious and slightly cynical look at America's pop culture icons... from figure skating to NASCAR to Crocs shoes to riverboat gambling. Terranova was a finalist in both the Funny Bone Comedy Club's World Series of Comedy and Carnival Cruise Line's Las Vegas Carnival Comedy Challenge.
AND SPECIAL GUEST:
Pat Miller
Americana with a dark side and cutting style. Pat has starred in a number of films including Maximum Overdrive and Raw Deal.
HOSTED BY:
Steve Cannon
of the John Boy & Billy show on
RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED.
Photos by Dan Vance
LEFT: Demarcus Harrison drives to the basket for a slam as the Greenies pulled away in the second half on Saturday. RIGHT: Christ School junior Marshall Plumlee takes the ball to the basket in the first half.
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VINTON OFF TRACK BETTING CENTER 1135 Vinyard Rd. (behind McDonald's on Rt. 24) (540) 278-1120 . colonialdowns.com
•‘TRENT’ continued from page 20 “That’s what basketball is to me. It puts everything in perspective– in the long run, we are all going to be friends.” He keeps that fun up through sports even when he is off the court. Trent is a regular in the student section for girls basketball games and could be seen taking in January’s Big Orange wrestling tournament at Byrd, all part of what Trent considers returning the favor for all of those who support he and his teammates each game. This spring, he also will take his sporting fun to another court as he plans to play tennis for Byrd. While he has no organized history in the sport, it is something he has played casually with his parents and grandparents. Trent says tennis, while being able to play with a few friends and a coach that he likes, is appealing because it is something he can play his whole life and not just until his knees give out like with basketball.
While he makes sure to note that sports are pretty much is life, Trent is looking forward to the next chapter of his life as well. He gained early acceptance to James Madison University, where he could go to pursue journalism, but is also waiting to hear back from Virginia Tech this spring. Either way, he knows he wants to keep sport a big part of his life. “I like journalism and I think JMU has a better journalism program but I am still leaning towards Tech a little,” Trent says. “I like the idea of coaching....I’d like to keep playing basketball, just not at a higher level, not as competitive.” If he does decide to follow in his father’s footsteps of coaching, Trent already has a small start. He spent time last summer at Roanoke College working with younger kids, teaching them the game. Equally, he tries to provide a teaching role to some of the younger players within Byrd’s team, noting that he likes working with junior guard Scott Cole to help make him and others more consistent players for their future seasons.
With college ahead, Trent can also look back fondly on how his discipline and work ethic, his friendships and his athletic prowess all come back to one place– home. In fact, it is hard to go through a conversation with Trent about his life or his sporting career without him at least fondly mentioning his father and the things that he instilled in Will, including hustle, hard work and determination. They are things that Culicerto takes notice of as Will wraps up his senior season. “He’s the kind of kid that high school athletics are all about, the kid who gives it everything he has,” Culicerto says of the younger Trent. “It makes it rewarding,” Trent shoots back. “I do put in a lot of work in the classroom and in the gym and I am glad he would say something like about me,” he says humbly. Chances are, most people who know Will Trent would echo Culicerto’s sentiments word for word The kind of kid high school athletics are all about– that is Will Trent.
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Photo by Dan Vance
Will Trent:
‘The kind of kid that high school athletics are all about’ Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief You can classify Will Trent as grateful if nothing else. He is grateful to be where he is, grateful to have the friends and the opportunities he has been given. Trent, a senior member of the William Byrd basketball team, is known for being that reliable one. It is a trait that he and other observers will credit to his father, legendary area wrestling coach Barry Trent. “No matter the sport, dad helped me create a good work ethic,” Trent says. “I just didn’t really like to wrestle, I like watching it...but I just fell in love with basketball.” His love saw him through eighth grade, but the chronic pain from his Plantar fasciitis, an inflammation in his feet, kept Trent from pursuing basketball on the high school level for two years. But then, with the pain lessened, Trent took a chance and went out for the basketball team his junior year. His determination and his jumpshot landed Trent a spot on the varsity squad at Byrd. With a smile and slight laugh, Trent remembers how it surprised some of his friends for him to come in and make the team. But Trent, showing his patience, says he wasn’t expecting to go in and play right away, but rather earn his time even though he couldn’t, as he puts it, “play a lick of defense.” With a small role as a junior, Trent went to work over the summer of 2009 with his teammates and caught the eye of coach Dave Culicerto. “He worked very, very hard in the offseason and worked himself into a lot of playing time and even a starting position,” Culicerto says. The starting position developed late in December when he began practicing in the starting five headed toward a meeting with Christiansburg. But weather delayed that game and his time in the starting lineup, a move he eventually made during the Northside Invitational Tournament against Brookville. Trent scored nine points in that tournament opener, his season high. But simply unselfish in nature, he is just as quick to perk up about an assist he’s thrown as he would his point total. “He’s the kind of kid you just like watching progress, to see them come from where they were to where they are now,” Culicerto adds. The play over the course of the last summer also helped Trent develop and strengthen bonds with his teammates both on and off of the court. “It helps with the chemistry,” Trent says of the close bonds with his teammates. “I’ve been with Derrick, Ben and Mike since elementary school.” Trent also has a close friendship with fellow senior Jordan Ronning, who lives down the street. Among the things he has experienced with Ronning, Trent laughs at some YouTube basketball videos that recently resurfaced of he and Ronning goofing around a few years ago. “That was just us goofing around way back in the day, having a little fun,” Trent says with a wide smile.
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•See ‘TRENT’ - page 19