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Roanoke County Public Schools and Carilion Clinic have announced the next step in their long-standing partnership to promote regional workforce development. Carilion Clinic will be investing $1.25 million over the next five years into the Campaign for Excellence, a capital campaign aimed at supporting local graduates pursuing careers in high-demand industries.

The first $80 million of these funds has been spent on the construction of a 123,000 square foot state-of-the-art instructional space dubbed the Roanoke County Career and Technology Center – RCCTC for short. Construction began in September of 2024, and officials say the center is set to open in early 2027.

Jason Suhr, Director of Career and Technical Education for Roanoke County Public Schools, says the new center will replace the Burton Center for Arts and Technology, “The career and technical education programming at Burton Center is all moving to the new center. In addition, we’ll be adding a minimum of three, if not five or six more programs for our students.”

Suhr says that CTE centers, like the Burton Center, and the upcoming RCCTC, are crucial for showing students – especially those who don’t already know what they want to do – what their options are, “[We’re] Making sure that our students know that these  opportunities exist, and getting them as efficiently to their future career as possible. And when I say as efficiently as possible, you know, we’re talking money and time.”

He adds that Roanoke County students will not be the only ones benefiting from this new center. Eventually, he says the RCCTC will add evening courses for adult workforce development training.

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Do you know an unsung hero? Someone who normally works behind the scenes and avoids the spotlight? They may be a good candidate for the third annual United Way of Virginia’s Blue Ridge “Local Heroes Project,” looking to salute those making an impact in several categories. Nominate the person working hard to do good behind the scenes by April 10 on the United Way of Virginia’s Blue Ridge website, in one of these 6 categories – Health, Education, Financial Security, Volunteerism, Advocacy and Leadership. Those selected will be honored at the annual Celebrate United event in June.  WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

Nominate an unsung hero here

For the first time in 15 years, the Greater Roanoke and Alleghany region will have its rural transportation plan amended. Alison Stinnette, a Regional Transportation Planner with the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, or RVARC for short, says it is time to update the district’s rural long-range transportation plan. She says the document – due once every 20 years – is designed to help localities plan their upcoming transportation projects, but to her its more than a legal requirement; it’s a glimpse into the region’s future, “It is really supposed to be a big snapshot of our region, and identify what the goals for the next twenty years are for the rural areas within our region.”

Stinnette says that future is not being shaped by the County and Commission planners alone, though. She says the RVARC has already looked at community feedback on ongoing transportation plans across the Greater Roanoke and Alleghany region, but now they want to hear directly from residents what they want to see in the new plan, “We really want the public to participate because we want their feedback in this process. You know, they’re the ones that are impacted [by] infrastructure, services, and everything that we may be recommending to implement in these communities.”

The RVARC’s public Rural Long Range Transportation Plan Survey will remain live through the end of April 2026. Paper copies of the survey are available at the RVARC Office at 313 Luck Ave SW, Roanoke, VA 24016. You can access the survey online using the link below:

https://engage.rvarc.org/2045-rlrtp

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Former Roanoke Mayor Nelson Harris says addressing homelessness requires more than just providing shelter—it demands comprehensive services that tackle mental health and substance abuse challenges increasingly affecting people on the streets.

Harris joined Roanoke Area Ministries’ latest fundraising push Tuesday, promoting the Star City Challenge, a social media-driven campaign asking donors to contribute at least $25 to help complete the $4 million Jain Care Center on Elm Avenue.

“I think we see more fabric of homeless,” Harris said during a live interview on WFIR. “We see not only people that are unemployed but people that are suffering from substance abuse and mental health issues and other kinds of things.”

Melissa Woodson, executive director for RAM House, said the new center addresses fundamental needs that the current century-old church building on Campbell Avenue cannot accommodate.

“People are going to show us, that’s a big deal to me because how can you move forward in life if you can’t even get a shower in the morning,” Woodson said. “People were bathing out of sinks.”

The Jain Care Center, named after the family that purchased and donated the former office building to RAM House about six years ago, will feature consistent shower access, private counseling rooms, harm reduction services, mental health support and a Suboxone clinic. The facility will also house Roanoke’s homeless assistance team and the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services.

Woodson said the configuration of the current building makes confidential conversations impossible. The new space will allow multiple service providers to work under one roof while maintaining client privacy.

“We tried to do that at our current site, it didn’t work because everybody’s listening to everybody else’s business,” Woodson said. “That’s not cool, so I’m very excited that people are going to get the privacy that they need.”

The Star City Challenge targets younger donors and people with limited means who want to contribute to addressing homelessness. Donors who give $25 or more through raminc.org receive a digital badge featuring the Mill Mountain Star to share on social media.

“We knew with our Good Neighbors Fund that people definitely gave us a lot of smaller donations,” Woodson said. “If 10,000 people gave us $50, we would raise half a million dollars. This can be big. It just takes everybody to be a part.”

Harris said the grassroots approach reflects community values and expands RAM House’s donor base beyond traditional large contributors.

“I love the whole impetus of this being such a social media campaign driven by small donations,” Harris said. “If RAM through the Star City Challenge can expand its donor footprint and involve more and more individuals and organizations in its mission, that will only serve for good purposes going forward.”

Harris noted that coordination between service providers has improved since his time as mayor, when homelessness was also a concern but looked different than today.

“The more coordination we have, the better off the service network becomes,” Harris said. “The fact that so many things will be housed and networked on one site here at the Care Center on Elm Avenue, I think speaks to that.”

Woodson emphasized that addressing homelessness requires community-wide participation rather than finger-pointing.

“There’s been a lot of negativity about homelessness in our area and the fact of the matter is it takes all of us,” Woodson said. “We can’t just point fingers and say this is wrong and that is wrong. What we need to do is join, and I’ve always known in this town people cared and more people care than not.”

RAM House plans to move into the facility in May and June, with an official opening targeted for July 1. While most areas will be ready, Woodson said the kitchen may take additional time to complete. The organization recently received approval for an elevator, providing full handicap accessibility for the first time.

Woodson recently met for three hours with neighborhood association president Marion Mathers to develop a neighborhood compact addressing concerns about the center’s impact. The conversation comes as The Least of These Ministries has faced zoning citations for services added since receiving its certificate of occupancy.

“One of the things that I’m doing currently is I just had a three-hour meeting with neighborhood association president Marion Mathers and she’s absolutely lovely and I want to work with these people,” Woodson said. “We’re gonna have a neighborhood compact where people see something they can let us know and we can act on it.”

RAM House specifically recruited Harris as a spokesperson because of his background combining civic leadership, ministry and local history expertise.

“We chose him strategically,” Woodson said. “We knew we are a ministry, we are interfaith, and Nelson personifies that for us as well as him having been mayor, understanding the problems in our cities and being a historian of this area and having so much love for its people in this town.”

As the July 1 opening approaches, both Harris and Woodson expressed confidence that the community will support the campaign.

“It is an opportunity for all of us to help our most vulnerable neighbors and that really is what this is about,” Harris said. “It’s about being a good neighbor, doing for others what you would want others to do for you if you were in a similar situation.”

Woodson said her faith in the community’s support continues to grow as the opening date nears.

“I started this process not really knowing if this would happen and there’s always been doubt in my mind,” Woodson said. “But the closer I walk to God and the closer that I see everything that I originally thought wouldn’t happen has happened and now we’re here. We’re two months away and I just feel like the Roanokers are going to come through for us because we are leading a charge that is different.”

The Star City Challenge continues accepting donations at raminc.org, where community members can upload photos and receive their digital badge featuring the Mill Mountain Star.

Roanoke Area Ministries – RAM – is still fundraising for what will become the Jain Care Center on Elm Avenue, with room to expand services for those experiencing homelessness. A new campaign gives more people an opportunity to become a Point of Light, via “The Star City Challenge.” Joining the Roanoke Valley’s Morning News host Joey Self and WFIR anchor-senior reporter Gene Marrano live in studio this morning was Melissa Woodson, the executive director for RAM House, and Nelson Harris – pastor, local historian and the former Mayor of Roanoke.

Join the Star City Challenge here

A new playground at the Williamson Road Library Branch cut a ribbon today – the Plaza de Esperanza – “Hope Square,” was designed by a Danish company and is designed with features that evokes Williamson Road businesses. Some of the signage at the Plaza de Esperanza is in Spanish, a nod to the large number of Hispanic residents in the area. Part of a $2.9 million dollar federal “Safer Communities,” grant passed through the state has paid for the new playground at the Williamson Road public library. Amber Lowery is the Roanoke Public Libraries director:

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The Roanoke Regional Chamber, Roanoke Regional Partnership, and the Botetourt Chamber of Commerce are taking part in the panel discussion called Data Centers 101 presented by Google.  Organizers say the conversation’s goal is to help the regional business community better understand the growing role of data centers and the opportunities they create. WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

The Data Centers 101 panel is made up of representatives from Google, a regional peer community that has successfully welcomed a data center, Appalachian Power, and the Western Virginia Water Authority. Eric Sichau, President and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce says the Google data center is an exciting opportunity for the region.

“Really, we want this panel discussion to explore how data centers are building long-term capacity through workforce development, supplier engagement, intentional community partnerships, and in this case, our regional opportunities,” continued Sichau. “So we want it to be business focused. We want it to be designed to help our regional business community better understand the growing role of data centers. And in this case, the proposed data center from Google in Botetourt County.”

This is event is for members of the Roanoke Regional and Botetourt Chambers of Commerce and the Roanoke Regional Partnership.  The environmental impact of the Google Data Center has been a hot topic. Sichau says the panelists will share insights into the infrastructure, and planning.

“Our goal is to make sure that this is a business focused conversation and allow different folks involved in different parts of the projects to hit on some of those topics,” said Sichau. “This is a value of being a chamber member is being the opportunity to be involved and hear from the experts on topics such as this.”

Data Centers 101 is April 14th from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. at Charter Hall in the Roanoke City Market Building. Find a link to more information at WFIRNEws.com.  Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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Data Centers 101 is a business focused event presented by Google to share information on how data centers can be a positive partner.   WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno reports.

Members of Roanoke Regional Chamber, Roanoke Regional Partnership, and the Botetourt Chamber of Commerce will be on hand for the conversation they are calling Data Centers 101.  The panel is made up of representatives from Google, a regional peer community that has successfully welcomed a data center, Appalachian Power, and the Western Virginia Water Authority. Eric Sichau, President and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce says the Google Data Center could be an economic driver for the region.

“There’s a lot of economic development opportunities and a lot of industry that continues to view Roanoke as a great region to invest in,” added Sichau. “And certainly the site available for this particular project is in Botetourt County, but Google’s investing in the region. They’re investing in a lot of the excitement happening in our region. And, you know, we view this as an exciting milestone and an exciting opportunity.”

Sichau says this will be a business focused conversation where chamber members can learn about supplier opportunities, regional partnerships, and get what Sichau calls a valuable perspective on how businesses and organizations across Virginia’s Blue Ridge can engage with and benefit from this evolving industry.

“I don’t expect this to be the last event we do around data centers,” Sichau said. “I don’t. I think this is a start of an opportunity for us as the business organization, the regional business organization, to be able to share information like this.”

The Botetourt County  has created a website with information on the proposed Google Data Center.  Find a link at WFIRnews.com. Data Centers 101 is April 14th from 8:00 to 9:30 am at Charter Hall in the Roanoke City Market Building. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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Google Data Center information from Botetourt County

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The fourth annual Daisy Art Parade is part of an all-day art celebration.  As WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno reports a carnival is part of the celebration.

Each year the Daisy Art Parade has traversed a different area of the city.  This year it is taking over Rivers Edge Park North.  The parade starts at noon on May 9th and will walk the sidewalks around the soccer fields and tennis courts.  Parade Manager Katie Stueckle says it is an explosion of art with people from all over the city and beyond involved.

“You can be sure to expect some giant puppets, some ambulatory theater, some masquerade,” said Parade Manager Katie Stueckle.  “There’s going to be a wide variety of themes from our various parade crews, which are neighborhoods and organizations from all over the city and beyond. In the past, we’ve had dance troupes. We’ve had library organizations.”

The carnival is 10 am – 5 pm May 9th. Stueckle says the carnival includes boat building competitions and a school bus full of activities.  Both the parade and carnival are free to attend. Find a link to more information at WFIRNEWS.com. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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The Daisy Art Parade is back this year with the addition of a carnival.  There is still time to get involved.  The day long art celebration is May 9th.  WFIR’s Denise Allen Membreno has more.

Parade Manager Katie Stueckle says you never know what you will see at the Daisy Art Parade.  Previous years have included giant puppets, dance troops, alien themed parties.  This year the event is taking over Rivers Edge Park North and adding a carnival.  Stueckle says the event is uniquely Roanoke and brings the city together in a collaborative way.

“The Daisy Art Parade and Carnival highlight the shared sense of community that is found all over our city and the creativity that thrives in pockets and organizations and individuals citywide,” added Parade Manager Katie Stueckle.

There is still time to get involved as a volunteer or participant.   And there are Daisy Art Parade workshops each Monday through May fourth. The Parade and Carnival are on May 9th. Find a link to more information at WFIRNEWS.com. Denise Allen Membreno WFIR News.

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Daisy Art Parade

Joy Powers hopes to pull an upset and win the 9th District Congressional seat as a Democrat this November – she must come out on top in a June primary first. But for now the Bedford County resident is joining the fight to save a local elementary school. The mother of a Bedford County elementary school student, a cattle farm owner and a farm equipment supplier, Powers filed a lawsuit last week in Bedford County Circuit Court, claiming the county school board violated state law by not advertising in a newspaper of general circulation a public hearing a full 7 days ahead of the meeting where they voted to shutdown 100 year old Stewartsville elementary school. For example Goodview Elementary School she says would become overcrowded in the next school year if Stewartsville is shut down this summer.  WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

Having a reliable water source is something many take for granted, but in recent months reports that the proposed Google data centers in Botetourt County could draw as much as 2 million gallons of water per each building has put a spotlight on the subject. At some point mostly likely in the next two decades the Roanoke Valley will need another water source – Google data centers or not – says Public Relations Director Sarah Baumgardner. The Western Virginia Water Authority invites the public to learn more at an open house this afternoon, as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

Like the name infers, “Do Good Days,” is just that, volunteers sent out into the Roanoke Community to help non-profits with some small tasks that often mean a lot. Since 2021 the DoGoodDays.com website has received hundreds of nominations from non-profits looking for some help with painting, picking up trash – even washing dishes. Nominations will be accepted through March 9th; this year Do Good Days will happen on March 16th and 17th. A local service company and Roanoke’s pro hockey team are behind an effort now in its 6th year, as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:

Nominate a non-profit on the link below by March 9

https://callwisler.com/do-good-days/