around two thousand people without power in roanoke city. more than a thousand are in the dark in franklin ... henry and roanoke county.. smaller outages are underway in botetourt... campbell and appalchian power spokesperson teresa hamilton power spokesperson teresa hamilton hall is live with us on the phone. teresa -- exactly how many people are in the dark? the accumulation was lighter than expected, but packed snow on roads and ice are still making driving treacherous. w-s-l-s 10's rob manch is in covington this morning... rob, tell us what it's like out there?### i'll tell you what i wouldn't want to drive in this mess. the rain is coming down pretty hard at this point which means low visibility for cars on the road. vo: vdot has already reported a minor accident that happened on earlier this morning around 2-30 that has the right shoulder closed. so definitely be careful if you have to make it out this morning. but this rain also raises concerns for those vdot crews that have been battling this storm since yesterday. it is washing all

how roanoke city council is honoring two men who have roanoke city council recognizes perkins ahead of his retirement. council read a resolution during its meeting this afternoon recognizing perkins for his 24-years of service with the department-- the last five as chief. council saluted what it called his "extraordinary committment" to the deparment and honored perkins with a key to the city. chief chris perkins/roanok e city police: "while my name was on that key, that key was for all of those individuals that work at the police department. you know they do an amazing job. they're the most regulated profession in the country. they have automated vehicle locators on all their cars they have in car camera body cameras. there's not many professions that are monitored 24 hours a day and every moment that they are in the role as a police officer. so kudos to them." mayor david bowers also recognized virginia tech football coach frank beamer on his recent retirement... saying while beamer is a hokie ... "he's a roanoker as well." your 90 minutes of news continues right now. after yesterday

you have to go back to 1967 to find a lower number in the city of roanoke." chief perkins says it's all about policing. technology ranging from license plate readers... body cameras, use of data analysis and de- escalation training all play a factor. and, have helped decreased the percent. sure we stay with best practices and we are constantly evaluating those practices to the uniqueness of our city and how we implement things." perkins adds we can only be a local police chief is preparing to say "goodbye" to his facial hair ... for a good cause. the department's effort ... to raise changing his look ... for a good cause. it all started with a bet .... when a fellow officer asked what it would take for lieutenant jennings tardy to get rid of his mustache. lieutenant tardy has had a mustache for 36 years. in fact... his wife and children have never seen him without it before. tardy says if the police department can internally raise 2-thousand dollars for the american cancer society, his stache will meet the razor blade. lt. jennings tardy, roanoke city would i

roanoke city police say 26 year old martavious cook was killed. officers are gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses. an arrest has not yet been made. if you have any information, you're asked to call police.### danville police are investigating a homicide. just after midnight... police we're called to the 2-hundred block of halifax street after someone had been shot. they found a man with what looked like gunshot wounds. he was pronounced dead at scene. this morning, investigators returned to look for evidence and identification. anyone with information is asked to call police.### after a three weeks trial for the suspected gang members accused of killing waynesboro reserve police captain kevin quick, the case is now in the hands of 12 jurors. four suspects are charged with the murder of waynesboro reserve police captain kevin quick while the other two are accused of being the gang's ring leaders in a racketeering conspiracy. the jury is looking at all pieces of evidence that trial. there were more than 50 witnesses called to the stand. we'

vo there are three seats up for election on the roanoke city council in may. and two members on council sherman lea and david trinkle are running for mayor now that david bowers is not seeking another term. but first is the democratic people can vote at the berglund center. candidates running for office are expected to talk about issues ranging from economic development to issues with public education. roanoke regional chamber leaders say they wanted to give an opportunity to get to know the candidates and the positions they stand on before the primary sot we hope that people can get a better idea a handle on the issues that are shaping the race and also know we come at this with a business perspective and so which perhaps are more business friendly because the stronger a business climate is the more businesses large and small can grow and thrive. on cam the roanoke city candidate forum is tonight on the top floor in the center of square. in roanoke duke carter wsls 10. ...coming up in your storm the flurries and snow showers have finally ended.for a brief tim

city manager chris morrill made the announcement today during the roanoke city council meeting where current police chief chris perkins was honored. deputy jones will start march 1-st .. the day after chief perkins retires. chris perkins took on the police chief position in 20-10. also new tonight .. as expected, the danville city council approves a requested increase in the city's police force. the move increases the number of city officers from 131 to 135. will help him better handle turnover and help in the efforts to reduce crime. the money for the additional officers will come from a surplus in the department's personnel budget due to low staffing over the years. ticket sales to ride the historic 6-11 steam engine are off to a fast start ... why organizers say you should buy yours quick ... if you want a chance to ride the queen of steam this spring. take a look at some pictures of the recent winter weather ... sent in by viewers. as we mentioned earlier ... there has to be a way. carry the centimeter, divide by 3.14 something something something... [ beeping, whirring ] great c

and roanoke city could be without power until late tomorrow night. while workers are doing their many area residents are frustrated. haven't showered in two days, have stay warm and charge cell phones. they say ... they've spent nearly 200- dollars on extra from spoiling. charles nichols / lost power: "the fact that we weren't given a straight answer, or a timeline, or the reason its not going to be on until friday is blank'... answer and its very frustrating to say well, here's the problem but we're not going to provide you with what the solution is going to be." we did speak to aep crews who say they are working as make sure that once power is restored ... it stays on. but they say rural areas and secondary neighborhoods might take longer than others. flooding isn't the only concern for drivers following the winter weather. downed power lines are a concern in roanoke. city workers put up warning signs and barricades to keep drivers off of mason mill road after trees toppled over leaving live power lines down. 13-th street and north avenue north-eas

we sit down roanoke city mayoral candidate, sherman lea. virginia. a cold front will cross through the ohio valley today andtonight...then will dissipate over the mid atlantic region bythursday morning. high pressure builds in behind the front andwill cover much of the eastern united states on thursday. a lowpressure system in the upper mississippi valley friday will moveeast across the great lakes on saturday. today...partly sunny. highs in the mid 40s. northwest winds around 10 mph..tonight...partly cloudy in the evening...then clearing. lows inthe mid 20s. northwest winds around 10 mph with gusts up to20 mph. .thursday...sunny. highs in the mid 40s. northwest winds around10 mph in the morning...becoming light and variable..thursday night...mostly clear in the evening...then becomingpartly cloudy. lows in the upper 20s. light and variable winds. around 50. south winds around 10 mph. gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon..friday night through sunday...partly cloudy. lows around 40.highs in the mid 50s..sunday night...mostly cloudy. lows in the lower 4

roanoke city school students are raising awareness about homelessness this week. tomorrow is homeless awareness day for the school district. you can expect to see people wearing these t- shirts designed by students at patrick henry and william fleming. organizers say they wanted to have a day for people to wear the shirts and bring light to an important issue affecting roanoke city schools. justin mcleod / community relations rcps 9:54:20 we have close to 500 homeless students in roanoke city schools as of today. that number will only continue to grow. i think the most important thing is that we just want our homeless students to know we care about them and are here to help. school leaders say more than 750 shirts have been sold and nearly 8-thousand dollars raised to help support homeless families in our area. we do have some sad news to pass along tonight... by now, you likely know the story of the bedford boys -- the group of men from bedford county who suffered serious losses during the d-day invasion. new tonight at 11, we add another chapter to their story a

and nearly 500 students are homeless in the roanoke city public school district. we'll tell you what students, teachers, and the community are doing to help, wdbj7 mornin'. and win winner this morning is linda jones from pulaski. you have won a pair of tickets to grandin theatre and a 5 dollar concession stand gift card . watch again tomorrow morning for another chance to win. a prolong period of very cold weather is moving into the region. highs won't get above freezing. dozens of streets in the new river valley are slick with ice this morning. conditions are worst in carroll, giles, floyd and patrick counties. the highways are clear but many of the main roads are not. crews will be busy inspecting a bridge today in elliston. there will be lane closures on i-81 south near kessler mill from 8-30 this northbound lane closures from noon to 4-30 this afternoon. bridge work will affect traffic in roanoke county until monday. there are northbound and southbound lane closures on texas hollow road from 8 a-m to 4 p-m every day until then. we're looking live at route two-

roanoke city police say it happened around 8-30 last near craig robertson road. right now, it's not clear how the accident happened. two people, including a danville doctor are expected to recover after someone shot them during an attempted robbery monday night. officers say dr. randolph neal was walking home from danville regional medical center when he was shot near mount vernon avenue. a neighbor who heard the gunshots came out to help and was also shot. police are still looking for the suspects. two virginia tech students made their first court appearance on monday in the death of 13-year-old nicole lovell. david eisenhauer is charged with first degree murder and felony abduction. natalie keepers is accused of helping eisenhauer dispose of the body. s since lovell's disappearance, most developments in the case have taken place within the last few days. investigators have found out that nicole was part of an internet dating group. that groups is now shut down! wfxr's solina lewis talked to the people responsible for getting that nicole's friends and family are

but it was all for roanoke city's gto cadets. ricky, ben, kathryn, kayla, brian, micheal, and alex are graduating from the program. i'm gonna miss everybody, i was trying to hold back my tears. they've become a family. alex's mother: he doesn't want it to end, he wants it next year he'll be back to do it all over again. travis: it's not over, it's just a new beginning alex: i'm gonna miss this man, i'm gonna miss him families of these cadets are in awe of just how far they have come. nick ratliff: not only did this program build his confidence, it built mine in him. i've never been more proud of him than this afternoon. it was an absolute incredible experience, i would never trade it for the world dawn matney: we've seen her grow, we've seen opportunities for her, and she's grown spiritually, emotionally, and physically. today's ceremony was unique. explained that these first responders got just as much out of the program as the cadet did. the fire and sheriff's departments joined the program this year. sheriff allen: it's awesom

roanoke city police say the accident happened around 8-30 last night on garden city boulevard near craig robertson road and thomason road. right now, it's not clear how the accident happened. we'll bring you any updates to this story on-air and online at virginia first dot-com. two people are expected to be okay after being shot during an attempted robbery in danville on monday night. officers say someone shot dr. randolph neal near mount vernon avenue as he walked home from the danville regional medical center.the shooter then attacked a neighbor who heard the gunfire and came outside to help dr. neal. police are still looking for the suspects, anyone with danville police. wfxr news is your local election headquarters after months of campaigning, the iowa caucuses are in the books. it's the first presidential contest that counts... and already it's shaking up the race for the white house. fox's joel waldman is in des moines with the very latest. fox news is now projecting that texas senator ted cruz has won the 2016 republican iowa caucus. while the race on the democratic side in iowa r

city manager chris morrill made the announcement during the roanoke city council meeting.... chris perkins was honored. deputy jones starts march 1-st .. the day after chief perkins retires. chris perkins took on the police chief position in 20-10. # many people are looking ahead to warmer weather. for many people, spring and like soccer. and this year people in the star play. after several years of year of construction... the countryside soccer fields are almost finished. wsls ten's erin brookshier joins us with more about what's gone into creating these fields...erin? this project really has become a sort of "field of dreams." there's been a ton of work that has gone into planning and building these fields.. and now-- the light at the end of the tunnel is almost here. the soccer park is being built as part of a first- of-its-kind lease deal between the city of roanoke and the "roanoke star soccer club... this is part of a growing trend as many local governments partner up with private businesses to develop unused land into parks.. and in this soccer fields. after more than

this is a live look at the star city from our downtown roanoke listen up! i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and give her the strength and energy to stay healthy. who's with me?! yay! the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. need to know" before you head out the door this morning. tomorrow a judge will decide the fate of ashley white. the mother of 5- year old noah thomas is charged with child abuse and neglect after he was found in a septic tank last year. last night the judge decided white would not receive a fair trial in pulaski county from jurors. both sides agreed to a bench trial which starts tomorrow at 9 a-m. # we're learning new details in the murder investigation of nicole lovell. a friend of the 13-year-old tells the washington post that nicole claimed virginia tech student david eisenhauer was her boyfriend. she added that nicole talked of running away and starting a family with the man who is facing charges in connection to her death. nicoles father will

roanoke city police say it happened around 8-30 last night on garden city boulevard near craig robertson road. right now, it's not clear how the accident happened. two people, including a danville doctor are expected to recover after someone shot them during an attempted robbery monday night. officers say dr. randolph neal was walking home from danville regional medical center when he was shot near mount vernon avenue. a neighbor who heard the gunshots came out to help and was also shot. police are still looking for the suspects. two virginia tech students made their first court appearance on monday in the death of 13-year-old nicole lovell. david eisenhauer is charged with first degree felony abduction. natalie keepers is accused of helping eisenhauer dispose of the body.s since lovell's developments in the case have taken place within the last few days. investigators have found out that nicole was part of an internet dating group. that groups is now shut down! wfxr's solina lewis talked to the people responsible for getting that site shut down. nicole's friends and family are still ree

roanoke city police report city. murder, rape, robbery have remained the same. comparing 20-14 to 20-15 ... officers responded to an increase of malicious shootings -- which fall underneath the umbrella of violent crimes. in 2014, police investigated 34 shootings, one of which was deadly. in 20-15 ... there were 37 incidents. eight people died. chief chris perkins, roanoke city police department "let's talk about violence, let's talk about danger, i'll show you roanoke per thousand has a better violent crime rate than a lot of cities in our area, in our state, and in our region." the police chief says ... property crimes are down, but this can be driven by drug activity which can also effect violent crime rates. still to come ... danville ymca is accepting water donations in place of membership fees. how this effort is working towards helping people across the nation. but first... alan. look, i know you're a cow and all. but, uh. the yogurt made from your milk, is delicious. wythe county wants to warn people living in the area of water disruptions this week. cus

roanoke county, roanoke city, franklin county and henry county. garrett if people have no power this morning and use candles and other heat sources just remember to be very careful with those especially around kids. a 47-year-old from farmville is charged with reckless driving appomattox county that sent her and five passengers to hospital. three of those were children, ages two, state police say it happened just after noon yesterday on route 460. heading west when she lost control, ran off the road, and flipped her suv. investigators say speed was a factor. the woman was also charged with two child restraint violations. the two- and seat belt instead of being in individual child safety seats. part of interstate 81 was closed during yesterday's storm after this wreck in frederick county. it happened in the northbound lanes interchange. state police say the truck was was loaded with 33 cattle, which broke free of the trailer and were wandering around the interstate. 6 of the animals escaped the damaged trailer. police and fire crews helped to round

wsls 10's christina craig spoke to roanoke city fire personnel who are back on clean up patrol. what was today like for them... christina? in some areas trees are down on power lines and laying across roads blocking traffic. talk about hard labor! roanoke city fire department clean up crews are sure building up a sweat working to clear these fallen trees. the department says southwest roanoke was hit hard...and that's where many of it's crews are assisting where help is needed. the mixture of snow and ice weighing on branches -- fire crews are using everything from chainsaws, extra engines, manpower. department "whether it's fighting fire, e-m-s calls, car accidents... everything in our job is demanding one way or another so, you come to work knowing you could be working all day and all night long. that's the price we pay for the job we do." all the help they can get...because they're trying to clean up the roads as quick as they can work. crews have been out since 8 a-m and since we last checked -- clean up trucks are still working in southwest roanoke. christina, i understand

and here in the star city, the roanoke city police department says they reported up to 51 tax scams. dozens of wounded veterans and active-duty military members are taking to the slopes this weekend at wintergreen resort. starting today ... warriors from all over the mid- atlantic will learn to ski or snowboard for the first time or learn new ways of tackling the sport with adaptive equipment. these are pictures from previous years. the service men and women suffered a variety of injuries from amputations to brain trauma while serving. wintergreen says ... this event is a special way to show the injuries are no barrier when it comes to having fun. the event goes through sunday. a young marine learns to walk again after suffering a serious injuring while serving. 20-year-old josh burch... a richmond native ... broke his neck while serving in guam last september. now ... with the help of a robotic first steps since the injury. josh burch / injured - "trying to concentrate keeping my balance pushing this and leaning "i was excited to do this." josh's mother says they've been months. doc

roanoke city schools are still okay on days as well. jenna zibton, wsls 10. our 90 minutes of news continues next. stay with us for w-s-l-s ten at (phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates, answer the call already. energy efficiency doesn't pick favorites. it should apply to everyone. i'm zach bacon with appalachian power. i'm an energy efficiency coordinator here in virginia. to me, it's all about being able this partnership with appalachian power allows us to touch more families in this region that really need it. (woman) when we first moved in, the house wasn't very livable. it had holes in the ceilings. it was very cold. they saved our house. (announcer) we may be a power company, but the true power in our communities you see this stuff on the news all the time. butted to but then this hits not just your commu

and voters in the city of roanoke should doublecheck their polling places. the city has reduced the number of precincts, and two thirds of the city's voters have new polling locations. for more information, you can find links with this story on wdbj7- dot-com. tomorrow is the most important day so far in the race for the white house. virginia will play a key role. here to break down the races are our political analysts, bob denton and harry wilson. dr. bob, place virginia and its delegates in context for super tuesday and will we know the eventual nominees tomorrow? we know that virginia is going to be a battleground state and is representative of the population. it will be interesting to see how men and women and other races will vote because it may be indicitive of the rest of the country. we are proportional it could mirror the rest of the country harry, handicap it for us. who wins in virginia tomorrow for both parties? i think trump and clinton win tomorrow. both of them big. both of thereright with double-digit wins today and we also had some very nice

county and the city of roanoke. franklin county has about 1,000 customers without service. bedford, botetourt, campbell, and patrick counties each have fewer than 600 customers still without service. jean: we've noticed in some neighborhoods one house has power, the next does not. some people are wondering how is it power but i don't? expect service to be back on for customers? teresa: in most areas, including bedford, botetourt, campbell and patrick counties, we expect to have service restored by late tonight. in franklin and roanoke counties, including the city of roanoke, we expect customers to have power by late thursday night. in isolated instances, especially where damage is severe or access is difficult, restoration may extend beyond these estimates. jean: how many people are out there working? teresa: more than 650 workers are helping restore power, including around 500 line workers and support personnel and 150 tree contractors. thanks teresa hall, appalachian power spokesperson. new details about an early

looking ahead...the roanoke city council meets on tuesday. they plan to honor several community leaders. the council will pay tribute to roanoke city police chief... chris perkins. perkins plans to retire next month. city leaders will also recognize al holland who passed away in december. he was the 2003 citizen of the year. city council members will salute the career of legendary virginia tech head football coach frank beamer. this week's council meeting will take place on tuesday at 2 p-m. still ahead -- jeff and alan will have another update on the upcoming winter storm in just a few you're looking at a live look of from our tower cam winter storm warning in effect through noon tuesday tonight: light snow develop with lows in the mid teens to near 20. monday: snow transitions over to a wintry mix of sleet then freezing rain by monday afternoon and evening. highs in the upper 20s and low 30s. monday night: freezing rain changing over to rain with temperatures rising into the mid to upper 30s as warmer air is pulled in with a low pressure mo

lea about roanoke's economy, safety or even the city's future? we want to hear from you! share your question under this post our facebook page, you may see your question during our 7 and 8-o'clock hours right here on good day virginia. coming up on an unwelcomed discovery inside a california subway landed a plus.. rocking for a reason! three months after the paris terror attacks, an american band retakes the stage in a moving tribute. this is good day virginia. scalia's every wonder what nature valley is made of? that's w wt we're made of. no artificial colors. no artificial flavors. no artificial sweeteners. nature valley granola bars. what makes thermacare different? two words: it heals. how? with heat. unlike creams and rubs that mask the pain, thermacare has patented heat cells that penetrate deep to increase circulation and accelerate healing. let's review: heat, plus relief, plus healing, equals thermacare. the proof that it heals is you. it's just a cough. if you could see your cough, you'd see just how far it can spread. robitussin dm max soothes your throat and d

today is roanoke city police chief chris perkins' last day with the department. he announced his plans to retire back in december. perkins first joined the police force in 19-92 and rose to the rank of chief .. where he has spent the past five years serving the community. wsls 10's brie jackson followed chief perkins as he patrolled today and has more on after nearly 24 years of service...chris perkins took part in his final line-up with the roanoke city police department. here..the chief and other officers receive their assignments and head out the door. nats for perkins it's back to where his career started... district 4. known for being being a fast officer, he recalls his early days of chasing criminals. sot of chris perkins 21-28 21:19:43 captain charles ran down these hills here. we started a foot pursuit, we started from that building and he broke both his forearms in the middle of melrose following and i'm think gosh, we walked up on a group with crack and a gun. on this day, the chief partners with larry gunter jr. he's been with the department for nearl

in roanoke city and county combined, you're looking at around 14 people without power. franklin 10-thousand in the dark. high pressure wedging down the east slopes of the appalachians willslowly move northeast tonight...as low pressure moves from the lower mississippi valley to the mid atlantic states. another low willtrack out of southern canada tonight into the tennessee valley bylate tuesday....winter storm warning in effect until noon est today....today...mostly cloudy with rain and freezing rain this morning...then partly sunny with a slight chance of rain this afternoon. ice accumulation around a trace. not as cool with highs in thelower 40s. west winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.chance of precipitation 90 percent..tonight...mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. a chance ofsnow...mainly in the evening. lows around 30. northwest windsaround 10 mph. chance of precipitation 30 percent..wednesday...partly sunny. highs in the mid 40s. northwest windsaround 10 mph with gusts up to 25 mph. good morning, it's tuesday, february 16th. thanks for starting your day w

mel williams, temporary chairman, roanoke city mass meeting "i can say that historically speaking, it's a very difficult race for republicans to run and that can make it difficult to recruit candidates to run in those spots and unfortunately it appears the republican committee hasn't been able to get any candidates for those. " it appears that sherman lea will be the only candidate on the ballot to be roanoke's next mayor. the election will be held on may 3. the u- s navy is once again teaching its sailors how to navigate by the stars. it's called "celestial navigation." the navy stopped teaching sailors how to find their way using the stars more than a decade ago, when gps became available. now with the threat of cyberattacks, they're bringing it back. a sextant, which is used in celestial naviation, can't be tampered with electronically, unlike gps. katie lazzeri/naval academy junior: "you never know what's going to happen. you want to be prepared for the worst case scenario." the navy is bringing back celestial navigation training units on college campuses. now let's see what's hot o

promo sot roanoke city council and mayoral candidates will be facing off in a forum. it begins tonight at 6:30 at center in the square. we'll be there and have full tonight at 11. story tonight. this is a live look at a massive fire burning at the old dan river plant in brookneal. there's no word yet on how this fire started. part route 501 is closed near earl street and route 11-09. wdbj7's danielle staub is there gathering more updates. cadets from the roanoke city police department's "growth through opportunity" program are getting ready to graduate. wdbj7's amanda kenney introduced you to them back in november. tonight, she's checking in on them to see how far they have come in four months. these cadets have come a long way in four months. when alex, ben, kathryn, kayla, mikael, ricky, and brian started the gto program in november they were shy, didn't have much confidence, and they had no idea what the future would hold. each of them have a disability. while that hasn't changed, officer travis akins says their attitudes have. travis akins: they come in the door h

this year we're very excited to partner with the city market building in downtown roanoke so we'll be displaying the art work for about a month in that space.the winning card will go on sale later on in the year during the holidays. the proceeds will go to the ronald mcdonald house which provides a home away from home for families with children in the hospital. for details on the deadline- and how you can enter- check out our website- virginia first dot com. a cold front will drop south through the area overnight allowinga wedge of high pressure to build in from the and don't forget you can get your latest weather and news on virginia first.com .... 24 hours a day. drinking coffee could cut your chance of developing liver disease. that's according to a medical journal that reviewed nine different studies on the effects of coffee. researchers say two cups a day could cut your chances of developing cirrhosis by 44-percent. cirrhosis deteriorates the liver by blocking blood flow. alcoholism is the second- most common cause of that condition in the u-s. are you getting enough sleep? a new

roanoke city police chief chris perkins delivered his final update to city council today. perkins will retire march 1st. wdbj7's amanda kenney was there. amanda, what did he have to say about the city's safety? chief perkins says roanoke is much safer than most people think. in his presentation, perkins showed city using data analysis. chiefs hug, people clap there was a quick embrace between roanoke's fire and police chiefs monday before police chief chris perkins took over the podium one last time. chief perkins: i'm exceptionally pleased that i'm able to deliver this report as my last one, some chiefs around the country aren't delivering those last reports that are so favorable perkins started by telling city council he wanted to bust some myths about the city. number one, he says he's tired of people saying roanoke isn't safe. roanoke, per thousand, has a better violent crime rate than a lot of cities in our area, in our state, in our region. and that's despite the fact violent crimes in the city dropped by just one last year to 301 incidents. even though it's level, i

employees from the roanoke voter registrar's office and the city spent the day delivering the optical scanners and other equipment election workers will need for tuesday's when voters head to the polls, it will be the first election since the city realigned its voting precincts, reducing the number from 32 to 21. the registrar's office has put out the word, mailing over 60- thousand notices to active and inactive voters, airing videos and other reminders. but registrar andrew cochran says a majority of the city's voters will be casting ballots in new locations. andrew cochran/roanoke city voter registrar: of the 32 polling locations that we had before, 18 are no longer serving as polling locations, so if you voted in one of the 14 precincts that survives you go to the same place, but there are seven new precincts, and as i stated about 18 are no longer in service, so that equates to almost two thirds of the voters will be voting in a different place this time. if you're a registered voter in the city of roanoke and you don't know where you're supposed to vote, you can go online, or ca

an election that could determine the future of roanoke city council is happening saturday. how democrats sherman lea and dave trinkle are trying to win over voters ahead of the firehouse primary. good morning, it's just after 5 o'clock on tuesday, february 9. i'm kimberly mcbroom. i'm garrett turner. and i'm leo hirsbrunner. watch for slick spots this morning. we'll continue to see showers today with a high near 37. virginia authorities virginia authorities are still looking for the man who took his child over the weekend, setting off a statewide amber alert. three-year-old haven moses was believed to be in extreme danger after she was abducted on sunday. by her father, james safe sunday afternoon in augusta county, where moses lives. anyone with information on his whereabouts should call police. jury selection continues today in pulaski county for ashley white's trial. she is the mother of noah thomas, the five year old boy who was found dead in a septic tank last march after a weeklong search. this is new video of her leaving the pulaski county courthouse, after more than

roanoke city schools announced, at this point, classes will be on a two hour delay. check out these pics - from our friends at mill mountain zoo. workers - used chain saws - to clear at least six downed trees - blocking the road to the zoo - and to the roanoke star. no animals at the zoo were hurt - but according to the zoo - there was some minor damage to a few of its exhibits. our thanks to 'kathryn fox' for those photos. anytime you have pictures of weather or news you want to share - email us pics to virginia first dot com. after winter storms, goodwill industries of the valleys sees a decrease in donations. and thats the time they need donations the mostteam members say they need clothes more than anything - but they are also accepting shoes and house ware items. so if you are cleaning out your closet-- consider donating to goodwill. elizabeth milne/marketing manager,goodwill industries of the valleys: "when individuals donate and shop with goodwill, they are helping people in the last year over all, we helped over for hundred people get jobs in the community. s

roanoke city police say the accident happened around 8-30 last night on garden city boulevard near craig robertson road and thomason road. right now, it's not clear how the accident happened. we'll bring you any updates to this story on-air and online at virginia first dot-com. two people are expected to be okay after being shot during an attempted robbery in danville on monday night. officers say someone shot dr. randolph neal near mount vernon avenue as he walked home from the danville regional medical center.the shooter then attacked a neighbor who heard the gunfire and came outside to help dr. neal. police are still looking for the suspects, anyone with information is asked to call wfxr news is your local election headquarters after months of campaigning, the iowa caucuses are in the books. it's the first presidential contest that counts... and already it's shaking up the race for the white house. fox's joel waldman is in des moines with the very latest. fox news is now projecting that texas senator ted cruz has won the 2016 republican iowa caucus. while the race on the democratic si

counties as well as roanoke city. more than 650 aep workers including 500 line workers and 150 tree contractors continue to work this morning to restore power to these remaining customers. we'll keep you updated with the latest power outage numbers on virginiafirst.com. high pressure builds into the area for today and tonight. a lowpressure system in the upper moveeast across the great lakes on saturday. this system will bring aweak cold front into our region on friday night. fire prevention week continues here at wfxr and emergency responders are reminding people that installing smoke save lives. wfxr's charlie cooper spoke to a local fire department and the red cross about how they're helping the community take an active role in protecting their families. 5-1021-27100-106 nat sound of smoke alarmit's a modest investment that can save your family's life.kim krulikowski- red cross, disaster program specialista lot of people either dont have smoke alarms or even worse they have smoke alarms that they think work but act

roanoke city police chief chris perkins has given his final update on the department. for the first time, perkins used data analysis to show how roanoke's crime rate stacks up against it's major competitors for economic development. roanoke has the lowest, per thousand, violent crime rate than any of those cities in our region. that's despite the fact violent crimes in the city dropped by just one last year to 301 incidents. perkins says even though property crime is down, it's still roanoke's biggest problem. and there are areas where the department can improve. chief perkins: we could do better with drug addiction and drug abuse. our answer has been to lock people up, but what we learned giv people as choice and so this stigma of i'm gonna get arrested if i ask for help, we've gotta change that so that's something we could do better. chief perkins recieved a standing ovation after his presention. he retires march 1st. james river high school held a ceremony in honor of our fallen colleagues, alison parker and adam ward. it happened during their game last night agains

aep reporting more than 8400 people out in roanoke city. roanoke county has almost 10,000. rankin county close to 10,000. bedford about 1400. lynchburg has just over 100 people without power. if you're trying to stay up-to-date with the closings and delays, you can do that from your phone. go to wset.com and then go to the weather tab and scroll to school closing alerts. you can have the alerts sent right to your phone and you can choose a specific school. we will have the latest on closings and delays at he sure to check online, facebook, and twitter to step today. we're not the only ones dealing with ice and rain. 15 states on alert from north carolina all the way up to maine. the storm is being blamed for thousands of accidents in a three-hour delay. the federal government buildings in washington >> reporter: this morning, the national weather service will be on the ground looking into 17 reported tornadoes from florida to louisiana that left homes and businesses damaged and destroyed. roofs ripped off building. debris across streets and nearby water. further north, the

this is a look inside the city of roanoke's - fire training trailer. it has a kitchen and a bedroom which simulates a fire in those areas with sound officials say doing the exercises with the kids and their parents is beneficial checking smoke detectors and what to do if there is a fire been used to go out to many events in the community. tiffany bradbury/roanoke city fire and ems: "we take this out and about to schools especially focusing on second and third graders. we also have it stored here at our station in northwest roanoke on orange avenue and people can come take tours of it here as well."fire officials say the most important lesson they try to teach to kids is to stay at a designated meeting place and never go back into the home. protecting pigs.ahead in ag life... the plan to combat a sickness - affecting thousands of piglets. and we've heard of bears attacking beehives. up next - why crooks are stealing the (cell phone rings) where are you? well the squirrels are back in the attic. mom? your dad won't call an exterminator... can i call you

while bowers is not running for reopen his law office and continue to be involved in the city of roanoke as well as spending time with family. the man charged with first degree murder in the death of 13-year old nicole lovell hires his own attorney. according to the montgomery county juvenile and domestic relations court, 18-year old david eisenhauer is now represented by anthony anderson of anderson and friedman in roanoke. attorney christopher tuck was previously appointed to represent him. lovell was killed after going several days. 19-year old natalie keepers also faces charges related to lovell's death. both suspects are scheduled for preliminary hearings on march 28th. eisenhauer and keepers are being held without bond.### the trial is underway for one of the men charged in connection to a shooting that killed two and hurt four others in roanoke. against demetrius wade .. including charges stem from a shooting at the former last january. ronald ramey and leonard october. the trial is expected to last all week. ### jurors are expected to hear closing arguments today in the murder tr

city's 911 dispatch center. a small operation-- but a vital one. zach showed me around the downtown digs, and walked me through how the nearly all- female first response team takes fire calls.zach @ 15:20-:22 "when a fire call comes in, time is of the essence." *butted*zach @ 15:31-:38 "the fire dispatcher has about 60 seconds to get that call entered and sent out to the fire department." *butted*zach @ 15:44-:47 "we have strict time limits when we have to get those calls out."those strict time limits put in place by the national fire protection association, which sets response times for fire dispatch centers.here at the roanoke city 911 center, calls come in through one dispatcher... and *that* dispatcher patches them through to workers specifically trained to handle @ 17:20-:26 "everything that the fire department... while they're on their way to a call... is based on the knowledge we have here in the 911 center."*butted*zach @ 17:39-:51 "if we're giving them information that someone's trapped, if it's a large

by the way, students in roanoke city will head back to class two hours preparing for emergencies like power outages is something that the american red cross takes part in.it's also fire prevention week and we want to share expert advice on how you and your family can stay safe! wfxr's kristen eskow shows us how pillowcases are helping children in particular deal with emergency situations. :09-:14 getting children ready for an emergency situation is one responsibility of many american red cross volunteers - but for bridget powell - it's also personal.powell: "ironically enough, i grew up in new orleans, and my parents were unfortunately part of katrina. and that is something that we have always been taught, as a little child, to be prepared."powell is a regional instructor for the pillowcase project - which the red cross started two years ago. it's a one-time class that teaches children - usually between the ages of 8 and 12 - what kinds of items they should have handy in case of an emergency."an emergency radio, something to kind of spend the times if they're out of power, like today,

the countryside soccer fields in roanoke city are almost complete. the city and a local soccer club that's bringing big benefits to the local soccer community and the star city as a whole. wsls ten's erin brookshier has more.### after more than a year of work.. the first phase of the on the actual land is complete... all that's left to do is plant the grass this spring.. vo and wait for it to grow before the first soccer games are played this fall. the soccer park is being built as part of a first-of-its- kind lease deal between the city of roanoke and the "roanoke star soccer club... it's part of a growing trend as many local governments partner up with private businesses to develop unused land into parks.. and in this case, soccer fields. includes three full sized world cup soccer fields.. which can be converted into six junior fields. the fields are being built right behind fleming high school... and danny beamer, the club.. tells me this project will have a direct neighborhoods. sot it has shown where green grass areas in neighborhoods increase h

this is a live look at the star city from our downtown roanoke skycam. storm team ten meteorologist kristina montuori joins us now.. kristina? today: cloudy with light rain possible.highs in the upper 40s and lower 50s tonight: scattered rain showers with lows in the upper 30s tuesday: rain showers with highs in the middle 40s wednesday: rain showers with highs in the lower 50s thursday: breezy with highs in the middle 40s.few friday: sun & clouds with highs in the lower 40s saturday: mostly sunny with highs in the middle 40s in the upper 40s time now for your timesaver traffic report. jurors are expected to hear closing arguments in the murder trial of waynesboro reseve police captain kevin quick today before starting deliberations. the defense rested on friday after calling five witnesses to the stand in federal court in roanoke. before that, prosecutors questioned the alleged ringleader of the 99 goon syndikate. six people are on trial. four are charged in quick's death, the other two are accused of being part of a racketeering conspiracy. the prosecu

there's another name added to the growing field of candidates for roanoke city council. amy carter is running as an independent and has worked as a teacher and small business owner. she said today education was one of her main concerns. amy carter/independent candidate roanoke city council: empowering our kids to be whatever they want to be is very important but to do this we have to provide a safe environment for them, in the schools and out of the schools." nearly a dozen people are running for three open seats in the election this may. florida's top officials are preparing to fight the zika virus after 12 cases have been confirmed there. governor rick scott has declared a state of emergency for five counties. the virus is quickly spreading in latin caused thousands of babies to be born with small heads. health officials are making voluntary screening for pregnant women a priority. florida gov. rick scott: "we have 20.3 million people living in our state. we're a state that has mosquitoes that are similar to the mosquitoes that can carry this, so it's better than we ge

the majority live in roanoke city and roanoke county. that number is down drastically from the peak of nearly 50- thousand outages yesterday .. following monday's winter storm. more than 500 line workers are helping restore power .. including more than 300 employees and contractors from outside the area. people impacted by the outages tell us .. they are ready for restoration. charles nichols / lost power: "we woke up this morning and it was 48-degrees in the house." herbert coles/ aep supervisor: "we understand everybody needs their power, but we have to be meticulous in how we restore power so, that we don't create a hazard and we're able to avoid the hazards that have been created by nature." power is expected to be back on in bedford, botetourt, campbell and patrick counties tonight. a-e-p says it may be friday before everyone's electricity is after serving her community home-cooked meals for generations.. the legacy of a local woman lives on. "she treated everybody right and she treated them good. why alpha averill's sons say ... pe

downtown roanoke inc., and the city of roanoke are calling this first year a success. more than 13- thousand people skated at the rink in the 12 weeks it was open. although the temperature has been bitter cold, those who came out to the rink say once they started skating they hardly noticed it. stephanie renberg:"actually, i don't know, one thing for me, whenever i go ice skating as soon as you get on the rink you kind of forget about the cold because you're just doing everything else and so i didn't notice it at all." today is the last day to get out on the rink. after sessions wrap up, crews will start to de-construct the ice and put the storage until next season. fast. commute will be a dangeorus one. first alert meteorologist brent watts has the hour by hour forecast. here is a look at the highs, lows and regional airports. we are back with the complete first alert forecast after this 20to snow was a gallon blacksburg at of her about where it's been snowing for a while now already coding the ground and deep but enough that's causing some problems if you're in be tr

a storm is brewing in the star city as snow fills the streets in downtown roanoke. storm team 10 meteorologist alan auglis is live in roanoke. how's it going alan? we want to keep you up-to-date on starting at 5:00am monday morning. jenna, patrick, kristina and jonathan will have the very latest on our winter storm you up-to-date on our developing winter weather. you up-to-date on our developing winter weather. tune into virginia today starting at 5:00am monday morning. jenna, patrick, kristina and jonathan will have the very latest on our winter storm warning. we'll also have live reports from across southwest virginia to help you with your morning commute. and, when we're not on the air ... just download the storm team 10 weather app or head to our new at 11 ... an explosion in bedford county sends two people to the hospital. it happened around 7:20 this evening near the 1300 block of rexford drive. according to the bedford county fire marshal's office ... initial reports say there was some type of explosion in a shed. the two people were sent to roanoke memorial

as the number of homeless students continues to rise in roanoke, roanoke city public schools is raising awareness. wdbj7's amanda kenney is hear with more on the school district's campaign. good morning kimberly. last roanoke city publics schools end the school year with 604 homeless students. here to update up on the current numbers is justin mcleod. 1. justin, where does the district stand right now with homeless students? sometimes a stereotype of someone who is homeless. but how do you define a student who is homeless? 3. the district has a long going on to help homeless students. tell me about homeless thank you justin. kimberly, coming up in the next half hour, we talk to a principal who will tell us more about their campaign to help homeless students. unprovoked shark attacks became all too common in 20- 15. what one report says about those attacks. and sharks aren't the only things hidden in the water. what historical artifact was revealed diego. eastbundle up is you had out this morning we are finding temperature starting off in the teens and twenties windchill in the single di

but roanoke city, roanoke county and salem are partnering on a regional center that citizens will use to report accidents involving property damage. police officers will continue to investigate accidents that involve injuries, traffic violations or other unusual circumstances. but for wrecks with property damage alone, the regional collision reporting center will take care of the paperwork. howard hall/roanoke county police chief: this concept has actually been used in canada for better than 20 years, particularly in the toronto area the roanoke center would be a first for the united states, but roanoke county police chief howard hall says the concept has strong public support in canada. he says the system will get motorists off the road and out of danger more quickly, and allow police officers to concentrate on more important activities. what we anticipate this to do is free up officer time that would normally be taken in to use that for higher priorities. and in my mind, higher priority is taking part in activities that would help us reduce the number of traffic crashes. -- the coll