The Old Blacksburg Middle School Transition Committee is seeking public input to kick off an international design competition for the old Blacksburg Middle School property on South Main Street.
(more…)

Former Governor Mark R. Warner will formally launch his campaign for the U.S. Senate during a statewide kick-off tour scheduled to begin on the night of Sunday, May 4 and extending through the afternoon of Wednesday, May 7. The tour includes scheduled events in 11 localities representing every region of the Commonwealth, and will highlight significant locations, projects and initiatives associated with Warner’s 2002-2006 term as Virginia’s 69th Governor.

“I am proud of the bipartisan way we governed in Richmond and our solid record of results,” Warner said. “Working together, we acted responsibly to fix Virginia’s finances, we created jobs and opportunity in areas hit hard by economic change, and we also made significant improvements in our public schools and colleges. Over the next few days, I look forward to visiting with many of our supporters, and celebrating the tremendous success we achieved by working together to move every region of Virginia forward.”

Here are the details of the tour:

Monday, May 5

8 a.m. Roanoke Announcement
Roanoke New Fire Station #1
704 Franklin Rd. SW
Roanoke

11:15 a.m.  Norfolk Announcement
Nauticus at The USS Wisconsin
One Waterside Dr.
Norfolk

3 p.m. Richmond Announcement
Virginia BioTechnology Research Park Atrium
800 E. Leigh St.
Richmond

7 p.m. Northern Virginia Announcement
The Carlyle Club
411 John Carlyle St.
Alexandria

Tuesday, May 6?

8:30 a.m.  Martinsville Breakfast Event
Main Street Restaurant
124 E Main St.
Martinsville

11:30 am    Lynchburg Announcement
Monument Terrace
9th & Church Streets
Lynchburg

2:15 p.m.  Charlottesville Event
Downtown Mall (in front of City Hall)
Charlottesville

5 p.m.  Harrisonburg Announcement
Courthouse Steps
Court Square
Harrisonburg

Wednesday, May 7?

11:30 a.m.   Vanasse Bait & Tackle
28 Dandy Point Road
Hampton

2 p.m. 40th Annual Eastern Shore Seafood Festival
Tom’s Cove Campground
8128 Beebe Rd.
Chincoteague Islan

The deadline of May 15 deadline is approaching for all nominations of people, businesses, and organizations for the Governor’s Awards for the Arts. The purpose of the awards is to recognize outstanding achievement by artists, arts organizations/businesses, and those who support and encourage the arts in the Commonwealth. This award is only undertaken occasionally by the sitting governor of Virginia, and since the program’s inception in 1979 by then-Governor John Dalton, only two subsequent governors have chosen to make state-wide arts awards. Recognitions have been awarded in 1979, 1985, and 2000.

“Missing this opportunity to nominate individuals for this prestigious award could mean missing bestowing recognition for many years to come,” said Lee Chichester, Floyd County Coordinator. “Even if nominees from this area are not among the final 8 to 10 individuals selected by the jury to receive the Award from Governor Tim Kaine in September, if they make it through the first screening, we will locally recognize each for having achieved nominee status.”

Nominations must be accompanied by a form, available at The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, or online from www.arts.virginia.gov or www.vaforarts.org. Behind the form should be attached one 8.5 x 11 page of a summary of the nominee’s contributions in 12-point type, single-spaced. No more than three pages of other supporting material can be attached. No films, DVDs, prints/slides, or other non-paper materials will be accepted.

Nominations can be made by anyone in the Commonwealth, and must be postmarked or delivered to the Virginia Commission for the Arts no later than May 15 (address/fax is on the nomination form). To be eligible to receive this award, a person, business, or organization must have made significant contribution(s) to the arts in Virginia, and may be native Virginians living elsewhere, or must be currently living in the Commonwealth (no posthumous nominations will be accepted). Businesses, organizations, or educational institutions must currently operate in the state. Past recipients of the Governor’s Award are not eligible.

For more information or to pick up a form, go online to the Web addresses above, or contact Lee Chichester at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts, 540.745.2784; lee@jacksonvillecenter.org. The Center’s hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley will be offering an Introduction to Digital Photography class starting on Monday, May 5 from 7 to 8 p.m. and will meet each week at that time for six weeks. The cost of the class is $80, which includes a six-page waterproof field guide that will be used in the class.

The class will be instructed by Jack Burn, a member of the Blacksburg Photography Club, The Blacksburg Regional Art Association, the Giles Arts Council as well as the Fine Art Center for the New River Valley. His photographs have been selected to be in several local art shows. Jack first became interested in photography while serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1960s. Jack has attended numerous seminars conducted by Nikon, Epson, and professional photographers.

The Introduction to Digital Photography class is geared for beginners and amateur photographers. It will acquaint students with the basic techniques and terminology of this popular imaging format and introduce the students to the world of digital photography. The class will also cover how to use your digital camera to take better photographs, process your digital images without the need of a computer. Also, several options to share your photographs will be covered. The class will also include a field trip where the students will take some photographs to provide some hands on experience.

The Center is located at 21 West Main St., Pulaski, Va. and Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students must pre-register for this class. For more information, call the Fine Arts Center at 540.980.7363 or visit www.facnrv.org.

Radford University graduate Tamatha Farrell received one of two McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence presented at the 2008 McGlothlin Awards ceremony in RU’s Bondurant Auditorium. Farrell, who graduated from RU in 1995 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies, teaches in Roanoke County’s Burlington Elementary School. Being a teacher for 10 years now, she is known for getting at-risk students to love reading and learning.

Farrell received $25,000 from the McGlothlin Foundation of Bristol, with the requirement that she use at least $10,000 for international travel. She plans to travel to England, the homeland of Roald Dahl, her favorite children’s author, whose book James and the Giant Peach is a major part of her students’ year.

Two other RU graduates were named among 18 semi-finalists for the awards. J. Vincent Groseclose, who earned a bachelor’s degree in special education in 1979 and a master’s degree in preschool education in 1983, and Rhonda McDonald, who received an RU master’s degree in reading in 1984.

The McGlothlin Awards for Teaching Excellence are among the largest teaching awards in the nation and are available only to educators in this region. According to Thomas D. McGlothlin, president of the McGlothlin Foundation, “The McGlothlin Foundation wishes to inspire the award recipients so that they can breathe new life into their classrooms, their peers, and indeed the entire school.”

The McGlothlin Awards program, now in its ninth year, is administered by Blue Ridge PBS. Since 2002, RU’s College of Education and Human Development has collaborated with Blue Ridge PBS and the McGlothlin Foundation to host the McGlothlin Celebration of Teaching and the McGlothlin Awards ceremony.

Two Blacksburg environmental projects have won the 2008 Governor’s Environmental Excellence awards.

The awards were presented at the Environment Virginia Conference in Lexington to businesses and government agencies that strive for environmental protection and sustainability.

The town’s electronic waste recycling program, established in 2006 through a federal grant program, won a gold medal in the environmental partnerships category.

According to the town’s award application, through Blacksburg’s partnership with the YMCA at Virginia Tech, 85,176 pounds of electronic devices and 801 pounds of batteries that would have gone into landfills have instead been reused or recycled.

Sustainability Week 2007, an environmental awareness campaign and celebration put on by Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, and numerous businesses, agencies and residents won a bronze award in the government environmental programs category.

The recognition is “a source of pride” for all the individuals and groups who have worked so hard to make these projects happen, said Kelly Mattingly, Blacksburg Public Works Director.

Other winners included the city of Charlottesville, the University of Virginia and the Volvo Trucks North America plant in Dublin.