This afternoon House of Delegates’ Bill 46 died in the Agriculture Committee when no committee member made a motion to advance it.

The bill was filed by 8th District Delegate Greg Habeeb, a Republican who represents Craig County, at the request of constituents in Craig, Roanoke and Montgomery counties could have gotten the state out of the kitchens of people who can and want to sell pickles, chow chow, relish, salsa, pepper jelly and other preserved foods that contain vinegar.

For years, individuals prepared and sold home-canned acidified foods at farmers’ markets, as well as at their farms, and festivals.

Home-canned pickled products can still be sold at festivals and church bazaars, but not at farmers’ markets.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services opposes the sale of home-canned pickles and other acidified foods because of the health danger if such foods are not processed properly, VDACS staff said.

The third time was not the charm for the bill. Two years ago when a Democrat from Charlottesville submitted a similar bill, it failed in committee. Last year another bill was withdrawn, according to members of the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, because of large agribusiness opposition.

VICFA’s mission is to “promote and preserve unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home produced food products.”

No citizens signed up to speak at the hearing, and the only remarks were glowing praise by Supervisor Joe “Butch” Church for Community Planner Amanda Micklow and citizens who came up with ideas to give Glenvar identity.

The plan was “built from the ground up instead of from government down,” said Church, who represents Glenvar, Catawba and Masons Cove on the board of supervisors.

The center of Glenvar Village would be the new Glenvar Library now under construction at the intersection of West Main and Dougherty Road, the entrance to Glenvar Schools, Fort Lewis Elementary School and areas in between.

For planning purposes, the Glenvar Community Plan encompasses from Dixie Caverns and the Montgomery County line to the Salem City Line.

Supervisors’ Chairman Richard Flora explained to citizens in the audience that supervisors were not asking a lot of questions about the Glenvar plan because they had held a work session on the subject at the last supervisors’ meeting.

Now the Glenvar plan is officially part of Roanoke County’s Comprehensive Plan, which is a long-range policy and implementation guide county leaders use to make decisions on the overall growth and development.

The ideas of the way Glenvar should look and what people who live there want to see – and don’t want – came from a series of community meetings that started two years ago.

From that, 17 citizens were tapped for the Glenvar Community Focus Group to work with Micklow and other members of the county planning staff to create guidelines from the 101 visual preference surveys citizens completed, ideas brought up at the community meetings and by the focus group members.

For more details, see this week’s Jan. 26 issue of the Salem Times-Register.

The 1.5-mile-section in South Salem will run from a parking area and trail head that has been named Riverside Park on West Riverside Drive near the River Rock restaurant, and will eventually connect to Salem Rotary Park on Rt. 419.

Salem representatives and others turn ceremonial dirt to break ground officially Jan. 18 for the third section of Roanoke River Greenway in Salem. Photo by Meg Hibbert

Like other the other two completed portions of the Greenway in Salem, the majority of the money to grade, pave and plant the path for walking, running and bicycling comes from a combination of federal funds for transportation alternatives, state money and local money and in-kind services. Money from industries, businesses and citizens also comes into play.

Mark McClain, one of Salem’s appointed representatives on the Greenway commission and the current chairman, told the 40 people gathered on a windy, blue-sky day how pleased he and other commission members are to “Have a dream and see the dream realized.”

Those wielding shovels were four of the five Salem City Council members, Roanoke County Supervisor Charlotte Moore, citizen representatives on the Roanoke River Greenway Commission and outdoor supporters.

The roots of the greenway system in Salem, Roanoke County, City of Roanoke and the Town of Vinton date back to the mid-1990s when members of Valley Beautiful discussed a trail system, said Pam Ogden of Salem, who was on Valley Beautiful at the time.

The other completed portions of the Roanoke River Greenway in Salem are the David Smith section in Moyer Park that was built in the late-’90s, and a 1.3-mile section that runs between Apperson Drive and Colorado Street.

A short section of paved trail near Woodbridge Subdivision was financed and built with other moneys, said Salem Planner Ben Tripp. Green Hill Park in Roanoke County has a trail section, and other heavily used portions are in Roanoke City near downtown and in the Town of Vinton.

Eventually, plans call for connecting the Roanoke Valley with trails from the Roanoke County-Montgomery County line through Salem, Roanoke City, Vinton and to Explore Park near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The next section in Salem that is currently out for bid will run from Apperson behind Salem Ridge Apartments and to the Roanoke City line.

Tripp said he expects that one may be completed before the West Riverside portion, because of a small section of the latter that will require construction of a footbridge where West Riverside Drive falls away toward the river at 12 O-Clock Knob road.

Repairs have been underway by solid waste and garage employees throughout the day in order to get as many of the trucks as possible back on the road. Residents who normally have their trash collected on Tuesday will have their trash collected on Wednesday. All other routes will be delayed by one day. Residents are encouraged to contact the Solid Waste Division at 540-387-6225 if they have any questions.

This is the first time an incident like this has occurred in Roanoke County. The trucks are kept behind a secure gate at Roanoke County’s Public Service Center on Kessler Mill Road in Salem.  The investigation has been turned over to Roanoke County Police Detective D. Walters. So far, no one has been charged and police are appealing to the community for help in identifying the person or persons responsible. If anyone has information regarding this incident, they are asked to call 540-562-3265.

Special Agent Judy Sykes from the Federal Bureau of Investigation office in Richmond will speak during the event from 6 to 6:50 p.m. hosted by Fort Lewis Christian Church on West Main Street in Salem.

January 11 is National Human Trafficking Day.

Participants will gather for opening remarks in the Garden of Justice in front of the church at 2931 W. Main Street. Afterwards, they will process in the church’s fellowship hall for hot drinks and Sykes’ presentation.

Disciples of Christ women from Virginia and North Carolina have been asked to create a faith response to human trafficking in their states, said Fort Lewis Christian member Jennie Sue Murdock.

Call 389-6733 for additional information.

The trucks are kept behind a secure gate at Roanoke County’s Public Service Center on Kessler Mill Road in Salem. The windshields were damaged as well as some truck mirrors. County officials, at this time, are uncertain how long the repairs will take. There were 15 trucks involved, and 18 windshields (there are two windshields per vehicle).

Roanoke County will provide more information on the trash collection schedule as it becomes available. For questions, please contact Anne Marie Green, Director of Roanoke County’s General Services Department, at 387-6200.

The meeting will be in the regular place: Council Chambers at the rear of Salem City Hall on North Broad Street.

Council is meeting early in order for Salem High School students to be recognized for academic, athletic, forensic and yearbook championships. Council meeting will be followed by a reception for students at 7 p.m in City Hall.

The location of the reception was erroneously printed in the Jan. 5 Salem Times-Register as the Salem Civic Center.

Wilson, who was surrounded by his family and coaches and dressed in a coat and tie, ran for 1,709 yards this season, breaking Ryan Williams single season rushing record of 1,655 yards set in 2009.

The ACC Player of the Year is projected to be the third running back taken in the draft by ESPN analyst Todd Mcshay, likely late first or early second round, and could better his stock at the NFL combine.

Earlier in the week, Jayron Hosley, a junior cornerback, announced he would enter the draft.

Submitted from Virginia Tech

• Jacob Semones for winning the 2011 State AA, Wrestling Championship.

• Salem High School Tennis Team for winning the 2011 State AA Tennis Championship.

• Salem High School Forensics Team for winning the 2011 State AA Forensics Championship.

• Salem High School “Laconian” Staff for winning the national 2010 Gold Crown Award for the school’s yearbook.

NOTE: In the Salem Times-Register’s original post Jan. 4, it erroneously said students would be honored at the Salem Civic Center. Instead, the reception for them will follow council meeting in City Hall at 7 p.m.