She graduated from Central High School in Lowmoor, and enjoyed playing the clarinet in the Clifton Forge Community Band. During World War II she and her mother would take their record recording machine to Woodrow Wilson Military Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville where they would play the piano and sing with the wounded men and women. They would record messages of the service men and women’s voices to send to their loved ones back home.

Anita F. Robinson

She worked for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad in Clifton Forge and Waynesboro, until moving to Takoma Park, Md., where she worked for a Seventh-Day Adventist vegetarian food supplier. After moving to Roanoke she worked for the Remington Rand Small Appliance Co., and the Virginia State Employment Commission. She was a member of the National Speleological Society, the Roanoke Civil Air Patrol and hiked with the Appalachian Trail Club.

Anita designed clothes and wore many of her original creations. She and her former husband were chosen king and queen of the Roanoke Valley Mardi Gras, for which she designed their costumes. She also composed music and poetry, played the piano and violin and was a gifted vocalist.

A celebration of her life will be held on March 14 at John M. Oakey & Son Chapel in Salem with pastors Bob Thurman and Ernest Kitney officiating. Nephew Mark Pleasants will sing a solo and son-in-law Perry Manning will sing an original composition and accompanied himself on guitar. Memorials may be made in Anita’s name to the piano fund of the Roanoke Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 4120 Challenger Ave., Roanoke, VA 24012, or your favorite charity.

– Paid obituary –

Stewart Maxwell Grayson III, 65, of Salem died March 5, 2010. He was an Eagle Scout, was active in the Boy Scouts of America and was a Retired Lt. Col. from the US Army who served during the Vietnam War and received the Bronze Star. He was a retired engineer and planner for the federal government who most recently worked for R & K Engineering. Survivors include his wife, Jo Ann Lawson Grayson; sons Douglas Stewart Grayson and Daniel Paul Grayson; sister-in-law Alice Jane Blessley and husband,David; and father-in-law Paul Klingbiel. Funeral services were conducted March 8 at the Chapel of John M. Oakey and Son, Salem, with the Rev. Steven McChesney officiating. Interment was at Sherwood Memorial Park the following day. Memorial donations may be made in Mr. Grayson’s name to the Roanoke Valley SPCA or to the Boy Scouts of America.

Mike Hayden of RC hangs on to the ball despite being pushed to the ground in last Saturday's win over Cabrini. - Photo by Brian Hoffman

Gettysburg (4-0) claimed top-billing in this week’s poll, jumping two spots past Stevenson (4-0), which remained at the the second spot. The Bullets downed previously unbeaten and number one Cortland, 7-5, last week.

Salisbury stayed fourth and Cortland dropped to fifth in the weekly survey.

Roanoke defeated Cabrini as the Cavaliers dropped to number 18 while ODAC-member Washington & Lee (5-0) leaped from 10th-to-eighth in the rankings.

The Maroons have outscored their opponents, 114-31 with a 93-19 advantage after the first three quarters. The Maroons have put up 287 shots in four games while allowing only 139. Their first test of the season against then number 13 Cabrini proved to be a successful one, winning by 14 goals, 21-7, for their fourth 20-goal game of the season.

Cabrini’s Andrew Protenic scored the first goal of the contest just under three minutes to take the early advantage. Roanoke answered back less than a minute later, as Jeff Keating took a feed from Will Fletcher to start the Maroons on what would be 10 unanswered goals.

The Maroons continued to keep their high-octane offense in high gear, scoring 10 of the ensuing 14 goals to up their lead to 20-5 early in the fourth period.

Nine different Maroons had at least one goal, including Keating, who scored two goals and dished out two assists. Ashton Hotchkiss and Steve Furdock each had had two goals and an assist each, while Justin Tuma scored three goals and picked up six ground balls.

Freshman Richard Lachlan scored two goals to give him 14 on the season, which is good for second on the team. Jake Dorsey was on fire for the Maroons between the pipes, allowing only six goals with a season-high 17 saves.

If two heads are better than one, the William Byrd baseball team should be well-coached this season. The Terriers begin their “co-coaches” experiment next week when they open at home against Glenvar Monday.

So far, so good. Co-coaches David Mitchell and Chris Carr have split the head coaching duties, with Mitchell handling the pitchers and Carr doing the offense and defensive alignment.

“David does all the pitching and I take the reigns on everything else,” said Carr. “He decides who pitches and he calls the pitches during the game. The rest is pretty much up to me.”

Mitchell has a strong staff to work with. Returning starters Jacob McMillan and Kevin Bowles give Byrd a left-right combination with talent and experience. Both are seniors, and senior righthander Jacob Clifton will also see some time on the mound.

“We do have some pitching depth, but we’ll rely heavily on McMillan and Bowles,” said Mitchell.

Ray Harron, a junior, is as talented as the others and looking to have a breakout season on the mound. Senior Aaron Stidham and junior Chad Hill could also see some time, but with Harron, Stidham, or Hill pitching Carr will have to do some shuffling in the field.

“When Bowles or McMillan pitch it will be easy,” said Carr. “When Bowles is on the mound Jacob will play right and Devin(Cassity) will be in center. When McMillan pitches Kevin will play center and Cassity will play right. When anyone else pitches, we’ll have to do a lot of shuffling.”

The other pitchers are all key members of the defense. Stidham would like to pitch, but right now he’s the only experienced catcher on the roster. Joe Stickney will eventually catch, but he’s still recovering from shoulder surgery in the fall, and he’s relegated to DH duties until at least the district games.

“He can swing the bat but he can’t do any more than lob the ball back to the pitcher at this point,” said Carr. “Once he can throw, that will help us a lot.”

Right now Byrd’s backups are Tanner Trivellin and Alex North. Trivellin hasn’t played organized baseball since he was 12, and North is an emergency backup who would be better served on the jayvee, where he would play every game. However, Carr is in a tough spot until Stickney returns.

“Tanner told me it was senior year and his last chance to play, and he just wanted to give it a shot,” said Carr. “He’s done everything I’ve asked, but that’s a long time to go without hitting live pitching. This is a little different than Dixie League.”

In the infield sophomore Easton Riggs is at first, sophomore Britton Chocklette is at second, Harron is at short, and Clifton is at third. It’s a good group with youth on the right side. On the left, Harron is a gifted player and Clifton is one of the best hitters in the district.

Hill, Bowles and McMillan man the outfield, with Cassity filling in for the pitcher of the day. All three can hit and Bowles and McMillan have a couple years varsity experience.

“We’ll probably only play 10 guys most of the year,” said Carr. “We only hit .240 as a team last year and I’m looking for these seniors to step up and show some leadership. For us to be better, the seniors are going to have to hit.”

The Blue Ridge District should be strong. Northside can match Byrd’s pitching with two aces of their own in Trent Cundiff and Patrick Arnold, the latter a lefty transfer from Lord Botetourt. Alleghany will also be strong, and Byrd should be contenders as well.

“If we can solve a couple problems we’ll be right there in the mix,” said Carr. “Right now we’re not as good as we’re going to be. It was evident from the scrimmage that we still have a long way to go.”

Three teams from the Blue Ridge make the region, so that’s not exactly a lofty goal in a five team district.

“Our goal isn’t to make the region, I expect us to make the region,” said Carr. “How far we go after that remains to be seen. We’re not a state caliber team right now, but a lot can happen between now and June.”