Top ten stories of Vinton in 2010
The top ten stories of the year: a look back at the grief, the changes, and the celebrations of 2010
1. Murder-suicide strikes Vinton
The peaceful Vinton community was stunned when two well-known residents died in a tragic murder-suicide. Timothy Drew broke into the house of his estranged wife, shot her, and then shot himself, leaving two children without parents. After dealing with the initial shock, Vinton came together in a touching tribute to the family, honoring the life of Kimberly Drew at a candlelight vigil, and raising money for the children through a 5K race, a golf tournament, and a fund set up at First Citizens Bank.
Friends of the Drews held a candlelight vigil to honor them after they were died in a tragic murder-suicide. Photo courtesy of Scott Brooks of Barry Brooks Photography
2. Relay for Life wins big
The third annual Relay for Life of Vinton was a huge success, raising over $85,000 in one night. The fundraiser went so well that Vinton won several awards from the American Cancer Society, including Highest Per Capita Relay for Life in Virginia in Vinton’s population group, and second highest per capita Relay for Life in the entire South Atlantic Region, which makes up seven states on the East Coast. William Byrd High School principal Dr. Richard Turner, a cancer survivor, was also rewarded for his dedication to the fundraiser. He was honored to receive the award for Principal of the Year in the South Atlantic Region, an award which is usually Superintendent of the Year.
3. Vinton Chamber has new Executive Director
One of the biggest changes in Vinton in 2010 was the retirement of Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Cunningham. Cunningham has been the face of the Vinton Chamber for 37 years: first as secretary, and then as a full-time Executive Director. Cunningham had been involved with the Chamber longer than that, though. Her father W.H. Harris began the Chamber in 1950. Yet in August 2010, Cunningham decided to retire.
After 37-year Executive Director Judy Cunningham retired, the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce is now being led by secretary Kathryn Sowers (left) and Executive Director Angie Chewning. Photo by Kristin Adams
Since October 4, the Chamber has been run by a two-person team: secretary Kathryn Sowers, who was the secretary before Cunningham; and new Executive Director Angie Chewning, who also grew up in Vinton. It’s safe to say that with the new leadership, the Chamber is entering a new chapter in its 60-year history.
4. Vinton Pool gets new life
Last year, the Vinton Town Council gave Vinton’s 61-year-old public pool a death sentence, announcing that they would not open the pool for the summer of 2010 because of budget constraints. Yet with the help of Thrasher United Methodist Church, the pool opened last summer to a nearly record-breaking year. Thrasher assisted with the concession stand, tuition for swimming lessons, and other activities such as a Wednesday night community dinner at the pool. With the church’s help, the pool saw a 70 percent jump in attendance and a 60 percent rise in revenue over the 2009 pool season. With those encouraging numbers, Vinton hopes to open the pool again for the summer of 2011.
5. William Byrd Middle School teacher wins McGlothlin Award
In a time when public schools are being criticized and budgets are being cut, William Byrd Middle School teacher Steve Sizemore won the prestigious McGlothlin Award for Teaching Excellence in April. The award is meant to recognize and celebrate the best teachers in the Blue Ridge region, which is made up of parts of Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The award is given to one elementary and one secondary school teacher every year. Among the largest teaching prizes in the United States, the McGlothlin Awards recipients receive $25,000 with the stipulation that $10,000 of the money be used for international travel. The humble civics teacher, a Byrd graduate himself, was pleasantly surprised to win the award, and it has only increased his pursuit for excellence in the classroom.
6. Town Council, Sheriff elections highlight Vinton residents
Election season came twice this year for Vinton residents, in May and November. In May, three people ran for two seats on Vinton’s Town Council. Robert Altice was re-elected for a ninth term, while Matthew Hare won his bid to fill the seat he had been appointed to after Billy Obenchain’s death in December 2009. Meanwhile, newsmaker William Byrd High School senor Aaron Lyles came in a close-third, only losing to Altice by 13 votes. In a special election for Roanoke County Sheriff after Gerald Holt’s retirement, Vinton resident Mike Stovall ran for the position as an Independent, but lost to Mike Winston, Holt’s Chief Deputy and the serving sheriff at election time.
7. Roanoke County and Vinton 911 centers merge
Vinton 911 dispatchers such as Craig Sheets were transferred to the Roanoke County 911 center with the merger of Vinton's center into theirs. Photo by Kristin Adams
In June, the Vinton and Roanoke County 911 communication centers merged into one. For budgetary reasons, as well as to give the six Vinton dispatchers a better quality of life at work, the Vinton Communications Center at Vinton’s police department was shut down, and the town’s six dispatchers took jobs at the Roanoke County 911 center on Cove Road. Now when someone in Vinton dials 911, the call goes straight to the Roanoke County center on the other side of Roanoke. Residents, though, haven’t noticed a difference. In fact, they have gained services, such as Emergency Medical Dispatching, where 911 staff can talk the caller through emergency medical procedures. Plus, Vinton taxpayers are saving about $100,000 a year.
8. Vinton recommits to businesses with Economic Development position
After struggling to recruit and keep businesses in Vinton for years, the town decided to take proactive steps to encourage businesses to flourish in Vinton. In April the town restructured Assistant Town Manager Consuella Caudill’s duties to create a Director of Economic Development position in the town. Now she spends most of her day connecting with business people, whether that means easing the way for prospective business owners, or visiting store owners who have been in town for decades.
9. Man escapes from Berkshire Nursing Home
In August, local police spent more than 24 hours searching for 79-year-old Elmer Morton, a patient at Berkshire Health & Rehabilitation Center. Morton, who suffers from dementia, left the nursing home at 5:15 a.m. on a Sunday morning, and was not found until Monday afternoon, disoriented in thick underbrush on Niagara Road. A canine search team was called to the nursing home, but Morton was found by a neighbor who heard his cries for help.
10. William Byrd High School graduate experiences earthquake in Haiti
In January, news stations all over the world reported the catastrophe in Haiti when a giant earthquake shook the country, especially the city of Port-au-Prince. While most Vinton residents simply heard about the earthquake on television and online, William Byrd High School graduate David Childress experienced the earthquake first-hand. On a mission trip with Blacksburg United Methodist, he had just left Port-au-Prince for the mountains hours before the earthquake struck. While he and the rest of the missions team felt the earthquake, they didn’t realize what it was until later. Physically, the group was fine, but mentally they were devastated, not knowing if their new friends were safe. Luckily, most of the people they had met were out of harm’s way, and after rearranging their travel plans, the group, including Childress, made it home unharmed.
I would have thought one of the Hodges clan claiming that Earl Bramblett did not kill the family of Hodges in 1994 would have made the list.
After all these years this close family member making the claim, out of the blue on the allamosa.com website guestbook, was great news to me. They also indicated who the murderer was.