🌱 Volleyball Helps Spread Morgan's Message + Love Beyond Campaign

Good morning, everybody! I hope you're all doing well and looking forward to the weekend, which is almost here. Got the coffee brewing? Alright. Let's do this.

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First, today's weather:

Hazy sun ... I'm honestly not even sure what that means, but I guess we'll find out.

High: 82 Low: 58.

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Here are the top five stories today in Roanoke:

1. In honor of Suicide Prevention Month at the Salem versus Hidden Valley volleyball game Tuesday night attendees had the opportunity to hear about and donate to Morgan's Message, a Virginia nonprofit organization named after Morgan Rodgers, a young athlete who battled mental health issues that led to her suicide at age 22. The organization's focus is confronting the stigma against mental health for student athletes and two seniors playing in Tuesday's match, Reese Redford and Abby Crosser, are ambassadors for Morgan's Message. "I think the connection with athletics was a big thing for us and also I think by us doing this together and working together as both teams, we're promoting togetherness within in this environment which is something not a lot talk about," Crosser said. "Suffering from my own mental health troubles in sports, I thought I was alone and I didn't have anyone to turn to. Now I know I have teammates and opponents I can turn to." By the end of the first set, the two teams had raised over $500 for the organization. (WSLS, Morgan's Message)
2. This year The Salvation Army has been shining a spotlight on challenges the community faces through a campaign called Love Beyond and September is Love Beyond Addition month for the army. For the event, every day this month, the army is encouraging the community to look past the addictions and struggles a person is facing and see the person themselves who is in need of love and support. "For us it pretty much hits home, we have a lot of addicts kind of in our area. It's no secret that addiction and homelessness often go hand in hand, we see it every day here at our corps as we're handing out snack bags to our homeless community," said Tesa Price-Clarke, volunteer and special events coordinator. The army says the best way the community can help its current campaign is to donate food for the snack bags that are handed out daily. (WDBJ)
3. Tuesday afternoon was the grand opening of a brand new business in the Crystal Springs area of Roanoke. Yard Bull Meats will be Roanoke's only full service butcher shop and will be focused on providing locally sourced meats from nearby farmers as well as tools, rubs and sauces for you to use while grilling at home. Co-owner and butcher Tyler Thomas said the storefront has been in the works for several years. "There's a lot of work that's gone on behind it that's not been very much fun, but now that we're open we get to welcome customers into the front door, provide them with a great product and feel really good about it." In addition to selling products the company will also offer occasional classes on butchering for those interested in learning the skill. (WSLS)
4. The property of the recently closed Red Lobster restaurant on Franklin Road will soon be home to the headquarters of a new banking presence in the Roanoke Valley. I know, big yawn, you'd have rather had another round of cheddar biscuits, right? Ridge View Bank, which has locations in downtown Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake and has a branch under construction in Salem, will continue its expansion into the area with its new main office. The building, as seen in a developer's plan released by the city of Roanoke, will be two stories of offices and located slightly south of the Red Lobster structure, which will be completely demolished. In addition to the Red Lobster property, Ridge View's parent company, CNB Bank, also owns a nearby multiple acre lot it is holding for future development. (Roanoke Times)
5. With President Biden's recent announcement about a national effort to cut cancer deaths in half over the next quarter century, being called a 'cancer moonshot' by some, researchers at Virginia Tech and Carilion's Fralin Biomedical Research Institute are encouraged by new focus and funding. "I think the dollars will be well-invested," said Executive Director Dr. Michael Friedlander. "There's a lot of outstanding researchers all around the country, all around the world for that matter, including here at Virginia Tech and at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, who if they compete for these grants and are able to be successful in obtaining funds will continue making major contributions to cancer research." Friedlander went on to say that while it is impossible to predict whether or not this new focus will lead to a big breakthrough, he is aware of at least forty researchers in the Roanoke, Blacksburg, and Virginia regions that are engaged in that kind of research. (WDBJ)

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Today in Roanoke:

• Wacoal Fit for the Cure Event at the Belk in Tanglewood Mall (10 a.m.)
• Glasgow Garden Club Flower Show (1:30 p.m.)
• Blaze Pizza Fundraiser for the Roanoke Valley SPCA (4:30 p.m.)
• The Holiday Band at the Party in Elmwood Park (5:30 p.m.)
• Travis Reigh on the Rooftop at Corned Beef & Co. (8 p.m.)

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From my notebook:

• Downtown Roanoke, Inc.: "Help Big Lick Brewing Co. celebrate its 8th Anniversary on Saturday! 🎉 There will be live music, food trucks and (of course) beer! 🍻 ◾️ Saturday, September 17, 1 - 10 p.m. ◾️ Food trucks: Lazy Bulldog Food Truck and Salty's Lobster!" (Downtown Roanoke, Inc. via Instagram)
• Roanoke Valley SPCA: "Barry is all smiles for today's #tongueouttuesday🐶 #asafeshelter #rvspca #roanokevalleyspca #roanokeva #roanokevalley #animalshelter #adoptdontshop #animals #animalrescue #shelter #rescue #adopt #adoption #pets #animallover #animal" (Roanoke Valley SPCA via Instagram)
• The Rescue Mission of Roanoke: "For sale! 2022 Royal Enfield Meteor 350 motorcycle. Only five miles on odometer. Asking price is $4,000. Inquiries can contact Steve Gross as steve.gross@rescuemission.net or call 540-777-7685 🏍" (The Rescue Mission of Roanoke via Facebook)
• Virginia Children's Theatre: "We are thrilled to welcome Director/Choreographer Liz Piccoli to VCT. Liz will both direct and choreograph our upcoming production of The Secret Garden." (Virginia Children's Theatre via Facebook)
• Roanoke County Public Schools: "We were honored to receive the Community Builder Award from the United Way of Roanoke Valley, United for ALICE today at the kickoff for the 2022 awards and campaign kickoff. We are proud partners with the United Way!" (Roanoke County Public Schools via Facebook)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Thursday! I'll see you soon.

— Ian

About me: Ian Graham is a novelist, screenwriter, and freelance contributing writer. He is a firm believer in being yourself… unless you can be Batman. Always be Batman. To connect with Ian you can visit him on Facebook and Instagram.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Roanoke Daily? Contact me at roanoke@patch.com