Today – Monday, Aug. 10
Basketball courts closed
Blacksburg Community Center basketball courts are closed through Monday, Aug. 10 at noon.
Saturday, Aug. 8 and Sunday, Aug. 9
Free school supply giveaway
Join the RADical Change Commission, the Jubilee Christian Center, First Baptist Church on Downey, The Shelter, and the Radford Youth Adult Partnership for the second annual Free Community School Supply Shopping Day.
This is a two-day event from 1-5 p.m. each day, as long as supplies last. The event is restricted to Radford residents. There are no income verification requirements. Please come to the check in- tent upon arrival.
School supply lists are provided, and volunteers to assist in the shopping experiences if support is needed.
Monday, Aug. 10
Radford City Council Meeting
Radford City Council meeting, 7 p.m. in the council chambers, 10 Robertson St.
Monday, Aug. 10 – Thursday, Aug. 13
Noise Alert: Virginia Tech Power Plant Steam Venting, Aug. 10-13
Between Aug. 10-13, university and surrounding community members will notice elevated noise levels in the proximity of the Virginia Tech power plant due to the steam venting process associated with the set-up phase of the plant’s new boiler. Noise will occur throughout the day and night for approximately 48 hours continuously during this period.
All efforts will be made to reduce noise levels as possible, including the use of a silencer.
Questions related to the steam venting process (and during the process) may be directed to vtrepair@vt.edu or 540-231-4300.
Monday, Aug. 10
Blacksburg Neighborhood meeting to hear rezoning request
The Blacksburg Planning and Building Department will hold a neighborhood meeting at 6:00 p.m. in the council chambers, 300 S. Main St., to hear a request to rezone 40.34 acres of vacant land at 1900 Toms Creek Road from RR-1 (rural residential zoning district)to PR (planned residential zoning district). The request is for the development of a maximum of 84 single-family residential lots and was submitted to Meredith Jones of Eden and Associates for Lucas TCR, LLC, the property owners. Appropriate public health emergency provisions addressing social distancing in place will be observed. For individuals preferring to remain at home, the meeting will be broadcast live on Comcast cable, WTOB Channel 2, and will be streamed live on www.blacksburg.gov.
Comments may be submitted via letter or email. Anyone wishing for comments to be included in the first packet to the planning commission should send them no later than close of business on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. Contact Kinsey O’Shea, Town Planner at koshea@blacksburg.gov or 540-443-1300 for questions
Swing ‘fore’ persons with intellectual disabilities
The International Development Association’s 23rd Annual Golf Classic will be played at the Blacksburg Country Club.
Founded in 1965, IDA is community-based and is funded by area United Way and local donations, serving children and adults in the NRV and providing inclusive social, recreational, transportation and educational activities, as well as advocacy.
Opportunities to achieve a balanced life, increase self-esteem and confidence, socialize, exercise, have family respite and practice appropriate social skills are just a few examples of benefits gained in IDA’s programs/activities. Public support is vital.
IDA is in dire straits because of COVID-19. The organization has not been able to have its fundraisers, so the golf tournament is critical to the IDA budget.
Thursday, Aug. 20
Organizing your DNA matches
A program of the Blacksburg Public Library, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Register by emailing
Learn how to organize your DNA matches using the Leeds Method, which has as its goal helping you identify groups of DNA matches that may share a common ancestor. Join Rebecca Novy of Novy Genealogy to learn how to use this simple, effective tool.
Friday, Aug. 21
Blood drive
Red Cross Blood Drive; 1- 6 p.m. Radford Recreation Center, Sponsored by the Va. May #38 Masonic Lodge of Radford
Monday, Aug. 24
Radford City Council meeting
7 p.m., Council Chambers, 10 Robertson St.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
Sixth annual Radford Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament
The tournament will be played at the Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. Entrants may register and/or make payment at https://radfordchamber.com/annual-golf-tournament.
Ongoing
Christiansburg Annual Photo of the Year Contest
The Town of Christiansburg is holding its third annual Photo of the Year Contest. Judges will select the winning photo to hang in Christiansburg Town Hall. The town plans to possibly feature other submissions from this year and years past in a Town-themed calendar.
To be considered for Photo of the Year, a photo submission must be either a JPG or PNG file, between eight and 20 megapixels large (minimum 2,550 x 3,300 pixels). All other submissions must be at least 1.5 megapixels large. Please do not resize your photos prior to submission.
All photos must be taken within the Town of Christiansburg limits and must be submitted by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, to info@christiansburg.org. All submissions must include a completed submission form available at www.christiansburg.org/photooftheyear. For additional information, visit www.christiansburg.org/photooftheyear or contact info@christiansburg.org.
Meadowbrook Library 2020 summer backpack program
Through Sept. 1, every Tuesday from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The summer backpack program is intended to help families with children and teens stretch their grocery budget. The limit is one bag per child per week. It is a drive-thru program, and each week there will be crafts for the kids and a healthy snack provided by a nutrition specialist with the Virginia Cooperative Extension, in addition to the bag of food. The drive-thru will be held on the side of the building closest to the playground. This program is open to residents of Eastern Montgomery County only. More information is available at the Meadowbrook Library at 540-268-1964.
Browsing by appointment at the Radford Public Library
Adults 18 years old and older can reserve a time to browse books in the Radford Public Library. Call (540) 731-3621 to book a half-hour browsing appointment starting at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m., or 3 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Reservation slots are limited. Screening questions, temperature check and masks are required.
Grab-and-go services at the Radford Public Library
Even though the library is offering some in-facility appointments, the library is still maintaining grab-and-go services to help everyone stay safe and healthy. Schedule grab-and-go holds and prints appointments as well as public computer time (The computers on the main library floor will not be available.). Download the myLibro app for free in the App Store to place holds and schedule a pickup time once the holds are available.
For grab-and-go prints, email the documents to be printed to rad.lib@radfordva.gov, then call 540-731-3621 to make sure the documents are received and to schedule a time to pick them up at the building entrance. Prices are the same as usual ($0.10 for black and white, $0.25 for color), and exact change is appreciated when possible.
Montgomery County Economic Development Authority position open
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is seeking applications for the Economic Development Authority (EDA). EDA’s role is to work with the Department of Economic Development to carry out the Board of Supervisors’ vision and policies for economic development in Montgomery Co., including business retention/ expansion, business attraction/ marketing, entrepreneurial development, workforce development, commercial real estate development/reuse and communications/ outreach.
These are four year, at-large appointments. Meetings held on the third Tuesday each month at 11:30 a.m., in the Montgomery County Government Center. Applications will be taken until all the vacancies are filled. Applications are available at www.MontVa.com.
Interested citizens who are registered voters and in good tax standing should submit a letter of intent or an application along with a short resume to: F. Craig Meadows, County Administrator, 755 Roanoke St., Suite 2E, Christiansburg, Va. 24073
For more details or questions, email Judy Kiser at kiserjw@montgomerycountyva.gov.
Town of Christiansburg Public Art Advisory Board
The Town of Christiansburg Public Art Advisory Board advises and makes recommendations to the Central Business District Committee regarding the promotion, support and value of public artwork as a means to beautify Christiansburg and promote creative place making within public spaces.
The committee is composed of town-council-appointed volunteers who will meet on the second Tuesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. in the council chambers in the town hall. As the Advisory Board is new, its members are open to residents’ ideas and suggestions for art in public spaces
in Christiansburg. To submit an idea, please email publicart@christiansburg.org.
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library open
All branches of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library are now open to the public. This includes public computers, notary services and first-time passport processing. At this time, the library does not have in-person programming and does not accept donations or any community room reservations. The library is not assessing fines on overdue books until Sept. 1. Children’s items are always fine-free.
Radford Public Library computers on call
The library is scheduling appointments for public computer use. Call ahead at 731-3621 to schedule a same-day, one-hour appointment within the library community room.
Masks are required, but the staff has masks on hand. The staff will have some pre-screening questions and a no-contact temperature check when patrons arrive as part of the procedure in being mindful of the safety of patrons and staff.
Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library passport service
The library is processing passport applications by appointment only. There is a processing delay, so some planning is required. Call (540) 382-6969, ext. 210 to schedule an appointment.
