Bill Foster

Cathy Benson | Botetourt ViewSmoke from a brush fire that burned Monday afternoon on Breckinridge Mill Road in Botetourt County could be seen five miles away in Fincastle and smelled 10 miles away in Daleville. Fires burned through more than 200 acres of forest and brush from Craig to Botetourt and Montgomery counties Monday, one of this winter’s driest and windiest days. The National Weather Service issued a warning for conditions prone to explosive fire growth potential from Craig County...Read Full Story

Donnie Smith, dustpan and broom in hand, swept sharp shards of broken glass from the creases of his Oldsmobile’s front seat, filling a plastic bag with fragments of what used to be the driver’s side window. Smith, 68, who lives on Dudding Street in Roanoke’s Raleigh Court neighborhood, said he’s out $50 for his insurance deductible to fix the window. “The police better find out who did this,” said his wife, Helen Smith, 67. “This is just outrageous. At first we thought we were the only ones...Read Full Story

ROANOKE, VA — A 10 On Your Side investigation uncovered concerns about the adoption rate at the Regional Center for Animal Control and Protection. In 2010, state records show the center put down nearly 5,000 animals while adopting out only 38. In fiscal year 2010, finance reports from Roanoke show the city contributed $610,000 to Animal Care Services Inc., an entity set up for tax purposes to run the shelter. Roanoke County reported it contributed around $200,000. Botetourt County reported it...Read Full Story

The leasing manager of a Fairfax County apartment complex was convicted Tuesday of capital murder in the beating and sexual assault of a tenant, Genevieve Orange, a Botetourt County native and Virginia Tech graduate. Mark E. Lawlor, 45, faces a possible death sentence as his trial enters a second phase. Orange, 29, was found dead in her Falls Church apartment on Sept. 25, 2008. During a monthlong trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, prosecutors contended that Lawlor used a passkey to open...Read Full Story

Corrected 12/2/2010: Four rabid skunks were found in Fincastle and one was found in Troutville. The number of skunks at these locations have been corrected in the online version of this story. Health officials reported on Wednesday a rise in rabid animal cases in Botetourt County and announced a vaccine clinic for this weekend. Eight cases were found in November, up from six reported in the first 10 months of the year and four reported in the same month in 2009, said Bobby Parker, a Virginia...Read Full Story