Marco rubio. Coming to our area. How you can get events before super tuesday. Then drone dilemma1 06 sot to get the maximum amount they can out of this little bitty plot of land. The highs and lows for farmers looking for help from above. Thanks for being us tonight at ten, im bill wadell. This weekend a lot of cleanup and questions about an alert system after the tornado that wrecked dozens of homes in appomattox county. Reveal 1f. E. M. A officials arrived today to survey the damage in evergreen. Reveal 2appomattox county schools are expected to reopen for classes monday morning. One polling place for super tuesday has been moved. Central Baptist Church was damaged by the ef 3 tornado. Anyone who was set to vote there can cast their ballot at Friendship Baptist chuch. Reveal 3and today we learned 3 thousand people who signed up for automated phone calls from alert appomattox never got the call about the Tornado Warning wednesday. The 911 us they are focused on recovery and clean up right now. The company that puts out the automated calls is working to figure out what went wrong. Our thanks to joshua cruse for this look at the damage from above. Appomattox county is not the only area cleaning up from storms this weekend. Folks in Patrick County left with a mess from another tornado. Wfxrs Kristen Eskow spent the day in Bedford County. Kristen no confirmed tornado there but you say one family lost a lot in the storms that rolled through . Thats right bill strong winds tore through a farm county causing a lot of damage and even tossing debris as far as a quarter mile away. Now the owners of that farm are trying to figure out what lies ahead. 13 18 30 36 571 02 this is all thats left of a garage and barn at triple m farms in goodview. Lesley morris was at her job driving for the Bedford County schools when first found out what happened. Lesley morris one of the and you know, the first thing, i was like, well, the back barn, are they ok . luckily none of the horses were harmed during the storm. Morris says she feared the worst for her horses when she first Lesley Morris i dont, i dont want to think about that. David morris its not really what it means to me, its what it means to my wife. It really was her dream to own a farm and have horses on a place where she could ride and teach kids and do riding lessons. David and Lesley Morris say some of the horses are being kept under the care of friends. They have put up a fence around much of the debris to keep the horses still there away from the damage. David morris i think everybody that was here in disbelief like we were because i hadnt seen any other damage in Bedford County or anywhere close. Standup the morriss say the support they have received so far from the community is overwhelming. They say friends came to help out with cleanup the day the storm happened. Lesley morris you know you have friends and you know you have family, but like this happens, you know, it really comes together. The morriss say Insurance Company assesses the damage. They say right now theyre still not sure how much theyll be able to rebuild. Lesley morris well rebuild something. But it depends on how much we get from the insurance as to what well be able to put back. You know, expect to lose a 40 thousand dollar barn. Dollar barn. 40 thousand expect to lose a 40 thousand dollar barn. The morriss say many friends and local groups have reached out to them asking for way they can help. If you are interested in helping the morriss they say you can call them at the farm. We have their number up on our website virginia first dot com. Live in the newsroom Kristen Eskow, wfxr news. Thanks kristen. Taking a live look outside our studios in Roanoke County a chilly night ahead. A bit of a breeze. But weve got a beautiful sunday to look forward to. Taylors in the pinpoint Weather Center youre saying with 70 degrees tomorrow . Thats right, bill. Its going to be about as close to perfect weather as we can get in late february. We warmed up a little bit today with highs in the 40s and 50s, but again the real warm up arrives tomorrow. Normal highs for this time of year around the Roanoke Valley are in the low to mid 50s. We are in line for mid 60s tomorrow afternoon and that trend may continue into the first half of next week as well. Well take a closer look coming up in my full forecast. Taylor thanks. Well see you in roanoke one dog is dead after a house caught fire in the southwest side of the city. The call came in just before 11 last night on lynn avenue. Roanoke fire and ems says another dog escaped and is okay. No people were hurt. Damage is estimated at 130 thousand dollars. Authorities are now working to try and figure out what sparked the fire. In Roanoke County weve learned the suspect involved in an officerinvolved shooting has died at the hospital. Police were called to walgreens along electric road and brambleton last night for reports of a man seen waving a gun. A spokesperson said at least one officer opened fire hitting the suspect. He died last night at a hospital. Several Roanoke CountyPolice Officers are on administrative leave as part of protocol during the investigation. So far the name of the man who was shot has not yet been released. In Rockbridge County two interstate 81. Troopers say the crash happened around 12 thirty this afternoon at mile marker 194. The vehicle went off the northbound lanes and hit a tree in the median. The driver and passenger were trapped inside until they could be rescued. Interstate 81 northbound was blocked for several hours but the highway is back open tonight. In Franklin County a rescue group is nursing 7 horses back to health. Roanoke valley horse rescue says the animals were seized from a farm on thursday. Organizers say many of the horses were filthy and malnourished with no access to hay or water. Some of the horses were even eating bark off of trees. The group is asking for donations of grain and blankets to help care for the horses. We have a full list of what the group needs and where you can send help on our website virginia first dot com. Dressed up in their favorite character costumes for the mysticon Convention Today in roanoke. Amid the fanfare one family that takes fiction pretty seriously. Wfxrs Charlie Cooper shows us how one mom is using the world of make believe and mystery as a confidence lesson for her kids. 00 00 19 1924 00Charlie Cooper, reportingfor some people costuming is something they do a few times a year at conventions like this one but for others they say its a way of life. Skyler ireland bedford dressing up here i feel accepted and just like myself. Lindsay stewartits a chance to of the ordinary. Track 1for Mera Babineaux and her family dressing in costume often is a must. Mera babineauxyou take a mental vacation and costuming is kind of a physical representation of that mental break. Track 2shes the mother to several kids who have austism. Babineaux says they often are uncomfortable socializing with that all changes when they dress up. Mera babineauxgiven them an outlet and so weve helped them learn how to function with their social skills through track 3and when they dress up they gain a wind of character on tv, we dress them as the character and then they act as the character. They have made so many friends. They have really developed the ability to interact with other children. Track 4theyre an example of how diverse and accepting the costuming community really is. Mera babineauxwe have a great Geek Community here and i think the more you get kids into imagining and developing that creativity and that sense of mysticon has the more you develop something thats really promotes that citizenship. Track 5into a community where geeks, grimlins and even mini dinosaurs are welcome. In roanoke, Charlie Cooper wfxr news. News. Cooper wfxr roanoke, Charlie Cooper wfxr news. In Botetourt County protesters say they have not given up their fight to stop the relocation of two historic buildings. A former slave dwelling and a kitchen house home after being moved off the greenfield plantation site this week. Botetourt county Officials Say they will preserve history but theyre clearing the way for economic development. Several natioanl historic groups are critical of the move especially during black history month. And a quick note out of radford. Todays new river polar plunge was postponed. Emergency Officials Say the current in the river is too strong and unsafe. The polar plunge benefiting the Special Olympics has been rescheduled to march 19th. Two president ial campaign trails making a stop in our region. Coming up which event is sold out and which candidate you still have a chance to see in person. Jeopardy. The warning International Officials have about honey bees and other important pollinators. Were going to get a little a shift in our winds from the northwest to the west helped boost temperatures back near normal on saturday. As we head into sunday, those winds will shift to a more southwesterly direction which will throw some unseasonably sundays high temperatures will be about 10 150 above average for late february, ranging from the upper 50s out west to the upper 60s around the piedmont. On monday morning, a cold front will quickly move through the area. West of the blue ridge some light rain showers wet the pavement. The best shot at rain around the new river valley will be around sunrise. The showers and the east by noon, and the rest of the day should be sunny and mild with highs once again in the 50s and 60s. A more vigorous storm will track just to our west tuesday night. It bring the entire region a good soaking tuesday evening flooding isnt expected, but we certainly cant rule out a little bit of ponding on the roads. Some models are hinting late in the week, but its still way too far out to if that will come to fruition or not. For now, well say its two Top Republican candidates are set to make Campaign Stops right here in southwest virginia. Marco rubio is set to speak at Roanoke College in salem tomorrow night. Doors open at 7 thirty. The ev start at 8 if you want to see rubio in person youre urged to register ahead of time. A poll released by Roanoke College shows rubio in a dead heat for second place with ted cruz. wipevo b c1 ctr both candidates are trailing behind donald trump. The frontrunner is set to speak at Radford University at noon on monday. That poll from Roanoke College says likely voters in virginia favor trump two to 1. Tickets to see trump have reportedly sold out but tickets are Still Available to see rubio. We have the link on our homepage virginia first dot com. Super tuesday is right around the corner. We have you covered. Dont miss our special report your local election headquarters president ial primary. Its set night right here on wfxr. An eye in the sky helping farmers on the ground. Coming up in our ag life report the benefits and pitfalls of on the ground arc looking for help from above. Across the country crop growers, dairy farmers, and vineyard owners are turning to drones. To make the most of their property. Amid all the possibilities farmers and researchers are hitting a lot of red tape. Josh berry of our sister station kark in arkansas brings us this special report. Everybody wants a piece of it. Americans bought an estimated one million over the holidays. The sky really limit if not for a hurdle keeping most of a drones Practical Applications grounded. 06 324hes got a hotspot here. But a shop in downtown little rock makes it work putting drones to use. So in the summertime this right here is gonna stay hotter. Businesses like arkuav have drones capable of creating a change in the winds for Industries Like agriculture. From their office downtown. To the field 14 121preflight checklist. Drones range in ability from a gopro strapped to a manually piloted drone. To a fully robotic machine that pilots itself around Dunbar Community garden in little rock. 33 478 in the past Dunbar Gardens has really only had a old map to go off of but they brought in drones and it really has changed the whole perspective. 40 237its going to allow dunbar to redesign the garden to get the maximum amount they can out of this little bitty plot of land. Ceo of arkuav brad fausett works with his team analyzing every corner of drone takes hundreds of pictures building a hi res map using various imagery like thermal. Which can show how the sun reflects off a green house roof onto a crop. Something project coordinator Damian Thompson might not have ever realized without this birdseye view. 47 1011a lot of things get fried over there in the summertime. So you have noticed that . Yeah theres a correlation going on which is really cool. But fausett and arkuav have been waiting since last july for through the faa to even charge for what they do. What theyre get these machines in same kind of work beyond Dunbar Gardens. 55 135the single answer thats limiting Extension SpecialistJames Robbins used to fly this Extension Service. He touts the many advantages drones could provide in agriculture. Taking plant inventory. Checking on crop health. Or pinpointing areas to apply pesticides 54 296this is potentially a much more timely application then the current approaches that we use. But it took them 11 months to get whats called a certificate of authorization through the federal aviation administration. The faa even requires this the aircraft. 01 00 232its expensive and extremely timeconsuming. The Extension Service decided to let its license expire in 2014. And now the drone sits in a box in an office. Meanwhile of the commercial licenses like arkuavs the faa has allowed agriculture use ranks fourth. The regulations needed in this industry but it is a monumental hurtle in a lot of ways. Their fingertips. Many hope those controlling the regulations can come up with something a bit earth. To help those trying to farm from above. In little rock im josh berry. The faa mandates say the faa above. In little rock im josh berry. The faa mandates say farmers who want to use a drone for commercial use as certificate medical certificate under a class 2 medical exam and a government issues id. As of december even drones for Recreational Use must also be registered with the faa. An alarming study out from the united nations. Reveal 1bees, birds, butterflies and beetles are among a growing list of pollinator species in jeopardy of extinction. Researchers warn the trend could threaten the worlds food supply. At risk are thousands of species of pollinators that play a significant role in the worlds food production. Reveal 2factors causing species decline include loss of habitat, agricultural pesticide use, disease, and climate change. Recommendations to help species recover include Sustainable Agricultural practices; diversified crops; and eco Friendly Food production. Clinton bags another win tonight. A look at the South Carolina primary and what to and from the shiny to treasured well show you the coins on display this weekend tonight in South Carolina. The victory comes as the name calling heats up between republican contenders. Caroline shivley has the latest primary results. 0 000 080 080 120 450 57 1 071 16 1 161 281 281 41 shively on cam voters in South Carolina handing a solid victory. As the first in the south primary wraps up. Clinton says thank you so much South Carolina all polls had Hillary Clinton projected to do very well in the palmetto state, and its welcome news for her campaign, after losing this primary to barack obama in 2008. Clinton says when we stand together, there is no barrier too big to tomorrow, this Campaign Goes national the Clinton Campaign is now looking to harness this momentum that started with her win in the nevada caucuses earlier this week. Senator bernie sanders, meanwhile, didnt hold any rallies in South Carolina today, focusing instead on key of you come out to vote and you bring your friends and neighbors and we are going to win here in texas. On the republican side, jabs from all camps are turning downright nasty as Donald Trump Holds solidly on to his lead, and sentators cruz and rubio jockey for second place. Rubio says he has a terrible spray tan, its not just the spray tan, its perhaps the worst ive ever seen. This is a guy who can afford to get a bette