JAMES F. SLATER, age 93, of Worthington, died Saturday, March 11, 2023, at the Sunset Hospice Cottage in Worthington. He was born November 30, 1929, in Wilmont, to Henry and Lena (Balster) Slater. He was raised on the family farm, homesteaded by his grandfather and lived there all of his active farming years. Jim attended Our Lady of Good Counsel School, in Wilmont, where he played basketball. As a young boy, he participated in Boy Scouts and attended summer camp at Lake Shetek after cultivating the corn. As a young man, Jim was in an automobile accident, landing him in the hospital for seventy days in traction. A young gal by the name of Mary was his nurse’s aid. Upon his discharge from the hospital, he asked Mary for a date. As they say, the rest is history.
Four contenders for appointment to the Roanoke City School Board commented Monday on a variety of issues including gun control, the superintendent, and education loss during the pandemic.
Thirteen Roanokers have applied for three open seats on the Roanoke School Board, including educators, attorneys, a doctor and an assistant city manager. This is the largest number of applicants the city has received since 2017.
The board is guaranteed to gain at least two new members on July 1. Laura Rottenborn, chief of the Western District of Virginiaâs civil division, did not reapply for a third term. Dick Willis, an industrial digitization leader for Trane Technologies, is ineligible for reappointment because he is serving his third and final term.
The third seat is held by attorney Mark Cathey, who has served on the board since 2015 and has reapplied for a third term. Cathey was previously the boardâs vice chair and chair.