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Southwest Virginia communities celebrate National Night Out to help prevent crime
Roanoke neighborhoods hosted nine different events
Law enforcement marks National Night Out
ROANOKE, Va. – Communities across the country, and right here in our area gathered for National Night Out on Tuesday. They gather with police for a common goal, help prevent crime and make some new friends along the way.
National Night Out is back after a missed year due to COVID-19. A good crowd showed up in Lexington and also in Franklin County, where Sheriff Bill Overton said events like this play a big role in their strategy.
Community leaders discuss impact of the murder of George Floyd one year later
Some say there is still work that needs to be done
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Efforts for criminal justice reform following the murder of George Floyd
ROANOKE, Va. – The murder of George Floyd sparked a year’s worth of conversations regarding police reform in the United States.
Here at home, local leaders say there’s still work to be done to prevent police brutality.
“That was a very tragic event,” Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea said.
For Lea, seeing peaceful protests following the murder of Floyd opened the conversation up for how the city can move forward.
A Democratic activist still needs thousands of signatures to advance a proposed referendum on whether Roanoke should elect its school board.
But Luke Priddy said his petition drive has some support, including from a city council member, and is preparing to launch what Priddy hopes will be a more eye-catching phase of the effort.
âI have 500 yard signs that just arrived recently that are in my garage,â he said Thursday.
If he submits the signatures of 6,500 registered voters who live in the city by July 14, the referendum would appear on the Nov. 2 ballot. Heâs received about 500 so far, he said Thursday.
From Mayor Sherman Lea, the Roanoke City Council, and the Gun Violence Prevention Commission
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This past Monday, our City experienced several acts of gun violence that have left us saddened and grieving. Three youth were injured, in two separate incidents, and one youth died from the injuries. Since the beginning of the year, our City has experienced four deaths and seventeen injuries as a result of gunfire. Every one of these incidents represents a person, with a name, a family, and neighbors. The layers of loss and grief are deep. We are all experiencing the effects of trauma. Every one of these incidents also creates a tear in the fabric of our community life that we must work together to mend, heal and prevent from happening again.