Expect wind chills to range from zero to 10 below zero
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
136 PM EST Wed Dec 27 2017
Extreme Western Allegany-Western Highland- Northern Virginia Blue Ridge-Central Virginia Blue Ridge–
Western Grant-Western Mineral-Western Pendleton-
136 PM EST Wed Dec 27 2017
…WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM
EST THURSDAY…
* WHAT…Very cold wind chills expected. The cold wind chills will
cause frostbite in as little as 30 minutes to exposed skin.
Expect wind chills to range from zero to 10 below zero.
* WHERE…The Appalachian ridge line in Maryland, West Virginia,
and Highland County Virginia…as well as along the Blue Ridge
in central Virginia.
* WHEN…From 7 PM this evening to 8 AM EST Thursday.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Wind Chill Advisory means that cold air and the wind will
combine to create low wind chills. Frost bite and hypothermia can
occur if precautions are not taken. Make sure you wear a hat and
gloves.
Click on the image above to see the absolute latest updates from the NWS.
WIND ADVISORY
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Baltimore MD/Washington DC
207 PM EST Sun Dec 24 2017
Extreme Western Allegany-Central and Eastern Allegany-Augusta-
Rockingham-Shenandoah-Frederick VA-Page-Warren-Western Highland-
Eastern Highland-Northern Virginia Blue Ridge-
Central Virginia Blue Ridge-Hampshire-Hardy-Western Grant-
Eastern Grant-Western Mineral-Eastern Mineral-Western Pendleton-
Eastern Pendleton-
Including the cities of Frostburg, Cumberland, Staunton,
Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft, Harrisonburg, Strasburg, Woodstock,
Mount Jackson, New Market, Winchester, Luray, Shenandoah,
Stanley, Front Royal, Hightown, Monterey, Big Meadows,
Wintergreen, Romney, Moorefield, Bayard, Mount Storm, Petersburg,
Elk Garden, Antioch, Keyser, New Creek, Ridgeville, Russelldale,
Headsville, Fort Ashby, Riverton, Brandywine, Franklin, Oak Flat,
Ruddle, and Sugar Grove
207 PM EST Sun Dec 24 2017
…WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 2 PM
EST MONDAY…
* TIMING…Late this evening through midday Monday.
* WINDS…West 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. Highest
gusts will occur at elevations above 2,000 feet.
* IMPACTS…Strong winds may blow down limbs, trees, and power
lines. Scattered power outages are expected.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Wind Advisory means that winds of 45 to 55 mph are expected.
Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high
profile vehicles.
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Blacksburg VA
245 PM EST Sun Dec 24 2017
…Strong gusty wind expected tonight into Monday morning…
.A cold front crossing the region this evening will lead in much
colder air and very gusty winds.
Alleghany NC-Surry-Wilkes-Tazewell-Smyth-Bland-Giles-Wythe-
Pulaski-Montgomery-Craig-Alleghany VA-Bath-Roanoke-Botetourt-
Rockbridge-Patrick-Franklin-Bedford-Amherst-
Including the cities of Sparta, Dobson, Wilkesboro, Tazewell,
Marion, Bland, Pearisburg, Wytheville, Radford, Pulaski,
Blacksburg, New Castle, Clifton Forge, Covington, Hot Springs,
Roanoke, Salem, Fincastle, Lexington, Buena Vista, Stuart,
Rocky Mount, Bedford, and Amherst
245 PM EST Sun Dec 24 2017
…WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO NOON
EST MONDAY…
* Locations…Mountains and foothills of southwest Virginia and
northwest North Carolina.
* Hazards…Strong gusty northwest winds.
* Winds…West 15 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
* Timing…this evening into Monday morning.
* Impacts…Trees limbs and branches may be blown down. Travel may
be hazardous for high profile vehicles, especially along I-81
through the Roanoke Valley and along I-77 through Fancy Gap.
Outdoor Christmas decorations may be blown away or damaged. Wind
chills will be in the single digits to teens by Monday morning.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A Wind Advisory is issued when sustained winds are forecast to be
31 to 39 MPH or gusts will range between 46 and 57 MPH. Winds of
these magnitudes may cause minor property damage without extra
precautions. Motorists in high profile vehicles should use extra
caution until the winds subside.
Merry Christmas! (Left) Juniorette Publisher Peyton Stafford and brother Junior Publisher Adam Stafford.
Central Virginia Blue Ridge
We wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas! What a tremendous year this has been as we celebrated a dozen years of Blue Ridge Life Magazine.
In what’s become an annual tradition here at BRL, enjoy this special radio interview from the December 2011 Christmas season as Nelson native Earl Hamner, Jr. talks with BRL Publisher Tommy Stafford and Memphis KWAM 990 Radio host, Earle Farrell. Press the orange play button above and listen for over an hour as Earl reminisces about his career, life in the Virginia Blue Ridge and more.
And be sure to check out one of our favorite recipes for the Christmas season. Applesauce cake made by Earl’s mother. Click here to view that.
Be sure to listen toward the end as Earl reads a special Christmas tribute remarking about the late Will Geer who played Grandpa Walton.
Thanks to Steve Crandall for this photo : Just before noon Thursday all traffic going thru Brent’s Gap is blocked due to another jackknifed tractor trailer.
Near Brent’s Gap
Route 151 – Nelson County, VA
Just before noon Thursday traffic is blocked on Route 151 near Brent’s Gap die to another jackknifed tractor trailer.
Updates as we have them. But plan alternate route for now.
Nellysford
Nelson County, Virginia
By Tommy Stafford
Mention the name Bob Ladd and almost immediately people know exactly who you are talking about. He’s either filled their prescription or maybe even sold them a Harley over the years!
The great thing about this place is knowing everybody. The bad thing about this place is knowing everybody,” Bob laughs during my interview with him at the pharmacy he recently bought back in Nellysford.
Customers are more than happy to see Bob back at the helm. Over the past several years the pharmacy has gone through some big changes, some good and some not so good, after the tragic death of Cheryl Tompkins back in 2013. Cheryl bought the pharmacy from Bob in 2005 when it was still in the old Afton Family Medicine office where the Rockfish Valley Inn is located today. Cheryl eventually moved the pharmacy down to Nellysford where it originally began years before.
The pharmacy lost much of its personal touch after Cheryl died in 2013. Owners weren’t local and there had been out of state owners managing local staff from a distance. That’s all changed now with Bob back in the saddle!
“I’m getting a lot of thanks you’s. A lot of good to see you back. As far as old friends, that’s a different thing. You know the area, you get to know a lot of people. A lot of people that I never knew are saying so and so told me about you and we’re all glad to have you back.” –
Bob Ladd owner of Stoney Creek Pharmacy in Nellysford.
Shortly before Bob sold the pharmacy to Cheryl in 2005 he founded the Shenandoah Harley-Davidson dealership in Staunton. He eventually sold that a few years back. And, the pharmacy bug kept calling.
“June 1970 I became a pharmacist and bought my first drugstore in June 1975. this makes my ninth, counting it twice. I’ve had a bunch of apothecaries. It how I was taught. If I do the apothecary thing I’ll cut it down to 1/3 rd of the space max. I’ll make it a real apothecary, all wooden,” Bob said of some possible future plans in Nellysford.
Bob Ladd has been filling prescriptions for just under five decades. He’s passionate about being back in Nellysford, a place he’s missed since leaving.
“I wish I’d never sold my house. I can think of three people now that each take 10 prescriptions and they have come back here.”
Bob says he want’s his customer’s feedback on what they would like to see happen at the pharmacy. He’s encouraging them to drop by and see him to tell him what they want. And he really means it. So stop by and let him know!
Over the past week conditions have been just right for the crews at Wintergreen Resort to make snow, and they’ve been making plenty of it! On Friday of last week they had a soft opening, but the official 2017-2018 season officially kicked off over the weekend.
Photo By Paul Purpura : Wintergreen Ski Instructor Teddy Costain takes the chair lift back up the slopes with a student this past Sunday afternoon – December 17, 2017 at Wintergreen Resort.Photo By Paul Purpura : A youngster takes to the slopes this past Sunday – December 17, 2017 during opening weekend of ski season at Wintergreen Resort.To see more photos of opening weekend from the slopes click on Wintergreen Facebook album above.
Here’s to a great upcoming season! And anytime you want slope conditions at the resort you can click on our menu above under Tommy’s Weather and go down to Wintergreen Slope Report.
BANK ROBBERY / DEPUTY-INVOLVED SHOOTING
Rockbridge County, Virginia
Updated 12.18.17 to add VSP press release. Killed suspect identified:VIRGINIA STATE POLICE INVESTIGATING OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING IN ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY
(Update)
ROCKBRIDGE CO., Va. – The Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Salem Field Office is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred Dec. 15, 2017, at the College Square Shopping Center in Rockbridge County.
At 10:55 a.m. Friday, the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call of a robbery in progress at the Cornerstone Bank. Three deputies from the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene and located the robbery suspect running behind an adjacent building. When the deputies challenged the subject, the subject brandished a handgun and pointed it at the deputies. The deputies fired at the suspect.
Despite CPR efforts administered at the scene by EMS, Robert Allen Morrison, 57, of Charlottesville, Va, died at the scene.
At the request of the Rockbridge County Sheriff, Virginia State Police is investigating the shooting. The investigation remains ongoing at this time.
Verbatim Press Release From Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office:
At 10:55 a.m., the Rockbridge Regional Public Safety Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a bank robbery in progress at the Cornerstone Bank in the College Square Shopping Center. Three deputies arrived on scene and located the suspect behind an adjacent building. When deputies confronted the suspect, the suspect brandished a handgun and pointed it at the deputies. The deputies fired at the suspect. Despite CPR efforts administered at the scene the suspect died.
Sheriff’s investigators are investigating today’s bank robbery as well as a previous bank robbery that took place at the same bank earlier this year in September. Early indications appear to link today’s suspect to the earlier robbery.
Sheriff Blalock has requested the Virginia State Police to investigate the deputy-involved shooting. The deputies that were involved in this incident have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the State Police investigation.
Copyright 2017 Blue Ridge Life Magazine : Photo by Tommy Stafford : Above Devils Backbone Founder Steve Crandall celebrates one million cases of beer sold during the 2017 year with customers at Basecamp on Friday afternoon – December 15, 2017
Roseland
Nelson County, Virginia
Nine years ago the folks at Devils Backbone Brewing never imagined they would one day be celebrating one million cases of beer sold in jsut one year. But that’s exactly what they did this past Friday at 3pm!
In the video above DB Founder Steve Crandall and Head Brewmaster Jason Oliver raise a glass with staff and friends to celebrate the occasion.
Virginia Distillery Company recently launched the voting process for its 2018 Charity Cask. The distillery team asked staff which local Nelson County charitable organizations they would most like to give back to, and now the top three (Nelson County Community Fund, Almost Home Humane Society/SPCA of Nelson County and Nelson County Pantry) are in the running to be the beneficiary of the net proceeds from the sale of the bottles that come from the cask, which will be released in August 2018.
Through the end of December, the community can go to the voting site and submit a vote, once per day. Results will be announced on January 3rd, 2018. In addition to voting, the community also has the option to make a donation to the selected charities here.
The 2018 Charity Cask will be the second batch of a single barrel of Coffee Cask Finished Virginia-Highland Whisky, following the 2017 dedication to Nelson County First Responder teams. The coffee cask is a partnership with Snowing in Space, a nitro coffee company in Charlottesville. The whisky Virginia Distillery Company is proud to support local organizations that benefit the community of Nelson County.
