Latest news with #ZoeMowery
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Blue Ridge Parkway's iconic Mabry Mill being renovated after recent ice storms
PATRICK COUNTY, Va. (WFXR) – Mabry Mill, a popular stop for photos in Patrick County, stands on the blue ridge parkway, however, the mill has been closed to the public because of recent ice storms. But now renovations have started. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) 'It's almost hard to describe how much people love Mabry Mill. The mill is the iconic image of life here in Appalachia,' said Kevin Brandt, the Vice President for Engagement with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. Mabry Mill was built over a century ago by Ed and Lizzie Mabry, where for three decades the couple ground corn, sawed lumber and did blacksmithing. The tools they used still sit inside the mill, and with these renovations the first step has been to ensure they stay safe, and the renovations stay historically accurate. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) Summer lane closures and work zones on Blue Ridge Parkway 'The second step will be to remove the shakes, the old shakes, and see if everything underneath is in good condition or needs to be repaired. The craftsman from the preservation training center will be able to do that. If they find that once they do, then they will install the new shakes,' said Brandt. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) Now, for some folks who may be unfamiliar with the area, a fun fact about Mabry Mill is it's one of the most photographed places on the Blue Ridge Parkway. That was until an ice storm earlier this year damaged the roof, closing the mill to visitors, but now, the repairs are underway. Roanoke Valley recognized as 'Best of the Blue Ridge for 2025' by Blue Ridge Outdoors 'It's exciting to see a new roof come on and hopefully help revitalize our tourism and we want people to enjoy the parkway and come down and visit and go on into Meadows of Dan and Floyd County and the Town of Floyd, and enjoy the shops and the local communities,' said Rebecca Adcock, the Executive Director for the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce. Local businesses are still recovering from those ice storms. While they are grateful the mill will reopen soon, they say there are other problems that need to be addressed. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) 'It's devastating to local businesses, that it takes the parkway that long to clean up the road so there's many symptoms to a larger problem. So while we're really grateful for the new roof on Mabry Mill, it's just one of many, many problems,' said Felecia Shelor, the owner of Poor Farmers Market and Concord Corner Store, 'And the answer can't be addressed with donations from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, it's going to have to be a federal government effort.' Officials with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation say they hope to have the mill back open by the end of June or beginning of July. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Hokies Remember,' Virginia Tech continues to honor the lives lost 18 years ago
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – 18 years ago, our region suffered the worst mass shooting in Virginia at Virginia Tech's campus. So we pause to remember those 32 lives lost. Just after midnight on April 16th, a candle was lit at the memorial on Virginia Tech's campus. That candle's flame will burn for 24 hours to show that those lives we lost 18 years ago will never be forgotten. Virginia Tech's campus was somber as many gathered around the April 16th memorial to watch the Corps of Cadets standing in watch. The cadets will be there all day to ensure the flame stays lit. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery) But it's not just Blacksburg that continues to honor the memory of those we've lost, flags across the commonwealth are at half staff as well. And this past weekend, Tech held its annual 3.2 mile Run in Remembrance, which brought around 15,000 people to Blacksburg. Orange Theory Fitness remembering Virginia Tech shooting victims 'Hokies, remember, and remember those precious lives that were taken from us,' said Mark Owczarski, the spokesperson for the University, 'Regardless of where you are, here in Blacksburg, across the commonwealth, across the nation, nobody should ever have to experience that, sense of loss and Hokies will forever want to remember those lives, but also to remember that we must turn to each other in difficult times to help us through when life is at its most unthinkable.' President Tim Sands and his wife, Dr. Laura Sands laid two wreaths at the memorial at exactly 9:43 a.m., the same time the first shots were fired 18 years ago. A moment of silence followed. Then. President Sands and his wife walked the entirety of the memorial to look at all 32 names. 'Those 32 lives will never be forgotten, and so it has become that sense of tradition. It marks the fact that throughout the entire day Hokies will reflect and recall the impact that those lives could have had, and in the time they were with us, they did indeed have on our lives,' said Owczarski. At 11:27 p.m., the Corps Cadets will stand guard for 32 minutes before extinguishing the candle, bringing it back into Burrus Hall to continue the legacy that's left. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘It's horrifically beautiful,' The Clothesline Project, a visual testimony of violence on a community
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) – The Women's Center at Virginia Tech and United Feminist Movement are honoring the end of Women's History Month and the beginning of Sexual Assault Awareness Month with the Clothesline Project. The project is a visual testimony to the effects of gender-based and sexual violence on the community. Hundreds of shirts were hanging in Squires Hall on Tech's campus on Wednesday, March 27th, all representing someone's story of violence. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery/WFXR News) Southwest & Central Virginia Honor Flight prepares for 10th annual trip to Washington D.C. The shirts were on display side by side to show the victims standing together. Shirts are color-coded, with each color representing different traumas: White: for victims who have died of violence. Yellow or beige: survivors who have been battered or assaulted. Red, pink, or orange: For those who have been sexually assaulted. Blue or green: for survivors of incest or child sexual abuse. Purple or lavender: for those attacked because of their sexual orientation. Black: for those disabled because of violence. 'I think it is horrifically beautiful. Every shirt is a work of art. Every shirt tells the story of a survivor or a victim of gender based or sexual violence, and it's an awareness that people need to have about what happens in our community,' said Susan Anderson, the facilitator for the Clothesline Project on Virginia Tech's campus. (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery/WFXR News) The display has been put up annually at Virginia Tech since the 1990s. The stories shown on the shirts represent the entire New River Valley, women, men, students, faculty, and community members. YMCA of Pulaski County announces funds to expand memberships, services 'It really raises awareness that violence happens in our community. We are no less safe or more safe than any other college community,' said Anderson, 'We want to raise that awareness that people can't have these prejudices like, 'violence only happens to poor people,' or 'people who live in that neighborhood' or 'this ethnic group' or 'those religious people.' Violence cuts across all socioeconomic lines, all kinds of lines, and it is something that we need to understand so that we can work as a community to try to lessen it.' (Photo Credit: Zoe Mowery/WFXR News) For the rest of this week, those who wish to create a shirt are able to from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the women's center on Washington Street. This is open to everyone in the community. Another time to see some of the shirts collected over the decades is at the Annual Take Back the Night on April 10th at 7 p.m., an annual rally on campus against all forms of sexual violence. For more information about domestic violence, you can visit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
