On Saturday, May 11, letter carriers and food pantries across the Rockbridge area will participate in the country’s largest, single-day food drive – Stamp Out Hunger. A few days prior to the drive, mail carriers will place empty bags in mailboxes. Then on Saturday, as they deliver mail along their daily routes, mail carriers will pick up the bags filled with nonperishable food donations left out by residents. The bags are then delivered to local food pantries.  

Over 24,000 pounds of food was donated in 2012 to area food pantries – Rockbridge Area Relief Association in Lexington, Community Share in Buena Vista, and Natural Bridge/Glasgow Food Pantry. According to Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger relief charity, about 4,600 individuals in the Rockbridge area - approximately 13 percent of the population - live in food insecure households. They have limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods.

Residents are encouraged to fill their bag with nonperishable foods, such as canned soup, canned meats and fish (tuna/salmon), peanut butter, canned vegetables, fruits and juices, boxed goods (such as whole grain cereal), pasta and rice (instant brown) and place it next to their mail box prior to the time of regular mail delivery on Saturday.

This influx of food helps fill the shelves of area pantries as summer approaches and children are home from school. Food donations are accepted at all pantries year-round. Fresh produce from local gardeners and farmers is particularly appreciated.

RARA's food pantry, located at 350 Spotswood Drive in Lexington, needs volunteers to help unload and sort food donations delivered by postal workers throughout the afternoon of May 11. Volunteers may work a two hour shift, from 2 to 4 p.m. or 4 to 6 p.m. To sign up for a shift or for more information, call Mary Bergen, RARA food pantry manager, at 463-6943.

A fiery blaze devoured the front porch of a house at the intersection of Preston Street and Varner Lane shortly after 4 p.m. Friday.  Lexington firefighters rushed to the scene and were soon putting out the fire with water from their hoses.  A crowd gathered in and near the Roy Smith parking lot to observe the event.  No one appeared to be injured in the fire.

Two Roanoke men have been charged by Lexington police in the theft of two riding lawnmowers from the Nelson Street Service Center on Wednesday morning.

Donnie Ray Whitfield, 34, and Ronnie Jay Whitfield, 34, were charged with two counts each of grand larceny. A third suspect has yet to be arrested.

According to 1^st Sgt. Mark Riley, the arrests resulted after a Virginia State trooper stopped a vehicle in Botetourt County with the two new mowers on it.  The trooper, who was making a routine traffic stop, made note of the identity of the three subjects and obtained the identification numbers off of the mowers after becoming suspicious. No warrant for subjects’ arrest had been issued at the time when the trooper made his traffic stop.

Lexington police are now working to recover the mowers.

Police are also continuing to seek information about the break-in at Books & Co. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Lexington Police Department at 462-3705 and speak with Inv. Cherie Padgett. All information will be kept confidential.

Lexington City Council will spend some money to get a clearer idea about exactly how much a new elementary school might cost and where it should be built. At the same time, Council has directed the Lexington School Board to undertake a comprehensive study of consolidating Lexington public schools with neighboring jurisdictions, a decision that might render the need for a new elementary school unnecessary.

If other jurisdictions show interest in consolidation, there should be consideration of hiring an outside consulting firm to study the situation.

A motion to that effect was made by Councilman Frank Friedman at Thursday evening’s meeting of Lexington City Council after numerous citizens addressed Council on the issue of building a new school and the impact that the project would have on the real estate tax rate for city residents. The Lexington School Board had formally requested $500,000 from Council to begin the design phase of the school. This money had already been set aside by Council for that purpose from profits realized from the sale of the Moores Creek property. Last night’s decision allocated $65,000 to the School Board for preliminary design work.

Friedman’s motion that was unanimously approved by Council also required that the School Board report back to Council by Aug. 1 on its findings concerning interest from other localities about working with Lexington on consolidation issues.

All but three of the speakers who addressed Council Thursday urged that Council take “a step back” and gather more specific information about the school such as exact cost and location and to fully consider consolidation as a way to reduce the burden of constructing a new school on the taxpayer.

“There is always the dichotomy between those who can afford to pay increased taxes and those who can’t,” Lexington resident and former Board of Supervisors member Carroll Comstock said. He went on to say that another “whammy” that Lexington faces is its established boundaries which limit the city’s abilities to create additional revenue streams.

“It is time to face the realities,” Comstock said. “Consolidation is our future. Let’s make it work for Rockbridge, Lexington and Buena Vista.”

City Council also approved the city budget for fiscal year 2014 and increases the real estate tax rate 5 cents to 83 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.