Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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Buchanan County elk tour schedule released for 2025
This year’s elk viewing tours in Buchanan County will run March 1 through May 17, and again Aug. 23 through Oct. 4.
The Breaks Interstate Park and Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure coordinate the tours with the Southwest Virginia Sportsmen, the Southwest Virginia Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
In 2010, planning for the reintroduction of the elk into Buchanan County started after an almost 100-year absence of the animal in eastern North America. Two years later, the first elk returned to the county.
Booking is now open both through the Breaks Park and Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure. The tour costs $35 plus tax; a light boxed meal is included. Reservations are required. Tours last about two hours.
Tours may be booked online or by calling Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure at 276-244-1111 or the park at 276-865-4413.
Regional commission seeks resident input for updated hazard mitigation plan
The Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission wants to hear how communities in the region have been affected by natural disasters.
The commission is updating its hazard mitigation plan, which it hasn’t changed since 2019. The plan “identifies historic hazard information, assesses regional vulnerability, and outlines goals and strategies towards reducing vulnerability” to natural disasters, a press release said.
RVARC has opened a survey that will be available for the community to respond to until March 21.
“This is a timely and important update that will be in the forefront of people’s minds following Hurricane Helene this fall,” Amanda McGee, director of community development for RVARC, said in the release.
Hurricane Helene hit the region hard last fall, destroying about 3,000 homes in Southwest Virginia, leaving 310,000 residents without power, and damaging hundreds of roadways and dozens of bridges.
The commission’s website states it has been collecting “hazards data” since September 2024, which will continue until this March. Public input meetings are scheduled for this July. The timeline states a final document should be sent to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management by August 2025.
— Samantha Verrelli
Roanoke airport launches Sarasota flights
Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport has launched nonstop service to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport on Allegiant.
The flights will be offered twice a week.
Allegiant has operated routes between Roanoke and two Florida airports — Orlando-Sanford and St. Petersburg-Clearwater — since 2006.
Sarasota Bradenton is the Roanoke airport’s ninth nonstop destination.