The Valley Today

Our conversation today with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner is part of an ongoing series following the work on Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive plan. The planning process will unfold over the course of four years with the majority of the community collaboration occurring from 2020-2022, with input in 2023-2024. Today, Tyler walked us through Chapter Nine: Emergency Ser...

Our conversation for Extension Office Friday included Joanne Royaltey, Program Associate based in the Frederick County Extension Office (though she serves all five counties.) Our topic was the 2024 class for becoming a Master Gardener. Joining Joanne was Chris Jorgenson & Kate Reed. Both are Master Gardeners and will serve as program leads for the upcoming class alongside Joanne. The women gave de...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis , Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College gave details about their Data Center Technician program offered at the Middletown campus. Samantha Brill, who serves as a Program Manager at  Laurel Ridge Workforce Solutions and Raphael Caballero, an adjunct IT professor, joined us to talk about the program. We discussed the high demand for data cent...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce included Jeremy Seal. Jeremy is the owner of Mend My Mobile. Jeremy explained the services he offers at his mobile (and tablet) repair shop located at  1416 US HWY 211 West, in Luray. He talked about the types of repairs such as screens, camera lenses, batteries, and...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Old Town Winchester edition - featured Jenny McDonald from the City of Winchester to talk about the importance of shopping small this holiday season and throughout the year. She told us how successful WINdependent Weekend was and gave several statistics about how shopping small has a positive impact on our local economy. We talked about all the small business...

Our conversation today with Katherine Solenberger from The Homestead Farm at Fruit Hill Orchard gave us a bit of family history that included how her property has evolved over the years. We talked about the Christmas Market that is currently open through December 21, 2023 and features fresh-cut Christmas trees, local artisan gifts, and fresh baked goods. She also told us about the addition of the...

Our conversation today with Jeremy Sanders (Marketing Manager) and Ashley Ferguson (Program Supervisor) from Frederick County Parks & Recreation gave details for Walking in a Winter Wonderland and several other events like their Holiday Scavenger Hunt Fun Run , upcoming trips, and the 2024 Someone Special Dance Walking in a Winter Wonderland opened on Friday, November 24, 2023, and will conclude M...

Our conversation for Traffic Safety Thursday with Lt. Warren Gosnell from  Frederick County Sheriff's Office covered several topics. He told us about a recent traffic situation that caused a several mile backup on I81 in BOTH directions and encouraged listeners to always be prepared for such situations. In particular, we talked about being ready for winter driving and what types of things you shou...

Our conversation today for The Valley Business Today with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce gave us a recap of the Christmas Parade that happened last weekend as well as a look forward to some upcoming events. If you'd like to see photos or video of the parade, follow the chamber on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontRoyalChamber   Niki told us about a ribbon cutt...

Our Tourism Tuesday conversation with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism gave us quite a list of things to do throughout Shenandoah County in the month of December. Christmas in the Valley - a drive thru twinkling light display - at Shenandoah County Fairgrounds opened on November 24, 2023, and will run through December 31, 2023. Every Friday and Saturday gates will open at 5pm and last car...

Our conversation today with Cori Pence, Communications Specialist with Northwestern Community Services Board Prevention & Wellness Services is part of a year-long partnership with Northwestern Community Services Board highlighting eight different dimensions of wellness. Their "Rooted in" campaign is in its third year with 2023's message: Rooted in Wellness . They encourage community members to get...

Our conversation for United Way Day featured United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley 's CEO, Kaycee Childress and her guest, Tori Babbington. Tori is the managing attorney for rural programs with Just Neighbors. Just Neighbors is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization dedicated to serving and supporting the immigrant community of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.  Tori discussed her o...

Our conversation today with Jeff Alban, Artistic Director and Steve Hommowun, First Tenor with Blue Ridge Singers gave us all the details for their upcoming Christmas concert Series - On Christmas Night . We met up prior to a rehearsal at Front Royal Presbyterian Church - you can hear part of that rehearsal at the end of the conversation. We talked about what goes into creating the choirs sound, t...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Shayla Rickard, Business Retention Manager for Frederick County Economic Development Authority featured Mary Sullivan. Mary is the Project Coordinator for the Valley Internship Experience Workgroup (VIEW) of Virginia Talent + Opportunity Program (VTOP) . VTOP is a program aimed at connecting students with companies through internships - paid and...

Today's conversation for Tourism Tuesday with Justin Kerns from Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitor's Bureau also featured Andy Gail from Literacy Volunteers and Donnie McGhee from The Ivy Chest . The group gave many of the details for the Winchester Winter Village that will kick off in Old Town Winchester on December 8, 2023, and run through December 10, 2023. The event will resemble...

Our conversation today with Misty Weaver was twofold. As a local real estate agent with the Dream Weaver Team, Misty gave us a few tips and some insight into the local market. In the second segment, we talked about her role as publisher of OldTownist magazine. We discussed the current state of the real estate market & Misty clarified common misconceptions about the market, including the impact of...

Our conversation today for part two of a "Shop Small Saturday" edition of The Valley Today with Carl Knoblock, Virginia District Director of the Small Business Administration featured two small business owners. First, we talked with Sue Haynes, owner of Clementine Vintage about what shopping small means to her as a business owner, and how it impacts our community. We talked a bit about the product...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Cynthia Schneider, CEO of Top of Virginia Regional Chamber , to recap their recent Economic Summit and talk about several upcoming events. Cynthia told us about the upcoming policymakers event on December 19, 2023, at Winchester Country Club. The event is an opportunity to welcome new representatives and provide a platform to share regional l...

Our conversation today with Gina Hilliard and Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce gave us all the details for their 8th Annual Holiday Festival . This is a FREE event for all to attend! Families can come and enjoy Santa's workshop with lots of crafts the kid can take home, write a letter to Santa and leave it in the mailbox, make a Christmas card, and take home some reindeer food. En...

Our conversation today for a "Shop Small Saturday" edition of The Valley Today with Carl Knoblock, Virginia District Director of the Small Business Administration featured two small business owners. First, we talked with Victoria Kidd Armstrong, owner of The Hideaway Cafe about what shopping small means to her as a business owner and the power of community. Repeatedly named Winchester's best coffe...

Our conversation today covered several food-related topics as we chatted with several Virginia Cooperative Extension agents about their various programs. Karen Poff , Senior Extension Agent, Family & Consumer Science, Virginia Cooperative Extension office is based in the  Warren County office , but serves all five surrounding counties. She also manages the Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Educ...

As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , we talked today with Jason Craig, Director of Community Health for Valley Health. Our conversation was live on the Camping for Hunger bus. Jason explained what Community Health looks like and talked about the social determinants from housing and food insecurity to transportation issues that can affect a persons physical health. It wa...

Our conversation today began with Andrea Cosans, Director of Winchester CCAP to talk about her organization, specifically the three " freedges " that she has located in Winchester & Frederick County. She explained what they are, how they work, and the value & convenience they bring to those wishing to donate food as well as receive food in our area. She also talked of the great need for volunteers...

We recorded today's conversation in Jennifer Hall's office (Sr. Director of Community Investment for United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley) at Valley Assistance Network (VAN). Joining us to share a few stories about their clients and the situations they encounter was Yoli De Leon, Interim Manager at VAN. We talked a bit about the population that VAN serves - mainly ALICE (Asset Limited. Income...

Today's conversation took place in two parts in two different locations on Saturday morning. In the first segment, we spent some time with Melinda Topham from JustServe.org and a few of the youth volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who came to Winchester CCAP to help pack Thanksgiving boxes, sort diapers and be personal shoppers during CCAP's Saturday free food giveaway...