A Roanoke Valley government many of us have come to count on in recent years has been suspended. The four governments of the Valley—Roanoke City and County, Salem and Vinton have canceled their free mulch programs.
Residents of the four localities were able to take their pickup trucks to landfill stations the first few days of each month (until the mulch ran out) and get a free front-loader scoop of mixed mulch, which was ground up from yard waste. That will no longer be the case for the time being.
In addition, scheduled hazardous waste events, where homeowners could unload unused waste materials like aerosol cans and paint, have been canceled, as well, until the threat of COVID-19 has passed.
The localities plan to continue normal trash collection routes at curbside, but residents will not be allowed to take waste materials to the transfer stations.
Elsewhere, Roanoke City Schools, which had embarked on a breakfast/lunch delivery program for its students, then suspended the program because of Governor Ralph Northam’s stay-at-home directive, is back on again.
Beginning Wednesday, April 8, school buses in the city will deliver meals again. Each student will receive two days of meals, delivered by bus this Wednesday (4/8) and Friday (4/10). Learn more about the routes, and other CV-19 information, at their website here.Â
About the Writer:
Dan Smith is an award-winning Roanoke-based writer/author/photographer and a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame (Class of 2010). His blog, fromtheeditr.com, is widely read and he has authored seven books, including the novel CLOG! He is founding editor of a Roanoke-based business magazine and a former Virginia Small Business Journalist of the Year (2005).
