Allow me to tell you about Roanoke. Let me tell you about my hometown and the town of the most recent victims of a tragedy that no one saw coming.
Roanoke is home to about 200,000 people. Our nickname - "The Star City" is named after a man-made star that is 88.5 feet tall and strung with 2000 feet of neon tubing, lights up our city. Roanoke is broken up into the city, the county, and (although consider it separate) Salem. Over 10 different public high schools and more than 20 elementary schools have students fed to them August through June - one high school which ranks the top 500 in the country.
The demeanor of our hometown - quiet, somewhat boring, and absolutely beautiful. Surrounded by all different sized mountains and no matter what season - beauty is displayed literally all around you. Our small downtown caters to singles, families, and tourists. The Texas Tavern, Mill Mountain Theatre, and Hotel Roanoke are just three of the places we've come to know well.
Our local news - WSLS10 and WDBJ7. The truth is - you watch one or the other, you are loyal to your station. I grew up watching WSLS but was familiar with the WDBJ7 team as well - especially after accomplishing my high school dream of interning at WSLS10 for 5 months.
Because Roanoke is small, our hometown news station is like family. You see them in the grocery store and say hi. You know their names. You go to the gym with them. When someone leaves the station or moves on - it's genuinely sad. And to lose someone, live on air especially, is a tragedy.
Questions arise - Who will take their place? What will the station do now? Why?
Not to mention, most of the time the people we see on TV or who work behind the scenes are Roanoke or Blue Ridge Natives. We grew up knowing them and their families personally.
Alison Parker: A smiley and bubbly morning anchor. JMU grad and Martinsville native. Loved by Chris Hurst and all of the Roanoke Valley. Her life - cherished and taken by a former colleague, who was not from the beautiful Blue Ridge. He was clearly unaware of all he would be taking from her loved ones and from our city.
Adam Ward: Funny and kind cameraman filming the beautiful view from Bridgewater plaza working his way to his anchor on air. Virginia Tech Alum and Salem graduate - who also was on the VHSL 2005-2006 State Football team that won the Championship. His life - full of love from his recent fiancée and family nearby, taken by a man he grew suspect of previously. That man - a selfish, evil man who clearly was unaware of all he would be taking from his loved ones and our city.
I've walked the wooden walkways of Bridgewater plaza many a times gazing at the same views of the dock swaying that Alison and Adam did that morning. I wonder, too, if I could ever walk those pathways again without being sad or even scared.
We are Roanoke. Not much happens here - and when it does, we bind together because we love our sweet Star City when it comes to it. Our time on headlining news is short and sad, but after the headlines go, we stay and we continue on - never forgetting the ones we lost so close to our hearts.
