Will Thomas
Multimedia Journalist
Roanoke, Virginia
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Following his graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2018, Will Thomas began his reporting career at Wyoming News Now. After two years of covering Casper and Cheyenne, he joined the WDBJ7 newsroom in August 2021.
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On Saturday at Southern Team Subaru, the organizations will be giving the community a chance to meet and potentially adopt some of their animals.
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The event is completely free. T-shirts, Dr Pepper sodas and more will be available on Sunday for the event, while the supplies last.
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The Roanoke County Economic Development team and the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement team have been working together since January on an economic plan to improve Roanoke County.
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The Dry Hollow Road Safety Improvements Project was first discussed by the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors in 1998.
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Over the last three weeks, members of the church, surrounding churches (Central United Methodist Church and Calvary Baptist Church) and the community have answered the call for this mission.
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Purple is the color represented by Pancreatic Cancer Awareness, which is what the longtime Star City organization wants to highlight with its truck.
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For the last decade, GO Fest has been a staple fall event for Roanoke and surrounding areas with one mission: getting more people outside.
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Gearheads For a Cause formed just after the pandemic. The group aims to help organizations in Southwest Virginia, especially as they have been navigating the pandemic.
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Earlier this week, Virginia Tech leaders released new policies for students on gamedays.
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Close to 100 people in the Roanoke community gathered Saturday morning for one reason: to address and end gun violence.
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The forums give residents the chance to learn about and ask questions of the people who will be representing them in the future.
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Students are expected to follow all new guidance for gate entry.
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Wildflower Hair Studio focuses not only on a great haircut, but organic products and the overall health of people’s hair.
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On Sunday, at the Firefighters Memorial Fountain, the annual memorial service returned.
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The 6th annual Salem Half Marathon made its in-person return Saturday morning.
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The Roanoke Police Department has several dozen vacancies currently and is looking to fill them. That's why a special hiring event was held this afternoon at the police academy.
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The Virginia Tech vs #14 Notre Dame has been sold out for more than a week. But VT Police and the University are now warning of ticket scams ahead of the big game.
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A workshop was held on Friday for students to get an inside look into a year long project that has been going on at the Myers-Lawson School of Construction.
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Many residents cheered when it was voted against years ago, and their feelings haven’t changed in 2021.
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Crews were out preparing the track on Thursday ahead of the event on Saturday.
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Wednesday night’s event was an apple tasting and demonstration at Morningside Urban Farm,
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The group held dozens of signs saying “pray to end abortion” and “abortion kills children” and encouraging other options, such as adoption.
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RVC began in 2008 and was canceled entirely in 2020 due to the pandemic. It returned to its traditional spring and fall events though in 2021.
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The name of the store is not a play on words; everything from room to room is free.
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The Allegheny-Blue Ridge Chapter of the Association of the United States Army hosts outreach events for the military and the community. On Saturday, AUSA had a very special guest speak virtually at Hotel Roanoke.
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The Dry Bridge School opened in 1928 to provide education to African Americans in Henry County. One of the main figures who helped make it all possible was Reverend William F. Geter.
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No new date has been set, but the fair board is considering an event in the spring.
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For almost two hours, more than two dozen students stood in front of the crowd and shared their traumatizing stories, some sharing for the first time.
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“There is no vaccine shortage, there is no urgency to it and there are plenty of avenues to get it."
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Specifically, it would allow the Mountain Valley Pipeline team to operate in streams and wetlands in southwest Virginia, as they work toward the completion of the project.
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Tudor House and The Grandin Theatre came together over the weekend to promote mental health awareness in the Roanoke community.
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The New Freedom Farm has been a part of the Buchanan Community since 2016.
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Garrett Farms has been a part of the Salem community since 1945.
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The event was sponsored by Emory and Henry College Marching Band. Patrick Henry and William Fleming High School Bands came together to host it.
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It was formerly known as the the Graduate Student Assembly and is now the Graduate and Professional Student Senate.
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On Monday the Roanoke City Council approved the rezoning plan on a 5-2 vote, with Council Members Stephanie Moon Reynolds and Vivian Sanchez-Jones voting against.
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The organization has a lot of focuses, but one of its main ones is providing grant money to nonprofits.
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The forum is meant to give the community a chance to learn and ask questions about their local governments, and their candidates.
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Including a top 14 ranking in the south region for public universities.
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The City's Planning Commission signed off on it last week, and Monday night, City Council passed the ordinance as well.
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A shooting at a gas station killed a woman and injured a man just after midnight Wednesday morning.
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Formerly known as the Humane Society of Pulaski County, the nonprofit changed its name to the Humane Society of the New River Valley.
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In an effort to relieve some of the pressure on the hospital, Martinsville Fire and EMS made the decision Wednesday to focus the majority of its transportation services on those with life-threatening emergencies.
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The routes will run Friday through Monday.
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The commission remains committed to finding solutions to gun violence in the community.
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COVID-19 cases in the New River Valley have consistently been on the rise since late July, NRHD’s data shows.
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Though a lot has changed over the years, it continues to stay true to its roots.
On Sunday morning, WDBJ7 went to Blacksburg to speak with students on what new policies looked like on game day.
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A Memorial Service was held at the Wytheville Meeting Center on Sunday to honor and remember those who were lost on 9/11 20 years ago.