ROANOKE (WSLS 10) - A local man is expected in court Thursday for charges after police say he tattooed two children without the consent of them or their parents. Alexander Edwards, 21, is charged with malicious wounding, abduction and child abuse. He also faces child sex charges stemming from separate incidents. Thursday is the scheduled jury trial in Campbell County.
Edwards is accused of tattooing two girls he was babysitting in December 2013. The girls' mother, Melissa Delp, and her boyfriend, Daniel Janney, were convicted on child abuse charges last year for trying to remove the tattoos with a heated razor blade. Each was sentenced to more than a year in prison.
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A Campbell County man facing three charges of rape and abduction is scheduled to go before a jury Thursday, according to online court records. Jonathan Craft was indicted in January. In December 2014, Craft was sentenced to serve two months in jail after he raised money in honor of his murdered daughter, but never donated it. He owes the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Central Virginia $1,300 in restitution.
In Amherst County School Board members will vote on a proposal to put a cell tower near an elementary school. The company behind the proposed tower Milestone Communications has talked to board members going over the risks posed to students and how it will look in the community. Amherst would get $25,000 at the time of construction and $12,000 every year from each carrier. The new tower would supplement other cell towers and provide better coverage. Two elementary schools in Fairfax County have cell towers. They say the network will operate better and increase data speed. The meeting starts at 6 p.m.
You can try out voting machines in Campbell County ahead of next month's election. The Electoral Board will be available to provide demonstrations. Thursday's demonstration is at the Patrick Henry Memorial Library in Brookneal from 5-8 p.m. The new voting equipment uses a paper ballot and then it is digitally scanned.
In Roanoke, the healthcare community will be talking about ethics and the need for virtues like integrity, compassion, empathy and respect. The fall ethics conference will examine the reasons healthcare professionals sometimes fall short. Doctors, nurses and health care providers will be part of the event hosted by Carilion Clinic at The Jefferson Center
Making sure students are prepared for the workforce is the topic during a Regional Workforce Summit in Lynchburg. Local Career & Technical Education teachers and Community College staff in the Construction Trades, Manufacturing, and Health & Medical Sciences programs will meet. Main topics for the breakout session will include:
1. What credentials, certifications, or licenses, as well as technical skills, are required/valued at your company?
2. What entry level positions are available in your company after graduation? Which positions need additional training programs through community college?
3. What soft skills do you want to see when hiring a new employee?
4. What technical trends do you see in your career area that would help impact our Career & Technical Education equipment purchases and curriculum?
5. What suggestions do you have for improving our current Career & Technical Education programs at the high school and college levels?
The Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and Lynchburg College will host the 23rd Annual Economic Outlook Conference from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. in the Memorial Ballroom at Lynchburg College, 1501 Lakeside Drive. Informal networking & breakfast from 7:30 - 7:55 a.m. and formal presentations begin at 8 a.m. This conference will feature keynote speaker Dr. Ray Owens, Sr. Economist & Research Advisor of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Topics to be addressed include:
· What national trends will impact us locally?
· What's the outlook for the U.S. Macro economy?
· What can we expect for the 2016 economy?
Also, a regional economic forecast will be given by Dr. Joe Turek, dean of the School of Business and Economics at Lynchburg College. Turek will compare regional economic data and trends of the past and present and how that will impact the future for all of us.