Bedford cold case search, Roanoke school cuts & cannabis talks — Roanoke Valley's Morning News 6/10/26

This is the Roanoke Valley's Morning News with Joey Self on WFIR, Roanoke. 705 at WFIR. Traffic looking good at the moment, 70 degrees. On the monkey's side, scattered downpours turning to thunderstorms later on this week. Top local story is part of the federal budget passed for the current fiscal year. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill for President Trump cuts to Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program chip. That can reduce federal spending on children's health care by more than $100 billion over the next decade. And that worries the head of an association dedicated to children's hospitals. WFIRS G. Morano has more. Dr. Paul Hout is president of the Children's Hospital Association and a former chief medical officer. He says legislation that is now law will reduce federal spending on Medicaid through a cap on each enrollee. Those cuts will mean populations covered by Medicaid in Virginia will be forced to compete with each other to maintain Medicaid coverage. The impact is limiting the ability of children. to get the specialized care that they need from children's hospitals across the country. We have families here who have children either fighting or survived cancer. but also all other types of specialized care. It might be trauma, where they need an intensive care unit or specialized surgeons. It could be diabetes. It could be severe asthma. States also pick up some of the tab for Medicaid, and having to pay for a larger share of Medicaid coverage can put a strain on state budgets. In Virginia, almost half a million children rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. The parents are the eligibility entry point. If the parents aren't eligible based on their situation or their level of income, then there's a direct impact on the kids being able to get that care. There are specialized programs within Medicaid that directly apply to the child, but even those are under threat with the current situation. A further reduction in Medicaid reimbursements from the federal government could lead to fewer pediatric physicians accepting those patients in the future. Moreno, WFR News. Coming up, 72-year-old man, now in custody after shooting in two not one, but two occupied homes. And the Ronald Parks Foundation says it's stepping back from working with the city and may take its remaining funds to Ronald County instead. I'm Joey Self. I'm Ian Price. Still ahead. Two new arrivals at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center are expected to be the longest and most expensive rehabilitation ever. Off to a muggy start on this Wednesday. More clouds and sunshine, high temperature 85 this afternoon, but also tracking a few showers, downpours, and a possible thunderstorm later on today. We'll drop down to 68 on the overnight. Hazy, hot, and humid on Thursday, a passing thunderstorm in the afternoon. The high temperature.

The Roanoke Parks Foundation says it is stepping back from working with the city. It may take its remaining funds to Reno County instead. The nonprofit was formed in 2022 to supplement city parks funding through public-private partnerships and raised $450,000 to complete a major trail expansion at Mill Mountain last fall. Cardinal News reports that foundation members say the process was so frustrating, marked by poor communication, bureaucratic delays, and a lack of city buy-in, that five of its eight members quit. That's five out of eight. The fallout comes to the City Council just eliminated Parks Maintenance funding from the capital budget for several years. Vice Mayor Terry McGuire says it's enraging that the city is driving away the very volunteers it needs most. With the U.S. inflation rate sitting at around 3.8%. Forest Hill Swim Club in the K-Spring area has had to raise prices by 5% to keep up. A family membership cost $550 for the summer. And individual memberships cost $360. Owner Brett Fonder tells WDBJ7, he and his staff handle maintenance issues themselves. as well as bringing products like chlorine directly from distributors. But we try to do as many things on our own to reduce the cost for our families and try to keep it as affordable as possible. I think the more affordable you can make it, the better for everybody. You know, we're well ahead of our pace of membership from the previous summer. And, you know, we're probably going to do capacity. We're going to reach capacity in the next week or so. The Forest Hill Swim Club opened on Memorial Day weekend and will continue operating through Labor Day in September. Live in the WIFIR News Center, I'm Ian Price. And a good morning to you on the way this morning around $20,000. That's how much a new rehab at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center is going to cost. And we'll get you up to date in sports completely on the way here in a few minutes. This is WFIR. Depend on it. It's more local news, Sandy in Price. Joey, a person was hospitalized yesterday after a shooting on Panorama Avenue Northwest in Roanoke. The extent of injuries has not been released. Anyone with information can contact Roanoke Police. Red Oak City Public Schools have approved a $308 million budget for the coming school year. $14 million in cuts needed to balance the books. More than $11 million of those cuts came from personnel, about 160 positions eliminated, and 55 employees placed on a one-week furlough. The three-year-old Virginia preschool initiative is being cut from nine classrooms to three. Activity buses only run during spring sports season. Superintendent Verlita White warned the division has no financial cushion, and that under a new city funding policy, the division is projected to receive about $40 million less over the next five years than it would have under the previous formula. The budget may still need amendments once the state finalizes its own spending plan by...

July 1st. Speaking of, Governor Abigail Spanberger says talks on a legal recreational cannabis market are moving in a strong direction as Virginia lawmakers continue budget negotiations. Abigail Spanberger vetoed a cannabis retail bill last month, as we told you, but lawmakers have discussed whether a compromise could still move through the state budget. Virginia has allowed adults to possessing grow limited amounts of marijuana since 2021, but recreational retail sales remain illegal. Speak with reporters and video posted online. Abigail Spanberger said talks with Senator Lacharis aired and delegate Paul Kresik have continued. We are working in the best interests of Virginians, certainly protecting kids, ensuring public safety and community priorities, but also ensuring that we have clear rules of the road. So I'm very heartened by the progress that we've made, and I don't want to get ahead of it by promising any timelines, but we are moving in a very strong direction. The House is scheduled to return June 18th and the Senate June 22nd with a budget needed before July 1st. You're never more than 10 minutes from local news. Morning's here on WIFIR. I'm Ian Price. 716 sports time. We began with hockey on the Stanley Cup final. Carolina B Vegas 5.3, time loose series at 2 after the game. Vegas head coach John Totorello said they made a mistake on what turned out to be the game winning goal by Carolinas Jim Jordan Stahl in the third period. I thought we battled back and I thought a third period is probably a best period. The frustrating part for me is they don't earn their winning goal. You know, it's not so much the turnover. Carter makes a great save, but just after that, we make another mistake. We leave the front of the net. Game five tomorrow back in Raleigh, North Carolina. Let's go to basketball, game four of the NBA finals. That'll be coming up tonight, San Antonio at New York. The Knicks have a two-on series lead. WMDA winners last night, Atlanta, Minnesota, Golden State. High school baseball state tournament spots would beat Hidden Valley 11 to 1. College World Series opening Friday. West Virginia plays Troy. North Carolina against Ole Miss. Carolina League last night, Hill City over Wilson, 126. Fayetteville beat Salem, 7 to 6. And Fayetteville showed some of their power in the second inning, the voice of the Salem Ridge axe, Braden Shank. We take you to the second inning, and Arturo Flores hit the first hit of the ball game. Right-handed catcher digs in, first pitch from the South Paul Gilman. Fastball teed off in a left field. Tucker Carlson chasing it back. He will look up, and this ball is gone. A moonshot off the bat of Arturo Flores. Solo home run past the left field fence. 425 feet on the basketball up and in. For Flores, his sixth home run of the season. And it extends the Woodpeckers lead to three. Well, the Salem Ridgeacks were down seven nothing in that ball game, but they mounted quite a comeback. And again, the final was seven to six game two of the six game set, first pitch six 35 tonight in Salem. Appalachia Lake Pulaski by Burlington, nine to four. Major League Baseball, Tampa, baby Boston, four to three, Seattle, Lange, Oregon, six, five.

Yankees down, Cleveland, 3-2, Washington beat the Giants 6-3, White Sox by Atlanta, 6-5. High School softball state tournament, Broadway, beats Dan River 7 to 3, high school soccer and the boys' state tournament. Winters, Glimber, Christiansburg, Blacksburg. Friday, Glamver will play Bruton, Blacksburg against Adle, Christiansburg, will take on Meridian. Girl Soccer State Tournament winners K-Spring in Glemver, Friday K-Spring against William Monroe. Glember plays Central Woodstock. The World Cup starts tomorrow, and the U.S. opens Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles. Boys High School, Across State Tournament, Salem meet Hanover, 6 to 4, Salem will play EC Glass. for the Class 4 State Championship Saturday at Heritage High School in Leesburg. And Askar the Cup Series Roll Sunday at Pocono. You're up today with sports on WFIR. If you see an accident called the WFIR traffic line, 5277-99. All right, 80% chance of a shower storm today. We have a high of 85. Right now it's cloudy, where it's 70 degrees. Back over 2. Ian Price. Joey, the FBI has returned to a Bedford County property on Taylor Mountain Road that has been linked to high-profile cold cases for decades. Investigators were seen digging near the front of the property yesterday. The FBI declined a comment, but confirmed law enforcement will continue to have presence at the site. The property has been tied to the 1975 disappearance of sisters, Catherine and Sheila Lyon, from a Maryland shopping mall. A case that resulted in a 2017 guilty plea by Lloyd Lee Welch Jr. for the sister's murders in Bedford County. Their remains have never been found. The property has also been connected to the disappearance of Bedford County resident James Walker in the year 2000. A Martinsville City Councilman is facing misdemeanor charges after a traffic stop. Ray Sean Gravely was charged with driving on a suspended license and having an expired inspection sticker. The Henry County Sheriff's Office says Gravely was cooperative and told deputies he did not realize his license was suspended. A court date has not been set. Ninth District Congressman Morgan Griffith's H.R. 6028, the Legislative Branch Agency's Clarification Act, cleared the House this week and now heads to the Senate. The bill would shift appointments of the Librarian of Congress and the Director of the Government Publishing Office away from the president into a bipartisan congressional commission. Griffith says that arrangement dates back further than most people realize. This is an arrangement that came about in the latter part of the 19th century. It's a 19th century construct. I don't know for sure, Mr. Speaker, but I suspect that it had to do with time and distance and the fact that a lot of times Congress was not able to get here to do the oversight that it needed. Those constraints that existed in the latter part of the 19th century due to electronic communication and easier travel no longer make that necessary.

The bill now heads to the Senate. Two orphaned bobcat kittens are being cared for at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Center in Roanoke. Different from the two adult bobcats, the center released near Floyd earlier this spring. The sisters were found beside their dead mother on the side of a road in Russell County last Saturday. Rehabilitating the kittens is expected to cost around $20,000. The center's longest and most expensive rehabilitation ever. Donations can be made at the Southwest Virginia Wildlife Centers.org site, or you can reach out to them on social media. The Burgland Center has announced its 26, 27 Broadway and Roanoke series, which kicks off in October with The Wiz. Also on the Broadway and Roanoke schedule is The Bodyguard, based on the movie this November, followed by Tony Award winner Shuck, Beetlejuice, and Waitress in the first half of 2027. From the heart of Virginia's Blue Ridge, this is WFIR, Roanoke.