Back in January of this year I launched Noke News in the blogging format it is today. And during those first 2 months I gathered my thoughts and formulated a plan for the site. At that time I really wasn’t sure where all of this would take me.

On March 1, Noke News officially became a consistent aspect of my life, and has continued to grow out of my enjoyment and eagerness to learn more and more about this area in southwest Virginia.

My hope is that we all discover, and continue to re-discover Roanoke and a few of the aspects that make it up. And, it’s not nearly as fun taking this journey alone. Thank you for also coming along and taking part in the experience.

Now, on to some news about the site itself (which I’ll try to keep brief):

First, over the past several weeks I’ve encountered some very friendly neighboring blogs in our area. And I have some ideas and am working on a way to provide links and information on these blogs here, in order to help spread the word about them. More on that in the coming weeks.

Second, I’m going to change the posting schedule a bit. From this point on, scheduled posts will be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays each week.

Also, I’m going to post at 9AM on each of these days, that way you’ll know when to expect the updates. Until now the exact posting time has been a bit sporadic, but I’ve been adapting well to juggling Noke News with my other 2 jobs. (And of course, in addition to these scheduled posts, it’s not unusual for another 1-2 to be added at various times throughout the week.)

As always, feel free to leave a comment to a post or write me directly for any reason.

See you at the 100th post (and beyond!)

The short answer to why I’m doing this is: I like writing and I like living in Roanoke. I have never lived anywhere else. Well, I did have a short stint living in Radford for college but that really doesn’t count, does it? I was born and raised in Roanoke and I really don’t have an urge to move, nor can I imagine living anywhere else.

Having said that, what really prompted me to get this website going was a recent drive around town while running a few errands. I noticed things that I had seen on previous drives, but would often give nothing more than a passing glance. However, this time it occured to me that this city is growing and changing, and has been growing and changing at a rather steady pace the past few years. Valley View Mall has given a fair amount of parking lot space to restaurants, the Keagy Village project is moving right along, and I know of more than one new housing subdivision under construction as I write this post.

I’m not against progress or change. But, with words and pictures from the perspective of a common citizen, I thought it would be fun to chronicle such changes seen to this city I call home.