Virginia
“She was joy.” Family and colleagues remember Nikki Giovanni
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – It’s been nearly a week since the world lost renowed activist and poet Nikki Giovanni, but her memory is still very alive in the hearts of those who knew her.
To the world, Nikki Giovanni was a legend for her written works, words of inspiration and as a recipient of hundreds of awards throughout her career… But those closest to her knew her just as “Nikki.”
“She was just a really cool important Auntie who had really cool things, whose home was a museum, who invited you to go on a cruise to Antarctica,” remembers Lauren Wilkerson, Giovanni’s second cousin. “She was just this larger than life person.”
Wilkerson said Giovanni was there at every family event but her name also popped up in nearly every literature class growing up.
“It happened every semester, for sure . . . No one believed me, especially when you use language like a cousin, people didn’t understand how I had a ‘cousin’ one, that was so much older than us, and two, that was so important,” said Wilkerson.
Saturday, Wilkerson joined others who learned and studied Giovanni’s poetry during a visitation in her honor at McCoy Funeral Home.
“Being here to be with the Tech community, with folks from Blacksburg to get that peek into what her everyday world does feel really special,” said Wilkerson. “[It’s] extra loving to say goodbye to her here in that way.”
And she also got to hear some of the stories from Giovanni’s colleagues who shared the same sentiments about how special she really was.
“Wherever she went, I felt like she was spreading joy,” said Matthew Vollmer, a professor in the English Department at Virginia Tech. “I felt like she was a joyful person and you couldn’t be in her presence for more than 30 seconds without laughing.”
Vollmer and Giovanni worked together for 18 years. He said even in her passing, she will always be celebrated on campus.
“Things won’t ever be the same, but also we want to find ways to honor her legacy and to keep to keep that joy going that she instituted,” he said.
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Virginia
Netflix casting Central Virginia singles for “Love on the Spectrum” after Danville man joins show
DANVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Netflix is searching for singles in Central Virginia to appear on its documentary-style dating series “Love on the Spectrum,” after a Danville man was cast for an upcoming season and producers are now looking to find his match.
The series follows adults on the autism spectrum as they navigate dating.
Monica Karavanic, executive director of The Arc of Southside in Danville, said the person cast has ties to her organization.
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“This show has been loved by millions internationally and so for it to come to Danville is pretty awesome and we’re just really excited and hoping to make it work,” Karavanic said.
Casting is focused on singles ages 25 to 40, of any gender, who live near Danville or Lynchburg and would be interested in going on a date with a man on the spectrum. Producers say the time commitment could be as little as half a day.
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For more information on how to apply, you’re asked to email: production@northernpictures.com.au
RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be sunny and seasonably warm, with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s.
The pattern of cool nights and mild afternoons will continue through the weekend and through much of next week as upper-level flow continues to bring reinforcing mild and dry air out of eastern Canada.
Rain chances will be very limited over the next week, with only a slim chance with a frontal passage on Monday.
Stay With CBS 6, The Weather Authority.
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WTVR
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — Ressie Keen, a 107-year-old Pittsylvania County woman, is safe after escaping a house fire that destroyed her more than 100-year-old home, leaving behind a yard filled with charred debris and scattered belongings.
Keen said she has no special secret to her longevity.
“I ain’t got no secret, just thanking the Lord to let me stay here to see 107,” she said.
Keen said she moved to the home decades ago and built a life there.
“I’ve moved there in 1969, our first crop was made in 1970, and I been living there ever since,” she said.
The fire broke out in Keen’s bedroom on Thursday afternoon. Keen said she and her sitter got out as the fire grew.
“I don’t know what happened, only thing I knew to do was to get out of there. So me and my sitter we got out. She tried to put it out but she couldn’t,” Keen said.
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Pittsylvania County Fire Marshal Scott Hutcherson said investigators believe the fire started with an electrical issue.
“We think we had an electric outlet failure, more or less; an adaptor on the outlet probably failed,” Hutcherson said. He said the fire spread quickly once it ignited nearby items. “It set the bed on fire and the clothes that was on top of it, the material on top of it, what’s pretty much what got the fire going. And then it easily spread to the second story.”
Keen’s son, Ronnie Keen, said the loss has been painful for the family.
“It was devastating real devastating, lot of memories lost. But I know those memories and emotions the things that were sentimental were still right here,” he said.
A family photo album was among the few items recovered. Pointing to one image, Ronnie Keen said, “That’s a picture of the house.”
He added that the album was badly damaged. “It’s so charred it’s kinda hard to open,” he said.
Keen also held onto her favorite cast-iron pan.
“I knew this wasn’t going to get burnt up,” she said.
The home was considered a total loss, but the family said the most important thing is that Ressie Keen survived. She is now living with her son.
“I’m overjoyed that she’s here with us and she’s safe,” Ronnie Keen said.
Hutcherson said to prevent this, make sure that there is a smoke alarm in your home. He says you can reach out to the Pittsylvania County Public Safety office for a free installation of a smoke alarm.
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