What are Ramblings? Ramblings are a collection of short items that have caught our attention for one reason or another. We’re on the lookout for tidbits related to money in politics, data, business, civic engagement or interesting events. Think you know of something that could be a Rambling? Drop us a line at editor@roanokerambler.com and we may well write about it. Happy reading! 

Carilion cancer center to bear Taubman name

Carilion Clinic’s state-of-the-art cancer care building will break ground this fall, hospital system leaders announced Thursday thanks to a $25 million gift.

Former Advance Auto Parts CEO Nicholas Taubman and his wife, Jenny, provided the largest donation in Carilion's history to help construct the $100-million complex, which will be named the Carilion Taubman Cancer Center.

The cancer treatment building will bring together clinical trials, new technologies and research, officials said, and replace Carilion’s current 40-year-old facility on Jefferson Street. 

As we reported in October, Carilion decided to move the center, originally slated for along the Roanoke River at Franklin Road, to the site of a parking lot next to biomedical research labs and the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine. 

Renderings of the center show a connected walkway to that campus.

Carilion CEO Nancy Howell Agee said the hospital has raised $70 million so far. Regardless of where fundraising stands by this fall, Agee said the groundbreaking will proceed. She estimated it will take about two and a half years to build.

“We will dispense big-city cancer care,” said Taubman, who ran his father’s auto parts giant from 1969 to 2000. 

Agee predicted the facility will be “the centerpiece of a fully integrated program that is nationally recognized for comprehensive cancer care prevention, research and education.”

The hospital system is also in the midst of a $300 construction project, with a new cardiovascular and emergency room underway next to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. 

New Roanoke elections director picked

A young, fresh face will begin overseeing Roanoke’s elections this fall. 

Nicholas Ocampo, 26, will succeed Andrew Cochran as general registrar and director of elections, the office announced. 

The electoral board appointed Ocampo, the chief deputy director of elections for Rockingham County, after interviewing two candidates in late June, according to Cochran.

As we reported a month ago, Cochran is retiring in September after serving in the nonpartisan role since 2013.

“It’s such a diverse, lively community so to be able to serve the residents of Roanoke is an honor and privilege in this position,” Ocampo said in an interview Monday. He was in the process of moving to Roanoke, where his first day on the job will be next week.

A Pennsylvania native, Ocampo graduated from Bowling Green State University in 2019. He previously worked in sports marketing at James Madison University for three years. He became an election officer in 2019 and was hired as Rockingham County’s deputy director of elections in 2022 and was promoted in 2023 to chief deputy director.

The three-person electoral board has two members of the same political party as the governor. Cochran said Republican appointee Colleen Grecus will soon join Republican Charles Shell and Democrat Stephen Niamke to fill a vacancy left by Republican Al Bedrosian.

Cochran said Roanoke and Rockingham County use the same kind of voting equipment and poll books, so he expects a seamless transition with Ocampo.

“I think he will interface perfectly with the culture of Roanoke City … and be able to hit the ground running,” Cochran said. “I will feel very comfortable retiring knowing that the elections are in competent hands.” 

Fishburn Park cottage repair deadline extended

A Roanoke couple planning to turn the Fishburn Park caretaker’s cottage into a coffee shop have been slowed down by a neighborhood opponent’s lawsuit.

City Council on Monday granted an 18-month extension to Keri and Justin vanBlaricom to finish restoring the dilapidated cottage, one of the oldest buildings in Roanoke.

The city’s 2022 sale of the 1.1 acre of parkland and cottage to the vanBlaricoms caused a stir in Grandin Court, and factored into the ouster of two neighborhood association leaders — Owen McGuire and Freeda Cathcart — who were opposed to the deal. Roanoke sold the property for $10 in exchange for the vanBlaricoms investing at least $150,000 into fixing the building.

The vanBlaricoms have not been able to secure financing on the project because of litigation brought by McGuire, according to Marc Nelson, the city’s economic development director. A Roanoke judge threw out that lawsuit in February, but McGuire has appealed. 

Nelson said the vanBlaricoms have organizations ready to finance the project, but those entities want to see the litigation concluded.

Two other factors play into the delay, Nelson said: The city’s contract requires the vanBlaricoms to seek historic tax credits to help fund restoration. But a state agency must first deem the cottage historic, “a nine to 12-month process during which no significant construction work can take place,” according to a city report. 

Additionally, the vanBlaricoms are working with an expert in log cabin restoration from Floyd County. Those services cost more than expected, so the couple has to adjust their budget. Nelson told Council that the vanBlaricoms have invested about $30,000 to $40,000 so far.

“They are committed to keeping the building,” Nelson said. “There was some discussion about the possibility of a tear down. They have never considered that.” 

Meanwhile, another civil lawsuit is winding through the courts, this one brought by the vanBlaricoms against Cathcart, who they accuse of defamation.

Council members expressed appreciation for the update on the cottage. They voted unanimously, with Councilwoman Vivian Sanchez-Jones absent, to approve the deadline extension. The vanBlaricoms now have until March 2026 to complete the project.

“People are wondering what’s going on and why it’s taking so long,” Councilwoman Trish White-Boyd said.

Correction (7/17/24) — An earlier version of the Rambling about Roanoke's new voter registrar left the impression that Colleen Grecus was on the electoral board when the board appointed the new registrar. Grecus will soon join the board, but was not serving at the time of the appointment. We have amended the story and we regret the error.