10 am Archives - The River 95.3

Laurel Ridge prepares for 55th commencement ceremony

Laurel Ridge Community College is preparing for its 55th commencement ceremonies later this week.

The college is holding separate ceremonies for the 1,250 total graduates with a health professions ceremony on Thursday, May 14th and then the general commencement on Friday, May 15th.

Ceremonies will be held behind Commencement Hall and begin at 10 am on each day.

Travelers along Route 11 in Middletown should expect heavy traffic surrounding each ceremony.

The 2026 Class is highlighted by a growth of over 150 additional students from 2025 and includes 296 graduates from Frederick County, followed by 183 from Fauquier, 171 from Winchester, 137 from Shenandoah County and 119 from Warren County.

Commencement speakers include Dayana Portillo, a graduate earning her associate degree of nursing and a health science certificate on Thursday and Monica Thompson, a graduate receiving her Associate Degree of Education, on Friday.

For more information on Laurel Ridge’s 2026 Graduation, click here.

Other upcoming commencement ceremonies include:

Virginia Tech and satellite campuses– May 9th-17th
James Madison University– May 14-16th
University of Virginia-May 15th – 17th

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

10 am 55th commencement Class of 2026 commencement ceremony Commencement Hall Dayana Portillo General Commencement graduation Health Professions Ceremony Laurel Ridge Community College LRCC Middletown campus Monica Thompson Route 11

WPS celebrates Grand Opening of Douglas School

Winchester Public Schools will celebrate the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the recently renovated and expanded Douglas School on Saturday, June 8th at 10 am.

The former school located at 598 N Kent Street served black students during segregation in Winchester from 1927-1966.

After integration, the building was used as an intermediate, elementary and preschool before being deemed unsafe.

The City of Winchester provided funding in 2021 to begin the renovations to house the school system’s central office, a community space, and a museum on honoring the history of Douglas.

Saturday’s ceremony will include remarks from local leaders and alumni followed by a car show featuring vehicles from the school’s era of operation.

The building and museum will be open to guests and light refreshments will be served.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.

10 am 598 N Kent Street car show central office Douglas School Grand Opening June 8th Museum ribbon cutting segregation Winchester Public Schools WPS

Backcountry camping permits go online

photo credit Scott Bradley Hesson with permission

Shenandoah National Park has announced that beginning January 11th at 10 am, backcountry campers will need to purchase permits online through recreation.gov.

The previous system of purchasing paper permits at the park website or designated locations will be eliminated effective January 10th.

There is a $6 permit fee, plus a $9 recreation fee per person.

For example, the total permit cost for a group of two campers will be $24.

The fee is not dependent on the number of nights and the usual entrance fee also applies.

Backcountry campers with a start date of January 11 or after will be required to purchase permits online: https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4675336.

For more news from across the Shenandoah Valley, click here.