Cayley Urenko
Reporter
Harrisonburg, VA
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Cayley joined the WHSV team in December 2019. She graduated with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Political Science from Penn State University. Go Nittany Lions!
After growing up in Bethlehem, PA, she is now glad to be covering news in the one and only Shenandoah Valley!
Cayley enjoys trying new restaurants, wineries and breweries around the Valley, traveling and cheering on Philadelphia sports teams.
The Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance and the Friendly City Merchants have launched the 2020 Downtown Holiday Gift Guide so people can shop locally this season.
Elly Swecker, the founder of the Earth Day Every Day of Harrisonburg, said they want downtown to look great before shoppers head out for Small Business Saturday.
Buffy and Fred Ostlund, the owners of Ostlund Christmas Tree Farm in Singer’s Glen, have been in the tree farm business for decades, but for the first time, they’re bringing something new to the farm for customers to experience.
On Thanksgiving, it may be tempting to share some Thanksgiving leftovers with your pets, but a local veterinary technician suggests against it.
Nationally, the average per gallon is $2.10, which is shaping up to be the lowest on Thanksgiving since 2015, and Virginia’s average is looking to be the lowest since 2016.
Del. Tony Wilt, representing Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County, has reintroduced his proposal to amend Virginia’s Constitution. He hopes to involve the state’s General Assembly in the Governor’s emergency executive orders.
Just days before Thanksgiving and despite suggestions to not travel, the Virginia Department of Health gave Virginia schools guidance on what to do after the holiday break.
Over $14 million in Rockingham County has benefited people, businesses, and schools to the point where the county's Finance Director said she does not know what the county would have done without it.
The Wishing Well in Harrisonburg received a $10,000 match grant to market a program they’re calling “The Novaturient Traveler," which is a tourism culinary luxury experience in the Blue Ridge.
SCPS staff, community members, and volunteers are looking to build bridges and not create barriers for students.
Compared to Oct. 2019, home sales last month were up 51.3 percent in Rockingham County, but only up 3 percent in the City of Harrisonburg.
Harrisonburg Parks and Recreation staff are planning modified events, like a reverse parade on Dec. 4 in Westover Park from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Harrisonburg City Public School leaders have decided where it’s $1.1 million in additional CARES Act funding will go.
The radio station has been doing this for more than 20 years and they say listeners love to get in the holiday spirit.
“We had to move the cattle to a remote field so we could build a new fence, and we realized we didn’t have all the cattle when we brought them back last Saturday to the regular pasture. That’s when we realized we were missing 14 cows and a couple of calves. It’s a sad situation.”
The shelter’s executive director Joel Ballew said the sales floor is over 30,000 square feet, but the setup is only taking up about half of that space.
Now, eyes for both Republicans and Democrats across the Valley are focused on the race for the White House.
As more RCPS students prepare to head back to the classroom on Nov. 16, some will get those free meals in school, and take home meals for the days they will be learning from home.
Ben L. Cline is projected to win the commonwealth’s 6th Congressional District, which represents most of the Shenandoah Valley, according to the Associated Press.
More election officials will be helping to clean tables, pens, and frequently touched surfaces around precincts.
As of Thursday, the City of Staunton reported 46% of residents have already voted.
The Harrisonburg Police Department is looking for more officers to join the force.
Beginning Veterans Day on Nov. 11, all U.S. armed service veterans and Gold Star dependents will be eligible for free admission indefinitely.
In the past, Open Doors changed location every week, going from church to church, around the Friendly City, but because of COVID-19, the shelter’s Executive Director said that wasn’t going to be an option this year as the pandemic continues.
Wednesday’s supervisor’s meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the county administration building.
A financial planner in Harrisonburg said he gets the same questions every four years during a presidential election cycle, especially when it comes to keeping money safe.
Like other Page County students, high schoolers can attend on a rotating AA/BB schedule beginning Nov. 16. Some students will attend Mondays and Tuesdays, others will attend Thursdays and Fridays.
As of Oct. 26, the university’s COVID-19 Dashboard reported 20 active positive cases, with 13 isolation beds in use.
Governor Ralph Northam said several COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be approved and distributed in the coming months.
People can find the pink buckets at Ace Hardware and Rockingham Cooperative locations in Harrisonburg, Bridgewater, Monterey, and Waynesboro, and Timberville.
The Harrisonburg Fire Department will be doing an after-action report soon where firefighters will be asked to reflect on the emergency response.
Bluestone Bike and Run was not located in the strip mall that exploded from a natural gas leak, but was just across the street and sustained extensive damage.
The Candidate Forum included all five candidates on the Nov. 3 ballot; Laura Dent, Charles Hendricks, George Hirschmann, Kathleen Kelley, and Deanna Reed.
“Our start/finish line was literally 50 meters from the building that blew up, so we weren’t one or two blocks away. We were actually standing in front of the building.”
"I love that [Blue Sprocket Sound] was a space that wasn’t just mine, but that other people worked in and helped capture music and create art. I want to see that happen again."
"A lot of teamwork was displayed and I was proud to see it," a HRECC shift manager said about Saturday's explosion response.
BRITE Bus routes will get voters to most polling places in the Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro region.
Harrisonburg CARES Act Task Force and City staff have made $900,000 in funding available to nonprofits, but nonprofits must show that their services have been interrupted or they’ve had to significantly expand their services because of COVID-19.
The city is still waiting on some mail-in registrations, but as of Friday, the city's director of elections said Harrisonburg has just over 26,000 registered voters.
“We have faced the bus driver shortage just live every other school district,” Superintendent Dr. Oskar Scheikl said. “This is not a Rockingham County issue."
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) were extended until June 30, 2021. All children 18 and under can receive free meals through this program at local schools.
The school division decided in Monday night’s school board meeting that PCPS will move forward with collecting data and getting input from students and families about their learning preferences to figure out how many high school students would want to come back two days per week.
Some of HCPS’s funding will go to salaries created because of COVID-19, like Instructional Technology Resource Teachers (ITRTs), technology, and childcare.
JMU virtual voting events represent the local, statewide, and national elections. All events are being streamed over Facebook Live.
Public schools in the Shenandoah Valley received millions of dollars, but all funding must be spent on COVID-19 resources and preparedness like testing supplies, personal protective equipment, sanitization, and technology for distance learning.
Shenandoah National Park gives suggestions on how to avoid crowded park trails during the park's busiest month of the year.
The Friendly City has partnered with the free mobile app Traipse to offer users interactive scavenger hunts. Much like geocaching, users must be physically present at locations to answer clues and puzzles.
Staunton announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, that it had received notification from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management that the August 8 flood event does not meet criteria to qualify.
To see if instructional changes need to be made, the division is putting together a series of open-ended surveys for HCPS students, families, and teachers.
When voting in-person, if there is a mistake, like checking an extra box on the ballet, the machine will kick it out, but that won’t happen for by-mail voters.