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PAGE 2WEEKEND

Community | news | Per spect ive

[Special Election]

If you heard nothing else Tuesday evening from Greg Ha-beeb at his Salem headquarters, you heard him say with conviction to his supporters, “It’s not about me – it’s nev-

er been about me – it’s been about the valley, the community and the voters.”

Habeeb won handily over his Democratic challenger Gin-ger Mumpower, sweeping all precincts with 63.75 percent of the vote. Twenty percent of registered voters in the 8th district turned out for the special election. Mumpower received 36.2 percent of the vote.

Habeeb immediately took Morgan Griffith’s place in Rich-mond on Wednesday, the first day of the 2011 session. Former 8th district delegate and majority leader Morgan Griffith is now a Congressional freshman who is incidentally sleeping in the half-bath of his office in Washington, DC. His wife Hilary said “he’s still there and it’s a little noisy in the hallowed halls at night, but he’s still toughing it out.”

Habeeb has big shoes to fill and Hilary has no doubt he’ll be able to do just that. When asked if her Congressman hus-band might be able to give Habeeb some direction from afar, Mrs. Griffith quickly responded, “I don’t think Greg needs any help.”

Habeeb was leaving for Richmond as soon as he could pull away from well-wishers and the press. His wife Christy said he hadn’t packed a thing. She will be traveling to Richmond for the swearing in ceremony.

Habeeb plans to be home every weekend and says he will communicate during the week with his family via skype, email, phone, and text; Habeeb is an avid social media user. He was adamant about arriving in Richmond in time for the prayer breakfast at 7:00 a.m.

He still has to be certified as the winner before he can take his oath of office. All paper and electronic votes cast were rushed to the Virginia State Board of Elections in Richmond. Habeeb posted an election finance report before taking the oath of of-fice at noon Wednesday.

Directing comments to the 36 percent of the voters who did not vote for him, Habeeb told them, “fight with us; hold us ac-countable where we stray; give us a chance to succeed.”

Habeeb is just getting his feet wet, but if his confidence and conviction says anything about the youthful 34 year-old del-egate, he is likely to jump into the deep end of the pool without hesitation. He was already talking about jobs initia-

Habeeb Sweeps 8th District

Photo by Valerie Garner

Greg Habeeb celebrates Tuesday night’s win with wife Christy and son Daniel, the oldest of his three children.

County Rally Calls for Education Funding

Consider it a call to arms – with the General Assembly poised to begin its new session next week, Roanoke County educators gathered at Northside High School last Sunday for a rally that was all about funding.

In short, teachers, adminis-trators and other county school staffers are looking for “fair funding,” that would provide 3% raises and stop cuts that have led to larger class sizes.

“Roanoke County had to eliminate 150 positions,” noted Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange, “in the face of state bud-get cuts that meant the loss of $17 million for the county over the past two years.”

The immediate past presi-dent of the Roanoke County Education Association (RCEA), a teacher’s advocacy group, set the tone for last Sunday’s Rally for Fair Funding for Public Ed-ucation. Oak Grove Elementary teacher Thom Ryder said it was all about sending a message “to let our General Assembly know that public education is a prior-ity. [It’s] time for them to step up and support a 3% [pay in-crease].”

It’s been several years since teachers had a raise, due to lean county budgets and the loss of state money; judging by the “3%” signs in the audience of hundreds at Northside High School, it’s fair to say the idea of the General Assembly support-ing such a hike this year would be very popular.

The current RCEA presi-dent, Northside teacher Tammy Wood, echoed Ryder in saying it was all about the message. State Senator John Edwards (D-Roa-noke) accepted an invitation to

[County Govt.]

Last Week’s Tragedy in Tucson - Explaining the Unexplainable

Less that 21 days ago, I was visiting my family for the holi-days, standing just a few feet away from where Congress-woman Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen other innocent people were tragically gunned down in Tucson, Arizona.

The shopping center – in the foothills of the Catalina Moun-tains -- is a short distance from my parents’ home; the apart-ment where I lived for 4 years; the school where my sister teaches kindergarten; and the house where she is raising her young family. It houses the gro-cery store, drug store, nail salon, bakery and bank that are all part of daily life for many people I know and love. It is on the way to – and from – everything in their lives.

So, as the news alerts about the shooting came across my blackberry – a wave of terror

went through me. On any given day it could

have been my mom and dad at the ad-jacent bakery plan-ning to wander over to thank their Representative for her thoughtful and diligent leadership. On any given day it

could have been my sister and 10-year-old niece at the nail sa-

lon next door or the Starbucks on the corner. On any given day my

14-year old nephew would have

Stephanie Koehler’s niece Hayley Pakkala prays at a make-shift memorial in Tucson.

[Perspective]

Former Newspaperman Feels “Blessed By Job” at

the Rescue MissionBefore he began what would eventu-

ally become a full-time association with the Roanoke Rescue Mission, CPA Lee Clark served as a major account sales executive at the Roanoke Times, where he also worked for a time as a manager for the paper’s clas-sified department. Clark initially became acquainted with the Rescue Mission when Judy Rumford, who had retired from the Times and was now volunteering at the Mission, invited him to tour the facility.

Through this opportunity, Clark met Mission CEO Joy Syl-vester-Johnson, whose parents had founded the facility in 1948. Sylvester-Johnson invited Clark to join the Mission’s foundation board—and eventually followed that offer with another: the job of planned giving officer, a position Clark felt he was qualified to fill since he had been involved with advertis-ing and marketing. One primary fo-cus of his new job at the Mission would be persuading donors to include the Mission as they are preparing their wills or estates.

From that beginning, Clark rose to his current position as di-rector of development and finance at the Mission. Comparing

[Non-Profits]

Lee Clark

> CONTINUED, P3: Blessed

> CONTINUEDP2: Rally

> CONTINUED, P4: Tragedy

SightRestored

P3– Area doctors team up to bring treatment to residents in need at the 3rd Annual Gift of Sight Clinic.

TreesHealing

P5– Fred First says that restoring one’s health may be as simple as “breathing with the trees . . .”

Maroons?Hokies vs

P7– Our man Wild Bill Turner, says that pitting Tech against Roanoke College on the football field will solve a lot of the world’s problems.

Honoredvolunteers

P10– The United Way braves cold and snow to bestow honor upon some of the Roanoke valley’s outstanding volunteers.

> CONTINUED, P2: Habeeb

Fred First

Bill Turner

| The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/14/11 - 1/20/11 newsRoanoke.com

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appear at the rally; 8th district special election candidate Gin-ger Mumpower (D) also showed up, while Republican opponent Greg Habeeb sent his regrets.

Mumpower supporters hand-ed out literature at the door, al-leging that their candidate was more supportive of a pay raise for teachers and other public education funding than was Habeeb, ostensibly based on some of his comments during the campaign.

“The time is past to give fair funding to public education,” said Wood, “[we want] three percent now.” She urged attend-ees to become cyber-lobbyists as well, saying “legislators do pay attention to their e-mail.”

Wood also lamented what she said were the federal and state mandates for education that must be met (Adequate Yearly Progress, etc.) “with decreased levels of funding,” to help make the changes needed. She talked about the lack of a salary in-crease for educators for the past two years and how that affects retirement pay.

Meanwhile $509 million in recently announced new rev-enue is not earmarked in any way for education, said Wood, with state employees also slated for a 3% increase in pay. “Why are we overlooked?” she asked those in the audience.

Despite all of that she an-nounced, to applause, that Vir-ginia ranked in the top twenty for math scores nationally, and in the top ten for reading achievement levels. “We have all done more with less, but you can only make that work for so long.” Of the General Assembly session that begins next week, Wood added that “the future of public education is in their hands.”

Chuck Lionberger, president of the Roanoke County Council of PTA’s, said a lack of funding for education was a “national problem,” due to the sluggish economy. “[But we] are not asking for everything under the sun,” he noted. “Virginia is cutting its budget on the back of its students.” Lionberger, also a public relations specialist for Roanoke County Schools, im-plored the General Assembly to “do what they know is right - properly fund public educa-tion.” Glenvar High School parent Lenora Downey took a short turn at the microphone. “I worry about what the future looks like [with the budget cuts] … we need the [state] funding for this.”

Dr. Lorraine Lange, super-intendent for Roanoke County

Schools, said “unprecedented cuts” that had deprived the school system of more than $17 million over the past two years resulted in staffing and program reductions that first cut into the fat, then the muscle -- and now down to the bone. Roanoke County closed three schools and eliminated 150 positions, resulting in more crowded classrooms for starters. “[We made] hard choices in order to cut,” said Lange from the po-dium. “We’re not asking for any more [from the General Assem-bly]. We just want to keep what we have.”

Roanoke County School Board chairman Mike Stovall (Vinton District) called the re-cent funding cuts “devastating” for the county. He drew the loudest applause when address-ing an education issue that has gotten attention at many levels of government: “we’ve got to stop the unfunded mandates.”

Edwards capped off the rally

by criticizing, albeit gently, po-sitions that some Republicans, including Governor Bob Mc-Donnell, have taken regarding budget cuts. He acknowledged that the loss of tax revenues has meant a “tough time” in Richmond during the past few sessions. He likes McDonnell, whom he called a friend, “but I just wonder about the math. We can’t keep eroding our future. Paying reasonable taxes is a necessary evil,” added Edwards, “revenues that enable the state and localities to invest in the basic infrastructure of society. [Without] a reasonable revenue stream we’re not going to have good teachers.”

Appealing to legislators dur-ing this year’s session to fully support public education fund-ing is “really important,” said the long time state senator. Demo-crats, according to Edwards, saved 12,000 education jobs and “over a half billion dollars” in the wake of budget cuts pro-posed by then-Governor Tim Kaine, a Democrat.

Edwards also endorsed Gin-ger Mumpower for the 8th District House seat being va-cated by Morgan Griffith, now a member of Congress, saying there was “a world of differ-ence,” regarding her position on public education funding when compared to Greg Habeeb’s. “Now it’s time to get that money back,” said Edwards. “It’s time we fully fund public education.” Those in the rally audience at Northside High School couldn’t have agreed more.

> Rally From page 1

By Gene [email protected]

Educators are hoping to see a 3% pay hike this year.

> Habeeb From page 1

Mumpower: “I’m Not Finished”

tives, transparency and govern-ment issues. He said, “It all fits into a broader picture of ad-vancing the agenda of families, small businesses, protection of our schools and neighbors and creating economic opportuni-ties.”

Habeeb said that every agen-cy’s budget should be avail-able to the public via the web. He wants to update the fraud against taxpayers act that allows regular citizens to bring atten-tion to government fraud.

“The reality is that people have lost faith in government,”

said Habeeb. “When we bring market forces into government with things like audits, incentive compensation, holding people accountable – those things bring transparency back,” he said.

“I love the Internet genera-tion. I’m not one who believes in backroom deals. I believe in blogs and open information and all the kinds of things that our generation has helped bring to the world – questions are an-swered in ways they’ve never been answered before.”

“Anybody that takes a vote and doesn’t want the world to

know they’ve taken it isn’t the type of person who should be leading us in Richmond. You will never, never go wrong with being on the side of more trans-parency and more openness in government,” said Habeeb.

Habeeb didn’t directly say he would support a bill like HB778 that was introduced by Repub-lican James LeMunyon in the 2010 session which would allow General Assembly and Senate votes to be compiled in a way that would make it easy for citizens to compare legislator’s votes. Senator John Edwards

killed it in the sub-committee. He did say, he “would be in favor of compiling legislators’ votes in any mechanism that could be displayed transpar-ently to voters.”

Habeeb thanked his support-ers and volunteers for taking time from the holiday season. “You donated your hard earned money and stood out in the freezing cold … It will be an honor to serve the people of the 8th District in the Virginia House of Delegates.”

By valerie [email protected]

Despite a lopsided loss to Greg Habeeb in the 8th House District special election on Tuesday, Ginger Mumpower’s return to public life may not be over. “I’m not finished – I’m just getting started,” said the defeated Democrat contender for the General Assembly seat vacated when Morgan Griffith was elected to Congress. Republican Greg Habeeb won that seat on Tuesday by about a 2 to 1 margin, reflecting a GOP edge in the district that includes Salem and part of southwest Roanoke County.

Mumpower, a businesswoman who has owned several jewelry stores, and was an elected member of Radford City Council at age 24, is not sure how she will be involved in political circles in the fu-ture; she did not flatly rule out a rematch with Habeeb in November, when the former Salem Republican leader will have to run again. “I will look for other opportunities to serve the people,” is all Mum-power would say on Tuesday, when she met with supporters at a pizza eatery in Salem.

Habeeb raised about five times as much money as Mumpower did (he had a war chest of $130,000) and brought in Griffith and Gov-ernor Bob McDonnell to stump for him. Griffith in fact worked the polling places on Tuesday in Salem, handing out literature about Ha-beeb. “I felt like I was competing against multiple politicians,” said Mumpower.

She noted on Tuesday that she turned down campaign funding offered by lobbyists, feeling that may have put too much pressure on her to look at issues a certain way. “I feel good about where I am…. about my running,” Mumpower added. “I was trying to give voters a choice.” Mumpower said she would “work with Greg,” whenever possible to make sure the concerns of 8th District voters are ad-dressed in the General Assembly.

She wants to see Habeeb be an advocate for small businesses and would like to see the new delegate be “open-minded” about funding for a public rail connection to Roanoke. “He’s not interested in dis-cussing [the issue],” said Mumpower.

Former delegate Chip Woodrum, who first asked Mumpower about running in November, was proud of the fact that, “dollar for dollar we got more votes than they did,” but in the end that wasn’t nearly enough to overcome the Salem-based Republican political

machine that has now made Habeeb a delegate at age 34. “I can only offer who I am and what I believe in, then it’s up to the

voters,” said Mumpower, who advocated “people, not politics,” dur-ing her bid for the 8th District seat.

“You can build on this,” said Woodrum, who was gerrymandered out of his district by House Republicans during the redistricting pro-cess almost a decade ago. “[Mumpower] ran a credible campaign.”

Supporter Rich Cranwell said that Mumpower had to deal with blogs supporting Habeeb, blogs that claimed she had to declare bankruptcy when her Ginger’s Jewelry store closed in Roanoke. That was not the case; Mumpower just wanted out of the retail business at the time. “She’s a fighter,” said Cranwell, son of former House ma-jority leader Dick Cranwell. He could visualize Mumpower back in political circles down the road.

“I do not walk away from this feeling regretful,” said Mumpower, who felt the push to create jobs was her most important campaign plank. “At the end of the day I felt good about who I am and what I have done.”

Chip Woodrum praises Mumpower’s campaign run.


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“The need is so great,” observed Dr. John Wood.

On a Friday in mid-December, a team of phy-sicians, medical staff and support personnel performed nineteen donated procedures to help those suffering with cataracts.

“We could line up every ophthalmologist in the area and have days like this,” Dr. Wood said. “And we still wouldn’t make a dent in the need for these types of procedures.”

During the 3rd Annual Gift of Sight Free Cata-ract Care Clinic, Vistar ophthalmologists Dr. Chad Albright, Dr. John R. Wood, and Dr. Mark Robinson teamed with Eye Care & Surgery’s Dr. William Thompson and other area eye care pro-fessionals to offer free cataract surgery to indi-viduals from throughout SW Virginia who have a significant need and do not have medical insur-ance.

“It was a huge success,” said Beth Kolnok, Di-rector of Marketing for Vistar Eye Center. “Alcon donated the supplies. The Roanoke Valley Center for Sight donated the facility and all the medical staff was good enough to donate their time too.”

“Everyone chipped in and at the end of the day we had helped almost 20 people see like they hadn’t seen in years. The thing that makes this event so great is the quick improvement. The pa-tients come out of the surgery and they can see immediately.”

Those who qualified came from all over the region, including Martinsville, Salem, Fincastle, Radford and Roanoke. Screenings for qualified patients occurred during the month of November and the surgeries were scheduled for this special life-changing day.

“We do these types of pro bono surgeries throughout the year,” Dr. Wood said. “This event is extra special because we devote the entire day to these procedures. The staff would not have nor-mally been working on this day and they all came in and made the effort to help all these families. It’s a great day and a fun thing to be able to do during the holidays.”

There was a wide range of patients going through the cataract surgery. Most suffer from the long term, debilitating effects of cataracts. One patient, Jeremy Clark, is in his mid 20’s and has seen his vision deteriorate over the past de-cade beginning with an accident that happened

while he was playing outside with friends.“A branch broke and poked me in the eye,” ex-

plained Clark before the procedure. “Now I can’t see out of that eye really – it’s foggy and cloudy and I’d love to be able to see.” Clark works as a sub-stitute teacher and high school coach.

“It’s hard to coach wrestling when you can only see with one eye – that’s for sure,” said Clark. “I am really looking forward to the end of this pro-cedure.”

When Dr. Wood wrapped up the surgery, Clark was wheeled into the recovery area, where he found he could see clearly immediately. “I can see perfectly now,” said Clark. “It’s a big difference – man it’s awesome.”

Like the other 18 patients, he was back to see Dr. Robinson for some post operative care at Vistar’s Salem office later Friday afternoon.

Patients typically have no further complications and can look forward to life with clear vision and a long-term change. Besides coaching, many pa-tients said they were looking forward to all sorts of things. “I can’t wait to cook for myself,” said Bobby Joe Fields. “I like the way things taste when I cook it the way I like and it will be great to be able to do that for myself. I also can’t wait to fish and hunt – it’s going to be great.”

Others said they wanted to read their own mail, drive, shop, and all kinds of other daily activities most people normally take for granted. It was an immediate and impressive change for all 19 re-cipients of the program.

“I had the afternoon off,” said Dr. Wood. “What else was I going to do? It’s great to be able to help people and I am glad we do this each year.”

Doctors Donate Skills to Restore Sight to Area Residents in Need

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Senator Ralph K. Smith (R-Botetourt) will host a town hall meeting in Roanoke on Saturday January 15 to listen to constituent’s thoughts and con-cerns about the 2011 General Assembly session that starts Wednesday.

Senator Smith said he origi-nally planned to hold a tele-phone town hall meeting as he has done in the past, but want-ed to host a live in-person town hall meeting after the the trage-dy at a Congressional town hall meeting in Arizona last week.

"The tragic and evil attack on Congresswoman Giffords and her constituents was an assault on all Americans who value our freedoms. Right now it is especially important that elect-ed officials and citizens come together to exchange ideas and

celebrate our First Amendment rights to free speech and as-sembly," said Senator Smith.

The Saturday, January 15 town hall meeting will begin at 11:00 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers at the Roanoke County Administra-tion Building located at 5204 Bernard Drive in Roanoke. Residents of the 22nd State Senate district who plan to at-tend are encouraged to RSVP to Senator Smith's office at [email protected].

Senator Smith also plans to hold a telephone town hall later in the session to hear the thoughts and concerns of citi-zens who cannot attend the town hall meeting on Saturday.

Senator Smith has represent-ed Botetourt County, Radford, Salem, and portions of Mont-

gomery and Roanoke Counties since 2008. Senator Smith pre-viously served as the Mayor of Roanoke City.

Senator Ralph Smith Announces Town Hall Meeting in County

Breakfast Lions Club Bestows Honor on Roanoker for Outstanding Volunteer Efforts

Former Roanoke Fire Depart-ment Batallion Chief Bobbie Slayton passed away on Saturday Jan 8th. Slayton became a fire-fighter in 1965 and retired on July 1, 2010 after nearly 45 years of service, making him the second longest member to ever serve Roanoke's department. The only person to have worked in the de-partment longer is Captain Wal-ter A. Dodson who worked from January 2, 1929 til September 29, 1972, a mere 2 months longer than Slayton. There are only a handful of firefighters who have

earned the right to say that they worked for the department for more than 40 years of dedication. When he retired Slayton held the rank of Battalion Chief and was the head of the Department's Apparatus Committee for over 20 years. He was greatly loved and admired and will be sorely missed by everyone in the de-partment. A funeral service with formal Fire Department Honors was held for Chief Slayton on Wednesday, January 12 at First Baptist Church in Downtown Roanoke.

Roanoke Battalion Chief Passes Away After 44 Years of Service

Roanoker Cliff DeMars, a member of the Roa-noke Valley Breakfast Lions Club, was recently presented with the honor of the “Beacon of Hope Award” by PID Richard Chaffin from Lions Inter-national. DeMars was recognized for “his distin-guished service to our community.”

According to DeMars, “the funny thing is -- this type of award is for the ‘quiet guy’ – who doesn’t toot their own horn.” He is clearly a bit uncom-fortable speaking up about the honor. He said that so many people he knows with the group just “volunteer and volunteer and do things but don’t look for a pat on the back or recognition, so I’m a little surprised this will be put in the paper.”

DeMars, who has been retired for 18 years from the US Postal Service, says “I work so I can vol-unteer.” He works for himself these days, at com-puter programming and graphic design. But his real love is his volunteer work, which he does a lot of here locally, with the Lions Club, often in support of the Rescue Mission, or the Mission of Mercy program.

He also works with Remote Area Medical (RAM) which organizes free medical and dental care clinics for those in need. DeMars and wife Mary Ann travel to some of these events to help coordinate the registration procedures, includ-ing organizing and supplying the bar codes and badges, which according to DeMars, is no small undertaking. He says since “I can’t pull teeth, I can support the whole effort” in other ways.

Still a bit ill at ease at being put in the spotlight, even for a moment, DeMars said “I’m real sur-prised – they don’t give out too many awards.” But

he is also very grateful to an organization he loves, calling it “the greatest organization in the world.” His 30 year association with the Breakfast Lions Club is something he is extremely proud of. “We do so much in and for the community, but we are not interested in taking any credit – we’re one of the best kept secrets . . .”

But don’t let that stop anyone – DeMars invites one and all. “We meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Roanoker Restaurant the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays. Come and join us!”

For more information on the Breakfast Lions Club, visit www.rvblc.org and visit ramusa.org for information on Remote Area Medical.

By Cheryl [email protected]

Photo by Bruce Bryan

Patients in recovery at the Gift of Sight clinic.Lions Club member Cliff DeMars.

> Blessed From page 1

his job at the Mission with his former profession, Clark explains that the latter “was very similar in some ways in that my job was to understand the needs of my customers and to provide excellent customer service and to provide a resource to them -- to be able to get the message out about what they were doing. At the Rescue Mission …we have an excellent reputation, a wonderful resource here with the services that we provide [which includes] everything from emergency shelter to medical care through our free credit for the homeless to our recovery programs to cloth-ing for people.”

Clark is never at a loss for words when describ-ing what the Rescue Mission offers: “we provide three meals a day [and other resources] to people who are in crisis—families who have lost their homes, people who have been in housing and, for

whatever reason, find themselves on the street. The Rescue Mission [offers] medical care, case management, and recovery programs. There are all sorts of needs that are here, and our volunteers and our donors are what enable us to keep the doors open every day.”

Among the programs offered is a residential drug and alcohol recovery program that takes approximately 16 months to complete—during which time enrollees, in addition to taking classes aimed at teaching them how to live a chemically-dependent free life, have a work assignment at the Mission, which is the only shelter in Virginia to have a free clinic on-site. The Mission also pro-vides mental health, psychiatric, and dental care.

“We’d love to be able to offer more dental care,” says Clark, “and we’re actively working to build on our dental care that we’re offering here in the

clinic. Dental care and medical care are two of the areas where we have [more] opportunities to con-tinue to build on what we’re doing.”

The Rescue Mission receives all of its funding from private sources. Despite the current eco-nomic hard times, funding levels have remained steady. “Thanks to those individuals who are writ-ing those monthly gifts and making their support for the Mission,” Clark says. “I think a lot of folks see the Rescue Mission as their favorite charity. They are invested here through their time—com-ing to volunteer. They’re invested here through the gifts that they make. And fortunately, thanks to those folks, who make that possible, we’re able to keep our doors open.”

Calling his experience with the Mission “a blessing,” Clark adds, “I have felt so grateful to be able to be here, to be able to grow and to con-

nect people who want to help with those who are in need. That’s really a lot of what my job is all about—being able to connect people who have a heart--they want to help; they just don’t know how to do it. And the Rescue Mission is a very tangible place where people can get involved and make a real difference in somebody’s life. I think we have a wonderfully compassionate commu-nity, and the Rescue Mission provides that access point for people who want to help, to be able to get involved in a way that’s safe and efficient, to be able to help people and help them get back on their feet.”

Further information can be found at www.res-cuemission.net.

By Melvin E. [email protected]

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PersPective | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/14/11 - 1/20/11 newsRoanoke.com

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

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Communi ty | News | Perspect ive

Publisher | Stuart Revercomb | [email protected] Features Editor | Cheryl Hodges | [email protected] Editor | Gene Marrano | [email protected] Editor | Leigh Sackett | [email protected] Webmaster | Don Waterfield | [email protected] Director | Bill Bratton | [email protected]

540-400-0990

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

1 Island 5 U.S. Department of Agriculture 9 Condescend

11 Cast off 12 Cosmic 13 Every 14 Epoch 15 Madison locale 17 Boy 18 Its own 20 Vacation spot 22 Half a dozen 23 Not applicable 24 Jitney 27 Presidents office 29 Decree 31 Prefix ten 32 Scoop 33 Lawyer (abbr.) 34 Stack

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1 Doing nothing 2 Cook quickly 3 Italian currency 4 Chick holder 5 Avail 6 Will 7 Coffee shop order 8 Attention-Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

(abbr.) 10 A vegas singer from roanoke who owns a

penguin. 16 Center of much political dispute 18 State of being 19 Movie alien 20 Metal bolt 21 Very 22 Cola 24 Stay 25 Ca. University 26 Tier 28 Nonprofessional 30 Dit's partner

Star-Sentinel Crossword

By Don Waterfield

Find the answers online: NewsRoanoke.com

Have a clue and answer you’d like to see?

email: [email protected]

Do you own a new mo-bile phone? Perhaps you just replaced

your old laptop or handheld de-vice with an upgrade? Maybe you purchased an i-pod or an-other swanky electronic gadget for a family or friend during the past holiday season?

These devices seem to be ev-erywhere: offices, classrooms, elevators, kitchens, vehicles, churches, theaters, and even our bedrooms. We’ve allowed them to invade the most intimate and sacred places in our lives.

Perchance you also thought about recycling when you discarded the old model?

This brings us to what some have called our “dirty little secret.” Americans generate more than 50 million tons of electronic waste annually. Most of us try to do the right thing by recycling these unwanted prod-ucts; but 80% of our electronic waste stream goes directly into container ships to China, India, Ghana and Nigeria, and other developing countries for metal extraction. Given the tonnage, it’s easy for otherwise well-meaning recycling centers, no matter what they tell us, to make money off the stream’s com-merce, thereby externalizing the costs despite its nightmarish im-pact on human health and the environment abroad. Further, the exportation of this “effluent of the affluent” is illegal: an in-ternational crime.

In 1989, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transbound-ary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (usu-ally abbreviated the “Basel Con-vention”) was opened for signa-ture and then entered into force in 1992. Of the 175 parties to the Convention, only Afghanistan, Haiti, and the United States have signed the Convention without ratifying it. The website for the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that “the US sup-ports ratification of the Conven-tion, but to date no implement-ing legislation has been enacted” as a requirement for ratification. Alas, yet another opportunity lost for international environ-mental leadership for America (recall our ineffective and myo-pic lack of direction with the Kyoto Protocol).

Keep in mind that our elec-tronic waste is considered haz-ardous waste because of its nasty contaminants such as lead, cadmium, beryllium, mer-

cury, and brominated flame retardants that go into the manufac-ture of our multifari-ous gadgets to keep us plugged into our com-plex web of social net-works. When all this discarded equipment is shipped to foreign countries, women and

children are often “employed” to liberate the metals in vast dumping grounds where toxins are breathed or flushed into riv-ers and groundwater from the extraction processes.

Further, some of the discarded computers and other personal devices still contain private data and asset tags from school dis-tricts, government agencies, and other organizations through-out the United States. Can you imagine what a corrupt Nigerian opportunist might do with con-fidential data from the U.S. EPA or the Wisconsin Child Protec-tion Custody Services: just two examples of groups with equip-ment tracked recently to these horrid dumping grounds in West Africa?

What can concerned citizens do? First, we should ask our-selves if we really need that up-grade? If so, then we should visit the website for the Basel Action Network for a wealth of per-tinent information: www.ban.org. Next check out the follow-

ing websites for specific “green” actions:

• Electronic Product Envi-ronmental Assessment Tool or EPEAT (a definitive global registry for “green” electronics): www.epeat.net

• Electronics TakeBack Coali-tion or ETCB (an organization that promotes “green” design and responsible recycling in the electronics industry): www.elec-tronicstakeback.com

• Greenpeace Guide to Green-er Electronics: www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/toxics/electronics/how-the-companies-line-up/

We can monitor our local re-cycling centers to make sure that they do not store large shipping containers in their yards specifi-cally for the export of electronic discards; if so, go on-line to track the container numbers (e.g., www.track-trace.com/container or www.searates.com/container/tracking) and report suspicious movement to the U.S. EPA and relevant port authorities. We can also use the power of our pocketbooks to persuade manu-facturers to remove the toxins in our electronic products. The technology is already available to make nontoxic computers and similar gadgets, but the electronics industry simply will not change its present course unless it’s cajoled by consumers and shareholders with another kind of “green” that the market understands intuitively.

Finally, we can convince our national lawmakers to adopt effective legislation to ban the export of electronic waste and to recycle such materials responsi-bly here in the United States. A number of American states have already enacted laws to regulate e-waste, but such legislation cannot regulate foreign trade since that’s the responsibility of the U.S. Congress. It’s our waste. We have a moral obligation to clean our own nest and not soil someone else’s. So let’s get this on the national agenda.

Our 21st century lifestyles are interwoven densely into the global marketplace. Hence we need to think creatively and re-sponsibly about our day-to-day products – from extraction to elimination – for their possible impacts on human health and the environment. Unlike some other issues of consumerism, however, we hold this one liter-ally in our hands. Let’s buy the right equipment, get rid of the old stuff in the right way, and vote righteously with our dol-lars.

H. Bruce Rinker, [email protected]

Our Dirty Little Secret

H. Bruce Rinker, PhD

asked his grandma to indulge his love of government and his-tory by taking him to see the Congresswoman. On any given day any of them would have been stopping by the grocery store on a Saturday morning.

As I finally reached my sister – who was avoiding the traffic jam created by the police road-blocks on her regularly traveled route to her daughter’s ballet class – and as she described the helicopters roaring overhead -- a horrible reality hit me….

How do you tell a 10 year-old child that a classmate, a neighbor, or a dance-mate has been gunned down in an assas-sination attempt of a Congress-woman? How do you tell her 14 year-old brother who looks with great pride at the Founding Fa-thers of our Democracy, that by representing the citizens of your country you are putting your life at risk. In the days since our nation’s most recent tragedy – I keep asking myself… how do you explain hate and madness to a child, when you don’t even understand it yourself? How do you explain the unexplainable?

It seems impossible to imag-ine that we find ourselves forced to frequently discuss the hor-

rible side of humanity to these innocent minds. Just a year ago, I was standing at the Newseum in Washington, DC when my niece looked at the “Mississippi Burning” exhibit and asked: “what is the KKK?” The best analogy I could come up with was a playground bully. A frightening thought when you consider the recent culture of our schoolyards.

This past summer, on a visit to my mother’s childhood home in Oklahoma, these same chil-dren visited the site of the Mur-rah Federal Building bombing – again, learning about the in-tersection of madness and hate – and how intimately it can af-fect our lives. They also learned about the magnificent tree that survived against all odds and the triumph of the human spirit and the power of heroic actions.

For those of us who live in SW Virginia, the reality of the most recent shooting in Tucson and the circumstances of the gunman are all too real – and regardless of how far away – they are all too personal. Our hearts grieve for a community of citizens and the scars this will leave on everyone.

Feeling compelled to connect

– partly to mourn her own loss and sadness – and partly so she can best help her children and elementary school students cope – my sister took her family to the memorial outside the University Medical Center where the vic-tims are fighting for their lives. While her goal was to find the words – as an adult – to explain the unexplainable – I believe it’s my young niece who said it best in an email to me when they re-turned home:

“Today I went to the memorial for the shooting and today I am thankful for what I have -- my health, and love from friends and family. This tragedy in Tuc-son will keep my thoughts full and our prayers for them who are wounded or have lost their lives. We will keep them in our prayers forever and for always. The memorial is not sad, but it is very peaceful and full of hope. I can’t hide from tragedy, cause that’s the only way I will learn. We are hoping that they will heal and live their lives -- great like we get to now.” ~ Hailey Pakkala of Tucson. Age 10.

> Tragedy From page 1

Contact Stephanie Koehler [email protected]

I’m glad God called me to be a pastor. I love the church because it is God’s

chosen instrument to advance God’s kingdom in the world. Think about it for a minute: our churches are the places where we work so that God’s kingdom will come, “on earth as it is in heaven.” And while I am excited about denominational ministry, ecumenical church work, com-munity-wide initiatives, and other events like these, I believe that ultimately the local church is where the real action is. Every Sunday morning, Wednesday night, and whenever else the local church meets in the pres-ence of God, we have the oppor-tunity to be shaped as disciples of Jesus.

Part of my love for the church includes asking hard ques-tions about the church—how things were decided in the past, how obedient we are be-ing in the present, and what the church will look like in the future. That is what this article is. Hard questions that I think the church needs to be talking about. Questions that ask us if we are being relevant to the is-sues of the local community and the world. Questions that help us make sure we are serious about the right things. Ques-tions that make us look in the mirror to ask ourselves if we are being obedient to God. These are by no means all of the ques-tions, just a few that are on my radar screen right now.

I must admit that not every-one is as excited about ques-tions like these as I am, but I hope you’ll give them a chance.

Furthermore, I’d be delighted to hear your answers to some or all of these questions, and what questions you think need to be on the list. If you’d like to dis-cuss them, send me an email at [email protected]. If you answer enough of the questions, I may even buy you a cup of coffee so we can talk some more!

I. Why is it that more people will attend a little-league ball game than a prayer meeting?

II. What would happen if Christian parents told their kids’ ball coaches that they weren’t going to play on Sunday?

III. Why is it that more Chris-tians will attend a church carry-in meal than a prayer meeting?

IV. Do we have enough cor-porate prayer in our churches to honestly complain that prayer is not allowed in our schools?

V. What does the church have to offer someone who has learned to live without the church, but maintains a belief in God?

VI. How will the church min-ister to the increasing number of people whose job requires that they work on Sunday?

VII. If your church building was suddenly gone, would your neighborhood notice?

VIII. What is the church’s re-sponse to persons who are will-ing to resort to verbal or physi-cal violence in an effort to have their way?

IX. Over the past ten years, our country has spent billions of dollars to wage war in Af-ghanistan and Iraq. If the Sep-tember 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had never happened, would we

have been willing to spend the same amount of money to wage peace? Or to improve educa-tion? Or on something else?

X. Downtown Roanoke has persons living in new condos in close proximity to homeless persons. Do you consider this a welcome reality about our city?

XI. How do we best minister to the homeless persons in our midst?

XII. Why is the divorce rate higher among Christians than among those who are not Chris-tian?

XIII. Why is Sunday morning still the most segregated time in America?

XIV. Is there a way the church can welcome homosexual per-sons into their midst without splitting the church?

XV. How much do you know about the vote taking place in southern Sudan, and how our Christian brothers and sisters there are living?

XVI. How much do you know about the persecution Iraqi Christians are currently experiencing?

XVII. What gets you excited about your church?

XVIII. How can you get some-one else excited about that?

XIX. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

XX. If you aren’t comfortable with some of the answers you have to these questions, what needs to change?

Tim Harvey is the senior pastor at Central Church of the Brethren in Roanoke. Visit them on the web at: www.central-brethren.org

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We hardly need more reasons—as children or adults—to put technol-

ogy, crowds, and hurry behind us and go more often to the woods. We sense a stroll in the forest is somehow good for us, and more and more, we’re learning why that is so.

If we will submit to it, our rhythms change in a natural place free of man’s doing. Rarely is anything urgent in nature as a day or a season unfolds. We sense that. No committees or or-dinances are required for decay and growth, sunlight and shade, riffle and boulder and oak tree and beetle to do what it is they do as part of an ancient and resilient corporation called an eco-system. We’re off the clock and not in control. We need not be, and can sim-ply be.

In the economy of nature, every-thing is connected to everything else, a calming integrity difficult to know in our hurried, overloaded and superfi-cial culture.

After some while in the forest or

meadow or mountaintop, our inter-nal clocks recalibrate; our rhythms and pace change. We open up to the outer world of nature that “just is”—before, beyond, and around us since the beginning. Our greatest thinkers have sought the solitude and re-creation of wilderness to find clarity and peace, and for some, to hear the voice of God.

In our suburbs and cities and shopping malls and pri-vate electronic experiences, we are aliens to nature’s heal-ing solace and tranquility. Our children hear warnings of the dangers “out there”—lions and tigers and bears—oh MY! And poison ivy and snakes and ikky things. And yet…

The list of health benefits of being in natural areas includes positive changes for ADHD, asthma, depression, stress and improved immune function. The research support for this is broad and solid, and it is growing every year.

I recently learned that it might be more than just the sounds, smells and sensations of the woods that give us that sense of well-being we come home with. The Japanese are studying the ef-fects of “forest bathing” (Shinrin-yoku)

which is not what it sounds like. Forest immersion might be a better English transla-tion. There is something in the air breathed out by the trees.

That something is a vapor of plant-produced airborne chemicals called phyton-cides, a term which literally means “exterminated by the plant.” There are more than 5000 of these volatile chemi-cals wafting in the forest air.

They emanate from pines and oaks, from garlic and tea tree and hundreds of other plants. Phytoncides prevent bacteria, fungi and insects from infect-ing or ingesting or rotting the plants.

In recent studies, these chemicals seem to have health benefits for hu-

mans as well, contributing to a de-crease in blood glucose among diabet-ic patients while walking in the forest. Cortisol, an important stress hormone, declines, and mortality rates for cancer are lower in areas with heavier forest cover. Phytoncides may be part of the benefit of forest immersion.

We have breathed and “bathed” in these compounds for the vast majority of mankind’s history when we lived de-pendent on and immersed in the natu-ral world. It’s only recently that we’ve come to realize the true costs of our retreat inside. (We usually carry at least a few plants indoors with us.)

Exercise and play are more benefi-cial in “green spaces.” Pediatricians in-creasingly appreciate the role of play on childhood health. Play outdoors has a broader mental and physical health ef-fect than play indoors, and play in “un-improved” outdoor places (fields and rolling lawns) is more beneficial than play on flat, paved or grass surfaces.

I can imagine a day when outdoor engagement (ecotherapy for kids and

their parents) is a common prescrip-tion. Its label might read:

“Directions: Apply daily. Take with fresh air, sunshine and the smell of earth. May be used while walking, watching, listening in forest, meadow or mountain trail. Use alone or with friends and family. Unlimited refills, no expiration date.”

The World Health Organization pre-dicts that by 2020, depression will be second only to heart disease as a global health problem. The causes of this alienation and dysfunction are many, but the path to recovery may lead to a walk in the woods.

As Joni Mitchell would tell us: we’re “caught in the devil’s bargain” and maybe “it’s time we got ourselves back to the garden.”

Reading resources: http://bit.ly/eD-kUkx

Breathing With the Trees: Good Health is a Walk in the Woods

Fred First / Floyd County VABooks: slowroadhome.com

Blog: fragmentsfromfloyd.com

Fred First

I don’t have much of a sense of smell, but when some-one thought they smelled

smoke, I really did try to help locate the source.

It all occurred in the Roanoke County Library the other morn-ing. I was standing in line to check out when the woman in front of me began to wrinkle her nose and draw long nasal breaths.

“Turning to me, she asked, “Do you smell that? It smells like smoke.”

I started sniffing and indeed, picked up a faint, pungent scent. I turned towards a row of books, and said, “It smells stronger here.” She leaned for-ward, close to me, and agreed. “I agree. But it’s a strange smell. Not quite like smoke.”

Another patron came close and asked what was going on. We told him, he sniffed, smelled nothing, then leaned closer. “There it is! But it smells more like skunk.: “Why yes it does,” the young lady and I agreed.

We went back to the desk and asked the librarian if any skunks had come into the li-brary, say, to pick up a book on Virginia Wildlife or something. She seemed confident there had been no skunks on that morn-ing - or any other one since she began working there thirty years ago. She smelled nothing.

As the line shortened, I set my book on the counter, she sniffed thoughtfully. “Yes, I think I’m getting the smell now.”

After securing her promise to have Animal Control come by and thoroughly search the premises, I left, got into my truck feeling self-satisfied with my efforts to smooth out a wrin-kle in municipal harmony. I also noticed the odor was somewhat

stronger.I tentatively lifted my fingers

to my nose and suddenly I knew the source of the skunk-smell.

As I drove home, I reviewed my morning chores, one of which is to check our traps…

Oops! The other pa-trons of the library smelled the odor more clearly not be-cause they were lean-ing closer to that row of books, but because they were actually leaning closer to . . . Me.

To protect our re-habbed wildlife, we trap raccoons [very predatory to our ba-

bies.] We use humane traps, of course, and if we catch a possum or a skunk, we release them; raccoons are re-located. Now, back to skunks such as the one I had found that morning in one of traps. Here’s a thought which may not have occurred to you: if you are ever called upon to release a captive skunk, you will want to use the utmost caution. [You may want to write that one down.]

Contrary to popular belief, skunks only spray as a last re-sort; they are ordinarily quite docile, much preferring to leave the battleground in peace than annihilate it with a blinding odor which lasts for days. Also,

they don’t have to be on their hind-legs to deliver; they can spray from any position. They will usually stomp both front feet as a warning their patience is wearing thin.

My little guy that morning did stomp, but never sprayed. [Heavenly Father, this act of kindness I can never re-pay.] However, being unable to es-cape the cage made him ner-vous; and when skunks are nervous they emit a little bit of scent which coats the cage. So when I released him, praying a mile a minute – never so depen-dent on Divine Providence - I failed to notice the faint, nox-ious smell on my hands.

To paraphrase an old song, 16 TONS, by Tennessee Ernie Ford, “If you see me comin’, better step aside. A lotta men didn’t; a lotta men stink.” [Yeah, I know… day job; as a lyricist, I really smell. In fact, I smell anyway.]

So the little skunk gained his freedom, I gained a character-istic odor. So I tell you this in confidence – let’s not let it get around, okay? I was the skunk in the library.

Look for Lucky’s books locally and on-line: The Oath of Hippo-crates; The Cotillian; A Journey Long Delayed.

Why The County Library Stinks

Lucky Garvin

Contact Lucky [email protected]

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Just recently on New Year’s Eve, while play-ing Pictionary and Catch

Phrase with family, I remem-bered a quote that I had heard some time ago: “You can tell a lot about a culture by the qual-ity of its entertainment.” I have no idea where I heard it or who said it, but I think it is right on the money. How we choose to entertain ourselves, tells us something about who we are or what is important to us. So, what did you do to bring in the New Year? Did you play games with family, watch foot-ball, and celebrate in a party atmosphere with flowing spirits? It is an interesting notion that how we entertain mat-ters. Oh, New Year’s Eve is just a snapshot of our entertainment and probably not that accurate, but what we do daily may be a better indicator of how we relax and enjoy. Or better yet, the things our culture offers may indicate what is important to us as a so-ciety.

Let’s take the average 10-13yr old. What is their main source of entertainment? Fifteen years ago the average kid that I worked with filled their time with televi-sion. The ongoing battles with Mom and Dad about how much they could watch and when homework would be done was a regular occurrence in my of-fice. Today is a little different. Yes, there are still the TV watch-ers, especially with satellite and cable, but other things have taken over the top spot. The great consumers of time that are reported to me today are led greatly by video games. Follow-ing those in close proximity are the likes of Facebook and reality TV. Gone from the top spots is what our parents and grandpar-ents would report. No more

hanging at the park, playing pickup baseball or basketball or just being outside in the neigh-borhood. We live in the age of electronic intrusion.

Yes, there are many great ad-vantages living in our modern society, but shear convenience does not in any way indicate that something is healthy. An example of this is Facebook. Let’s just say that I am not a fan. To date, I have yet to have a par-ent or child give me any posi-tive quality about Facebook that outweighs the negatives. Don’t

get me wrong, I ask all the time. While I can agree that convenience of contact can be an advantage, the notion that this is a healthy en-deavor for our children is absurd. It is no won-der that a recent article I saw listed Facebook as the fastest growing trigger for extramari-

tal affairs in our society. Just because we make something easier, does not mean it is good.

Reality TV and video games I put in the same category. This may seem strange but I can explain. Both are filled with violence, foul language, and de-scriptions of people and society at their worst. There are excep-tions. A few reality shows have a positive message and I believe stay on a positive tone, most do not. There is also a vast differ-ence between playing Wii sports and Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. Both Reality TV and vid-eo games desensitize us. When a 10 year old boy plays a POV (point of view) military style game that consistently has foul language, he gets used to it. The graphics are so life like that he gets to see the people he shoots and kills close up; what fun. At first it shocks him a little bit. After a little time, he no longer hears it as inappropriate. He no

longer sees the action as disturb-ing. The subconscious message is that those words and images are OK. When a 13 year old girl watches any number of re-lationship based reality shows, the language (that is what is oc-curring during all of the beeps), how women are treated and treat each other, and the sense of entitlement on display shape a very unhealthy view of what a young girl should look for in a relationship or how she should expect to be treated.

Here is an experiment. Look at the video games that your children play. You would be amazed how many parents ei-ther don’t know what the games are rated or just allow their kids to play anything. Even the T rated games are filled with pro-fanity. Turn on the games and have the experience for yourself. Next, sit down and watch what your kids are watching. Listen to how people treat each other and listen to the words. My ex-perience is that most parents are unaware of what their kids are actually watching. Now, there are many parents out there that are on top of this, I say “cheers” to them. Most parents are not and yet need to be. Regarding Facebook, remember I am not a fan, don’t let them have it. Again, I cannot come up with a single reason for a child to have this unrestricted access to the outside world. I even think it is a stretch for adults.

Not only does the quality of entertainment help to define a culture, it also may indicate the health of a family. We have control over this. What is the quality of your family’s enter-tainment?

What is “Quality Entertainment?”

Keith McCurdy

Contact Keith [email protected]


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Cave Spring Downs Pulaski County 65-59 for River Ridge Win

Cave Spring bounced back from a third quarter 37-31 deficit to down the Cougars in a River Ridge showdown last Friday night in the Cave Spring gym. The Knights scored the fi-nal 8 points of the third quarter to take the lead and fended off Pulaski down the stretch to even their River Ridge record at 1-1.

Cave Spring was led by Amin Abuhawwas' 18 points. Senior Michael Cole added 15, while Tyler Kemp chipped in 12 and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Knights. Andrew Samuelson led the Pulaski scoring with 21 points.

Cave Spring senior #11 Michael Cole races past a Pulaski County defender dur-ing a key run in the fourth quarter.

Knight's junior #14 Aaron Cupp looks for rebound position against Pulaski's Zackary Akers.

Guns and Hoses Charity Ice Hockey Game Supports MDA

Saturday night, SW Virgin-ia law enforcement faced off against fire and rescue for the 8th straight year in the charity event to support MDA. Thou-sands packed the Roanoke Civic Center as the Guns defeated the Hoses 7-4 in the hotly contested match. The Guns improved their overall record to 7-1 with the win.

Va. State Police Sergeant Rob Carpentieri (#55 dark jersey) wins a face off in the Guns and Hoses match Saturday night.

Last weeks comments on Virginia Tech’s scheduling drew mixed reviews from the Hokie Nation. Many agreed and said Tech needs to ramp it up a few notches. Others said the ACC has been a bust in football, so the Hokies need to establish non-conference rivalries and abandon the likes of Arkansas State and Western Ky.

The Wild One has the an-swer- I propose that due to historical reasons, Tech should play a much-overdue rematch with Roanoke College.... OK, I’ve given you time to quit laughing and pick the paper back up- now hear me out.

Granted, my proud alma mater, Roa-noke College, has not fielded a football team since 1942. But, surely we’ve got the helmets stored somewhere on campus. I suspect, in case any-one starts looking, they’re ma-roon with a big R on the side. And, just because it’s been 69 years, don’t think for a second our Maroons can’t compete anew.

This brings us to the old Tech-Roanoke gridiron rivalry and the obligation for the high-er-ups (I’ll call him Madam X) to schedule the Maroons. In the fall of 1926, Roanoke agreed to play in the inaugural game in Virginia Tech’s then-new playground, 3,750 seat Miles Stadium, the forerunner to Lane Stadium. Our mighty squad boarded the team cov-ered wagon and made the trek to Blacksburg on Sept. 25th of ‘26 to take on the Hokies. Roa-noke played the perfect visi-tors that day as Tech won 47-0. That same afternoon Clemson fell to Presbyterian 14-0, Geor-gia Tech lost to Oglethorpe 7-6 and UVA battled Hampden-Sydney to a 0-0 tie. This tells me that even 85 years ago, present day ACC teams were looking for easy marks on their schedule.

This brings us to 2011 and a very fair question: Isn’t it time for Tech to repay the favor and travel to Salem? Roanoke has the snazzy Donald Kerr Stadi-um with artificial turf, but I’ll admit we need a bigger venue for this crowd-pleaser, so let’s play at neutral-sight Salem Stadium. I call on the wizard of championships, Carey Har-veycutter, to put on this show. With 60 NCAA championship games under his belt, this will be a piece of cake for Mr. H.

As for the Maroon squad,. I can make a couple trips around campus and the frats to enlist our offensive and defensive eleven. And, although I havn’t passed it by esteemed Roanoke Athletic Director, Scott Alli-son, I’m offering my services as head coach for the tidy sum of zero dollars. That’s right, zilch. No football coach is worth 2 or 3 million to draw X’s and O’s ,

so I’m giving my mega-bucks back to the school for academ-ics and other sports, which is where it belongs in the first place. Don’t worry Scott, I’ll stroll the Roanoke sidelines in style with a dapper, plaid sports coat and a Bear Bryant fedora. No earphones for me, but it might get some TV play if I carry a Tiki glass with an umbrella sticking out.

I’m hoping to attract three quality assistants for the one-game stint - Salem’s Steve Magen-bauer, Cave Spring’s Tim Fulton and North Cross’ Stephen Alex-ander. Magenbauer’s record speaks for itself

so he’s an easy choice, Fulton’s passing schemes will make

Tech shiver and Alexander has that hurry-up, no-huddle style he brought from Italy. Let our QB call out the signals in Ital-ian and we’ll have the Hokies so confused, Fulton will send five deep for a quick Maroon six. We should pay the assis-tants, and I propose about 30% of the $50K some of the Hokie assistants each pocketed from the Orange Bowl blowout.

Harveycutter can stage the pregame show with a stealth fighter fly-over . . . But one-up Tech on this one Carey, and have the silent black bomber land on the Boulevard for a look-see. I’ll handle the halftime show with my well-known connection to Lady Gaga. And, no, Tech fans, I’m not about to ask Gaga to do the Hokie Pokie.

The requisite game breakout is ominous.

Mascot: Rooney, the maroon tailed hawk, clearly trumps a gobbling turkey. Advantage: Roanoke.

Record against top-5 teams: Tech 1-27; Roanoke 0-0. In the American League Central this would put Roanoke up 13 games. Advantage: Roanoke.

Kicking game: VTs Chris Hazley rules here-plus, Roa-noke will go with a soccer player to split the uprights: Advantage Tech.

Defense: Roanoke has the Mac & Bob heros, Tech the lunch pail defense. If that Stan-

ford showing was the lunch pail, I hate to see what the sandwich looks like. Advan-tage: Even.

National championships in major sports: Tech-0 RC-1 ( ‘72 basketball). Advantage: Roanoke .

The ball is in Tech’s court. We can replace Bowling Green in ‘12, Western Carolina in ‘13 or Furman/Akron in ‘15. The bar is set, you owe us one. Name the date. Call Holtz and Corso. The lines are lighting up--Gaga on one and Vegas on two. Early line: Roanoke by 3 1/2.

Now, to the hardwoods where Patrick Henry pulled out a big win Friday over Franklin Co. to get the upper hand in the Western Valley. Mark your calendar now for Jan. 14th, when PH entertains Fleming in what should be a barnburner.

The River Ridge is still up for grabs as Salem, Hidden Valley and Cave Spring look to derail Christiansburg. In the Blue Ridge, Alleghany pulled out the surprise with a win at Northside.

The unusual game of the week, goes to the Franklin Co.-Martinsville girls contest where FC’s Charmaine Hair-ston came within one point of matching the entire Bulldog point total. This one was over early as FC led 56-6 at the half, on their way to a 61 point win, 79-18.

On the boys side, Radford clearly has Floyd County’s number. In late December, Radford won 102-58. Rad-ford’s offense was consistent in the rematch last week with a 102-43 win over the Buffs.

Now to the promised bas-ketball rule-call for you ref-wannabes. A team tries to inbounds against a full-court press. The ball is thrown in, but in the confusion someone yells “shoot” and the player fires the shot from behind the arc back into the opposing team’s bas-ket. What’s the call?

Send your questions and/or answers to: [email protected]

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Local Realtors Take On New Business Despite Economic DownturnLongtime area realtors Tom

and Beth Wilson have the “fa-miliar” feel that comes with years of having a strong pres-ence in the area. Part of build-ing clientele necessitates having their likeness on car magnets and various other advertising venues over the years, with the result that now their faces are a bit of a fixture in the commu-nity landscape.

A few years back, it looked like perhaps Beth had hired her double when her sister, Becky Fields, who resembles Beth, moved to the area and joined the Wilson team, adding to their visibility.

The Wilsons, along with Fields, and business partner Fred Hall have recently stepped outside their comfort zone to purchase Prudential Real Es-tate Group, a franchise that came open in the area. With the economy and housing market both on shaky ground, coming out of an extended downturn, it is a step they did not take lightly. Tom Wilson said “op-portunities don’t always come

along at the best time—some-times you’ve got to take a leap of faith.”

There was the requisite re-search done in advance of that “leap,” and Wilson believes the numbers are there to substan-tiate their decision as a sound one. He says “the market will get better; 2011 will be better,” and he anticipates 2012 will best 2011.

Originally from Kentucky and married for almost 40 years, Wilson and wife Beth have lived in Southwest County for 26 years, so owning an of-fice in that area seemed fitting.

He is a believer in the prin-ciple that our nation’s economy “is going to be turned around because of small businesses that bring it along.” In that vein, he sees this move in a broad sense as strengthening the area eco-nomically, as well as providing a pathway to create the work environment he desires.

On behalf of the owners, Wilson says we “felt like we wanted to develop a real es-tate company that is different

– a high quality agent-centered company that emphasizes eth-ics -- one that creates an at-mosphere such that we will all want to work very hard for our customers.”

As the years have gone by, the idea that they could choose who to work with has become more appealing than it used to be, and owning a franchise will offer some flexibility with that. He says “we’re trying to do the right thing, to be able to provide great service and work with great people – people we trust and who work well to-gether.”

Wilson remains optimistic things will improve. One of the reasons he believes 2011 will be a good year is that “there is a pent up demand in Roanoke. Retail numbers show that’s the case; people are getting confi-dence back.”

According to Wilson, things slowed up in the summer, and fall saw some mid-priced and some more expensive homes starting to move. He describes this area as a “move-up market,

not a transfer market; not that many people are moving in and out of Roanoke.”

Things tend to pick up across the board “usually when the first time home buyers come back out.” For those who may be thinking of putting their homes on the market, Wilson says the age-old advice still holds true: “Kitchens and bathrooms are where most of the money is.”

At the same time, he says “good agents will take the tack that, instead of telling people to ‘just replace’ cabinets for in-stance, how about what’s really needed, updates that will pay for themselves.” Landscaping is another thing people tend to over-look. If it is 20 years old, it may need to be replaced.” However, he reiterates that “we don’t advise the most expensive updates if it is not needed.”

With a New Year just begin-ning, his final piece of advice seems most timely: “the house needs to be sparkling clean and neat – not a lot of stuff.” With many of us taping up the last

box of holiday decorations, and hauling our bags of “stuff” over to Goodwill and the Res-cue Mission, it is advice that resonates, whether readying a house for market or not.

Wilson and his colleagues are looking forward to making this business work; he believes that all the resources they have, including years of experience, along with advances in technol-ogy that “allow us to add ser-

vices like show customers who is looking at homes like theirs” will contribute to their success, and the success of their clients, which is their focus. After all, Wilson says, “we’re in the ser-vice business.”

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As you navigate the financial world, you’ll most likely deal with a wide array of investment choices, constantly changing tax laws, estate-planning issues and other areas. And then, to make things even more com-plex, you’ll have to consider your own risk tolerance, time horizon and individual goals. If you’re like most people, you don’t have the time and exper-tise to create, monitor and ad-just your investment strategy by yourself, so you’ll need to get some help. But how can you choose a financial professional who is right for you?

You’ll need to do some re-search, possibly by interviewing a few candidates. Here are a few questions you may want to ask:

• Do you have experience working with people like me? Ideally, you’d like to work with someone who has experience in helping people like you — that is, people with similar income and asset levels, family situa-tions, goals and so on. The more familiar a financial professional is with people like you, the bet-ter that person will be at helping you identify the appropriate in-vestment moves.

• Do you have a particular

investment philosophy? Look for someone with a thoughtful, reasoned philosophy on invest-ing. As a general rule, be suspi-cious of anyone promising you big, quick gains. The best finan-cial professionals seek to help their clients achieve positive long-term results through dis-ciplined, persistent and sensible investment moves.

• How often will you com-municate with me? If you’re go-ing to entrust your hard-earned financial resources with some-one, you’ll want that person to communicate with you regu-larly as to how you’re doing and what changes you may need to make. How often will you re-ceive investment statements? How many times a year will you meet to review your progress? Can you have face-to-face con-sultations whenever you need them? These are the types of questions you’ll want to ask any prospective financial advisor.

• Will you be my primary contact? If you seek a one-on-one relationship with a financial professional, you’ll want that person to be your main contact, if not your exclusive one. You deserve the attention and exper-tise of a financial professional,

so if you’re interviewing some-one who seems as if he or she might try to “pass you along” to subordinates in the office, keep looking.

• What services do you of-fer? If you want your financial professional to help you create a unified investment strategy, you’ll also want that person to help you implement it — which means he or she needs access to a full range of investment and money management products and services.

• How are you paid? Finan-cial professionals are compen-sated in any of a number of ways. They may work strictly on commissions, or they may work on a fee-only basis, with the fee either agreed upon in advance or based on the level of assets under management. And some financial professionals work in a combined fee-and-commission arrangement. From an inves-tor’s point of view, one method of compensation may not be “better” than the others; none-theless, it’s important for you to fully understand how your financial advisor will be paid.

By doing your homework in advance, you can develop a solid relationship with a quali-fied financial professional — someone who will be with you far into the future.

Carl Grove is a Financial Ad-visor at Edward Jones located in Roanoke, VA. He may be reached at 540-344-9211 or [email protected]. Edward Jones, its associates and financial advi-sors do not provide tax or legal advice.

How to Choose a Financial ProfessionalDr. Cynda Ann Johnson, founding dean of

the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medi-cine, was recently honored at the Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC) 2010 annual meeting held in Washington, D.C.

During a poster presentation and reception on women's sustainable leadership in medical education for the Group on Women in Medi-cine and Science, the AAMC presented John-son with a "Certificate of Recognition" for her leadership as the founding dean of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine.

"I was honored to receive the award in front of so many other leaders who are active in medical education," said Johnson. "It is both a proud and humbling feeling to be chosen for such a distinction."

Johnson received a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honorary society. She received her M.D. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Medicine followed by residency training in family medicine at the University of Kansas Medical Center and a teaching fellowship at the University of North Carolina. She is past president of the American

Board of Family Practice (now Family Medi-cine) and the American Board of Medical Spe-cialties.

In 2007, Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger, Carilion Clinic CEO Edward Mur-phy, and Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine announced the creation of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research In-stitute. Johnson was named founding dean in January 2008, and led the development of the school's mission, vision, and unique curricu-lum, leading to preliminary accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education in 2009. The charter class began its studies in August 2010.

The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medi-cine and Research Institute joins the basic sci-ence, life science, bioinformatics, and engineer-ing strengths of Virginia Tech with the medical practice and medical education experience of Carilion Clinic. Virginia Tech Carilion is locat-ed on the new biomedical health sciences cam-pus in Roanoke, adjacent to Carilion Clinic and near Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

By Alison Matthiessen [email protected]

Carilion Med School Dean Recognized

The new year is bringing new hires to the Taubman Museum of Art. Museum officials have announced the hiring of a new development director and a new membership manager. Kim Williamson has been selected as the new director of develop-ment and Maria St.Clair will fill the role of the new museum membership manager.

While both bring a wealth of experience to their new roles, neither is a stranger to the mu-seum. A 20-year fund-raising veteran, Williamson most re-cently served a five-year term as director of development for North Cross School; however, she was the director of develop-ment for the art museum from 2003 to 2005, when the museum

was still in Center in the Square. Williamson will reassume her role as the museum’s director of development on January 10. St.Clair, currently the vice presi-dent of business development and member services for the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, will begin as the new membership manager on January 24. From 2004 to 2008, St.Clair played a significant role in the activities leading to the opening of the Taubman. She most recently served as the mu-seum’s membership and annual fund coordinator from March 2009 to June 2010.

“We’re delighted to welcome back both Kim and Maria,” says Executive Director David Mickenberg. “Their expertise

and familiarity with our donors, members and staff will be an enormous asset to the museum as we move forward with plans for new fund-raising and mem-bership campaigns in 2011,” he adds.

Both the director of develop-ment and membership manager positions are part of a plan to fill several positions at the museum this year. As announced recent-ly at the museum’s November membership meeting, five new adjunct curators have also been secured, and museum officials hope to hire a new public rela-tions manager and a new volun-teer coordinator in the coming months.

New Year Brings New Hires To Taubman

Photo by Cheryl Hodges

New owners of Prudential L - R, Tom Wilson, Beth Wilson, Becky Fields, Fred Hall

arts & culturenewsRoanoke.com 1/14/11 - 1/20/11 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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In one form or another, the GAMUT amateur theatre group has been around for quite a while, decades even, offering a series of eclectic and often challenging plays. The troupe took a hiatus for the most part in 2010 but returns in 2011 with three staged works, this time at a new home – Studio Roa-noke on Campbell Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

GAMUT (Gypsies and Misfits Unknown Theater) had been at Jefferson Cen-ter’s rehearsal hall space for a time before that and did offer one Sam Shepard play, “Action,” at Studio Roanoke last year, but 2011 will mark the black box theater’s “offi-cial” debut at GAMUT’s new home.

The company is holding open auditions for the 2011 season on Saturday, January 22 and Sunday January 23 from noon to 2 p.m. at Stu-dio Roanoke. Artistic direc-tor Miriam Frazier, who also directs most of the GAMUT plays, says “nothing needs to be prepared; come as you are. They should not be worried – you can have any level of experience.”

“At least one of the 2011 shows has multiple parts, ideal for someone without a lot of experience,” said Fra-zier, who works for Virginia Tech by day. Last year was an off year for the most part. “We had to rest,” said Frazier, who added that the ensemble group approaches each new work without a star system. “It’s all very collaborative and process based -- the only group in town willing to tackle the type of plays we do, with the only actors in town game to work on them.”

The 2011 season includes “Pvt. Wars” by James Mc-Clure (three male parts needed, ages 21-35) with performances on April 14-16 and 21-23; “The Lover” by Harold Pinter (1 male, 1 fe-male ages 35 – 50) with per-formances on July 7-9 and 14-16; and finally, “Bury The Dead” by Irwin Shaw (20+ male, female with wide range of ages) with performances on October 13-15 and 20-22.

Frazier won’t give out too many details on what each play is about. “Pvt. Wars” involves three Vietnam vet-erans recuperating at a VA hospital – “It’s actually a comedy … with a really huge heart,” notes Frazier, “and very funny.” She won’t talk much about the plot for “The Lover,” other than to say it involves a husband and wife. “It’s intriguing … mysteri-ous,” she offers.

“Bury the Dead” may be described as intense – a play written in the 1930s, set on a battlefield where a military detail is burying fallen com-rades. “They stand up in the graves and refuse to be bur-

ied,” said Frazier; “it takes off from there.” She will direct all three plays in 2011 but says GAMUT hopes to develop some alternate directors for future works soon.

As for the new home-base at Studio Roanoke, which also offers its own menu of plays under the guise of owner/artistic director Ken-ley Smith, Frazier anticipates a smooth assimilation pro-cess. “The audience that had been over at Jefferson Center followed us over just fine [for “Action”]. I think it’s going to be a real positive thing.” Frazier feels the small, “inti-mate” Studio Roanoke space fits the bill. “A very good fit for GAMUT, for sure.”

Tickets can be purchased at the Studio Roanoke box office for the 2011 GAMUT season. See gamuttheatre.com or contact Miriam Frazier at [email protected] for more information about tickets or the upcoming audi-tions.

GAMUT Theater Group Finds New Home For 2011

The GAMUT group rehearses a play in 2010.


The Virginia Tourism Corporation and Vir-ginia Film Office released a new public service announcement featuring Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and country music legend Garth Brooks. Garth Brooks visited Virginia because of his role as Executive Producer for the Sony Pictures Television movie "Unanswered Prayers," airing on the Lifetime Network. The film, shot entirely in Virginia, stars Samantha Mathis (The American President) and Eric Close (Without a Trace) in the lead roles. The film is based on the popular Garth Brooks song of the same name.

Garth Brooks is the number one solo recording artist in U.S. history. He retired from the music industry in 2000 but recently returned to the Las Vegas stage to sold out audiences and his Decem-ber benefit concerts in Nashville, Tennessee raised more than $3.5 million for flood relief.

During the public service announcement, the Governor commends the tourism and film in-dustries for bringing jobs to the Commonwealth, while Brooks praises Virginia's beautiful land-scapes and people, stating "even though I'm an Oakie, I know why now, they still say, Virginia is for Lovers." The PSA, filmed on the steps of the Virginia State Capitol, will run 935 times in Janu-ary and February on PBS in four Virginia markets generating a potential 65 million impressions.

Virginia Tourism President and CEO Alisa Bailey commented, "It was an honor to have the

Governor and Garth Brooks working together to help us promote Virginia as a travel and film des-tination.”

Virginia Film Office Director Rita McClenny stated, "Garth and his production team were ex-cellent partners and produced a high quality inspi-rational film set in Virginia. We are proud to have had the opportunity to work with Garth, Sony Pictures Television and the Lifetime Network on the film and the public service announcement, which added value to the production."

Tourism is one of Virginia's most powerful in-dustries generating $17.7 billion in revenue and employing more than 204,000 Virginians.To learn more visit www.Virginia.org.

Governor McDonnell and Garth Brooks Team Up to Promote VA

Roanoke College has an-nounced several upcoming events with a theme centered on “The Next America.” These programs will explore the chal-lenges and opportunities for the United States in the immediate future and ways in which the country can respond to these situations.

January events on the Salem campus include the following:

Lecture/Workshop: Art Ex-hibit.

Lecture: “Resonance.” Janu-ary 20, 5 p.m. Olin Hall room # 231. Opening Reception: Janu-ary 21, 6-8 p.m. Smoyer Gal-lery.

Exhibit opens with recep-tion, continues through Febru-ary 20, Smoyer Gallery.

“Resonance” is an exhibit of paintings and drawings that in-cludes pieces created by artists who use meditation as a primary vehicle for creating their work. Featured artists include: billy bob beamer, William Driscoll, Dorothy Gillespie, Alison Hall, Russ Havard and Wes Mills.

The exhibit will open with a lecture and workshop on using meditation and art as a means of stress and pain management. The event will be conducted by John Heil, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Pam Rhodes, Cer-tified Consultant, and exhibit-ing artist billy bob beamer.

As part of his evolution as pain sufferer and artist, beamer has begun to teach others how they also might merge art and meditation. He uses art as a means of dealing with chronic pain and the accompanying

stress, and he describes his work as a “quiet active meditation". He has exhibited in over 60 art shows throughout the USA and at the Ancient High House Mu-seum, Staffordshire, UK.

Art Exhibit and Lecture: “Si-lent Nature”

Lecture: Friday, January 21, 5:30 p.m. Olin Hall room # 231.

Exhibit: opens with lecture, continues through February 20. Olin Gallery.

The exhibition will open on January 21 with a lecture by Kurt Steger. He and artist Char Norman will create a site-spe-cific sculpture intended as an entrance from the outside world into the sculptural environment of Steger’s solo exhibition in Olin Gallery.

Norman, associate provost at Columbus College of Art and Design and a working fi-ber artist, will join talents with her brother, Steger, to create a sculpture that incorporates his expertise as a woodworker and hers as an innovative maker of paper.

Presentation: “Shroud En-counter.”

Wednesday, January 26, 7:30 p.m. Colket Center Wortmann Ballroom.

This presentation is spon-sored by Roanoke College’s Colket Center.

The event is a production of Shroud of Turin Education Proj-ect, Inc., and will be presented by its president and founder, Russ Breault, who is an interna-tional lecturer and researcher. The presentation is a fast mov-ing, big-screen experience us-

ing over 150 images covering all aspects of research. The Shroud of Turin, which bears the faint front and back image of a beard-ed, crucified man with apparent wounds and bloodstains that match the crucifixion account as recorded in the Bible, is the most analyzed artifact in the world, yet it remains a mystery. Millions of people over the cen-turies have believed the 14-foot long linen cloth to be the actual burial shroud of Jesus. The his-torical trail tracks back through Italy, France, modern-day Tur-key and may have originated in the Middle East, according to botanical evidence. “Shroud Encounter” will cover all as-pects of the history, science, art and theories of how the cloth’s image may have been formed.

Dialogue: “What can Chris-tians and Jews Learn from Each Other?” Thursday, January 27, 7:30pm, Antrim Chapel.

This presentation is spon-sored by the Center for Religion and Society.

Rabbi Dr. Eugene Korn will dialogue with Dr. Gerald Mc-Dermott. Korn is the Ameri-can Director of The Center for Jewish-Christian Understand-ing and Cooperation in Israel, where he co-directs the center’s theological activity and its In-stitute for Theological Inquiry. McDermott is the Jordan-Trex-ler Professor of Religion at Roa-noke College.

All events are free to the pub-lic.

Roanoke College Exhibits and Lectures

Edgar Allan Poe spent many of his forma-tive years in a foster home in Virginia. His tragic life, mysterious death, and wealth of literary work continue to intrigue and delight college students and adults alike.

For these reasons, and to celebrate Poe’s 101st birthday on Jan. 19, the Virginia West-ern School of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences presents “Edgar Allan Poe’s Intrigue, Intellect and Influence."

Professor Sue Thomas and Assistant Pro-fessor Kathy Boylan received a grant from the Virginia Western Educational Foundation to bring the project to campus. As a kick off, a live performance of “Edgar Allan Poe Comes Alive!” will be held on Friday, Jan. 14 in Vir-ginia Western’s Whitman Theatre.

Two performances will be held, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The live performance features Scott Craig Jones of The Traveling Jones The-ater.

Jones brings Poe and his literary master-pieces to life in Edgar Allan Poe Comes Alive! a one-man show. The performance features

eight of Poe’s most well-known works: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, Annabel Lee, The Conqueror Worm, Spirits of the Dead, Eldora-do, The Masque of the Red Death and A Dream Within a Dream, in their entirety. The pieces are book-ended by Poe himself (Jones) as he somewhat humorously reminisces about his life, and death.

The Traveling Jones Theater, of Shenando-ah, Virginia strives to reintroduce America to American Literature using excellence in per-forming arts as the conduit, which fits well into the project planned at Virginia Western.

“The ‘Edgar Allan Poe’s Intrigue, Intellect and Influence’ project allows us to offer many more people in Southwestern Virginia an op-portunity to learn much more about Poe and his work and his influence,” said Kathy Boy-lan, assistant professor of English.

To learn more, visit www.virginiawestern.

edu.

Edgar Allan Poe Comes Alive at Virginia Western

Governor McDonnell with Garth Brooks.

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At the annual meeting this past Tuesday, United Way of Roanoke Valley recognized four individuals for their outstand-ing leadership and volunteerism in the Roanoke Valley area. De-spite wintry weather that dusted the area with snow once again and closed some area schools, the meeting began at 7:45 a.m. at the Vinton War Memorial. It was open to the public.

Those recognized were: The late John P. Fishwick –

Prominent businessman and altruist, Mr. Fishwick served as president of United Way of Roanoke Valley in 1960. He rose from humble beginnings to make incredible contributions to the Roanoke Valley and our nation and believed deeply in the fundamental philosophy of United Way – “together we can achieve more.” His wife, Mrs. Doreen Fishwick, accepted the award in his honor.

Bart Wilner and Dan Carson – Each have devoted six years of service to the United Way of Roanoke Valley as board mem-bers and served as campaign chairs in 2008 and 2009 respec-tively. In the peak of the worst economic depression seen in our times, these two individu-als championed the United Way cause and raised more than $12 million collectively to benefit families in our beloved Roanoke Valley.

Mike Dittrich – As 2010 board chairman, Mr. Dittrich provided excellent leadership and service to United Way of Roanoke Valley and was a cata-lyst in mobilizing funds and re-sources to meet the needs of our community. He will continue to serve as a board member through January 2014.

Other important items of business on the agenda:

The election of board mem-

bers up for a second three-year term, election of new board members, and the election of the 2011 executive committee.

Elected to a second three-year term, expiring at the An-nual Meeting in January 2014: Eunice Austin, Rita Bishop, Mike Dittrich, Mark Lawrence, Rev. Bill Lee, Jeff Marks, Mike Maxey, John Turbyfill, Gary Walton, Susan Willis.

New Board Members with terms to expire in January 2014: Trista Farrell, Carl Hauch, Jo-seph Jones, Savannah Kramer (the President of our Student United Way), Christopher Mor-rill, Timothy Philips.

Executive Committee offi-cers for 2011:

Board Chair: Kerri Thornton Vice Chair: Jeff Marks Treasurer and Finance: Mike

Maxey Audit: Gary Walton Campaign: Debbie Meade Community Impact: Wayne

Strickland Board Governance and De-

velopment: Mike Dittrich and Jean Glontz

Personnel: Letitia Smith

Planned Giving: Lora Katz Policy: Eunice Austin At large members of the Ex-

ecutive Committee: Dana Ack-ley, Lorraine Lange, Rev. Bill Lee.

The United Way of Roanoke Valley partners with businesses, organizations and individuals to improve lives and strengthen families and neighborhoods across the Roanoke Valley. They are well known for their annual fund-raising campaign which encompasses a broad spectrum of area businesses and individuals who come together each year to fund area programs through United Way.

They serve the residents of Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Bote-tourt, Craig and Roanoke coun-ties with “a network of human care programs” operated by over 25 partner agencies. Their stated mission is “to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of people in our community.”

To learn more, visit www.uwrv.org.

Roanoke Valley Community Members Honored by United Way

John Fishwick (son of John P. Fishwick), Mrs. John P. Fishwick, and Frank Rogan, Executive Director of United Way of Roa-noke Valley.

The Cat PartyThursday January 20 6 pmHowery Mezzanine Roanoke Main Library

photograph by Vickie Holt

bring your cats • free photo portrait of your cat • cats from Angels of Assisi • cat-themed putt putt • “Cats & Dogs” movie • photographic exhibition by Vickie Holt • cat adoptions • Purina Cat Chow and clay litter donations accepted • see famous “kitty studio” in action • hear about how kitty portraits are spreading nationwide • cat music • cat whiskers for everyone!

refreshments provided information: 540-853-1057 please bring your cat in a cat carrier

plus surprises!

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

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