The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

Community | News | Per spect iveJanuary 9, 2009 TheRoanokeStar.com

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I AM THEYMCA

I’m Pat Turner,and I admit to being a reality TV junkie.

But I’m very active at the Y, and I love line dancing, my DAR chapter, and

going to Topsail Island.

Daniel “Chip” Donahue was recently awarded the 2008 Conservation Teacher of the Year Award at the 70th An-nual Meeting of the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts.

!is Roanoke County resi-dent not only teaches second grade at Glen Cove Elemen-tary School but also has or-ganized, with the help of his dedicated wife Ashley, an environmental educational outreach program known as KIVA (Kids in the Valley Ad-venturing). !ere is a monthly event that showcases great op-portunities available for par-ents and kids in the Roanoke Valley.

Interested individuals and their families meet at vari-ous parks around town each month, and always focus on “free family fun.” Now a ce-lebrity in his own right, Donahue and KIVA were featured earlier this year on Good Morning America.

Donahue inquired about the Blue Ridge Soil & Wa-ter Conservation’s “Buddy Bucket” Outdoor Classroom Program about the same time he was reading Richard Louv’s book, “Last Child in

the Woods.” !is book re-enforced the idea that educa-tors can make the most di"er-ence in the lives of children by helping them reconnect with nature by using outdoor class-rooms in elementary schools. With the assistance of school administrators the process

of creating a set of “Buddy Buckets” at Glen Cove El-ementary School

was undertaken.As this enthusiastic teacher

and his students spent more time outside, they discovered that there was once a trail in

!e elephant was in the room as Dave Morgan, General Manager of the Greater Roa-noke Transit Company – Val-ley Metro - led a presentation on the history of GRTC this past Monday.

About a month ago the as-sistant general manager, Wil-liam “Chip” Holdren and the Valley Metro procurement o#cer, Matt Wynn, were sus-pended for allegedly forging procurement documents. Bids had been solicited to redeco-rate Holdren’s Metro o#ce. !e amount came to over $223,000 and the contract was awarded to Holdren’s wife, Diane Hol-dren, the president and owner of Holdren’s Interiors.

First Transit is the Cincin-nati Ohio based transit man-agement service that manages Valley Metro. Roanoke City Council serves as Valley Met-ro’s Board of Directors.

With an $8.1 million oper-ating budget, Morgan expects ridership to break 2.5 million passengers in $scal year 2009. !e Trolley between downtown and South Je"erson (Carilion) in seven weeks of operation has carried 331 pas-sengers per day, which far ex-ceeds the expected 80 to 100 daily passengers, said Morgan. Several additional stops have

been added recently, at least on a temporary basis.

Mayor David Bowers com-mended Dave Morgan as a good manager and asked for as-surance that the alleged impro-priety on the part of Holdren and Wynn would not reoccur. At City Manager Darlene Bur-cham’s request Bill Williamson,

the Regional Vice President of First Transit, addressed the issue: “we took

immediate steps to try to bring the situation under control.”

Besides suspending the as-sistant general manager and

procurement o#cer, William-son said the company also re-viewed the procurement regu-lations for GRTC, the City, the State, and the Federal Transit Administration. Depending on the dollar amount it will now require a higher level of author-ity for procurement approvals and Williamson himself would be involved in the approval process. He brought in one of First Transit’s managers to act as Assistant Manager to Dave Morgan and is also o"ering the

Photo by Valerie Garner

City Councilwoman Anita Price (L) and Mayor David Bowers listen to Dave Morgan, General Manager of Valley Metro.

City schools consider attendance zone shi!s

Look out below!

New York’s Times Square has its expensive crystal ball to drop at midnight on December 31, but

Roanoke had 11,000 balls on New Year’s Eve – as in small, multi-colored and very bouncy balls. They were dropped from atrium balconies and stairways at Center in the Square, shortly after local children counted down to the noontime event. The children on the floor were also told

to use their countdown placards to shield them from the hard rubber balls, dropped by others that crowded the stairs and overhead walkways. The first time event was cooked up by Roanokers Beth Deel and Wendy Schuyler of the myscoper.com events website and Up Periscope, their boutique advertising firm, to publicize a new exhibit about toys at the Science Museum.

Photo by Stuart Revercomb

During a joint meeting Roanoke City School board member Courtney Penn gave City Council an overview on Monday of what to expect in the coming months from the “facilities group” that was cre-ated to $nd more e#cient ways to utilize public school build-ings. Currently, many are only used at 60-67% of capacity. !e school buildings are owned by the city so any planned devel-opment requires a joint e"ort. Councilwoman Gwen Mason has sent recommendations to the School Board.

A Request For Proposal was developed to solicit outside assistance in evaluating the facilities, looking at capacity planning, en-rollment pro-jections and future trends. Penn said the facilities group quickly identi$ed ine#cient use of space, lack of design standards, aging facilities and signi$cant transportation is-sues.

Penn said consultants no-ticed that existing attendance zones had been in place for 30 years. (By contrast, Roanoke County has shu%ed its atten-dance zones several times in recent years to accommodate

[Education]

You Say You Want a Resolution

(With apologies to John Lennon) A week late, here’s a few resolutions and actions I’d like to see take place in 2009. Let’s start with a com-plete makeover of the City Market building, turning it into a tourist attraction like public markets in Seattle, Philadelphia and elsewhere. (Remembering Tom Hanks at the Pike’s public market in Sleepless in Seattle, where they throw fish around. Been there myself; it’s a lot of fun.)

That means a City Mar-ket building that has longer hours and offers more variety, maybe some retail and Farm-er’s Market vendors in the winter - like a plan offered by Downtown Roanoke Inc. The food court should be open in the eve-ning and on w e e k e n d s when there are spring/sum-mer events at nearby Elm-wood Park, and it is ideally situated to take advantage of traffic at the adjacent Taub-man Museum of Art. Where the money comes from for all of this is another story.

Speaking of the Taubman, let’s hope for later hours on the weekend, like a closing time of 9 or 10pm on Fridays

[Our Take]

From the news editor

Roanoke Teacher receives 2008 Conservation Teacher of the Year Award

[Transportation]

> CONTINUEDP2: Attendance

> CONTINUEDP3: Our Take

Regional VP of First Transit Addresses Improper Procurement by Valley Metro

Chip Donahue and his youngest son Fennen explore “the real world.”

[Conservation]

LoveShare theP5– Keith McCurdy says that spreading a little love is one resolution we can all keep.

HosesGuns ‘n’P7– Firefighters and police officers faced off in the fifth annual fundraiser that raised over $12,000 locally for MDA last year.

MayhemMarketP10– Fear, uncertainty and doubt reign as opinions abound in what to do with Roanoke’s City Market Building.

MystiqueMoonshine

P11– “White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style,” is now on display at the History Museum of Western Virginia.

> CONTINUEDP2: Valley Metro

> CONTINUEDP3: Conservationist

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| The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/9/09 TheRoanokeStar.com

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assistance of First Transit’s own auditors, saying they were “aghast at what happened and we feel terrible about that…we are deter-mined to get to the bottom of it.”

Councilman Court Rosen asked if First Transit would reim-burse the City if the allegations prove correct. “We are prepared to step forward and meet that commitment,” replied Williamson, if the facts support the allegations.

By Valerie [email protected]

> Valley Metro From page 1

the woods surrounding their school. According to Dona-hue, “In 1974, a true outdoor classroom was created in these woods, including wood-en outdoor bleachers, a rock and nature observation sta-tion, and a section of a stream set aside for water inspection and habitat observation. Over time, the trail became over-grown. !e Roanoke Flood of 1985 also washed away most of the trail. I was given per-mission to recreate the trail and my family spent many a

weekend chopping away at brush in an e"ort to return the trail to the community”.

“Chip Donahue is a source of inspiration to his students as well as to other teachers and to those in the commu-nity in which he resides” said representatives of the VAS-WCD adding that, “they were very impressed with his ac-complishments and grateful the Blue Ridge Soil & Water Conservation District sub-mitted his name.”

> ConservationistFrom page 1

growth patterns.) !e phase one study identi$ed enrollment and safety issues, that initiated the move of Forest Park El-ementary students to other schools due to low attendance $gures. !e study con-cluded with the decision to merge Oak-land Elementary with Preston Park and the move of Noel C. Taylor students to Oakland.

Consultants suggested that RCPS re-duce the number of overly small elemen-tary schools. Penn de$ned “overly small” as under 300 students. Making all elemen-tary schools K-5 was also recommended.

Phase two includes these recommenda-tions along with geo-coding that uses GIS so&ware to study changes in real time. Penn compared the so&ware to “putting stickpins into a map” pinpointing where all the students live. !is so&ware would include information about a student’s gender, grade level, race, test scores, and whether or not they get free or reduced

lunch. !e plan is to develop potential scenari-

os that would be “thoroughly, publicly and collaboratively critiqued,” said Penn. “We have to create a set of design standards …what would we like our facilities to look like in a perfect world.” !e plan would feature schools with 300 to 550 students. An example of the need to redraw atten-dance zones was a comparison between the Westside Elementary zone - with 900 students - and the Highland Park zone that features 85 students. Attendance zone shi&s are usually controversial and encounter some resistance from parents.

“!e new policy will focus on what is in the best interest of the children $rst and foremost,” said Penn. As part of the second phase RCPS will anticipate and prepare for growth, maximize the prox-imity of students to schools and provide equitable means of transportation.

Penn concluded by saying RCPS has

not made any decisions and “there are no holy cows.” !e public will have “due no-tice” on any major changes. Scenarios are already being developed. Penn said the cost to implement the change in the at-tendance zones would be $12 million over a $ve to seven year period.

Mason asked Penn how they would ac-count for students living in attendance zones where they do not actually go to school. Penn said an evaluation in 2007 – 2008 indicated that roughly 25% of the student body does not attend their zone school. !ey could be in gi&ed programs he noted, in special education programs or they may be using the school choice option (if their zone school has not met Standards of Learning milestones) but Penn admitted the percentage was prob-ably too high.


> Attendance From page 1

For $55,181 Roanoke City’s EOC (Emergency Operations Center, Room 159 Municipal Building), where briefings and joint meetings are held, can be transformed to ac-commodate televised Coun-cil briefings. This option had little support at Monday’s Council meeting, especially when Councilman Dave Trinkle quoted production fees, also noting the poor acoustics and lighting that would require correction.

Trinkle said if there was the occasional briefing “that [Council] thought was vitally important to have on TV” it could be done at the “closed captioning” cost of $420 for three hours. However, regu-larly scheduled televised briefings would cost over a thousand dollars a month.

The briefings could be substituted for the monthly, televised Planning Commis-sion meetings at only the cost of a computer if held in Council Chambers. This op-tion would require a vote by the Cable Committee.

Logitical problems are an issue: it was pointed out on Monday that if Council sat

at the dais it would not be conducive to having relaxed joint meetings, as is often the case. If a table was used the podium would have to be moved - but it is hard-wired for microphones and com-puter hookup. In addition, there would be a substantial cost for microphones for the tables.

Trinkle then brought up prioritizing time, which in-cluded the possibility that Roanoke County may want to televise their Planning Commission meetings on the same channel, RVTV-3. Trinkle said, “soon we would run out of time” and if we started the briefings and another locality wanted the time “our briefings would be the first to go.” Addition-ally, unscheduled “intermit-tent” briefings would require a two-week notice to RVTV. The definition of “intermit-tent” may come into question at some point.

Councilman Court Rosen suggested streaming or tap-ing the briefings for web-casts. However, the quality of video and especially sound as it relates to background noise may not be overcome easily. City Manager Dar-lene Burcham was unsure if RVTV would allow it on their broadcast but it might be possible to put it on the City’s website. “Someone on an hourly basis could come in to produce it,” said Burcham. Council will confer with the Planning Commission and Burcham will look into pro-ducing a webcast.


City Council brie$ngs to be televised “occasionally”

In order to connect two halves of the Roanoke River Greenway near Carilion Roanoke Memorial a path will be cut along the riv-er, under a pedestrian bridge, that will require moving Hamilton Terrace road slightly as it goes under a covered pedestrian bridge. !at came to light at Monday’s City Council meeting.

!is portion of the trail will cost $500,000 and was not part of the original 'ood reduction project. !ere is a moratorium on disturbing the river from March to July as the presence of the Log Perch, an endangered species, prohibits any construction near the Roanoke River during those months. Carilion CEO and President Ed Murphy joked that a small bridge already constructed near the hospital is now a “bridge to nowhere,” waiting for the greenway connection to be made.

Path$nders For Greenways donated the survey work, along with $35,000 in cash. HSMM donated the design. Carilion ver-bally pledged $150,000 toward the Greenway and the City of Roa-noke puts $200,000 yearly into the Greenway fund, in addition to grants. Novozymes Biologicals, under a court ordered plea agree-ment for violation of the Clean Water Act, will spend $250,000 on a parking lot for a proposed park where the Hannah Court mobile home park once stood. It was purchased by the city in 2006 for $1.8 million.

At Wasena Park an inactive covered sewer pipe acting as a dam will be removed and the Hannah Court property will be raised, with excess dirt equaling 10,000 dump truck loads creating a pla-teau e"ect. A parking lot will be built with Novozymes funds at the crest of the property and a 10-foot wide landscaped walking

trail will eventually encircle the entire 15 acres, connecting to a pedestrian bridge that spans the river to Wasena Park.

!e bridge should go out for bid in late spring or early summer. !ough the Army Corp of engineers would be responsible for this project, the City would share in some of the cost. All told the link at Carilion and the segment near Wasena Park will help create a $ve mile uninterrupted portion of the Roanoke River Greenway that stretches to the 13th St. water treatment plant.

Flood Reduction Project and Greenway Meets Endangered Species


The Junior League of Roanoke Valley will host the 3rd An-nual Bargain Bazaar & Bake Sale on January 31st to benefit the 7th Annual Pediatric Blood Drive held in March as well as other Roanoke Valley organizations focused on improving the lives of children.

Held at Tanglewood Mall from 10am-9pm, the Bargain Bazaar will feature "like new" furniture, clothing, household items, toys, baby gear, electronics and more - “all at bargain prices.” Admission is free. The event will be held on the lower level of Tanglewood Mall. Visit www.jlrv.org for more infor-mation.

Junior League of Roanoke Valley to host the 3rd Annual Bargain Bazaar

Cave Spring supervisor Charlotte Moore will hold her quar-terly community meeting at Angie Beckner's house in Hunt-ing Hills on January 12th at 7:00 p.m. Topics will be taxes and services provided by Roanoke County. The address is 5335 Silverfox Rd. (off of Foxridge Rd., beside Hunting Hills Country Club). “Please come and invite your neighbors and friends,” said Moore, “this meeting is for everyone.”

Cave Spring area community meeting

A rendering showing the proposed park and greenway where the Hannah Court Mobile Home park once stood.

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Community | News | Per spect ive

December 5, 2008

TheRoanokeStar.com

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date

ymcaroanoke.org

I AM THEYMCA

My name is Will Mohr,and I’m a college sophomore. My

family has been part of the Y since we

moved here, and now I’m working as

a Y volunteer, helping with summer

camp. I plan to go to Law School.

Looming over the sprawl-

ing suburb known as Bon-

sack, Roanoke County cut

the ribbon on Read Mountain

Preserve recently. The park

features 250 donated acres,

154 from developer Fralin

& Waldron, with another 90

coming from a private land-

owner. The centerpiece of

the new tract is the 1.9-mile

trail up the mountainside to

Buzzard’s Rock, an outcrop-

ping that provides views of

the Roanoke Regional Air-

port and the valley floor.On the first Sunday af-

ter the park was dedicated

a gravel parking lot was

jammed with several dozen

cars. Hikers of all ages filled

the somewhat narrow trail,

which is a moderate-to-

somewhat strenuous climb.

Much of the 1.9-mile path

(3.8 miles roundtrip) to the

2,350 Buzzard’s Rock is in

the woods, but there are sev-

eral points along the way to

glimpse views of the Bonsack

area or of downtown Roa-

noke’s skyline. The trailhead

is located off Crumpacker

Drive in Bonsack, accessed

from Rt. 460 off Hunting

Ridge Road.Volunteers built the trail,

which includes rock steps in

various locations. Additional

trails are planned for the fu-

ture, some following old Ci-

vilian Conservation Corps

paths built decades ago.

More parking areas may be

in the works as well. Mem-

bers of the Read Mountain

Alliance and Pathfinders for

Greenways were on hand for

last Thursday’s ribbon cut-

ting as well. “Without their

efforts the park would have

not become a reality,” said Ja-

net Scheid, Roanoke County

Greenway Planner.The “passive recreation

park,” is now the largest in

the county. Read Mountain

stretches from Botetourt

County through Bonsack

and on towards Roanoke

City. Plans call for the pre-

serve to be linked to the Tin-

ker Creek Greenway. When

complete, the trail makes its

way through the city, past

Hollins University and on to

Carvin’s Cove.

[Race for Rescue Mission]

Photo by Gene Marrano

Volunteer trail builders join Roanoke County officials for the ribbon cutting.

Rescue Mission’s “Drumstick Dash”

continues to grow by leaps and bounds

Legislative Program Meets Reality

Roanoke City Schools may face state budget cutsDelegate William Fralin, Delegate

Onzlee Ware, and State Senator John

Edwards were not optimistic on Monday

when they responded to the Roanoke

City School Board regarding their con-

cerns about reduced funding to schools.

School Board member Todd Putney

asked that divisions be permitted to ap-

ply for waivers from the Standards of

Accreditation (SOA) and the Standards

of Quality (SOQ) that are impacted by

funding cuts.

School Board Chairman, David Car-

son said that, “[Roanoke City Schools]

are looking at the state to grant us great

!exibility in meeting the Stan-

dards of Quality. In particular,

if we are going to get our state

funding slashed, then it seems

to us that rather than having

to continue meeting all of the rigid state

SOQs, the state should grant us !exibility

with respect to the some of them so that

we can use our limited money wisely.”

Carson has been an outspoken critic of

the Standards of Learning in the past as

an unfunded mandate.Putney stressed as a priority, fund-

ing raises for teachers, saying that this

re!ects directly on teacher morale and

“if you underpay people you will loose

them.”"ere was support for the

incentive to tie retaining stu-

dents’ driving privileges to

acceptable progress towards

graduation. “"ere needs to be some

teeth behind this in order to help the

school system increase the graduation

rate,” said Putney. Fralin said he would

take Carson up on his o#er to come to

Richmond to lobby for this bill.

“We also continue to struggle with get-

ting our test scores,” said Putney, adding

[Roanoke City]

River’s Edge !ood wall weakness discussed

W hen does 4,500 plus 227 plus

200 equal 150,000?When you’re tallying up

the numbers for the Roanoke Rescue Mis-

sion’s 2008 Drumstick Dash.

Some 5,000 runners, walkers, volunteers

and pets enjoyed the 3.1 mile trek (5K)

through the streets of downtown Roanoke

on Thanksgiving Day, raising $150,000 to

help the Rescue Mission provide daily food,

shelter and recovery programs to those in

need. Sponsorships represented $90,000 of the

total raised, with title sponsor, Stellar One

contributing $15,000. Sponsorships are

Photo by Mary Ellen Apgar

Smiling ROTC volunteers were on hand to point the way.

"e US Army Corps of En-

gineers has warned that Flood

Wall 298, along Wiley Drive

across from the River’s Edge

complex, must be strength-

ened as part of the Roanoke

River Flood D a m a g e Reduct ion Project. In a morning brie$ng Monday,

Roanoke City Council listened

as Col. Je#erson Ryscavage,

Commander of the Wilming-

ton District and Greg Gri%th,

District engineer, explained

what needs to be done to ad-

[River’s Edge]


Col. Jefferson Ryscavage ex-

plains issues with Roanoke’s

flood wall on Monday

Wishneff to face charges by appointed prosecutorFormer Roanoke City Coun-

cilman Brian Wishne# has been

under investigation regarding

the now infamous “Joe Smith”

full-page political ads placed

in "e Roanoke Times and "e

Roanoke Star-Sentinel. Wish-

ne# lost his reelection bid to

Councilman Court Rosen by

only 114 votes in May 2008."e two misdemeanor

charges stem from Virginia

election laws that require dis-

closure within 12 days of gen-

eral election contributions for

an amount of $500 or more.

"e second charge is for not

disclosing the contribution at

all. "e full-page ads were sub-

stantially in excess of $500. To

have been charged with a felony

would have required proof that

Wishne# “intentionally” made

false statements when disclos-

ing his contributions.“Citizens for Sensible Deci-

sions,” a group that evolved

from the registered PAC “Citi-

zens for Sensible Stadium De-

cisions” that formed in support

of keeping Victory Stadium, is

said to have funded the ads.

Read Mountain Preserve becomes county’s largest park

By Gene [email protected]

> CONTINUEDP3: River’s Edge

> CONTINUEDP3: Wishneff

> CONTINUEDP2: Drumstick Dash

> CONTINUED P2: Education


John Edwards talks about budget

shortfalls.

SearchTalent

P3– Val and Suzi Sivkov have opened Metropolished,

a new talent agency in Roanoke.

Lessons

Life P6–New columnist Stepha-

nie Koehler discovers new

perspectives on human behavior and friendships.

TipoffHoops

P7– High school basketball tips

off in the valley as Cave Spring

defeats Lord Botetourt, 63-57

FairLifestyle

P10– Stuart Mease wants

you to spread the word about the upcoming Roanoke

Career and Lifestyle Fair

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Roanoke Starof

theWeekGary Fowler grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia and graduated from Princeton High School in 1959. He then went to barber school in Richmond, Va, moving to Roa-noke in 1963. He has owned and operated Garys Hair Styl-ing since 1967. His was the first mens hair styling shop in the State of Virginia and operated in the Patrick Henry Hotel until 2003. His shop is now located on Hardy Road in Vinton, Va. Married to the former Becky Meador, they have two sons, one daughter, five grandchildren, and live in Vinton, Va. Gary has also served as pastor of the Flint Hill Baptist Church in Bedford County for 12 years. He has pastored several other churches in prior years.Gary's favorite places in the Roanoke Valley are Mill Mountain, downtown Roanoke, Coach and Four restaurant, and Logans Roadhouse.

By Jim BullingtonHave someone in mind for “Roanoke Star of the Week?”

E-mail Jim Bullington: [email protected]

and/or Saturdays. Keep the café open also or set up an expresso bar in the lobby – would make for a great date night and downtown eateries should benefit once the Taubman did close for the night.

Let’s also hope that the Center in the Square museums, the Taubman and the Vir-ginia Museum of Transportation can all get together to offer one price discount tickets so that downtown visitors can take in all the cultural attractions with their families at an affordable price. (And why aren’t there sign-posts, brightly colored maps on billboards, etc. downtown pointing visitors to these museums?) Perhaps the new trolleys can be used on special weekends for these “museum crawls,” which could also include art gallery stops.

Planning for new public parking garages downtown and at the Roanoke Civic Center would be nice – one at the corner of Camp-bell and Williamson downtown and another somewhere near the coliseum/performing arts theatre complex, where there seems to be some open spaces for one, even if it is pur-chased from private property owners. Hello?! People don’t like shuttles from remote lots and in the (mostly) blue-collar Star City they don’t want to pay for parking in downtown Roanoke. Businesses that leave for the ‘burbs often cite the perceived lack of parking as one reason they bail out.

Assuming that Roanoke City Council finds the tree where money grows on it, movement

on the amphitheater issue would be nice – fix the Elmwood Park site for community con-certs and festivals. Right now it’s almost im-possible to sit comfortably in a chair there… feels like being on the deck of the Titanic, after it struck the iceberg. Speaking of ice, the kind under your feet, not floating in the North Atlantic – wouldn’t a new, dedicated ice skating rink be nice, perhaps equipped with 2500-3000 seats that could also accommo-date a lower-level professional hockey league team? (Would be a nice addition downtown, or perhaps near Tanglewood Mall as a way to attract people to that underused property).

And approve a larger amphitheater for the old Victory Stadium property – some-thing low tech, where flood water damage from the nearby Roanoke River wouldn’t be fatal; maybe 5000-7000 seats and room be-hind them on the grass for thousands more. Otherwise those fields could still be used for recreation leagues in a city badly in need of athletic venues. Aren’t you tired of traveling to Charlottesville, Raleigh or Virginia Beach to see major acts under the stars?

That’s it for now, I’m done spending other people’s money … personally, I hope to help turn out more interesting Star-Sentinel pa-pers for our readers. As for the 20-30 pounds I want to lose – every year – that truly is an-other story.


> Our Take From page 1

Diana Christopulos wants to see her job become ob-solete. As chairman of the board of the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition, she would like to see everyone commit to a lifestyle that reduces carbon footprints—their annual contribution to global warming – which everyone can measure them-selves.

In the meantime Chris-topulos and Mark McClain—treasurer/webmaster - tell groups there are many things they can do to save energy. “Making changes as a life-style commitment may not take much time and will pay off spiritually because it is the right thing for the environment,” according to Christopulos - but it will also save money in the long run.

For example: an incandes-cent 60-watt light bulb emits just 5% light and 95% heat, while a CFL 50 watt equiva-lent bulb (those swirling, compact fluorescents) will save $40 or more over the life of the bulb, despite the extra expense up front. She hopes that people will feel obligated to learn and can apply some basic principals to change the way they live.

Christopulos wouldn’t feel right “not doing something about it [global warming], so we did.” The RVCCC adds people to their list of supporters every week after speaking to new groups. She is a volunteer who works out of her home in Salem, keep-ing administrative costs low.

Teaching others about re-ducing the threat of global warming via lowered green-

house gas emissions comes naturally to Christopolus, who was a college history professor at Hartwick Col-lege in Oneonta, New York. That’s where she taught American and Latin Ameri-can History in the 70’s. She holds a doctorate in history from Binghamton University in upstate New York.

Christopolus said she and McCain wanted to settle in the southern Appalachian Mountains near colleges and universities, so they chose the Roanoke Valley. Invest-ing wisely helped her retire early, leaving Christopolus free to pursue a passion for environmental causes. (Mc-Clain is also a canoeing en-thusiast and an activist for clean waterways as a member and officer of the local Sierra Club.)

She is an Air Force brat, born in Cheyenne, Wyo-ming, and has lived in Ger-many, Colorado, Northern Virginia, Hawaii and Nebras-ka. Christopolus finished hiking her last section of the Appalachian Trail in Octo-ber with a celebration party at Harpers Ferry, completing the hike nine years after she began.

Progress is being made on the cooler cities front: area governments are already committed to reducing their carbon footprints at munici-pal facilities—Salem, Roa-noke County, Roanoke City and Blacksburg have signed on. Roanoke City has been a leader, with council member Gwen Mason spearheading that effort, while Roanoke County is just starting to as-

semble its own public-private green coalition.

Many of the changes work on the residential level — programmed thermostat set-tings for heat/cooling, using recycled paper wherever pos-sible, reducing water usage, and buying green cleaning products for starters. Chris-topulos urges citizens to sup-port their local government during these early efforts to reduce carbon footprints.

“Americans are very smart. Once we set our minds to it we’re really very good at it,” she said about deciding to make a change. “You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to get better.”

Christopolus can show you how to calculate a car-bon footprint. It’s easy and a chart available on line can help with the figuring by es-tablishing a baseline that can be used to measure improve-ments made. Just ask for a presentation —there are 13 to choose from.

Contact Mark McClain at (540) 387-0930, e-mail him at [email protected], or visit the RVCCC web-site (rvccc.org) for more in-formation.

Diana Christopulos – one of the Valley’s “greenest” people

Photo by Gene Marrano

Dr. Diana Christopulos (center) speaks with local high school students.

By Joan [email protected]

PERSPECTIVE | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/9/09 TheRoanokeStar.com

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It’s happened again . . . for the ten thousandth time, if you’re count-

ing: Fighting in Palestine/Is-rael/The Holy Land, which-ever you prefer to call it. In addition to other things, the Old Testament gives a blood-thirsty account of what hap-pened in 1220 BCE when Joshua decided to cross the Jordan into Jericho. As one might imagine, the Canaan-ites, who had been living there for 2000 years, were none too pleased with the pronouncement that a god of whom they had never heard, had given their land to the children of Abraham. So the fighting began and has con-tinued pretty much uninter-rupted since.

Instead of spears, rocks, and arrows, this morning they are using the latest in sophisticated warfare, all supplied by the United States to Israel and by the French, Russians and others to the Palestinians. If they had to manufacture their own ar-maments, things would be a bit simpler. But there’s mon-ey to be made in arms ship-ments, and we’re certainly not above cutting ourselves a large piece of that pie.

Humans, with the excep-tion of one isolated group of chimpanzees, are the only mammals on the planet that regularly band together to kill each other. The reasons, other than the sport of differ-ing politics, revolve around two simple issues: land and religion.

Most highly developed ani-mals have a sense of territori-ality for an obvious purpose: They protect their water and food sources. They will fight to do it. Humans take it a step further. The winner may get the land they want, but the losers will, sooner or later, redress the damage dealt to them. After centuries of re-cycling conflict, hostility has a life of its own. What started

off as a fight about land now is a war about who did what to whom.

Factor into this religion and the problem begins to approach the unsolvable. When one group tells anoth-er that God is on their side, it really doesn’t matter whose God you’re talking about. World War II, a “just war” if there ever was one, had God on our side. Mil-lions of Germans, some of them fa-mous theologians, felt exactly the same thing. Karl Barth, Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niehbuhr, Martin Niemöller, and Dietrich Bon-hoeffer, all rec-ognized that God was not a Nazi. Today no one can recall the names of the majority of German church leaders who supported the Third Reich.

Religions - all of them - one can argue, have been the cause of more bloodshed than all the political and land acquisition wars in history. If one is to believe the re-cord, Jesus came to earth as God Incarnate to change the thinking about our enemies. Six centuries later, Moham-med got the same message from Allah.

In the centuries following that idea, both Christian-ity and Islam have been at each other’s throat. Juda-ism, caught in the middle, has been amazing in its sur-vival. With only 15 million Jews in the world, they con-tinue to make astounding contributions to civilization. The three billion Christians and Muslims have their own agendas and neither seems interested in listening to the other. The other half of the world has its own set of re-ligions.

Personally, I don’t think Yahweh, God, Allah, the Buddha, the Hindu Gods,

The Force or whatever ap-pellation you apply gives a fig about religion. Religion is what we tell each other about what we believe. The problems start when we try to force others into our sys-tem. I once asked my father, a well-known Christian min-ister, how he resolved all the religious differences in the world. He thought a min-

ute then said, “The verses in John 14 answer it for me. ‘In my Father’s (Jesus did not say “God’s”) house are many mansions.’” Dad went on to add, “If there are many mansions,

there must be many doors and we don’t all go in

the same way.”If Moses, Christ, and Mo-

hammed could not convince even their contemporaries that Yahweh, God, and Al-lah all wanted humankind to live in harmony, what hope is there for ordinary mortals to correct three thousand years of hatred and war?

A depressing thought and until someone can figure it out, I think we can count on another three millennia of conflict and the idea of liv-ing in peace will never be-come more than just wishful thinking.

Colette Livermore, a for-mer and disillusioned sister in Mother Teresa’s Mission-aries of Charity, writes in her recent memoir, “Hope En-dures,” about the difficulty of dealing with the horrors of daily living in much of the world. After all she has seen and all we have only heard about, that hope does remain can give us cause to face to-morrow with expectation.

Contact Hayden [email protected]

Why We Fight

Hayden Hollingsworth

For those of you who love stories, here is one that I first en-

countered in Nancy Larrick’s To Ride a Butterfly. It comes from the Jewish tradition and this retelling of the story is based on one told by Bar-bara Cohen. The story goes like this.

Like hundreds of other aged towns, the buildings of S’fad seemed to huddle to-gether with only the narrow-est of streets to divide them. The streets were always filled with butchers, grocers, children, homemakers, rabbis and their students.

One of the people who lived in S’fad was a man named Meir, a miller who faithfully went to synagogue each week. Every Sabbath he sat on a hard wooden bench trying to stay awake, but every Sabbath morning he would gently drift off to sleep.

One Sabbath day, as the rabbi was chanting, Meir awoke just long enough to hear the rabbi say, “You shall take choice flour and bake of it twelve loaves…Place them on the pure table before the Lord in two rows, six to a row.” Meir heard the words but then, as you may have guessed, quietly returned to his Sabbath nap, dreams and reality softly blurring togeth-er.

When Meir arrived home, he told his wife how God had spoken to him in a dream. God, he told her, had com-manded him to bake twelve loaves of bread, carry them to the synagogue, and place them on the table that stood in front of the ark. The com-mand, he confessed, did seem a little strange—Who would have thought that God ate bread!—but who was he to question the ways of God!

Meir did as God com-manded. He baked the chal-lah, placed the loaves on the table, and covered them with the velvet cloth.

Now there lived in S’fad a second man whose name was Yakov. Yakov had a large family—a wife and seven children—and he cleaned the synagogue to provide food for his family. But times were hard. Yakov’s youngest child had been sick and it took all of his money to pay for the doctor’s care.

When Yakov arrived in the synagogue to begin the weekly cleaning, his heart was heavy. “God,” he prayed, “my family is hungry and I have no money. Win-ter is coming and soon it will be cold. How can I keep my family from starving?”

Yakov prayed as he swept and dusted and soon his cleaning brought him to the table that stood before the Holy Ark, a table covered with a velvet cloth.

“Strange,” thought Yakov, “I wonder what is hiding under the cloth?”

When he looked under the cloth, he saw the twelve loaves. “Thank you, God! Oh, thank you!,” said Yakov, overjoyed that God had an-swered his prayer so quickly. “Blessed are you, O God, for hearing my prayer and send-ing this wondrous miracle!”

What joy there was in Ya-kov’s house when he arrived home with his arms full of bread!

But soon Meir began to wonder whether he had heard God correctly. Had God really instructed him to bake the bread? So he returned to the synagogue to see if the bread was still there.

You can imagine his sur-prise when he discovered that the bread was gone! God had accepted his gift! He was humbled and hon-ored that God would accept the gift of a simple miller.

The following Sabbath, Meir brought another twelve loaves to synagogue. After the service he quietly placed the loaves on the table, cov-ered them with the velvet cloth and returned home.

It was but a few minutes before Yakov arrived to complete his weekly clean-ing of the synagogue. “God,” Yakov prayed, “you are so busy—and you have been so gracious—but once again my family is in great trouble. I used seven of the loaves to feed my family, sold four to help us make it through the week and gave one away, as you would have me do. Now there is nothing left. Please, God, I need another mira-cle.”

Almost afraid to hope, Ya-kov went over to the table.

There, to his great delight, were twelve loaves of bread!

Joy again filled his heart and he ran home praising God for yet another miracle.

Week after week, Meir baked bread and left it on the table and, week after week, Yakov and his family rejoiced that God had pro-vided a miracle.

Months passed. One Sab-bath a member of the syna-gogue asked the rabbi a par-ticularly difficult question. Unsure of the answer, the rabbi stayed to research the answer.

While there, the rabbi heard footsteps in the sanc-tuary and quietly went to see who it was. There was Meir dropping off his twelve loaves of bread.

Meir was barely gone when the rabbi heard another set of footsteps. It was Yakov. The rabbi watched as Yakov uncovered the twelve loaves and, with deep joy and grati-tude, scurried home to his eagerly awaiting family.

Suddenly, everything made sense. The rabbi had long wondered what had placed the joy and satisfaction on Meir’s face—and long won-dered how Yakov’s family had faired the winter so well.

When the rabbi called the two together to explain what had been happening, Meir looked crestfallen. “I thought that I was giving the bread to God,” he said, stunned and saddened by the discovery.

“And I thought that the bread was a gift from God,” sputtered Yakov, surprised by the disclosure.

“Meir, Yakov, you are both right,” said the rabbi. “Meir, when we open our heart and give to those in need, we are giving a gift to God. Yakov, when we receive a gift from the kindness of another, we are receiving a gift from God. God may cherish our prayers and God may be honored by our study, but it is when we give with generosity and kindness—and when we receive with gratitude and thankfulness—that God is most truly with us.”

May it ever be so in your life!

Gary Robbins is Pastor at Greene Memorial Church in

Downtown RoanokeVisit them on the web at

www.grumc.org

More than a gift – The twelve loaves of bread

PREACHER’S CORNER

Find the answers online: TheRoanokeStar.com

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

email: [email protected]

Star~Sentinel CrosswordBy Don Waterfield

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www.CrosswordWeaver.com

A C R O S S

1 C a . U n ivers ity 5 S ta in 9 W in te r m o.

12 B ake unshe lled eggs 14 A n a ll-n igh t techno dance party . 15 R em ake 16 70 's m usic 17 C a in k illed h im 18 Leve l 19 B rand o f laundry de te rgent 20 B o tfly la rva . 22 B read enrich ing v itam in 24 D em ob ilize 26 S ego lily Ìs bu lb 27 B eer m ug 30 C razes 34 T igh tly d raw n, tigh t, tense . 37 P ig 39 A llow in 40 A fu rrow 41 E e l 43 E xpensive jew e lry especia lly

d iam onds. (U S s lang)

44 S peak in pub lic 47 Ind is tingu ishab le 48 D e ta il 49 Favorite vaca tion spo t 51 W h ich loca l c ity w as firs t exp lo red

64 years a fte r Jam estow n? 53 C ontem pla te 55 G reek 'A ' 58 A m bu la to ry 60 H a tche t 61 To su ffe r pa in . 63 N a tu ra l enc losure 64 A rab ian 66 H om e 68 6 th m onth (Jew ish ca lendar) 69 N aughty o r __ (w hat S anta

checks) 70 E bbs 71 U n it o f pow er. 72 D epartm ent (abbr.) 73 G reek s tringed instrum ent

D O W N

1 U .S . D epartm ent o f A gricu ltu re

2 Lass 3 S m ooth tigh tly tw is ted th read 4 S park 5 R asca l 6 W orkp lace 7 B akers needs 8 O p in ion 9 H indu goddess, consort o f S iva

10 E ve 's garden 11 S tudy 13 A ndro id 15 S e t dow n in w riting o r act o f

e lectron ic reproduction o f com m unica tions.

21 Fa t 23 W ater (S p .) 25 M ounta in S tandard T im e 28 E v ils 29 K inds o f s ta rs 31 N eg lect 32 G ra in 33 Tuber 34 R ide horseback 35 H a lo 36 B eeh ive S ta te 38 Torah tab le 42 B ecom e less tigh t 45 B u ild ing m ateria l 46 D ecora tive need le case 48 P ixy 50 Ta iw an 52 V o te in 54 U ncanny 56 S k illed 57 O ne w ho he lps. 58 C rea ted 59 E gg-shaped 60 A w ager (2 w ds.) 62 M is lay 63 To d rive a tax i. 65 A m erican C o llege o f P hys ic ians

(abbr.) 67 C ooking fa t

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Send your articles, story ideas and pictures to:

[email protected]

by Pastor Gary Robbins

PERSPECTIVETheRoanokeStar.com 1/9/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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January, my not-so-favorite time of year, brings a fa-miliar yearning for warmth and sun, and thoughts of family getaways—like a good old summer camping

trip. Camping is one of those all-American pursuits that has its staunch followers and probably equally staunch detrac-tors. Our family of six, now somewhat scattered, has very few shared camping memories, most of which took place in the back yard. I still occasionally wrestle with and mourn that fact.

One of our sons heads out every year on a summer camp-ing outing with buddies to an island somewhere in the twists and turns of Smith Mountain Lake. None of us parents know exactly where it is, and that is probably the point. We are forewarned of this excursion about 10 minutes before a jeep full of kids show up at our doorstep asking to borrow tents and some cooking gear. If I happen to be home when this happens, I locate the dusty box full of tents on our shelf in the garage and throw in a bottle of bug spray for good measure. Then, just as quickly as they appear, they are gone—off on their adventure once again.

The excitement they feel as they depart leaves me a little melancholy in their wake. In spite of the head-of-household’s best efforts to inspire a desire to go camping, I have been an obstacle to this noble endeavor. I imagine an idyllic scene of kids roasting marshmallows around the campfire, giddy with excitement from the rawness of the experience. But thanks to me if the kids are going to have camping memories, it looks like they will have to be of their own making.

Somehow I always have an excuse, but one summer some

years back, I bravely turned my back on all the ex-cuses and put on a cheerful face as I agreed to take our four young kids for ONE overnight camping trip.

I don’t recall preparing for the trip at home but I distinctly remember finally arriving at the park and realizing that being in the great outdoors in the mountains did nothing to reduce the humidity level. So the hair goes up, the kids get whiny, and the tent project begins. Putting up a tent is a great way to start things off— in theory to promote total cooperation and congeniality among family mem-bers. Soon we are all reluctantly involved, but we are not exactly feeling congenial. Frustrations rise as differ-ent ideas on how things should be done are thrown together like nitro and glycerin. But the tent does get put up and just in time. When we started I was sure that the sky was blue and cloudless and I was expecting the quintessential night under the stars, but this was not to be the case; we had about 8.6 seconds from the time we realized it might rain until we were in a full-blown thunderstorm. We dove for the tent and there upon spent over an hour wondering if it would ever end.

Just about the time I thought I had grounds for a town meet-ing regarding GOING HOME, the rain stopped. We and oth-er nearby campers crawled back out and resumed important camping activities, even though it was now dark and nearly bedtime. Our neighboring campers triumphantly started a campfire of all things! This would be a good thing unless you happened to be in a tent 10 feet away thinking about get-

ting some sleep. It wasn’t long before getting some air was a much higher priority as the smoke from the campfire gathered and thickened, settling upon the ground like a morning fog. As I lay there listen-ing to the rest of the family sleep just fine, I finally found myself drifting off…until a low sound began from somewhere across the lake, quickly escalating into a very LOUD trumpeting call! I realized it was a rare and awesome creature: a bull frog. When his gigantic throat finally finished whatever he had to

say (estimated duration 55 seconds) I was totally awake, heart pounding, and lungs full of lingering smoke.

Feeling a little irritable, and quite helpless, I resumed with great effort the task of falling asleep. Exactly 45 minutes later by the trusty Indiglo Timex, it happened again. From the sound of this frog, he was probably about a foot and a half wide with a throat capacity equal to that of a large birthday balloon. I whispered, “does anybody hear that thing?” There is no response - he is apparently my personal Frog from Hell. He continued to go off every 45 minutes (obviously his air sac refill time) until dawn was reasonably near. Needless to say, I was the only one who wasn’t up for a paddle boat ride the next day. Going frog hunting sounded pretty good!

This year I have finally found a resolution I can keep. There will be no camping in 2009.

Contact Cheryl [email protected]

Cheryl Hodges

No camping in 2009, thank you very much

I hope you have made your New Year’s resolutions. As I was looking in my freezer and refrigerator today I resolved to make healthier meals. I picked up some of my Cooking Light cookbooks today and looked through them. !e recipes are as easy as any of the weekday meals I prepare. It just takes some extra planning to be sure I have the ingredients on hand. So really half the battle in eating healthier is just to be more organized!

But things won’t just change if we don’t truly will them to - we must become intentional in what we have decided to do. !is is how it happens - we resolve to change something in our life, but next comes the hardest part - we must act. We must have the will to go forward with the new idea and turn it into an action. !at is where most of us get hung up – I know I do.

!e start of a new year is a wonderful time to evaluate what you have been doing, plan to change some things and be given a fresh start. With that idea in mind I think of God and how He always forgives us and allows us to start again. It’s a NEW YEAR! What a great word that is – NEW! So I may be throwing some healthy meals your way in the Happy Chef but don’t worry, I like food too much to get drastic, but lighter meals could certainly help us all. Good Luck to you with your New Year’s resolutions!

1/2 pound fresh asparagus1/2 cup canned no-salt added chicken broth, undiluted1/4 cup Chablis or other dry white wine1/4 cup chopped shallots1/4 tsp. pepper1/2 (8-ounce) package Neufchatel cheese, so&ened2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled2 tbs. fresh lemon juice8 ounces linguine, uncooked1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet red pepper

- Snap o" tough ends of asparagus. Remove scales from stalks with a knife or vegetable peeler, if desired. Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces. Set aside.- Combine chicken broth, white wine, chopped shallots, and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; add asparagus. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add cheese and lemon juice; cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the cheese melts. Set aside and keep warm.- Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Place pasta in serving bowl. Add asparagus mixture and sweet red pepper; toss gently. Serve immediately.

Linguine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

The Recipe of the Week from The Happy Chefby Leigh Sackett

There's a trend afoot, caused by the current recession, toward simplify-ing and slowing down our lives. See-

ing a lifetime of retirement savings go “poof ” in a matter of weeks has made us realize that what's really important is not a new car every other year, an even wider-screen TV, or a big-ger house than our parents. Folks are realiz-ing that free-range, grass-fed, and organic—the way our parents and grandparents did things back on the farm—make a lot of sense. When it comes to prioritizing our lives, “back to the basics” and “slow and steady wins the race” are becoming the mottos for the times.

I can see parallels between the go-go years of the Bush presidency and our parenting styles. Many people have parented like their kids were a mutal fund, circa 2005. In other words, lots of micro-management. Buy, sell, short, long, in, out. But what kind of returns are these fund managers getting? Is their any long-term growth, or have we just cre-ated a generation of text-messaging video-gamers with no attention spans, doomed to crash?

My wife and I are fans of what I would call the Warren Buffett school of par-enting—invest in a good product and let it grow, organically and over time, the way God intended. This means that we make a point to let our kids entertain themselves, with minimal adult guidance, and with as little help from cable television as possible. They play with wooden toy trains on a table in the basement, making elaborate track setups and commanding the transport of freight like 19th-century railroad tycoons. They enjoy playing in the mud, too—“dirt work,” as they call it—and have built several quarries and gravel pits in the corner of our back yard.

They recently discovered another form of entertainment, one that is absolutely free, gets them into the great outdoors, and is abundantly available in this part of the world: throwing rocks into a creek. My wife requested a little time to put away the Christ-mas decorations after New Year's Day, so I

took the Perry Boys to Fishburn Park for a hike. We were doing fine as we walked down the gravel path past the tennis courts and alongside the disc golf course, until we came to the footbridge over Murray Run, at which point all forward progress stopped. The Boys grabbed rocks from the hillside and began to toss them into the swift-flowing water, Seth choosing small, manageable pebbles, and Kevin gathering armfuls of mini-boulders and hefting them into the torrent with loud ker-plunks.

Our Alberta Ave. neighbors, Mike and Theresa, out for a mid-day walk, happened upon us and we began to relate stories of

throwing rocks as kids. Mike re-called a time in his youth when the creeks in Fairfax County were clean and full of critters, and smiled as he recounted finding a crawdad or nymph under every rock in a favorite childhood creek in West Virginia. I related putting creek rocks around the campfire on Boy Scouts camping trips, only to have

them explode into a thousand tiny projectiles as the water contained within escaped violently as steam.

Even as an adult, my good friend James and I whiled away a lunch break during a fam-ily canoe trip on the James River by casually tossing river rocks at each other from oppo-site sides of a cobble bar.

Mike and Theresa moved on, and with the hillside freshly strip-mined, I ordered the Perry Boys to march. Their hands and knees were muddy, but the Boys were none the worse for wear—in fact, they were bet-ter for having discovered how much fun you can have with some rocks and a little trickle of water. Yep, Warren Buffett has it right. In-vest in something good—something you'd be willing to hang on to for the rest of your life—and let it grow, naturally and organical-ly, with minimal intervention. The way God intended.

Contact David at [email protected]

Rocks and Recessions

David Perry

So what is the most pop-ular New Year’s Reso-lution you have heard

this year? !e top three that I have heard are starting a diet, deciding to exercise and begin-ning a new hobby or activity. Is it me or does it seem the major-ity of the focus of “change” in the New Year is based on self? It is hard to turn on the radio today and not hear an ad for the local gym or diet plan and how these will help you become who you want to be in 2009. Here we are about to $nish the $rst week in the New Year and I wonder how many of us have already stopped our new plan? We know that less than half of our New Year’s plans make it into longstanding habits and lifestyle change, so what is the point?

Most New Year’s resolutions seem to focus on enriching our individual lives. In other words, they are self-focused or even sel$sh. When we are so self-focused the majority of our feedback comes from us. Yes, we may get the occa-sional comment about some lost pounds or leaner physique, but overall we are the ones who keep track of exactly what we have achieved and are the main source for our motivation. If we are the source of the moti-vation and haven’t done such a great job yet, what makes us think it will be any di"erent now? I am really not trying to discourage anyone or be nega-tive about this process; I am just suggesting that maybe it is

the focus of the res-olution that we set that is the problem. Maybe it shouldn’t be so based on us.

About two weeks ago a little girl shared with me her goal for the New Year. Her parents had been talking about diets and ex-ercise and she started thinking that she needed a New Year’s resolution. She told me that this year she was going to “love more people”.

Wow, talk about out of the mouths of babes. I think she is right. Instead of enriching our own lives we should be focused on enriching the lives of those around us. !e impact and re-sult would be very di"erent. No longer would our motivation come from within, it would be a direct result of how we treat others and how they respond to this loving message. So, here is the challenge. Instead of going on a diet, building a work-out routine, or learning to speak Spanish….let’s love some people. Here are three suggestions.

Husbands and Wives, ask your-self what you could do to make a positive di"er-ence in the life of your spouse. Can you be more attentive, dem-onstrate more a"ection or just

spend more time with them?

Parents, ask what you can do to dem-onstrate love to your children. Are you giving loving responses to them, do they get undi-vided attention, are you consistent with discipline as well as

compliments and praise? Kids, how are you treating

your parents, friends, team-mates, classmates? Practice giving loving responses and demonstrating kindness. De-cide to work on being agree-able and thankful rather than complaining and discontent.

While these ideas may not be the traditional fair of reso-lutions for this time of year, they are the ones that can have the most profound impact. I would have to say that going on a diet, getting a work-out routine or learning how to knit has rarely solved issues in my patients’ lives. Learning how to love and be loved has! Happy New Year!

Contact Keith [email protected]

Keith McCurdy

New Year’s Resolution…Let’s love some people


(540) 855-5100

www.ymcaroanoke.org

E x peri e n ce T h e G a t h eri n g

St. John’s Episcopal Church: Jefferson at Elm

The Gathering happens every Sunday evening and offers a casual acoustic worship service & Christian formation for all ages. Register for Adult Mini-Courses! Call St. John’s: (540) 343-9341. www.stjohnsroanoke.org

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Course: Jan. 4-Jan. 25 (4 Sundays) !" Financial Sanity: Financial Well-Being & Spiritual Life Course: Jan. 4-25, Feb. 8-22 (7 Sundays) !" Explorer’s Classes: Faith & the Episcopal Church Course: Feb. 1 (1 Sunday) !" Meet St. John’s Newest Staff Members Course: Feb. 8-March 8 (5 Sundays) !" Addiction: The Family Disease Course: March 1-March 15 (3 Sundays) !" Caring for Creation

Course: March 15 (1 Sunday) !" Soup, Soap, and Salvation: The Musical Story of the Rescue Mission Course: March 22-April 5 (3 Sundays) !" Celtic Christianity and Anglican Thought Course: April 19-May 24 (6 Sundays) !" Exploring the Way: The Christian Spiritual Life Course: April 19-May 10 (4 Sundays) !" Islam Course: May 17-May 24 (2 Sundays) !" Personal Storytelling: A Way to Deeper Faith

!" A 40-minute Communion service with music at 5 pm. !" A light meal at 5:45 pm. !" Youth group, children’s music, and compelling adult “mini-courses” on topics of broad interest from 6:15-7:15 pm. !" Come for worship, come for Christian formation, or come for both! !" Retro Café Faith Class for K-5th grade, Youth Group (middle & high school), and Children’s Choir offered during each session. !" Casual dress is expected! Free Childcare is available.

Sixth District Congressman Bob Goodlatte met with Roa-noke City Council concerning a number of topics at a Mon-day noon luncheon. Goodlatte lamented over federal funding for the Roanoke River 'ood reduction project that now stands at slightly over $1 mil-lion; he’s attempting to get it increased to $1.5 million but was unsure what the outcome would be with the new Obama administration.

Goodlatte said that the proj-ect would continue but would be delayed without additional funding. He is also monitor-ing the misappropriation of

funds in regard to the Valley Metro issue since it was mostly federal, calling it a “signi$cant amount.”

City Manager Darlene Bur-cham said if the Virginia Mu-nicipal League backed a reso-lution that stated the Federal government would back bond $nancing and “stand behind them,” that guarantee would allow municipalities to receive a more favorable interest rate – advancing projects that would then stimulate the economy. Goodlatte agreed: “that was a better approach in that it pre-serves the local decision mak-ing.”

Burcham also made Good-latte aware of additional VDOT funding needed to complete the Valley View Mall interchange. Completion would open up a 100-acre tract of land for eco-nomic development. Accord-ing to Burcham there are a number of retailers interested in coming to the area. She also stressed to Goodlatte the sig-ni$cant stimulus impact this would have on the landlocked City’s economy. Goodlatte said he would work on more fund-ing in the next federal highway bill.


Goodlatte Meets with City CouncilU.S. Congressman Bob Goodlatte (left) with aide Pete Larkin.

Ex Roanoke City Councilman Alfred Dowe $led for bankruptcy this week citing both liabilities and assets in the $100,000 to $500,000 range. Dowe resigned his council seat in disgrace amidst charges that he double billed both the City of Roanoke and the State of Virginia for the same travel charges while serving as a councilman.

Vice Mayor Sherman Lea said on Wednesday that he was “sorry to see things come to this and that he wishes the best for Alfred, though he’s clearly made some mistakes.”

Dowe is presently facing the possibility of criminal charges from a special prosecutor who is review-ing the case. A source familiar with the investigation indicated that the prosecutor’s decision could come as early as next week and that felony charges were a possibility.

Dowe files for Bankruptcy – Faces possible criminal charges

SPORTS 1/9/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to

[email protected]

Roanoke County career $re$ghter Gary Hostetter swears its not $xed: everyone of the $rst $ve annual “Guns and Hoses” charity hockey matches played as a fundraiser for the Muscu-lar Dystrophy Association ended in a regulation tie, only to be decided in a shootout. !at’s where skaters go one on one with the opposing goaltenders, hoping to slip the puck past them. Guns and Hoses (as in Guns and Roses, the rock group) matches local law enforcement agencies against area $re$ght-ers.

!is year’s game takes place at the Roanoke Civic Center on Saturday, January 10 at 6pm. Admission is $5. !ey’ll cut a break for families that arrive with several children, just ask about it. Commemorative T-shirts will also be sold to gener-ate funds. Last year e"orts across the country by members of the International Association of Fire Fighters raised over $25 million for MDA, with a Guns and Hoses type game selling out the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. !at match charged $50 a ticket or more says Hostetter, netting $250,000-plus for MDA. !e Roanoke game drew about three thousand and raised about $12,000 to $ght muscular dystrophy last year.

From 7-6 the $rst time out in February 2004 to 4-3 last Janu-

ary (all Guns wins) every match has been a squeaker. “Its not planned, no matter what people think,” says Hostetter, who like some of the others also plays in local adult leagues. “If you come to the games you can tell they’re not [a] set up.” Guns and Hoses starts out as a no-checking game “because we all have to work tomorrow,” but usually gets more physical by the time the third and $nal period rolls around.

For others, however, Guns and Hoses in the only time all year they may lace up a pair of skates. “We have a wide vari-ety of talent – or lack of,” chuckles Hostetter. A practice was scheduled earlier this week to help some “remember how to skate.”

!ey can get competitive notes Hostetter but a&erwards everyone meets at a downtown bistro to relive the game and needle each other. Among those participating on January 10: Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Salem and Vinton $re$ght-ers; Roanoke City and Roanoke County police, along with the local FBI, DEA and State Police o#ces.

“Its good for the family – the main thing is to have fun,” says Hostetter about a good-natured game that is also a good cause.

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Knights win River Ridge opener: Cave Spring continues to roll on, beating Pulaski County at home Tuesday night 69-63. Josh Henderson led the Knights (9-4 after the win) with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

The Cave Spring Knights upped their record to 8-3 with a resounding 75-44 win over Northside last Friday. Josh Henderson led Cave Spring with 18 points while Mark Overstreet added 15. Trey Smith led the Vikings with 11. The Knights hope to have starting point guard Greg Mackey back from a leg injury soon as they head into the River Ridge District season. Meanwhile Northside (7-4) will do battle in the Blue Ridge District.

KnightsBasketball

Blake Thornburg (Top) tries to stop a move to the basket by Cave Spring #5 Mark Overstreet. Cave Spring’s Adam Hager drives around a Northside defender Friday night.

Photo by Richard Hankins

Firefighters (left) and law enforcement officers face off last year

“Guns and Hoses” hockey returns to Civic Center


SPORTS | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/9/09

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to

[email protected]

Discover the Possibilities

Junior Kindergarten - Grade 12

Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten OPEN HOUSEJanuary 14 & February 38:30 - 9:30 a.m.

To register, please contact Deborah C. Jessee, Director of Admission & Financial Assistance, at 540-989-6641, ext. 330 or

Watch Your Investment Growat North Cross School

The youth and inexperi-ence of the Faith Christian School varsity boys basket-ball team has shown in re-cent weeks, as the Warriors have lost four games in a row to fall to 2-5 for the season. During the streak, the squad has been competitive but un-able to pull off victories in close losses to Temple Chris-tian, New Covenant, and Parkway Christian Academy.

“We have lost a lot of close games,” first year Coach Ja-cob Parr said. “It’s good that a young team like ours can compete like that, and we’re still in the process of learn-ing how to win.”

Parr attributes mental mis-takes as the main culprit for his team’s recent struggles. “We’ve just got to work on the little things, like free-throw shooting, communication on defense, and the mental stuff that it takes to win. For some reason, we don’t start off well in games, so we need to be better prepared mentally.”

The Warriors also had to

cope with the loss of junior guard Rhett Adams to an an-kle injury early in the season. Adams, a co-captain, missed four games before returning in the team’s most recent 60-56 loss to Parkway Christian.

“Rhett is a leader on so many levels, so in the short term it obviously hurt us when he went down,” Parr said. “But in the long run I think it’s something we can build on, because the other guys had to figure out how to play without him.”

Against Parkway Chris-tian, the Warriors trailed 49-38 with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter before going on a 14-1 run to take a 52-50 lead on a reverse layup by Jared Adams with just over 2 minutes to play.

Parkway Christian would answer, however, and took the lead for good on a basket by Keith Bryan, who scored a game-high 31 points.

Adams made an apparent game-tying 3-point basket with 3.3 seconds remaining,

but the officials called a foul on Parkway Christian in the backcourt before Adams was able to get the shot off. Ad-ams missed both free throws (the second intentionally) but Parkway Christian re-bounded and secured the victory.

“We thought we could wear them down and make a run on them in the fourth quarter,” Parr said after the loss. “The guys have a fight-ing spirit, and it was encour-aging to see them come back that way.”

Rhett Adams led the War-riors with 13 points. Jared Adams, Rhett’s younger brother, chipped in with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Faith Christian had 20 offen-sive rebounds for the game.

The Warriors are back in action on January 10, when they play Dayspring Chris-tian Academy at home. Tip-off is set for 7pm.

Photo by Matt Reeve

Faith Christian Warriors (white Jerseys) line up as a Parkway Christian player shoots foul shots.

Faith Christian boys: still learning

By Matt [email protected]

A baseball clinic held for area youth recently not only raised money for Juvenile Diabetes re-search, it also brought Little Leaguers and scho-lastic players together, where they learned from local athletes now competing in college or the professional minor leagues. No doubt the star at-traction of the clinic, held at Hidden Valley High School, was Mikey O’Brien, who used to pitch for the Titans and is now in the New York Yankees farm system.

O’Brien, who has diabetes and wears an insulin pump, suggested the clinic both as a fundraiser and as a way to engage local kids in the baseball o"-season. His brother Eric, a former in$elder for Cave Spring and Lynchburg College, also helped develop the program. “Diabetes [doesn’t have to be] a big deal,” said Mikey O’Brien, a starting pitcher at this point.

!e right-hander, decked out in Yankees garb, signed autographs a&er two sessions for younger, then older youth players in the area, who took turns in Hidden Valley’s indoor batting cage, on a pitcher’s mound, or sitting in the bleachers while they heard about all the hard work needed to bring their game to the next level. !is was the $rst time O’Brien had been so “hands on” at a skills clinic.

Also taking part was Brandon Lower, former Hidden Valley $rst baseman, now playing for Vir-ginia Tech; in$elder Dale Mollenauer, a Chicago White Sox farmhand and older brother of Brett Mollenauer, who played for Hidden Valley and is now at Radford. In$elder Blake Klaiber (Concord University) who went to Cave Spring High School also participated.

Several local coaches, including Larry Wood (Roanoke College) and Randy Boone (former Cave Spring head coach, now a Hidden Valley assistant) helped run the half-day program. “I love doing [clinics],” said Lower, whose younger brother Aaron also starred for Hidden Valley but opted to be a student in college and not a baseball player. “Dedication and hard work goes a long way,” added Lower, who relayed that same mes-sage to the young baseball players on hand.

“Mikey was talking about when he was younger and the guys would come back,” said Boone, who also worked as a part time major league scout for many years. “!ey’d talk about the college they went to or when they went pro. !e younger guys are always excited about that, to hear what they’re

doing at the next level. !ey want [to] get to that level. Everyone can’t do it.”

A total of 31 Knights went on to compete in college when Boone was the head coach at Cave Spring. Several, like Houston Astros minor league le&y pitcher Tyler Lumsden, are still in profession-al ball. “It was because the guys came back [for o"-season clinics] and told them what it took.” Hearing O’Brien talk about his good fortune – se-lected by the Yankees in the 9th round last spring, he spurned college for the pros – “is good for the kids right behind him [in high school],” said Boone. “Its exciting too.”

O’Brien still can’t quite believe his good for-tune: signing for a sizable bonus with the Yan-kees, pitching well for New York’s Tampa team last summer, even taking a turn in the Dominican Republic last fall, where players – many Ameri-can bonus babies like himself - were escorted to $elds by the local police department. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem real. I don’t really think of myself out on my own, playing [professional] baseball,” said O’Brien, shortly a&er dozens of young clinic attendees lined up, hoping for an autograph from a local kid who may toe the rubber at Yankee Sta-dium one day.

Baseball clinic brings youngsters, role models together

Mikey O’Brien (Top) signs autographs. Hidden Valley alum Mikey O’Brien (Right) is now with the New York Yan-kees organization


Virginia Amateur Sports, the organizers of the Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia is introducing a new state-wide program, “Get Healthy Virginia” - a 100-day fitness challenge that will run between January 21 and April 30.

Pete Lampman, president of the Roanoke based Virginia Amateur Sports, said the challenge “encourages Virginians to develop a healthy active lifestyle and better eating habits. Virgin-ians are encouraged to form teams of two to ten members and then ‘go the distance.”

Team competition will recognize achievement in two areas: weight loss, due to healthy ap-propriate diet and physical activity; and accumulated activity in the form of miles. Medals and certificates will be awarded for levels of achievement with the top teams officially recog-nized at the 2009 Coventry Commonwealth Games of Virginia. Participation fee is $15 per individual and includes a training t-shirt and entry into a track and field event in the 2009 Coventry Commonwealth Games.

To register go to www.gethealthyvirginia.org or call Virginia Amateur Sports at 540-343-0987.

VAS Initiates “Get Healthy Virginia” Program

Roanoke College has four players represented on the 2009 VaSID All-State Team. Michael Stark made the first-team while seniors Shaman Douglass, Michael Rouhana and Nate Wilson all garnered second-team honors.

Stark, an NSCAA All-American in his first-year with the Maroons, was a staple in the back-field for the Maroons all season. His production led to ten defensive shutouts, tied for third most in school-history. The First-Team All-ODAC and NSCAA All-South Region selection started in all 20 games this season.

Rouhana, an NSCAA All-South Region selection, was named all-state for the first time in his career. The Second-Team All-ODAC selection finished the year with three goals and four assists for 10 points. He led the team in shots (49) and tied for second in shots on goal (19) with all three of his goals as game-winners. One of those came on his final goal of the season with four-seconds left to defeat Hampden-Sydney, 2-1 in the ODAC Semifinals.

Douglass, a First-Team All-ODAC Selection, earns second-team all-state honors for the first time in his career. Douglass led the team most of the season offensively and finished second in goals (6), assists (7) and points (19

Wilson, an All-ODAC selection for the second-straight season, is now a two-time all-state selection. He finished with six shots, one on goal against Randolph. Wilson started 52 of 55 games in his three-year career at Roanoke.

The Maroons fell, 1-0 to Virginia Wesleyan in the ODAC Championship to finish 14-4-2 on the season. The Maroons avenged their only conference loss to the Yellow Jackets, 4-0 in the ODAC Quarterfinals. They were nationally-ranked all season in shutout percentage and goals against average.

Four Maroons make all-state soccer team

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TheRoanokeStar.com 1/9/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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Wishing you and your family a healthy and Happy New Year!

Frank L. Moose Jeweler wishes to thank you for your continued support of our family business. Without YOU there would be no US.

As a token of our appreciation during the month of January we will be offering a discount of 20% to 45% on select jewelry, giftware and china.

In these trying times we look to one another and remember what is truly important: Good Health, Friends, and Family. We hope that you will enjoy all of these in 2009.

Happy New Year from all of us at

Frank L. Moose Jeweler!

Wishing your and your family a

healthy and Happy New Year!

Frank L. Moose Jeweler wishes to thank you for your continued support of our family business.

Without YOU there would be no US.As a token of our appreciation during the month of

January we will be offering a discount of 20% to 45% on select jewelry, giftware, and china.In these trying times we look to one another and

remember what is truly important: Good Health, Friends, and Family.

We hope that you will enjoy

all of these in 2009!

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CLASSIFIEDS

Clay GoodmanAppointment

Dear editor, I note with interest the VT

News Service article in your December 19th edition con-cerning the selection of Clay Goodman to be the next Roa-noke County Administrator.

As a lifelong Roanoke resi-dent and Virginia Tech graduate I am pleased that someone with Mr. Goodman's background and local ties will be returning to Roanoke.

I do have a concern. What was Mr. Goodman's role as County Administrator for Montgomery County in the efforts by Mont-gomery County to block the Norfolk Southern intermodal terminal in Elliston?

Since the article quotes Mr. Goodman as saying "I'd rather build bridges than tear them down," I wonder how that squares with his role in Mont-gomery County's actions. They have not only cost the taxpay-ers of the rest of the Common-wealth by their NIMBY tactics but also potentially blocked the creation of numerous jobs and increased tax revenues.

K. Warren FergusonRoanoke

Press Statement from John P.Fishwick, Jr.

Dear editor,It has been a tremendous op-

portunity to explore the chance to run for Attorney General of Virginia. I have been encour-aged by the significant support for my belief that Virginia needs an Attorney General who will fight for the people. Many have urged me to run and have con-tributed to this effort and for that I am very grateful. I have raised over $160,000.00 from over 80 donors in two and a half months, and my supporters have made it clear to me that I would be able to raise the nec-

essary resources for this race. For me, the process of explor-ing a race for Attorney Gen-eral has first considered what contribution I can make to the people of Virginia through this office; and then, how does that potential contribution compare to the important work I believe I accomplish through my law practice where every day it is my privilege to fight for those who often have no way to help themselves. And while this has been an extremely difficult de-cision, I have concluded that for now my role should remain in the aggressive private practice of law, fighting against injustice and for people whose lives and livelihood depend on that rep-resentation. Accordingly, I will not run for Attorney General. I make this decision only after the most difficult deliberation. And I make it with the most sincere appreciation for those who have pledged their incred-ible support and who continue to urge me to run. I look for-ward to continuing my active involvement within the Demo-cratic Party and to the future consideration of elective office.

John P. Fishwick, Jr.

Send your letters (and confirmation contact infor-mation) to [email protected]. 250 words or less please; subject to editing

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It has been widely reported that one of the top priorities of the incoming Obama Administration is the enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation which strikes a huge blow to the privacy rights of workers throughout the country. With a title like the “Em-ployee Free Choice Act” you would expect this legislation to protect the American worker. Unfortunately, it does the exact opposite and its title is deliberately misleading.

!is legislation, which I voted against in 2007, allows the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a union without conducting a requested secret ballot election. !e National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives private-sector workers the right to join or form a labor union and to bargain collectively over wages, hours, and other working conditions. !e Employee Free Choice Act would change the procedures under which workers choose to join, or not to join, a union by eliminating the secret ballot system and re-quiring employees to make their decisions public.

Under current law, employees can petition or sign union authorization cards, commonly referred to as “card checks”, request-ing union representation. If at least 30 percent of employees have signed the petition or cards, the NLRB conducts a private-ballot election to determine if union representation is desired by the ma-jority of the employees. !e Employee Free Choice Act would give the NLRB the authority to forgo the secret ballot election when a majority of the bargaining unit employees have signed authoriza-

tions designating the union and there is no other union currently recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employ-ees. !ese card checks are not private and can be made known to unions, employers, or others. When choosing whether or not to join a union, employees must have the right to cast a private bal-lot. !ey should not face fear of intimidation by union bosses and organizers or by employers.

It is especially ironic that Democrats in Congress who are so eager to get rid of the secret ballot for American workers used a secret ballot process for their own leadership elections just a few weeks ago. Despite the e"orts of Big Labor and the Democratic ma-

jority in Congress, American workers continue to value their privacy and largely oppose the changes that would result from the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. In fact, recent polls indicate that

89 percent of Americans believe that a worker’s vote should remain private and not be public information.

I support the right of workers to organize unions when they choose, but while the name of this bill implies a promise of choice for employees, the intent of the bill strips employees’ free-dom of privacy by eliminating the secret ballot system. Secret bal-lots are a hallmark of a free and democratic society and are strongly supported by the overwhelming majority of our citizens including union members. I will continue working to protect this most basic of freedoms for all American workers.

[Rep. Bob Goodlatte]

Preserving Employees’ Rights to Secret Ballots

On Saturday, January 10, the O. Winston Link Museum (downtown Roanoke) will celebrate a milestone. Recognizing $ve years in op-eration, the day will be marked with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11a.m. Free admission will be available for the general public throughout the day.

In honor of this occasion, ten new Link images will be unveiled at a special event that evening for members and donors. Visitors are encouraged to tour the museum and ask questions about the galleries, exhibits, projects and future plans.

!e Link Museum plans to celebrate its $ve-year milestone throughout the coming year with new programming that includes photog-raphy classes incorporating photo journalism, pinhole photography, family workshops and “Get to Know Your Camera” group forums. Additionally, the museum plans to launch an audio tour of the museum to be available for download from the website. Please check www.linkmuseum.org for updates on these new programs.

Link Museum Celebrates Five Years and Running

Good Samaritan Hospice has moved into a larger headquarters, providing more space for a growing mission to provide compassionate care to patients facing the end of life and families coming to terms with losing a loved one.

At 10,000 square feet, the new o#ce at 2408 Electric Road in Roanoke County is double the size of the previous location a few miles away and features more training rooms, additional meeting and o#ce space and plenty of natural light.

“It’s our mission that de$nes us, not our o#ce,” says Sue Ranson, Good Samaritan’s executive director. “Yet, our new space makes our mission easier, with more room for family and group meetings, a comfortable environment for our sta", and a place where hospice care will be more visible and accessible to the community.”

An open house for the community will be held from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Among the bene$ts of the new location -- a more inviting place for groups to gather, including “Compassionate Friends,” a semi-month-

ly support group for bereaved parents, and educational programs about hospice and end-of-life care.During Good Samaritan’s 15 years at its previous location, sta#ng increased from 28 employees to 63, serving more than 2,050 patients

and families through hospice and bereavement programs. !e new location is headquarters for Good Samaritan’s outreach in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

Good Samaritan Hospice Doubles Space

www.depaulfamilyservices.org

Foster Parents are Special People!

DePaul recognizes the contribution foster parents make to the next generation of adults and DePaul supports foster parents with: ● Friendly and thorough training● 24 hours a day / 7 days a week assistance and guidance● Experienced social workers with small case loads● Recreational activities● Financial support

● Foster parents give hope ● Foster parents provide a safe haven● Foster parents nurture growth and self-esteem● Foster parents teach children that they are worthy to be loved

Whether you are an individual or a couple, with or without children, you can become a foster parent and impact a young person’s life now, and far into the future. There are a lot of children who need you. Please call today.

“Overcoming Challenges & Building Brighter Futures”

Call us in Roanoke at 540.265.8923 or in Christiansburg at 540.381.1848

"Star Question of the Week.""Should Roanoke City spend an additional $160,000 for another consultants report for the Market Building or use ideas from the original $100,000 report as favored by Downtown Roanoke Inc.?"

Have some thoughts you’d like to share about local issues / events? Send them to [email protected]

VALLEY BUSINESS | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 1/9/09 TheRoanokeStar.com

Janet L. Riddlebarger has been elected chair of the Board of Direc-tors of the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia. Ms. Riddlebarger has served on the BBB Board of Directors since 2006. Ms. Riddlebarger is Vice President of Property Management, HHHUNT Property Management, Inc.

Ms. Riddlebarger has been in-volved in the property manage-ment industry since 1983. She holds a Bachelor's Degree from Virginia Tech. She is a member of the Virginia Tech Residential Prop-erty Management Advisory Board, National Apartment Association and the Institute of

Real Estate Management. Ms. Riddlebarger has served on the National Apartment Association's Education Committee and has served as President of the Virginia Apartment Management Associa-tion. In addition to leading train-ing initiatives for HHHUNT, Ms. Riddlebarger also has taught the National Apartment Leasing Pro-fessional and the Certified Apart-ment Manager's courses through NAA and its local affiliates. She

serves as a guest lecturer for the Virginia Tech Residential Prop-

erty Management Programs.

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In the opening hours of the 111th Congress on Tuesday Jan 6th, Congressman Bob Good-latte reintroduced a balanced budget Consti-tutional amendment, which will force Con-gress to enact $scally responsible spending measures, reduce the de$cit, and ensure that the money our citizens work so hard to earn is not squandered on wasteful spending and programs. !us far, 114 bipartisan Members of Congress have signed on to Congressman Goodlatte’s legislation as cosponsors. Con-gressman Goodlatte previously introduced this legislation in the 110th Congress.

“As we face signi$cant federal expenditures we have a responsibility to ensure that Ameri-can tax dollars are being spent responsibly and do not get lost in wasteful spending,” said Rep. Goodlatte. “Families all across our na-tion understand what it means to make tough decisions each day about what they can and cannot a"ord, and elected o#cials should not be allowed to ignore these tough decisions in the name of political expediency when creat-ing spending policies for the federal govern-ment.”

!e balanced budget amendment is a com-monsense measure that is long overdue. It requires that Congress not spend more than

it receives in revenues, requires the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress, and requires a 3/5 majority vote to increase the debt limit, while also providing an exception in times of national emergencies. A Consti-tutional amendment will force Congress to eliminate unnecessary and wasteful spending and make the decisions necessary to balance the budget and eliminate the federal de$cit. Currently, forty-nine out of $&y state govern-ments, including Virginia, have a balanced budget requirement.

Goodlatte continued, “We must continue to control spending, paving the way for a return to surpluses and ultimately paying down the national debt, rather than allow big spenders to lead us further down the road of chronic de$cits and in doing so leave our children and grandchildren saddled with debt that is not their own, and I believe that a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget is a critical $rst step. In these challenging times it is even more important for government to be $scally responsible.”

!is legislation will be referred to the House Judiciary Committee on which Congressmen Goodlatte serves as Vice Ranking Member.

Goodlatte Reintroduces Balanced Budget Amendment

Jobseekers facing sti" com-petition these days may dis-cover that $nding a new gig is not quite as easy as it was a few years ago, and that can lead to depression. Maintaining a positive outlook in a dismal situation can seem downright unattainable, which is why “Back on the Path”, a Roa-noke-based job search group, exists. Back on the Path was launched as a church ministry nine years ago at Cave Spring United Methodist Church and has grown into a community outreach program that helps “hikers” (AKA the unem-ployed) get back on the path to success.

“We are not a job service, nor do we have a data bank of job openings,” said Al Col-grove, the group’s cofounder. Instead, hikers and modera-tors share tips on how to $nd a good job, vent frustrations, stay focused and remain op-timistic in the process. Some have been known to cry about their situations at these meet-ings - which is perfectly ac-ceptable. Others play "Monday Morning Quarterback" a&er job interviews to $nd out what they could have done better.

April Crawford is a certi$ed teacher and has been attend-

ing the meetings since May: “I’m looking for a teaching job. Currently I’m substitute teaching, but its on call,” she said. Another hiker, John Lass, was let go from his company right before the holidays. He worked in distribution and was surprised at the timing of the layo"s.

During one December meeting four hikers and four helpers exchanged tips. !e topic turned to those pesky online job applications, and why the résumé, which was painstakingly cra&ed to look perfect, became rife with sym-bols and question marks when it was cut and pasted into the application. One hiker, who requested anonymity, com-plained about the process, “When they ask you to down-load the $le, it’s $ne. But when I copied and pasted it, it was a mess! You want to talk about $rst impressions?”

Some of the hikers want to remain in their chosen $eld, while there are some who will be forced to change careers. Back on the Path provides re-ferrals on career assessment testing, to steer job seekers into new occupations where past skills can be transferred. Rose Marie Dudley, a former

hiker, is now sharing with others what helped her land a good job. When the subject of how to write a good cover letter came up, she reminded the group to look closely at the vacancy announcement and explain in the cover letter why they match the desired quali-$cations.

Most of the all, the modera-tors encourage hikers to per-severe and to stay optimistic. Colgrove reminds hikers that even though the unemploy-ment rate hovers at nearly 7%, that means 93% have jobs and companies are still hiring.

Back on the Path meets Tuesday evenings in South-west Roanoke County at Cave Spring United Methodist Church, at 7:30. !e meetings are free and open to the pub-lic; participants can sign up to receive emails about upcom-ing job related events, and to receive an extra dose of o&en-needed encouragement. For more information, visit back-onthepath.org or call (540) 989-3673.

Job “hikers” have a cushion from pounding the pavement

By Susan [email protected]

If anything was clear at Monday’s Roanoke City Council meeting, it was fear of spending $160,000 for another City Market building de-sign study, as was proposed. Uncertainty that the three new concepts sought would produce nothing more than what had been conceived by a coalition of businesses headed by Down-town Roanoke, Inc. - and the $100,000 down-town design concept of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company, completed in 2006.

!ere is doubt as to whether the City could a"ord this additional capital improvement project at all. (!e DRI proposal is now $7 mil-lion-plus.) Ann Shawver, Director of Finance for Roanoke City, had said in December when presenting the preliminary 2009 budget that “there is no room for any additional projects … if the Market building [becomes] a priority then something else has to come o" [the list].”

Brian Townsend, Assistant City Manager for Community Development, said “the more choices Council had in terms of designs [that included] budget considerations would make for a better decision.” Townsend noted that costs only escalate as they transition from the concept stage to the reality stage.

If hired the new consultants would hold a public meeting where they could hear input without the $lter of city administration o#cials. !e public input meeting held when the Market building was “closed for cleaning” last Septem-ber $elded comments that varied from keeping it the same to totally redesigning the building. !at input can be found on the city’s website, along with the results of an October customer survey that revealed a majority of customers wanted it to remain “as is” with minimal im-provements.

Cal Johnson, Chairman of DRI, and Bill Carder, DRI President, both made their case for “tweaking” their $7.5 million original de-sign, rejected earlier by City Council. Said Townsend concerning Carder’s comment on tweaking: “what does tweaking mean if you don’t have multiple concepts for the commu-nity and Council to look at, as we emerge out of this process?”

Anita Wilson, co-owner of Burger in the Square, listened as the discussion went on for over an hour. Caught in the middle of the wran-gling, she expressed exhaustion a&er years of “FUD,” as in Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

Wilson said Council and city administrators

could show concern by having the consultants $rst meet with the tenants separately. “A&er all it was their livelihood that was at stake,” said Wilson, who revealed that David Estrada, AKA “Chico”, would not be renewing his lease to sell pizza by the end of February.

!e vote to move forward with a new con-sulting contract, taken a&er a procedural snafu was 4-3, with Nash, Price, and Rosen voting “no.” By leaving o" certain verbiage however it will now require City Council to have a second reading at the next public meeting on !ursday, January 22nd. (!e wording le& out states that, “pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of the City Charter, the second reading of this ordi-nance by title is hereby dispensed with.”)

!e Council meeting was changed to that !ursday because of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday on Monday, the 19th and the presi-dential inauguration on the 20th.

John Fishwick, the attorney for nine Market tenants in a suit $led against the city, said later that he would be meeting with Anita Wilson and the other vendors to discuss their options. !at includes proceeding with the lawsuit against the city, for allegedly neglecting the building, which they claim caused tenants to lose business and revenue.

Assuming that the second reading yields the same vote for approval, the $rm of Cunningham and Quill Architects, PLLC of Washington, DC would begin public meetings in February, with an expected $nal report on three renovation options in June.


An animated Bill Carder makes his case to City Council.

Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt over the City Market Building


Janet. L Riddlebarger

Better Business Bureau elects 2009 Board of Directors Chair

The Juvenile Diabetes Re-search Foundation (JDRF) has announced that Roa-noke-based Advance Auto Parts, Inc. has raised over $2.2 million in support of diabetes research in 2008. This year marks Advance’s 15th consecutive year of sup-port for JDRF in the search to find a cure for type-1 (ju-venile) diabetes. In the past 15 years, Advance has raised more than $16.5 million for JDRF.

“The Advance Auto Parts Team is proud to be a nation-al partner of JDRF in its race to cure diabetes,” said Darren

Jackson, President and CEO of Advance Auto Parts. “Sup-porting JDRF is an important part of our company culture and the national campaign is an opportunity for our Team Members to give back to the communities in which they live and work.

Every September, the com-pany holds an annual JDRF “sneaker” sales program in more than 3,300 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Customers purchase paper “sneakers” for $1. Through the gener-osity of Advance Auto Parts customers, the sneaker cam-

paign alone raised more than $1.75 million in support of JDRF.

In addition, Advance raised more than $450,000 through its Store Support Center in Roanoke and in distribution centers across the country by participating in local Walk to Cure Diabetes events, host-ing golf tournaments, silent auctions, and other fundrais-ers. The total campaign fund-raising of $2.2 million sets a new record, making Advance the JDRF’s number one retail fundraising partner in 2008.

Advance Auto Raises $2.2 Million For Diabetes Research

ARTS & CULTURETheRoanokeStar.com 1/9/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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On the job for several months, Historical Society of Western Virginia executive director Jeanne Bollendorf moved over from the Chrysler Museum of Art to downtown Roanoke, where she now oversees the History Museum of Western Virginia, the O. Winston Link Museum, the Crystal Springs pumping station and the His-torical Society itself.

!e Charlottesville native, who said Roanoke “feels more like home,” came in as the or-ganization completes a capital campaign drive, looking to raise 1.3 million dollars to renovate galleries at Center in the Square. A new research center/library/media room has already been built, in part with the $900,000 or so already raised as of late last year. “We think we’re in need of a faceli&,” said Bollendorf, not-ing that little had changed at the museum since it opened at Cen-ter in the Square 25 years ago.

“Its actually been going very well [considering] the current economic climate,” said Bol-lendorf, who said renovations would be “pay as go.” Eventu-ally the entire collection will be digitized and available for view-ing on line as part of the capital campaign.

Bollendorf received a Bache-lor of Arts degree in anthropol-ogy and archeology from James Madison University, then stud-ied for her master’s in landscape archaeology at the University of Bristol in England. She believes history and the study of it is a

living, topical thing: “we need to remind people that history is now, history is very fresh. We [also] need to be a little more in-novative to keep up with today’s audiences.”

History is an ongoing concern said Bollendorf, who had her appetite whetted for that subject and for archaeology by the Indi-ana Jones movies as a youngster. “We associate history with a lot of old, dead white guys. Quite frankly that’s just not always the case.” Bollendorf pointed to the “major historical moment,” that is imminent – the $rst African-American president, Barack Obama. “We won’t realize that until we’re several years down the road.” History happens all the time said Bollendorf, and its all happened before in some way – witness the current economic recession and the Depression many decades earlier.

!e $rst major rotating ex-hibit Bollendorf is presiding over, “White Liquor, Blue Ridge Style,” is on display now through September 20. !e photo-graphs, reconstructed stills and recorded interviews (with for-mer moonshiners and federal agents) was originated by the Blue Ridge Institute at Ferrum College. “A wonderful exhibi-tion… we’re really excited to have it,” said Bollendorf. “!is is history we can relate to … a way to connect.”

!e moonshine exhibit col-lection is formidable: “we seem to have a remarkable number [of stills] that are fully intact,”

adds Bollendorf with a chuckle, noting that most were destroyed by federal agents when they came across them in places like Franklin County – o&en called the “Moonshine Capital of the World.” More rotating exhibits will be installed in the coming months.

“I literally jumped at the chance to come this way,” said Bollendorf about her move to the Historical Society of West-ern Virginia from the Chrysler Museum, where she was histor-ic houses manager. (see history-museum.org for more informa-tion).

Moonshine still fascinates locally says new History Museum director

Jeanne Bollendorf at a History Museum news conference.


!e Arts Council of the Blue Ridge will present a special Vo-tive Art Show & Sale February 12 & 13 from 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. in the second 'oor galleries of Center in the Square. !e show is free and open to the public.

Votives o"erings have been around for centuries and can be given as expressions of congratulations, thanks, or as symbols of love. Each votive is hand cra&ed by local artists using wooden panels faced with tin.

Artists interested in creating (and selling) their votive during the art show may pick-up their panels by contacting Rhonda Hale 540-224-1205 or [email protected] !ere is a $15 registration fee. No additional framing is necessary.

!e Arts Council of the Blue Ridge was launched in 1976 with the mission of advancing arts and culture throughout western Virginia by providing leadership in community cultural plan-ning, educational programming, services for cultural organiza-tions and artists, and arts and cultural advocacy. !e Arts Council of the Blue Ridge is funded, in part, by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Roanoke. www.theartscouncil.org

Call for Artists and Votive Art Show/Sale

Visitors to the Virginia Museum of Natural History in Mar-tinsville will take a giant leap back in time to millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth during the 3rd annual Dino Day festival on Saturday, January 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors of all ages can marvel over life-sized skeleton casts of prehistoric creatures, watch real scientists unlock the mysteries of the past, and take part in a variety of exciting games and ac-tivities, including becoming a scientist for a day.

Visitors will also get to witness the unveiling of the museum’s newest exhibit featuring a 500 million-year-old stromatolite specimen that garnered national attention when it was discov-ered in southwest Virginia last year.

!e Dino Day festival is the $rst event of the museum's year-long 25th anniversary celebration in 2009. !e museum was founded on August 28, 1984 as a private, non-pro$t institution, and became an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1988.

Many of last year’s crowd favorite activities return this year, including the “Dino Dig Pit” where visitors can use paleontol-ogy tools to uncover fossil casts, and a special dinosaur-themed play presented by local students. !e play is titled "Dr. Belinda Brilliant and Her Amazing Learn More Machine: Dinosaurs", and is presented by the Carlisle School Players. !e play was co-written by Mary Catherine Santoro, librarian at VMNH.

“Over 2,000 visitors have taken part in our $rst two Dino Day festivals and have le& very happy,” said Carolyn Seay, special events manager at VMNH. “Dinosaurs always pique children’s interest and getting to see museum specimens that normally aren’t available to the public makes for a special visit to the mu-

seum.”Other activities and attractions include the museum’s costume

mascot “Cera” and her other dino friends, fossil identi$cation, dinosaur-themed cra&s for children, and special dino $lms in the museum’s Hooker Furniture !eater. In addition, VMNH sta" and volunteers will be on hand to explain the work being conducted in the Museum's Elster Foundation Vertebrate Pale-ontology Lab. Visitors can get $rst-hand details about the wide-range of specimens currently being studied by museum scien-tists and visiting researchers. Visitors can also get details on how to participate in future expeditions led by VMNH scientists in Virginia, Wyoming and other possible locations world-wide.

Specimens on display at the festival include an Allosau-rus skeleton, a skeleton of a 14 million year old baleen whale, Eobalaenoptera, suspended from a towering 40-foot ceiling, an animatronic model of a Triceratops, a display of a Syntarsus dinosaur with its prey, a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull, and a recre-ated Phytosaurus. Dinosaurs bones and other fossils collected at actual VMNH research sites around the world will also be on display.

Visitors also get to witness one of the museum’s most spectac-ular additions, the skeleton of a Pteranodon suspended from the towering 40-foot ceiling of the museum’s Harvest Foundation Great Hall. !is bird-like reptile has a 20-foot wing-span and is angled to appear as though it is diving toward visitors stand-ing on the bridge overlooking both the museum's lobby and !e Harvest Foundation Great Hall.

A unique addition to this year’s festival will be the unveiling of an exhibit featuring a 500 million-year-old stromatolite that

garnered national attention a&er its discovery in May 2008 at the Boxley Blue Ridge Quarry in Roanoke. A stromatolite is a mound produced in shallow water by mats of algae that trap mud and sand particles. Another mat grows on the trapped sed-iment layer and this traps another layer of sediment, growing gradually over time. Stromatolites can grow to heights of a meter or more. !ey are uncommon today but their fossils are among the earliest evidence for living things. !e stromatolite, which measures over 6 feet in diameter, is one of the most complete in the world and will be permanently on exhibit at VMNH.

To learn more about the Dino Day festival and other VMNH events, festivals, and exhibits, visit the museum’s Web site at www.vmnh.net.

Dinosaurs to roam halls at Virginia Museum of Natural History


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“The Roanoke Valley’s Most Beautiful Cemetery”

As a non-profit cemetery we are always looking for ways to enhance our beauty, and contribute to the community. That is why we are

pleased to announce our beautiful new Veterans Garden to pay tribute to those who serve. You can be among the first to honor your Veteran

in our Memorial Walkway by purchasing a Legacy Stone.(Ten percent of the proceeds of each sale will benefit the American Legion Legacy

Scholarship for the children of US military personnel who pass away while on active duty.)

Examples of legacy stones that will be inlaid into the Veterans Memorial at Sherwood

1250 E. Main Street Salem, Virginia 24153 www.sherwoodmemorialpark.com

540-389-1677

Veterans Garden to OpenMemorial Legacy Stones Now Available

Founded in 1928, Sherwood combines serene elements of nature with exquisite and carefully planned architecture on an expanse of more than

100 acres nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Father Richard N. Frago-meni, a priest of the Dio-cese of Albany, NY, consid-ered to be a widely known authority on liturgy and parish renewal, will lead the Roanoke Valley Catho-lic Parishes Mission Jan. 17–21.

With the theme “Step up to the Plate,” he plans to emphasize the importance for the faithful to prioritize their busy lives to take the lead in church ministry.

The mission will open with Father Fragomeni preaching at weekend Masses at each of the valley parishes. Then on Monday-Wednesday, Jan. 19–21, he will lead a morning session at Our Lady of Per-petual Help Church in Salem from 10 a.m. to noon and a different session in the evening at Our Lady of Nazareth in Roanoke from 7 to 8:30 pm.

The morning sessions will begin with Mass. The Tuesday evening session will include the sacrament of reconciliation.

Members of all parishes in the valley are encouraged to participate.

Currently chairman of the Department of

Word and Worship and as-sociate professor of liturgy and preaching at Catholic Theological Union in Chi-cago, Father Fragomeni will concentrate on the teach-ings of St. Paul to discuss new and active roles for the laity and how to carry them out through reflec-tion, prayer, formation and conversion.

Ordained in 1975 in the Diocese of Albany, he also served as director of the Of-fice of Liturgy and Music.

Father Fragomeni has been active in the imple-

mentation of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom. He served as coordinator of liturgy and music for the North American Forum on the Catechumenate and also was a member of that organization’s founding board of directors.

He was appointed to the faculty at Catho-lic Theological Union in 1990 and currently serves as rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, an Italian-American spiritual cen-ter in Chicago’s Little Italy neighborhood.

Roanoke Valley parishes to hold annual mission

Beginning Sunday, Jan. 11, the northbound lane of Route 221 (Bent Mountain Road) will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. near Cotton Hill Road in Roanoke County. Weather permitting, the lane closure will be in place during nighttime hours Sunday through !ursday. Work is expected to be completed by Friday, Jan. 30.

Crews will be taking rock and soil samples for the development of plans for the proposed widening of Route 221. Motorists should expect delays in this area and watch for signs and 'aggers directing tra#c during nighttime hours. For the latest tra#c information, dial 511 or visit www.511Virginia.org.

Drilling Will Cause Lane Closures On Route 221 In Roanoke County

!

Hard on the heels of the closing of the Steve & Barry’s store, which is being shuttered na-tionally, Tanglewood Mall will also lose Goody's Family Clothing, a privately held apparel retail chain which emerged from bankruptcy in October. According to Reuters, Goody’s plans to liquidate its remaining stores as the U.S. economic recession has undermined its ability to continue operating.

"The company is in the processes of obtaining bids to liquidate substantially all collateral and inventory," said Cathy Hershcopf, a bankruptcy partner at law firm Cooley Godward Kronish LLP. "The retail environment is very difficult and they did not have sufficient capital to weather the bad times." Going-out-of-business sales will begin as early as Friday.

When the company emerged from bankruptcy, it operated 287 stores in 20 states.The Knoxville, Tennessee-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on June

9, hurt by high gasoline and food prices that have forced consumers to cut back on nones-sential purchases. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in October after cutting operating costs and closing at least 69 under-performing stores.

Tanglewood Mall to lose tenant: Goody’s goes under

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

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