Dine On Time
Roanoke's Best Restaurants Delivered to Your Doorstep!
904-2202 • www.dineontime.net Restaurant of the week: Chaba Thai Cuisine
PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Whisper One Media
The Roanoke Star-Sentinel
POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date
Community | News | Per spective
Apr. 23 - 29, 2010
NewsRoanoke.com
Regional Fire EMS Graduates 22 Earth Day
P3– Grandin Village hosts another intriguing and informative Earth Day celebration.
“Budget Balanced,” School Board Reviewed
“The recommended budget for fiscal year 2011 is balanced,” declared Sherman Stovall, Director of Management and Budget. The $253 million budget is a decrease of 1.4% from last year – it includes the 2% meals tax and fee increases approved by council. Cuts in services include bulk trash pick up on alternating weeks, one day library closures, street paving and City Council c l e an i ng reductions. Pool operation will be scaled back to three days a week and production of the city calendar and magazine will be eliminated. The closing of the Crisis Center brought another round of finger pointing towards Richmond. Stovall lamented that further cuts by the governor are still expected and that elimination of the program is inevitable even if council restored its share of the funding. Maintenance of buildings and equipment are being postponed. “This is not sustainable over time,” said Stovall. Fifty-one city employee positions are being eliminated, along with employee training. In addition, a $900,000 contingency will be maintained in anticipation of
[
Parkway Memory
P4– Johnny Robinson shares his youthful adventure riding the Blue Ridge Parkway from beginning to end.
Thinking Big P10– Miss Virginia joined VA Tech Football Players and others in telling students to think big.
Still Cookin’ Cheap P11– New York Times recognizes an old favorite; Roanoke-produced “Cookin Cheap.”
Get the
Roanoke Star - Sentinel delivered to your doorstep every week for only $44 per year! 400-0990
subscribe@theroanokestar.com PO Box 8338 Roanoke,VA 24014
Photo by Jennifer Sexton
T
he 13th Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Academy, consisting of 22 personnel from Roanoke County, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem, graduated Friday at the Roanoke Civic Center. Each recruit was called to the stage and pinned with their new firefighter badge as their families looked on. Nine individuals representing Roanoke County Fire & Rescue, eleven representing Roanoke Fire-EMS and two representing Salem Fire-EMS Rescue spent 14 weeks receiving instruction and practical training in the areas of basic firefighting skills as well as emergency medical techniques. The training included: rope rescue, vehicle extrica-
tion, emergency vehicle driving, and hazardous materials mitigation skills, along with EMS certification. Most of the training was completed at the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire-EMS Training Center located on Kessler Mill Road in Roanoke County. The graduates received their station assignments immediately following the ceremony and some will start their first shift on Saturday. Bringing the Fire and EMS departments together to learn, train, and grow provides consistency among all firefighter/ EMS personnel, whether stationed in Roanoke County, Roanoke City or Salem, minimizing costs to each jurisdiction through shared instructors and equipment.
Dr. Charles Fuller Believes It’s All In God’s Time Just as surely as the Norfolk Southern steam whistle has blown at 12 noon downtown since time immemorial, Roanokers, as well as people in up to 19 surrounding counties, came to expect to hear “God’s Minute” at high noon, just before the daily newscasts on many radio and TV stations. Dr. Charles G. Fuller, then Pastor of Roanoke’s First Baptist Church, was the host of the on-air vignettes that sought to invoke thought, inspire, and ultimately direct listeners to the Photo by Quigg Lawrence gospel message. For 27 years, God’s Minute Dr. Charles Fuller and wife Carol. was on the air in Roanoke, chal- of edited scripts used for the wave around the world today. lenging people to see life in a God’s Minute broadcasts, along Although this is his first solo new way, often taking ordinary with some new material. He endeavor, Fuller has been a “conexperiences and re-focusing will be having a book signing at tributing author to eight books,” them through the perspective Lifeway Christian Bookstores at and in the 60’s co-authored a of the Bible. Each God’s Min- Valley View on Saturday May 1 book, “For Building,” with his ute’s quick unfolding and famil- from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Life- first wife Pat, that combined his iar cadence made it easy to take way manager Dwayne French sermons with her poetry, using in; for many, over time, it meant said that “we are always pleased the piece as a fundraiser for one a changed life—and sometimes, to be able to do this, especially of the church’s new buildings. a saved life. for our local authors.” The book was well-received, in Fuller once received a letter Those famil- part because it was linked with from a man who iar with the God’s the “cause” of the building, acsaid he was parked Religion Minute broadcasts cording to Fuller. on the Blue Ridge will likely recognize As longtime pastor of First Parkway, with a many of the narratives used in Baptist’s large congregation, pistol in his lap, contemplating the book. The writing evokes a Fuller became somewhat of a suicide. “God’s Minute” came friendly feel, occasionally with community icon. He was also on the air on his car radio and a light approach, as if the reader active in Southern Baptist life God used the brief message to is heading down a water park nationally; his role as Chairchange his mind about ending chute with the inevitable splash man of the Southern Baptist his life and to start over again. (into truth) just seconds ahead. Convention Peace CommitteeJust last month, Fuller pub- “God’s Half Hour,” Fuller’s taped -convened to address the conlished his first book, titled “Give sermons, is still being broadcast > CONTINUED Him Time,” a daily devotional on some stations and on shortP2: Fuller which is largely a compilation
[
]
]
> CONTINUED P2: Budget
Elswick Gives Update on Major County Projects
Ed Elswick, Roanoke County Supervisor for the Windsor Hills District, and Richard Caywood, VDOT District Administrator, were guest speakers at the Back Creek Civic League meeting Monday evening. Caywood addressed the Route 221 widening project along with other VDOT activity in the southwest county area. Elswick also spoke about issues that he has been involved with during his first four months in office. Photo Submitted Caywood began with the Ed Elswick speaks at Monannouncement that VDOT is currently in its second round day’s Back Creek meeting. of layoffs this past year, which “S” curve. The end result will have affected over a hundred be a four lane road between people in the region. He Route 668 (Cotton Hill Rd) shared that the state agency and Crystal Creek Road. is now a little over half the There will be a new right turn size that it was when he first lane from Cotton Hill which started with VDOT about 18 will continue onto Route 221 years ago. “As we continue to as a “free flow right” which get smaller, we will probably is a dedicated lane that will be doing more work than begin the two lanes going ever with contractors,” he north towards Roanoke. The said. “There are a lot of things bulk of the new road will be that we used to do that we on the Cotton Hill side of cannot do any longer, or not Back Creek. Two bridges will do as well as we used to.” He cross the creek as the curve is did praise the folks that work straightened. When the projfor him in their “Herculean ect is complete, Ran Lynn effort” in trying to keep the and Cotton Hill will meet at roads clear this past winter. one intersection. Caywood said that recent According to Caywood, work along Route 221 has the project has now been fulinvolved the movement of ly funded and was one of the utilities in preparation for the widening of the road and > CONTINUED softening the accident-prone P2: Elswick