The Roanoke Star-Sentinel by The Roanoke Star

33463 00400

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WHISPER ONE MEDIA

POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date

Postal Customer ECRWSS

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel 6/20/08

Community | News | Per spective

TheRoanokeStar.com

[EYES WIDE OPEN]

Lady Bugs P3– Girl Scout Troop #743 plants ﬂowers at Mill Mountain Zoo as a community service project.

Photo by Lawson Koeppel

Above, Ed Jones, of Falls Church, walks among the boots displayed at the Roanoke Civic Center for the “Eyes Wide Open” memorial. Jones was attending the Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church on Monday and happened upon the display between meetings. Below, one of the boots family members decorated.

Virginia’s cost of war displayed

Final Moments P7– The Class of 2008 at William Fleming and Patrick Henry received their hardearned high school diplomas last week.

During this week’s Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church, those moving from one session to another across the main plaza at the Roanoke Civic Center, were met with a military formation of combat boots and civilian shoes. Each of the 116 pairs had tags attached to them identifying the pair as belonging to a casualty resulting from Operation Iraqi Freedom. Some of the boots were decorated by family members and had photographs or flowers, personal mementos of the soldier’s life. A handful of others had cards noting the names had been removed at the request of the family. The display was called “Eyes Wide Open: The Cost of War to Virginia,” and was presented by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in cooperation with the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA). It coordinated with the annual conference for United Methodists in the region. “I was really struck by the flowers on some of them,” said Jeanne Finely of Blacksburg, who is on the board of the MFSA. She said the display was there, “to evoke discussion about the human cost of war. The boots are a memorial to the soldiers and people will read that dif-

ferent ways.” Many of the visitors walked through the rows looking for names or towns they might recognize. Volunteers offered those visiting a meditation sheet with passages from the Bible and the United Methodist Hymnal. Chancellor Hamilton, a retired minister of Walker Chapel United Methodist Church in Arlington was attending the conference. He found one pair of boots with a close tie. He said he had conducted a memorial service for the soldier whose name was on a pair of boots “What’s kind of ironic to me, is that early on in ministry I buried a young man from Vietnam,” Hamilton said, “and in my retiring years I bury one from Iraq.” Hamilton said he was ambivalent about seeing the display. “I’m patriotic, but for someone to give their life is just tough,” he said. “I can’t comprehend what that family went through losing their son. “I don’t care whether it’s how many we see on the Vietnam Wall or this,” Hamilton said, “life is life, and each one > CONTINUED is precious and the God that we P2: Boots

Members of city council honored Governor Summer Catch P8– Cardinals catcher Jake Wright looks back a Giants runner. See more from the titanic battle between the Giants and the Cardinals.

Different Strokes P9– Valley pools heat up as Roanoke Valley swim teams dove into action.

Monday’s Roanoke City Council marked the last meeting for Mayor Nelson Harris and members Bev Fitzpatrick and Brian Wishneff. The three were honored with resolutions for their service to the city. Retiring Finance Director Jesse Hall was also honored by council with a resolution for his 33 years of working for the city. All three were honored with a reception that afternoon. After the reading of Hall’s resolution, detailing his career with the city and professional accomplishments, Hall said, “I’ve forgotten I’ve done all that.” After the fanfare for the departing parties, council appointed Hall’s deputy director, Ann Shawver as Finance Director for the City of Roanoke effective July 1, 2008. She served as the city’s Deputy Finance Director beginning in 2002. Shawver is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from James Madison University. She is also enrolled in Virginia Tech’s Professional MBA program. Her 14 years of service with the city include working as Manager of Accounting Services from 1997-2002, where she oversaw accounting, accounts payable, and payroll functions. She was also Financial Systems Accountant from 1994-1997, with responsibilities including preparation of the city’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, monthly financial statements, and official statements. During her tenure with the city, Shawver worked on teams to support the formation of the Western Virginia Water Authority, and the implementation of the city’s Advantage accounting system. Before working for the city, she was Supervising Senior Accountant for KPMG, LLP. “Ann’s qualifications and long experience with the city’s Finance Department will create a smooth transition and ensure the continued efficient handling of city finances,” said Gwen Mason, chair of City Council’s Personnel Committee in a statement released Tuesday. “Council is confident in Ms. Shawver’s ability to handle the challenges of managing the city’s financial resources.” During City Manager Darlene Burcham’s report to council, she

Holton comes home

Photo by Laswon Koeppel

City Council Member, Bev Fitzpatrick was honored for his time and service to the City of Roanoke on Monday. noted the performance agreement with Maple Leaf Bakery, Inc., which council supported unanimously. Maple Leaf announced an investment of $9.5 million in new machinery and tools in their Roanoke plant. It is the fourth investment in the facility which brings the total to $66.3 million. “That one is one we’ve been working on, it seems like forever, for at least the last year,” said Burcham. “This is, has been, and will continue to be the largest plant Maple Leaf...has in the United States.” In addition to the investment of equipment, the Canadian-based bakery will add at least 40 new positions to work on the production line. “We are thrilled to have this expansion > CONTINUED come to fruition as we have worked dili- P2: Council

Linwood Holton, a Roanoke resident for about 20 years before leaving for the Governor’s mansion in 1970, returned last week as a guest of the Western Virginia Historical Society. Holton, whose wife, Jinks, is a Roanoke native, was here to talk about his new book, “Opportunity Time,” so named because he used to tell his children while waking them up in the morning that everyday was basically another opportunity to do something special. All three of the couple’s children were born in Roanoke, and son Woody, a college professor, is an accomplished author now working on a book about Abigail Adams. Holton, father in law of current Virginia governor Tim Kaine and father of First Lady Ann Holton, was the first Republican governor in Virginia in over 100 years when he bested Democrat Lt. Governor Bill Battle in the 1969 election. Holton acknowledged that he wrote his memoir in part because time is growing short. “I just wanted to tell those hero stories to a new audience,” Holton said. Holton, 84, used his own ‘opportunity time’ to help rebuild the state Republican Party, but he is most proud of > CONTINUED efforts to finally P2: Holton