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Community | News | Per spective

July 16 - July 22, 2010

NewsRoanoke.com

Vintage Summer Days Downtown Director P3– New DRI President Sean Luther comes in highly optimistic, finding his new position and community to be a very good fit.

Photo by Jessica Dodds

L

ocal antique collectors and produce vendors alike set up shop last Saturday at the Vinton Vintage Farmers Market. From hand carved folk art to fresh green beans, there was something for everyone to enjoy. Some more interesting pieces were hand made cutting boards, hot wheels cars from the 1960s, and a variety of themed wooden men with hand painted logos,

representing the Hokies, Hoos or Tar Heels. At the end of the day, it was obvious that the essence of this market wasn’t so much about selling collections as it was sharing passions with curious strangers. Pictured above: Michael Denton, who owns Mountain Star Studio with his wife Judy, carves one of the many intricate wooden figurines they had on display.

Good Times Down By The River Lost Souls P11– The Jefferson Center hosts a variety of local art in the halls surrounding the Shaftman Performance Hall.

Fred First

Conditioned Air? P7– Fred First makes a very good case to forego the A.C and let in the sweet VA mountain air.

Formal action on the formation of the Community Development Authority (CDA) for South Peak is perking up with the help of Bonnie France of the McGuire Woods law firm in Richmond. France has been advising Roanoke County on bond issues for 25 years.

Developer James Smith will first start with a 120-unit condominium project County Notes fol lowe d by a 90unit Hilton Garden hotel, restaurants, retail and office space.

The bonds issued through the CDA will help with $11 million of infrastructure improvements.

County Attorney Paul Mahoney informed the Board of Supervisors Tuesday that state code mandates three newspaper public notices before any action can be taken. Mahoney gave the board an opportunity to see the documents at Tuesday’s work session. The first notice goes out Friday, July 16.

Board member Mike Altizer asked for stronger language to protect the county from any monetary liability before the public hearing takes place. Altizer believed that the $30,000 yearly CDA operating expenses figure came up short. France ex-

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South Peak Development Nears Launch Date

The blazing hot weather all day didn’t seem to deter several thousand music lovers last Sunday as they congregated at the former Victory Stadium site for the Down by the River Music Festival.

Six bands, most with local ties, and the headliner Derek Trucks-Susan Tedeschi Band provided close to ten hours of music, with acoustic musicians filling in at the Kids World tent between stage changes. There was a definite family atmosphere at the event, which was Photo by Stuart Revercomb attended by people of all ages.

Susan Tedeschi flashes a smile to a fellow band member as she No, Ol’ Slowhand Eric Claptakes the stage at the beginning of last Sunday’s concert. ton didn’t show up, (a Twitter / Facebook stoked rumor that ing towards Carilion Roanoke and Blood, Sweat & Tears as a had people buzzing for hours), Memorial off in the distance. youngster. “Its just great. Maybe but Trucks, who played recently At times Southern Culture an amphitheater is not needed.

Maybe we just do more stuff with Clapton, was more than sounded a bit like the B-52’s.

Lance Smith played guitar in like this.” impressive in his own right on He was also glad to see out of lead guitar. His wife Susan Tede- the Kids World tent and then came outside to en- towners make their way to Roaschi hit all the right joy the main stage noke for Down By The River; notes as the lead voEntertainment music. The lead some were following the bluescalist - sounding a singer and princi- rockin’ Trucks-Tedeschi band bit like Bonnie Raitt pal songwriter for the group, on their tour noted Smith. “I on the more bluesy numbers.

Before Trucks-Tedeschi hit Sinking Creek said it was “great know there’s people trying to the stage, Southern Culture on what [promoter] Gary Jackson make this the Music City inthe Skids played a lively set, a has done with the area, with the stead of the Star City, and I like it.” homecoming of sorts for bassist old Victory Stadium site.”

Smith was glad to see music Misting tents, awnings and Mary Huff and drummer David Hartman, both Roanoke na- back where the stadium once tives. “I was born in the hospital stood, a venue where he saw > CONTINUED right there,” said Huff, motion- bands like Three Dog Night P12: Down By The River

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> CONTINUED P2: South Peak

Tech Students Build Autonomous Vehicles to be Used by Marine Corps Four autonomous vehicles designed and built by a team of engineering students at Virginia Tech using the TORC Robotic Building Blocks product line, are headed to Hawaii to participate in the 2010 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) war games.

Fourteen nations, 34 ships, five submarines, over 100 aircraft and 20,000 personnel will participate in the biennial RIMPAC exercise that will be ongoing through Aug. 1st.

The U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory worked closely with Virginia Tech and TORC in the creation of the four Ground Unmanned Support Surrogates (GUSS) that will be used for their ability to support a platoon of U.S. Marines.

The unmanned vehicles can carry up to 1,800 pounds and can move at the speed of a troop on foot, or about five miles per hour. The vehicles are designed to re-

The TORC based unmanned vehicle. supply troops, to reduce the actual loads manually carried by Marines, and to provide an immediate means for the evacuation of any casualties in combat. A Marine unit will operate GUSS during the Naval Laboratory’s enhanced company operations experimentation that coincides with RIMPAC. Virginia Tech and TORC, a company founded by alumni of the university’s > CONTINUED P6:Vehicles

Page 2 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/16/10 - 7/22/10

> South Peak Sun and clouds are in the forecast for Thursday with highs in the low 90s. The heat sticks around for Friday with a chance for a couple of pop-up storms. Highs will top out in the low 90s. Better rain chances move into the areas for the weekend. Temperatures drop back into the upper 80s. Isolated showers and storms will be possible.

plained the figure was for budgeting purposes and would be low initially but high in the waning years.

The expenses, principle and interest on the bonds are to be paid with 70% of local taxes generated from the new development. “If that fails then there is a special assessment that will be added to the real estate taxes,” said Mahoney. If that fails to meet all of the costs then the applicant would make up any difference.

There was some uncertainty as to whether a CDA would be liable for assessments similar to those assessed by homeowners associations. France said that she “had never seen that happen” but agreed with Altizer to add wording that would spell it out in the operating agreement.

Altizer did not want the CDA to be responsible for any temporary infrastructure for the proposed condominiums. He didn’t want the CDA to turn around and “have to pay to do it all over again later.” Altizer also

NewsRoanoke.com

From page 1

wanted any rebates for water connections to be paid directly to the CDA. The $300 monthly stipend to CDA members will only apply to citizen members and not apply to county staff or developer members. France recommended that no employee of the developer be placed on the CDA saying that, “they would be subject to a conflict of interest.” The board will hold a closed session at their July 27 meeting to begin identifying five individuals to serve on the governing board.

Altizer was adamant that no building permits are to be issued until the development agreement was approved and signed.

Board member Ed Elswick wanted assurance of the success of the bond issuance. France said there were instances during the financial crisis where “bonds hit the market at the wrong time.” France said that in Roanoke County’s case incremental tax revenues rather than special as-

sessment would protect the county. “As the developer gets the project up and running it creates incremental tax revenue to pay debt service [on the bonds],” said France.

Altizer asked if any CDAs had failed resulting in only partial development. France said that Virginia has only a couple of CDAs that could be considered as failing.

These failures were largely ”due to the developer being unable to produce,” she said.

Mahoney who indicated that staff had been working on the board’s concerns for more than a year closed by saying, “if everyone’s comfortable we’ll launch this ship.”

Public hearings will be on August 10 and 24. Board members will get their final chance to question and modify the agreement at a work session on July 27.

By Valerie Garner info@newsroanoke.com

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Roanoke County Law Enforcement received $217,141 to complete the firing range. The funds came from the police asset forfeiture account at no cost to tax payers. Jeff Altice in the Community Development Department came up with a “bullet trap system” designed to neutralize firing range bullets so they can be taken to a landfill easily. It will save money on maintenance.

Captain Charles R. Hart, Deputy Sheriff was recognized for his 34 years of service. Hart retired June 30. Hart said that he felt “rested already” and he had yet to see anything he didn’t like about retirement.

The Roanoke County Employee Handbook was approved with the June 22 work session revisions required by legislation.

“It is an evolving document,” said Joseph Sgroi, Director of Human Resources.

Eldon James and Associates who lobbies the General Assembly for Roanoke County was re-appointed as Special Assistant for Legislative Relations at a cost of $24,000. County Attorney, Paul Mahoney called him their “eyes and ears in Richmond.”

Three road projects will move forward – one on Tanglewood Drive and two on Plantation Road. The county received $82,502 of revenue sharing funds out of an expected $500,000 for road improvements.

Council member Ed Elswick asked that the subject of the proposed windmills on Bent Mountain be placed on the next work session agenda.

Jeff Altice holding his “bullet trap” invention.

By Valerie Garner info@newsroanoke.com

No-Go On County’s New Logo It is back to the drawing board for the county’s web site redesign. Without hesitation the Board of Supervisors went thumbs down on the new logo and web design presented by Teresa Hall, Director of Public Information and Bill Greeves, Director of Communications and Information Technology.

A lengthy discussion on the county seal led board member Ed Elswick to say, “If its not going to change I don’t know why we’re discussing it.”

Greeves responded that they were trying to show “a consistent brand for the site.” The three logo options presented were not replacing the traditional county seal nor altering the seal for official county documents. Greeves added that the design needed to be “unique” and that the web site should “express where we want to go into the future.” It should have a “more contemporary look” and be easy to integrate with new technology.

CivicPlus a government web design specialist would design the web site at a cost of about $3000. The cost for the entire project is $70,000. According to Greeves the web site must be redesigned because the technology is expiring and would no longer be supported.

Hall compared the design to Roanoke City that had a seal but also had a separate logo.

Chairman Joe “Butch” Church said he “didn’t think we have to reinvent the wheel … it’s not broken.”

County Administrator Clay Goodman remarked that “the search engine is a disaster.” It sometimes takes 8 clicks or more to get to where you want to go on the web site.

Board member Charlotte Moore liked the current design that showed different venue pictures at the top but thought it could be lightened up. Board member Richard Flora agreed adding that the home page is too crowded.

Hall defended the new design saying the present web site is seven years old and difficult for the citizens to navigate. The design should be recognizable as coming from Roanoke County at first glance. “Part of creating a new web site is creating a new look to go with it,” said Hall.

Elswick didn’t like one picture of two people standing in front of a rock. He wanted to see some of the county's natural features including open spaces, and the parkway. “(Pictures of) people are a dime a dozen,” said Elswick.

Hall defended “the people” saying, “they are citizens of the county … people like to see people.” Elswick replied, “I don’t care who those people are - I want to see the creeks and the rivers and the waterfalls and the mountains and the trees and the birds

The three new logos that didn’t make it. and the bees” to chuckles from staff and board members.

Church then asked the team to go back and do something else with the design.

Holding the three logo designs up, Church said, “these are out the window.”

By Valerie Garner info@newsroanoke.com

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7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 3

NewsRoanoke.com

DRI President Finds New Position to be “Good Fit”

Before coming to Roanoke to assume his duties as president and CEO of Downtown Roanoke, Inc. (DRI) last fall, Sean C. Luther had been involved with private real estate development. During this time he worked with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, an organization that is essentially the equivalent of Roanoke’s DRI. As a member of the International Downtown Association (IDA), he learned about the opening for the head of the DRI. Bill Carder had left abruptly and had been replaced in the interim by Doug Waters.

“It was just a very good fit for my personal background as well as [for] DRI, and really what the organization is working on over the next couple years,” said Luther, who believes that his background in economic development will enable DRI to continue its management of Dickens of a Christmas and Movies in the Park, as well as the Farmer’s Market. All three fall under DRI’s traditional responsibilities of marketing and events.

Luther, still in his late 20’s, also wants to, “kind of shift … into high gear on the economic development component, working with the city, other local and regional partners on business recruitment and retention, making sure that we’ve identified retail vacancies. [That way] when we get prospects coming either to the city or to us, we know exactly where they would fit in and at what price ranges.”

He also wants to advocate for the continued transformation of under utilized structures into things like boutique office space, as well as apartments and condominiums, “really helping to push along the vibrancy of downtown Roanoke.”

Luther continued, adding that, “what we’re working with in Roanoke is a key core of locally owned, locally supported businesses, growing downtown as a local alternative to the malls. There’s a growing movement in the U. S. away from the static, super clean, Disney World environment that a mall represents, and towards supporting what makes Roanoke unique instead of what makes it like every other city or town our size.”

Luther, who holds a Master’s degree in real estate development from Clemson University, says that what personally attracted him to the Roanoke region is that “having grown up in Pittsburgh and having spent

a considerable amount of time in South Carolina, Western Virginia is very much kind of a combination of the two.”

Another factor in persuading Luther to come to Roanoke is what he calls, “the vibrancy of downtown Roanoke. A lot of smaller Southern downtowns completely lost their center core as the malls became more prominent in the late ‘50s. Here, the city and private groups, have continuously stepped in and said, ‘We’re committed to the market area. We’re committed to downtown as a whole.’ We saw that in the late 70’s with Design 79 and Center in the Square, and the Market Building renovation.”

“Those efforts,” said Luther, “laid the groundwork for the recent downtown resurgence.

Having seen a lot of downtowns, I can understand very clearly that there’s a passion for downtown among Roanokers and the greater Western Virginia region.”

Contrary to what people may have heard, Luther says that the outdoor farmer’s market and Market Street will not close while the Market Building is closed for renovation. The latter will remain open until Labor Day and is scheduled to reopen when the renovations are completed in July 2011.

The general idea for the renovations “is to [renovate] some of the area on the Mezzanine.

Most of what’s going to happen is infrastructure repairs” meant to improve on earlier renovations in the 60s and 80s.

Luther states that, “When the city takes the market building off-line …they’re maintaining a very, very tight construction footprint. We’re going to lose about 26 on-street parking spaces but you’ll still be able to drive down Wall Street [and] drive up that section of Market Street. You’ll still be able to parallel park on both those streets, and it’ll certainly not impact directly the operation of the outdoor farmer’s market or the ability of shoppers to reach our inline retail here on Market Street.”

Luther is also thinking about areas away from the market: “in the short term, I think the goal is to expand some of the positive energy that’s right here on Market Square and Market Street west towards Jefferson, with soft-goods retail so that we can begin to reestablish Jefferson Street as part of that retail corridor, which was its historic role.”

“DRI,” said Luther, “is very

Lewis-Gale Now Offering Genetic Testing and Counseling

Sean Luther much committed to making sure that the greater downtown area feels like downtown, that there’s an energy continuing west up Campbell towards Jefferson Center, the Cotton Mill [apartments], the condominium complexes along that route - making sure that that’s all connected and that Roanokers see it as a cohesive entertainment, business, and retail destination.”

As for new stores opening, Luther can’t cite anything specific. “We are constantly having inquiries from people looking to open stores. I think our attraction strategy is to look at the Charlottesvilles, the Ashevilles, the Greenvilles, the Raleighs, and say, ‘you’ve done well in this market and this market. Roanoke is very similar, and you can do well in downtown Roanoke as well.”

Luther sees smaller, local “chainlets” like Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea being a better fit than larger nationwide chain stores.

Having been on the job in Roanoke for only a short period of time, Luther can’t speculate too much about his own future plans, but adds, “I really, really love Roanoke and this organization is fantastic. I think it’s a good fit . . . certainly in the near future, I see myself behind this desk.”

By Melvin E. Matthews, Jr. info@newsroanoke.com

With 5 to 10 percent of all cancers considered hereditary, Lewis-Gale and the other three hospitals in the HCA Virginia Health System have decided to address that issue. Thus the new Department of Clinical Genetics made its debut recently, offering genetic counseling and testing for a variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, pancreatic and melanoma. In addition the Clinical Genetics department will soon offer counseling to expectant mothers on disorders such as sickle cell anemia, Down syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

Kara Bui (Boo-ee) is the newly hired genetic counselor for HCA Virginia Health System, based at Lewis-Gale.

She’s been a genetic counselor in the Roanoke Valley since 2004; the focus on counseling about hereditary cancers is fairly new to the area. “But genetic tests for inherited cancer syndromes have been around for 15 years,” adds Bui. As the Director of Clinical Genetics she will also do outreach services, bringing genetic counseling to more rural areas of southwest Virginia.

“Human genetics is a growing field and we plan to stay on the forefront of the latest developments,” said Victor Giovanetti, president of HCA Southwest Virginia.

Bui’s department will concentrate on genetic counseling for cancers at first said Bui, who just arrived at Lewis-Gale last week. “It will grow from there,” she promises. Much of what she does involves identifying family members who might be at the greatest risk for hereditary cancers. She will also interface with Lewis-Gale physicians to make sure they are on top of the latest trends in genetic testing, a field that Bui said changes rapidly.

Bui said she spends much of her time going through a family’s history, looking for “patterns in the family tree,” to help identify what tests if any

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might be prudent. Interpreting genetic test results is more fruitful when family history is taken into account, according to Bui, who earned a master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of South Carolina.

“Once we figure that out we can offer genetic testing,” said Bui. She then helps clients make “informed decisions” about identifying cancer earlier, or preventing the disease altogether. Preventive surgeries and certain medications can reduce the likelihood of cancer said Bui. Some are just candidates for increased screening frequency.

Genetic testing and counseling like the services now offered at Lewis-Gale is a growing practice around the country, according to Bui. “We are finally at the point in medicine where we can personalize medical plans for patients. Genetic testing data has accumulated [to provide for] a better outcome.”

Insurance companies “have gotten on board” also, paying for testing said Bui, since preventive services up front are cheaper than the costs for treatment later on. Cancer testing tops the list of services insurers have approved for payment. Bui follows national guidelines to verify that patients will qualify for insurance

Kara Bui coverage. “As long as patients really need the service.”

There is no one genetic test that can scan for all cancers and other diseases, but Bui feels it may be coming soon – a “whole body gene profile,” she calls it. “We’re close.” With the human genome already mapped “it’s getting cheaper and more acceptable,” to do genetic testing.

Genetic testing won’t detect everything but can go a long way towards keeping people healthier. “Its about prevention,” said Bui. (call 776-4963 for more information on genetic counseling at LewisGale.)

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Page 4 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/16/10 - 7/22/10

Air Conditioning Not All Its Cracked / Cranked Up To Be

G

rowing up in the Deep South meant dealing with the heat in summer (well actually, from March through October in Alabama.) When we moved north to Virginia in 1974, I thought surely we had left 90-/90 temphumidities behind. But it’s feeling a lot like ‘bama in the Commonwealth this summer, and this has led me to consider that, once upon a time, Southern Americans employed evasive measures against the heat, and coped admirably with less grumbling and in greater relative comfort than today—even in the years before conditioned air.

Back then, southern folk drank iced tea (pronounced as a single word, “ahstee”) often holding the sweaty drink to our jugulars or temples to cool our brains. We sat on the ubiquitous screened front porches along elm-shaded streets to enjoy the relative coolness of an evening. The motion of the glider, porch swing or rocking chair often created the only stir in the thick, watermelonand-zoyzia grass-scented air.

As a floor-dwelling toddler, I remember a single oscillating fan, black, with whirling metal blades barely shielded by a sparse grillwork, it's animallike and perpetual looking right-left-right motion a source of amazement and one of my first memories.

The vents in the dashboards of our cars worked only when the car was moving and those little side windows deflected tepid air onto our moist skin.

Once, taking personal thermoregulation into our own hands

on a vacation to Florida from tells the reader some surprising Birmingham, we stopped at ways indoor climate control the Ice House in Woodlawn has changed American culture, for a twenty-pound block of politics, and even frequency of ice. It melted for hours right sex, and suggests that we can under the vent, cooling us as it adopt more adaptive, less conpuddled into a galvanized tub sumptive ways of beating the at my mother’s feet on the pas- heat. senger side.

In a half century, our relaWe had a roaring fan in the tionship to AC has come to ceiling that, when you turned resemble the dependencies of it on, sucked doors closed and an addiction. Cox doesn’t arlifted my hair and gue that it’s immoral the shirt on my back to be cool, but our gently towards the shrinking comfort attic. My brother zone does have costs and I delighted in we should consider. waatching balloons Today, 92% of new bump along the American homes are hardwood floors air-conditioned, and into the hallway and most of the electricrise suddenly to be ity to produce our sucked tight against chilled air comes at the louvers. We the expense of Apslept April til Octopalachian mounFred First ber with the cooler taintop coal, hence night air filling the the paradox: greater house the next morning, when indoor climate control contribthe oscillator came on duty to utes to an outdoor climate out push the coolness around dur- of control. Many of our politiing breakfast. cians have the distorted notion We were far more ther- that simply turning up the airmostatically-resilient in hot conditioning is the solution to weather in those benighted global warming. days before humankind’s techOur thermal tolerance has nological dominion and cheap shrunk and adult and child electricity collapsed our ther- alike have flocked to the Notmal tolerance to a mere few So-Great Indoors - and our degrees hovering around the health is suffering. Kids are “ideal” 72 on which we now are little exposed to friendly soil habituated, 24/7. bacteria and nematodes that Stan Cox, Senior Scien- apparently “train” the immune tist with the Land Institute in system, and “nature deficit disKansas, in his June 2010 book order” afflicts our denatured, entitled Losing Our Cool: Un- thermally-sheltered young comfortable Truths About Our people. Even the obesity epiAir-conditioned World, offers a demic is compounded by our host of facts to support the no- sedentary encampment inside tion that we should rely less on in our Goldilocks, “just right” the AC in coming decades. He thermal bubbles.

Living in a less refrigerated society in coming decades may be both desirable and necessary, but for now, air conditioning is the water we swim in. It’s all around us, and we rarely think about it. Maybe we U-Pick/We Pick should and I think I will—from the front porch swing, with a Blackberries | Blueberries | Raspberries folded newspaper fan and a big also sweaty glass of ahstee.

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f you live in the Raleigh Court you have Our present dogs also pitch in when they can. doubtlessly noticed the pitter-patter of little Mya, who is often frightened by a strong wind, befeet on your hardwood floors this summer. comes a pit bull when it comes to the challenge of No, there has not been an unusually loud boom the mouse hunt. Roscoe, the world's laziest Basset of babies in the vicinity; I speak of the scamper- Hound is little to no help. Unless the mice stroll ing legions of rodents that call my neighborhood up to Roscoe and introduce themselves, there is home. little chance a trophy will be claimed. If he sees Hold your letters and email animal lovers; the a mouse dart behind our stove, Roscoe will stake simple truth is that I hate mice, rats and all like out the rodent for hours, eventually falling asleep vermin. As a child I can remember overhearing a while the unwanted guest enjoys a hefty buffet in newscast reporting that smoking cigahis half empty food bowl just three feet rettes caused cancer in rats. "Good, I away. But on rare occasion Roscoe acthought," I hate rats", missing the mestually captures his prey. During these sage completely. I carry that dread to golden moments he usually trots up to this day.

Janet with a small tail wiggling out of Several years ago, while working in his mouth, and gently places his mousy our basement, I spied a happy little cargo on the floor, allowing for a quick, rat bouncing into our laundry room. albeit slobbery, rodent escape.

Partially paralyzed with fear, I quietly For those who find my murine disclimbed the stairs (trying not to alarm course heavy handed, try to picture our then nine year old son) and whisthese critters not as Mr. Jingles from pered into my wife's ear that a furry "The Green Mile" or Stuart Little, ridJon Kaufman intruder was bathing in our sump ing around your living room in his pump. Leaping at the opportunity tiny red convertible, but as the creepy to test our Coonhound's inherent hunting skills, little varmints who chew a hole in the bottom Janet grabbed Tara by the collar and raced down of the bag of YOUR Cheese Doodles, and snack to the cellar, while the "man" of the house hid up- their way to the top. stairs.

Neighbors, if you’re among the many who have The sounds emanating from below decks were dropped your hand into a bag of Doritos and horrifying. A mixture of Janet's bloodthirsty sup- battled a small, but savvy wild animal for supremport for her partner and Tara's relentless unwill- acy of a chip, then you understand that of which ingness to share her home with yet another ani- I speak. I wish these creatures no harm and the mal brought a quick end to the proceedings. In best of success securing housing elsewhere, as the the end, Tara and Janet returned from the hunt fact remains that between my son and his posse, victorious and our basement resembled an Indian there are enough livings things making off with massacre. I learned a lot about Janet that day, re- my noshables as is. The problem is, that Will and sulting in more than a few sleepless nights. posse won't eat the poison (so far) and they don't Janet is one of those people with no fear. A not- make glue traps large enough to snare eighteen ed high school gymnast, she will fling herself into year old humans. the fray with little care for life and limb, and come If you are a mouse and reading this column, out battered but sound as a pound. Among the don't take offense. Please find shelter in another rodent population she is public enemy number town (I hear Salem is quite nice) and by all mean one. Repulsed by the carnage and inhumanity smoke 'em if you got 'em! left by glue traps, Janet often opts for the Lucrezia Contact Jon at Borgia method of extermination, employing a poisonous and more humane solution.

Jon.Kaufman@sprint.com

Preacher’s Corner From the Older Brother’s Room by Ed Dunnington the here and now. It is a theme that has little hope for the future or comfort amid difficulties. It is a theme that leaves one exposed to the trails of life with no reason or answer for them. It is a theme that is bone-chilling cold to the soul.

As one who believes the gospel, the idea of God providentially working out all things according to His purposes is one of the hardest doctrines for me to believe and yet, it shows up all over the pages of scripture. The Old Testament book of Esther teaches us that God is providentially at work in His world and in our lives.

The reason this truth is so difficult for me, and perhaps for you, is because much of the time, I can’t see God at work in my life. I think, if I can’t see God at work, He must be absent, but that is not the case.

God’s seeming silence does not mean His is absent.

The Heidelberg Catechism’s, written over 300 years ago, answer to the question of what do we understand by God’s providence reads this way, “Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God

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Of Mice and . . . Rats

“It just happened.” You ever heard those words? You ever said those words? What about, “It was fate that brought us together.” Sometimes we hear or say these things to justify some hurtful thing we did or to explain a decision about relationships or work or some other major life choice. “It just happened.” But what does it Fresh Farm Produce Picked Daily Contact Fred at mean?

5234 Joppa Mill Rd (off 24), Moneta, VA • 540- 297-7917 London pastor and preacher fred1st@gmail.com Mon-Sat: 7:30am- 7:30pm • Sun: 1:00pm-6:00pm Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Fate is this – Whatever is, must be. But there is a difference between that and Providence. Providence says, Whatever God ordains, must be; but 706 S. Jefferson Street the wisdom of God never ordains anything without a purpose. Everything in this world is working for some great end.

Fate does not say that….There is all the difference between fate and Providence that there is between a man with good eyes and a blind man.”

If you are not a follower of Christ, the only explanation for what happens in your life is fate. “Whatever is, must be” is your theme. According to this theme, life cannot have purpose or meaning beyond

Scott’s

C o m mu n i t y | N ew s | Pe r s p e c t i ve

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by which he upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty – all things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand.”

So what? Why does this matter? When we begin to believe this we are freed to rest in God’s Fatherly care of us. We can rest in (in lieu of becoming complacent in) the ordinary things of life. We can rest in the reality that everything comes from the hand of a loving Father, who knows what we need, better than we do.

If God knows all things and is omnipotent then it is possible that he knows something that we do not about what our soul needs most. If we will trust this fact, then the most difficult trials will begin to come into focus.

When I remember that the injustice of Christ’s trial - the guilty verdict made of an innocent Jesus, Christ’s separation from the Father and the brutal death on the cross - all passed through God’s loving fatherly hand, it gives me hope. Jesus death was not a mistake but a direct result of God’s loving hand at work, in order to reconcile sinful men and women to himself. As a result, those who believe and trust in Christ, experience the saving grace of God, restored relationship with the Father and rest in God’s providential work in our lives.

Because of Christ’s work, we are empowered to walk through our circumstances with the great knowledge and joy that God is working “all things together for the good of His people, according to His purposes.”

May we learn to live, and rest, more and more, in the tender hands of our Father.

From one older brother to another…

Ed Dunnington is the Senior Pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian in Roanoke. Visit their website at www.ctkroanoke. org.

Perspective

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F

Recalling the Early Years of Pre-Teen "Discovery"

rom long ago . . . shoulders and mumblings of Among the more fas- `Where, oh where could they cinating dramas taking be?' they turned on him in place within this home is the unison; they the cats; he, the timid emergence of heterosexu- Friskee's Buffet and said, “They ality in sons Chester and Cailan. couldn't make it.”

Such blossoming is a vital force “Well, who did you invite?” palpitating with intrigues and a “Oh.......everybody.” hundred temptations to disorMe? I don't think so. I der the pre-adolescent mind. think there was one invite tenFirst, eleven-year-old Chester. dered, one accepted. And why He is entering `rut', that strange a pool party? `They wanted to inward hastening of change; and see your chest?' I offered. He after years of anonymity, is be- looked down at his chest. `They wildered to find himself much wanted to see that?' Visions of sought after by the ladies. Not being a stud danced before his six months ago he eyes. `Romance is would run in terror not logical, Ches,' I from the humblest explained. petticoat… and he There are three still does, sort of, but things incredible to now he looks back a me about Chester's lot. love-life 1] Its sudConsidering what denness; he woke he's up against, he up one morning and has probably chofound, much to his sen the smartest redelighted consternasponse. Running. tion, that he was an The women move item on the female Lucky Garvin smoothly through dessert menu. [The their paces, while the guys, if stress on his mother is considerChester is any model, staggers able.] 2] The number of women about as if blindfolded in a dark pursuing him with that calculatroom. These are turbulent times ed indifference which marks the for young Ches, as they would chase, 3] The very tactical nabe for any of us forced to go ture of their pursuits; like a pack back to those days. I'll pass. of remorseless gerbils calmly He was invited to a pool party attacking a tangle of alfalfa. So the other afternoon. He re- Chester bounces around like a turned home saying that he had flustered shuttlecock trying to had a good time; a blue-lipped figure out what is going on. and shiverin'; a pruny fingers Now, contrast that with Caikind of good time. Four girls lan's attitude towards the whole were there and one boy. Him. male-female thing. His level The girls, powdered and curled, of enthusiasm, taken at peak, had set this up; a `coincidence'. could only be labeled torporous. ["The other boys we invited By all outward sign, he couldn't couldn't make it."] A trap baited care less. with perfume and bikinis.

Cailan sits on the sofa, eat"Where are the other guys?" ing a candy bar, engrossed in a he asked. All the girls began cartoon. Chester says "I've got a looking about as if expecting girlfriend." Cailan answers withthe missing males to suddenly out turning his head. Chomp, materialize over the pool filter. cherf, swallow, “Had one for After much shrugging of four years m'self ” Cherf. Stare

at the TV. [Pause Button again: Now, you must realize that, beyond any social dispute, nothing betokens pre-teen suave more than having many girlfriends; either all at once or a series of monogamies. So Cailan, defying convention by keeping the same woman for four years, shames his contemporaries with an unprecedented romantic fidelity, that and the fact his tale is, of course, a shameless fabrication. But at his age, and on this subject, there is no such thing as shame.]

Chester, so conscientious in his romance; Cailan, so cavalier in his; tries again. “I've kissed my girl friend.”' [“He's what!?” says Sabrina to me, overhearing this whispered confession.

“My baby!!” She tries to run to him. A strong hand is called for here. I take her to the other room, force a Prozac between her clinched teeth and apply cold towels to her burning skin.

This is a hard time for mothers; them being so emotional and all.] Cailan: chew, chew, “I've done that lot's of times.”

“He's what!? My baby!!” I cry out and start to rise. Sabrina shakes her head `No' and pulls me back. We share the cold towels.

So Chester, unable to fathom the intersecting vortices of love at age eleven, and completely unable to impress Cailan, age ten, and world-weary with the whole topic, retires to his room, draws the curtains and spends the rest of the afternoon writing moody poetry in the fading light.

Alas, it would appear there are some tough years ahead . . .

Contact Lucky at info@theroanokestar.com

A Big Man With a Big Love of Country

R

alph Waldo Rose was sparkle, the English introduced a big man. Six foot a new facet to the opening cerefive, 250 pounds. He mony of the games, "the parade attended a big school, the Uni- of nations," wherein each team versity of Michigan. would march in In 1904, he was the and present themBig Ten champion in selves to their host, both the shot put and King Edward VII. discus. After graduEach team enation, he went on to tered the stadium win seven Amateur led by one of their Athletic Union titles athletes bearin the shot put, dising their national cus and javelin. He flag. As they apwas the first man to proached the Mike Keeler ever launch a shot King, each flagfarther than 50 feet. bearer dipped his His world record of 51 feet, set flag in deference. The Ameriin 1909, lasted for 16 years. He cans entered the stadium led competed in three Olympic by their big man. Rose, chosen Games, winning three golds, to be the American flag bearer, two silvers and one bronze. was Irish-American, and was His biggest moment came no fan of English royalty. As he in 1908. That year's Olympics approached the royal box, Rose had been moved to London - one of the most powerful, athwhen Mt. Vesuvius erupted letic men on the planet - made and destroyed plans to hold history by doing...nothing. He them in Italy. The English built kept the Stars and Stripes coma marvelous new stadium, the pletely vertical, and just kept White City Stadium, in just 10 walking. months. To celebrate the venue Controversy erupted imand give their games an extra mediately. The British press

lashed out at Rose. His teammate Martin Sheridan - also an Irish-American - poured gas on the fire, saying, "This flag dips to no earthly king." The resulting games were highly emotional and allegedly tarnished when the Olympic judges, who were all British, consistently ruled in favor of their athletes. In the end, the Brits out-medaled the Yanks 146-47.

Rose died just 5 years later, of typhoid fever, at age 28.

But history shows that, for his defiance, Rose won his biggest achievement and one few athletes can claim: enshrinement in the official code of the United States. Since 1908, Title 4 of the United States Code on Flag Etiquette has read, "the American flag should never be dipped to any person or thing, unless it is the ensign responding to a salute from a ship of a foreign nation."

F

7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 5

“I Purify”

or some reason, I’ve al- can later be disinfected by sunways loved vultures. light. Their ecological niche to Broadly, their taxo- purify the landscape is a blessnomic group includes turkey ing recognized by diverse culvultures, black vultures, and tures around the world, includrelatives such as California and ing ancient Egypt - the recent Andean condors. In prehistoric troubles of some farmers and times, there was even a giant residents in southwestern Vircondor in North America with ginia notwithstanding. a powerful bill and a wingspan Years ago, I led a backpacking of 17 feet. That’s the length of a expedition along the Potomac small-sized school bus!

River from its source in West All of them have a number of Virginia’s panhandle to a point features in common: near its mouth into featherless heads the Chesapeake Bay. and necks; long, While in the Washbroad wings; stiff ington, DC area, tails; slightly hooked our group camped beaks; and clawed by the river’s shorebut weak feet. Many line in Great Falls at of them also have the the base of a wellunusual habit of defknown cliff. While ecating on their legs exploring the nooks to cool them evapoand crannies of the ratively, a behavior H. Bruce Rinker, PhD rocky face, Melissa, called urohidroone of my more sis. Storks do this, too, a point precocious students, raised herused by some ornithologists to self over a ledge and stared disuggest a close evolutionary re- rectly into the eyes of a turkey lationship between these two vulture chick. She then learned groups. intimately about one of its most The scientific name of their effective defensive behaviors: family is Cathartidae, a term with breathtaking accuracy, the derived from cathartes, a Greek surprised little bird – looking word that translates roughly as for all the world like a young “I purify.” As scavengers, they turkey – disgorged its stomach gulp down carrion, fruit, eggs, contents on the face and shouland garbage like living, hissing ders of my student, just missing vacuum cleaners for the natural her eyes and mouth. Can you world. The turkey vulture has a imagine her bewilderment … highly developed sense of smell and the stench? for detecting ethyl mercaptan, a Vulture stomach acid is excharacteristic but repugnant gas ceptionally corrosive to allow produced by the rotting flesh them to digest putrid carcasses of dead animals. Other species that might be infected with such as the black vulture have a weak sense of smell and so find their food by sight, but they’re often clued by the indicative behaviors of turkey vultures.

Regardless, the bald heads of vultures are a twofold adaptation for thermoregulation and for feeding on dead stuff. As they stick their heads deep into decomposing carcasses, tissue and sinew will not get caught in feathers; and their naked skin

nasty strains of bacteria such as botulinum, cholera, and anthrax. This adaptation also enables them to use their malodorous vomit as defensive projectiles when threatened. After regaining her bearings, Melissa became ecstatic about the encounter and quickly labeled it a “bazooka barf.” “I could even make out the remains of a liver and something that looked like a lung,” she exclaimed to our group. Of course, we all went back to the spot of the attack and found reeking flesh all over the ledge. The bird had run off to a distant spot and watched us from afar. Later we departed with a renewed appreciation for all that vultures do for our planet.

The natural world is not always about lovely landscapes, heart-warming wildlife drama, and bouquets of pretty wildflowers. The natural world is a 3.5-million-year-old web of life on Earth that doesn’t give a hoot about our sensitivities and predilections. Vultures are just one of the principal fibers of that complex web with all its glorious diversity: 30 million different kinds of living things of which we humans are “E Pluribus Unum,” one out of many. I purify. That could be an aspiration for humankind as we attempt to countermand the far-reaching, relentless effects of our abuse of the planet’s resources.

At Your H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D. Science Department Chairman BRinker@NorthCross.org

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Page 6 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/16/10 - 7/22/10

City Treasurer’s Office Awarded Accreditation

The Treasurer’s Association of Virginia has awarded accreditation to the office of Treasurer of the city of Roanoke for the year commencing July 1, 2010 and ending June 30, 2011. Mayor David Bowers read the award of accreditation at last week’s city council meeting. City Treasurer, Evelyn Powers met all the requirements to be a Master Government Treasurer. To receive accreditation the office must meet high performance standards and have in place a policy that meets all government criteria. Emphasis is placed on exemplary customer service. Councilman Court Rosen highlighted a time when Powers went to a resident’s home to collect cash they were uncomfortable in mailing.

By Valerie Garner info@newsroanoke.com

The Roanoke County School Board has voted to proceed with a project to replace Cave Spring Middle School (CSMS). Originally, the project called for the renovation and expansion of the facility.

Based upon the evaluation of the current CSMS, Spectrum Design has analyzed the renovation of the existing school versus the demolition and construction of a completely new school on the existing site. Due to the major components needed for renovation, the deterioration of the current building, and favorable construction costs in today’s market, the school board decided instead to demolish the current building and construct a new facility. Construction is expected to begin in summer 2011.

“One of the major factors influencing this deci-

sion is the building lifespan of a renovated school compared to an entirely new school which will have a minimum of fifty years viability,” said Roanoke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange.

“Building an entirely new school will better serve the Cave Spring community for the long term,” said Roanoke County School Board member Fuzzy Minnix (Cave Spring District). “With construction prices so competitive right now, we want to get as much as we can for our money,” Minnix added.

School personnel will meet with parents to gather input in establishing a transition plan for housing CSMS students while the new school is constructed.

The school board also appropriated additional funding for the architectural & engineering services for the construction of a new school; including design services such as LEED certification work, kitchen consultants, independent cost estimating, and geothermal test well analysis.

Cave Spring Middle School was constructed in 1956 and was Monday Through Friday the original building housing Cave Spring High School. The school became Cave Spring Junior High School in 1968 when Cave Spring High School moved to its current facility on Chaparral Drive. During the 2009-10 school year, Cave Spring Middle School had approximately 600 students enrolled.

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robotics program, share a successful track record on their collaborations. Together, they developed autonomous vehicles for the Urban Challenge competition sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2006 and in 2007.

“The focus of the collaborations is to leverage the research capabilities of the university with the commercialization capabilities of a small business,” said Al Wicks, professor of mechanical engineering (ME) at Virginia Tech and faculty advisor to the team. They took home third place honors in 2007 when their vehicle completed DARPA’s 60-mile course in less than six hours, with no human intervention allowed past the starting line.

The four GUSS vehicles headed to Hawaii are an outgrowth of the technology developed for these DARPA competitions, Wicks said.

my kids and Dumbledore advised the students about being brave when faced with making a choice between what is right and what is easy. I was expecting him to say what is right and what is wrong but he said easy. So much of how we live is not based on clear choices of good and bad or right and wrong but just what Dumbledore was talking about - right or easy.

Easy does not seem as sinister as bad but easy is quite often a pathway to bad, it may take longer to get there . . . but it comes.

Fast food is easy, it won’t kill me today but it will hurt me one day if I make it a lifestyle. Growing a garden is not easy but is it good and right.

I would much rather have my children learning to grow a garden than learning how to use the drive-thru.

We live in a society that promotes what is easy at every turn. We could all make an endless list of things created by man to make life easier. Some are great of course, some ridiculous and some claim to offer freedom and yet they have left us in shackles. We make our own choices, we have to stop blaming others, indeed, but we also have to start taking care of others and lead others away from easy and into what is right.

So grow a garden with your children next year and give

The peppers are ripe and some tomatoes are turning red!! You just can’t beat the taste of fresh vegetables especially when you have had a hand in growing them.

Sometimes we need to stop and remind ourselves just how great fresh REAL food really is . . . I say this because that is what crosses my mind every time I eat a vegetable, I think – WOW, this is really good, I need to always eat this instead of potato chips!

Of course goodness, in all cases (not just with food), is better than the opposite. But what is the opposite of good?

I was watching a Harry Potter movie the other day with

“The Cure for the Common Gold.”

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Using the 1-pound handheld unit, Marines are able to command the unmanned vehicles in several modes depending on the mission. The operator may use the WaySight to rapidly plan a new path, take remote control of the vehicle, or direct it to follow at a safe distance with the autonomous navigation system taking over.

The project is part of a five-year contract between the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division and Virginia Tech that is supporting a number of different projects.

The mechanical engineering seniors who participated in the project and their hometowns are: Patrick Currier of Murfreesboro, Tenn. Phillip Tweedy of Lynchburg, James May of Atlanta, Ga, Jason Doyle of Blue Ridge and Everett Braden of Roanoke.

by Leigh Sackett

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The sensors have been greatly improved, as well as the perception, planning, and control algorithms to navigate complex environments.

The Urban Challenge featured a cooperative environment with well-defined roads for the competition.

When the GUSS vehicles are used by the Marine Corps in Hawaii, they will be “offroad and not in a cooperative environment,” Wicks said.

“This is a big step forward in autonomous vehicles.”

Michael Fleming, a Virginia Tech ME graduate and the founder and chief executive officer of TORC, explained the team synergy, saying “I believe our team of government, academia, and industry all working together has provided the Marine Corps with a well-balanced solution.”

The “WaySight,” developed

by TORC, is the primary operator interface for controlling the GUSS vehicles.

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4 bell peppers (or most any variety of medium to large peppers) 4 cups of chicken broth 12 oz package cream cheese 1 cup shredded colby monterey jack cheese 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp. Caribbean Jerk Seasoning ½ roll of country sausage -Cook peppers for ten minutes in simmering chicken broth, then remove and let cool -Combine next four ingredients in food processor -Cook sausage in skillet until brown and crumbly -Drain sausage on paper towels -Stir sausage into cheese mixture -Cut stems off of peppers and remove seeds -Stuff peppers with cheese sausage mixture and ENJOY!

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Sports

Baseball Tourney Kicks Off Commonwealth Games

The 2010 Coventry Commonwealth Games are in full swing this weekend at venues all over the Roanoke Valley, including Opening Night ceremonies at the Roanoke Civic Center on Friday night. Virginia’s official state games kicked off locally with the baseball competition last weekend, with a round robin tournament at Kiwanis Field in Salem.

Several local high school players competed for the West team, which won a bronze medal by defeating the Central team. Freshman, sophomores and juniors are split into four squads determined by geographic area.

Commonwealth Games baseball coordinator Wally Beagle said about 50 college and professional scouts attended the baseball competition this year. That’s down from recent years where 6065 scouts have attended, said Beagle.

“It’s average this year. It goes up and down year by year,” said Beagle of the talent level on display. The Games must compete with other baseball showcases up and down the east coast, which draw players away from the Commonwealth Games.

“They can pick and choose where they want to go,” said Beagle.

“The number of showcases has grown in recent years,” Beagle noted. Nevertheless scouts and coaches tell Beagle the Commonwealth Games are “one of the best [showcases] they go to.” Over 100 players drafted to the pros have appeared at the Commonwealth Games in the past; about a dozen have

7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 7

Local Baseball Players Help West All-Stars Win Bronze in Commonwealth Games

William Byrd's Ray Harron puts down the tag at third base on a sliding North baserunner.

Wally Beagle is the long time baseball coordinator for the Commonwealth Games. made it to the majors.

Hidden Valley’s, Andy Richards pitched the first three innings last Sunday as the West team – which has only captured one gold medal in the 21 year history of the games – downed the Central team. Richards pitched two scoreless innings before giving up a long home run in the bottom of the third inning.

He surrendered a second run in that frame as well.

The first baseman/pitcher was the only one of three Roanoke Valley players to start in the bronze medal game.

Richards, a junior, was first team all River Ridge district this past season for the Titans, and honorable mention as a pitcher.

Other local players on the West roster included Tyler Fisher, an outfielder from Northside, who batted .373 this past season. Ray Harron, an infielder/pitcher for William Byrd, pounded 4 home runs on his way to winning the Most Improved Player award for the Terriers.

Former Byrd coach Rodney Spradlin, who won a state championship with the

Terriers in 1997, returned to coach Commonwealth baseball for a 19th year.

The West team had not won a game in the Commonwealth competition before it captured the bronze medal contest last Sunday. Beagle stated that the lack of gold medals for the West team largely stems from the smaller talent pool it draws from, compared to other regional squads based in Virginia’s larger population centers.

“You’ve got a lot of single A and double A schools in southwest Virginia,” said Beagle, “in Northern Virginia / Richmond–Tidewater you’ve got more talent to pull from and bigger schools.”

Nevertheless the West team overcame that disadvantage to capture the bronze medal on the Sunday before the “main games weekend,” for the Coventry Commonwealth Games.

Tyler Fisher (Northside) was one of 5 outfielders platooned on the West All-Star team.

Photos by Bill Turner

Cave Spring National 10/11 All-Stars Open District 12 Tournament Against Covington

S National’s Dallas Killingsworth asks for time as he steps into the batters box.

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Sports

Pilat Named State Coach of the Year for Fifth Time

Roanoke College Lacrosse Coach, Bill Pilat, was named VaSID College State Coach of the Year. In addition, seven players were named to the allstate team, including six who were on the first-team ballot.

Stephen Simmons, Sam Love, Justin Tuma, Matt Quinton, Alex Burkhead and Jake Dorsey earned first-team recognition while Trey Keeley garnered second-team honors.

Pilat earns VaSID Coach of the Year honors for a fifth time in the last six years. He was named the ODAC Coach of the Year for the ninth time in his career earlier this season, more than any other ODAC coach.

Earlier this season, the 1985 cum laude graduate of Roanoke became only the 13th coach in NCAA Div. III men’s lacrosse history to eclipse over 200 career wins.

Simmons, named USILA Div. III Long Pole Midfielder of the Year, was named First-Team All-State for a second-straight year in addition to his FirstTeam All-American honor. It was the second-straight year the team captain was named to the All-American team. A threetime All-ODAC and VaSID All-State selection, Simmons finished his career sixth on the all-time groundballs list with 284. He collected 85 groundballs this spring with a goal and an assist in 21 games.

Love, the 2010 USILA’s William C. Stiles Memorial Award for Outstanding Defensive Player in Div. III, was named VaSID First-Team All-State for the second-straight year. The USILA First-Team All-Ameri-

Bill Pilat can started in all 21 games and collected 73 groundballs. A two-time All-ODAC selection, Love was named team captain this spring. The 2010 USILA North/South All-Star game participant finished his career with 241 groundballs. He was named the 2009-10 Roanoke College Male Athlete of the Year.

Tuma, a Second-Team USILA All-American, earned FirstTeam VaSID All-State honors for the second-straight year. He was tabbed All-ODAC for the second-straight season, earning first-team honors in 2010. On face-offs, he won 156-of-243 attempts for a .642 win percentage. His 128 groundballs, along with his face-off win percentage and total wins led the ODAC this spring. A team captain this spring, Tuma was named Nike/ Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week earlier this month and is currently eighth all-time in career groundballs with 272.

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taled 30 goals and 19 assists. He was also named ODAC Player of the Week for the first time in his career on April 5.

Quinton, a two-time VaSID All-State selection, earned AllAmerican honors for the first time in his career. The two-time All-ODAC selection finished the season ranked second in the ODAC in goals per game and led the team with 57. The 2008 VaSID State Rookie of the Year finished the season second on the team in scoring (69pts) while totaling 111 shots, 87 on goal for a .784 SOG percentage. On March 8, Quinton was voted both ODAC Player of the Week and Nike/Inside Lacrosse National Player of Week awards. He finished with 186 career points, ranked 13th on the all-time list at Roanoke. His 149 goals are third all-time behind March, and his 227 shots on goal are also third all-time.

Quinton’s 22 man-up goals tie for fourth on the career list with Andy Bonasera ’03.

Burkhead, a first-time selection on the all-state squad, joined three of his teammates as a first-time USILA AllAmerican this spring. He was a first-team All-ODAC selection this season after making second-team in 2009. The three-year starter finished with 57 groundballs, three goals and one assist. He now has 120 career groundballs entering the 2011 season.

Dorsey, a two-time all-state selection, also earned a spot on the All-American team for the first time in his career. A team captain this season, he was an All-ODAC selection for the second-straight year, earning first-team honors. Dorsey finished his 2010 campaign with 187 saves, an 8.11 goals against average and a .553 save percentage. The four-year starting goalie ended his career with 657 saves, ranked third all-time and leaves the program as the winningest goalie with 53 career wins.

Keeley, a first-time selection on both the VaSID AllState and USILA All-America teams for the first time. He was selected All-ODAC SecondTeam following a solid season for the three-year letterman.

A two-year starter, Keeley totaled 23 goals and a team-best 30 assists for 53 points. He finished fourth in the ODAC in assists per game. Keeley enters the 2011 season with 98 career points.

The Maroons finished 18-3 on the season, breaking their own school and ODAC record from a year ago. Roanoke captured the ODAC championship, finished with a No. 5 National ranking and advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 19th time in program-history.

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7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 8

RVAA Swim Meet - The Elks Club Visits Forest Hills

Swimmers hit the water in the 50-meter butterfly.

The Elks' Raine Taylor checks the lane after her call to the platform.

Ella Higgins of the Elks Club has the water flying as she excels in her 25-meter event.

Nathanael Valentine of Forest Hills leads the way in the boys' 25-meter butterfly.

Photos by Bill Turner

Boston Trip Bittersweet for Red Sox The Salem Red Sox picked up their 50th win of the season on Monday night at Lewis-Gale Field, swiping a 4-1 victory in the opening contest of a doubleheader over Potomac to improve to 50-37 on the season.

The journey to those 50 wins has been unpredictable, turbulent, and memorable, much like the recent trip to Fenway Park.

Perhaps the highlight of the 2010 regular season, the July 10 appearance in Boston was supposed to be a Salem showcase in the northeast, an opportunity for the Red Sox stars of the Roanoke Valley to perform inside Boston’s baseball palace.

Following Friday’s game in Kinston, the traveling crew of players, coaches, and a few lucky front office staff took to the sky for a rare minor league baseball flight on Saturday morning.

Everyone arrived at Fenway ready to go, yet destiny was about to rear her ugly side as the afternoon progressed. A batch of epic, overwhelming, torrential downpours flooded Fenway and forced the cancellation of Salem’s game inside the great green cathedral.Disappointment surrounded the team as

the squad made its way back to Virginia on Sunday.

Everybody still had fun; it was an experience in itself just to walk into the oldest ballpark in the majors and sniff the air, to view the Monster, to stroll the premises etc. - but unfortunately, the remarkable rain just wouldn't let up. Fenway officials were expecting a capacity crowd and the stands were gradually filling up during the first game of the twin-bill (which ended in a 7-2 Lowell loss in rain-shortened six innings).

Thousands of eager fans graciously waited through the rain, hoping that Salem would get a chance to play and they might see some of the mythical Red Sox prospects they had only heard about, but had never seen. When the final verdict was rendered around 4:15 that there would be no baseball, a palpable grown was emitted from everybody in the stands.

But at the same time, fans and players alike cherished the opportunity to simply meander around the baseball landmark that is Fenway Park. Although it hurt to journey so far and not get to take a swing at that dark,

green wall, the uniqueness of the little in-season vacation stood out. In the middle of a long, 140game Carolina League slate, two A-ball clubs were plucked out of the mid-Atlantic region and placed inside a haven which they aspire to reach on a daily basis. Disappointing? Sure. But memorable? Absolutely.

The Salem Red Sox take on the Carolina League North Division first half winner WinstonSalem Dash Wednesday, July 14 through Saturday, July 17. Friday night is “Christmas in July” with the Salvation Army presented

by Dish Network. Bring a new toy for the Salvation Army Toy Drive and receive a free ticket to another Salem Red Sox game.

Enjoy Post Game Fireworks Friday courtesy of WSLS-10.

Saturday is Daisuke Matsuzaka Bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans.

Don’t forget about Baseball 101 for Woman and Girl Scout Night on July 31st.

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By Evan Lepler info@newsroanoke.com

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Open Letter to the National D-Day Memorial Foundation Gentlemen: My wife and I have a 2nd home at Smith Mountain Lake. We have enjoyed taking guests to the D-Day Memorial and recommending a visit to people we meet.

On our visit with guests on 6/23 I was disappointed and appalled to see that a bust of Stalin had been added to the memorial to honor him.

This was a dictator just as brutal or more so than Hitler. He was an ally in WWII only because Hitler had betrayed him, and otherwise would have been fighting us along with the Germans.

During his reign, he killed or starved more than 40 million people. With FOR's help at Yalta, he and Communism enslaved over half of Europe for 45+ years after D-Day. These were the same people Hitler had enslaved and who the soldiers at Normandy were fighting to free.

I did not see any busts of Churchill, Roosevelt, or Truman, nor should there be. The memorial should be to honor the brave soldiers who planned, died, and' accomplished this MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, not politicians and dictators.

Since WWII we have let the politicians, bureaucrats, and news media versus professional soldiers

micro-manage our wars. Had they been managing D-Day, we would have lost the war, and the generals who planned it would have been tried for war crimes. Our present political leader refused to visit the Normandy Memorial in France for fear he would offend the Germans. He refuses to use the word "Muslim Terrorist" who killed 3000+ US citizens on 9/11 and have killed 4000+ American soldiers since for fear it may offend Muslims. Why was the bust of Stalin added? Was it because his absence would offend Communism, or to provide money from a non-profit to a sculptor? We have had the Korean War, Vietnam War, 1st Gulf War with Iraq, 2nd war with Iraq, and are currently engaged in wars with Afghanistan and Islamic terrorism worldwide. It may be too early to tell, but the 2nd war with Iraq is the only one you could argue that we may have won, and I don't think the politicians or news media can claim much credit for that one.

I will not plan on visiting this otherwise great memorial, or recommending it until the bust of Stalin is removed, as it dishonors the brave soldiers the memorial is supposed to honor.

Sincerely, Ed Preston

Commentary: We Shouldn’t Bank on Bailouts

The free flow of money is fundamental to our capitalist system and the entrepreneurial spirit that defines America.

Investors vote with their wallets and the best ideas prevail.

However, this only works when the government does not inject itself into otherwise private matters.

Abuses have occurred recently in our financial industry and they must be addressed.

Unfortunately the legislation which House Democrats pushed through last week will only perpetuate mistakes that have already been made. As America continues dealing with the sluggish economy and unemployment hovers around ten percent, the House passed, without my support, the socalled “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act”, which will expand government at the expense of families and small businesses.

Specifically the legislation allows a team of federal bureaucrats to decide if a private business poses a risk to the economy. The legislation would allow the federal government to take over those private businesses and would even give the government the right to sell off the businesses' assets.

While the alleged purpose of this bill is to prevent a concentration of money and power in a small number of large corporations, the bill would have the opposite effect. Knowing that the federal government will swoop in and take over any companies that it deems "too big to fail," creditors and investors will be drawn to lend money to the largest corporations because of the implied guarantee that the federal government will step in to repay these loans. The natural flow of capital will thus be interrupted and flow to the larg-

est corporations rather than to small businesses and entrepreneurs with good ideas, which are the true innovators and job creators of the U.S. economy.

Additionally, the legislation expands the reach of government in the marketplace by creating several new bureaucratic offices and agencies, including a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and an Office of Financial Research. These government offices will have broad authority to impose burdensome regulations on any business that lends money, extends credit, or enters into repayment plans with consumers. These new federal regulations would hit everyone from doctors and hospitals to furniture and department stores.

To address the need for reform of the financial industry, I am a strong supporter of the Consumer Protection and Regulatory Enhancement Act. Rather than guarantee future government bailouts, this legislation would force companies to bear the responsibility of their bad decisions, rather than force taxpayers to pick up the tab. It would do this by creating a new chapter of the bankruptcy code

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to make it more efficient and better suited for resolving these issues. This legislation would also ensure consistent enforcement, accountability and transparency by modernizing the current federal financial regulatory agencies overseeing our nation's financial institutions.

Congress should not be passing over-reaching legislation like the so-called “Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” Instead government must make it possible for small businesses and entrepreneurs to access capital to innovate and create the jobs that are so desperately needed today.

7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 9

Letter: Tech President Charles W. Steger on Passing of George Steinbrenner We are saddened at the passing of George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees.

While Mr. Steinbrenner will certainly be remembered for his almost four decade long ownership of the baseball marquee Yankees and their seven World Series rings, we will remember him for his graciousness and generosity after the tragedy of April 16, 2007.

He reached out to our community in its time of need and suffering. He donated $1 million to the nascent Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund ­ a spontaneous fund of donations ultimately totaling more than $10 million. He invited the

Virginia Tech Police and Rescue Squad departments and me to Yankee Stadium in May 2007 lifting the spirits of Virginia Tech Hokies around the world. And he sent THE New York Yankees to Blacksburg in March 2008 for an exhibition game against the Hokies.

While that match was no match, it exemplified Steinbrenner’s huge heart and passion for helping others ….and helping this community to heal.

- Charles W. Steger

Letter: Bestpitch Was Pitching The Right Balls Dear Editor,

As has been the practise, taxes were due this past June 1st but unfortunately, many elderly and retired who live and depend on their Social Security Check do not have these funds at the end of the month. Social Security checks are debited to ones checking account on the 3rd of the month.

Those who are forced to wait and pay three or four days late are then hit with and additional late fee.

My suggestion to council was, "why couldn't the due date fall on the 5th of the month? Would it really effect accounting that much? Why not write into law or code a five day grace period with no late fees involved. The matter was referred for review and I hope will come up for approval at a future meeting.

I would like to thank Valerie Garner for her fine coverage of our new council's first meeting.

Over the years some us have never let up on the issue of holding work sessions downstairs in what is a most inadequate room. We have long pushed for such sessions to be more up front, out in the open and held in council chambers. An even worse situation has been public briefings that are listed on the council agenda and then at the last minute moved into the conference room - out of sight and behind doors from the viewing public.

Mr. Bestpitch is to be commended for his effort on all fronts for more transparency. What was not reported, however, was Mr. Bestpitch's bringing up of my request to council to change the due date of property taxes. The public should be aware of this suggestion in case they desire to give council needed feed back or opinion on this matter.

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Valley Business

Page 10 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/16/10 - 7/22/10

Economic Development Team Lands $4.7 Million Grant Twenty-five partners in a Virginia Tech-led team will help make regional health care workers proficient in the new world of electronic medical records.

Under a $4.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, the team drawn from industry, academia, and government will focus health information technology (IT) training in communities hard hit by job losses in Southwest Virginia.

"This grant is exciting for several reasons," said John Provo, interim director of Virginia Techs Office of Economic Development.” First, this grant will train health care professionals and help advance the application of medical IT throughout the region. Second, the grant will provide employment opportunities for displaced and underemployed workers and open the door to new career opportunities" Called HITE, for Health In-

formation Technology Education, the initiative will target health care workers in nursing, pharmacy, and medical-assistant fields.

The lead applicant on the grant is Virginia Highlands Community College in Abingdon. Other community college partners are Mountain Empire, Southwest Virginia, New River, and Virginia Western in Roanoke. Faculty at the University of Virginia at Wise will support curricula development needs and provide program guidance.

"Key to the projects success is partnership with local health care providers sharing input with the curriculum development advisory committee," Provo said.

Industry partners include Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) hospitals, Carilion Clinic and Buchanan General Hospital among several others.

Each hospital and health sys-

John Provo tem is in various stages of implementing an electronic medical records system, and many will benefit from having employees trained under the grant.

The regions three Workforce Investment Boards in Roanoke, Dublin, and Lebanon will provide recruitment, assessment, job placement, and other services for the project.

City to Co-Sponsor Tax Workshop for Business Owners The City of Roanoke will be a co-sponsor for the event "Taxes in Business Workshop: Learn the What, When and Why" on Wednesday, Aug. 4, from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at Virginia Western Community College. The site for this event will be Virginia Western's Natural Science Center, near the Community Arboretum greenhouse.

Presented by the Virginia Department of Business Assis-

tance (VDBA), this workshop is for both new and seasoned Roanoke business owners, and is designed to help participants understand local and state tax responsibilities. Presenters will outline various business tax requirements and their purpose, the impact of delinquent taxes on a business, and basic business principals to help manage a business more efficiently. Participants will also have a chance

to meet one-on-one with tax and business advisors.

The workshop is free, but advance registration is required.

Please visit www.vastartup.org and click on Events. For more information, contact Sandy Ratliff, VDBA Business Services Manager, at 276-676-3768 or sandy. ratliff@vdba.virginia.gov.

Salem Fair Draws Record Crowds

The Salem Fair closed down on Sunday night, but not before posting gains in attendance and revenue for the second straight year. Fair Manager, Carey Harveycutter, says attendance for this year’s event was up 9 percent over 2009's figures as more than 300,000 folks toured the fair's 14-acre midway at some point during its 11-day run at the Taliaferro Complex.

“We’re very gratified that we had this increase in attendance, and I think a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that we didn’t raise any prices on the ride wristbands in an effort to keep things affordable.” says

Harveycutter.

The opening night of the fair was actually down slightly when compared to a year ago, but attendance picked up considerably leading into and during the Fourth of July weekend. Had it not been for record heat on several days and two nights of rain the gains in attendance would easily have been more than 1520 percent.

“We think our very aggressive pricing on carnival rides played a big part in this spike,” says Harveycutter. “We also extended ourselves a bit this year with advertising that attracted people from West Virginia,

North Carolina, Richmond and Charlottesville.”

Gross receipts for rides were also up almost 10 percent over 2009, as this year’s fairgoers willingly gave up more than $800,000 to enjoy the 42 different rides on the midway.

“I think when you offer a quality product like Deggeller Attractions does, the public will respond,” says Harveycutter.

“People are looking for worthwhile things to spend their money on close to home and the Salem Fair once again offered a lot of folks an entertainment outlet to do just that.”

NewsRoanoke.com

Jewells Sells Jewelry, But Feels More Like Family

There is one highly specialized laser welder in Roanoke that is not found in a machine shop or at a construction site, but is carefully ensconced in what might seem an unlikely location – Jewells Fine Jewelry on Franklin Road. It is an expensive and revolutionary piece of equipment that is redefining the art of jewelry repair. It is perhaps fitting that it resides at Jewells, as the store has a strong reputation of working to make their customers feel like royalty by providing outstanding merchandise and service. But what really makes the store an attraction, and causes customers to keep coming back, is the relationship they have with the store’s staff.

Owner Katharine Wells, who has lived in Roanoke “forever,” has been in the jewelry business since she was 15 years old and started working for a local jeweler. She first handled small tasks such as replacing watch batteries and stringing gold beads, back when they were all the rage. She learned to size rings, solder chains, and eventually travelled to take GIA (Gemological Institute of America) classes until she was able to do all repair work – becoming a full-fledged bench jeweler.

After marrying and having children, Wells spent many years doing jewelry repair work out of her home Store Manager Marie Pugh, who has worked at Jewell’s for almost three years, is warm and welcoming to everyone who comes in, whether they are there to look at merchandise or just to stop in to say hello. She is quick to give Wells the credit for the business’ ability to grow, especially during the last few years of a tough economy: “I think Katharine adds such a personal touch. She wants everyone to be perfectly happy and if they’re not, she’ll make them happy When Wells was able to pursue her dream of starting a jewelry business, she originally opened a location on Brandon Avenue on a small budget but with a lot of determination, and the help of friends who helped decorate and furnish the shop.

About a year later, while shopping for a safe, Wells found one for sale in the store’s current location.

She asked the landlord to hold it as she needed to make arrangements with movers to relocate the safe to her shop. Jokingly, she told him that she could avoid all the hassle of moving the heavy safe and just “rent the space [which was open] instead.”

He responded that since she owned the safe, he’d give her first dibs. Wells called her husband right away, who didn’t hesitate when he said “I’d rather move the store than the safe.” The end result was a decision to move which “was a fluke really.”

After moving to the current location in 2004, Wells was later able to double the square footage when a neighboring tenant moved out. The store was completely renovated and updated two years ago to its current fresh and open floor plan.

Wells isn’t exactly comfortable taking credit for her business’s success; she is adamant that it is a shared effort. She calls the store’s Jeweler, Paul Ware, “the star of the show. There is nothing he

Photo by Cheryl Hodges

Paul Ware and Katharine Wells. can’t do.” They originally met through a mutual friend and she knew he was the right one for the store. She says that it was hard asking someone to join in a new business which wasn’t completely established, and she didn’t want to pressure him, but once he joined the business, neither has looked back.

They both share the same philosophy about running a business – they believe in total integrity and treating customers as they would want to be treated. He adds that it was Wells, and her personality that won him over to join the business; “I knew she was going to be successful.”

Ware, who also waits on customers, says that is one of the unique things that Jewells offers. According to Ware, “I can come out of the back, and talk about the repair; in many other stores, the jeweler is inaccessible – they are in the basement or a loft somewhere.” He points out that it makes the whole process a lot easier in the end Ware is a big fan of the technology he works with. He says, “I can repair or weld a ring while holding the ring in my hands. The biggest advantage is that I can do a job that even after 30 years of expertise I couldn’t do – mostly because of the heat a torch would use.” The state of the art laser welder means that they can also now repair costume jewelry, “your Grandma’s jewelry – even sterling silver with stones can be repaired.” They routinely fix several pairs of metal eyeglasses a week that previously had to be thrown out and replaced.

The family atmosphere at Jewells complements the professional service they are committed to… but it is the family emphasis that makes the place.

Wells gets a bit emotional when relaying that she has been in the business long enough to be serving the next generation -- daughters of some of her customers. Every now and then, a daughter has brought in a piece of her mother’s (now deceased) that Wells can remember making for that mom. That shared moment is what it’s all about.

Jewells is located at 3741 Franklin Road, SW. Hours are M-F 10-6; Sat. 10-4 Call 540-345-3564 or visit jewellsfinejewelry. com for more information.

By Cheryl Hodges info@newsroanoke.com

Friendship Administrator Dyes Hair Pink Tony Kelly, administrator of Friendship's Health and Rehab Center, promised to dye his hair pink if the Relay for Life team at Friendship Retirement Community met its fund-raising goal. The team exceeded the goal, raising $6,200 on top of a Friendship corporate gift of $2,500.

Friendship held a breakfast celebration this week to thank all who participated in Relay for Life and watched Kelly's hair go pink!

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Arts & Culture

NewsRoanoke.com

Radford Professor Delves Into His Favorite Subject: Dogs A new book out by a Radford University professor and noted dog expert further delves into the social bond between humans and man’s best friend.

“Dogs: Domestication and the Development of a Social Bond,”

by Darcy Morey, traces the evolution of the dog from some 15,000 years ago to the present day.

“The dog/human relationship is … I think it’s a pretty amazing thing,” according to Morey.

“For people to relate to a nonhuman animal the way they relate to dogs is, in an evolutionary sense, an amazing thing.”

Morey says there’s a symbiotic relationship in the social bond between the two species.

“Dogs benefit in the terms of sheer numbers … People benefit in a variety of ways, whether it’s a positive impact on hunting strategies, their role in transportation, that sort of thing.”

Why did the earliest humans domesticate dogs and not some other animal? “Domestic relationships are not restricted to human beings. You can just as easily ask whether ants domesticated aphids or aphids domesticated ants.”

“Obviously there are any number of other animals that can be considered domesticates as far as people are concerned.

But considering how any given domestic relationship was started, you need to consider each animal separately. There’s not one size fits all.”

Morey describes himself as a “dog person,” although he grew up with a house cat. He says there’s definitely a difference between the way people interact with dogs and the way they interact with cats. “Dogs have a really distinctive relationship with people. Cats have their own kind of distinctive relationship with people, too, but it’s different from dogs.”

“People relate to dogs very much like other people. I don’t think that’s the way they relate to cats. Cats tend to be solitary and they tend to be pretty nocturnal, so they’re relatively self sufficient. Still, a good many people find them pretty pleasing to have around, and that’s especially true if they’re individually affectionate, which they can be.

But dogs have so many humanlike qualities that it’s much like having a person there some-

Jerry Castle will perform Friday July 27th.

McCrary Sisters (Bob Dylan, Buddy& Julie Miller, Jim Lauderdale), Jefferson Crow (Radney Foster, Gary Allan), Molly Thomas (Todd Snider) and Amanda Shires.

Don’t Even Ask is a reflection of a man begging questions in the middle of life’s ups and downs pushing listeners inside themselves to ask their own questions. The album touches on some of life’s darker subjects: paranoia, addiction, fear, anger and pain are brilliantly balanced with personal triumph, love, confidence and joy. This is the record of a man who went on a search for himself and somewhere along the way actually found him, and in the making of the album it would seem Castle learned a few lessons of his own: :"follow your gut... and don’t even ask."

For more information visit: jerrycastle.com

Roanoke Symphony Orchestra Announces New Officers and Directors

The following Board appointments have been made by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra: Wendy Moore, former Vice President of the Board will now fills the position of President of the Board. Wendy brings her experience as a Fundraising Consultant as well as experience in profit management.

Joseph Ferguson, retiree of IBM, Inc. and former Secretary of the RSO Board is President Elect. Fulton Galer of McLeod and Co. in Roanoke will remain on the Board of Directors as Treasurer. James McAden of Balzer and Associates begins his first term as Secretary.

The RSO has also announced new Board Members: Helen Dean, community volunteer and past recipient of the annual Golden Halo award of the Roanoke Valley; Robert J. Werner, retired Dean of the Cincin-

nati Conservatory of Music and former member of the Board of Trustees for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; and the Reverend Barkley Thompson, Rector of St. John's Episcopal

Lost Souls On Display At The Jefferson Center

Those who don’t frequent the Jefferson Center and Shaftman Performance Hall may not realize that the hallways outside the concert venue and offices also double as an art gallery. Various artists and student groups have exhibited there over the past few years, and now a new show that runs through July 28 has made its debut. “LoLo Monae presents [the] Gang of Lost Souls,” opened with a reception last weekend.

A box of old stuffed toys inspired the name Gang of Lost Souls; last year a group of artists exhibited at the Jefferson Center under that name in conjunction with a play staged by the GAMUT troupe in the rehearsal hall behind the Shaftman main stage. “Its kind of like Toy Story,” said Monae, referring to the misfit toys in that blockbuster movie.

Monae (real name Lloyd Wiser) works behind the scenes at the Jefferson Center, operating equipment during performances. With the summer months almost completely dark at the entertainment complex, Monae, a hip hop/graffiti/tattoo fan and an artist himself who favors collages, figured it was a good time to mount an exhibition.

In the past, groups like the League of Roanoke Artists and local high schools have exhibited in the Jefferson Center hallways. “A lot of kids are involved – and that’s what is really cool about Jefferson Center,” said Monae.

Monae invited several dozen of his creative friends and acquaintances, using Facebook as a platform to call for entries. “Lost Souls” works are

By Beverly Amsler for sale, contact Jefferson Center office personnel info@newsroanoke.com (suite 221) about a purchase.

There is no theme to the current Lost Souls

times.”

One chapter of the book is devoted to dog burials. Morey says the earliest humans buried their dogs because they were treating them like people, an extension of the family bond.

“They sometimes buried them with people. The point has been made in some of the original reports from a good many years ago, that dogs in certain areas were buried, curled up in kind of a sleeping position, and you can just see that from the photographs of them.” People thought the dogs would join them in the afterlife.

Morey is a member of the Radford University Forensic Science Institute research faculty. He published his first paper on dogs as a graduate student in 1986, and did his doctoral dissertation several years later on the evolution of the domestic dog. He is considered by many to be one of the world’s leading experts on the evolution of dogs.

Nashville Artist Coming to Roanoke Jerry Castle will be at Kirk Avenue Music Hall on July 24th playing and promoting his new album "Don’t Even Ask." Castle claims to still believe that “songwriting, should be magical, not contrived" and according to recent reviews “Don’t Even Ask,” (his sophomore release due July 27), is a perfect manifestation of that theory: "A whole lot of rock ‘n’ roll wrapped in a whole lot of country."

“Don’t Even Ask” is born of a man in a whirlwind of huge life changes: a new father, a corporate career, a recent divorce, Castle found himself reaching out for something solid to hold on to as he returned to his life-long passion of song-writing. The songs that began to pour out of him were layered with the same texture, grit and honest emotion as his life.

In the summer of 2009, at the suggestion of friends and music industry insiders who had heard a handful of the new songs that he had written, Castle headed into Curt Perkins’ Electric Avenue Studio in East Nashville with Chad Brown (Jim Lauderdale, Ryan Adams, Bob Segar), Fred Eltringham (Wallflowers, Dixie Chicks, Ben Kweller) and James Haggerty (Josh Rouse, Joe Marcs Brother) with the intent to record some demos to shop. But during the recording, Jerry had a personal and creative epiphany and it was there in the studio that his new CD was born.

In January, Jerry returned to the studio with a star-studded line-up of Nashville A-listers including: Audley Freed (Black Crowes, Dixie Chicks, Peter Frampton), Doug Lancio (Patty Griffin, Steve Earle, John Hiatt), Brad Pemberton (Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, Brendan Benson), The

7/16/10 - 7/22/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 11

Church in Roanoke. The RSO has also announced the appointment of C.W. Markham to the staff in the position of Development Director.

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Christopher Jone’s work, “Queen Anne Kudzu.” show said Monae, instead it is an exhibit that features “a variety of age groups and [artistic skill] levels. Its basically for anyone who appreciates art.”

More than 50 artists and 160-plus pieces were on display opening night. A few well-known names like Ann Glover are taking part – as is Charles “Chicken Man” Cullen, the cable access TV maven, and many lesser-known artists.

Normally the hallways “are empty” in July noted Monae; Jefferson Center management was receptive to his pitch for a show. There are other benefits as well: “this is my way to meet new people and hang out with my friends.” 100 or more of his friends showed up last Saturday for the opening reception, the biggest ever for Monae’s Gang of Lost Souls shows.

By Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net

Page 12 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/16/10 - 7/22/10

NewsRoanoke.com

> Down By The River cold beverages helped keep people somewhat cool until the sun went down, just as Trucks and Tedeschi took to the stage.

Net proceeds from Down By The River are earmarked for the Music Lab at the Jefferson Center, which is also supported by the Kirk Avenue Music Hall.

That’s where promoter Gary Jackson does most of his work.

Chris Stup, who oversees the Music Lab, said the amount donated “depends on the success of this show.”

The goal of the lab is “raising up young musicians here in Roanoke, equipping them with the skills necessary and furthering their development with whatever they are choosing to pursue in terms of music,” added Stup.

Several adult learning courses, coordinated through Vir-

ginia Western, are also taught at the Music Lab which can be rented (after local high school and middle school students go home) for recording sessions.

Stup was pleased to see so many people turn out for Down By The River, “I don’t think there’s a better use for this space right here. The energy has been great.”

There is more music to come at Elmwood Park this Saturday (July 17, beginning at noon) when the 5th annual Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Festival takes place. Matt “Guitar” Murphy of the Blues Brothers will headline, with his group the Nouveaux Honkies. Labron Lazenby and L.A. 3 and Sean Chambers will also perform, with the three groups taking to the stage after 6pm.

From page 1

The Blue Ridge Blues Society will also hold its annual contest for upcoming blues groups, with the winner representing the organization at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis next year.

Festival founder, Kerry Hurley said, Guitar Murphy is also remembered “for all of the Chess Records that he was part of back in the day.” Lazenby’s band is “really incredible too.”

Hurley, also president of the Blue Ridge Blues Society, said he was “tickled to death,” about the growing popularity of the genre in Roanoke. “That’s part of our mission, to spread the word about how wonderful this music is.”

Hurley was selling tickets at a booth during Down By the River. Having more music festivals in the valley “helps all of us. The more stuff we can do like this …the powers that be will realize we need more of this stuff. It keeps people happy” Tickets are $20 at the gate and $15 in advance (Jefferson Center, Fret Mill) for the Blue Ridge Blues and BBQ Festival; Henry’s Memphis Barbecue will supply the food.

By Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net

Photos by Stuart Revercomb

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