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July 24 - July 30, 2009

Community | News | Per spective

TheRoanokeStar.com

One Million Approved For Flood Control Project New Ideas P3– Democratic candidate Creigh Deeds was in Roanoke earlier this week to announce his new economic plan.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte has announced that the House of Representatives approved $1.075 million for the flood control project on the Roanoke River. The funding was included in the FY 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Act. The Roanoke Flood Control Project, an undertaking of the Army Corps of Engineers, includes about 6.2 miles of channel widening along the 10-mile project that will reach through the City of Roanoke and will include construction of a recreation-

al and environmentally beneficial The flood-control project will be greenway along the entire length of built in several phases. The first the Roanoke River through the City phase which has been completed of Roanoke. runs from the regional sewage treat“The House passage of this criti- ment plant in Southeast Roanoke cal legislation is another and up the river toward huge victory for Roanoke. Wasena Park. A ground Roanoke River Pending Senate approval, breaking ceremony for this the funding included in phase was held in October the FY 2010 Energy and Water Ap- 2005 at the 9th Street Bridge located propriations Act brings the total to in Southeast Roanoke. The remainover $35 million that the Congress ing phase will run from Wasena Park has appropriated for the flood con- to the Salem City line. Goodlatte continued, “Numerous trol project thus far,” Goodlatte said.

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times in our city’s history the River has spilled over her banks destroying property and sometimes taking lives. This comprehensive flood control plan will ultimately protect lives and property and this funding will ensure the project continues moving forward.” The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010 will now be referred to the U.S. Senate for further consideration.

[Local Outreach]

Clearbrook Wal-Mart Plans Unfold

Council Tables Amphitheater; Lisk Honored

Roanoke and Chilean Youth Make Big Impact in Virginia

Cave Spring named Top-100 Place to Live Brian Gottstein

Government Muddle P5– Gottstein reports that Governor Kaine changes tack in response to Ken Cuccinelli’s proposal.

Stuart Revercomb

Almost Young P7– Tom Watson and Lance Armstrong almost carry the day for the over-35ers among us.

C a v e Spring Supervisor Charlotte Moore addressed the Clearbrook Civic League last week about several issues, Photo by Gene Marrano including Charlotte Moore the Super cleans up. Wa l - M a r t slated for that southwest Roanoke County neighborhood. Moore had a meeting with Wal-Mart representatives and Roanoke County staffers last week. “Roanoke County staff has given them a list of proffers that need to be met before a building permit can be issued,” said Moore. Development plans haven’t been submitted yet. Buck Mountain Road and Stable Road will be aligned at the stoplight on Rt. 220 but Buck Mountain will not be improved at this time, said Moore. The possibility of installing > CONTINUED P3: County Notes

Gwen Mason discusses her reason for voting against a new amphitheater.

Photo by Paola Frantz

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Impact Tour founder Miguel Hernandez greets visitors at one of the group’s outreach gatherings in a Richmond neighborhood last week.

F

or many people, the phrase “youth group mission trip” usually conjures up visions of young people leaving home and traveling to work, minister and worship somewhere far away, often in a foreign country. This summer, members of the student ministry of Roanoke’s Church of the Holy

Roanoke City Council had second thoughts Monday, voting to remove the Elmwood Park Amphitheater from its capital project list. Not long ago it had appropriated $1.2 million in funds for an engineering study, a precursor to the $13 million project itself. Councilman Court Rosen had asked council to reconsider the recent vote to move ahead, something he also discussed on his blog. “I simply do not believe that Roanoke can afford City Notes such a luxury at this time,” he wrote several weeks ago. By a 4-2 vote, council voted Monday to table the Elmwood Park project for now. Mayor David Bowers, who, along with Rupert Cutler, were the only

Spirit have turned that model on its head. Partnering with a group of Chilean students whose mission field is Virginia, they have spent the past two weeks ministering to those in their own backyards, participating in what is known as the “Impact Tour – I Love Virginia!”

]

> CONTINUED P3: City Notes

> CONTINUED P2: Impact

Ware’s Campaign Finance Issues Rest with Attorney General’s Office

Fiddle Festive P9– Fiddlefest returns to Roanoke with an innovative mix of old and new features.

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Scrutiny of incumbent Delegate Onzlee Ware’s (11th District) campaign expenditures continues at the Virginia State Board of Elections (SBE) in Richmond. A hearing was scheduled for July 10 but has been postponed. According to James Alcorn, Policy Advisor with the SBE, James Hopper (Senior Attorney General) acts as advisor to the SBE. An issue-by-issue analysis of relevant facts regarding Ware’s campaign finances was sent to Hopper. Alcorn’s July 5 email, obtained by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), revealed that a letter was sent to the State’s Attorney’s office pointing out that it contains “all the issues, even if the recommendation is that the issue is outside of our authority.” The letter itself is exempt from FOI due to the attorney/client privilege. Questions arose when Mark Powell, campaign manager for Democratic primary opponent Martin Jeffrey, submitted a complaint to the SBE in a letter dated May 19. Issues of Ware’s campaign ethics became the focal point of Jeffrey’s unsuccessful campaign. The June 9 primary results were heavily in Ware’s favor but the scrutiny of his campaign finances did not end there. State Board of Elections Campaign Finance Manager David Allen, in a June

Photo by Valerie Garner

Onzlee Ware and Mark Powell during a less controversial moment. 10 certified letter identifying Powell’s tures. In one instance, a reimbursement complaints, asked Ware for an explana- to “cash” needed to be broken down to tion of expenditures that were listed as include the names and addresses for the “reimbursement.” Allen pointed to the lump sum expenditure. The most recent campaign finance law that states, “In no filing ending in June, has an item under case should the treasurer enthe column “Person or ComOnzlee Ware ter simply ‘reimbursement’ in pany Paid,” listed as “Cash the item or service column.” Withdrawal,” with a bank adAllen also asked Ware for dress in the amount of $1,300 missing addresses related to the expendi- for “flushers” and poll workers. This is

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the same issue Ware was asked to correct in a previous filing. In several instances amounts reimbursed to Ware were in whole numbers. Allen stated that the number of reimbursements in rounded amounts of $300 and $500 was suspicious. Ware had until June 22 to file amendments, along with receipts. The Roanoke attorney has hired Chris Piper, former head of the state board’s campaign finance division and now a political reports analyst at the Washington, DC law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. In a July 2 email Lawrence Noble, an attorney with the firm, was questioning the authority of the SBE and its process of handling complaints. Complaints to the SBE must be received 21 days after the filing deadline to qualify for an amendment, but Ware has amended his filing for full-year 2009. All amendments have now been filed and receipts have been received for 2009. Virginia’s Attorney General office is continuing its review and will communicate any findings at the next Board of Elections meeting. Whether the State’s Attorney will recommend investigation remains to be seen. The SBE staff hopes the conclusion brings clarity to the “gray > CONTINUED P3: Ware

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Page 2 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/24/09 - 7/30/09

TheRoanokeStar.com

> Impact From page 1

The lingering showers should end Thursday night, with a nice day in store for Friday. Look for a mix of sun and clouds and with highs in the middle 80s. Friday night: low around 64. Saturday looks a little better than Sunday for outdoor plans with very warm (if not hot!) temperatures in the upper 80s to near 90. There is a slight chance for a late-day t-shower. Low Saturday Night around 67 Sunday skies will likely be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms possible and a bit cooler with highs in the middle 80s. Low Sunday Night of 67.

After spending last week sharing their message of hope and love in Richmond, the local youth group is hosting the group of youth and their leaders from Santiago, Chile. They are leading outreach events locally at the Valley View Wal-Mart, Tanglewood Mall, and the Williamson Road Library. The weeklong mission outreach in Roanoke culminates Friday night (July 24) in a free community concert in Elmwood Park that will feature a cross-cultural mix of music and entertainment including Latin, hip-hop and praise music, a step team, a dramatic presentation and multi-lingual speakers. The group is made up of youth and leaders from the Santiago, Chile, branch of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), an international Christian outreach organization; the student ministry of Church of the Holy Spirit (CHS); and the North Roanoke Baptist Hispanic church plant, Convivencia Familiar Chrisiana. According to Angela Natt, CHS’s minister to students, the

concert is designed to foster an environment for united worship and reach across language, culture, age and denomination barriers. “The message we hope to ring out from the epicenter of our community: ‘God loves Roanoke and God loves YOU’,� Natt writes in her invitation letter. “People get a lot of ‘religion,’ not a lot of love,� she said. The free concert will feature three worship bands with distinctly different cultural worship styles, incorporating dance and drama. Natt promises food vendors, gifts, give-a-ways and an over-all spirit of celebration. “Most of all, we want to bless God’s heart as we unify and take the incredible Gospel we have been entrusted with to the streets of our city,� Natt said. Student ministry leaders from CHS developed a relationship with the group of Chilean missionaries over the past seven years. While members from the Roanoke church have traveled to Chile several times over that time, this is the first trip for the Chileans to visit and minister in

Photo by Pam Rickard

Angela Natt, Student Ministry Leader at Roanoke’s Church of the Holy Spirit (far left), leads a group of students from Roanoke and Santiago, Chile, in prayer at a meeting in downtown Roanoke Tuesday. Roanoke. The “Impact Tour� was birthed from a vision given to Miguel Hernandez, who works with YWAM in Santiago. “I really believe there is a lonely generation [out there today] with great potential. They are desperate; it’s like they are

wearing t-shirts asking, ‘can you love me?� Hernandez said after a time of prayer and worship in downtown Roanoke Tuesday. For more information, contact Angela Natt at Church of the Holy Spirit, 540-772-4915 By Pam Rickard pam@theroanokestar.com

Supremacist Bill White Freed in Chicago A federal judge in Chicago has dismissed a charge of threatening a juror against Bill White. The Roanoke based white supremacist (and residential property landlord) has been in federal custody since last October, when a Chicago federal grand jury indicted him for an alleged on-line threat against a juror in the 2003 Matthew Hale trial. The jury sentenced Hale, a fellow white supremacist, to 40 years in&''()*+(,-'. prison for trying to hire a hit man to kill a federal judge presiding/0''123 over a civil trial in which Hale’s group was involved. The same judge, Joan Lefkow, lost her husband and mother in 2005, both shot

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My withdrawal is necessitated by the need to implement rural healthcare research this fall in five rural counties in Virginia and complete my doctoral studies. But the vision continues. I am committed to working hard for this candidate in order to ensure change in November. I have greatly enjoyed the campaign and deeply appreciate the support of so many people who are excited by this promise of change. I look forward to the 8th District campaign as it continues.� Whomever the Democrats nominate faces a tough challenge – Griffith is the House Majority Leader in the Virginia General Assembly, in a Roanoke Valley district (Salem, part of Roanoke County) that tilts Republican.

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7/24/09 - 7/30/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 3

Deeds Releases Plan To Jump Start Virginia’s Economy Democratic candidate for governor Creigh Deeds was in Roanoke earlier this week to announce a comprehensive plan he claimed would create jobs and renew Virginia’s economy. It includes targeted tax cuts for small businesses, partnerships to generate new jobs in the alternative energy industry and initiatives to jump-start an economic recovery in rural regions. “Energy technology is the future,� said Deeds at the news conference. Speaking at the State & City Building on Campbell Avenue, which was remodeled to LEED standards, Deeds was accompanied by U.S. Senator Mark Warner. Deeds also appealed for a common sense approach to solve Virginia’s statewide trans-

Creigh Deeds (left) and Mark Warner talk about Deeds’ “Jumpstart� plan.

> Ware

portation challenges via bipartisan leadership. The 100-year-old State & City retail/office/residential complex was the first building in the Roanoke and New River Valleys to receive the U.S. Green Building Council’s prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environment Design certification. It is one of the first buildings in Virginia

to combine LEED-certification and historic preservation. The “Deeds Plan to Jump Start the Economy� targets additional resources for worker training and education, including a health care option for the temporarily unemployed and new tools to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. It also commits to expand access to broadband and wireless communications to the entire state. “Our plan will jumpstart our economy, create jobs, reduce taxes on small businesses and position Virginia to succeed and win in a new economy once we recover from this challenging time,� Deeds said. “This plan also provides targeted resources to help families facing unemployment, workers in need of job training, and stu-

dents interested in high-wage, high-demand jobs.� Warner, who won high marks during his 2002-06 term as governor for his focus on increasing educational and economic opportunities across the Commonwealth, said, “Virginia led the nation in telecom in the 1980’s; we helped lead the Internet revolution during the 1990’s, and I firmly believe that the next generation of jobs and wealth will be found in the ‘green’ economy.� “[Deeds] has put together a road map that allows Virginia to grasp that opportunity and take advantage of all of those possibilities if we prepare Virginians to take a leadership role in the alternative energy field,� Warner added. The Deeds plan includes giv-

From page 1

areas� they struggle with now. Allen complains they are understaffed and those gray areas in campaign finance law make interpretation difficult. One example he gave was the definition of “personal use� of campaign funds. Ware has used his campaign funds for the Juneteenth celebration in Roanoke, paying TAP and a Juneteenth coordinator from his campaign funds.

Ware told Allen he planned to repay his campaign fund with the proceeds from the event. In addition, a $300 application in December 2008 for 501(3)Š status (for Juneteenth) was filed using campaign funds. Both candidates for Virginia Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli and Steve Shannon, confirmed Allen’s assertion that “disclosureâ€? is the means by

which voters can judge candidates’ use of campaign funds. Cuccinelli said that the Attorney General should be consulted for any gray areas. The State Board of Elections has a website where citizens can look up their representative’s contributors and expenditures, at www.sbe.virginia.gov. The Virginia Public Access Project at www.vpap.org is another

> City Notes

source. It is a non-profit group that sheds light on how money plays a role in Virginia politics. It’s all about disclosure, says Allen and Alcorn. Ware plans to introduce a bill in the next session of the General Assembly that would require bank statements and receipts be remitted a month following the filing deadline. By Valerie Garner Valerie.Garner@cox.net

ing tax credits to businesses that create jobs, offering loan guarantees for Virginia community college students, building a Virtual Energy Research Triangle to coordinate R&D in green

energy industries and developing high-speed rail, while also expanding traditional freight and passenger rail. By Gene Marrano

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council members to vote against the motion to table the proposal said the on-again, off-again vote “harkens back to [the debate over] Victory Stadium.â€? David Trinkle, who was unable to vote while away on vacation and has championed the cause of an outdoor facility to serve Roanoke, was clearly shocked and dismayed by the Council’s action in his absence. Although Trinkle himself took the same tact when calling for a vote on the proposed Riverside amphitheater location when then Councilman Brian Wishneff, who opposed that site, was absent. In response to this week’s vote Trinkle stated, “Two weeks ago the A and E design phase for an amphitheater was approved 6-1; today without any new information and in my long planned absence it was voted down 4-2. I am disappointed that it won’t happen but I am also disappointed that my colleagues on city council who had promised me they would table it so we could ALL be present to debate it did not do so . . . If I knew then what I know now, I honestly do not believe I would support the tearing down of the obsolete Victory Stadium. If I knew how hard it was to start bold capital improvement projects in Roanoke, I would have supported a renovation of Victory Stadium to present day usage- namely an outdoor performing arts venue. I ran- with current council member Mrs. Mason on this issue. I supported Mr. Rosen and Vice Mayor Lea who said they supported the concept. Kudos to our leaders from long ago who actually built a 20,000 seat stadium that was well used and had an economic impact for decades.â€? At a news conference on Tuesday, Councilwoman Gwen Mason defended the councils decision to vote saying that Trinkles presence,â€? would have just resulted in a 4-3 vote in lieu of a 4-2 vote.â€? Rosen simply stated that moving ahead with the amphitheater at this point in time was, “not in the best interest of the taxpayers‌ people are struggling out there.â€?

Lisk honored: “He gave up a job to remain in Roanoke and gave up his ascension to mayor in order to promote racial healing.â€? Those were some of the remarks made about the late David Lisk, a former Roanoke City Councilman and past executive director of Roanoke’s Sister Cities organization. Lisk, who passed away in late May, was honored with a resolution Monday. Lisk’s son, Tim, and members of the Roanoke Kiwanis Club – Lisk was a faithful attendee, were also on hand. A pilot/flight instructor in the U.S. Air Force, David Lisk came to Roanoke in the early 1950’s and never left, even foregoing a job with Burlington Industries when they wanted to transfer him out of town. He was “known for his outspoken advocacy,â€? read the resolution passed by City Council. “I certainly learned a lot from him,â€? said council member Gwen Mason, who noted that until Lisk fell ill, “he was there,â€? at numerous local civic events. Mayor David Bowers ticked off a list of Lisk’s accomplishments: he helped found the civilian police department, he worked with more than a dozen non-profit local agencies, and he “embraced‌ the Sister Cities International movement.â€? In 1965 he helped Wonju, South Korea, become Roanoke’s first Sister City. “Mr. Lisk never gave up his dream,â€? said councilman Rupert Cutler. His “final vision,â€? added Cutler, was the new “Sister Cities Corridorâ€? at the Roanoke Civic Center. When Mayor Roy L. Weber died suddenly in 1974, then-Vice Mayor Lisk was in line to succeed him. Instead, Lisk stepped aside, allowing Noel C. Taylor to become Roanoke’s first African-American mayor.Bowers characterized Lisk’s gesture, which paved the way for Taylor’s 17-year tenure, as “very noble.â€? By Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net

> County Notes ers for volunteers that would augment the career staff: “Due to non-activity by volunteers, Roanoke County has no choice but to formally disband the volunteer fire department,â€? Moore said earlier this week. The first term supervisor also informed civic league members that the Cave Spring area had just been voted one of the top 100 best places to live in the USA by Money Magazine.  â€œI wasn’t surprised about the study,â€? said Moore, a Cave Spring native. “I’ve always thought that we live in one of the most beautiful

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From page 1

a turn lane in front of the residents who live along Route 220 southbound was discussed at the Civic League meeting. (WalMart planned to close on all of the properties it needed by midJuly, noted Moore.) The proposed completion of the store will be either the summer of 2010 or the spring of 2011. During an earlier Clearbrook Civic League meeting, Moore discussed the possibility of recruiting volunteers for the Clearbrook Fire Department, which just ended a joint operating agreement with Roanoke City. But Moore found few tak-

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places in the world. I was very pleased to know that we had made the top 100 list.  Our community is very clean, has great economic growth, gorgeous mountains, and is conveniently located near shopping, schools, restaurants and recreation areas. We are close to Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia Tech and The Blue Ridge Parkway.â€?  An outspoken environmental advocate, Moore said, “citizens deserve a lot of credit for helping to keep our valley clean. When they adopt highways and gardens and pick up litter, they show that they really

care in leading by example.â€? Moore wants to do better in the future: “I would like to see our valley maintain its natural beauty, by preserving our water and air quality. I would also like to encourage developers to preserve as much green space as possible, add more sidewalks and walking trails that could possibly extend to our greenways, build sustainable developments and collect water run off.â€? By Gene Marrano

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Page 4 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/24/09 - 7/30/09

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Replacing the Irreplaceable Mom Doesn’t Come Easy

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very family has a member who is the essential cog in the household machine. My mom was that person when I was growing up. Through any crisis situation my mom remained steadfast, without even a hint of panic. Though she often would strike a Machiavellian pose, professing that she "rather be feared than loved," Mom was in fact a softhearted matriarch who loved her brood unconditionally. On several occasions, my mother was briefly hospitalized with chronic lower back problems, leaving my father,

sisters and I to fend for ourselves in her absence. Although a palpable void was apparent to all, everything ran rather smoothly until Mom's return. Like my mom, my wife Janet is the captain of our family vessel and similar to my mom, she runs a tidy ship. A former gymnast who spent years hurling her body hither and yon, Janet also has issues with her lower back which will require surgery within the next few weeks. Unlike my mom, who had four brilliant and capable daughters and a loving husband with an abundance

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of household skills to keep the boat afloat, Janet has only me, my son and three goofy hound dogs to bridge the gap until she regains full mobility. Adrift in uncharted waters and void of any domestic skills, Will and I struggled to decide which one of us was proficient enough to step up and fill Janet's shoes. (Note: Had our dogs been blessed with opposable thumbs we would have invited them into the conversation; however, we felt that we had to draw the line somewhere.). We proceeded to compile a list of "Pros and Cons" describing our strengths and challenges, opting to explore this matter scientifically. My list of "pros" included age and experience and we agreed that Will's "pros" were youth and strength. So much for the short list of positives. The discussion regarding our weaknesses became a lengthy volley with each candidate recalling tales of the others inadequacy. Being male, the first topic we debated was food. Clearly (I thought) I would have an advantage in this category. Aside from a few dishes he can actually create, Will's culinary experiences normally begin

A

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Discs Fast plane Wipe Sixth sense Splits Whiz Spouse Bind Number of times Salem was attacked in the Civil War. 18 Attention-Deficit Disorder (abbr.) 19 Carve

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Find the answers online: TheRoanokeStar.com Have a clue and answer you’d like to see? email: puzzles@theroanokestar.com

of times Salem was

DOWN 1 Which local business says ''If DOWN water runs through it we''ve got 2 3 4

with our hungry boy shouting his order at an electronic menu, and ends by driving to the second window for pickup. Pulling from his historical data bank, Will then reminded me that I was the guy who once set himself on fire while making spaghetti. This was a difficult point to dispute as I had nearly incinerated myself when the bottom of my t-shirt touched the stove eye as I reached for pasta in the cabinet above. As flames rose towards my chin, I discovered the true function of our sink’s sprayer attachment (I always wondered what that thing was for) and doused the inferno inches from my beard. Will: 1, Dad: 0. Cleaning was next on our list, a chore foreign to most men, and Will and I are no exception. If not for Janet, our home would be considered a bio-hazard and would be condemned by the City of Roanoke if the Sheriff ’s deputies could fight their way past a twenty foot ball of dog hair to serve the subpoena. Recalling that Will had once tried to help his Mom clean the house by firing up a gas-powered leaf blower in our living room (and setting off all of our smoke alarms in the process), it be-

came clear that I *Will was in the would be manning number two spot the mop and vacuuntil age five, when um. Will conceded he jumped on the his case without reback of Tara (our buttal. Will: 1, Dad: since departed 1. Coonhound) and The next topic rode her around the considered was dog house like Roy Rogcare and mainteers. nance. To our pack We quibbled on Jon Kaufman Janet is the sun, through the night the moon and the about who would stars. The dogs see Will and handle Janet's work during me more as temporary board- her convalescence yet, in the ers, occupants in the postal end, agreed on only one thing. vernacular. Responding only We concurred that neither one to their mother's voice, Shiloh, of us could handle half of the Roscoe and Mya will often stuff Janet does on a daily baturn a deaf-ear to anyone who sis, and that the scope of her tries to summon their pres- work stretches from the obvience, opting to await official ous chores to the little unseen word from the top. Hounds tasks that both of us have eiare rarely in a hurry which ther never considered or have is precisely the reason I love always taken for granted. them. In comparison my dogs Relax and recover, Janet. make me look "dynamic!" With a little luck and a metaWill argued that he would phorical can of WD-40, the be a better choice for this de- family machine just might tail due to his standing in the survive the calamitous care of household chain of command your two favorite men; howwhich is as follows... ever, I bumped up the hom1. Janet eowners policy just in case. 2. The dogs Rest well. 3. Will* 4. The fish 5. Me (I used to occupy Contact Jon at the sixth slot until the lizards Jon.Kaufman@sprint.com passed away).

The Trouble With Normal: “350” and the Future fter a light spring rain and the passing of not-too-distant thunder overnight, we packed up to head home from Mt. Rogers. Not three miles of hardtop east of our camping spot, we drove through a tenth-of-a-mile stretch where big trees had freshly been twisted and snapped. A small but powerful tornado must have barely missed churning through the middle of the crowded campground where we had spent the night. I was shocked. In central Alabama where I grew up, tornados are normal. But not here! The trouble with norms is that they are simply the peak of a curve, a "measure of central tendency." Today's norms are by no means fixed forever. They can fluctuate towards

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it!'' Pain unit Harpooned What street in Salem has a documented haunted house on it? Compass point Fast movers located in Vinton on Parker Lane. Skit School group Assist Female sheep Affray

drastically greater bed, and our chilor lesser measures dren will lie in it. that would seem At (or slightly inconceivable by beyond) the very current standards. brink of possible As one of my favorcatastrophic shifts ite Bruce Cockburn from normal, we songs from the 70’s are faced now with puts it, "the trouble a grotesque, sciwith normal is it alence-fiction kind of ways gets worse." predicament (this is A few important NOT a test!): we've Fred First things are getting got very little enerworse, and a century's-worth gy currency with which to do of statistical records of heat future business; and we're tipand cold, wind and rainfall ping toward the point of no may be destined for the his- return for global climate distory books. ruption that can turn today's Humankind is facing the norms (and every living and consequences of decades of economic system dependent ignoring or deferring the fu- on them) upside down. ture. We have not possessed But let's gather our wits and the will or wisdom to do what focus. In spite of dire warnseemed so apparent that we ings recently from Nobel must do starting in the earli- laureates meeting on climate est days of our environmental change, there is still a chance consciousness: to live within we can limit average global our means; to accept that warming to not more than 2 there are limits to growth; degrees C. to recognize we will always Granted, this sounds like depend on the soil-water-air such a small change, but more than on Wall Street; to those norms of our ordinary pay as we go with regards to industrial-age biological and natural resource use and to meteorological world that play fair. Now we've made our we've been talking about are very finely tuned, hence our narrow "normals." And we simply must understand that this thermal creep is the single most serious challenge Roanoke has a and threat that humankind Saltwater Fish Store! will have faced in all its his• Large selection • Live corals tory. It's almost impossible • Aquariums & equipment for me wrap my head around • Delivery & set-up • Maintenance for home or business this, but I must. We must. 540-580-7755 1428 Roanoke Road It is possible that if we all (Across from Lord Botetourt High School) act together, we can nudge the enormous atmospheric barge of CO2, alter its forward momentum just enough to divert it from the rocks ahead. We can't stop it cold in its tracks in our lifetimes, T-F 3-7 pm, Sat 12-6 pm, Sun 1-5 and even with extraordinary,

consistent cooperation and common purpose it will take decades to bring CO2 levels back to what most scientists believe to be the balance point: 350 parts per million. Did you know that number? Bill McKibben argues that it is the most important number mankind might ever bring into our common language. Why? Because according to NASA's Jim Hansen and coauthors, "if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm." You will certainly be hearing more about this number in the months ahead. It is an abstraction really. We haven't words big enough to express the magnitude of our predicament. But numbers are universal. This figure will give ordinary people around the globe a common place to look, a common goal to which to insist all world leaders move. And if we can change in that direction, we just might be able to give our children's children a life that is normal--by any recent historical measure. In the concluding words of those same Nobel Laureates I mentioned before: "We know what needs to be done. We cannot wait until it is too late. We cannot wait until what we value most is lost."

Contact Fred at fred1st@gmail.com

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel C o m mu n i t y | N ew s | Pe r s p e c t i ve

1 Which local business says ''If 540-400-0990 Publisher | Stuart Revercomb | stuart@theroanokestar.com water runs through it we''ve got Features Editor | Pam Rickard | pam@theroanokestar.com News Editor | Gene Marrano | gmarrano@cox.net it!'' Production Editor | Stephen Nelson | stephen@theroanokestar.com 5 Technical Webmaster | Don Waterfield | webmaster@theroanokestar.com 2 Pain unit 6 Advertising Director | Vickie Henderson | advertising@theroanokestar.com 3 Harpooned The Roanoke Star-Sentinel is a proud Media Partner with WSLS 10 10 a Star-Sentinel is published weekly by Whisper One Media, Inc. in Roanoke,Va. Subscriptions are available The Roanoke 124 What street in Salem has for $44 per year. Send subscriptions to PO Box 8338, Roanoke,VA 24014. We encourage letters from our readers on 13 topics of generalon interest to the community and responses to our articles and columns. Letters must be signed and have documented haunted house a telephone number for verification. All letters will be verified before publication.The Star-Sentinel reserves the right to 14 deny publication of any letter and edit letters for length, content and style. it? 15 All real estate advertised herein is subject to national and Virginia fair housing laws and readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. By Don Waterfield point 5 Compass

Perspective

TheRoanokeStar.com

7/24/09 - 7/30/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 5

Criminal Defendants Going Free in Virginia Due to Supreme Court Ruling

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ome criminal defendants in Virginia are seeing their cases dismissed due to a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling which said that crime lab reports cannot be introduced as evidence in trials unless the analysts who wrote them appear in court to testify about the results. With only about 160 analysts in Virginia, and more than 60,000 crime lab tests done each year, the new requirement would overwhelm backlogged crime labs, with the result of some defendants going free because analysts could not be present in many cases. The Washington Post and Associated Press have reported that since the ruling on Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts, several drug and drunk driving cases have been dismissed in Virginia. They also report that prosecutors from around the state are calling for an immediate remedy. That is the same thing that State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli says he is hearing from prosecutors as he travels the commonwealth in his Republican bid for state attorney general – the state’s top law enforcement job. Cuccinelli says the court’s ruling was a good one – protecting the Sixth Amendment constitutional right of defendants to cross examine witnesses against them. But he also says that Virginia’s law needs to be rewritten immediately to ensure this

W

e leave our bikes, with the constable’s blessing, leaning up against the weathered brick of the tiny, police station. The town of Broadford seems rather colorless as we walk briefly though it on this overcast grey day. Our plan is to execute a cursory tour of the Isle of Skye via a day of hitchhiking. We’ll be able to cover a little more ground this way, assuming we can get rides, and besides, after seven weeks of cycling it’s time for a change of venue. And it’s nice leaving most of our stuff with the bikes today, only taking our valuables and our everneeded ratty rain jackets. My friend Ben and I are on an extended low-budget bicycle tour through Great Britain and Ireland, and here on the west coast of Scotland we feel like we’re really in the heart of it. My Scottish heritage nudges me from all sides. Traffic is light, but we put on our best “harmless American kids� expressions and soon an old Austin Healy jerks to a stop just beyond us. It’s piloted by two zany older women on holiday from Liverpool. It’s nice to be in the cozy little car –the cold mist outside having gained mo-

right is protected, while at the same time keeping those who are guilty from getting off scot-free because a witness wasn’t available to testify. He has asked Gov. Tim Kaine to call an immediate one-day special session of the General Assembly to amend Virginia’s law to comply with the ruling. Rewriting the law may be the quickest and perhaps best way to ensure compliance. Three states did not have their laws affected by the Supreme Brian Gottstein Court decision, and according to Cuccinelli, it would not take much to change Virginia’s law to conform to these other states. Yet, two weeks ago, Kaine’s office initially said it was too early to convene a special session. That meant legislators would have to wait until the General Assembly convened its regular session in January before they could change the law. In the meantime, though, cases would continue to get dismissed as courts could not guarantee defendants a “speedy trial,� as they are obliged to do, while waiting for January to roll around.

With prosecutors calling the situation dire, why did Gov. Kaine think that there was no need for a special session, and that this could possibly wait until January? Even an editorial from the liberal editors of the Washington Post points out that Cuccinelli’s idea “merits serious consideration.� To be fair, the governor said he was looking for an administrative solution – one that would not involve the General Assembly convening to change the law. But was there a little politics involved, too? Many media hinted at that. Cuccinelli is, after all, the Republican candidate for state attorney general, and his opponent, Steve Shannon, is in the Governor’s party. Shannon’s campaign manager pushed politics further by sniping that the Senator’s request for a special session was “a PR stunt that would cost taxpayers money.� To the contrary, Cuccinelli says that the cost of convening a special session would be less than the cost of hiring just one more lab analyst (and if the law isn’t changed, it is likely that many analysts would need to be hired). On Wednesday, the governor decided to call for the special session to be held August 19. Good policy won the day over bad politics. Contact Brian at bgottstein1@yahoo.com

Down and Out on the Isle of Skye mentum- and we enjoy chatting with the two sisters. They are traveling to Portree, a town in the interior of the island, about 25 miles away, and that suits us perfectly. This place is dead, or so we think on first glance. Upon further investigation, however, we find some life. As is often the case in these small towns, the pubs and shops are marked with the smallest of signs, if at all. We duck into a pub for tea and scones, a mainstay of our victuals as of late. A few hours later, the novelty of exploring this part of Skye has worn off and we start hitchhiking back the way we came. Just when our faith in getting a ride is wearing thin an aging dump-bed lorry chugs up and stops next to us. We climb up next to a big bear of a man who smiles benignly but says little. We bounce down the road –and I do mean bounce; the truck seems to have no functioning suspension whatsoever- back towards Broadford and our bikes. We jump from the high truck to the puddles below and bid our friend adieu. Now several things happen at once. As the lorry chugs and bounces out

of sight, we start walking into Broadford to collect our bikes, and my hand goes instinctively to my pocket for reassurance that my wallet is still there. It is not. Unease pangs in my gut as my hands race over my body searching for other possible wallet resting places. No luck. Deeper despair fogs over me as I realize exactly what happened: My wallet bounced right out of my pocket while we jolted along in the lorry. Furthermore, I feel certain that my little purse fell behind the seat and into the gloom of rust and rubbish underneath. There’s no telling if the wallet will ever be found, certainly not any time soon. Ben and I trudge forlornly to the Police Station. Our bikes are as we left them, unlocked and unmolested. The station is closed for the day, so we write a note to the constable about losing the wallet, and slide it under the door. We pedal off towards the landing for the ferry to Mallaig, the village on the mainland to which we’ll head in the morning. By the sea next to an ancient stone wall we set up our tarp for the night, and there we discuss our predicament. The year is 1980, and dealing with a money problem in

a foreign country is bers on a crumpled not as simple as it receipt. He does almight be today. No low me to cancel the electronic banking, credit card, which no money machines apparently is the reon every corner. Ben sponsible thing to and I had one credit do in cases like this. card between us, and One may ask, why now it likely resides not just call home to in the rubbish under the USA. Surely that the seat of the truck. would not have been Otherwise we have too difficult? True John W. Robinson cash in British perhaps, but we pounds, and not never considered it. enough of that on which to fin- The perceived complexity of the ish the trip in spite of our ability logistics of calling the US and to live on the cheap. Ben’s cash somehow getting money that supply is meager, and my equal- way was inconceivable to us. ly short supply is now lost with We roll on through southern the wallet. Furthermore, being Scotland tending toward our what some might refer to as ir- next big destination, York, Engresponsible free-spirits, we have land. It rains a lot, but we are acas yet given little thought to the customed to it. “This is the rainmore subtle aspects of money iest summer in twenty years!� and banking. We have learned, the locals are always reminding however, that money is hard to us. We pinch pennies, or in this get and easy to spend. case, pence. We eat bread and In Mallaig, a classic Scottish jam for every meal. seaport with a harbor full of “What about the Willsons?�, colorful fishing boats and the Ben remarks, cool rain flowing pungent salt air smell draping down his cheeks. Hmmmm.., everything, we visit the local the Willsons, Norman and bank. The manager is an ef- Eleanor. We met them some ficient, short and balding man weeks before in a small vilwho politely explains that we lage in Wales, where they run a just can’t get a cash advance on modest bed and breakfast. They a credit card based on the num- had said, “If you have any trou-

ble at all give us a call�. “Yeah, yeah, whatever� is probably what we thought at the time, but they were so nice and even after talking to them for only a brief time they felt like family. When we left them Eleanor had urged us to call in an emergency and then pressed a slip of paper with a their address and phone number into my hand. They handled all the details. We merely had to get to York and the branch of the Royal Westbrook Bank. Sixty pounds in cash –more than enough to finish the trip- was waiting there, wired to us from the Willsons in Gwynelln. Six months later I’m at school again and a parcel awaits me at home. It contains my ragged wallet and all its contents. As my fingers press the worn leather, memories flood back to me. I think of past adventures and adventures to come. But most of all I think of the people I’ve met and the love and generosity of the human spirit. I tend to forget about all that rain in my face.

Contact John at jwr77@verizon.net

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Sports

Page 6 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/24/09 - 7/30/09

Commonwealth Games Kick Off With Inspirational Opening A day before some 9,000 athletes descended upon the Roanoke Valley for three days of athletic competition, supporters and sponsors of the Coventry Commonwealth Games convened at Hotel Roanoke for an opening reception. Among the program’s highlights was the debut of a Virginia Amateur Sports “Wall of Fame,” wherein the Roanoke-based organization that runs the annual state games recognized a handful of board members and sports organizers that have helped the Commonwealth Games thrive over the past 20 years. “Twenty years of excitement, character building and genuine camaraderie,” said VAS Board Chairman John Montgomery. Despite historic drops in the level of donations and, “not a penny of state funds,” Montgomery said the games soldier on. Key sponsors that have stayed the course were also recognized at the reception. Former Patrick Henry High School principal Elizabeth Lee and attorney David Paxton, both long time board members, were among the first group of honorees that will have plaques in their honor on display at VAS headquarters in Roanoke. Long time sports organizers Wally Beagle and Tommy Saunders are also members of the new Wall of Fame. Attendees heard from Kimberly Eakin, owner of the Wine Gourmet shop on Franklin Road, and a former Army sharpshooter. Eakin said she was a “seriously competitive person,” who had that fire stoked early on by entering a shooting contest held at the first Commonwealth Games. “It sparked a desire to go further,” said Eakin. Going further ultimately meant traveling the country with the Army’s sharpshooting team, teaching marksmanship along the way. The Commonwealth Games said Eakin helped many “hit the bull’s-eye,” by building confidence for other tasks in life.

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to info@theroanokestar.com

Striders’ “All-Comers” Community Track Meet Clara Harding, 3, runs the Kids 400 Meter Dash.

Virginia Amateur Sports President Pete Lampman (right) honors games supporters. Keynote speaker Tiffany Roberts, a former World Cup and Olympic gold medalist in soccer, gave a preview of her Opening Night ceremony keynote address at the reception. Now the co-head coach for girls soccer at Virginia Commonwealth University and a three time Parade All-American, Roberts said her journey Mile leader, Will Mohr, runs along side the youngto Olympic gold with Mia Hamm and company, est entry in the field, Sofie Ingram, 6. “was a dream. [But] it’s really not about that gold medal – it’s about the impact that sport has had on my life.” Soccer made Roberts a “risk taker and confident,” and convinced her that “it’s okay [for a girl] to be tough.” As for events like the Coventry Commonwealth Games, “this is how it all started.” By Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net

Matthew Wright hands off to Andrew Nichols in the 4x400 Meter Relay

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Rowan Ingram, 3, runs the Kids 100 Meter Dash.

The Star City Striders held its first “AllComers Track Meet,” at Roanoke College Tuesday evening, lead by accomplished track and field coach, Finn Pincus. Events included the mile, the Kids 100 and 400, the Open 100 and 400 and 4x400. The next All-Comers Track Meet is scheduled for August 11 at 6:15 p.m. Events will include: 5K/3K, Kids 100 & 400, 200, 800, 4x400. Email stridersallcomers@ gmail.com for more information.

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Courtney Harman (Hidden Valley HS) lays down a bunt.

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7/24/09 - 7/30/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 7

TheRoanokeStar.com

Our Take: Such an Almost Great Week for Us Old Fogeys

What an absolutely amazing week it was for all of us over the age of 35 . . . Almost. As an ever ripening-on-thevine 48 year old I watched with increasing joy the rise of both Tom Watson and Lance Armstrong as they swung and pedaled their way to the very pinnacle of their respective sports once again. At age 59 Tom Watson’s run was especially remarkable. For those of you who don’t follow such things, Watson played his way to within a single 8 foot putt of winning the British Open, a “Major – Major� tournament if you will, that would be akin to and no less surprising than Buzz Aldrin saying he would be piloting a space shuttle to Mars next week. But standing over the 8 foot putt Watson looked like he’d just swallowed a bag of canaries. You could literally see the dreaded “yip� building – like a giant wave rising up that was going to wash both he and the magical dream away. He had about as much chance of making that putt as I did. (i.e. very, very little.) It was just too much to ask. I mean, really – winning the British Open at Age 59? But there he was and as God taught me long ago, Anything is possible.

So I thought maybe, just maybe . . . But when he struck the ball it immediately faded hard right and woefully short and suddenly old Tom looked every bit his years and about 17 million over-35 hearts all over the world gave a collective groan of despair that might have been heard by Aldrin even if he had already arrived on the red planet. It didn’t take an astronaut to know it was over for Tom. He got annihilated in the playoff by 4 strokes. It wasn’t even close. The worst thing about watching the whole implosion (and especially that shabby putt) was that the rest of us over-35’ers knew that we were well on our way to that place too. A sooner or later reality where bodies begin to fade and ultimately fail and even gut wrenching perseverance backed up by a great attitude and no small amount of luck isn’t enough to overcome a slowing metabolism and the inexorable onslaught of gravity. Oh the humanity. But hope springs eternal (or so someone says) so as I awaited stage 15 of the Tour de France where Lance Armstrong and the boys would return to the Alps to show the world that if you work at it hard enough, even at 38 you can still beat all

those young whiphe shared some repersnappers. (Espequired comment cially one in particuabout team stratlar by the name of egy, but the words, Alberto Contador). “See ya Pops,� must I was haltingly have been in there optimistic. This in somewhere because spite of the fact that Alberto broke out over a weekend beer of the pack like the with my best friends proverbial bat from in the neighborthe lower beyond hood, I had predict- Stuart Revercomb and steamed away ed Lance’s demise from Lance and the would be no less rest of the group like than Tom’s. they were standing still. “There’s something about the You read it here first: No age of 37 or 38,� I said shaking one is going to win the Tour de my head. “At some point I think France at age 38. My guess is you realize – I know I did – that that Lance, of course, knew this you just can’t quite do a lot of all too well but he also knew the physical things that you did that getting back in there to at say 27 or 28. It’s just the way mix it up with the greatest comit is . . . Muscle fiber begins to petitors in his sport was the best change, synapses slow just a bit. way he could generate support I hate it, but I think Lance isn’t for cancer awareness. going to be able to respond if AlThis is probably no less adberto takes off like he did early mirable than Watson continuin the race. I’m afraid ol’ Father ing to play simply because he Time already has a pretty good loves the game and the life it has grip on Lance’s back wheel.� given him. The brown bottle in my hand Which begs the question might as well have been a crys- Do such noble endeavors even tal ball. As the riders began need to result in a win? their final ascent, the top dogs Well, we all love an underdog were all together including Al- and a fairy tale ending, but as berto and Lance, but with about much as I was pulling for the 5 miles and 2000 more feet to go both of them I think the answer Alberto turned to Armstrong is decidedly, “no.� and said something. Perhaps Defeats such as these have

their own unique glory in demonstrating humility and balance and grace at the highest levels of worldly competition. Maybe the opportunity for such outweighs any trophy upon the shelf – even a 2nd British Open or an 8th Tour de France. So perhaps it was still a great week after all – even if for most of us we just got that much older. For as physical strength, endurance and accuracy fade, in their place true wisdom can arrive in so many forms. And for Tom and Lance and the rest us, perhaps that’s not such a bad trade. Besides – there’s always next

year. I’m a pretty good rider – maybe I’ll enter the Tour . . . Hope does spring eternal you know.

By Stuart Revercomb stuart@theroanokestar.com

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Motorcycle Ride and Charity Breakfast to Benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital

Public Hearing on 10th Street Improvements

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AMVETS Chapter 40 and the Sunshine & Butterflies Leukemia Foundation are teaming up to sponsor a charity poker run motorcycle ride and breakfast to benefit St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital to help find a cure for childhood cancer. The event will take place this Sunday, July 26, at the AMVETS Post, 911 Tazewell Ave. SE in Roanoke. The ride will begin and end at the AMVETS Post. The first rider will start at 11:30am, following Routes 24, 122 and 220, and will pass by Carilion Hospital for the children in the pediatric unit. Donation is $20. Registration is from 8:00 am

The Virginia Department of Transportation and the City of Roanoke will hold a public hearing to discuss plans to widen the section of Tenth Street in Roanoke that starts just south of Fairfax Avenue and extends to Williamson Road. The proposed project will provide bicycle lanes, curbs and gutters and sidewalks. Turn lanes will be added at Tenth Street’s intersections with Hunt Avenue, Grayson Avenue and Orange Avenue. The proposed improvements will focus on improving safety and traffic flow. The public hearing will be held Thursday, July 30, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Lucy Addison Middle School located at 1220 Fifth Street in Roanoke. The hearing will be held in an “open houseâ€? format with no formal presentation given. Citizens can attend at their convenience during the two hours. Written comments about the project may be submitted at the meeting, or until August 9, by mail to Mr. Richard L. Caywood, P.E., Virginia Department of Transportation, P.O. Box 3071, Salem, VA 24153. E-mail comments can be sent to saleminfo@ VDOT.virginia.gov. Please reference “Tenth Street Widening Commentsâ€? in the subject heading.Â

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Macayla Anglin is the inspiration for the Sunshine & Butterflies Leukemia Foundation. until Noon. The breakfast (with a $5 donation) will be held from 8:00 am to Noon. Refreshments and fun to immediately follow.  For information please call: 540-293-4964 or 40-314-7352

540-815-2158

New York Adirondacks Sea Kayaking and Touring Trip Sept. 18-26 $1,395 Visit the Adirondack Park in upstate New York. During the day we will explore in sea kayaks to remote lakes and rivers while the evening will be spent relaxing in comfort at Saranac Lake. We will also spend time exploring Lake Placid. This small group expedition is designed for adults who enjoy the outdoors and want to do it comfortably. Price includes all activities, lodging, breakfasts, transportation, equipment and leadership. Please register by Aug. 7 by calling 853-1339.

Community Calendar > July 27

Creating a Digital Memory Scrapbook Recording Family Memories: A Beginner’s Course for Recording Oral Histories Monday, July 27, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm. Computer Lab,Main Library This is a crash course in how to collect spoken memories.You will learn how to establish a project theme, create questions to ask family members, use digital recording equipment, and transcribe your interviews.

> July 30

Life Book Seminar presented by Philip Griffith Thursday, July 30 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Penn Forest Wesleyan Church, Fellowship Hall, 3735 Chaparral Dr, Roanoke,VA 24018 Fee: $25 per couple at the door or pre-register by Tuesday, July 28 and save $10 per couple To pre-register or for more information: Contact Cathy Wallin at wallincathy@aol.com or 540.989.1312

> August 5

ALS Night at the Ballpark The Salem Red Sox and th eALS Association are hosting a special night at the ballparkWednesday, August 5, 7 p.m., to raise money in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s Disease.Tickets are $6 in advance ($1 off regular price).Tickets are good for general admission seating, and only for August 5, or its rain date, if necessary. For more information, email Rick at sniktawrick@cox.net

> August 7

Manif Spaciale The famed Montreal originating space-framed bike event, is happening in downtown Roanoke, Friday, August 7,4:30 - 6 pm. Any questions? do feel free to ask: http://carlessbrit.tumblr.com/

> August 14

VCE Food Expo The Alleghany, Botetourt, Craig, and Roanoke offices ofVirginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) have teamed up with many sponsors to host the

first “Taste of the Roanoke Valley Food Expo,� Friday,August 14, 2009, from 2 – 8 pm,at the Greenfield Recreational Park just north of Daleville. Tickets are $2 each (children 12 and under free with paying adult) and can be purchased by calling Botetourt (540-473-8260), Craig (540-8645812), or Roanoke (540-772-7524) VCE offices. Tickets are limited and should be purchased prior to the Food Expo.

> August 17

Creating a Digital Memory Scrapbook Part 2 Compiling Your Digital Memory Scrapbook Monday,Aug. 17, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm, or Monday, Aug. 24, 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm.Computer Lab,Main Library In this session, you will learn how to scan your photographs, choose digital images, sound and video clips, and create a presentation. Have an item for the calendar? E-mail it to submissions@theroanokestar.com

43rd Annual 42nd Annual

Roanoke Valley Antiques Expo Sponsored by the GENERAL JAMES BRECKINRIDGE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Roanoke, Virginia

Roanoke Civic Center Special Events Center

RoanokeFriday, CivicJuly Center Events 24th Special • 10 am—6 pm Center Friday, July pm Saturday, July25th 25th •• 10 10 am—6 am—5 pm Sunday, July pmpm Saturday, July 26th 26th••11am—4 10 am—5 Sunday, July 27th • 11 am—4 pm Admission $6.50 (with ad $6.00) Unlimited return The largest antique show in the Roanoke Valley with over 50 outstanding dealers featuring formal, country and children’s furniture; decorative accessories; vintage prints; rare books and manuscripts; silver and linens; estate jewelry and much more!

Tomorrow Starts Today. Now’s a good time to develop a long-term ďŹ nancial plan. Let Morgan Stanley Smith Barney help you get started. Come for a complimentary consultation to: > Evaluate your families’ needs and goals > Review your portfolio > Explore your retirement plans > Prioritize your charitable giving The Meridian Group at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

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The largest antique show in the Roanoke Valley with over 50 outstanding dealers featuring formal, country and children’s furniture; decorative accessories; vintage prints; rare books and manuscripts; silver and linens; estate jewelry and much more! Unless you are otherwise advised in writing, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney is acting as a broker-dealer and not as an investment advisor. Š2009 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC. Member SIPC.

Valley Business

Page 8 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/24/09 - 7/30/09

Architectural Review Board Delivers Awards

Roanoke City’s Architectural Review Board (ARB) presented Preservation Excellence Awards at City Council’s Monday evening meeting. These awards recognize noteworthy individuals and projects, highlighting outstanding rehabilitations, renovations, appropriate in-fill design, and other preservation-focused projects within the City of Roanoke. The awards are non-competitive. The only criterion for nominations is that the projects be “preservation-related,” and have been completed within the past year. This year, the ARB amended the award guidelines to include individuals and projects outside of the H-1 and H-2 Historic Districts, in an effort to highlight more projects throughout the city. The following projects were recognized: Category 1: Projects within the H-1 and H-2 Historic Districts • 117 Campbell Ave., S.E./Mill Mountain Coffee Building, David Johnson, Owner. Johnson chose to take the next step in investing in Downtown Roanoke by purchasing and renovating a building in the Historic Market District. • 509 Day Ave., S.W., Donald Harwood, Owner. Harwood reconstructed the house’s front porch with a modern, artistic interpretation of the traditional one-story porch in Old Southwest that incorporated a star motif in the scroll-sawn railing design. • 524 Day Ave., S.W., Jason Malroy, Owner. Malroy removed the house’s non-historic vinyl siding, repaired and restored all windows, installed period-designed porch railings, replaced tongue and groove flooring, constructed a new porch handrail, fully renovated the interior, and added a new period-appropriate front door. • 505 6th St., S.W./Cotton Mill Lofts, Ed Walker, Owner. Walker converted the former Roanoke Mills Building into 108 apartments. Most significant to the appearance of the building was the restoration of the original steel-sash windows that had been replaced over the years with glass block. The one- and two-bedroom apartments and live/work units retain the maple floors, exposed brick walls and structural post and beam system. • 510 Mountain Ave., S.W., Daniel George, Owner. George installed new two-over-two windows and siding to finish the house’s second story rear addition that expanded the master bedroom. He also enclosed an unfinished first floor rear porch into a functional screened-in sun porch, re-installed the historic porch columns and handrails on the front porch, and painted the house. • 833 Marshall Ave., S.W., FourSquare Property & Development, LLC, Owner. FourSquare Property and Development purchased two American Four Square houses side by side in the 800 block of Marshall Avenue, S.W. The renovation of 833 Marshall took a two-unit house and returned it to a single family residence with its original 1912 interior configuration and exterior design. Modern updates were added to the kitchen and bathrooms, and an additional 300 square feet of living space was added by renovating the attic into a family room. • 551 Marshall Ave., S.W./Fork in the City of Roanoke, Ed Walker, Owner. The building, which features a distinctive cornice and clipped corner entrance, had been painted white and the storefront windows filled in. Now painted chocolate brown with orange and blue accents to emphasize the interesting brick work, the storefronts have been restored with sliding windows to enhance the indoor/ outdoor experience. Inside, heart-of-pine flooring was uncovered, the tin tile ceiling was faux-painted and two patios were added. • 1008 Franklin Road, S.W./St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Columbarium Landscaping Project, St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Owners. This columbarium landscaping project represents an excellent rehabilitation of that garden space adjacent to the church. Category 2: Projects Throughout the City (outside the local historic districts) • 35 Campbell Ave., S.W./The Hancock Building, Ed Walker and Scott Graeff, Owners. With financial support from the City of

TheRoanokeStar.com

First Community Bank COO Appointed to Executive Committee

Photo by Gene Marrano

The new interior of the Access building - a former car dealership on Patterson Ave. in downtown Roanoke. Roanoke, the team decided to remove the red brick façade and undertake the full restoration of the Art Deco façade and street level storefronts. • 400 Salem Ave., S.W./Fulton Motor Lofts Building, Bill Chapman, Owner. The project included the restoration of a 32,000square-foot automotive building into 22 custom lofts and two office-retail spaces. In an effort to maintain the historic integrity of the building, the exposed concrete ceilings, steel beams and columns, brick walls and concrete floors were repaired and kept. • 701 Patterson Ave., S.W./Access Building, Todd Marcum and Tony Pearman, Owners. The rehabilitation of this former automotive-based building into an 8,500-square-foot office building included installation of cast-in-place concrete, concrete masonry, new aluminum storefront facade, acid staining concrete floors, painting, acoustical tile ceilings, chair lift equipment, HVAC systems, and electrical systems. • 1813 Rorer Ave., S.W., Blue Brick Buildings and Renovations Inc., Owners/Contractors. The porch was returned to its original state. • 1917 Maiden Lane, S.W., Erica Taylor, Owner. Renovation included the removal of the vinyl siding and the aluminum cladding on the windows, door frames, soffits and eaves to expose the original rafter tails, second-floor cedar shake siding, and first-floor novelty siding. The project also included the removal of the old three-tab shingle roof and installation of new architectural shingles, installation of metal half-round gutters, and total repainting of the house in five different colors appropriate to the Arts and Crafts style of the house. • 1540 Maiden Lane, S.W., and 1532 Bluemont Ave., S.W./Terrace Apartments, Total Action Against Poverty, Owners. The Terrace Apartments is a seven-building complex built in 1950 to house families of working class World War II veterans. The renovation of these seven buildings was undertaken using the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation; the project was designed to preserve the historic features and materials. • 2720 Rosalind Avenue, S.W., Eugene and Laura Elliott, Owners. This project consisted of reconstruction of the front porch and upper balcony on this circa 1902 Victorian home to uncover an original tower and details. Work included removal of a sleeping porch (a later addition to the house), as well as significant repairs to gutter, eaves, and trim. A new “Juliette” balcony was also constructed, using existing wood siding and trim. Restoration of original porch forms was determined by historic photographic evidence. Information provided by the City of Roanoke.

E. Stephen Lilly, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of First Community Bank, N.A. and Chief Operating Officer for its holding company, First Community Bancshares, Inc., has been appointed to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Economic Bridge (VEB) Corporation. Lilly will fill a vacant position on the committee and his term will last for two years. VEB is a non-profit organization that focuses on business, economic and workforce development for the state of Virginia. Organized in 1989, the VEB has many initiatives including the Virginia’s Business Pipeline, Virginia Community Analysis, Research and Development Program, Virginia’s Linked Workforce Initiative, SWVA Online - Virginia’s Great Southwest and is the program management organization for the Return to Roots program. Lilly has served on the VEB’s Board of Directors for three years. The Executive Committee has many important functions including long-range strategic planning, setting organizational and business initiatives and overseeing the budgeting process.

E. Stephen Lilly “It has been a pleasure to serve on the board of the VEB, and I’m proud of our many accomplishments during my time with them,” Lilly said. “I look forward to serving on the Executive Committee because it means new challenges and opportunities. I will continue to do my best to improve the business and employment environment in Southwest Virginia and throughout the state.” Lilly has been in his current role at First Community Bank since 1997. His career in banking and operations began in 1981. He serves on a number of industry and local area boards and committees. For more information go to: www.virginiaeconomicbridge. org.

Guy M. Harbert is Virginia Super Lawyer Guy M. Harbert, an attorney with Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, has been named to the Virginia Super Lawyers for 2009 in the category Personal Injury Defense: General. Super Lawyers names Virginia’s top lawyers as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics magazine. The designation is based on the results of a survey of more than 19,000 lawyers across the state. The goal is to select Super Lawyers as the top 5 percent of Virginia attorneys in more than 60 practice areas.

The 2009 Virginia Super Lawyers are recognized in a special advertising section in Richmond Magazine in July, as well as a separate magazine publication, Virginia Super Lawyers 2009.

Luna Innovations Files for Chapter 11

Luna Innovations Incorporated, a company focused on sensing and instrumentation solutions and pharmaceutical nanomedicines, voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia. The company emphasized last week that it expects to continue to operate normally to serve customers, develop and manufacture products, and maintain employment at all facilities during the restructuring process. “The jury verdict in our dispute with Hansen Medical in April obviously presented a very serious potential negative outcome for Luna as well as its creditors, shareholders and other stakeholders,” said Kent Murphy, Chairman and CEO. Luna was attracted to Roanoke from its original home in Blacksburg as the result of its relationship with Carilion Clinic. A jury

ucts, and excellent customer service,” Murphy said. As part of its filing for reorganization, Luna is requesting the Virginia court to estimate Hansen’s claims in litigation at less than $1.3 million. If that motion is successful before the court, company officers believe the proposed reorganization plan would result in creditors receiving 100 % of their allowed claims. “The plan that we proposed and filed today, if confirmed by the court, would pay our creditors on their valid claims and leave our current shareholders in place while allowing us to continue to build upon the recent achievements of this company and the potential of our product pipeline,” Murphy said. “It was after long and careful consideration with our board of directors and outside advisors that we concluded this was the right move. I believe that the actions taken today represent the best path for Luna and all of our stakeholders.”

ruled in April that Luna had breached its contract with Hansen Medical and had misappropriated trade secrets belonging to Hansen. “As previously reported, the jury in our litigation proposed an award to Hansen in excess of $36 million,” Murphy added. “Since then, we have filed motions with the court in California to have the award reduced, and Hansen has filed motions to ask the court to increase the award. While we believe we have arguments as to why the award should be significantly reduced, there is no way to predict the outcome of the litigation.” “In the absence of reasonable settlement of that dispute, we believe that today’s filing is in the best interests of Luna and our shareholders, creditors and communities, while providing the first step toward securing a future for Luna. We intend to build on our history of innovation and product development, outstanding prod-

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“I’m a player, ” explains Mike Conner in his office at Williamson Road Service Center in northeast Roanoke, recognizable for the giant Paul Bunyan figure standing outside the center’s front door. By player, Conner means he’s a bluegrass musician. “I fix cars so I can eat and I play bluegrass for a living,” said the Bent Mountain resident. Growing up with bluegrass at home, Conner started out playing piano at a time when electronic keyboards were unheard of. “You couldn’t go to a jam session unless it was in a building somewhere with a piano. So I wanted to start playing guitar.” Conner’s musical passion progressed from there to the point where bluegrass “has just always

7/24/09 - 7/30/09 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 9

FiddleFest Returns to Hollins Campus Next Weekend

been my first love.” Since 2001, Conner has been involved in the planning and staging of FiddleFest, which will be held this year on the campus of Hollins University July 31 August 1. This year’s program will be a mixture of old and new features. “This is the first year that we’ll have Tony Rice there,” says Conner, “[and] the first year that Mountain Heart will be there.” The latter musical act will feature a new lead singer who hails from Martinsville. Other new performing acts will be Balsam Range, based in Carolina, and Blue Moon Rising, which Conner describes as a “new, very, very popular group.” Back for this year’s FiddleFest will be the Country Gentlemen, led by

A group jams during last year’s FiddleFest. Randy Waller, who picked up the baton from his late father, Charlie Waller. “We’ll start each day with our workshop series,” said Conner. “It’s an opportunity for learning

musicians, or even advanced musicians, to sit down with professionals,” whose livelihood comes from making music or singing, “to pick up some tips from them. You get to spend an

hour-and-a-half each day, and if you buy a two-day pass,($45) it’ll get you into everything.” This year’s afternoon show (August 1) will be held in a new, much larger location, Babcock Auditorium. The afternoon will feature what Connor terms “Pro-Jams,” where professional musicians “just kind of get together on stage and do what they do. There’s no format, there’s no show . . .They just get up there, somebody hollers out a song and they take-off.” The evening performances will be held outdoors at “Tinker Beach,” a grassy area behind Tinker Hall on the university campus. “It’s a natural amphitheater,” says Connor. “It’s just a beautiful area.” Conner believes FiddleFest affords Hollins Uni-

versity the opportunity to forge a greater connection with the Roanoke Valley. “They want to bring people on campus that may not, for any other reason, come onto the campus to see what the facilities are, what’s available there, because maybe they feel like they’ve been a little closed off even though they’ve been here since 1842. This is kind of their chance to open up to the community in another way.” Further information about FiddleFest can be found at roanokefiddlefest.org. Tickets can be purchased at the website by credit card, or by calling 7771418.

Melvin E. Matthews, Jr. info@theroanokestar.com

Ruth Waalkes Named Executive Director of Virginia Tech's New Center for the Arts

A sculpture from Weiner’s “Bench People” series in Colorado

Wanted: Input on Gainsboro Library Sculpture The Roanoke Public Libraries and the Roanoke Arts Commission are inviting public input that will be used to enhance the sculptural installation titled, "Reading Garden," which is scheduled to be placed at the Gainsboro Branch Library this fall. "Reading Garden" will be a work of functional art, part of the "Bench People" series by Colorado-based artist Madeline Wiener. In a nod to the library location, it will feature two figures holding open books, as well as other seating areas made of carved stacks of books. Individuals or groups are invited to submit essays, poems, or art to be etched onto the actual components that make up the sculpture. "Ms. Wiener uses her sculptures to foster cultural exchange through art," says Sheila Umberger, Director of Libraries. "The figures invite people to climb on and explore or simply sit and relax with a good book." According to Doug Jackson, chair of the Roanoke Arts Commission, "It was important to the Commission that the artist chosen for this Percent for

Art project interact with the community." Wiener, who was selected in May to produce the sculpture, is known for her interactive pieces, which made her the ideal artist for this project. In June, she came to Roanoke for the first of two workshops to brief citizens about "Reading Garden," and encourage participants to share ideas. A second workshop will be held at the time of installation. Materials submitted for the sculpture will also be considered for inclusion in a book celebrating Gainsboro. Submission forms and guidelines are available at all Roanoke Public Libraries locations, or at www.roanokeva.gov/GainsboroGarden. The deadline for input is Aug. 24. Submissions will be accepted at the front desk on the first floor of the Main Library, or may be mailed to: Roanoke Public Libraries, 706 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24016, attn: Gainsboro "Reading Garden." For more information, contact Sheila Umberger, Director of Libraries, at 540-853-2475 or e-mail, sheila.umberger@roanokeva.gov.

Ruth Waalkes, director of artistic initiatives at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland, has been named executive director of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech. She will begin this position in late September. In this new position, Waalkes will have overall responsibility for the programming and operation of Virginia Tech's Center for the Arts, a yet-to-be-built complex of new and renovated facilities, which will house a 1,300-seat performance hall; a visual arts gallery; and teaching and research spaces that will include a creative technologies lab, a collaborative performance lab, and a communications studio. Construction on the center is projected to begin in 2010 and is scheduled to be completed by 2013. "As the first director of the Center for the Arts, Waalkes will provide critical leadership as we work to enhance the quality of life on our campus and in the community we serve by offering a broad and rich set of cultural experiences," said Mark McNamee, senior vice president and provost. "Fulfilling the promise of the university's Arts Initiative and building an arts center is no small task, but Waalkes' success at the University of Maryland uniquely qualifies her for this very important position." "The Center for the Arts will create significant opportunities for Virginia Tech, and for Blacksburg and the surrounding region," said Waalkes. "It will be filled with a broad array of dynamic performing and visual arts programs, and will offer people many ways to

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deepen their experience with the arts. I am honored to serve as the center's executive director, and look forward to working with campus and community partners on this extraordinary project." Waalkes has been director of artistic initiatives at Maryland's Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center since 2002. In this role, she oversaw all artistic planning and programming at the center, which has become a vital part of both the University of Maryland campus community and the greater arts landscape in the metropolitan Washington D.C. region since its opening in 2001. "The forthcoming construction that will create the new Center for the Arts is a critical component of the broader Arts Initiative, which will support new ways of teaching and learning at the many intersections between the arts and other disciplines," said Minnis E. Ridenour, chair of the Arts Initiative Steering Committee. "Planning for the new Center for the Arts continues to move forward under the direction of our international architecture firm, Snohetta, and the naming of the executive director is a key decision in preparing for the breaking of ground in the summer of 2010 and the opening of the center in June of 2013." The center will support a new Center for Creative Technologies in the Arts which will bring together the visual and performing arts with Virginia Tech's scientific, computing, and engineering capabilities. Its efforts will be focused on developing new methodologies of teaching, experiencing, and delivering the arts.

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Registration required. Cost: $15 Program includes light lunch, speaker presentation and a question and answer session.

For registration or information, call Carilion Clinic at 540-266-6000 or 800-422-8482. www.CarilionClinic.org

Join us at the next Women’s Health University for a presentation about hereditary cancer. Guest speaker Kara Bui, a Certified Genetic Counselor, will discuss the causes of hereditary cancer, genetic testing, common insurance concerns and cancer risks during this informative luncheon. About Our Speaker: Kara Bui, M.S., CGC, is a genetic counselor with Carilion Clinic. She currently works at Carilion Clinic’s Breast Care Center and Gyn-Oncology Associates and has been teaching introductory genetics to undergraduates at the Jefferson College of Health Sciences since 2007. Kara obtained her degree in genetic counseling from the University of South Carolina and is certified in medical genetics and genetic counseling by the American Board of Genetic Counselors.

Page 10 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 7/24/09 - 7/30/09

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