Vinton Voice (Volume 1, Issue 12) November 11, 2009

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Vinton VFW members stand in front of the War Memorial building on Washington

Photo by Danny Cruff

The William Byrd Class of ‘79 held their 30 year reunion on Saturday, October 17, at the Center in the Square. Classmates traveled from Michigan, Arizona, Texas, and as far as London, England!

(Thanks Tim & Renee for thinking we were worth that long trip!!) Classmates were invited to meet on Friday night for a pre-reunion tailgate at the WBHS-Northside game but due to the rain ended up back at the home of Sheryl Stallard McCormack and hanging the disco ball where they danced and just had a great time hanging out - On Saturday, the group enjoyed great food, dancing, and getting reacquainted until midnight then headed back to a hospitality room at The Hotel Roanoke to continue till the wee hours!! A great time was had by all - We Are “Still” 116 S.Poplar St. - Suite 1 Family!!!! Teachers in attendance were Ms. Jean Holbrook Vinton, VA 24179 and Mr. Rodney Ferguson. The committee included Sheryl, 540.904.5836 - Office Tracy St.Clair Overstreet, Teresa Robertson Brown, Cindy 540.904.5838 - Fax Wintz Gardner, Sherri Weaver Musselman, Darlene Crowder Marshall, Jana Robertson Brooks, Greg Barton, Kathy Meador EDITORIAL Brown, and Gary Davis. They had such a great time they will continue meeting to get ready for the 35th - Thanks again to Chris Manning Publisher the Center In The Square, Rob Hartman, Jim Schaal Catering,

chris@vintonvoice.com Bootie Bell Chewning Grand Rental, Tommy Firebaugh Photography & classmate Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief BOO_TEE@msn.com Mike Henderson and Barbara Hodges for decorations!! Thanks

dan@vintonvoice.com Sheryl for the info.

Brian Manning Circulation Director On a side note- Timmy and Renee’ Dean Hall were former

brian@vintonvoice.com Ashlee Manning Advertising members of the ODYSSEY Band. Anyone remember the band???

Yes another election day has come and gone. Congratulations to all the winners and to all

ashlee@vintonvoice.com those running for giving of their time and energy to seek office. We say thank you for caring enough to COLUMNISTS want to serve the people. Sometime people forget what it take to run for an elected office. Also thank you to ALL poll workers for putting in a long day and the volunteers outside helping their candidate.

Bootie Bell Chewning General Info It all says they care. I had the privilege of working the Charlie Hill Center with Capt. Charles “Pat”

BOO_TEE@msn.com Dale Russell Financial Bolling, Doug Forbes, Lorriane Bratton, Susan Albert, Deborah Adams, Barbara King, & Frances

wheresmymoney@vintonvoice.com Wright. Thanks to all that came to vote, it shows you care too.

Erin E. Delauder-Brooks Pharmacy •See ‘BOOTIE’ - page 09

askthepharmacist@vintonvoice.com

CONTRIBUTORS Gene Marrano Senior Contributor

gmarrano@cox.net Danae Wensley Contributor

news@vintonvoice.com Anita Firebaugh Contributor

news@vintonvoice.com John A. Montgomery Contributor

jmonty@cox.net Robbie Robinson Contributor

news@vintonvoice.com Danny Cruff Photo Contributor

dannycruffphotography@cox.net

Copyright @ 2009, All rights reserved by The Vinton Voice email: info@vintonvoice.com http://vintonvoice.com vintonvoice.blogspot.com For advertising rates and information, please call 540-904-5836

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Vinton is a sports kind of town As you’ve probably noticed here at the Voice, we love sports. Football, baseball, cross country, golf, volleyball, softball…on and on and on. We love ‘em all. Big kids, little kids, older kids, younger kids, it doesn’t matter, we just flat out love sports. If you didn’t figure it out by the weekly coverage of William Byrd athletics, then you probably might have guessed it from our weekly “Sports Spotlight,” and if that didn’t convince you, then you probably figured it out by our weekly “Sports Shots” picture page, where we try to get as many pictures of local athletes as possible.

That said, this was a really fun issue to put together as we are jam packed full of sports. Sure we’ve got a lot of other great information in this issue and it’s just as important, but for an ex-jock like me (and Dan’s one too) we could cover sports all day, every day. There’s no better time than right now to be a sports fan here in Vinton.

As you’ve probably heard (and will read later in this issue) the Terrier football team is on its way back to the postseason. A gutsy fourth quarter call by Coach Highfill to “go for two” against Alleghany extended the Terriers’ season by at least another game.

While one football team was extending their season, another ended theirs on the highest of notes the next morning as the Vinton LL Seminoles were, once again, Super Bowl champions. It was amazing watching the poise of these 9 and 10 year olds as they held on to a 20-14 victory on “the big field” at Salem Stadium.

As of press time the Lady Terrier Volleyball team is still alive in regional play. Fresh off a great showing in the Blue Ridge District Tournament, Coach Stump’s girls are hoping to get a chance to go to state, because once you get there, anything can happen.

The boys Cross Country team is headed to another trip to state as well, led by Coach Eric Royal and star runner Kevin O’Connor, this team keeps doing whatever it takes to move on.

And of course, coming as no surprise to anyone (or at least it shouldn’t) Coach Monica West and her William Byrd Cheerleaders have brought home another regional title and have to be the favorites to take home ANOTHER state title. WBHS has a lot of great programs, but as much as this hurts my baseball brethren, none of them have shown the dominance that the Cheer squad has shown.

The best part about all this is, as soon as these teams finish up, we head into winter sports, boys and girls basketball, wrestling, swimming and indoor track and we will bring you information on all those teams with our Winter Sports Preview in the November 25th issue of the Voice.

So yeah, we love sports…but can you blame us?

Photos by (clockwise from top right) Penny Ellis, Paul Griffin and Danny Cruff

It has been a week of honors and titles for Vinton athletes, including a Regional Cheerleading title, two runners advancing to State from the District champion Cross Country team, all-BRD honors for volleyball players Kalyn Molnar, Candace Brady and Samantha Webster and a Little League Super Bowl title for the Vinton Seminoles.

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Fort Hood shooter sending shockwaves through town >Nidal Malik Hasan lived in Vinton multiple times, registered as recently as 2004 Chris Manning Publisher On November 5, 2009 the Vinton community, along with an entire nation, got an un-needed shock sent through them. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist with who graduated from Virginia Western Community College and Virginia Tech, killed 13 people and wounded another 29 in a terrible tragedy at Fort Hood, a Texas Army post. There has been light shed on many things about Hasan since the events of November 5, some of them pointing to this possibly being a terrorist act.

As of this writing, Sen. Joe Lieberman has called for an investigation into Hasan, his links to 9/11 hijackers. Classmates of Hasan are coming out, sharing their stories of, what they referred to as, his anti-American views.

Links, such as emails sent from Hasan to members of Al-Qaeda have been uncovered in recent days, but the question remains “how long have they known about this?” Currently, the investigators are saying that there is no evidence to show that officials sat on the information that he was in contact with the terrorist group. Federal law enforcement officials do, however, admit that Hasan was “on their radar for months” due to internet postings discussing suicide bombings. Authorities are still attempting to confirm that Hasan was the author.

Meanwhile, his family is seemingly coming to his defense, describing him as a man who wouldn’t be capable of acts such as these. Hasan, who was shot four times by a civilian police officer, is on the road to physical recovery and will be tried in a military court, not a civilian one. Although it is more likely that Hasan would be tried in a federal court if investigators felt

this was a terrorism case, the fact that he’ll be tried by the military does not rule out that possibility.

Facts and speculation continue to come in on this situation and new information seems to come in by the minute. The only person who knows for sure why he did this is Hasan himself, but it has certainly had folks in the Vinton area talking and guessing as to why. Ideas thrown around in conversation have ranged from anything such as

“he just snapped because he didn’t want to go to war” to “this is clearly a Jihad extremist act,” but again, no one but Hasan knows for sure just what made him commit this terrible act.

A lot of attention has continued to be placed on Vinton and Hasan’s history on Ramada Rd., just off of Mt. View, with news trucks, camera men and the continuous mention of the town in the national mainstream media.

Altizer officially retains; Patterson will seek recount Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief The votes have been certified in the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors race have been certified and Mike Altizer, the Republican incumbent, has been named the winner by 16 total votes. However, his opponent, Patrick Patterson will be seeking a recount as of Monday evening.

Patterson, who began his campaign over a year prior to the election, took at 35 vote lead heading into absentee ballots, but Altizer won 102-of-153 absentee votes.

“We talk in education about teachable moments and the words I share with students is ‘every vote counts,’” Patterson said. “16 people, eight households with a mom and a dad, would have changed the outcome completely from where we are currently.”

Patterson filed a petition to request a recount in a letter that he expected to be delivered on Tuesday. The process will now likely go to a three judge group, who will review not only the ballots, but also the entire situation according to Patterson.

“Everything is going to be examined– the ballots that came in, the entire process,” he said, though noting that he had no direct solid

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Photo by Dan Vance

Patrick Patterson watches results come in last Tuesday night after the polls closed. knowledge to go on of reports that the absentee ballots may have been opened early.

“The only thing I know is what has been reported by the media.”

Patterson feels that in a similar situation, that Altizer too would follow up with a recount to make sure that every vote was counted correctly and that the voice of every voter was heard clearly.

“This whole year had been a great experience,” Patterson said. “I have had people come up to me and say that ‘while it may be your choice to request a recount, we represent

Bonsack and Mount Pleasant and Vinton and we want a recount.’ When you have kids, teachers, parents coming up to you, those kind of things convince me.”

Another thing that could be examined is reports that three of the five precincts (North Vinton, South Vinton and Lindenwood) had significant problems in the voting process.

Anyone who encountered issues while voting on the Board of Supervisors race or any other race during the election last Tuesday, is encouraged to contact the Voice and speak out on those issues.

In Brief Coats from Cops program

On Saturday, December 5th, from 6 to 9 pm, the Vinton Police Department will be holding its 2nd Annual “COATS FROM COPS” event at the downtown Farmers Market. Last year, over 160 “almost new” coats and jackets were collected and later distributed on a first comefirst served basis to the citizens of the Vinton Community, with the remaining coats donated to the Rescue Mission.

The Vinton Police Department is very proud to continue this effort to put warm winter jackets into the hands of some of our youngest residents up to our Senior Citizensand everyone in between! Jackets are often an expensive item to purchase- especially during these tough economic times. There are many families who are not able to replace worn out or outgrown coats for each member of their family every winter. With one stop at the Vinton Farmers Market on December 5th, EACH member of the family can select just the right jacket to suit them!

There will be coats for Men, Women and Children in a wide-range of styles and sizes.

Last year, there were dozens of leather, suede and wool jackets in excellent condition that anyone would be proud to wear! Coats are FREE, but will be limited to one per person.

Come early for widest selection!

“COATS FROM COPS” will be a very festive event for all who attend!

With Christmas lights, music and free refreshments-to include Christmas cookies, candy, hot tea, cocoa and more- this is one event you don’t want to miss!

The Police Department welcomes any donations of coats and jackets. The only requirement is that they be clean and in good repair. For more information on this program, please contact Detective McCullough at 9830617, ext. 171.

Fire Displaces Couple

Roanoke County Fire & Rescue Department was dispatched to the 3500 block of Simsmore Drive around 8 p.m. on November 9 for a reported structure fire. When firefighters arrived they found flames coming from a single story modular home. Career and volunteer fire crews from the Mount Pleasant, Clearbrook, Vinton and Cave Spring stations battled the flames for several hours before getting them under control. The home will most likely be a total loss.

The man who lives in the home reported looking outside and seeing his storage building, located about 10 feet behind the home, fully engulfed in flames. He and his wife were able to get their dog and escape from the home safely and then call 9-1-1. The couple are staying with family. No injuries have been reported.

Applications for Christmas Parade

The Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce is NOW accepting entries for the Vinton Christmas

Parade to be held Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

Register your entry today and join marching units, decorated floats and various novelty units. Deadline for entries is November 14th., you can contact the Chamber at 540-343-1364.

Advance Auto Parts relocates, celebrates with ribbon cutting Advance Auto Parts, Inc., a leading automotive aftermarket retailer of parts, batteries, accessories and maintenance items, is proud to announce the relocation of one of its ten stores in the Roanoke Valley. The store’s address remains at 401 East Washington Avenue. This store originally opened in May 1986 and was the 100th Advance Auto Parts store.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for November 19th at 10 am.

Former Advance CEO Garnett Smith and numerous other company executives will be in attendance.

Company officials said they chose to remain at this location because it’s convenient to where their customers live and shop as well as the garages where they take their vehicles for repair.

Blair Clinebell, Jr. is the General Manager and works with 22 other Team Members there. A nine-year veteran of the automotive and retail sales industries, Mr. Clinebell has been with the Advance Auto Parts Team for nine years. He is ASE-certified, having passed stringent testing of his automotive knowledge by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence.

Twenty-three years later, this store still offers customers a wide range of parts and recognized national brands as well as several free services. Store Team Members will install windshield wipers for free, and also install batteries following a complimentary check of the vehicle’s electrical system and old battery.

The store offers fast parts delivery to local commercial customers, such as professional mechanics and garages.

Commercial delivery at this store will be enhanced through an additional truck and increased inventory. Customers also can drop off used motor oil and batteries for recycling – ensuring that these materials don’t end up in landfills where they could harm the environment.

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. About Advance Auto Parts

Roanoke County Public Library Vinton Library November Events

In celebration of Thanksgiving, all Roanoke County Public Libraries will close at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, and reopen at their regular time (9:00 a.m.) on Saturday, November 28.

Book Clubs for Adults

Vinton Book Club Thursday (December 3), 2:30 pm The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch 800 E. Washington Ave. Call 857-5043 for more information.

Tween Events

Tween Scene (Grades 4 – 6) Vinton Branch Library Marble Magnets Thursday, November 19, 4:00 – 5:15 p.m.

800 E. Washington Ave. Call 857-5043 for more information

Teen Events

“Read What You Want” Book Club for Teens Vinton Teen Book Club Monday, November 2, 4:00 p.m.

800 E. Washington Ave. Call 857-5043 for more information Vinton Teen Council Monday (November 9), 5:00 p.m.

800 E. Washington Ave. Call 857-5043 for more information

Family Event

Midweek Movie Madness!

Vinton Library DVD movies shown on a large screen with surround sound system.

Wednesday, November 11, 4:00 pm “Up” Families Welcome! Free admission! Free freshly popped popcorn too!!

800 E. Washington Ave. Call 857-5043 for more information.

Computer Classes

The Library now charges a nominal nonrefundable registration fee of $10.00 per class.

November 11 Vinton Library Classes “Excel I” 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., 800 E. Washington Ave. 857-5043 to register.

November 12 Vinton Library Classes “First Search” 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., 800 E. Washington Ave. 857-5043 to register.

November 18 Vinton Library Classes “Excel II” 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., 800 E. Washington Ave. 857-5043 to register.

November 19 Vinton Library Classes “Second Search” 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., 800 E. Washington Ave. 857-5043 to register.

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Obituaries WENDY GAYLE GASKIN, 39, of Folkston, passed away at her residence November 1. She was a native of Roanoke, Virginia, but had lived in Folkston the past few years. She attended Cornerstone Christian Church. She was preceded in death by her father: Jack Lewis Robertson and her grandparents: Tom and Mary Overstreet and Andrew & Gertrude Robertson.

She is survived by her three daughters: Kayla, Karisa and Kasidy Gaskin; and her mother: Jane Robertson; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, other relatives and friends.

The family received friends Wednesday November 4 at Shepard Funeral Home from 6-9 pm. Funeral services were held Wednesday November 4 at 8 pm with Rev. Tracy Johnson officiating. The family will receive friends Friday, November 6 at Lotz Funeral Home in Vinton, Virginia from 6-8 pm. A graveside funeral was held Saturday November 7 at 11 am in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Roanoke, Virginia.

Condolences may be expressed by signing the guest book at www.shepardfh.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Shepard Funeral Home in Folkston, Georgia and Lotz Funeral Home in Vinton, Virginia.

FRANCES O. WADE, 97, of Roanoke, went to be with the Lord Wednesday, November 4, 2009. She was a faithful member of Mineral Springs Baptist Church.She was preceded in death by her husbands, Elmer S. Byrd and Roy F. Wade. She is survived by a son and his wife, Lewis G. Byrd and Carol Byrd; four grandchildren; several great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren; sister and brother-in-law, Nancy and Ross DuBoss; and many nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to give special thanks to her loving caregivers who served her so faithfully over the years, Louise Harris and Gloria Clark and to the fine staff and nurses at the South Roanoke Nursing Home. A funeral service will be conducted 12 noon on Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel with the Rev. Andy Rice and the Rev. Bobby Harris officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mineral Springs Baptist Church Building Fund, 1030 Bible Lane, Vinton, VA 24179. The family will receive friends on Saturday from 10 until 12 noon at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 982-2221.

LILLIAN LANG BOGSRUD, 85, of Hardy, Virginia, passed away Sunday, November 1, 2009, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She is survived by her devoted husband Irving T. Bogsrud; and three daughters who will love her until they themselves are dust. The family thanks the staff and nurses of Gentle Shepherd Hospice for their unfailing kindness and support during Lillian’s final days. Arrangements are by Oakey’s Vinton Chapel and Crematory, 540-982-2221.

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1.

LARRY BROWN CHATTIN, age 76, of Goodview our precious husband, daddy and granddaddy passed away Sunday, November 1, 2009. He was born July 21, 1933, the son of the late Jesse L. Chatin and Lina Hogan Chattin.

Larry was a lifelong cattle farmer; living and working on the family farm which his father bought in 1929. He was retired President of Larry Chattin and Sons. Surviving are his wife of 55 years, Edna Chattin of Goodview; three sons Steve Chattin and wife, Debbie, David Chattin and wife, DeeAnn, Kenny Chattin and wife, Traci, all of Goodview; ten grandchildren, Mark, Jennifer, Maggie, Brandon, Laura, Ben, Emily, Audrey, Olivia, Jonah; sister, Evelyn Hunt of Roanoke; sister-in-law, Rachel Chattin of Goodview; several nieces and nephews. Funeral services were held at 2 pm Thursday at Goodview Baptist Church with Rev. Joey Phillips officiatting. Interment followed in the church cemetery. The family received friends Wednesday from 3 to 9 pm at the funeral home. Arrangements made by Lotz Funeral Home, Vinton Chapel. Online condolances www. lotzfuneralhome.com.

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JOSEPH MARVIN SAUNDERS, age 94, of Vinton went to be with the Lord on Monday, November 2, 2009.

He was born October 12, 1915 in Roanoke to the late Joseph Phillip Saunders and Rosa Belle Maxey Saunders and is predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Cathleen B. Saunders; two brothers, Paris H. Saunders, Clyde W. Saunders; three sisters, Frances W. Dickerson, Helen K. Miller, Ruth M. Motley. Mr. Saunders served in the 124th Cavalry during WWII. He was a superintendent for many years with English Construction Company building schools, hospitals and factories. Later he worked in residential construction. Those left to cherish his memory are his son, Clinton Marvin Saunders of Vinton; his daughter Joyce Ann Johnson and her husband, David of Vinton; three grandchildren, Jason Saunders and Aaron Johnson both of Vinton, Kellie Saunders Moumouris of Tavares, Florida; one great grandson, Gabe Moumouris; brotherin-law, J. Marshall Burrows of Winston-Salem, NC; three sisters-in-law, Ruby B. Kincaid and Jeanette Burrows-Holt both of Vinton, Pat B. Turner of Salem; numerous nieces and nephews. Graveside funeral services were conducted 3 pm Friday at Mountain View Cemetery with Rev. Joseph Peters officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Roanoke Rescue Mission, P.O. Box 11525, Roanoke, VA 24022. Arrangements by Lotz Funeral Home, Vinton Chapel. Online condolances at www.lotzfuneralhome.com.

LEO HERBERT WERTZ, 80, of Hardy, Virginia, passed away on November 1, 2009. He retired as Tech. Sgt. from the Air Force with 21 years of service. Mr. Wertz also retired as a mechanic from Kroger Bakery. He is preceded in death by his parents, Owen W. Wertz and Tula Sink Wertz; and one brother, Russel E. Wertz. He is survived by his wife Elizabeth Horn Wertzl his children, David Wertz and Nancy W, and William Austin; grandchildren, Phillip J. Wertz and Wyatt Austin; brothers and sisters-in-law, Alvie Wertz, Ruth Alice Cooper, Gordon P. Wertz, James L. and Mario Wertz; and sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law Louise Barton, Florence Mayhew, Martha Barger, Joyce Flowers, Estelle and Archie Perdue, Raymond and Carolyn Horn, Reba and Pete Donald, and Melvin and Beverly Horne. A graveside service was held at 1 pm on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, at Old Dominion Memorial Park with the Rev. Roger Bevins officiating. The family received friends from 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 8 pm on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 540-982-2221.

LORETTA BROWN ARTHUR, 74, of Roanoke, Va., passed away on Wednesday, November 4, 2009, after of courageous 17 year battle with lymphoma. Born in Covington on September 2, 1935, she was the daughter of Paul and Violet Bowen. Loretta will be remembered for her selflessness, always preferring the interests of others above her own desires. Her strength, compassion and kindness live on in the lives of those she loved. Left to cherish her memory are her husband of 55 years, Kenneth Arthur; her children and their spouses, Kathy and Onix Robertson, Connie and Terry Kuhn, Wanda and Ed Burdette, and Mark and Gloria Arthur. Loretta treasured her relationship with her grandson and the light of her life, Carter Robertson.

She is survived by her brother, Theodore (Ted) Bowen and his wife, Dorothy; brother, Ryland (Sug) Bowen; and many nieces, nephews and dear friends. Loretta graduated from Covington High School, attended National Business College and retired from Roanoke County Schools. She was a devoted member of Ninth Street Church of the Brethren where she was active in hospitality and taught Sunday School for many years. She was an avid reader, a skilled homemaker and cook. She loved to travel, and especially enjoyed vacation cruises with Kenneth. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Ninth Street Church of the Brethren, 1103 Ninth Street, SE, Roanoke, Va. 24013. The family wishes to express sincere gratitude to Dr. Mallidi and the Blue Ridge Cancer Center, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital Oncology and CCU staff. Funeral services will be held 2 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, 2009, at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel with Pastor Patrick Starkey officiating.

Interment will follow in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2009, at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 540-982-2221.

SERGIO A. BIMA, 49, of Vinton, Va., passed away on October 30, 2009. Memorial Service, St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, November 4, 2009, at 3:30 pm. Arrangements by Oakey’s Vinton Chapel and Crematory, 540-982-2221.

GLENN MELVIN DOSS, 60, of Roanoke, Va., also known at “Skin” and “Paw Paw,” died on Saturday morning, October 31, 2009. Glenn was a unique individual that walked through life at the beat of his own drum. He was a master of the gift of gab, quick wit, and the art of trickery.

Glenn had a heart of gold and was a friend to everyone. He had many friends at the Swan and Polumbo’s Restaurants and was an avid Dale Earnhardt Sr., Washington Redskins and Virginia Tech fan. Glenn was preceded in death by his parents, Melvin and Allene Jenkins Doss; and his loving companion and caregiver Vickie M. Orange. Surviving is his brother, Barry Doss and his wife, Selena of Vinton; his sisters, Sandra Doss and Sharon Doss, both of Roanoke; his nephews, Scott Doss and wife Leslie, of Bedford, Troy Doss and wife Mary Ann, of Forest, and Matthew Mitchell of Roanoke; and a niece, Amanda Mitchell of Centreville. He is also survived by his second family, Melanie Overstreet, Kevin Overstreet, Jason Orange and wife, Valerie, and all their children; and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends. A private graveside service was held Wednesday, November 4, 2009 in Mountain View Memorial Park Boones Mill with Daniel R. Doss officiating. The family received friends on Tuesday, November 3, 2009 from 2 to 4 pm and from 6 to 8 pm at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 540981-2221.

MARTHA M. PEGGANS, 83, of Salem, went home to be with the Lord Friday, November 6, 2009.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Taylor and Lena Hurt Peggans; a sister and a number of brothers.

She is survived by a twin sister, Dortha Brady and a brother, Richard Proctor, both of Salem; a dear friend, Hazel Jayne of Roanoke; and a number of nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be conducted at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel at 12 noon on Monday, November 9, 2009 with Pastor Paul Lockhart officiating. Interment will follow in Fair View Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 6-8 p.m. on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 9822221.

GEORGE JUNE BUSH JR., 87, of Hardy, went to be with the Lord Friday, November 6, 2009. He was born May 8, 1922 to the late George R. Bush and Nannie Hundley Bush. He was also predeceased by his wife, Devonia R. Bush, daughter, Frances Metcalf, grandson, Daniel Metcalf and brother, Jack G. Bush. Survivors include a daughter, Jewell B. Chisom and husband, Sherman, of Roanoke; two sons, Jimmy R. Bush and wife, Lucy of Hardy and Jerry W. Bush and wife, Janat , of Hardy; brother, Thomas F. Bush, of Murrells Inlet, S.C.; a sister, Jennie Deese, of Hardy; twelve grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and ten great-great-grandchildren. Also surviving are several nieces and nephews. Funeral service will be conducted 2 p.m.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009 from the Lotz Vinton Chapel, with the Rev. Andy Rice and Dr. Carl Collins officiating.

Burial to follow in Fair Glenn Family Cemetery at Coopers Cove. The family will receive friends Monday, November 9, 2009 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the funeral home.

Arrangements by Lotz Funeral Home, Vinton Chapel.

Online condolences may be sent to www.lotzfuneralhome. com.

NELLIE CHRISTINE MARTIN JONES, 83, of Roanoke, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, November 8, 2009. She was born in Moneta, Virginia, December 28, 1925, daughter of the late Luther “Luke” and Eula Ellis Martin. She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie B. Jones, her son, Ronnie L. Jones, sister, Agnes M. McLain, and brother Howard L. “Buster” Martin.

She is survived by her children; Gary G. Jones, and his wife, Patricia, of Vinton, Gayle J. Thomasson, and her husband, Bill, of Goodview, grandchildren; Dean Jones and his wife, Denise, Melissa Smith, Scott Thomasson, and his wife, Mandy, great-grandson, Logan Jones, and other family members including special niece, Shirley M. Collins.

Funeral services will be held 2:00 P.M. Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel with the Rev. Donnie Glass officiating. Interment will follow at Mountain View Cemetery.

The family will receive friends from 4-8 p.m. Tuesday at Oakey’s Vinton Chapel, 540-982-2221.

Byrd senior delves into political world Gene Marrano gmarrano@cox.net William Byrd High School senior Aaron Lyles – member of the Jr. Air Force ROTC, possible law school aspirant – has his sights set on another achievement at the age of 17. Lyles will formally announce a run for Vinton Town Council at the Charles Hill Senior Center this Sunday (Nov. 15) at 2pm. Nothing against Bobby Altice or Billy Obenchain, both of whom are up for election next May 4, but Lyles feels Town Council is ready for a fresh – and very young perspective.

This isn’t his first musings about public office, but it is a bit less ambitious and more feasible than his initial, aborted run: Lyles at the age of 14 announced from in front of the municipal building that he would challenge then-U.S. Senator George Allen. Never mind that he was 16 years under the legal minimum of 30. If he won it was off to court.

That notion quickly passed and Lyles became involved with the Young Democrats chapter in Roanoke County (he is now the chair), and with the Roanoke County Democratic Party itself as a foot soldier. Lyles gave Patrick Patterson a big hug on election night last week when it looked

liked the challenger would unseat Republican incumbent Mike Altizer, although the tide turned after the absentee ballots were counted.

“We thought we had it,” says Lyles, who is serious about running as an independent (all Town Council candidates do) next May, several months after turning 18. “I understand I’m going to get a lot of criticism for that,” he adds about the idea of being a teenaged candidate for public office.

Its now six months until the election; beating Obenchain and Altice means he must get started early in his estimation. “I’m running to give the citizens of Vinton a real choice. There’s a generation gap in Vinton. They’ve been there long enough.” The youngest member of Town Council, Wes Nance, is in his 40’s.

Keeping more young people in Vinton after they leave school and enlivening the downtown business district are two main issues. Lyles was pleased to hear about a recent $35,000 grant the town received to work on downtown planning issues but says Vinton should be ‘very selective,’ about the types of establishments it tries to attract.

I recent elections are a barometer it may take just 300400 votes to secure a seat on Council come next May. Lyles says bridging the generation gap and advocating a more business friendly community may provide him a chance with voters.

It’s off to college next year, maybe in pre-law and political science at Roanoke College, or perhaps starting his post- William Byrd adventure at Virginia

Aaron Lyles is a Senior at William Byrd High School and plans to run for Town Council in the Spring.

Western. (Lyles is speaking to government classes at Byrd about his upcoming campaign.)

Closing the Gearhart skate park last year and the Vinton pool this summer means two less opportunities for young people in the town notes Lyles. “Boredom is where bad [behavior] can start.

I haven’t seen [alternatives] come out of this Council.”

He is also forming a political action committee and has been in contact with the State Board of Elections to ensure that is done correctly. Campaign materials are already on order and brochures have been printed.

Lyles doesn’t expect full support from all of the older voters in Vinton that may gravitate towards seniors like Altice and Obenchain, but the ‘problem’ he sees in the town – few high school graduates coming back after finishing their education - makes

him move forward. Lyles hopes to offer ‘common sense solutions,’ to voters next spring.

The Jr. Air Force ROTC Group 1st Sgt. says that experience at Byrd has taught him all about discipline, leadership and accountability.

“I feel that I’m better for it.” His interest in politics began in earnest in 2004, when Lyles made calls for the Kerry presidential campaign and ‘cried like a baby when he lost.’

Lyles’ self-described ‘modest background,’ and an after school job at the local CVS may help people see him as a regular Joe: “a leader like myself may be something that the people are looking for in their next Town Council.”

He’ll outline some of his plans this Sunday at 2pm, at the Charles Hill Senior Center. “We’re going to give it our best effort,” says Lyles, who feels ‘very confident,’ that at some point in the future he will indeed sit on Vinton Town Council.

VOICE 07

Ask the Pharmacist Erin DeLauder-Brooks, Pharm.D., MBA AskThePharmacist@vintonvoice.com Q: What are the main differences/similarities between brand name medications and generic medications?

A: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves generic medications for use. In order to be approved, a generic medication must contain the same active ingredient(s) as the brand name medication. It must also be the same strength, dosage form (tablet, suspension, capsule, etc.), and be administered in the same way (oral, injection, etc.). Generic medications also have to undergo special testing to show that their performance is the same as the brand name product. If these criteria are met, then the generic medication will have the same safety and efficacy as the brand medication. Generic medications can have different inactive ingredients, such as dyes or flavorings, and can be a different size or shape. Generic medications are typically much less expensive than their brand name counterparts.

If you have any other questions about brand and generic medications, stop by your local Walgreens pharmacy and ask the pharmacist.

Dr. Erin DeLauder-Brooks is the pharmacy manager of the new Walgreens on Franklin Rd. If you have any pharmacy related questions, feel free to ask her at askthepharmacist@vintonvoice.com.

08 VOICE

By Ashlee Manning

Pumpkin Muffins Ingredients 1 1/2 C flour 1/4 t salt 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t ground cloves 1 egg 1/2 C milk

1/4 t sugar (for topping) 2 t baking powder 1/2 C sugar 1/2 t nutmeg 1/4 C margarine 1/2 C canned pumpkin

Directions Mix flour,baking powder, salt, sugar,cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves together. Cut in margarine. Combine egg with pumpkin and milk; add to flour mixture. Mix only to combine.

Grease muffin tins and fill 2/3 full. Sprinkle 1/4 t sugar on muffins and bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 mins.

Introducing John Montgomery What attracted you to the Vinton Voice?

I admire anyone who has the ambition and drive necessary to start a publication, particularly during challenging economic times.

You’re known, at least to the Voice readers as a sports expert, what else “tickles your fancy,” writing wise?

Feature stories that tell personal stories. Over the years, I have written for several local publications about subjects other than sports, including The Roanoker, The Roanoke Times, the Blue Ridge Business Journal and Valley Business Front. My favorite subjects are people who have followed the example set by their role models, overcome adversity and then eventually become role models for others.

What would you do if you ran Vinton?

I would strive to foster a harmonious atmosphere based upon caring for people. At one time or another, we all can use some help -- why not offer some assistance to those in need when you’re in a position to do so?

Getting along with others is easy if you try.

Here is your open forum to talk to nearly everyone in town, what do you have to say?

I like to promote a “work hard, play hard, rest easy” mentality. There are plenty of hardships in life, no question, but if you do the best you can, you really have to let the chips fall as they will.

john

MONTGOMERY inONEminute

Single or Married: I have been married to Joyce since 1995.

What do you do in your spare time? I am an active board member with several organizations in our community.

Among my current favorites are Westhampton Christian Church, the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke, Virginia Amateur Sports, the Salvation Army, the Roanoke Valley Sports Club and the Roy Stanley Memorial Golf Tournament.

Favorite Book: I spend a lot of time reading and over the years have collected a personal library, mostly comprised of non-fiction titles. My favorite authors are Pat Conroy, David Halberstam, Robert Caro and Richard Ford.

Your “soundtrack” song (song that best describes you): I love all kinds of music – if I had to choose between sports and music in my life, I would find the choice difficult. How about “On The Road Again”?

How has your hometown made you who you are? I have always believed that where you are is where you are meant to be. I moved to the Roanoke Favorite Movie: After Valley 40 years ago, at age 13, and considerable thought, I’ve come still believe it is the most wonderful up with six: “The Shawshank place on earth. I don’t plan on Redemption,” “Silence of the leaving, but if for some reason I Lambs,” “One Flew Over the should, I intend to embrace my next Cuckoo’s Nest,” “Papillon,” “The home, too.

Godfather” and “Heat.”

•‘BOOTIE’ continued from page 02 Get well wishes and prayers go out to Bill Hufton ( Hang in there Bill we love you), Eva Craig, Jennie Robertson (at home) Bobby Barton (at home doing great) Hope everyone is better soon.

Happy Birthday wishes go out to. Chuck Kelly, Helen West, Kimberly McBroom, Abbey Haldeman, Matt Gardner, Sam Hubble, Deborah Berry and Jamie Butler All celebrated B-Days this past week.

If anyone is interested in getting a DVD of the Vinton Historical Society Talent show, please contact Jamie Archual Videography, (540) 521-6959 or jamie@archualvideo.com. Only $15 and $2 will go to the Museum. It would make a great gift and help out the Vinton museum. Go by and visit sometime.

Congrats!! to WBHS cheerleaders Regional Champs and to Monica West Regional “Coach Of the Year” Way to GO!!!!!!!!

Congrats! to Dawn Tanner & Rob Erdman who celebrated their 27th anniversary last Friday . Also to Kim Greenway & Chris Riley on their 10th anniversary, Nov. 7th, May both couples have many more years together.

Vinton Baptist -Collecting coats for Kids, to be distributed by RAM to area Schools & Manna Ministries.

Gently used. Box in Lobby of the church.

What better way to honor a Veteran today than buying a brick that will last forever, in their honor or memory. Vinton/Roanoke County Veteran’s Monument, Go to the Monument website to order.

THANK YOU! to all that are serving or have served our Country..

VOICE 09

Danae Wensley Town of Vinton Each year, November 11 is set aside to honor our veterans.

And rightly so. The stories of their deeds need to be told and retold to our children and our children’s children, lest we forget the great price that was paid.

But in our quest to remember the price that was paid, let us not forget about the sacrifices that are still being made. Even now thousands of soldiers are fighting, both here and abroad, to protect our freedom. These men and women have left future plans, work opportunities, education and even family and friends behind in order to serve our country.

And it’s not just the service people who sacrifice, but their families as well. Vinton resident Candye Ann Peters has two sons who serve in the military. Nathaniel Hughes, 21, who has previously served in Iraq and Blaze Hughes, 20, who is currently deployed in Afghanistan.

Peters says the hardest thing about Blaze being gone is not fear or worry, although that does happen sometimes. The hardest thing is knowing that he’s missing out on his little brothers and sisters growing up.

“That’s time he won’t get back,” she said.

As sad as it may seem, Peters’ situation is not unique. There are many other families facing the same or similar situations. Upon completion, the Vinton/Roanoke County Veterans Monument will serve as a small token of our gratitude for all they have sacrificed.

What sets the Vinton/Roanoke County Veterans Monument apart

10 VOICE

from other monuments is the focus on all military, not just those who have died in combat.

“I think it’s a wonderful way to honor [our military]. That’s part of the reason I got involved,” said Peters, who serves as assistant direct of the monument campaign.

The monument is scheduled for completion in early spring 2010. The octagonal pavilion will feature a terraced fountain, bronze American flag, bronze military seals and granite panels inscribed with the names of fallen soldiers from Vinton and Roanoke County.

The monument will be surrounded by brick-style pavers, engraved with the names of active and retired military and others we wish to honor.

The foundation has been poured and the rock garden/ retention wall and steps are in place. The pavilion, columns, lintels and ramp are all being precast. The sculpted American flag is being cast in bronze by Shoop’s American Bronze Casting Foundry in Wisconsin.

Peters and fellow capital campaign committee members are responsible for raising the $400,000 needed for the monument. So far, financing has been a cooperative effort between the Town of Vinton, Roanoke County, sale of the brick-style pavers and generous donors. In fact, the capital committee recently received a $3,300 grant from the Melva P. Jones Foundation for the Roanoke Valley.

Upon completion, the Vinton/ Roanoke County Veterans monument will be a place of serenity and reflection. A place to remind us of all the things, and people, we have to be thankful for and hopefully inspire us to live better lives. It will serve as a

constant reminder and token of gratitude to those who willing gave and continue to give of their time and talents to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

Local residents can help us in our efforts to honor local military personnel by purchasing and dedicating a brick-style paver for $150. These make wonderful, memorable Christmas gifts. There are only 300 left. Businesses interested in naming opportunities are encouraged to donate $3,000 over a two or three-year period.

Anyone wishing to take part in these efforts may do so by contacting Mary Beth Layman at (540) 983-0613 (or by e-mail at mblayman@vintonva.gov) or Candye Ann Peters at (540) 890-5594. You can also visit the Veterans Monument website at www.vrcveteransmonument.org For more information about the Town of Vinton, our efforts to recognize military personnel or upcoming events, please visit our website at www.vintonva.gov or Become a Fan on Facebook.

Photos by Mary Beth Layman

TOP: Jason Peters (left), capital campaign co-chair, and John Kirtley (right), General Contractor and member of the artistic team, take pictures at the foundation pouring.

ABOVE: Members of the Vinton Vision and Capital Campaign Committees stand on top of the recently poured foundation.

L-R: Kathryn Sowers, Norman Jasper, Brad Grose, Henry Howell, Bootie Bell Chewning, Audrey Thrasher, Candye Ann Peters.

PHOTOS Photos by Chris Manning

ABOVE: Rickie Carr (left) celebrated 40 years of coaching and an early birthday on Saturday at the Senior Center. Many family members, friends and former players and colleagues (like Coach Gary Wathall, right) were on hand for the celebration.

LEFT: Teaberry’s held their ribbon cutting in Vinton on Thursday of last week. Town Manager Chris Lawrence, Councilwoman Carolyn Fidler were on hand with new owner Brenda Johnson (bottom left photo).

Photos submitted by Teddy Moberg

ABOVE: WBHS teacher and Coach Gene Riggs was on the losing end of a World Series wager with junior Christie Vernon. Riggs, a Braves fan who isn’t fond of the Yankees, agreed to wear a homemade shirt by Vernon should the Yankees win... and they did. Riggs wore the shirt Nov 5.

Charles Vassar of Troutville, VA was the overall winner of The Roanoke Valley Senior Golf Tour’s final tournament of the year which was played at Ashley Plantation Country Club on Tuesday, November 3rd. Playing in Division 2, Vassar carded a net score of 62. Other net score winners in Division 2 were: 2nd - Skip Mitchell - 62; 3rd: Jerry Perkins - 65; 4th: Warren Wertz - 66; 5th: Pete Akers - 66.

Playing in Division 1, first place went to John Hubbard of North Roanoke County with a net score of 67; Other Division 1 net scores were: 2nd: Barrett Cawood - 67; 3rd: Jim Kearney - 68; 4th: Woody Deans - 69; 5th: Jim Snidow - 69. Division 3 net score winners: 1st Place - Rick Pasquini of Fairfield, VA - 65; 2nd: Gary Thompson - 68; 3rd: Jim McDaniel - 69; 4th: Leonard Stiff - 70; 5th: Don Shelton 70.

The RVSGT wishes to thank Peter Gardner and his staff for a wonderful day of golf at Ashley Plantation and the Humana folks for furnishing our beverages and snacks. The Roanoke Valley Senior Golf Tour is now accepting members for the 2010 season. Applications can be downloaded from our website at: http://www.rvsgt.org.

VOICE 11

Governor Kaine names Daniel Barchi as a member of the newly created Health Information Technology Advisory Commission Governor Timothy M. Kaine recently announced the formation of the Health Information Technology Advisory Commission by Executive Order 95. Daniel Barchi, senior vice president and chief information officer for Carilion Clinic is among those chosen to serve on the Commission.

“I am happy to join this group of talented leaders from the healthcare, business, and IT communities to guide Virginia’s Healthcare Information Technology strategy,” says Barchi. “Each of the healthcare organizations represented has made great strides in using technology for the benefit of its own patients, and together we are working to ensure integrated care and coverage state-wide and regionally.”

Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marilyn Tavenner will chair the Commission and has been asked to secure broad stakeholder engagement and to provide leadership on the most valuable use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds set aside for Health Information Technology. The Virginia Department of Health has been designated as the lead agency for Health IT in the Commonwealth and an Office of Health IT was created.

The newly created Commission will support the Commonwealth’s response to federal grant opportunities, and ensure coordination across multiple related areas in an effort to maximize the benefits of the funding available to the state.

The Commission will enlist a broad range of stakeholders including physicians, Health Information Exchange and privacy experts, and hospital and insurance executives To learn more about the Health IT Advisory Commission or to view a complete list of members, please visit www.governor.virginia. gov.

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12 VOICE

Sydney Ransom Terrier Times Wachovia will become Wells Fargo Bank in a merger that will be complete by 2012.

In an uncertain time, the word merger can be a scary thought, especially when the unemployment rate has topped the 10-percent mark. However, with Wells Fargo and Wachovia banks merging together this will make the future outlook brighter by producing more job openings.

“Wells Fargo and Wachovia are merging and becoming one company,” said Lori Bailey, a financial specialist with Wachovia.

According to Bailey, the transition will happen over the next two years and one concern is making sure the needs of customers are met.

A merger such as this could cause customers to worry, asking questions ranging from whether account numbers will change to considering switching banks.

“Peoples accounts won’t change because most of our products when we do a merger are grandfathered over or our clients are given opportunities to

select new services.” Bailey said.

Bailey though has no worries about the new company merger.

“I am very positive about the merger; I have been with the Wachovia for 15 years and have seen many changes,” Bailey said.

“However, I am certain that our goal for both companies is to always put our customers first, and we are taking additional steps to ensure there is no negative impact.”

So, why the merger? It seems the companies wanted to reach more customers in diverse markets and opted to combine forces to avoid competition and duplication.

“This happened because it was two banks that offered the same level of service and with the merge, we will be east coast and west coast,” Bailey said.

Job loss is a hot topic in the U.S. right now with the economy being down. So, will the merger impact employment in the Roanoke area?

“There will be new opportunities that will create new jobs and have fewer displacements.” Bailey explains.

“There will be new growth in different departments and a need for new employees.”

Vinton receives grant, looks toward the future Chris Manning Publisher Considering the amount of work that has gone into it, the recent $35,000 Planning grant awarded to the Town of Vinton from the 2009 Community Development Block Grant by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, sure is going to make a lot of people happy. Chris Lawrence, Vinton Town Manager, is one of those people. “It’s something they’ve [Vinton Town Council] been working on since I interviewed for this job.” There are a lot of things that go into “revitalizing” a downtown, as has been learned by Lawrence, Council members, government employees, the Chamber of Commerce and citizens as many of them, who make up the Downtown Revitalization Committee, have been to many locations in the state to see downtowns that have, in fact, been revitalized.

“There are different kinds of things we can try to do, like the downtown façade program, replacing the sidewalks on the Lee St. intersection” Lawrence says “but the one thing I’ve noticed, just from my observation with my background , is that there wasn’t a focused master plan.” This grant should help get that master plan going.

According to the press release from the town, the Planning Grant will go toward hiring “consultants for the development and completion of the Downtown Economic Restructuring and Marketing Plan and the Downtown Physical Improvement Plan.”

Lawrence sees this plan to be a very focused, very specific “20 year vision for downtown, with a ten-year strategic plan for the town.”

Some of the planning will revolve around three things that the town has a need for. The first is market study, trying to figure out what exactly the Vinton market is, compared with adjacent markets and to see what opportunities there are.

The second piece of the puzzle is the identity. Essentially what is the “brand” of Vinton. Lawrence sees this as a “brand for the community” that will cater to downtown.

Thirdly, is the physical improvement plan. This will included the streets, the facades, etc., but will also take a look at some of the land use and try to create a vision and a model for what will work downtown. Looking ahead to the future, this will expand downtown physically, as opposed to the two or three cross streets that seem to be what everyone considers downtown now.

These things were all in the plan, they needed to happen whether the town was given the grant or not, but it will happen much quicker with this money that wasn’t in the budget. Along with the initial planning grant, the town will also be in the running for a construction grant, worth a million dollars, once they’ve met the requirements.

There are communities all across the state vying for this money, but the leadership isn’t getting ahead of themselves as there is a lot of work to be done prior.

Lawrence stresses that the town leadership wants input from the townspeople, as they are the ones who live here, work here and are the core of the community. So, for all of you creative minds that want to help shape what Vinton will become in the next twenty years, here’s your chance.

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The new and improved

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VOICE 13

"I am a real american, fight

In Memory o Robbie Robinson Contributor

Photo by Danny Cruff

Veterans here at the Vinton VFW (and in the cover photo): Bill Aylor, Felix Price, Henry Howell, Jahue Mundy, Lester C. Turner, Norman Jasper, Brenda L. Hale, Betty Kelly, Bice Sheaff, Waynerd Caldwell and Julian Marshall.

Friendship is something we all should be involved with in Never take anything for granted. Be friendly to one another. It day and theirs a lot brighter.

To reflect, for a moment, if one may and pay our respe loved ones who have been called to that far away home, that h with hands, eternal in the heaven, there to sit with their God, Sometimes we assemble at Vinton Baptist Church or at for a Service to honor the memory of our dear Departed Lo have answered the final Summons of the Great Creator of t assemble at the Celestial Home above, who from their hand the laboring tools of life and now have ceased to tread on ea we can rejoice that they are now walking serenely in that la bourne, no traveler ever returns.

We spill sorrowful tears because of the loneliness w their absence and pour out our Love in sympathy to their B Ones, who are lonely in their absence; yet we rejoice in the friendship, fellowship and Love we experienced while travelin worshiping together with one another.

Death has sounded the dreaded alarm at the door of Church many times this year. Let us, therefore, pause in t our work and pay tribute to the memory of our worthy loves answered the call to be with our Creator and have entered the which we all as Christians are advancing.

There is a glorious victory and an eternal beauty in the p

Operation Vet Appreciation remodels home of Ro William Whitworth, a 1999 graduate of William Byrd started a Non-Profit Org. called “Operation Vet Appreciation.” Their goal is to remodel a Veterans home every year for Veterans Day in honor of their service.

This year they just finished remodeling and upgrading Ms. Mary Mellot’s home in Roanoke city. Over 30 businesses participated and it was a huge success. They gave her a brand new roof,repainted the entire outside of her house, upgraded her bathroom, performed major landscaping and her favorite, according to Whitworth, planting a brand new flag pole with an American flag in her front yard. Ms. Mellot served over 35 years in the Marine corp. and Army reserves. “Our goal next year is to honor a returning vet from either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars” Whitworth says Photos by Scott and Barry Brooks

"When i get older, i will be stronger, they'll call me free VOICE

for the rights of every man"

-Rick Derringer ‘Real American’

of Our Dear Departed Loved Ones

n our daily lives. t will make your

ect to our fallen house not made , in His glory.

Funeral Homes oved Ones who the Universe to ds have dropped arth with us, but and from whose

we feel through Bereaved Loved memory of the ng, working and

Vinton Baptist the activities of s ones who have eir home toward

process of death.

It is the process of placing the finite hand into the infinite hand of God and being transplanted into the realms of Heaven, under the ever watchful eye of Our Heavenly Father. This lesson of mortality and immortality is to teach us that we ultimately must pass through the darkened door to the end of our quest. In that knowledge, we are sustained by the unfaltering trust in God and the hope of Immortality. The Volume of the Sacred Law, the Holy Bible, says, “He who believes in his heart and confesses with his mouth, shall be saved.” This is the only way that we are assured of seeing our departed loved ones again.

Until some great loss comes to us, we do not think much about death.

We are far too busy with the fascinating world in which we live. Their day has now come to an end, while ours is still here. But, keep in mind, God Almighty is too wise to let them slip from our minds, for when death speaks, there is an instant hush in our hearts; everything else in stilled that we may listen, teaching that which we do not wholly forget, some discipline of the spirit, learning obedience from the things we have suffered, some bewildered understanding of the unutterable tenderness and mercy of our Loving God. Breaking into our mortal minds comes the whisper of the voices of our Faith.

There isn’t any real death. Thus we believe, thus we affirm and thus we are certain that we too are slowly but surely drawing near the time toward our home in Heaven and to the spirits of just men made perfect in the eyes of God. In this hope we bury our departed souls, sure of the inextinguishable hope of man.

The one effective remembrance of our departed ones is to catch their spirit in our thoughts, our homes, our business, our Churches and in the community in which we live and in our treatment of mankind, to pass on the same kind of Faith, Unity and Zeal that they had in building their active Faith and Love.

As we remember them, let us remember their Love of Life and live our

lives in the same generous manner, proving that they made a difference and that because they departed this earth loving everyone, we are nobler with better understanding how life should be lived and spent.

We are members of our Churches, thereby merely the rear rank of a vast procession of Christians winding its way toward our eternal Home above.

While we are yet, still in the shadow, look how our Loved Ones passed into Glory of the Everlasting Light which they have obtained. Their hands have reached out to be welcomed, to receive the promises they believed in and now are awaiting them.

Particular in the hour of grief we memorialize with sorrow the passing of dedicated servants of God. They were dedicated Husbands, Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Sons and Daughters whose virtues will be forever engraved upon our hearts. We extend our sympathy to the families, many friends and to the members of their Churches and in doing so we are reminded of that great Cardinal Principle of life which is Truth. It is in the search for Truth and Light that we strive for in this life. The great Truth of all is our consolation that God is eternal Glory in the realm beyond the skies.

May this thought and our firm belief in Immortality and the life eternal be ever with us to cheer and sustain us, as it cheered and comforted our departed souls, may we share with their families and friends, these words: They are not lost who find the sunset gate, The goal of all their faithful years.

They are not lost who seeks to find, The light of sun and stars and God! Lift up your heads, ye sorrowing ones, And be ye glad of heart, Remember, Calvary and Easter Day Were just three days apart.

oanoke Veteran Mellot

edom just like a wavin' flag" -K’naan - ‘Wavin’ Flag’

VOICE

Samuel Claiborne Turner Great Grandfather

The Part Great Grandfather took in the War Written by Mary Turner while in the 7th grade at Harbour School.

Confederate Soldier, Private, Company D, 12th Regiment Virginia Infantry. Enlisted March 25, 1862. Born March 24, 1833 and died April 20, 1916. Married to Nannie F. Stovall.

Grandfather was called to war in the year 1861. At that time he left at home a wife and three children, the oldest being my father. Lincoln (President) called for seventy-five thousand volunteers. My grandfather knew that he would be called to war, so he was one of the first to volunteer.

He fought in the first battle which was at Big Bethel, although he was not, at that time, a trained soldier. He fought with bravery that gave a promise of a long struggle. He fought under General Lee. He fought in the Seven Day Battle where General Lee lost twenty-thousand men.

Grandfather was one of the lucky men who fought through the seven days without a wound.

He fought through the battle of Fredericksburg where Lee lost about five thousand men. He also fought in the Battle of Vicksburg and Chickahominy.

In the battle of Chancellorsville, General Jackson was wounded by one of his own soldiers and died a few days later. He had been mistake for a troop of Federal cavalry. Grandfather was on to hear General Lee say “I had indeed lost my right arm.” Yet Grandfather was one to fight through without a scratch.

In the Battle of Gettysburg, Grandfather was one of Lee’s ragged and half starved men, who began a bloody three day battle on July 1, 1863.

There he was wounded in the wrist by a big Federal gun. He was forced to leave the battle fields where he had fought so bravely. In this battle the Confederates had over twenty thousand men killed and wounded. The most important incident of this battle to me was that Grandfather was wounded there.

Grandfather was unable to fight so he came home on a thirty day furlough. He reached home once more; ragged, half starved, unshaved, he was almost frightening to look at. He came within a few hundred yards of the house and hollered to Grandmother. She was almost frightened to death at such a looking object, but went to see what was wanted. In camp Grandfather came in contact with body lice and he did not want to get them in the house. He wanted some clothes and soap and water brought up there to him. There he washed himself and burned his clothing. Of course Grandmother and the children could hardly wait for him to get to the house. He felt lucky to be at home once more after enduring so much.

While Grandfather was at home on the furlough, Lee surrendered to Grant. The end of the war came and Grandfather did not have to return. He was proud to bear the honor of going through the war from the beginning to the end and with only a slight wound in the wrist. This was the year 1864.

Grandfather came home and went to work on his farm which had almost gone to ruin trying to build it up. Grandmother died in a few years after the war, leaving Grandfather and nine children. Grandfather lived to a ripe old age and died in his home near Elamsville in 1916.

I feel that it is a great honor to be the granddaughter of such a brave man as Grandfather. He went through so much endurance.

(A story about my Great Grandfather that was written by Mary Turner Hylton as a student, about her grandfather. Mary’s brother and my grandmother Mary Pedigo were brother and sister. ) -Barbara P. Dillion

16 VOICE

Tricky, Tricky...

Dale Russell, MBA wheresmymoney@vintonvoice.com Hello to all once again…Yep, two weeks and counting. No signs of the Flu (or any other illness) in the Russell home, Yeah!! That means we get to share some more time together. Grab yourself a coffee and sit down.

This week I want to speak to you about something that really irritates me, especially if you have young adults that are just starting to spread their wings and try to fly solo. They are especially vulnerable.

We all know that banks are NOT charitable organizations, right? They are trying, like every other business out there to make a profit. I have no problem with that, its capitalism at its finest…and ugliest.

Let me assure you of this one thing. You will never beat the bank at its own game. The best you can hope for is to work with the bank without losing any fingers or toes.

But isn’t Congress taking steps to safeguard the consumer against the dastardly efforts of the credit card companies and banks committed to soaking us for all we are worth with elevated interest and fees, you ask?

IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GOVERNMENT TO PULL YOUR REAR END OUT OF THE FIRE WHEN YOU ARE THE ONE THAT PUT IT THERE IN THE FIRST

PLACE. I don’t care who happens to be in office at the time, consumer ignorance does not warrant governmental intervention. So it really doesn’t matter what Congress passes, there will be any number of other ways banks and other organizations will employ to attempt to wriggle your money out of your pocket and into theirs.

That’s why YOU have to arm yourself with knowledge so that you don’t fall prey to some of these tricks that ensnare the unwitting consumer. Let’s just be honest, folks use credit cards, not because we want to give the bank more money, but because we don’t have the cash available at the time of our purchase and are either willing to pay for the convenience of getting it now, or think we are beating the banks at their own game…You know 90 days same as cash, and everyone pays the balance off in 90 days. Nope, 70% of folks DO NOT pay it off within 90 days and are charged the accrued interest as well as the mark up that was added to the item just in case you did pay it off in the 90 days. Double whammy…

So what tricks are you speaking of, there Dale?

Are you aware there are fees for late payment? Fees for being over you allotted account balance? Yes, there are. You need to REALLY read the fine print that came with the credit card. You know the disclosure information that sometimes looks like the papers you get (and throw away) with medicines?

Yeah, those…there is important information in there entitled “Terms and Conditions”. That’s the road map of how the credit card company intends to do business with you, which by the way, they tell you that they can change the rules at their decision without notice to you.

Now get this, those fees can domino. If you are close to your credit limit and don’t get the payment there on their payment schedule,

you will be charged interest on the balance, a fee for late payment, and then a fee for being over the limit. Generally speaking, those fees can run about $39 each and don’t take long to accumulate. Here’s the tricky part…Ever notice that the bill typically comes just before payment is due. If you mail your payment in, ever notice that the bill typically goes to the other side of the country? And finally, ever noticed that the payment due date is likely to fall on or around a weekend? All of those steps are a fee trap specifically designed, in my opinion, to allow the credit card companies the opportunity to charge fees at will.

How do you combat those tricks, you ask? There are two specific things you can do and both require action on your part. First, don’t use credit cards. Plain and simple cash based spending system. If you can’t buy it with cash, you will have to use some emotional intelligence and save up for it. If you can’t do that and really like credit cards, then OK. Here’s how you battle them and stay ahead.

Maintain no more than 50% of your available credit limit. If you happen to go over, or are already over that percentage pay it down right now. Sell some stuff, cut back on some things temporarily, but pay it down right now. Then determine the billing cycle dates and the exact date the payment is due…forget the bill. Then subtract seven business days, use the internet and pay it early. That one kills two birds with one stone because many cards are set up with a tickler interest rate contingent upon timely payments. Many times, two “late” payments within a set number of months and the interest rate goes through the roof.

Thanks for spending some time with me.

I look forward to speaking with you next week and thanks again for the great e-mails. Keep em’ coming…wheresmymoney@vintonvoice. com.

VOICE 17

Photo by Anita Firebaugh

Restoring smiles is all in a day’s work at Blue Ridge Dental Group

Anita J. Firebaugh Contributor Seeing a smile where one wasn’t before is the highlight Dr. David Black’s day. The Vinton dentist finds restoring a smile to be one of the most rewarding things he can do.

“There is so much negative in dentistry,” Black said. Not only do folks fear pain, sometimes it’s hard to smile when teeth are bad. “There are people who walk in with their hand over their mouth.” But a few visits with Black can dramatically change an ugly mouth into a lovely one.

Black’s service was recently acknowledged by the International College of Dentists, which named him a Fellow of the college at the 80th annual convocation in Honolulu, Hawaii on October 2. The college gave him a membership plaque, gold lapel pin and a gold key. He was one of 230 dentists in the United States to receive this honor.

This is a dentist who loves people. “I enjoy making their

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mouths’ healthier,” he said. He is what is known as a Pankey trained dentist. These dentists treat their patients as people, perform complete examinations and most importantly, listen and answer questions fully. The goal is to create a practice of optimal care that is comfortable for the patient.

That could include anesthesia and a laser for some procedures.

His patients love him back and speak highly of him.. “If you’re in pain, he gets you in and takes care of you,” Kim Mitchell of Roanoke said. The registered nurse has been seeing Black for 10 years; he was working on a crown for her recently.

She likes his special touch in dealing with her anxieties about dentistry. “He works at your pace and works with your needs as a person,” she said. “He’s just a wonderful dentist.”

Black uses every means possible to ensure the comfort of his patients. That includes anesthesia and a laser for some procedures.

The office of Blue Ridge Dental Group on Hardy Road was Black’s second location. He first opened at

Lake Drive Plaza on April 4, 1972, and then built three years later.

Some of Black’s patients have been with him from his first day.

Those folks are older now and experiencing problems unique to an aging population.

Diabetes in particular is hard on teeth, Black said. Many medicines cause dry mouth and lack of saliva promotes gum disease and tooth decay. Decay is caused by acids in foods, which decalcifies teeth and causes problems.

The doctor and his well-trained staff of dental hygienists work hard to help prevent tooth issues in his patients. He has eight employees on his payroll.

Black came to Vinton from West Virginia, though his mother is from this area. His great uncle, the late Dr. Byron John, was a dentist in downtown Roanoke, and another uncle also practiced dentistry.

Black is the third generation of dentists in his family.

He practices what is commonly called cosmetic dentistry. “I think everybody thinks they’re cosmetic dentists anymore,” Black said with a chuckle. But he’s had specialized training that enables him to really claim the title.

Cosmetic dentistry is a service that improves the way teeth and gums look. Black began studying this specialized treatment in 1989. He uses artistic laboratories and up-to-date digital and laser techniques to return a smile to the

face of his patients.

“It’s a significant part of what I do,” Black said.

He also offers restorative dentistry, which works to restore function and strength to teeth. This includes fillings, crowns, bridges, veneers and dentures. He does not perform surgical procedures, such as orthodontics, implants or root canals, preferring to send his patients to specialists for those types of procedures.

Black received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from West Virginia University in 1971. He immediately married and within a year brought his bride, Barbara, now his wife of 39 years, to Vinton where they took up housekeeping.

They now live in the Wolf Creek section of the community. They have two daughters, one who now lives in Forest and the other in Penhook.

He is very involved in the Church of the Holy Spirit on Merriman Road, where he is a senior warden. He has gone on three mission trips and hopes to do that rewarding work again.

In his spare time, he enjoys boating at Smith Mountain Lake.

Black is a member of the American Dental Association, Academy of General Dentistry and Roanoke Dental Society.

On the ‘net: blueridgedentalgroup.com

Where can you get YOUR Vinton Voice?

A + Price is Right Auto Sales and Supplies Alarm Detection Services Anytime Fitness Barry Brooks Photography Bass Transmissions Berkshire Nursing Home Best Little Hairhouse in Vinton Bojangles Bonsack Elementary School Country Crossing Foodette Cundiff‘s Drug Store Craig Ave. Rec Center Curves Cyndi’s Fashions Desert Sun Tanning Salon Dogwood Restaurant East End Baptist Church EZN Famous Anthony’s restaurant Frank’s Pizza Firehouse Sk8 ‘N Play Grace Family Church Grand Rental Station Gregg Lee-State Farm Greenway Construction Herman L Horn Elementary School Hooters IGA Jerry’s Family Restaurant Jersey Lilly’s Jiffy Automotive Kinsey Crane and Sign Co Lancerlot M and M Insurance Magic City Motors McDonalds Vinton Member One-Vinton Mitchell’s Service Center Mt. Pleasant Elementary Napa Auto Parts New York Life Insurance-Anthony Conner New York Pizza Northwest hardware Olde Colony Realty Parkway Physicians Perma Clean Power Line Rent Equipt Powers Tractor PSS Gun Range & Training R & R Automotive Rancho Viejo Reed’s Automotive 7-11 Bennington St. Shear Acts Hair Salon Springtree Health and Rehab Center Steve’s Automotive Sweet Dreams Mattress Warehouse Teaberry’s Restaurant The Barber Shop The Barbeque Grill The Edge Sports Performance Center Valley Hall Village Family Restaurant Vinton Appliance Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce Vinton Car Connection Vinton Chiropractic Clinic Vinton Library Vinton Municipal Building Vinton Post Office Vinton Veterinary Hospital W.E. Cundiff Elementary School White Tire William Byrd High School William Byrd Middle School.

Wood’s Auto Parts Wood’s Auto Edge Wood’s Service Center Every Kroger and Food Lion in the area

Everybody reads the Voice Even the Little League Super Bowl champion Seminoles take time to read the 11th issue of the Voice after their big win at Salem Stadium on Saturday.

Photo by Danny Cruff

VOICE 19

ASHLEY MILLS

Good Luck Terrier Football and Cheer!

Go Terriers!

We love you and we’re proud that you are a part of such an elite team!

Love, Mom, Dad, Nanny and Brycee

GO GET ‘EM TERRIERS Wood’s Service Center 418 Washington Ave. Vinton, VA 24179 540-982-3663 www.woodsservicecenter.com

GOOD LUCK IN TO ALL WBHS

YOU MAKE US ALL PROUD, GREAT JOB TERRIERS Delegate Onzlee Ware and the Law Offices of Onzlee Ware onzleeware@aol.com 325 N. Jefferson Street Roanoke, VA 24016 540-344-7947 – 540-344-7980

WAY TO GO TERRIERS!

State Farm - Gregg Lee gregg.lee.rfpp@statefarm.com 231 W. Virginia Avenue Vinton, VA 24179 540-982-0257 – 540-982-0258 www.statefarm.com

CONGRATS TERRIERS Video Ventures - Monty Williams mwilliams@videoventures.net 223 West Jackson Avenue Vinton, VA 24179 540-904-7030 www.videoventures.net

Good Luck to the William Byrd High School Competition Cheerleaders and Coaches!!

Go be UNSTOPPABLE at State!

Love, Cheers and Best Wishes ~ The WBHS Cheerleading Booster Club Just dress it up the best you can since its a Big one.

IT’S A PROUD DAY TO BE A TERRIER! BRING IT HOME GUYS AND GIRLS! Eric and Robin Thomas WE’RE PROUD OF ALL THE TERRIER TEAMS

Simmons Insurance Agency, Inc. 1211 Hardy Rd. Vinton, VA 24179 csimins@aol.com 540-343-1796

20 VOICE

CONGRATS TERRIERS! Oakey’s Funeral Service & Crematory

627 Hardy Road - Vinton, VA 24179

540-982-2221 www.oakeys.com

GOOD LUCK TO ALL TERRIER TEAMS, PLAYERS AND COACHES New York Life Insurance-Anthony Conner awconner@ft.newyorklife.com 917 Washington Avenue - Vinton, VA 24179 540-767-6669 – 540-345-5982

GOOD LUCK TO ALL TERRIER TEAMS!

Tammy Shepherd Realtor-L.T. McGhee Company tammyshepherd@cox.net www.tammyeshepherd.com 540-314-1684

GOOD LUCK TERRIERS Greenway and Associates 316 E Washington Ave Vinton, VA 24179 (540) 527-3783 www.urserved.com

THE POSTSEASON TERRIER TEAMS

CONGRATULATIONS TERRIER VOLLEYBALL, FOOTBALL, CROSS COUNTRY AND CHEERLEADING

Your Vinton Kroger 915 Hardy Rd Vinton, VA 24179-3643 (540) 345-7017

CONGRATULATIONS TERRIERS!

www.cranwellmoorelaw.com 111 W Virginia Ave Vinton, VA 24179 (540) 344-1000

WAY TO GO TERRIER VOLLEYBALL AND CHEERLEADING. GOOD LUCK TO ALL TERRIER TEAMS Community Foot Care Center, Inc. Dr. Steve Steffan 116. S. Poplar St., Suite 5 Vinton, Va. 24179 540 985 0597

GREAT JOB TERRIER TEAMS! Alarm Detection Services 214 W. Lee St. Vinton, Va. 24179 540 342 8480 www.alarmdetectionservices.com DJCS# 11-5499

GOOD LUCK TERRIER FOOTBALL Tammy Shepherd Realtor-L.T. McGhee Company tammyshepherd@cox.net www.tammyeshepherd.com 540-314-1684

KEEP IT UP TERRIERS

Grand Rental Station and Grand Storage 1000 Vinyard Rd Vinton, VA 24179 (540) 343-1000 www.grandrental.com

CONGRATULATIONS TERRIERS

WE’RE PROUD OF THE TERRIERS! Allstate- M and M Insurance 119 W Lee Av Vinton, VA 24179 540 342 5355 WAY TO GO TO ALL TERRIER TEAMS Barry Brooks Photography 219 Walnut Ave Vinton, VA 24179 (540) 345-9355 www.barrybrooksphoto.com barrybrooksphoto@cox.net

Good Luck Terrier XC and Volleyball!

Brooke Clayman Altizer

VOICE 21

‘Stop causing such a fuss... ...here’s your consolation prize– second to us!’

Chris Manning Publisher Those words above caused quite a stir heading into the Regional cheerleading competition this past Saturday at Spotswood High School. They are…or were a portion of the William Byrd Terrier cheer during their routine. “We were told by the judges that we couldn’t say that at Regions or we would get a ten point deduction for unsportsmanlike conduct” coach Monica West said. The words were changed, but the result was the same, as the five-time state champion Cheerleaders brought home another regional championship.

Byrd finished the first round with a score of 238, 13 points ahead of second place and finished the final round with a 254, 22 points ahead of second place.

“This is the hardest working team I’ve ever had” Coach West remarked “I’ve had most of them since they were eight years old.” West credits a lot of their success to the team’s ability for full team tumbling, something most of them learned as members of the Cheer Storm All Stars. The team typically wins by pretty big margins and West says it is because of their unique routines “it’s more of a performance than it is a routine, we’re kind of like a circus act.”

The “circus act” has been on a winning streak and some would say they were even more motivated after their 2nd place finish at the Blue Ridge Invitation at Northside a couple weeks ago. The Terriers were the strong favorites, but Northside won in their home gym in the essentially meaningless competition.

When it mattered, the Terriers do what they do best, they dominated, winning the Blue Ridge District competition easily and also cruising at Regions.

State, however, might not quite as much of a “cakewalk” but don’t tell that to Coach West and the team who are living by their team theme of “Unstoppable.” Being the defending champions along with having the experience of five total championships added on top of the most unique routines… or performances in the state, the Terrier cheer team may truly be “Unstoppable.”

The team heads to Richmond for the state competition this Saturday the 14th.

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Photos by Penny Ellis

ABOVE: The William Byrd cheerleaders perform their Region championship routine last Saturday. They will contend for their sixth State Championship of the decade this Saturday.

RIGHT: Regional Coach of the Year Monica West and her assistant coaches pose with their awards from the day.

BELOW: The team takes a moment to huddle together, as do other teams, before their performance last Saturday at Spotswood.

Photos by Dan Vance (left) and Danny Cruff (below)

LEFT: The WBHS volleyball team during a huddle in Thursday’s BRD title match.

BELOW: Candace Brady sets up a teammate in the BRD title match.

Photos by Dan Vance (above) and Danny Cruff (above right)

ABOVE: Austin Haymaker hugs his mother as his late father, Greg, is honored post-game on Saturday at Salem Stadium.

ABOVE RIGHT: According to coach Robert Shepherd, the offensive line was key in the Seminoles’ Super Bowl win by opening up many holes.

LEFT: Byrd runners Kara Kingery (front) and Cori Swanson compete at the Nov.4 Region III meet at Greenfields.

BELOW: The five time state champion cheerleaders competed on Saturday, winning Regions and advancing to another state finals, this Saturday in Richmond.

Photos by Chris Manning (left) and Penny Ellis (below)

Photos by Dan Vance (above right) and Danny Cruff (right)

ABOVE RIGHT: Seminoles Joe Helm (15) and Jackson Honaker (62) celebrate.

RIGHT: A Seminole player tackles a Cave Spring Raider in the Super Bowl.

LEFT: Teams from across the region, including the cross country girls from William Byrd take the start of last Wednesday’s Region III Meet.

Photo by Chris Manning

VOICE 23

Generation Next

Is Larry Basham the next Derrick Palmer?

Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief Last Saturday, Larry Basham had a part in 20 points in the Little League Super Bowl game.

His team, the Vinton LL Seminoles, won the game 20-14. The night before, in Covington, Derrick Palmer had a part in 20 points as well. His team, the William Byrd Terriers, won 22-21.

A mere coincidence in the grand scheme of things, but still another uniting force between two kids, one eight years the elder of the other. Sure the younger of the two is much more shy, but neither is brash or flashy. Instead, they both come across polite and even mild-mannered– not to mention, are both pretty outstanding on the gridiron.

While Palmer is closing in tightly on a second straight 2,000 yard rushing season for the postseason bound Terriers, Basham has firmly planted his roots as Vinton’s next big thing in the football scene, whether he knows it or not.

“He doesn’t think a whole lot about it. It’s just him going out there with his friends and having fun,” says his father, the elder Larry Basham. “He’s the same way in the neighborhood.”

Thinking about it or not, young Basham is fun to watch and far from predictable. His big Super Bowl game was just an extra touch on a season, as a nine-year old, that most players Palmer’s age would be envious of. And Palmer? You better bet that he sees it too.

“Larry Basham is a great athlete. He has great football intelligence, he has vision and the ability to cut and make people miss that you don’t usually see at that age,” Palmer noted.

The idea of being under the watch of Palmer is not lost on the younger Basham.

“It means a lot,” he says, still hiding in his shyness, but with enough of a hint of a smile that you know he is sincere.

You may not see him smile much when he’s on the field, a seriousness that could be misunderstood if you don’t know his naturally shy demeanor. But still, shy can have a killer instinct all of it’s own.

“When you get the ball, what’s the first thing in your mind?” I watched his father ask Larry.

“I’m gonna score a touchdown,” he replied as if the question is old game to him.

Being smaller, but faster, along with that score first mentality is near the same thing that has pushed Palmer to where he is, a comparison that the elder Larry Basham is more than OK with.

“Derrick has really treated him nice. He’s a good example and good role model to my son and when you look at Derrick, I can always go back to my son and say ‘you know, in seven, eight years, that can be you.’ He’s a tremendous role model, somebody to look up to,” Basham says.

“From what I’ve seen from Larry so far, if he works hard, the sky is the limit for him,” Palmer

Photo by Danny Cruff

notes. “He could very well be the next Derrick Palmer.”

If that happens, it could be the best thing for little Larry Basham and being the ‘next Derrick Palmer’ could allow him to change the landscape of sports in Vinton forever.

Seminoles capture second straight Super Bowl title, 20-14 Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief For the second year in a row, the Vinton LL Seminoles are Super Bowl champions.

Running back Larry Basham scored three times, including an 82-yard effort in the final minutes of the second quarter, to give the Seminoles their title Saturday at Salem Stadium in front of an energized crowd.

Basham’s final score came with 5:05 to play in the third on a weaving 37-yard run. From there, the defense held strong, with several clutch stands, allowing the Seminoles to kneel down on the ball late to run out the clock.

“The defense played very well.

We always, in practice leading into the game, run our opponents offense against our defense and

24 VOICE

it paid big dividends,” Shepherd said.

While the defense stepped up big time late, it was the offensive line that most impressed Shepherd and his staff throughout the game, opening up holes for not only Basham, but the rest of the offense to move the ball down the field.

“The offensive line, in my opinion, in this game, is one of the most important pieces of what we did Saturday,” Shepherd noted.

“They blocked together, they double teamed, we ran a couple traps. We actually came in to run a couple different offensive sets we haven’t run all year.”

While this is the Seminoles second Super Bowl title in a row and a third trip in as many years to the big game, Shepherd will stop short of using the term ‘dynasty’ to describe the program.

“My teams seem to peak at the right time of the year,” he said.

Photo by Danny Cruff

The nine year olds, many in their fourth year together, have two more chances to repeat as Super Bowl champions.

After Saturday’s win, Salem Stadium was silent in honor of Greg Haymaker, one of the founding coaches of the team, who passed away last year. His son Austin is a

member of the Seminoles.

“Greg had been a coach with us since we started this team. He meant a lot to the kids,” Shepherd said. “We all missed him, this was one of those seasons, football season, that he [Austin] and his dad really were close, they were always on the field together.”

Gutsy call pushes Byrd into playoff spot >Two-point conversion pass in final seconds buys Highfill and team opportunity to live to play again Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief What led up to the final offensive series for William Byrd did not matter Friday night at Alleghany as much as what they were about to try and pull off. The entire year came down riding on one drive, a poised drive capped off by the third one-yard touchdown run of the game by senior Derrick Palmer.

“Coach has preached to us that he wanted to see our team keep our poise through difficult situations and show that how much we have really grown this season, and we knew that was the perfect opportunity to do so,” Palmer said.

Then came a choice. Down 21-20 with less than 15 seconds remaining, the postseason hopes landed on what coach Jeff Highfill would do next.

“Coach came to the huddle during the time out and asked us whether we wanted to go for the tie or the win, it was a unanimous decision by the team to go for two. So we did,” Palmer said of that decision.

With the clock, and time in general, at a standstill for the Terriers, Palmer took a

snap and found familiar target Seth Webb in the endzone, capping an unbelievable drive, combined with a Staunton River loss, to send William Byrd to the playoffs.

“I was ecstatic [after the conversion.] I was proud of my team and myself for not giving up.

I tried to keep my emotions on hold because there was still time left on the clock, but it was definitely one of the greatest moments of the year.”

While Palmer scored the touchdown to set up the two-point opportunity, it was Brian Fuquay who gave him the shot. A play before the touchdown, Fuquay caught a Palmer pass and broke a few tackles to pick up 28 yards and set up the score. Byrd scored the final 15 points of the contest. Palmer ran 37 times for 239 yards and completed 10 of 16 passes for 109 yards; his season total now sits at 1,754 yards. Fuquay caught three of those passes for 63 yards.

Next on the agenda is a trip Friday night to Bridgewater to face Turner Ashby (8-2).

The Knights are coming off just their second loss of the season. Their first loss came in week one, followed by eight straight wins and are averaging 28 points/game.

Byrd finishes the regular season 5-5 after winning their last four contests.

File Photo by Danny Cruff)

“We still need to improve in all aspects of the game,” Palmer noted. “Our goal this week is to continue to get better, and to prepare ourselves for the biggest game of the year.”

Pair of Byrd runners qualify for State with times in Region meet Chris Manning Publisher The William Byrd Boys Cross Country team continues to run their way deep into the Cross Country season, heading once again to the state competition this Saturday at The Plains. Coach Eric Royal’s boys team, led by Kevin O’Connor and Nick Lefell, accomplished what they set out to accomplish, finishing third in the regional competition last week at Greenfields. While the girls saw their season finished, ending up thirteenth overall.

“We wanted to improve on what we did last year” Coach Royal said of his boys team, “last year we finished fourth, this year

we finished third, so we did what we wanted.” O’Connor, the Blue Ridge District runner of the year, finished 6th in the region, finishing his race fifteen seconds faster than he did when he won the district title. Lefell finished right behind him in seventh. “All of our boys put up better times than they did at districts, some of them up to a minute and twenty seconds faster” Royal remarked. The team heads to state with the same goal in mind, just doing better than last year where they finished 13th out of sixteen total teams. Royal hopes his runners in the sixth and seventh spots can give them team a few more points “I’m hoping our six and seven and finish ahead of other teams’ four and five.”

“This is what they’ve worked

Nick Lefell, one of William Byrd’s State qualifiers, finished seventh on Wednesday in the Region III meet at Greenfields.

Teammate Kevin O’Connor finished just ahead in sixth.

all year for and now is the time for them to continue to compete” Royal says, using one of his favorite phrases. Royal has stressed all year to his runners that the main race is with the person in front of you, once you’ve passed them, then it’s with the next person in front of you. That theory has seemed to work well. “This group now is setting the stage for what’s to come in Byrd Cross Country” Royal says about this group that is returning to state for the second year in a row after over a decade away from state competition.

The course they’re running at state is a faster course and finishing times are expected to be in the 16:40’s “we expect them to be twenty to thirty seconds faster” Royal exclaims “These guys have proven that they are some of the best runners in the AA portion of the state” and on Saturday, we’ll see if they are one of the best sixteen teams as well.

Photo by Chris Manning

VOICE 25

Regions open with win over Rustburg Dan Vance Editor-in-Chief Rustburg came out hitting hard and blocking strong, but William Byrd countered with a slick style of their own Monday, to open Region III play with a 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 24-26, 25-14) win over the visiting Red Devils.

“When we have fun, a lot of good comes out from that and that is all we can ask for,” senior Kalyn Molnar said after the match.

Molnar stepped up yet again on defense, sprawling and flying around the court on her way to crucial digs, while the offense overwhelmed Rustburg on the hands of a diverse group of hitters.

“Rustburg was a really good team, they rely a lot on number one, but fortunately, we are pretty diverse enough that we were able to move the ball around,” said Coach Amanda Stump, specifically mentioning Molnar, setter Candace Brady and hitters Madison Gensurowsky (five kills) and Samantha Webster (12 kills).

Byrd had control of game one before Rustburg rallied down 15-7.

The rally was highlighted by a what should have been a clear Webster kill into an open area of court, but the ball rolled across the top of the net before coming back down on Byrd’s side. However, the Terriers remained poised and finished out on a pair of Webster solo blocks.

Game two started strong on the hand of four straight points off the Macie Hoback serve and game three looked all but over before Rustburg rallied to score the final five points and get the win.

In game four, it was all William Byrd, who continued to outsmart Rustburg with clutch tips at the net, as opposed to trying to out hit their opponents. One of those tips, from Hoback, gave Byrd an 8-0 lead in the fourth, where they would lead by as many as 12.

“Before we came out, I noticed their (the Terriers’) ball control was a little off during warmups, so

William Byrd did something last Thursday that no other team had done in 2009– took a game away from Lord Botetourt in district play, winning game three before succumbing in game four of LB’s 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-21) Blue Ridge District title match win over the Terriers.

Samantha Webster had 16 kills to go with eight digs, Kalyn Molnar had 14 digs and Sarah Vipperman and Madison Gensurowsky combined for 12 more kills for Byrd, who fell to LB for the third time this season.

The Terriers led in games one and two, even holding a 21-19 game two lead before falling behind.

Communication errors by the Cavs helped Byrd lead all of game three, giving them hope to pull off an upset and claim the district title. An Alison Disher cross court kill and Macie Hoback service ace put Byrd up 20-14.

In the final game, Byrd led often again, but slowed at the 20-point mark. A Webster kill gave Byrd their biggest late lead at 19-17 before LB bounced back into control.

Photo by Danny Cruff

Senior Kalyn Molnar digs up one of 14 balls in the BRD finals.

Candace Brady added 24 assists and Hoback had five digs and four aces in the loss.

Photo by Dan Vance

Samantha Webster hits a shot off a Candace Brady set in Monday’s win over Rustburg.

I told them to place the ball away and they did a good job of that,” said Stump.

On defense, Molnar says that last week’s match with Lord Botetourt helped out a lot with facing the fast swinging Red Devils.

“On the rotation and covering for defense, it did help us out a lot because they ran the same type of offense as LB did,” she noted.

Byrd played Tuesday night post deadline at Fort Defiance.

“Our goal was to get farther in the State tournament than we did last year. Win or lose, we have kind of accomplished our goal,” Stump said. “Of course we want to go further, but we are also going to be realistic and know there are harder matches the farther you go.”

WB Volleyball Players of the Week (named 11/03) Macie Hoback and Samantha Webster- ”Both players have improved throughout the season to become full rotation players and both girls lead the team in kills,” said Coach Amanda Stump.

26 VOICE

Byrd pushes Botetourt to the brink in BRD title match

PLAYOFF

•‘McGUIRE’ continued from page 28 want to be a NASCAR driver” he says, also mentioning he’d like to do this by age 21. “Michael learned a lot of things this year including learning how to race to win and to win a championship” says Tim “being able to think like that at his age and to see that side of it is going to really help him [in his goals.]”

This coming season Michael will be racing in the VARA Touring series, which consists of sixteen races. “I’d like to start with some top ten finishes, then work my way up to top five and then maybe even a win” McGuire says with a smile as if he’s already envisioning himself in victory lane. He also has plans to go the Orange County Premier Division, but can’t do that until he’s fourteen.

The sky is the limit for McGuire and there is no doubt he’s got the talent and the support to make his dream happen. The other thing he has, that is important for a driver, is the confidence.

When he was posed a scenario pitting himself against his favorite driver and several other big names in NASCAR and asked who would come out on top in a 200 lap race, his answer? “Michael McGuire…hopefully.” Keep an eye out, because it might not be too long before that may just become a reality.

-on the web www.MichaelMcGuire.com

Chris Carr ~ Coach’s Corner PART VIII First of all, I would like to thank all the people who came out last Saturday to celebrate my dad’s birthday. I enjoyed seeing many of the people I knew from my childhood, and I know he enjoyed seeing everyone as well.

I also appreciate all the support I’ve gotten from Byrd baseball alumni since I started coaching. I was talking to Gary Wiggins about the history and tradition of athletics at Byrd, and it makes me happy to say I feel like some of that tradition is returning to the baseball program. I am proud of the kids who are putting in a lot of time not only on baseball, but also working on the field and the facilities.

Lastly, congratulations to both the football and volleyball teams for qualifying for the regional playoffs. Our fall sports teams have gotten the school year off to a great start.

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VOICE 27

Photos by Joe Mills

Michael McGuire: Takes on the big boys, and usually beats them Chris Manning Publisher Michael McGuire is not your typical 13 year old kid. While it might be a little too clichéd to use the term “prodigy,” there really isn’t another word that can adequately describe this young man from Vinton. Racing runs in his veins though, as his grandfather, Bill “Squeek” McGuire, raced Late Model Sportsman cars in the 60’s and 70’s, his uncle Tony is one of the few drivers to win multiple late model stock car races at Martinsville Speedway and his dad, Tim, won had a respectable career, including wins at Franklin County Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway.

Michael, with no disrespect to any of his family members all of whom were great drivers, may be a little ahead of the curve. He’s well on his way to making his own legacy in the sport of racing. He’s got some great help though as Uncle Tony is his crew chief and Dad Tim is also there as his “eyes in the sky” letting him know his surroundings on the track. McGuire won the 2009 Limited/Late model Orange County Championship in North Carolina, winning four of the twelve races and never finishing less than third all season long. That in itself is impressive, what makes it even more so is the fact that most of the drivers he’s racing against are a minimum of twice McGuire’s age. “When I go to a track for the first time, I get some looks, some stare” the blond haired speedster says “but usually they realize I’m a clean driver and I race hard, so I gain their respect.” Gaining respect from other drivers is not an easy thing to do when you are still three years away from having your license, but when you’re usually looking at the back of “the kid’s” bumper, you’ve got no choice but to respect him. “Michael had a lot of side by side finishes this season and won a lot of them by driving aggressively and cleanly and that helped him with the other drivers” remarks his dad.

At thirteen, a lot of kids are on the ball field, chasing the girls, going to the pool or doing the things that boys do, but not Michael “we say that we used to have a life before racing” he says with a shy smile on his face, but when asked if he’d rather be doing anything else, he doesn’t hesitate, even for a moment “No, I love racing more than anything else.

Other than his relatives and the stories he’s heard, Michael’s favorite race car driver is Carl Edwards, now 30, who came on the national scene in his early 20’s, something that seems to be the trend for NASCAR drivers these days. Michael’s success has caused NASCAR to look at some of their rules on age restrictions, something according to the elder McGuire, they had refused to do until this year. Although there are many steps to go for Michael to make it to the Sprint Cup, he’s got it all planned out and knows that each step will be a test, but there’s no doubt what he wants to do, “I

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