Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990                   TAG: 9004040334
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV8   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: ELAINE VIEL SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Medium

PULASKI FESTIVAL HAS DUAL AIM: PRIDE, REBUIT COURTHOUSE

By noon, the clock tower had crashed and a few hours later only the thick, gray stone walls remained.

Many that day came downtown just to stand and stare. Old friends looked at each other and silently shook their heads. Many wondered what would become of the clock-tower pigeons.

Yet even while the old courthouse smoldered, people on the street were talking and thinking about rebuilding the landmark.

One person who couldn't stop thinking about it was Jim Delahanty, the general manager at Pulaski Motors.

"Well," Delahanty said, "what's happened is Pulaski has been hit hard with the layoffs and with the courthouse burning."

So he came up with a plan, not only to raise some money - for the courthouse and for the train depot, which is in the process of being refurbished - but to try to bring together a community that has been rocked by unpleasant news.

What Pulaski and the county needed, Delahanty thought, was a day for residents to celebrate Pulaski. What was needed was a Pulaski Pride Day. So he went about getting it all organized.

On Saturday, Delahanty's idea will come to fruition. And he hopes not only for some money, but that folks will do a real good job of having a "good old-fashioned" time.

The day will start with the Courthouse Run. The 5-K will begin at Pulaski Motors and will take runners "around the courthouse and finish at Pulaski Motors."

As of mid-March, Delahanty said, more than 60 runners had signed up; he is hoping to attract about 200.

Special Courthouse Run T-Shirts have been designed for the race and the top five men and top five women will receive plaques. A $25 donation will be made in their names to the Courthouse/Train Station fund.

The Courthouse Chess Tournament is next. Now, if there is one thing Pulaski County can really take pride in, it has to be its chess, said Tom Underwood, one of the tournament organizers.

"Pulaski County is to chess," he said, "what the Dallas Cowboys were once to football."

Underwood said the tournament is non-rated and will begin at 9 a.m. The registration fee is $5 for individuals and a family rate of $15.

Names of the winners, "with the permission fo the county people," will be put on "plaques and permanently displayed at the clock tower," Underwood said.

Also scheduled is a Courthouse Bake-Off/Auction, beginning at 10 a.m. In the 13 and under division, cakes, pies and cookies will be judged. In the adult and 14-18 age groups there will be four categories: pound cakes, layer cakes, creme or custard pies and fruit pies. The entry fee is $5 per category. Judges will be Mickey Weikle and Sarah Hester.