Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990 TAG: 9006010363
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TAMMY POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"They'd tell me `Just get out of the way, hick.' "
Barger said he felt vindicated when he won first place in the competition and received a full scholarship to the Ohio Auto Diesel Technical Institute in Cleveland.
After graduation from the institute, he plans to move to Salem and work for a heavy-machinery business. He said he also would like to move out West after he gets some experience.
Barger and his classmates at James River say they're used to being treated as outcasts by larger schools, but it only makes them more determined to succeed.
After graduation, many of the students plan to go to colleges within the state, most of which have more students than the number of people in the Town of Buchanan.
The students say they are not used to going to school with a lot of people. "Here you can walk down the halls, and the only place that's crowded is at the bottom of the steps," said Jack Baker, also a senior.
The 1990 graduating class at James River has fewer than 100 graduating seniors. "We had about 100 at the beginning of the year, but some of them have gone," said senior Stephanie Coffey.
A limited number of jobs in the Buchanan area means that many of the students will move away, at least for a few years.
For example, last year's graduates who chose to remain in the Buchanan area work for local companies including United Parcel Service, Ingersoll-Rand, Carter Machinery, and retail stores such as Moore's and Lowe's, said Dreama McMillan, guidance counselor for the school.
Coffey, who lives in Eagle Rock, says she likes her town, but she wants to go away to college. She will attend Radford University this fall. "Eagle Rock is small and out in the country. I get a lot of hassle [from other students] about it. Everybody there is a woodcutter. I also get teased a lot about my accent."
Coffey says she's even been snubbed by former elementary school classmates who went to Lord Botetourt High School instead of James River. "They act like they've never seen you before," she said.
The Eagle Rock teen-ager said she would like to major in physical therapy and live in Roanoke or Salem.
Jack Baker is going to Fork Union Military Academy, outside Charlottesville. He said he hopes the academy will help him become stronger both physically and academically before applying to Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. "I want to major in history. I'd like to teach history and coach football or track."
Although he's not sure about returning to the Buchanan area after completing college, Baker said he will stay in Virginia. "If I couldn't find a job elsewhere, I'll come back here, but it wouldn't be my first choice."
Karla Miller will attend George Mason University in Fairfax this fall as a presidential merit scholar. She's interested in the humanities, especially art and language. She hasn't decided on what she'd like to do. "Maybe a teaching position, a writer or an artist."
Senior Bernice Sandidge plans to commute to Dabney S. Lancaster in Clifton Forge for about a year, and then she hopes to transfer to Chowan College in Murfreesboro, N.C., to become a legal secretary.
"I don't want to be around this area. I'm from Iron Gate, and I want to live in a larger town," said Sandidge, who added that she would like to live in the Roanoke area.
The students agreed they have not suffered academically because they attend a small school, but they would like to have had more community activities available.
"I participated in sports," Coffey said. "I don't know what I would have done without that to keep me busy."
The seniors said living in a small community does have some advantages, though. "This is the first year we've had a soccer team," Karla said. "The students and people in the community really got involved and helped raise money for the team."
Although she says she doesn't want to return to the Buchanan area, Coffey said she probably will end up coming back. "I believe I will go to other places, and then come back to Eagle Rock - or close to it."
by CNB