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

DATE: THURSDAY, April 4, 1991                   TAG: 9104050398
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Charles Stebbins
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE                                LENGTH: Medium

CRAIG COUNTY MARKS SPECIAL WEEK

The Craig County Board of Supervisors, recognizing the role of counties in the national government structure, has joined with other counties throughout the nation to designate the week of April 7-13 as National County Government Week.

A resolution offered to the board by County Administrator Richard C. Flora, noted that Virginia is the birthplace of counties that grew from the original eight shires formed in Virginia in 1634.

That means that the county is the oldest form of government in the country.

The resolution notes that Craig County is 140 years old. It was formed in 1851 from parts of Botetourt, Roanoke, Giles and Monroe counties. Monroe is now in West Virginia.

Two-thirds of Virginia's population and 98 percent of the people in the country live in counties, the resolution said.

Nationally county governments employ 1.9 million people and in 1990 spent nearly $103 billion to provide services for the people, the resolution said. Often county governments are the most available source of services for the poor and disadvantaged, it said.

In the last 30 years, according to the resolution, counties have assumed increasing responsibility for health, welfare and other community programs. Additionally, the resolution said, counties are playing a greater role in area-wide services such as pollution abatement, waste disposal and development of regional projects such as parks, transit systems and airports.

Craig has 336 mostly rural square miles and a population of 4,372. It contains one town, New Castle, which is the county seat. New Castle, incorporated in 1911, has a population of a little more than 200.

by CNB