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

DATE: THURSDAY, August 19, 1993                   TAG: 9308190392
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE                                LENGTH: Medium

CRAIG WORKS TO KEEP FOREST SERVICE OFFICE

John Lee, a member of the board of supervisors, was named chairman. A member of the group will be Richard Flora, county administrator.

The task force was formed by the supervisors this week at the urging of Debbie Snead, of the Virginia Tech Extension Service in Craig.

In a letter to the supervisors, Snead said the recent proposal by the forest service to cut back on timbering and combine its Craig office with one in Blacksburg "is of critical concern to many Craig County citizens."

She envisions the task force as an informational group to make forest service officials more aware of the detrimental effect on Craig if the office is closed.

The forest service office has a strong influence on the local economy through employment, timbering, tourism, recreation and other aspects involving the Jefferson National Forest.

Almost three-fourths of Craig's land area is inside the borders of the Jefferson National Forest.

Also, the supervisors received a letter from Star Cable, the cable television company serving the county, saying that changes being imposed by the new federal Cable Act may mean that the cable company will stop carrying programs of the broadcast channels, or free TV.

Under the new act, the broadcast channels can require cable companies to pay to carry broadcast channel programs and Star Cable told the supervisors it will not pay.

Star Cable said it will not pay the broadcast channels because to do so would force cable subscribers to pay for programming people not connected to cable can get free.