Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 10, 1993 TAG: 9310080207
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
"The park that you knew in the past 50 years is going to be something different in the next 50 years," Dennis Baker, director of the State Parks Division, said at the governments' quarterly joint meeting last month.
Members of the three governing bodies had a bus tour of the park and visited one of the 12 cabins being renovated.
About $325,000 will be spent to add heating and air-conditioning to the cabins, making them usable nearly year-round instead of just one season.
Senior Park Manager Richard Johnson said one change will increase tourism for the park and the region. Other changes include adding a more rustic appearance to the cinder-block cabin exteriors, and equipping some for handicapped access.
About $250,000 will be spent to put power lines underground and upgrade the electrical system. A loop system will be used so that if trouble develops on one part of the line, service can continue uninterrupted by switching to another.
The marina has spaces for 150 boats. "I think we could probably double the capacity and every one of them would be occupied," Johnson said.
Three-quarters of the park's visitors use its beach bathhouses, he said. They were remodeled three years ago, and last year the beach was widened.
About 80 students from Radford University and Virginia Tech joined the Friends of Claytor Lake a few weeks ago in cleaning some debris from the lake, an activity they carry out periodically. The wood has been gathered in one area and is being made available to anyone who wants some as firewood for the winter.
Claytor Lake ranks consistently among the top three parks in the state for attendance. It had more than 342,000 visitors this year through mid-September, already topping the 330,500 number for 1992.
New activities such as horseback riding and boating cruises on the New River aboard the Pioneer Maid have been added in recent years.
It is estimated that the new projects, including those funded by the bond issue, will require an additional $145,800 per year in state operating funds. This comes during a time when the state is cutting back on such costs.
Extended cabin use would require more laundry service, refuse removal, maintenance, security and even snow removal. Existing power poles and transformers must be removed as the power lines move underground. Connecting to county water and sewer will bring monthly charges, and the 4 million gallons of water now used annually will increase with extended cabin use.
The idea for the 472-acre park originated in early 1944, five years after Appalachian Power Co. built the dam that formed Claytor Lake.
By 1946, citizens and businesses in Pulaski, Radford and Blacksburg had raised enough money to buy the needed land from Apco; the land was given to the state for park development.
The state lacked money for operating funds at that time, too, so the Radford Chamber of Commerce opened the park and operated it during the summers of 1949 and 1950. The State Parks Division took over in 1951.
"Instead of people from Richmond coming down and saying, `We're gonna build a state park here,' people from Pulaski County went to Richmond and said, `You're gonna build a state park here,' " Johnson said.
"It came from the bottom . . . the people of the county and the area," he said. "We've never forgotten that."
by CNB