Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 12, 1993 TAG: 9312140017
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Just in case you're feeling left out, here's a look back at the big events in our little corner of the world.
JANUARY 3: Roanoke philanthropist Marion Via dies.\ VIA, #01.
\ 6: Biggest moonshine still in Virginia history found in Pittsylvania County.\ MOONSHINE, #02.
\ 8: Henry County authorities raid the house next to Elwood Gallimore's Bassett Forks church, seize 426 videotapes, suspecting Gallimore has been practicing bigamy, conducting marriages without a license. Eleven days later, he's charged under Reconstruction-era seduction law for his marriage ``in the eyes of God'' to a 16-year-old Floyd County High School girl.\ GALLIMORE, #03.
21: Transkrit, a New York-based manufacturer of business forms, announces it will move manufacturing facility to Roanoke. Later, the company announces it's moving headquarters here as well, bringing 170 jobs in all. For voting purposes, we'll lump this and other employment news in Western Virginia under a single heading:\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.
\ 25: Sears Telecatalog announces it`s closing its Roanoke center, putting 1,200 people out of work.\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.
\ FEBRUARY\ \ 2. James Ritchie appointed assistant city manager in Roanoke, succeeding Earl Reynolds, who resigned to become Martinsville city manager.\ RITCHIE, #05.
\ 8: Roanoke picks a new school superintendent: E. Wayne Harris.\ HARRIS, #06.
\ 12: Stanley Furniture Co. plant in Henry County burns; takes two days and fire departments from two states to quench fire.\ STANLEY, #07.
\ 25: Brian David Robertson, age 17, convicted as an adult of second-degree murder in Bedford County for killing a man in a dispute over a car.\ TEEN KILLER, #08.
\ 28. Salem Holiday Inn burns while 911 call goes astray.\ 911. #09.
\ MARCH\ 1: First Union's takeover of Dominion Bank becomes official. In all, some 850 bank employees in the Roanoke Valley lose their jobs.\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.
\ 13-14: Blizzard whips Western Virginia, dumping 16 inches of snow on Roanoke, 32 inches on Blacksburg. Nine people die and the roof of the LancerLot in Vinton collapses. In Bland County, 1,871 travelers on Interstate 77 are snowbound.\ BLIZZARD, #10.
\ 18: Roanoke School Superintendent Frank Tota lands a job in the three-school district of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., where he will continue to collect $35,000 paychecks each of the next seven years from the city of Roanoke.\ TOTA, #11.
\ 19: Siecor, an international fiber-optic company looking for a site to build a new plant that would bring 600 job, rejects Montgomery County and goes to Winston-Salem, N.C\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.
\ 22: Roanoke's anti-solicitation law is struck down on a challenge by transvestite and former prostitute Paul Holt.\ SOLICITATION, #12.
\ 23: Roanoke City Council votes to raise the automobile license from $15 to $20 and increase the cigarette tax from 14 cents to 17 cents to pay for expanding the city's jail.\ CITY JAIL, #13.
\ 25: Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Updike concedes defeat in his quest for the Democratic nomination for attorney general.\ UPDIKE, #14.
\ 27: Ross Perot visits Roanoke.\ PEROT, #15.
\ APRIL\ 1: Roanoke visiting teacher John Canty, well-known advocate for troubled kids, charged with having sexual relations with one of his female students. School later decides not to renew his contract.\ CANTY, #16.
\ 6: Montgomery County School Board votes 7-2 to keep ``winter'' and ``spring'' holidays, rather than rename them Christmas and Easter breaks. The issue helped spark a successful movement for an elected school board in the county.\ HOLIDAY NAMES, #17.
\ 9: A Roanoke jury awards $4.7 million to a Norfolk Southern employee injured on the job. the city's largest verdict ever.\ RAIL VERDICT, #18.
\ 12: Fire ants discovered in Roanoke County, their first appearance in Western Virginia. The nest is eradicated.\ FIRE ANTS, #19.
\ 15: Guns N' Roses plays the Roanoke Civic Center. A 19-year-old fan from Appomattox County accuses two crew members of sexually assaulting her backstage.\ GUNS N' ROSES, #20.
\ 24: Explore Park lands its biggest contribution ever for construction: $250,000 to rebuild an old barn. But Gov. Douglas Wilder later tells the park not to count on state funding.\ EXPLORE, #21.
\ MAY\ 6: Former members of the Temple of Light Universalist Church make public allegations that they were sexually and otherwise abused under the mind control of two charismatic religious leaders in the hills of Bath County. By October, the church property had been sold, its proceeds to be divided among former members and the mortgage holder.\ BATH CULT, #22.
\ 6: The University of Virginia, found guilty of ``major'' NCAA violations for the first time in its athletic history, is placed on two-year probation. Virginia's former athletic director Dick Shultz, now the NCAA's chief, steps down as a result.\ UVA PROBATION, #23.
\ 7: The Roanoke Valley, which lost one hockey team when the Rampage fled to Huntsville, lands a new hockey franchise - the Roanoke Express.\ HOCKEY, #24.
\ 10: Roanoke police, using a choke hold, accidentally kill a man during a struggle in his Southeast home. An investigation finds the deadly force was justified.\ CHOKE HOLD, #25.
\ 10: West Virginia throws out Apco's application for a new powerline, citing technical questions. Apco vows to reapply.\ APCO, #26.
\ 13-14: Tour duPont passes through Botetourt County and the New River Valley, as throngs turn out to watch the cyclists pass. The Roanoke Valley later wins a stage of the 1994 race.\ TOUR DUPONT, #27.
\ 16: Three people die in crash on Roy Webber Highway in Roanoke. Police blame Stanley Brooks, 22, whose license had been suspended six times.\ SUSPENDED DRIVERS, #28.
\ 24: U.S. Sen. Charles Robb nominates Martinsville lawyer Bob Crouch to be the new federal prosecutor in Western Virginia. He's swiftly confirmed.\ CROUCH, #29.
\ JUNE\ 2: Connex Pipe Systems, a metal-pipe manufacturer, confirms it will move its corporate headquarters and 200 jobs from Marietta, Ohio, to Botetourt County.\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.
\ 3: A wreck on Peters Creek Road kills 9-year-old Dustin Washburn. Police charged John Stover, who was driving on a restricted license because of a DUI conviction. These two accidents, along with two more drunk-driving accidents in the New River Valley, unleash a public outcry in Western Virginia for legislators to crack down on suspended drivers.\ SUSPENDED DRIVERS, #28.
\ 4: Massive thunderstorm rips through Western Virginia, causing $24 million in damage in Lynchburg.\ THUNDERSTORM, #30.\ \ 5: At the state Republican convention, Salem Del. Steve Agee loses his bid for the Republican nomination for attorney general.\ AGEE, #31.
\ 11: A judge clears Elwood Gallimore, the twice-married preacher, of all charges.\ GALLIMORE, #03.
\ 18: Shenandoah Life president Joe Stephenson abruptly quits, citing complaints from general agents about his management style.\ SHENANDOAH LIFE, #32.\ \ 30: Chestnut enthusiasts, having discovered two rare specimens in Botetourt County which survived a blight that nearly wiped out the species early in the century, attempt to artificially pollinate them.\ CHESTNUTS, #33.\ \ 30: Roanoke Mayor David Bowers meets with Southwest Virginia and Tennessee officials and gets backing for proposed Amtrak service. He also meets with Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson seeking support\ AMTRAK, #34.\ \ JULY\ 1-31: Roanoke experiences its second-hottest July on record.\ DROUGHT, #35.
\ 1: Herman Bartlett takes over as head of Montgomery County Schools for Harold Dodge, long-time superintendent, who retires July 1.\ BARTLETT, #36.\ \ 12: Roanoke Mayor David Bowers renews push for merger.\ MERGER, #37.\ \ 14: In Roanoke County, a man seeks custody of 11-year-old son on grounds that his estranged wife and her openly-gay son from a previous marriage would create an ``unwholesome'' environment for the younger child. The judge seals the file, citing privacy concerns.\ CUSTODY, #38.\ \ 18: Leggett stores begin Sunday openings.\ LEGGETT, #39.\ \ 23: Navy jet crashes in Craig County, killing two aviators.\ JET CRASH, #40.\ \ 28: In the first sexual harassment case to be tried in Roanoke, the owner of Charcoal Steak House is hit with $75,000 in damages for hitting on his waitresses.\ HARASSMENT, #41.\ \ 30: Workers at the Homestead vote down a union, clearing the way for the sale of the Bath County resort to Club Resorts of Dallas, which promises to expand golf courses.\ HOMESTEAD, #42.\ \ 31: Authorities raid Franklin County Speedway, arrest 56 people on drinking and drug charges. Faced with possible charges, speedway owner Whitey Taylor cracks down on drinking.\ SPEEDWAY, #43\ \ AUGUST\ \ 2: Crews top off dam at Roanoke County's $72 million Spring Hollow reservoir.\ SPRING HOLLOW, #44\ \ 3-5: Some 10,000 people, mostly senior citizens, bring their RVs to the New River Valley.\ RVS, #45\ \ 5: A Salem man gets in hot water when neighbors complain about his hot-tub lovemaking in broad daylight.\ HOT TUB, #46\ \ 11: Southeast Roanoke neighborhood mobilizes to save its last bank, a First Union branch. First Union later decides to keep the branch open, but close branches in Moneta and Narrows.\ BANK BRANCHES, #47.\ \ 11: Roanoke school superintendent confirms that Hurt Park Elementary, one of the city's most troubled schools, has withdrawn from a $70,000 state grant because there is no schoolwide commitment to the project.\ HURT PARK, #48.\ \ 13-22: Roanoke's attempted takeover of Roanoke Gas ignites a public firestorm. The city backs off.\ ROANOKE GAS, #49.\ \ 17: A group of investors, led by West Virginian James Clowser, withdraws controversial rezoning application for proposed $3.5 million birthing center for federal prisoners in Alleghany County.\ BIRTHING CENTER, #50.\ \ 19: The Commonwealth Transportation Board unanimously approves the controversial widening of Wells Avenue next to the Hotel Roanoke.\ WELLS AVENUE, #51.\ \ 21: Roanoke City Councilman Howard Musser suffers a stroke, hospitalized for two months. Later, Councilman James Harvey has surgery for lung cancer.\ ROANOKE COUNCIL, #52.\ \ 26: Roanoke Valley governments announce agreement on $41.5 million plan to expand the valley's sewage treatment plant. For city residents, this means a 51 percent increase in sewer rates over the next three years.\ SEWER, #53.\ \ 26: Montgomery County residents are thrown into a panic by false reports that two armed and dangerous West Virginia fugitives have been spotted on the loose in Blacksburg.\ FUGITIVES, #54.\ \ SEPTEMBER\ \ 2: A Bedford County jury convicts Nellie Sue Whitt of killing her boyfriend to get $100,000 in insurance money.\ WHITT, #55.\ \ 3: A group of Northwest Roanoke residents petitions the court for a special grand jury to investigate three companies - Roanoke Electric Steel, Howard Brothers and Norfolk Southern -they say are polluting their neighborhood with dust.\ DUST, #56.\ \ 7: The Jefferson National Forest turns to citizens for guidance on how to manage the 708,000 acres of federal land in Western Virginia for the next 10 years. The agency must accommodate for uses as diverse as logging and all-terrain vehicle trails to protection of rare and endangered species.\ NATIONAL FOREST, #57.\ \ 9. A limestone mine collapses in Giles County, killing two people.\ LIMESTONE, #58.\ \ 10: Rumble at the Patrick Henry-William Fleming high school football game in Roanoke escalates until 400 people are involved and 12 are arrested.\ RUMBLE, #59.\ \ 15: Roanoke Vice Mayor Bev Fitzpatrick announces he's quitting City Council\ to run the New Century Council.\ ROANOKE COUNCIL, #52.\ \ 18: Phadra Carter, an 11-year-old Rockbridge County girl, disappears from her home. Her body is found Sept. 22 in Botetourt County. Her step-uncle is charged\ with capital murder.\ ROCKBRIDGE GIRL, #60.\ \ 24: Dale Shrader, a U.S. Army helicopter pilot from Giles County, is injured\ when his chopper is shot down in Somalia.\ GILES PILOT, #61.\ \ 25: Virginia Military Institute, seeking a constitutional way to stay all-male, proposes setting up a ``leadership program'' for women at Mary Baldwin College\ in Staunton. Gov. Douglas Wilder approves.\ VMI, #62.\ \ 28: James Grisso is appointed finance director for Roanoke, succeeding Joel Schlanger, who resigned under pressure.\ GRISSO, #63.\ \ 28: Virginia Tech President Jim McComas announces he's retiring because of\ ill health.\ TECH, #64\ \ OCTOBER\ \ 1: WDBJ-TV gives up its bid to get cash from cable operators who rebroadcast\ the station's signal.\ CABLE, #65.\ \ 7: Dr. William Gray, accused pedophile about to lose his license to practice medicine, tells state Board of Medicine he is victim of conspiracy by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Sue Terry. Gray claimed to have treated the now-dead lesbian lover of Terry, but offered no proof. His license was revoked.\ GRAY, #66.\ \ 11: Campbell Avenue house fire kills Melody Caldwell, who five years earlier had defied medical odds by surviving an automobile accident in which a gear shift went through her brain.\ FATAL FIRE, #67.\ \ 12: Roanoke County Board of Supervisors vote 3-2 to allow developer Len Boone to build houses on 83 acres next to the Blue Ridge Parkway.\ PARKWAY, #68.\ \ 12: The New Century Council, the brainchild of Virginia Tech and the region's chambers of commerce, holds the first in a series of sessions intended to draw up a ``vision'' and long-range economic plan for Western Virginia.\ NEW CENTURY, #69.\ \ 13: Woolworth's announces it will close its downtown Roanoke store by year's end. The lunch counter is the first to go.\ WOOLWORTH'S, #70.\ \ 14: Grove Worldwide, which three years ago opened a Salem plant for making\ hydraulic lifts and pledged to create 1,000 jobs, closed its factory and laid\ off its 20 workers.\ LOCAL ECONOMY, #04.\ \ 17: First Union signs go up on the Dominion Tower, which is renamed the First Union Tower.\ TOWER, #71.\ \ 25: Roanoke lawyer John Edwards appointed to fill the vacancy caused by\ Beverly Fitzpatrick's resignation.\ ROANOKE COUNCIL, #52.\ \ NOVEMBER\ \ 2: Voters in Roanoke, Montgomery, Botetourt, Bedford, Giles and Floyd counties\ approve elected school boards.\ ELECTED SCHOOL BOARDS, #72.\ \ 2: House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, facing first re-election fight in\ 12 years, defeats Bud Brumitt. Steve Agee of Salem, Willard Finney of Rocky\ Mount and Joan Munford of Blacksburg retire; Morgan Griffith, Allen Dudley and\ Jim Shuler are elected.\ LEGISLATORS, #73\ \ 2: Democrat Marsha Fielder defeats Councilman Howard Musser to become Roanoke's\ commissioner of revenue.\ FIELDER, #74.\ \ 2. A bond referendum for the library, defeated in years passed, and another for the Health and Human Services building is passed by Montgomery County voters.\ MONTGOMERY BONDS, #75.\ \ 2: Franklin County rejects zoning in three magisterial districts, but approves liquor by the drink in another.\ FRANKLIN, #76.\ \ 6: Ferrum College football coach Hank Norton retires, after 34 years.\ NORTON, #77.\ \ 8: Hotel Roanoke renovation begins. Actually, work began in the summer, but the city sets aside this day to formally mark the construction on the landmark hotel.\ HOTEL ROANOKE, #78.\ \ 10: A group of business leaders, led by George Lester of Martinsville, announce the formation of a group to lobby for building a new interstate between the Roanoke Valley and Greensboro.\ INTERSTATE 73, #79.\ \ 19: Bedford County Sheriff Carl Wells, heeding a judge's order, releases his bank records, which show he mixed private and public funds, although there's no evidence of misappropriation. A special prosecutor investigates.\ WELLS, #80.\ \ 27: University of Virginia football team backs into a bowl bid when Arkansas upsets LSU.\ CARQUEST BOWL, #81\ \ DECEMBER\ \ 1: The Roanoke Valley's trash train makes it first run between downtown Roanoke and the new Smith Gap landfill; the cargo on the debut trip is politicians and government officials, not garbage.\ TRASH TRAIN #82.\ \ 4: Blacksburg High School's girls basketball team wins its second straight Group AA state championship.\ BLACKSBURG, #83\ \ 5: Floyd County High School's girls basketball team wins Group A state championship.\ FLOYD, #84\ \ 7: Roanoke Democrats pick a new party chairman. Normally, this is no big deal, but the fight between Sam Garrison and Al Wilson split the party into two factions. Wilson was selected.\ DEMOCRATIC CHAIRMAN, #85.\\ 8: Gov.-elect George Allen names Beverly Sgro, Virginia Tech's dean of students, as his secretary of education.\ GRO, #86.\ \ 11: Salem hosts the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, the Division III college football championship.\ STAGG BOWL, #87.\ \ 11: Pulaski County High School defends its Group AAA state football championship.\ PULASKI #88.\ \ 11: Giles County High School goes against Lunenburg Central for Group A football state championship.\ GILES, #89.\ \ 20: Mounted horse patrols scheduled to start in downtown Roanoke.\ MOUNTED, #90.\ \ 31: Virginia Tech plays in the Independence Bowl, the Hokies' first bowl game in seven years and the first under Coach Frank Beamer.\ \ INDEPENDENCE BOWL, #91.\ \ 31. Don Carey, chief of police of Blacksburg for 13 years, steps down to move to more lucrative pastures in Missouri.\ CAREY, #92.\ \ READERS, CAST YOUR VOTES for the top stories of the year in Western Virginia.
What did you think were the top stories of the year in Western Virginia? They don't have to be the ones that got the biggest headlines. Maybe they were the ones you were most fascinated by or the ones you followed most closely. Or maybe they were the ones that had the biggest impact on your life or your community. Or maybe just the ones you think you'll remember most clearly a decade from now.
However you judge the top stories, take a few minutes to call InfoLine to cast your vote.
We'll publish the results in Horizon on Dec. 26.
Here's how to vote:
In three easy steps
1. Use this calendar of the year's top stories as your ballot. After each story, there's a number - for instance, ROANOKE GAS, #48. These are the code numbers you'll need to vote with, so jot down those numbers for the events you think are the year's top five stories. Hint: You'll be voting for the top stories in order of importance, so be sure to go ahead and rank them before you call.
2. Call InfoLine. In the Roanoke Valley: 981-0100. In the New River Valley: 382-0200. Then press #1993 to get to the balloting for the top stories. (This only works on push-button phones.)
3. You'll be given a chance to vote for five stories, in order of importance, starting with the most important. Follow the directions and enter the numbers of your top five stories.
That's it.
Voting ends at midnight, Wednesday
Want to cast a write-in vote?
Or, in this case, a call-in vote?
First, figure out where that unlisted story ranks in order of importance to you - first, second, third, fourth or fifth. Then, when you're asked for that choice, press #99 for OTHER, and you'll have a chance to record a brief message as to what news event not listed here should be considered one of the top stories of the year in Western Virginia.
When you're done, you'll automatically return to the next choice.
Keywords:
INFOLINE YEAR: 1993
by CNB