Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 26, 1993 TAG: 9312260116
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Or, in this case, the calls.
Two weeks ago, we asked you to pick what you thought were the top news stories of 1993 in Western Virginia. This didn't, we cautioned, necessarily 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.
Regardless of how you judged the top stories of the year, 419 of you took the time to phone in your votes to InfoLine. (One reader left a message that he had spent two hours studying the choices before making his picks.)
Readers had many different ideas about what constituted the top story. Of the 92 news events in Western Virginia we listed on the ballot, 47 got at least one first-place vote - and readers called in four more nominees of their own for the top story.
We let readers rank their top five stories, in order. Just like the college football polls, we gave five points for each first-place vote, four points for each second-place vote, three points for third, and so on.
In the end, some clear patterns - and some curious ones, too - emerged.
1. NEW STATE LEGISLATORS
The year saw a changing of the guard in Western Virginia's delegation in the House of Delegates - and readers judged this the year's top story, in a landslide.
Three veteran legislators retired: Steve Agee of Salem, Joan Munford of Blacksburg and Willard Finney of Rocky Mount. Elected in their place: Morgan Griffith, Jim Shuler and Allen Dudley.
Another veteran legislator - House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell of Vinton - faced his first challenger in 12 years, and endured a sometimes-bruising campaign before defeating Bud Brumitt.
The upshot: Western Virginia voters saw more contested House races than they normally do, and they apparently took those choices seriously.
Total points: 743.
2. THE BLIZZARD
It was called "the storm of the century," which may have been a misnomer. The Blizzard of '93 wasn't the worst snowstorm Western Virginia has seen, but it was memorable enough nonetheless. On March 13-14, the wicked storm ripped through the state, dumping 16 inches of snow on Roanoke, 32 inches on Blacksburg. Nine people died. In Vinton, where the Roanoke Valley Rampage was grimly playing its last home game ever, the roof of the LancerLot collapsed. And in Bland County, nearly 1,900 travelers were left snowbound on Interstate 77 for several days, forcing the National Guard send in food and other supplies by helicopter.
Total points: 560.
3. LOCAL ECONOMY
It was a year of ups and downs in Western Virginia, often at the same time.
Dominion Bankshares' sale to First Union Corp. became official on March 1, and some 850 people lost their jobs - most prominently, Roanoke Vice Mayor Bev Fitzpatrick.
But First Union also bought other banks in the Washington area, and began transferring some of those jobs to the Roanoke Valley. In the end, the valley saw a slight gain in bank employment. The old Dominion employed 2,000 people here; First Union, about 2,200 - although First Union's payroll is smaller, as the banks' executive and middle-management jobs go elsewhere and lesser-paying jobs are moved here.
The single biggest job loss in the region came when Sears announced on Jan. 25 it was discontinuing its catalog, putting 1,200 people at its telemarketing center in Roanoke out of work. Western Virginia also missed out on two corporate expansions it had courted heavily: Norfolk Southern decided to build its new computer center in Atlanta instead of Roanoke; Seicor decided to build its new fiber-optic plant in North Carolina instead of Montgomery County.
But the Roanoke Valley also picked up two new corporate headquarters: Transkrit, a manufacturer of business forms, moved from New York to Roanoke. And Connex Pipe Systems, a metal-pipe manufacturer, moved from Ohio to Troutville.
Total points: 370.
4. FRANKLIN COUNTY SPEEDWAY
One of Western Virginia's cultural icons - the Franklin County Speedway - nearly got squeezed off the track this year. On July 31, authorities raided the Callaway landmark and arrested 56 people on drinking and drug charges. Furthermore, Franklin County authorities, saying they were fed up with the public drinking at the track, threatened to have the place declared a public nuisance - and shut down. Faced with that prospect, the track's flamboyant owner, Whitey Taylor, himself cracked down on drinking. His move averted legal action, and the racing continued.
Taylor's travails apparently touched a chord with readers, who ranked it as the year's fourth biggest story.
Total points: 302.
5. SUSPENDED DRIVERS
Two fatal accidents - within three weeks of each other - that were blamed on drivers who shouldn't have been on the road sparked a public outcry in the Roanoke Valley this year.
On May 16, a crash on the Roy Webber Expressway killed three people, including the driver, Stanley Brooks - whose license had been suspended six times. On June 9, a wreck on Peters Creek Road killed 9-year-old Dustin Washburn. Police charged two men racing each other down the road with manslaughter.
One of those men, 20-year-old John Stover - who was driving on a restricted license because of a DUI conviction - pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison. His co-defendant, Scott Robert Manning, will go on trial Jan. 10.
Also scheduled in the new year: Possible action in the General Assembly. House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, says he'll try to push through a package of tough new laws aimed at cracking down on suspended drivers. The highlight of the bill: Authorizing police to impound the vehicle of people caught driving after their licenses have been suspended for alcohol-related offenses.
Total points: 292.
6. ROANOKE GAS.
Who'd have thought people in Roanoke loved a utility so much?
Certainly not city officials when they started looking into exercising a clause in their contract with Roanoke Gas Co. that would have enabled them to take over the company's assets within the city limits. Roanoke Gas fought back, with public relations maestro John Lambert orchestrating a massive PR blitz. The result: A firestorm of protest, and humbled city officials were forced to back down. It wasn't seven days in May, but these nine days in August provided a real-life political drama of its own.
Total points: 202.
7. PHADRA CARTER
For four days in September, Western Virginia held its collective breath, awaiting word on the fate of Phadra Carter, an 11-year-old girl who disappeared from her Rockbridge County home. But on Sept. 22, Carter's body was found buried in a shallow grave in Botetourt County. Her step-uncle has been charged with capital murder.
Total points: 156.
8. THE REV. ELWOOD GALLIMORE
The case of the preacher with two wives was a continuing saga in 1993.
It began on Jan. 6, when Henry County authorities, suspecting Elwood Gallimore had been practicing bigamy and conducting marriages without a license, raided the house next to his Bassett Forks church and seized 426 videotapes. Eleven days later, Gallimore was charged under a Reconstruction-era seduction law for his marriage "in the eyes of God" to a 16-year-old Floyd County girl. The case didn't stick. In June, a judge cleared Gallimore of all charges. Even after Gallimore's first wife filed for divorce, he continues to preach polygamy and refuses to rule out marrying again.
Total points: 135.
9. STAGG BOWL
Salem had plenty to cheer about in 1993 - and 1994 and 1995, as well. The NCAA, the governing body for college athletics, moved the national championship game for small colleges, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, to Salem for those years.
Last year in Florida, the game barely attracted 3,500 fans. This year, despite a frigid day with arctic winds whipping across the field and the wind-chill factor at zero, Salem Stadium was sold out - and then some, with 7,304 fans. Salem reveled in the national attention (the game was televised on ESPN), and even nonsports fans took pride in what became more than a sports event. It was community event.
Hey, and the game was great, too: With the lead changing hands into the fourth quarter, Mount Union College outlasted Rowan College, 34-24.
Total points: 110.
10. ROANOKE EXPRESS
Hockey must be a lot like real estate. The key is location, location, location.
The Roanoke Valley lost one minor league hockey team in 1993 because fans didn't seem much interested in the sport. Attendance at Roanoke Valley Rampage games in the Vinton LancerLot dwindled into the hundreds, and at season's end, team owner Larry Revo packed the team off to Huntsville, Ala.
But then a new group of hockey investors stepped forward - led by trucking executive John Gagnon and restaurateur Pierre Paiement, two native Canadians living in the Roanoke Valley - and the East Coast Hockey League reluctantly granted them an expansion franchise.
The key differences between the new Roanoke Express and the departed Rampage: An ownership that places emphasis on marketing is one. But so is venue. The Express plays in the valley's biggest arena, the Roanoke Civic Center - and attendance has been averaging in the 4,000 range.
The team, alas, resides mostly in the cellar. But readers still cared enough about minor-league hockey to vote this the year's 10th most important story. The story it edged out for the last spot: The massive thunderstorm that turned skies a weird green, and then black, in June.
Total points: 108 points.
Keywords:
YEAR 1993
by CNB