ROANOKE TIMES

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

DATE: SUNDAY, March 6, 1994                   TAG: 9403060125
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: D-6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: IVANHOE                                LENGTH: Short


STUDENTS TO HELP TRAIL CLEANUP

Residents of Ivanhoe and Fries are joining a group of college students to clean up a 14-mile section of New River Trail State Park.

More than 100 volunteers will spend Wednesday clearing trees and storm debris from Fries, in Grayson County, to the Austinville Shot Tower in Wythe County.

The Ivanhoe Civic League and Fries Recreation Center Inc. will be the hosts for students from Boston College, Virginia Tech, the College of William and Mary, and Marquette University through an Ivanhoe-based program called Volunteers for Communities.

Recent ice storms have left the linear park with trees and rock slides blocking access and trail use. The trail, on a former rail right-of-way donated to the state by Norfolk Southern Corp., has been closed to the public.

New River Trail State Park staff will supervise the cleanup, and provide equipment and supplies. Superintendent Mark Hufeisen will provide training for the volunteers on Tuesday, the day before the cleanup.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation will provide trucks, chippers and other supplies along with additional supervision.

The State Parks Division and Virginia Water Project will provide a ham dinner at the end of the day at Byllesby Dam.

Virginia Water Project is a statewide non-profit agency that helps low-income rural communities with water and wastewater needs and with community and leadership development. Volunteers for Communities trains community groups to host student volunteers.



 by CNB