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

DATE: FRIDAY, May 6, 1994                   TAG: 9405060117
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TOWN MIGHT SELL INFAMOUS CAMARO ADRIENNE PETTY STAFF WRITER

Three years and 40,000 miles later, the snazzy Camaro that Boones Mill's lone police officer drives still makes some tempers boil.

"It's just been a focal point of everybody's feeling that the town is squandering the taxpayers' money," said Virginia Carroll, a Town Council member who was labeled a "troublemaker" by one of her colleagues.

Now Carroll and Mayor-elect Steve Palmer have set out to sell Lt. Lynn Frith's "showpiece" and cut back his hours so the town will have more money to perform badly needed repairs on its water system.

"If we get rid of all these police toys we got here, I think that we can do it," Palmer said Thursday.

Frith disagrees, arguing that the car "has been directly responsible for the reduced speeding" through Boones Mill on busy U.S. 220, where the speed limit drops from 55 to 45 mph.

As for traffic patrol, Palmer said the town needs only a part-time police officer. One of his goals is to convince the Virginia Department of Transportation that the town needs a traffic light on U.S. 220 near Virginia 729.

It's unclear whether Palmer and Carroll can get enough support from the other five council members to carry out their plans.

But it's evident that there's no end in sight for the constant fussing that has marked Boones Mill town government.

"What is amusing to me is statements that were made in campaigns about putting an end to disputes and bickering," said Dale Fisher, an outgoing council member. "The very people who said that are causing the friction."

Everyone agrees that the most pressing issue in the town is building a workable water system. But the two sides disagree on whether Frith is merely a drain on town funds or a necessary employee.

"I hope that no one will condemn the work the town policeman has done, unless they have given 15 to 20 hours of free labor a week [as Frith does]," said Nelda Cannaday, a newly elected council member.

Outgoing Mayor Maurice Turner said he wants to keep his name out of the fracas. But he pointed out that Frith's $28,500 salary "is considerably offset by the revenues he brings in on fines." Turner did not have records available on how much Frith's traffic tickets contribute to the town's revenue base.

by CNB