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

DATE: THURSDAY, November 24, 1994                   TAG: 9411250020
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-17   EDITION: HOLIDAY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

IN BUSINESS

Branch Highways Inc., a unit of The Branch Group of Roanoke, said it has been awarded $13.3 million in contracts by the Virginia Department of Transportation, including a $2.5 million pact for construction of a bridge and approaches over the New River at Pembroke, $5.5 million for construction of two miles of a four-lane highway extension of Virginia 3 in Fredericksburg and $5.3 million for a pedestrian bridge over Norfolk Southern Corp. railroad tracks in downtown Roanoke. Branch also signed a $3.3 million contract with Norfolk Southern to replace a bridge in Charlottesville.

- Staff report

Briefly ...

Shareholders of Dickenson-Buchanan Bank have approved affiliation with Premier Bankshares Corp. of Bluefield, the companies said Wednesday. The acquisition is expected to take effect by the end of the year. Stockholders in Dickenson-Buchanan Bank will receive 7.77 Premier shares for each share they own. Dickenson-Buchanan Bank has assets of $90 million and three branches. Premier has assets of $570 million.

Tultex Corp. of Martinsville and Smithfield Foods Inc., the Smithfield parent of Valleydale Foods Inc. of Salem, are among 600 U.S. companies, including 13 in Virginia, listed in Standard & Poor's new SmallCap 600 Index, a measure of stock performance of small-capitalization companies.

Sprint Cellular said it is testing new technology to alert tobacco farmers of humidity, temperature and electrical problems in their barns. Fans that circulate warm air constantly and evenly are critical to the curing process.

Motley & Associates, a Roanoke firm of architects, planners and interior designers, has won an award in the Virginia School Boards Association's annual competition of school architecture. The winning project was Kipps Elementary School in Blacksburg.

BKW Research Group Inc., which will provide organization and marketing research service to governments and private companies, has been formed by three Roanoke College professors: W. Kevin Baker of the business department, John G. Keyser of the criminal justice faculty and Harry L. Wilson, director of the college's Center for Community Research and American government teacher. They can be reached at 776-8933.

Best Pet Distributing of Burlington, N.C., has opened its second Warehouse for Pets store in the Roanoke Valley, at 5511 Williamson Road. The company, with nine stores in Virginia and North Carolina, has a store on Virginia 419 near Colonial Avenue in Roanoke County. The new store, selling animals, pet food and supplies, will employ 50. Lisa Dye is manager of the new store.