ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 7, 1996 TAG: 9611070021
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-9 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
A major fall cleanup on Claytor Lake is gearing up this month to help get rid of driftwood.
The Friends of Claytor Lake, which is planning the effort to coincide with American Electric Power Co.'s lowering the lake by five feet, noted that this would also be a convenient time for lakeside residents to do maintenance work on their shoreline structures.
The drawdown is supposed to be completed Friday, when the lake will be at 1,841 feet above sea level. AEP will start refilling the lake Nov. 24.
The friends group, which is open to all lake residents and users, is encouraging those who live on the lake to use the time to clean the shoreline.
Residents, homeowner associations, neighborhoods and others are asked to gather debris on the shoreline in front of their properties during the drawdown, dispose of materials that will not burn, pile the other items so they can dry while the lake is low, and then burn them by Nov. 24.
"Pile It! Dry It! Burn It!" is the way the effort is outlined on notices being posted in the area around the lake.
AEP consulted representatives of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and other groups, and found no objection to the drawdown. People using the lake during the drawdown should be cautious about low water levels bringing submerged items closer to the surface.
The fall cleanup is part of the friends' program to help keep the lake in good condition. The group also sponsors a late spring cleanup. It has worked with the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors in cleaning selected coves, and began water quality studies of the lake this summer.
Plans for drawdowns each November will allow further cleanups. Shoreline residents are asked to check during this year's lowering for any potential hazards.
Friends of Claytor Lake meets on the second Tuesday of each month, except December, at Conrad Brothers Marina. The next meeting is at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Residents interested in the lake are welcome. Further information is available by calling Dean Jackson at 980-1575.
LENGTH: Short : 46 linesby CNB