ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 19, 1996 TAG: 9612190032
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: DUBLIN
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The first building to be completed in the Dublin Town Center formally opened Wednesday.
First National Bank officials joined local government and civic leaders in cutting a ribbon, with more than 100 $1 bills attached, to launch their Dublin branch. It is the first finished part of what will be the new government center for this Pulaski County town.
The money on the dedication ribbon was then donated to the Dublin Christmas Basket program - not the bills themselves, but a check for the amount.
"You may have this, but a lot of people just prefer a check," Geneva Cox, a marketing official with the bank, told the Rev. Richard Patterson and the Rev. Michael Blouse, representing the 50-year-old food basket program.
"This will be used to help over 100 families in the Dublin area," Patterson said.
The Dublin Town Center was carved out of the former Burlington Industries property, acquired by the town over a period of time and added to its boundaries through an agreement with Pulaski County.
Nelson Ridinger, First National Bank board chairman, joked that he had always heard Dublin was the fastest-growing community in Virginia. "It was always Dublin," he said, pronouncing the last word "doublin'."
The next building scheduled for completion is a new Dublin Town Hall, not far from the bank. The crowd attending the bank's ribbon-cutting ceremony could hear heavy equipment working at the site around the brick structure.
The Town Hall is scheduled to open within the first few months of 1997, replacing the aging municipal office building in downtown Dublin.
Next will be a new Dublin Post Office, replacing the overcrowded building across the street from the old municipal building downtown.
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB