ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997 TAG: 9702100004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
BLACKSBURG
4 hurt in DUI incident
A Virginia Tech student speeded away from a police officer on East Roanoke Street, ran a red light and smashed into another car, sending it onto a Main Street sidewalk where it struck two pedestrians at 1 a.m. Feb. 1, police said. The weekend incident in the heart of downtown left four young people injured and the Tech student charged with drunken driving, felony hit and run and other counts.
No state funding
Neither chamber of the General Assembly included money for the renovations to the Lyric Theatre in downtown Blacksburg last week. But the state Senate did include $50,000 for the next budget year, which may at least get the community project in the funding pipeline. State funding is just a small part of a $500,000 fund-raising drive to tap citizens, corporate foundations and local governments to restore the old downtown movie palace as a community theater in time for Blacksburg's bicentennial next year.
CHRISTIANSBURG
Goal exceeded
The United Way of Montgomery, Floyd & Radford announced it had exceeded its $900,000 1996 pledge goal by 3 percent. The money will help finance 36 local human service agencies.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY
Library chief departs
Karen Dillon came to the New River Valley in May 1994 to lead the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library after the previous director had been fired in a dispute with the Library Board. Last month, Dillon resigned abruptly. But public word of her departure only emerged last week. Dillon would not comment when asked if her resignation was voluntary or forced. Nor would Library Board officials. The regional library will now be searching for its third director in six years.
PULASKI
Baseball, suds on tap
Baseball is back, and this time with beer sales, at Pulaski's Calfee Park. Town Council approved a contract Tuesday to bring the Texas Rangers affiliate in the Appalachian League back to the town for this summer. The last minor league team in the New River Valley left Pulaski in 1992. The town had previously prohibited beer sales.
Assembly shortfalls
Though local legislators pushed for it, major state funding for a big, new industrial park at the New River Valley Airport near Dublin did not make it into the budget. Also, a long-shot request for $2 million to build a new home for the Governor's School in Pulaski fell on deaf ears. A proposed $75,000 appropriation for the school did make it into the Senate budget and will be reviewed during the next two weeks.
New mayor chosen
John A. Johnston, a retired Pulaski County educator who has served some 14 years on Pulaski Town Council during different terms, was chosen by the governing body to be the town's new mayor through mid-1998. He will complete the term of Andy Graham, who had to resign Jan. 31 because of health reasons.
VIRGINIA TECH
Sprinklers to come
Installing sprinkler systems in the five high-rise dormitories on the Tech campus that lack them will begin this summer and take two years, university officials reported this week. The project will cost $5.6 million or more and will be paid for by student fees. Tech and other public universities in Virginia have been under political pressure to do something about the potential fire risk since an Associated Press report last fall outlined the situation.
She said yes
Trace King had a reason to be happy besides the men's basketball team's last-second victory over George Washington University Tuesday night. His beloved, Jennifer Trail, accepted his proposal of marriage, with a little help from the Tech cheerleaders, the Hokie Bird and 5,711 fans in Cassell Coliseum.
For electronic versions of these and many other stories, see the New River Current and Roanoke Times on line.
http://www.roanoke.com/nrvhome/nrvindex.html
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. Bill Brown Stadium will see its last season ofby CNBfootball this fall. The stadium behind Blacksburg Middle School will
be taken up by an expansion of the middle school and will have to be
relocated. Officials are searching for a new site. 2. (headshot)
Johnston