the roanoke star-sentinel

Community | News | Per spect iveDecember 26, 2008 TheRoanokeStar.com

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I AM THEYMCA

Hi, We’re Bob and Rosemary Belvin

and we enjoy sharing the Y together! It is a great place to workout, and to meet

new people and make new friends.

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WrittenWellP3– Kurt Rheinheimer finds far more than a career in writing, editing and publishing.

Hooplaholiday

P7– Stars old and new will be on hand at this weekend’s holiday hoopla tournament in Salem.

ArtSpecified

P11– The new “Site Specific Art” exhibition at hollins University Museum begins January 8.

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PO Box 8338 Roanoke, VA 24014

One of Roanoke’s sister cit-ies, Kisumu, is located just 60 miles from Kogelo, the ances-tral home of President-Elect Barack Obama in Kenya. That’s where his eighty-seven year old grandmother, Sarah Onyango Obama, lives along with other family members. They are guarded by Kenyan police these days, as the matriarch spends most of her day re-ceiving guests.

Kisumu is an important port on busy Lake Victoria, the world’s second largest fresh water body on the west-ern side of Kenya, a keystone of East Africa.

At South Roanoke Unit-

ed Methodist Church last Thursday, the annual Christ-mas potluck dinner was held by the Kisumu Sister City Committee. Diane D’Orazio stepped down as Chair of the committee after five years of service. Betty Kolb and Dr. Marylen Harmon will serve as co-chairs beginning the

first of the year. In another change an-nounced Thursday, David Lisk has re-

signed as Executive Director of Roanoke Valley Sister Cit-ies, Inc. due to poor health. Jack Tompkins who serves

Seven students were recog-nized last Thursday as the first graduates of Forest Park Acad-emy at the Hotel Roanoke. Among them was Charneice Davis, 18, who just passed the Algebra SOL test and will graduate from the new “over age” academy as the first se-mester ends in January. This was only a few weeks after her older brother, Chaz, passed the same test to become the first Forest Park Academy graduate.

Chaz gave Charneice the inspiration to give it a shot too. Chaz and Charneice were forced to drop out of school after their mother died 10 years ago. Charneice was sure she could not pass the Algebra SOL with only a week’s prepa-ration but the staff worked with her late into the evenings and now she is on track to complete all requirements for graduation in January.

Wal-Mart Marketing Man-ager Mark Young and Aaron Robins, Manager of the 220 Wal-Mart Store, presented Forest Park principal Eric An-derson, School Administrator Rita Bishop and School Board Chairman David Carson with a check for $25,000. Young said that the check would help make [the Acad-emy] even bigger and better.”

Roanoke City Schools offi-cial Lissy Merenda instructed the students in social and workplace skills. The students are now “well rounded indi-viduals,“ said Merenda. Donna Dilley’s dance class evidently paid off as the students dem-onstrated the merengue on the hotel’s dance floor. (See related story on page 2.)

Terrance Meade, 17, will graduate in June and plans to

go to the University of North Carolina to become a com-puter engineer.

His lofty goal is to invent his very own machine that he will name (with a little humility)

the “Meade Computer” - just like “Apple Computer,” said Meade.

Asha Wright, 17, plans to go to Virginia Western Com-munity College before trans-ferring to King College in Tennessee. She has excellent grades but would have been a few credits short of graduat-ing in June if it were not for the accelerated course work at the Academy. Wright said she, “just loves babies,” and has plans to be a neonatal nurse.

School Board member Todd Putney, said that “the people

Photo by Valerie Garner

Forest Park students with check from Wal-Mart.

Goodlatte Appointed Vice Ranking Member Of House Judiciary Committee

Live nativity welcomes thousands for Christmas

For more than two decades Penn Forest Christian Church in southwest Roanoke County has welcomed thousands of people during the weekend before Christ-mas for its Live Nativity presentation. Live characters and a menagerie of animals

(including camels) from the Natural Bridge Zoo are set up in various scenes around the church complex. Drivers circle the parking lot to view seven scenes, including the angel’s announce-ment to Mary that she will be the mother of God’s son, Joseph and Mary on their way to Bethlehem, the manger with baby Jesus and the wise men following the star to find the Christ child. More than half the congregation at Penn Forest Christian is involved with the live Nativity every year.

Photo by Dot Overstreet

Congressman Bob Good-latte was elected by the House Republican Conference on the recommendation of the Republican Steering Com-mittee and Judiciary Ranking Member Lamar Smith (TX-R) to serve as the Vice Ranking Member on the House Judi-ciary Committee. Congress-man Goodlatte has been an active member of the House Judiciary Committee since he was elected to Congress.

“I am truly honored to have been chosen to serve in this position of leadership,” said Congressman Goodlatte. “The Judiciary Committee, which has far-reach-ing legis-lative ju-risdiction, is one of the most active committees in Con-gress. In fact, one-third of all legislation introduced in Congress is referred to the Ju-diciary Committee, and they include a broad range of is-sues that affect every Ameri-can.”

The scope of the Judiciary Committee includes civil and criminal judicial proceed-ings, federal courts and judg-es, as well as issues related to

[Washington]

Turn off the lights … save the planet?

Yes, Diana Christopulos and her companion Mark McClain are unabashed tree huggers, with the Cool Cities Coalition and the Sierra Club being their major missions these days. The couple finished a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail earlier this year and spend much of their time talking about saving the earth – from ac-tions as “minor” as passing out compact fluorescent light bulbs; those swirling, squiggly bulbs that use about 75 percent less energy than do the regular fluorescents, according to Mc-Clain.

He explained as much to several classes at William Byrd High School last week, trying along with Christopulos to elicit answers from students that may have been planning

[Our Take]

Mark McClain addresses 10th grade biology students at William Byrd.

From the news editor

Kisumu Sister City Committee Honors Chairwoman

[Forest Park]

> CONTINUEDP2: Goodlatte

> CONTINUEDP3: Our Take

Forest Park Academy Grads Recognized - Walmart Donates $25,000


Diane D’Orazio, (left) outgoing Chair receives a plaque from Dr. Marylen Harmon.

[Sister City]

> CONTINUEDP3: Sister City

> CONTINUEDP2: Forest Park

TracksMakingP2– Delegate William Fralin throws additional support behind passenger rail and the TransDominion Express.

| The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/26/08 TheRoanokeStar.com

“At night when you're sleeping poison ivy comes a creeping around.” No, there were no students twitchin’ and itchin’ in Forest Park Academy’s gym recently as 14 students danced to tunes like the song “Poison Ivy,” originally recorded by The Coasters in 1959.

The Forest Park Academy gym is where Donna Dilley taught what started out as a “ballroom dance“ class but evolved into oth-er dances like the cha-cha and some good ol‘ rock and roll moves. In addition to dance classes, Dilley conducts etiquette-training programs for young people through the Na-tional League of Junior Cotillions. These pro-grams help middle and high school students build self-esteem, confidence and character.

“Dr. Bishop wanted to build social capital in all activities,” said Forest Park Principal Eric Anderson.

Anderson admitted that his own experi-ence in failing the traditional waltz test at a wedding sold him on the need for the dance class.

The same 18 students (nine couples) have taken the classes since they started in No-vember. “If they do their work all week then they

can go to dance class,” said Anderson.The excitement was evident during the last

2:00 to 3:30 PM Friday afternoon dance class and was proof of their motivation to “do the work.” The students’ next challenge could be a “Dance with the Stars” competition.

Anderson admitted that the first year of Forest Park Academy has been a challenge. Not all students have stuck it out, but as An-derson said to them on orientation day, the “staff is not babysitters … if you don’t want to be here then this is not the school for you.”

Anderson said staff is “learning [the pro-gram] as they go.” The Outreach Department goes to students’ homes while the Fulfillment Department holds student-planning ses-sions where students are exposed to all career paths.

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that don’t interact with these students don’t know how great these kids are - they just don’t get it. People have a tendency to stay at arms-length but these students have a story behind their faces, as well as a high level of motivation.” Putney said a missed opportunity for these children to become productive citizens not only affects the rest of their lives but impacts the community as a whole. By Valerie Garner

[email protected]

> Forest Park From page 1

“Poison Ivy” at Forest Park Academy


Instructor Donna Dilley with a student at Forest Park Academy.

By Valerie [email protected]

bankruptcy, abortion, espionage, ter-rorism, civil liberties, constitutional amendments, gun owners rights, immigration, antitrust laws and im-peachment proceedings, just to name a few.

The Judiciary Committee is well-suited to many of Congressman Goodlatte’s stated legislative priori-ties which include reining in waste-ful spending by requiring the gov-ernment to have a balanced budget, reforming the tax code to make it fairer and simpler, protecting private property rights, and ensuring the Internet is free from regulatory burdens and combating spyware.

“The scope of the Judiciary Committee provides Members who serve there the op-portunity to consider and debate some of the most significant issues of our day. It is an honor to serve Virginia and our nation in this capacity and I look forward to my continued legislative work on the Judiciary Committee in the coming Congress,” said Goodlatte.

“I’m happy to have Congressman Goodlatte serve as Vice Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee for the 111th Congress,”

said Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith. “During his tenure on the Committee, Bob has been a leading voice on issues rang-ing from national security and im-migration enforcement to civil lib-erties and intellectual property. His unwavering commitment to justice and his willingness to reach across party lines make him an invaluable member of the Committee and I look forward to working with him in this new role next Congress.”

In addition to his new role on the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman Goodlatte, who was required to step down as the lead Republican on the House Agriculture Committee because of a three term limit set by the House Republican Leadership in 1994, was selected to serve as the Ranking Mem-ber on the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research. This subcom-mittee has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues including water conservation, energy production, rural electrification, agricultural credit and agricultural research and educa-tion.

> Goodlatte From page 1

Delegate William Fralin (R-Roanoke) an-nounced his support for the Rail Resource Allocation Plan, released last week by the De-partment of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT). The plan calls for monies dedicated by the General Assembly in the Rail Enhance-ment Fund to be used to begin upgrades and other requirements for future passenger rail services to Roanoke. While rail service will not be initiated immediately, a phased im-plementation is proposed to evaluate needs to improve current rail lines and facilities, and begin initial projects to accommodate Amtrak service to Roanoke, with service to Boston, MA in the future. Currently the clos-est line departure is Lynchburg.

Previously Del. Fralin signed a bipartisan letter sent to Governor Kaine in support of the TransDominion Express between Roa-noke and Washington, DC, which would include stops in Lynchburg, Charlottesville and Culpeper. The letter expressed a strong commitment to bringing more frequent, ac-cessible and reliable passenger rail service to the US29 corridor. Roanoke has not had pas-senger rail service for more than thirty years and expanded service between Lynchburg and Washington, DC should include future

access to passenger rail for Roanoke area citi-zens and business travelers. A January 2008 study by Amtrak, done at the request of the DRPT, stated that Roanoke serves as both a destination city and a major regional trans-portation center with close proximity to Vir-ginia Tech, and other nearby cities.

“An area the size of the Roanoke Valley should certainly have this option available. I am very pleased that the Kaine adminis-tration, working with Amtrak and Norfolk Southern, has been able to start the process to ultimately extend passenger rail service to the Roanoke Valley. Roanoke was built on transportation, in particular on the rail, and it should have a passenger rail component to serve its citizens. I am committed to working with my fellow legislators, the administration and Amtrak to ensure Roanoke has access to this vital transportation option in the future,’’ said Delegate Fralin.

Delegate Fralin represents the 17th District in the House of Delegates and is a member of the Transportation Committee. The district encompasses parts of the City of Roanoke, Roanoke County, and Botetourt County.

TransDominion Express between Roanoke and Washington gets further support from Fralin

A Norfolk Southern locomotive travels the rails through Roanoke on its way to Tidewater. Many Roanokers are hoping that similar engines may soon be hauling passenger cars towards Washington DC and beyond.

Bob Goodlatte

TheRoanokeStar.com 12/26/08 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

Stanley Figg grew up in Pulaski, Va. After graduating from high school in 1975, he entered the United States Navy, went to diesel engineer-ing and maintenance school, and served in the Navy from 1976-1979. After being hon-orably discharged, he moved to Roanoke and went to work for Cumins Atlantic as a diesel mechanic, rising to the level of Service Manager in 2003. He and the former Patricia Delawder married in 1990 and they have one son, Wesley, who is 14.Stan's main interests are his family and spending time work-ing on old cars with his son. Among his favorite places in the Roanoke Valley are the Blue Ridge Parkway, Mill Mountain, Olive Garden, and Applebee's. He and his family reside in Fincastle.

By Jim BullingtonHave someone in mind for “Roanoke Star of the Week?”

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Community | News | Per spect ive

December 5, 2008

TheRoanokeStar.com

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date

ymcaroanoke.org

I AM THEYMCA

My name is Will Mohr,and I’m a college sophomore. My

family has been part of the Y since we

moved here, and now I’m working as

a Y volunteer, helping with summer

camp. I plan to go to Law School.

Looming over the sprawl-

ing suburb known as Bon-

sack, Roanoke County cut

the ribbon on Read Mountain

Preserve recently. The park

features 250 donated acres,

154 from developer Fralin

& Waldron, with another 90

coming from a private land-

owner. The centerpiece of

the new tract is the 1.9-mile

trail up the mountainside to

Buzzard’s Rock, an outcrop-

ping that provides views of

the Roanoke Regional Air-

port and the valley floor.On the first Sunday af-

ter the park was dedicated

a gravel parking lot was

jammed with several dozen

cars. Hikers of all ages filled

the somewhat narrow trail,

which is a moderate-to-

somewhat strenuous climb.

Much of the 1.9-mile path

(3.8 miles roundtrip) to the

2,350 Buzzard’s Rock is in

the woods, but there are sev-

eral points along the way to

glimpse views of the Bonsack

area or of downtown Roa-

noke’s skyline. The trailhead

is located off Crumpacker

Drive in Bonsack, accessed

from Rt. 460 off Hunting

Ridge Road.Volunteers built the trail,

which includes rock steps in

various locations. Additional

trails are planned for the fu-

ture, some following old Ci-

vilian Conservation Corps

paths built decades ago.

More parking areas may be

in the works as well. Mem-

bers of the Read Mountain

Alliance and Pathfinders for

Greenways were on hand for

last Thursday’s ribbon cut-

ting as well. “Without their

efforts the park would have

not become a reality,” said Ja-

net Scheid, Roanoke County

Greenway Planner.The “passive recreation

park,” is now the largest in

the county. Read Mountain

stretches from Botetourt

County through Bonsack

and on towards Roanoke

City. Plans call for the pre-

serve to be linked to the Tin-

ker Creek Greenway. When

complete, the trail makes its

way through the city, past

Hollins University and on to

Carvin’s Cove.

[Race for Rescue Mission]

Photo by Gene Marrano

Volunteer trail builders join Roanoke County officials for the ribbon cutting.

Rescue Mission’s “Drumstick Dash”

continues to grow by leaps and bounds

Legislative Program Meets Reality

Roanoke City Schools may face state budget cutsDelegate William Fralin, Delegate

Onzlee Ware, and State Senator John

Edwards were not optimistic on Monday

when they responded to the Roanoke

City School Board regarding their con-

cerns about reduced funding to schools.

School Board member Todd Putney

asked that divisions be permitted to ap-

ply for waivers from the Standards of

Accreditation (SOA) and the Standards

of Quality (SOQ) that are impacted by

funding cuts.

School Board Chairman, David Car-

son said that, “[Roanoke City Schools]

are looking at the state to grant us great

�exibility in meeting the Stan-

dards of Quality. In particular,

if we are going to get our state

funding slashed, then it seems

to us that rather than having

to continue meeting all of the rigid state

SOQs, the state should grant us �exibility

with respect to the some of them so that

we can use our limited money wisely.”

Carson has been an outspoken critic of

the Standards of Learning in the past as

an unfunded mandate.Putney stressed as a priority, fund-

ing raises for teachers, saying that this

re�ects directly on teacher morale and

“if you underpay people you will loose

them.”�ere was support for the

incentive to tie retaining stu-

dents’ driving privileges to

acceptable progress towards

graduation. “�ere needs to be some

teeth behind this in order to help the

school system increase the graduation

rate,” said Putney. Fralin said he would

take Carson up on his o�er to come to

Richmond to lobby for this bill.

“We also continue to struggle with get-

ting our test scores,” said Putney, adding

[Roanoke City]

River’s Edge �ood wall weakness discussed

W hen does 4,500 plus 227 plus

200 equal 150,000?When you’re tallying up

the numbers for the Roanoke Rescue Mis-

sion’s 2008 Drumstick Dash.

Some 5,000 runners, walkers, volunteers

and pets enjoyed the 3.1 mile trek (5K)

through the streets of downtown Roanoke

on Thanksgiving Day, raising $150,000 to

help the Rescue Mission provide daily food,

shelter and recovery programs to those in

need. Sponsorships represented $90,000 of the

total raised, with title sponsor, Stellar One

contributing $15,000. Sponsorships are

Photo by Mary Ellen Apgar

Smiling ROTC volunteers were on hand to point the way.

�e US Army Corps of En-

gineers has warned that Flood

Wall 298, along Wiley Drive

across from the River’s Edge

complex, must be strength-

ened as part of the Roanoke

River Flood D a m a g e Reduct ion Project. In a morning brie�ng Monday,

Roanoke City Council listened

as Col. Je�erson Ryscavage,

Commander of the Wilming-

ton District and Greg Gri�th,

District engineer, explained

what needs to be done to ad-

[River’s Edge]


Col. Jefferson Ryscavage ex-

plains issues with Roanoke’s

flood wall on Monday

Wishneff to face charges by appointed prosecutorFormer Roanoke City Coun-

cilman Brian Wishne� has been

under investigation regarding

the now infamous “Joe Smith”

full-page political ads placed

in �e Roanoke Times and �e

Roanoke Star-Sentinel. Wish-

ne� lost his reelection bid to

Councilman Court Rosen by

only 114 votes in May 2008.�e two misdemeanor

charges stem from Virginia

election laws that require dis-

closure within 12 days of gen-

eral election contributions for

an amount of $500 or more.

�e second charge is for not

disclosing the contribution at

all. �e full-page ads were sub-

stantially in excess of $500. To

have been charged with a felony

would have required proof that

Wishne� “intentionally” made

false statements when disclos-

ing his contributions.“Citizens for Sensible Deci-

sions,” a group that evolved

from the registered PAC “Citi-

zens for Sensible Stadium De-

cisions” that formed in support

of keeping Victory Stadium, is

said to have funded the ads.

Read Mountain Preserve becomes county’s largest park

By Gene [email protected]

> CONTINUEDP3: River’s Edge

> CONTINUEDP3: Wishneff

> CONTINUEDP2: Drumstick Dash

> CONTINUED P2: Education


John Edwards talks about budget

shortfalls.

SearchTalent

P3– Val and Suzi Sivkov have opened Metropolished,

a new talent agency in Roanoke.

Lessons

Life P6–New columnist Stepha-

nie Koehler discovers new

perspectives on human behavior and friendships.

Tipoff

HoopsP7– High school basketball tips

off in the valley as Cave Spring

defeats Lord Botetourt, 63-57

FairLifestyle

P10– Stuart Mease wants

you to spread the word about the upcoming Roanoke

Career and Lifestyle Fair

Get the Roanoke Star Sentinel delivered to your doorstep every

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Help Support the Cub Scouts!Here is your chance to own a piece of Va. Tech history!

This is an official Va. Tech game ball signed by the current coaching staff of the 2-time defending ACC champs. Raffle tickets are $10 each and there is a limit of only 300 tickets. Tickets are available at both Henry’s locations through the weekend of Jan 3rd, 2009 with the drawing on Jan 5th.

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Roanoke Starof

theWeek

their Christmas break already.Even if you do not believe that carbon emissions are the main cause of global warming, or if

you question global warming itself, as does at least one columnist for this paper, the thought that human beings can help preserve what fossil fuel sources we have left for future generations by recycling and turning off lights when someone leaves a room sounds easy enough. Unless you’ve tried to get teenagers to turn off lights.

McClain also spoke to students about the need to harvest sustainable energy sources - the ones that are replenished, like solar and wind. “The way we make and use energy needs to be addressed,” said McClain. Who knows, in two to four years, armed with college degrees, some of those kids last week at William Byrd may be designing more efficient collection systems for sustainable energy sources, perhaps inspired by the Salem couple’s presentation.

Wind energy, solar and geothermal could replace several hundred coal-fired plants by 2030, said McClain, if everyone climbs aboard the renewable energy bandwagon. Bio-fuels for vehicles, like those made with corn, are just a “stopgap” he added, one that puts pressure on the world’s food supply.

McClain pushed the “two percent solution,” asking students to reduce their own carbon fuel emissions 2% a year for the next 40 years, by driving less, recycling more, using compact fluores-cent bulbs, turning off unneeded lights and other appliances. “Get involved,” said McClain, who urged the students to, “embrace a conservation culture.”

Christopulos said the Cool Cities Coalition “are the people in the valley that say, hey, we need to do these things. We feel like we are part of the solution [and] hope you will be too.” The couple said they have reduced their own carbon footprint by 30% over the last two years and offer a worksheet at rvccc.org where others can figure out how much carbon dioxide they are pumping into the air.

Their presentation came about at the behest of William Byrd guidance coordinator Patrick Pat-terson, who said “its good for our kids” to think about such things. Even for those that haven’t signed on to the global warming theory, if we can use up less fossil fuels, preserving them for future generations, while also developing renewable energy sources that could mean cleaner, healthier air – and more jobs for our children – doesn’t it make sense to move in that direction? Now if can just get our kids to turn off the lights when they leave a room …


> Our Take From page 1

as Chairman on the Wonju (South Korea) Committee will be the new director of RVSCI, along with Dr. Rob-ert Roth, President.

D’Orazio presented a slide show of a trip to Kisumu in 2007. Mark Young pointed out the Vocational Training Center he helped build while on the trip. D’Orazio noted that the schools were largely empty when they visited and speculated that funding for school operation was not reaching its intended target. Slides revealed young boys

living on the streets and the lack of clean drinking water.

A power sharing agree-ment has quieted the dem-onstrations that broke out during the January elections but desire for a better life and obstacles in the way have frustrated many Kenyans. “Eighty percent of the busi-nesses were destroyed during the violence,” said D’Orazio. The corrupt government wants to hold on to its power and money while the Kenyan people struggle in poverty. The U.S. State Department

now warns citizens to be on guard when traveling to Ke-nya.

Kisumu has been a Roa-noke Sister City for over 30 years. The current focus of the Kisumu Sister City Com-mittee is to build and nur-ture collaborative relation-ships that promote education and health care for young people, while finding ways to reach out to strong, resilient Kisumu citizens.

By Valerie [email protected]

> Sister City From page 1

Kurt Rheinheimer, Editor In Chief of Leisure Publish-ing, is a man with an impish smile and few words, all soft-spoken and carefully chosen. But he can write largely like the omniscient, red devil himself. So the adage: “What you see is what you get,” doesn’t quite apply.

Rheinheimer, 62, came to Leisure when he was just 38, after spending years as a local social worker dealing with mentally retarded clients.

“When I stepped into my position as editor of Leisure I knew I had found the ulti-mate dream come true, to ac-tually be paid for what I most loved to do, which was and is writing,” Rheinheimer said.

The devoted staff of Lei-sure Publishing and its cere-bral editor are responsible for the production of Mountain Homes, Blue Ridge Coun-try, the Virginia is for Lovers Travel Guide, and The Roa-noker Magazine-publications with a combined readership that currently goes well into the millions. As Rheinheim-er explained it, the job of an editor is always inspiring, never mentally or emotion-ally depleting.

“That’s why I can still go home around five o’clock, eat a little supper and begin writing by about six,” Rhein-heimer said, referring mostly to his widely acclaimed short stories.

A collection of those sto-ries gathered over a thirty year period entitled “Little Criminals” won him the Spo-kane Prize for Short Fiction in 2003, and was published in paperback by Eastern Wash-ington University Press. The book intimately the seldom explored lives of everyday people who for various rea-sons adore baseball almost as much as the writer himself.

R.T. Smith, Editor of the Shenandoah Review, de-scribes some of Rheinheim-er’s protagonists in Little

Criminals as “living lives of quiet desperation.”

They may be doing that, but they’re doing it amid the alluring backdrop of peanuts and cracker jacks, a life-sized stage set with wise-cracker fans and red-faced umpires. Coal-honed diamonds and baseball diamonds are all the same to Rheinheimer, so the reader can feel the itchy ten-sion between that which is terribly sweet, yet edged with a tangy saltiness to the point of burning the tongue - all in the same hand.

The author’s themes in this collection and in other sto-ries focus on the ubiquitous, and frequently disgusting American dichotomy be-tween the very rich and the very poor.

“My wife Gail and I no-ticed this alarming dispar-ity between the haves and the have-nots as we headed down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in the summertime, and we saw so much poverty along the way in the small towns along the Pee Dee Riv-er,” Rheinheimer said. “So that particular stretch of land became kind of etched in my mind, and was transformed into the setting of the story “‘Shoes.’”

“Shoes” is the heart-wrenching story of a charac-ter who doesn’t understand why his simplest desires in life cannot be met. Both ig-norance and indignation rise up in a new voice of murder-ous rage that ripples in a gen-tle fever just under the sur-face of the water. The reader is reticent to look down too deeply, for fear of catching a glimpse of his or her own reflection.

Does the writer ever confer with the Muse at midnight? Well, yes and no.

“I don’t believe in Muses as much as I believe in dis-cipline and a certain amount of solitude,” Rheinheimer said, “but I do see my stories

as rising up from the energy of the land.”

If a motto could be coined to describe Rheinheimer’s work it might be: “Geogra-phy is destiny.”

“I didn’t realize the ex-treme importance of setting in my work until a reviewer pointed out that all of my stories begin with a brief, but vivid description of the land,” Rheinheimer said. “Once I can see the geography of the place in my mind, the char-acter emerges and takes on a life of his or her own.”

Rheinheimer’s characters rise up pure and fresh-faced from the fields, mountains and beaches, but they are not purely produced from his memory. After all, he grew up in Baltimore, Maryland with middle-class advantages that many of his characters have never had. They are pri-marily hungry people, both psychologically and literally in the sense that the culture has somehow betrayed them.

“I suppose that my work does have a quality of the pathetic in it in the sense that it is sometimes nihilis-tic,” Rheinheimer said, “but I can’t comment on whether that is philosophically post-modern or not.”

Rheinheimer’s perceptions come to him like voices from the land itself.

Ironically, his own memo-

ries of himself as an eight year old boy, infatuated with the Baltimore Orioles, is one of magic and the discovery of super heroes clad in orange and black jerseys. “That was a wonderfully happy time in my life,” he said.

Later, Rheinheimer stud-ied English and Communica-tions at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, a place that also reassembled itself as the setting of some of his stories.

“I came back East to be nearer to my parents’ home in Baltimore, yet not too close to home, and closer to my grandparents’ home in Radford, Virginia,” Rhein-heimer said. “You know how it goes, I drove into Roanoke one day – and that was that.”

“There were times within the history of Leisure Pub-lishing, that things might have fallen apart if it weren’t for Kurt and my faithful staff,” Richard Wells said.

Wells began publishing The Roanoker Magazine 35 years ago.

“I didn’t know I was do-ing anything extraordi-nary,” Rheinheimer said. “I just showed up and did my thing.

Rheinheimer likes to quote actor and director Woody Al-len who said: “Ninety percent of success is showing up!”

When asked how many re-jections he gets, Rheinheimer replied: “Out of twenty sub-missions, I get nineteen.”

But it only takes one good hit to make a home run.

Kurt Rheinheimer finds far more than a career in writing, editing and publishing

By Mary Ellen [email protected]

Kurt Rheinheimer

Stanley Figg

PersPective | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/26/08 TheRoanokeStar.com

I like old stuff. From things with deep personal history like my great grandmother’s desk

to things I find in “antique shops” where I can only imagine their story. From the beau-tiful old majestic homes in South Roanoke to the wonderful old buildings downtown. I love to imag-ine the history. Having lived all over the country – I find the term “antique” varies drastically. In San Francisco and New York, it means exquisite pieces reminiscent of Victorian Europe; in Wyoming it means old saloon bottles and cow bells; and in Philadelphia it means colonial desks and pewter bowls – but I have dis-covered something very special in the Star City of The South when I vis-ited the Habitat Store in downtown Roanoke. A treasure in every sense of the word.

When I first moved to the area and was furnishing my turn of the century home, friends kept encouraging me to go to the Habitat Store. Frankly, I had no idea what they were talking about. So, my curious nature sought

out information. For someone like me -- who likes old stuff – it was like a six year old discovering Disney Land. How did I not know about this place?

Do they have these all over the country? What a bril-liant concept in the quest for “green” living. Recycle, reuse and “give back” all at the same time!

Don’t get me wrong, I am very aware of Habi-tat for Humanity. In fact, one of the most significant

experiences of my youth was spending a week building a house for a

very deserving family in Baltimore. While I learned the handy skills of sheet rocking and spackling, it was about the giving of a “hand up” to a young family whose spirit and de-termination, never faltered – even in the face of tragedy and hardship. It gave me a whole new perspective. It changed me for the better.

As I wandered through the store, marveling at the brand new coun-tertops and admiring the old doors, something clicked.

Never before has Habitat for Hu-manity been more relevant than at

this moment. Long before the cur-rent mortgage crisis and long before Extreme Home Make Over became a TV hit, this organization was ad-dressing the housing crisis head on – successfully. Not only are they pro-viding new construction and home rehabilitation for low-income fami-lies, but they are empowering these individuals to participate in their own success.

Partner families invest over 250 hours of “sweat equity” building their home and the homes of other Habi-

tat families and must demonstrate responsible money management. Imagine how much better the world would be if everyone took such own-ership for their lives and the well be-ing of their neighbors. In our area alone – Habitat for Humanity has built 153 houses since 1986. When you consider the average family has 4 members – that is 612 people who are now participating in the social and economic vitality of the region in lieu of being a drain on it. This is how the human spirit is lifted and

communities are revived.So, the next time you are looking

for that odd hinge for a door; a re-placement light fixture for the dining room; a bookshelf for the office; or just an antique treasure – I encourage you to visit the big green building on Salem Avenue downtown. You may not be spackling and sheet rocking – but you are no less helping to rebuild lives and our community.

Contact Stephanie [email protected]

Star: to lift up that which is right, real and genuine about our community – the people and events that make us who we are – the real spirit of Roanoke that past residents and leaders have worked hard to create, that points us towards the bright and shining future that we all desire for our valley.

Sentinel: to guard the truth, with consistent and complete coverage of key local issues that provides balanced reporting and equal editorial opportunity. To fully tell all sides of a story so that readers can make their own informed opinions, and express them to positively impact others and our community.


The Roanoke Star-Sentinel is published weekly by Whisper One Media, Inc. in Roanoke, Va. Sub-scriptions are available for $44 per year. Send subscriptions to PO Box 8338, Roanoke, VA 24014.

We encourage letters from our readers on topics of general interest to the community and responses to our articles and columns. Letters must be signed and have a telephone number for verification. All letters will be verified before publication. The Star-Sentinel reserves the right to deny publication of any letter and edit letters for length, content and style.

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Find the answers online: TheRoanokeStar.com

Have a clue and answer you’d like to see?

email: [email protected]

Star~Sentinel Crossword

By Don Waterfield

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1 Spied 4 To bar temporarily 8 Male newspaper deliverers

10 Quickness 11 Depend 13 Crown of the head 14 Extinguished 16 Terminal abbr. 17 Ironic 18 Circle part 19 Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbr.) 21 Fire remains 22 Pocket 23 ___ come? 24 Cooking measurement 25 Negative 27 To restrain with a bit. 28 Greek god of war 30 Juicy 31 Prefix ten 33 Whop 34 Female household head 38 Hippy 39 Pacific Standard Time

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1 Compass point 2 Spr.. month 3 Cobweb 4 Satiate 5 Delivery service 6 Neither's partner 7 Tinted 8 Pocket bread 9 Killed

10 Password 12 Ruler 13 Role 15 Family rulers 18 To exclaim in delight. 20 American College of Physicians (abbr.) 26 Seethe 27 Composer Johann Sebastian 29 Replace a striker 30 Lava 32 Snacked 33 __ Lanka 35 Type of music 36 __ A Small World... 37 Social worker?

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ACROSS

1 Spied 4 To bar temporarily 8 Male newspaper deliverers

10 Quickness 11 Depend 13 Crown of the head 14 Extinguished 16 Terminal abbr. 17 Ironic 18 Circle part 19 Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbr.) 21 Fire remains 22 Pocket 23 ___ come? 24 Cooking measurement 25 Negative 27 To restrain with a bit. 28 Greek god of war 30 Juicy 31 Prefix ten 33 Whop 34 Female household head 38 Hippy 39 Pacific Standard Time

DOWN

1 Compass point 2 Spr.. month 3 Cobweb 4 Satiate 5 Delivery service 6 Neither's partner 7 Tinted 8 Pocket bread 9 Killed

10 Password 12 Ruler 13 Role 15 Family rulers 18 To exclaim in delight. 20 American College of Physicians (abbr.) 26 Seethe 27 Composer Johann Sebastian 29 Replace a striker 30 Lava 32 Snacked 33 __ Lanka 35 Type of music 36 __ A Small World... 37 Social worker?

Community Treasures and Economic Solutions

Stephanie Koehler

To reject the 'world' is not to reject people, society or the creatures of God, but to reject the perverted standards which make men misuse and spoil a good creation.

--Thomas Merton

It's Christmas week, here on the grubby, gritty, mistake-stub-

bled and holy Earth.While some Christian

broadcasters describe the “war on Christmas,” and at-tacks on Christianity by “the world,” I don't find such wars in my small town, nor up on the nearby mountain, among the wild turkeys, the chicka-dees in cheerful scrub-pines, the spring cracking cold, mu-sical waters through rock.

In fact, I find the story of “incarnation”—God-in-mol-ecules—particularly abun-dant on this mountain, even if no person is broadcasting a sermon. Like John Muir, I be-lieve the ancient stones here contain scripture. The quiet,

soul-stirring “shhhh” of the stiff oak leaves overhead, the merry wintergreen leaves and red berries below, all exude a sense of “Emmanuel”—or “God with us.”

The entire Bible describes God's presence in nature—rivers, mountains, clouds, birds, the tree-of-life from Genesis to Revelations.

And so the disparagement of “tree-huggers,” alongside his crusade-for-the-Christ-mas-tree, waged seasonally by my fellow Virginian Jerry Falwell, used to baffle me. Je-sus said, “Ours is a God of the living, not the dead.” So why was it Christian to defend a dead, sawed-off tree, but pa-gan to defend live trees with roots?

As a Christian conserva-tionist, I don't see Christmas as a war between heaven and earth. In The Gospel Accord-ing to John, “God so loved the world.” Our choirs carol, “Joy to the world....Let Heaven and Nature sing!”

So why have various Chris-tian leaders come down so hard on “Nature” in the past decade? Political-strategist-turned-Christian-broadcast-er Chuck Colson says envi-ronmentalists are “a cult.” They ask people to make sac-rifices for the environment. Hence, they practice “human sacrifice.”

Televangelist John Hagee encourages Christians to sup-port oil-drilling in ANWR, dismiss endangered species and scorn the “eco-terrorists” who want to preserve wilder-ness.

Recently, my local “Victory FM” radio station has been replaying sermons by the late Jerry Falwell. He explains that water is a divine gift, but God doesn't care about human-induced droughts. We Chris-tians (being saved, ourselves) are not to try to save the earth, but wait for an evacuation-by-rapture, leaving our mess for the Left-Behind folks to fix.

“For what will it profit us if

we save the whole world and lose our souls?” asked a sta-tion ad last year, misquoting Jesus as part of Falwell's campaign against g r e e n h o u s e - g a s regulation.

Why? Speaking at a Baptist “Stew-ardship of the Earth” luncheon, in early 2008, Al Gore said that some Christian leaders are “locked into an ideological coalition....with the wealthiest and most pow-erful who don't want to see change that's aimed at pro-tecting God's green earth.”

Why would these Chris-tians protect worldliness in-stead of the world?

Ralph Reed's work helps explain it. Reed left his chairmanship of the political Christian Coalition in 1997 to start a for-profit consult-ing firm, taking his impres-sive Christian database with him.

So when the interests of Reed's big-energy, auto, communications, timber and political clients have needed

votes or grassroots support, Reed has been able to ar-range client dona-tions and to call up the Falwell Minis-tries, Pat Robert-son, James Dobson and other Chris-tian leaders who

agree to promote industry or political

interests.But many Christian lead-

ers are beginning to ques-tion whether such messages originate from prophets or profits. Catholic theologian Father Thomas Berry says that environmentalists, who cry out against business-as-usual, are in fact the true prophets of our day.

Al Gore is one, says Robert Parham of the Baptist Cen-ter for Ethics. “Prophets are unacceptable because their truth is inconvenient,” he notes of Gore's dismissal by some Christian leaders.

Evangelical Richard Cizik provides another prophetic voice—one whose environ-mental slant recently contrib-uted to calls for him to resign

a post with the National As-sociation of Evangelicals.

Once a global-warming “skeptic,” Cizik is now con-vinced that Christians are called to protect not merely nine months of human life in a womb, but a climate and Earth which make all of life possible.

“I'm persuaded that evan-gelicals can become the ac-tivists behind climate change. Because if not us, who?”

A growing number of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders are joining in, realizing that if believers say “the earth is the Lord's,” we should not wreck the place.

Perhaps this is the real Christmas war—the an-cient struggle to honor the spiritual within creatures, instead of exploiting them. Christians, whose leading figure said man could not serve both God and money, are surely appropriate people for demonstrating how to choose life, eternally, over short-lived materialism.

Contact Liza [email protected]

Letting Heaven and Nature Sing

Liza Field

Send your articles, story ideas and pictures to:

[email protected]

PersPectiveTheRoanokeStar.com 12/26/08 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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Let’s climb up onto the roof. Maybe they won’t all follow us.” The decrepit steel-hulled vessel is cleaving the dark waters

of Hiaphong Harbor, its diesel engine chugging along in happy harmony to the cacophony of voices on deck. As usual, Rocky and I are sur-rounded by people, mainly kids. Very curious and very friendly, they press in on all sides, their broad smiles gleaming. They gently touch our hair and clothes. They all talk at once, in a language of which I have absolutely no grasp. These kind kids are lovely, but at times they overwhelm us, and this is one of those times. This small freight and passenger ferry is designed to carry about 50 pas-sengers, but of course there are about 200 of us on board. It’s a bit of a stretch, but we are consid-erably taller than our ship mates, so we manage to successfully climb up onto the roof and away from our entourage. Settled in with our lunch of steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves, we watch the bustle of Haiphong fade in our wake. After a while we enter surreal Halong Bay, part of the South China Sea noted for its strange and mythical rock formations.

Rocky, my anesthesiologist buddy, and I are in northern Vietnam on a volunteer teaching gig to the Medi-cal Institute of Hanoi. As usual, we are traveling independently; no host, no guide, no motor coach, no hotel, unless you count our visit to the ruins of the famed prison, the “Hanoi Hilton”. It’s a classic adventure, partly because we can’t speak the language, and very few can speak ours. Our attempts at Vietnamese, even the most basic of words or phrases, fall on confused, and amused, ears. The Vietnamese phrasebook,

which I so confidently carried at the beginning of our visit, is relegated to the depths of my ratty backpack. Not to worry, however, because we still have our wits about us when it comes to commu-nication, and I have my notebook and pencil at the ready. Plus, we can always employ the time-honored, “creative gesturing” technique, hopeful that we don’t accidentally convey something lewd and suggestive.

When Rocky and I got off the 1950’s-era train in Haiphong, I showed my notebook to the first pleasant chap I saw. On it I had drawn a picture of a boat and written “CAT BA.” He smiled broad-ly and pointed that away, and off we ran before the curious crowd engulfed us. At the harbor I showed my boat picture again, and this time I was led by the hand by an ebullient young man

to a pier crowded with people, bags of rice, and cages of fowl. The scowling lady with stained teeth in the darkened ferry office was not having a good day. I somehow managed to convey that Rocky and I wanted passage to Cat Ba Island, and she pointed a scraggly finger at the faded yellow and red boat at the end of the ramshackle wooden pier. I wrote the symbol for Vietnam-

ese money, the Dong, on my pad, and she wrote down an amount which was about five times more than we

expected. Hmmmm. Smiling, I wrote down my own version of the cost of passage, considerably less, and she responded with a hrrmmph and a sneer. She crossed out my figure and wrote anoth-er one, only slightly less than her original price. We finally emerged from the hut somewhat out-foxed, but nevertheless clutching what we hoped were tickets to the island.

We want to see Cat Ba because it’s rumored to be exquisitely beautiful, as well as spectacularly situated in Halong Bay. The communist govern-ment is said to be making a tentative attempt to establish a national park there, the first in the country.

This “Bay of Dragons” is a magical place, and today is particularly sublime. The sky is thick with a low, gauzy layer of cloud, and the water is glass calm. Vapors of misty fog surround the weird-ly-shaped, soaring towers of karst sandstone. We pass fishermen pulling nets into traditional wooden skiffs, fish flopping. We notice women, dressed in colorful scarves and conical hats, in tiny boats, collecting barnacles from the tide line of the stone towers. Strained faces erupt into grins and laughter as our old boat chugs past.

From our vantage point on the cabin roof we see a village in the distance, at the head of a pro-tected bay, full of small boats. The crude chart which I have been following indicates that this must be our destination. As we proceed we notice that the boats that pepper the harbor are fishing craft, but more than that they are homes, fes-tooned with undulating laundry and inhabited by families which span several generations. A wom-an is drying fish, a wizened old man is tending to a baby. Tiny, tar-covered “basket boats” are being rowed to and fro. There are specialized craft mov-ing among the houseboats too. There is a grocery boat full of produce and rice, another one sell-ing baked goods, another adorned with tin pots and hardware for sale. A greasy, blackened barge supplies diesel fuel by the liter, in reused plastic bottles.

Secured to the pilings of the town pier, our fer-ry is quickly freed from its burden, rising in the water as it shakes off its small tide of passengers

and freight. The people spill out and disperse into the village. “Welcome to Cat Ba” I murmur as we pause at the end of the pier, surveying the amaz-ing scene. The sky is lifting and a slight breeze is ruffling my hair. In those moments, before new friends discover us and lead us away, I am not ex-actly sure of what adventures lay before us. At this point I do not know that we will be exploring the jungle paths on a faulty motorbike, or that we’ll be watching the village rat catchers at work, or that we’ll be spending time with monkey poachers. And I don’t know that in the next few days we’ll be slurping steaming bowls of noodle soup in a remote village stilt house, and falling asleep to the exotic strains of a distant “dung bo.” (Single-string instrument played like dulcimer.)

No, I don’t know about any of this yet, but I do know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. “Here they come,” Rocky says, with a nod toward the knot of laughing kids running out the pier to greet us.

Contact John [email protected]

Journey East to Cat Ba Island

John W. Robinson

All Christmas trees are beautiful… Aren’t they?

My wife, Sabrina, looked at the artificial Christmas tree and shuddered. “That thing’s been in my family forever. Why we haven’t thrown it out is beyond me. When I was a kid, I thought it was ugly, and I still think it’s ugly. I’ve despised it for years.”

But let me back up. How did we come to be looking at the ugly Christmas tree?

Over the last several Christmases, Sabrina and I have felt an emptiness. Not totally empty; just empty in an important place in our hearts: the Christmas place. Too much running, too many gifts for people who already have everything they really need, and even if they don’t, they can go buy it. For us, Christmas was becoming all wrapping, no present.

Sabrina felt we should try something different this year. We should adopt a family for Christ-mas. But who?

We called the Bradley Free Clinic and told them our dilemma. A family was chosen. The mother had captivated the folks at the clinic: her kids are well-cleaned, well-mannered, and well-churched. This single mom takes her kids every day after work at the YMCA to be sure the fam-ily spends lots of time together.

We were told the family had neither tree nor trim for the Yuletide. Okay. First things first. My son Ches and Sabrina went out and bought lights, ornaments, tinsel and such. Later we stood in our attic in front of the ugly Christmas tree.

Sabrina concluded, “Well, let’s take it along. If they don’t want it - and who could blame them? - we’ll just find them another.”

We three loaded the car and drove to the fam-ily’s home. In addition to her three adolescent kids, the mother was baby-sitting four others. Ches and I struggled the big tree box into the house and down into the sparsely furnished basement where it would be set up. The mother chose a dimly lit corner so the lights, once strung, would cast a more festive effect. The three of us began to assemble the dilapidated tree as the children stood silently by. No surprise. We were white strangers who had arrived in a car which probably cost as much as their house.

I set the first limb into its hooks.A hesitant voice at my elbow asked, “Can I

help?” One of her sons.“Sure! Set the limb right there.” I turned to

the other kids. “Fact is, we could use lots of help.”

What followed can only be described as a pandemonium of excitement. “Me!” “Me!” The children grabbed boughs, bulbs, garlands and ran towards the bare tree frame. That’s when my emptiness began to fill. I knelt down and showed them how to spread the branches out to fill in the tree’s appearance. Two little tikes scrambled under the tree and almost reverently arranged the tree-apron. One of them stood, backed off from the tree and said softly, “Man, that’s beautiful!”

Sabrina was quiet on the way home. At last she spoke. “He was right, you know. The tree was beautiful. I don’t know, it’s like it... bloomed.”

There is an old metaphor which bears here. Viewed from behind, the most artful tapestry is but a confusion of thread and colors clustered here and there to no identifiable purpose. Yet,

from the front, the artist’s intention is made clear. So it is that the disparate strands of unre-lated lives are patiently braided by the Master’s hand, and of His wisdom, those strands take on a pattern no human could have foretold. A young mother of three, pressed hard by cir-cumstance, determines that her children will be well-raised. She permits no claim and no ex-cuse as deterrence. Her resolve is noted by folks at the Free Clinic.

Sabrina and I, our Christmases slowly drained of color and meaning, call the clinic, and of these isolated biographies a connection is made. A rock breaks the water and ripples are born. How far will the ripples spread? What will they touch, and to what effect? Sa-brina’s family learned what we were doing; they want to help. For the young mother, what future influence? For her children, who is to say? Therein lies the magic and the mystery. Ches calls a friend later. “It was pretty cool.” His friend’s family used to adopt Christmas-families. Because of our story, they’re thinking of doing it again.

One thing is certain: for Sabrina and I, this Christmas will be unlike those of the recent past.

Finally, what effect on me? The mother kept saying to us, “Thank you for being a blessing. Thank you for being the blessing.” Well, in fact, she’s probably the one who’s conferring the blessing. Blessings are complex. Perhaps a benefaction passed along increases many fold, thereby given wings. Perhaps a hoarded bless-ing is reduced by half.

As we are given, so we must give that we

may enter the heart of living. Thus my gift, bestowed upon me in the silent wisdom of the ugly Christmas tree is this: I learn, once again, it is through giving that we receive; it is through helping others that we are helped.

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The holiday season is well under-way: there are lights on our neigh-bors’ window sills, wreaths hanging

from city street lights, children are lining up in local shopping centers for a picture with Santa, and there are shopping lists for family and friends. This time of year can seem so hectic and can quickly pass us by as we rush from task to task attempting to pack in so much in a short amount of time. It is often in this hustle and bustle that the true meaning of Christmas is sometimes forgotten or over-looked.

This is a blessed season marked by the company of family, of youthful anticipation, and the hope of waking up to a wintry white wonderland of snow. It is a season rooted in traditions and celebrations of all kinds. It is difficult to imagine living in a country where you could not freely practice your faith or where you must celebrate religious holidays in private in fear of imprisonment or more severe punishment. We are indeed blessed to live in a nation where we can enjoy so many freedoms, but these liberties do not come without a price.

We continue to enjoy these freedoms on a daily basis thanks to the brave servicemen and women who guard our country and help spread democracy around the world. This Holiday Season many of our military person-

nel may find themselves far from the comforts of their homes and their families. Whether they are on an aircraft carrier in storm tossed seas, keeping the peace amid hostile resis-tance, working on our military bases often in remote places around the world, their work is difficult, lonely, and often very dangerous. While they are often under appreciated, and seldom recognized, theirs is a service marked by humility and deep dedication to preserv-

ing the ideals of our nation that make the very celebration of this season possible.

It is also important to re-member some folks who are too often forgot-ten - the wives, husbands, parents, children and other relatives of our troops. These fam-ily members must carry on while their loved ones are away on duty, which can be especial-ly hard during the holiday season.

As we share the holiday season with our families and friends, let us reflect on the great blessings that God has bestowed upon our na-tion. We should also pause to remember the sacrifices of all of those who strive to make this nation a better place to live - especially those brave men and women defending our freedoms far from home. I wish them, and all of you, from my family to yours, a joyous Holiday season, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[Rep. Bob Goodlatte]

Wishing You a Happy Holiday Season

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Since it’s Christmastime, I take a break from poli-tics and present a few

bizarre holiday news stories that caught my eye this week.

Burger K-ologneForget the Old Spice cologne

as the traditional man-gift for the holidays. Old Spice is sup-posed to make you smell and feel like a man at sea. Just you and the sailboat, braving the ele-ments and being manly. OS will now be replaced by the latest offering from world-renowned fragrance designer Burger King. Yes, the King has announced a new fragrance for men just in time for Christmas.

It’s a body spray called "Flame," and the company de-scribes it as "the scent of seduc-tion with a hint of flame-broiled meat." The Associated Press reports that BK is marketing the $3.99 scent through a web site featuring a photo of the Burger King character reclining fireside and nearly naked.

As one who worked for Burger King to help pay my way through college, I can tell you that after each shift, I would im-mediately run home and show-er to get that $3.99 smell off me. Call me crazy, but I thought the smell of flame broiling and french fry grease was pretty unappealing – and far from “se-ductive.” Now I feel stupid that I washed down the drain the very thing that could have made me an even bigger man on campus with the ladies.

Irish government bans Christmas advertising that pro-motes religion

This story is not humorous, but pathetic. While we often complain that commercialism and political correctness in the U.S. are “taking the Christ out of Christmas,” Ireland is taking things a step further and out-

right banning reli-gion in Christmas advertising.

Rules by the Broadcasting Com-mission of Ireland (BCI) have banned a Catholic publisher from advertising religious gifts on the radio to attract Christmas custom-ers. The BCI says that mentioning "Christmas" during on-air advertising could be offensive, the Catholic News Agency and Irish Times report-ed.

A spokesperson for the pub-lisher Veritas noted there are lots of advertisements allowed for alcohol and other things that could be deemed “more of-fensive” to people’s sensibilities than religion.

The BCI said it was con-cerned by three lines from the ad: "Christmas, aren’t we forget-ting something? Why not give a gift that means more? So to give a gift that means more…" Stores are allowed to advertise Christ-mastime sales all they want, but advertising apparently crosses the line when it has a religious theme.

Guinea Pig: It’s what’s for (Christmas) dinner

Did you cut back on Christ-mas dinner because of hard eco-nomic times? In Peru, one pro-vincial government promoted that guinea pigs could replace the traditional Christmas tur-key.

The rodents are being pro-moted as a low-fat alternative and a "tasty, economical op-tion," according to the Asso-ciated Press. Apparently, it is not without precedence, as a painting of the Last Supper in a cathedral in the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco shows Christ

and the disciples din-ing on guinea pig.

Rudolph is really a girl

The gender of Ru-dolph and the rest of Santa’s reindeer is now actually being pondered by wild-life experts at Texas A&M University. No kidding.

The AP reports that a professor of veterinary medicine specializing in deer says that Santa's reindeer are most likely female. The reason: depictions of the reindeer fre-quently show them with antlers. In real life, both male and fe-male reindeer grow antlers, but males usually shed them before Christmas, while females don’t shed them until spring.

Others argue that Rudolph, Donner, and the team are actu-ally castrated males. Castrated males cycle their antlers at the same time females do, so they would still have them at Christ-mas.

The theory of female and cas-trated male reindeer works on some level for me. Rudolph was always overly timid around the other reindeer, as if he was lack-ing testosterone; and it makes sense that Prancer and Vixen were given such “girlie” names because… they were actually girls.

I guess the gender debate will continue to rage on. And that’s fine – as long as some politi-cian doesn’t finagle government grant money for the university’s research. Recent history shows us it’s more than likely to hap-pen. (Sorry. I couldn’t write a column without at least a couple political comments.)

Contact Brian [email protected]

Brian Gottstein

Bizarre but true holiday news stories

Each year, around the holi-days, there are emergency cases of pet poisonings. Many plants or decorations around the home can present hazards to pets or children. Let’s start with what is NOT true. Many of us have heard over and over that poinset-tias are poisonous. More recent research has proven this to be incorrect. What is true about the plant is that it is a Euphorbia. Euphorbias have a latex or white milky sap, and some individuals can have an adverse reaction to latex saps. So while the poinsettia will not kill your pet or child, some may have an upset stomach or rash, depending upon how much they ate. A more real danger would be in choking on any plant eaten. A plant which has a latex sap is sticky, mak-ing the choking hazard more likely.

We should keep in mind some basic guidelines when decorating our homes or when visiting others. Dan-gers are outside in the yard, as well as inside. Don’t let that casual stroll through the garden, where a child may be attracted to unfamiliar bright berries, turn into a scare for all of you, or worse yet, a trip to the emergency room.

Teach children not to put leaves, stems, bark, seeds, nuts, or berries in their mouths. Watch your pets, and keep an eye out for haz-ards. If visiting and keeping your pet in an unfamiliar yard, do some scouting to be sure they cannot reach anything that can present a

hazard.Know the botanical name

of your house and yard plants, and don’t be afraid to ask your host if they know whether their plants might be poisonous.

Keep poisonous plants well out of reach or out of the house. Children as young as 6 months like to nibble on plant parts. Remember that visitors may not be thinking about hazards to children they visit. Remind them to help you be on the lookout, especially when visiting un-familiar places together, like public gardens, museums, or parks.

Do not assume a plant is not poisonous because birds or wildlife eat it.

Store bulbs and seeds out of sight and reach of children and pets.

Obviously, placing holi-day plants way out of harms way is the prudent thing to do, but there are other, more dangerous plants for us to watch out for:

Abrus precatorius (Ro-sary pea, Jequirity Bean) Ex-tremely toxic, epecially the seed.

Aesculus (Buckeye, Horsechestnut) In yards or woods. Especially twigs and nuts.

Artemesia (Wormwood, Sage) Evergreen perennial. All parts.

Buxus (Boxwood) In ar-rangements, bonsai, decora-tions, yards. All parts.

Convallaria majalis (Lily-of-the Valley) Found as a forced plant, this time of year. All.

Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane) Houseplant, all parts.

Hedera (English ivy or va-rieties of) Houseplant, yards, arrangements. All parts.

Hyacinthus (Hyacinth) Paperwhites, and Daffodils. Forced, this time of year. All parts.

Monstera, Scindapsus (Pothos), and Philodendron (Many types) Houseplants. All parts.

Nerium (Oleander) Ar-rangements. Shrub in warm-er regions. Extremely toxic.

Phoradendron (Mistletoe) All parts, especially the ber-ries.

Quercus (Oak) Buds and untreated nuts.

Rhododendron (Azaleas and Rhododendron) All parts.

Robinia pseudocacia (Black Locust) Primarily by ingesting the bark.

Sambucus (Elderberry) All parts, especially uncooked berries.

Solanum pseudocapsicum (Jerusalem Cherry) Primar-ily the berries.

Taxus (Yew) Foliage, bark, seeds; green or dry. Ex-tremely toxic.

Wisteria (Wisteria vine) Seeds and pods.

Remember, arrangements and decorations will shed. Check and sweep or water arrangements regularly and don’t let plant parts become an inadvertent choking or poison hazard.

Happy and Safe Holidays to you and yours!

Virginia Cooperative Extension Staff

Poisonous holiday plants

We had our Roanoke Star-Sentinel Christmas party last week. As the Happy Chef I had the honor of preparing the food for the party. It was so much fun. I love making food for people and helping to create an inviting atmosphere. It truly is an honor. It wasn’t long ago (pre-children!) that I entertained a lot more than I do now. It’s funny to think back to a day when on a whim we would invite a house full of people over and I would make all this food for them and act like there was nothing to it. I guess our priorities change, we mellow out and we long for a simpler pace of life.Hopefully though, our desire to serve others and help create a sense of joy and warmth for others does not change. We don’t have to cater parties or have friends over every week to show our hospitality towards them. It is something we should extend in all our moments shared with people.I made this recipe for our RSS party. It is the publisher’s favorite. So put it on your New Year’s party menu or just make it for a few friends!

The Recipe of the Weekfrom The Happy Chef

by Leigh Sackett

1 15 oz package of refrigerated piecrusts2 cups diced cooked turkey2 (61/2 oz) jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans, toasted¼ cup minced green onions3 tbs. mayonnaise3 tbs. sour cream1 garlic clove, minced½ tsp. salt½ tsp. ground black pepper¼ tsp. ground red pepper

-Unfold 1 piecrust, cut with 2 1/2 inch round cutter-Press rounds into miniature muffin pans-Repeat procedure with remaining piecrust-Bake at 425 degrees for 7 minutes or until shells are golden brown-Remove tart shells from pans and cool on wire racks-Meanwhile stir together turkey and next 9 ingredients-Spoon evenly into tart shells-Makes 3 dozen

Turkey-Artichoke Tartlets

Cadets from the William Byrd High School Air Force Jr. ROTC program recently took part in the annual drill competi-tion in which different sections, or “Flights,” compete against each other by performing two drill routines.

Each flight performed the same standard drill routine which consisted of several marching maneuvers. Cadets were judged on the precision and execution of these maneu-vers.

Each flight then performed a special drill routine which they

developed themselves. Some routines consisted mainly of more complicated marching maneuvers, while other routines included rifle sequences.

In all, five flights competed in two different categories, first year flights and upper class flights. E Flight, led by Cadet Travis Meador, won the first year category, with a well-exe-cuted special routine including a complex marching sequence.

A flight, led by Cadet Jona-than Patrick, won the upper class category with a precision special routine involving two high speed rifle sequences.

“I’m proud of all our cadets, especially E and A flights,” said AFJROTC Major Jeff Pruitt. “These students have worked very hard in all kinds of weather practicing their drill routines. I congratulate each and every cadet for their dedication and commitment to the program. I'd also like to thank the fam-ily, friends, and WBHS faculty for their support,” Major Pruitt added.

William Byrd AFJROTC Cadets Take Part In Annual Drill Competition

sPorts 12/26/08 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to

[email protected]

Since taking over the Holi-day Hoopla tourney as orga-nizer about a decade ago Cave Spring High School hasn’t won it, but they’ve helped bring a full slate of basketball to the Salem Civic Center over the Christmas holidays. Knights head coach Billy Hicks says this is the last year for the Holiday Hoopla at the Civic Center as mounting expenses will force them to look for a new, smaller home next year, perhaps at Ro-anoke College.

Most of the returning boys teams (including Hidden Val-ley, William Fleming, Patrick Henry and Salem locally) have been in the Hoopla before; only Brooke Point (Stafford, Va.) is new for the tourney. “Very ath-letic,” is how Hicks describes Brooke Point, the Knights’ first round opponent.

Hicks figures Fleming should be the “overwhelming favorite” for the Holiday Hoopla, which runs this Friday (Dec. 26, start-ing at 3pm), Saturday and next Monday. “Salem is playing re-ally well,” he adds. All teams are guaranteed three games. Hidden Valley won an over-time thriller against Fleming last year.

Hicks likes the Hoopla in part because it battle-tests his team before River Ridge District play starts. “Every team has at least one college prospect,” he notes of this year’s field. Daily passes are $8 for adults, $6 for students with discounted tour-nament passes available.

As for his own team, off to a 5-2 start, Hicks says it’s too ear-ly to tell how good the Knights are; starting guard Greg Mack-ey is out with a leg fracture,

putting more of the focus on 6’10” big man Josh Henderson. Erik Jacobsen and Adam Hager have stepped up in Mackey’s absence.

Four different players have scored 20 points or more in a game, one encouraging sign. “We certainly haven’t played to our potential yet,” says Hicks, who has tried to minimize ex-pectations that Cave Spring would be a state title contend-er.

Much of that optimism was due to Henderson, a junior and the son of a former University of Maryland player - and a ma-jor college prospect himself. “We’ve showed some signs of being pretty good, says Hicks. “I’d classify us as being un-known.”

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Expectations are high for the William Fleming boys’ basketball team after a 19-6 campaign last season that ended in a 3-point loss to Mountain View High School, in the Group AAA Northwest Regional Tournament.

The Colonels have respond-ed with a 6-0 start this season, including victories over Ker-mit Academy in Washington, D.C., and a pair over Pulaski and Radford.

Fleming boasts a veteran, if not experienced roster, with 11 seniors, including football standouts Derek Brown and Shaquan Manning. However, it will be a challenge for the team to replace all three start-ing guards from last season. “We do have experience in terms of age, but many of the

guys haven’t been in the pro-gram that long,” Coach Mick-ey Hardy said. “We lost a lot of scoring and leadership, so one of our keys will be for our players coming off the bench to continue to gain confidence, because we need them in order to improve our depth.”

The Colonels feature a tal-ented dual threat in seniors Troy Daniels and Jamelle Ha-gins, who are both being heav-ily recruited collegiately. Dan-iels, for example, has drawn interest from the University of Texas, Marquette, and Cincin-nati.

“They’re two legitimate Di-vision I caliber players,” Hardy said. “As they go, we go.”

Through their early games, the Colonels have used a bal-anced attack, with four start-

ers averaging double-figures in scoring. “We can play inside and outside, and have spread it around pretty good so far,” Hardy said.

Hardy credits the team’s work ethic for the hot start. “The guys have been working really hard in practice, and our leaders have been leading by example in that area. If we can continue to work hard, we’ll be OK.”

William Fleming will return to action on Friday when they take on Osbourn High School at the Salem Civic Center, as part of the Holiday Hoopla tournament. They will play additional games on Saturday and Monday.

William Fleming basketball on a roll

By Matt [email protected]

Scott Weaver has been named the head football coach at Hidden Valley High School, replacing J.R. Edwards, who elected not to return for a 6th year. Weaver has been the defensive coordinator and assistant coach (linebackers and running backs) for the Titans since 2006. Weaver previously was an assistant coach at Northside High School before joining the Titans and played football at Northside. He also teaches physical education at Hidden Valley.

Will Krause has been named the head girls’ soccer coach at Hidden Valley. In 2008, Krause was an assistant coach for the girls’ soccer team under Roy Lax (who left for professional reasons) and was the head coach for the Hidden Valley Middle School girls’ soccer team. Krause also coaches teams for the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club.

He previously has served as an assistant coach for the Hidden Valley High School boys’ varsity soccer team and as an assistant coach for the Roanoke College boys’ soccer team. Krause teaches fifth grade at Cave Spring Elementary. “I’m excited to see Scott and Will move into head coach-ing positions,” said Hidden Valley Principal Rhonda Stegall. “Both have been excellent assistant coaches. I know they will do well in leading their respective teams on the field.”

Hidden Valley names new football, soccer coaches


North Cross takes championship in Raiders Hoops Classic: North Cross had little problem last weekend against the small Banner Christian School squad in winning its own Raiders Hoops Classic title game, 66-45. A.D. Banks scored 26 points for North Cross against Banner, includ-ing one basket by a dunk. He also snared 10 rebounds. Glen Williams added 10 points for the Raiders, who went to 7-2 on the season after the tourney win.

Photo by Bill Turner

North Cross #10 Glenn Williams scores on a driving layup past a Banner Christian defender.

Fleming cruises, Titans fall: The William Fleming Colonels girls basketball team piled up two more wins over the weekend to run their record to 6-0. Fleming took two close games on the road at Hidden Valley in the Titan Invitational Tournament, winning the finale last Satur-day 66-61 in overtime. Tashiana Pack led the Colonels with 20 points. Hidden Valley fell to 3-5 on the season; the defending AA state champions got 31 points from Kayla Osborne.

Photos by Bill Turner

William Fleming’s Jasmine Hill scores on a Virginia Episcopal Lady Bishop defender in last Friday night’s win. Hidden Valley’s Kayla Osborne drives (Right) on a Turner Ashby defender. The Titans were trounced by Turner Ashby 62-29. Osborne then had a career-high 31 points in Saturday's OT loss to Fleming.

!"#$%&'(!"")#&(*+,(

Losers Bracket Tournament Brackets Winners Bracket 12/26

Patrick Henry

3:00 pm

4:30 pm Hidden Valley 7:30 pm

12/27 12/27

Salem

6:00 pm

4:30 PM Gar-Field 7:30 PM

12/29 William Fleming 12/29

4:30 pm

Osbourn

3:00 pm 6:00 pm

12/27 12/27

Cave Spring

7:30 pm

Brooke Point

3:00 pm 12/29 6:00 pm 12/29

sPorts | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/26/08

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to

[email protected]

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2008 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl

The numbers are certainly Stagg-ering: as in Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, thank you. The Mount Union College Purple Raiders won their 10th Di-vision III NCAA football crown since 1993, mak-ing what is almost their annual trip to Salem for the title game. That happened last Saturday, when the Raiders met Wisconsin-Whitewater for the fourth straight year and beat the Warhawks 31-26 in a game that was nationally televised. They’ve now beaten Whitewater in three of four title games, after being upset last year.

For those that figure they won’t have the chance to attend a Super Bowl game or the Division I BCS championship game, the annual Stagg Bowl at Salem Stadium is a nice substitute. Half of the attraction may come from the pre-game tailgate parties that dot the parking lot, with hordes of purple-clad fans making their way down from Ohio for the title game. Both Mount Union and the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks are clad in white and purple so there was plenty of it in the stands, as well as on the field.

Despite ice and snow in Wisconsin that may have kept some Whitewater supporters - and the assistant athletic director - at home, plus the na-tional economic woes, Salem Civic Center facili-ties director Carey Harveycutter said the crowd of 5,300-plus was “ahead of last year.”

As for the game, those in attendance got to see Mount Union quarterback Greg Micheli [award-ed the Gagliardi Trophy earlier in the week as the D3 Player of the Year] as well as fellow senior Nate Kmic [who set the all-time, all-division NCAA rushing mark this season with over 8,000 yards on

the ground.] The Purple Raiders drew first blood on two long TD passes from Micheli to wide re-ceiver Cecil Shorts III, while the Warhawks bot-tled up Kmic effectively.

A costly tipped pass, interception and runback for a touchdown by Mount Union safety Drew McClain early in the fourth quarter helped keep the Purple Raiders ahead, in a game where they had the ball for nine less minutes than did the Warhawks, who out gained the victors 455 yards to 401. The only numbers that mattered were 31-26, the winning margin for Mount Union.

[We] never quite got over the hump,” said Whitewater head coach Lance Leipold after-wards, following an awards ceremony where his team had to watch the Purple Raiders receive the trophy. Mount Union set a number of NCAA records during its five game playoff run, includ-ing most rushing yards (Kmic, 1,150), most first downs by a team (133) and most total team yards, 2,774. “This win meant a lot to me,” said an emo-tional Kmic in the post-game interview.

Kehres kept it all in stride, after winning a 10th championship in 23 years at the Alliance, Ohio school. After all a friend of his has coached 23 swim teams to NCAA championships at Kenyon College. “When we talk I’m second fiddle,” he said with a slight grin. Kmic and Micheli are gone, but don’t bet against spotting another sea of purple next December in Salem, as no doubt Mount Union will look to reload once again.


Mount Union’s “Purple Reign” back on track

Photo by Bill Turner

“10 fingers, 10 rings:” The Purple Raiders celebrate their latest title.

Photos by Hany Hosnywww.hanyhosnyphotography.com

TheRoanokeStar.com 12/26/08 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

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> Dec.New Year’s Holiday Trash Collection in Roanoke CityMonday and Tuesday collec-tions will be collected on Monday, Dec. 29. Tuesday and Wednesday collections will be collected on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Thursday collections will be collected on Wednesday, Dec. 31. The Central Business Dis-trict will be worked on sched-ule both weeks with exception of Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2008; and New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2009. For more information, call 853-2000.

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> Dec. 31Enchanted Eve“Enchanted Eve” in Vinton Vir-ginia is Roanoke County’s alco-hol free, community inspired, New Year’s Eve celebration, which provides a wide range of alternative possibilities to the

traditional New Year’s revelry.Enchanted Eve buttons are available at many regional but-ton outlets. Advance buttons are: $7 adults, $3 children ages 3-12. Night of: prices increase by $2 each. Those under age 3 are free.Please note that Washington Ave. from Pollard Street to Mountain View Road will be closed to vehicle traffic from 4 PM until 1 AM to allow revelers to enjoy the evening and the many activities planned along this corridor.For more information and complete details or to volun-teer please visit www.Roa-nokeCountyParks.com or call 540-387-6078.

> Jan. 24KIVA One Year Anniver-saryThis was the place of our first meeting. We would love to have you stop by for a piece of cake. We are asking our members, and the public, to bring an item for the Southwest Virginia Sec-ond Harvest Food Bank, instead of birthday gifts.When - 2 - 4p.m.Where - Mill Mountain Discov-ery CenterFor more - www.kidsadventur-ing.org

Have an item for the cal-endar? email it to [email protected]

community calendar

Christmas is a gift of the Christian church to the world. Al-

though it has been co-opted by the consumer culture in which we live, its message can make a difference in our world today.

Much has been said about the origins of our Christmas holiday. It is no secret that the date of Christmas was not set until the 4th century. It is no secret that one of the main rea-sons for the setting of the date of Christmas by the church as December 25 was to counter the popular pagan holidays so prevalent at the time involving special rituals and celebrations in Europe to welcome back the sun as longer days approached, the Scandinavian Yuletide feast to welcome the sun’s return, or the Roman festival “Satur-nalia” celebrating their god Sat-urn with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles.

You know what I say to that? Good for the church! If the culture needed redeem-ing by the displacement of im-moral and misguided revelry through the moral influence of the Christian community then

I am glad the church tried to make it right. Bad news trav-els so far so fast almost all by itself. Human society is so eas-ily infected by the improper, the immoral, the short-sighted, and the penultimate. Unfortu-nately we are still living with the inappropriate excesses of these earlier pagan festivals as we all too easily indulge our-selves in the greediness and gluttony so prevalent among us this time of year. It seems the church has not completely succeeded in displacing holiday misguided revelry even today! But that’s the way bad news is. That which is not so good for us so often infects us so easily.

But the message of Christ-mas is that good news spreads far and fast, if you let it. The good news of Christmas doesn’t need any special help to spread itself around.

At Christmastime the planet Jupiter is particularly visible in the sky. According to the recent broadcast of the Pub-lic Radio program Star Date, if you look right next to the moon at its rising you can just see it. Jupiter has many moons. One of those moons

is called Europa. The interest-ing thing about Europa is that it is covered with ice and it may well have water underneath its surface. To the extent that the conditions there match the exact conditions of earth mil-lennia ago, this makes Europa about as similar to earth as any other heavenly body. All the conditions are there, it is said, for the formation of life.

One of the reasons we know so much about Europa is because of the explora-tion of the Galileo spacecraft. Launched from the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1989, it brought cameras and detection equipment to this part of our solar system.

But there is one more thing that Galileo brought to this part of space—life. It is certain that some form of earthly life, bacteria perhaps, survived the years of radiation bombard-ment, especially in the internal portions of the craft. Here’s the thing: If even a little bit of that bacteria, if even a little bit of that life, somehow made its way to Jupiter’s moon Eu-ropa, the fear is that it could multiply and contaminate that

moon’s entire environment. There was a mathematically small chance that, with the loss of its ability to maneuver upon the depletion of its propellant, Galileo’s path might one day cross Europa’s orbit. To avoid that risk, the spacecraft Gali-leo’s mission ended five years ago when it was deliberately directed into Jupiter’s shadow and disintegrated in its dense atmosphere.

It only takes a little bit of life in the proper environment for it to spread everywhere.

How does the song go this time of year? “Oh, we need a little Christmas, right this very minute!” The real spirit of this season can be contagious if we just listen carefully enough and let it spark its spirit in us. Greed, excess, and extrava-gance are so prevalent among us this time of year and can so easily infect us, but good news spreads far and fast, if you let it.

William G. Davidson is the Se-nior Minister of South Roanoke United Methodist Church. He may be reached at [email protected]

A Little Bit of Christmas is All You NeedRev. William G. Davidson

Preacher’s corner

In support of Ukrop’s

Dear editor, I read last weeks article about Ukrop’s and wanted to tell

you what I think about their store: Being from Richmond I am very familiar with the chain. They have a wonderful reputation there and we never shopped anywhere else because of the fol-lowing story. My sister was a single mom raising three girls. She grocery shopped in the store with them all in tow. One day she got to the check out with a cart full of groceries and realized that she had used the last check in her wallet (this was in the days when debit cards were not nearly as prevalent). They let her take all of her groceries home and just told her to bring the check back with her the next time she was in. Now what other

store do you think would EVER do that? They would put every last grocery back on the shelf, or tell her to go get the check NOW and bring it back in before they would let her leave with them. We have never forgotten their kindness!

Susan MiniRoanoke

Dear editor, I look forward to each new edition of the Roanoke Star-

Sentinel. I hope that we can keep a business like Ukrop’s in Roanoke. They have an excellent record with their treatment of employees and their involvement in the community. Ukrop’s is an example for other businesses in the Roanoke Valley.

Jay BenderRoanoke

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After being conditionally accred-ited last year, Jackson Middle School broke out the dancing shoes recently, celebrating full accreditation status at an assembly with guests that in-cluded Roanoke City Superintendent Rita Bishop and School Board chair-man David Carson. A school’s state accreditation rating reflects overall achievement in English, history/so-cial science, mathematics and science. Schools in which students meet or exceed benchmarks established by the Virginia Board of Education are rated as Fully Accredited.

That attainment set off the celebra-tion at southeast Roanoke’s Jackson Middle, with principal Stephanie Ho-gan not afraid to shake it up, dancing with the school’s cheerleaders and mascot, Charger. “We’re back again and in the groove,” pro-claimed the cheer squad. As for her dancing – and singing – in the gym, Hogan said it’s all part of the job: “they look to me to be that positive light. I need to be the one that’s behind them, cheerlead-ing.”

“A long road [and] a very, very exciting day,” Hogan told students, faculty members and guests, before Bishop and company unveiled a banner proclaiming the full accreditation, which came after the school was conditionally accredited last year. “This is the way to go,” said Bishop, “we’re just all really proud of you.” Using tools like the Standards of Learning tests, accreditation must be earned again ev-ery school year.

Hogan called it a four-year process that included several near misses. Get-ting parents more involved helped pro-vide extra motivation for their children at Jackson as well. “It all just came to-gether so nicely.” All of the elementary schools that feed the middle school are also accredited, said Hogan. “It’s giving our kids not only hope, but goals for the future.”

Carson told students to stay in school (“you gotta graduate”) and urged them to thank their teachers; “they are the ones that did this with your hard work.” Most hands went up when Carson asked who planned to attend college after high school.

For the second straight year Jackson Middle met Average Yearly Progress (AYP) standards, something Hogan deemed “a huge accomplishment,” and the result of “work, work, work…study, study, study all the time. Every child in this building has embraced the learning process.”

Now said Hogan, an 18-year veteran, more students are taught individually when it is determined they are falling behind. Her teachers “are constantly looking for different approaches. I can’t say enough about them.”

After showing off her dance moves, the fifth year principal had words of wisdom for Jackson Middle students: “there’s nothing that you cannot do as long as you put your mind to it.”

Jackson Middle celebrates its accreditation milestone


Photo by Gene Marrano

Rita Bishop (far left) helps unveil a banner cel-ebrating Jackson Middle School’s SOL accreditation.

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It’s not grocery shopping. It’s an experience. While it’s not for everyone, Roanoke needs the Ukrop’s option. Valuable Corporate citizen. Contrib-utes to community, includ-ing the Roanoke Rescue Mission. Friendly, upbeat em-ployees. Prepared foods. Rea-sonable prices. Meeting rooms / breakfast, lunches, dinners. Excellent selection. Very rea-sonably priced.

A business principle: find a need and fill it. That’s what Uk-rop's has attempted to do here in Roanoke. However, in this writer’s opinion, Ukrop’s is grossly misunderstood. I have had a Ukrop’s Valuable Cus-tomer card since early 1990’s, having visited Richmond fre-quently. During my Ukrop’s shopping, never once has an employee been anything other than sincerely friendly and helpful. Before Ukrop’s located here, a plug-in refrigerator was in my vehicle for each and ev-ery trip to Richmond. It would return filled with their prepared foods and items not available anywhere in Roanoke.

As a single man, without being able to document this, I feel my food expenditure has decreased since Ukrop’s lo-cated here. Why? Because of their excellent prepared foods. No waste. As the former man-ager of a sales organization, I would have liked to have held more offsite employee meet-ings, but rental cost was a de-terrent. Ukrop’s has such fine meeting rooms and reasonably priced breakfasts and lunches, this facility should be a dream for those businesses feeling the economic crunch. If this were better known among local managers, it would seem to me

that there would be a waiting list for those spaces.

Recently, I showed Jason, a Ukrop’s manager, my breakfast: scrambled eggs, bacon and a fresh baked biscuit. With a cup of coffee it was $3.95. Do you realize what you have here? It’s better than fast food and it’s often less than fast food pric-es. Enjoying my breakfast in the dining area, it saddens me to see it so empty.

There’s wireless availability. Why aren’t there more busi-ness persons enjoying “eating on the cheap?” You see your food prepared in a very clean kitchen, by clean employees at better than fast food pric-es. Wow! What a place, where businesspersons can meet, dis-cuss and plan their day, hook up their laptops.

Have you seen the Bistro there? It gets underway every evening beginning at 5:00 pm and it’s a first in Roanoke. See your dinner prepared by clean chefs frequently changing their gloves. Three entrees with tasty sides. A convenient alternative to cooking or eating out. Fri-day, their prime rib was taken home in their plastic container and put on good china. This is an alternative that Roanoke needs.

Should Ukrop’s fail, it isn’t only upscale grocer that is the loser. Folks who like the niche Ukrop’s fills are the real losers. Roanoke has a world-class fa-cility on Franklin Road, one of a kind. In the summer it’s great to park under the building and return later to my car, not bak-ing in the heat. In inclement weather it’s great to walk in dry. For those who have an aversion to parking garages, there is the street level park-

ing. Traffic? This writer finds the strategic placement of traf-fic lights coming in and out of Ukrop’s to be safe and conve-nient.

When the opening was delayed employees who had been trained and expected to be paid were sent to work at the Rescue Mission. A wom-an who volunteers there told me that Ukrop’s trucks pull up very frequently, bringing lots and lots of food.

Roanoke, do we want to lose this good Corporate Citizen? Please, visit Ukrop’s, look more closely at their prices - you are in for a real surprise. Ukrop’s is not a threat to other food chains here. Ukrop’s, as well as Fresh Market, complements what existed in Roanoke be-fore they came. Please, let’s give this business the support it needs to stay here. It would indeed be a travesty if a com-munity such as Roanoke re-jects this upscale, unique gro-cery store.

That empty building might send a message: don't come to Roanoke with new ideas and concepts; a signal to be careful – if you have other al-ternatives, you might want to locate somewhere else. Let’s show this firm, which risked it’s capital to come here and introduce a unique shopping experience to our community, that Roanoke is indeed ready for it.

Tom Karrasch was Agency Manager of Prudential’s South-west Virginia office from 1971 to 1992. He also served six years on the board of Salem/Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce and was the presi-dent in 1980.

Ukrop’s - a great place to do business

Conservation Partners, LLC, and The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation announce the permanent protection of a scenic and his-toric 64-acre Franklin County farm on Smith Mountain Lake. The Basham/Thurman Fam-ily Homeplace on Northridge Road and Indi-an Creek has been in the same family for over 150 years and, thanks to a conservation ease-ment placed by the three surviving Basham siblings who were raised there, the land will forever contribute to the farmland and for-ests on the shores of Smith Mountain Lake.

The conservation easement permanently prohibits division of the farm, limits future building, protects water quality with 50-foot wooded buffers along all streams and lake frontage, and protects an 1812 log home from destruction. The property has over a half-mile of public road frontage and 1,600 feet of shoreline.

Brothers Hulon and Dewey Basham and their sister, Bonnie Jean Perdue, have resisted many offers over the years to sell their home-place to developers. To them, the property was too special to see developed and they wanted to make sure that their scenic, rural land remained that way forever. With genera-tions-deep roots on the land “we just couldn’t see it cut up like so many other old places around the lake,” says Hulon Basham.

The Basham family worked closely with Conservation Partners, LLC, a statewide con-sulting firm that assists landowners through the complex process of donating conservation easements. Perdue says “We would have been lost without Conservation Partners. They listened to what we wanted to do, helped us through the whole process and kept every-

thing moving along.” David Hurt, an Easement Specialist with

Conservation Partners says, “With so much wildlife habitat and farmland lost in recent years it’s getting harder and harder to assure our descendants the joys of a rural way of life and the enjoyment of nature. Whether you hunt, fish, hike, camp, boat, bird watch or just love seeing pretty scenery as you drive along Virginia roads, you ought to support conservation easements. And everyone who appreciates clean water in Smith Mountain Lake should thank the Bashams and the oth-er families like them who are protecting our natural world.”

The Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation (WBWF), a Halifax County-based non-profit founded by NASCAR driver Ward Burton, accepted the conservation easement dona-tion in late October. WBWF will be responsi-ble for monitoring the property and uphold-ing the easement to protect the land’s many conservation resources.

Ward Burton encourages more rural land-owners to follow the Basham’s example and points out that the conservation easement helps the Basham family and the general pub-lic. “The Bashams still own the land and can continue using it like they always have, but now they know that their wishes will be up-held into the future and the land will never be developed,” Burton says. “The public benefits by knowing that the land will always be there for wildlife habitat, agricultural production, water quality protection and the scenic en-joyment of drivers and boaters.”

Family Preserves Lake Homeplace

Woods Rogers has named two of its attorneys, B. Webb King and Nicole Ingle, principals in the firm.

King is a member of the litigation section, focusing on bankruptcy and creditors’ rights and litigation matters. He regularly represents creditors, debt-ors and other interest holders in Chapter 11 cases and creditors in Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 cases. Webb also works on commercial and residential land-lord/tenant matters.

Webb graduated magna cum laude from the University of Richmond School of Law in 2001. At Richmond, he served as an associate editor of the Law Review, was a Moot Court Board Member and a teaching assistant for a first-year legal skills class. He clerked for Woods Rogers during the summers of 1999 and 2000. Webb received a bachelor’s degree in history, magna cum laude, from Roanoke College in 1998.

Ingle specializes in condominiums, leasing and other commercial real estate matters and corporate and business law. Prior to joining Woods Rogers, she was a senior staff attorney for Advance Auto Parts, where she handled com-mercial real estate purchases, sales and leases as well as contract negotiations and counseling of internal clients.

Nicole grew up in Tidewater and attended the University of Virginia, where she received her bachelor’s degree with distinction in 1995. After receiving her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1998, she was an associate at Murtha Cullina LLP, a law firm with offices in Hartford and Bos-ton. At Murtha Cullina she worked in the firm’s commercial law and real estate department, handling commercial real estate purchases, sales and leases, asset acquisitions, commercial loan transactions, development work, business formation and open space donations.

Woods Rogers Attorneys Selected in Virginia Business Magazine’s Legal EliteWoods Rogers is honored to announce that 17 of the firm’s attorneys have been recognized by their

peers as Legal Elite in the December 2008 issue of Virginia Business Magazine. Each year, Virginia Busi-ness works with the Virginia Bar Association to publish an annual list of the top lawyers in 15 categories as voted on by their peers. Roughly 3,500 lawyers were nominated and only 750 were selected for the list. The following are those Woods Rogers attorneys included in the 2008 Legal Elite:

Woods Rogers Names Two New Principals - 17 named to “Legal Elite”

B. Webb King

Nicole Ingle

Thomas R. Bagby Labor/EmploymentD. Stan Barnhill ConstructionNicholas C. Conte Business LawJohn P. Grove, III Family/Domestic RelationsNicole F. Ingle Real Estate/Land UseNeal Keesee Intellectual PropertyJoshua F.P. Long Young Lawyer (Under 40)Heman A. Marshall, III Health LawThomas T. Palmer Health LawWilliam B. Poff Civil LitigationAlexander I Saunders Taxes/Estates/TrustsChristopher Stevens Civil LitigationDaniel C. Summerlin, III Legislative/Regulatory/AdminPaul R. Thomson, Jr. Criminal LawThomas Winn, III Labor/EmploymentDudley F. Woody Labor/EmploymentJoshua C. Wykle Taxes/Estates/Trusts

United States Western District Attorney Ju-lia Dudley spoke of hawks “soaring overhead…wind whispering through the pines” and other such bucolic thoughts in announcing a settle-ment last week in the case against Novozymes Biologicals. Novozymes pled guilty to dumping barrels of chemicals in to Mason’s Creek several years ago, an act that caused at least one young swimmer to suffer some physical discomfort.

Federal District Judge Samuel Wilson sen-tenced the biotech firm to three years proba-tion and levied a $275,000 fine in return for the plea agreement. Novozymes pled guilty to one charge of violating the Clean Water Act. “Viola-tions of the Clean Water Act are serious offens-es and must be met with serious consequences,” said Dudley, who took over for John Brownlee after he resigned to campaign for the Republi-can Attorney General nomination.

Discarded microbiological products (about 4000 gallons worth) that the company dumped through a drain into Mason’s Creek, a tributary

of the Roanoke River, also killed about 6000 fish. There were two incidents, in 2004 and 2005. Dudley lauded the efforts of the Blue Ridge Environmental Task Force, which consists of local law enforcement departments and other public service agencies, in helping to make the case against Novozymes. “This case is just one example of their successes,” said Dudley.

Novozymes was also ordered to spend $250,000 on a community service project and has chosen to build a walking trail along one segment of the Roanoke River. The company already donated a similar amount several years ago to fund a small part of the Roanoke River greenway in Salem. “The walking trail will pro-mote public health and have a positive impact on the environment,” said Dudley – something that the dumping of outdated and off-spec ma-terials certainly did not.

Novozymes will build trail to pay back for illegal dumping


arts & cultureTheRoanokeStar.com 12/26/08 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |

Public art in the City of Roanoke continues to build momentum with the approval by City Council of a Public Art Action Plan for 2009. Council voted to adopt the plan and accompa-nying budget at its Dec. 1 meeting. The plan al-locates $99,000 of the ap-proximately $123,000 in new funding in the “Per-cent for the Art” fund, which is comprised of one percent of the bud-gets of certain projects in the city's capital improve-ment program.

The proposed projects in the 2009 plan build on the accomplish-ments of 2008, during which the Roanoke Arts Commission (RAC), which identifies potential public artworks and initiatives, commissioned a permanent sculpture for the Roanoke Civic Center; placed temporary artworks around the city through "AIR: Art in Roanoke"; and initiated the design of bus shelters, which will soon be placed at William Fleming and Patrick Henry high schools.

The 2009 Public Art Action Plan includes:• Highland Park Bench Project. Two art-

ist-designed and fabricated benches will be placed in Highland Park near the fountain garden area. This is a partnership with Old Southwest Inc., which is allocating $1,000 for the project, bringing the total budget to $10,000.

• Gainsboro Library Project. With the ren-ovations and new addition to the Gainsboro Library there is an opportunity to add art-work to the outdoor area adjacent to Gains-boro Road. Residents and library patrons will have the opportunity to work with an artist or artist team on deciding the content and possibly participating in the fabrication of the work. An effort will be made to incorpo-

rate the library's recent oral history project into the artwork. The budget is $65,000.

• Market Square Walk-way Enhancements. Last year the Roanoke Arts Commission worked with students at Virginia Tech to develop concepts to add art elements to the interior of the pedestrian bridge. The concepts did not fit within the $10,000 budget at that time. The RAC recommends in-creasing the allocation to commission art for the pedestrian bridge to $35,000.

By Susan JenningsRoanoke City Public Art Coordinator

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The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University pres-ents “Taliaferro Logan: Georgianna Waxes,” which will open January 8. The book “Georgianna”, written by the artist’s grand-mother, Fay L. Logan, inspires this “site-specific encaustic in-stallation” by nationally known artist Talia Logan.

A fictional saga set in the Roanoke Valley during the early part of the 20th century, the book and subsequent exhibition explore a family’s confessional tale of tragedy and redemption that blurs the lines between history and fiction.

The Eleanor D. Wilson Museum is the first to premiere this new body of work, and Amy Moorefield, Director of the Mu-seum, curates the exhibition. There will be an opening recep-tion and book signing with the author at 6:00 pm on Thursday, January 8, and a lecture by the artist on Wednesday, January 14 at 10:00 am in the Frances J. Niederer Auditorium. Both events are free and open to the public.

Logan, director of the galleries at Roanoke College, received her BFA in Sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth Universi-ty’s School of the Arts in Richmond and her MFA from School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, completing post-grad-uate work in Dresden, Germany.

Logan is also friends with Moorefield, who came to Hollins recently, replacing Wyona Lynch-White, who moved on after four years to a position in Massachusetts. Moorefield had been

an assistant curator at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Anderson Gallery. “I was looking for a smaller university ex-perience, to have more of a meaningful impact with the com-munity and the student public,” said Moore, who “dusted off her resume after 14 years,” and landed the position.

The Wilson Museum in some ways is a “laboratory” said Moorefield, where Hollins students and faculty members can also see more experimental art in one or more of the three

galleries.The Eleanor D. Wilson

Museum at Hollins is five years old, created by an endowment. “[Its] been going strong since,” said Moorefield, who would like to bring prominent national artists to the Wilson, with “significant exhibitions.” She also wants to create “meaningful partnerships,” with other cultural organizations in the Roanoke Valley – like the Taubman Museum of Art.

“I believe it takes a village to create a cultural environment here,” said Moorefield, who lauds what she calls Roanoke’s “pro-gressive spirit.” She’ll undertake another partnership by welcom-ing Talia Logan’s installation, be-ginning January 8.

New “Site Specific Art” Exhibition to open at Hollins

Amy Moorefield is the new Director at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum.


Public art moves forward

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NEWS FLASH!

The Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, David Stewart Wiley conductor, along with the Roanoke Symphony Chorus, conducted by John Hugo, performed Handel’s "Messiah Part I" and "Hal-lelujah Chorus" recently in the Shaftman Performance Hall at the Jefferson Center. Featured soloists were Marcia Jones Thom, Carrie Stevens, Scott Williamson, and David Newman. The RSO also recently performed at the Salem Civic Center, presenting its popular Holiday Pops program.

RSO Holiday concert at Jeff CenterPhoto by Jim Bullington

As the holidays arrive, many of us travel to be with family and friends to both celebrate and re-flect upon the year behind us. Despite the rough economy, I would venture to guess that many of us remain blessed in countless ways. And so we are filled with the desire to give back—to our loved ones, our communities, and those in need.

Giving truly is one of life’s greatest joys. Obvi-ously, around Christmas our gifts to each other are usually tangible in nature—clothing, toys, even gift cards. But there is a growing need in Roanoke that requires a different kind of gift, one without monetary value: Time.

In the year I have spent living in Roanoke, one of the most rewarding and eye-opening things I’ve done began the day I signed up to be a mentor at Family Service of Roanoke Valley. Since then, I have been spending a few hours every week with a boy who I’ll call Joey. Getting to know Joey and his family has been both wonderful and heart-breaking.

Joey comes from a broken family—single mom, two brothers and no father to speak of. His mom works two jobs and is rarely at home to help raise her boys. As a result, Joey has had to face his teen-age years with no male influence, and hardly any older role models at all, save for his school teach-ers. Joey and his family live life devoid of many worldly treasures, but you wouldn’t know it if you met them. They are sweet, respectful, and gentle in every way.

It’s a sad story, one we’ve all seen or heard be-fore. But sadder still is the fact that there are many kids in our community like Joey, who share simi-lar stories and need someone who wants to reach out and make a difference in their lives.

That is the goal of the mentoring program at Family Service of Roanoke Valley. “The vision [of the program] is achieving healthier, more produc-tive youth who feel valued by their community and who make better decisions,” said Cheri Hart-man, Director of Youth Development at Family Service of Roanoke Valley. The stats that support this need are startling: according to Hartman, re-

cent surveys in 2007 show that the use of mari-juana is higher in Roanoke City than the national average. Nearly 25% of high school students have had a drink of alcohol in the past 30 days. An as-tounding 13.7% of 10th and 12th graders actually attempted suicide in the past year; 73% say they don’t feel valued by their communities and only 21% say they have a positive, adult role model in their lives.

These kids need someone like you. They need friendship and guidance for what can be a very confusing time in their lives. You don’t have to do or say anything special, nor do you have to be an expert with kids. I’ve found that Joey is grateful simply to have someone who takes an interest in his life; someone to joke around with, take him to the mall or play outside. It would be easy to say that I’ve made a profound difference in Joey’s life, but the truth is he has immensely impacted mine.

If you are looking for ways to give back to the Roanoke community, or for a way to get involved, I would strongly encourage you to give just a little bit of your time to a boy or girl like Joey. There are many kids involved with FSRV that need men-tors. Hartman laments that, “unfortunately there are not enough mentors to meet the needs of all the youth. The goal of our mentoring program is to have a mentor for each of our youth. It’s dis-appointing not to be able to connect each child with a mentor of their own.” She also notes that the kids who attend FSRV after school programs ask for mentors.

So as you think of ways to give this Christmas, give the gift of your time. It could be the greatest gift you ever give.

Note: for more information about the mentor-ing program at Family Service of Roanoke Valley, or to get involved, please contact Leah Hatcher at (540) 563-5316 ext. 3039, or Sarah Jane Lawrence at (540) 563-5316 ext. 3029.

By Matt [email protected]

Family Service mentoring: giving the gift of time


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Children everywhere love dressing up and being the star of the show. The children currently living in emergency shelter with their families at the Rescue Mission celebrated Christmas by performing their very own Christmas pageant. In attendance Monday evening were parents, shelter guests and staff of the Mission. The true meaning of Christmas shined from each face as Kiasa Hicks, dressed as an angel read from the Gospel of Luke, while the other children acted out the Christmas story. Pictured, back row, left to right: Terrell Emmons (King Herod), Kirstie Ayers (wise man 1), Dominque Flora (wise man 2), Sean Miller (wise man 3), Kiasa Hicks (angel), middle row, left to right: Paul Ayers (shepherd), Trevon Webb (Joseph), Ivory Davis (Mary), William Chapman (shepherd), front row, left to right: Jalyssa Beasley and Autumn Davis.

Homeless children put on Christmas play at the Rescue Mission:

A former teacher who taught students, family and strangers the love of reading has surprised Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley with a check for more than $86,000 – the organization’s largest single gift.

Jo Ann S. Jester, who once volunteered for a literacy organization in Anderson, S.C., request-ed in her will that this contribution be made to Literacy Volunteers to support its efforts to teach adults how to read and write.

“We were stunned when we received the check,” said Annette Loschert, executive director of Liter-acy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley. “But after get-ting to know more about the life of Mrs. Jester, this generous contribution makes a lot of sense given her love of reading and her infectious enthusiasm to teach others the importance of literacy.”

The total donation of $86,328 has been placed in the organization’s Walter P. Dungan Literacy Fund, an endowment to help secure long-term sustainability for Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley.

Mrs. Jester’s daughter, Ann Sheehan, says read-ing was a priority while growing up. “There were always books around the house,” said Sheehan, a local nurse. “Since we were encouraged to have

our own opinions and beliefs, it was important for us to constantly read.”

During her teaching career, Mrs. Jester taught in inner-city Alabama and rural upstate New York, always seeking to give children of all back-grounds a second chance to learn how to read. She became a literacy volunteer in South Carolina upon retirement. Three years ago, she moved to Roanoke to be closer to family. And her mission didn’t end when she got to Roanoke – she started a book club at a local retirement community.

“My mom loved reading,” says Sheehan. “Ev-erywhere she lived she made friends with the local librarians. And she was always reading a variety of books at any given time. With this donation, my mom will continue to make her mark at Literacy Volunteers for many years to come.”

From its office in the downtown Roanoke Pub-lic Library, Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley provides free, confidential tutoring to help adults improve their reading, writing and problem-solving skills. The organization offers basic liter-acy programs as well as programs specifically de-signed for non-English speakers. To learn more, visit www.lvarv.org.

Literacy Volunteers of Roanoke Valley announces largest-ever single gift

Photo by Pam Rickard

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