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The Roanoke Star-Sentinel May 27 - June 2, 2011
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Community | News | Per spective
Smith Vows to Return to Senate
Memorial Day Gift P4– Roanoke Star-Sentinel Happy Chef Leigh Sackett serves up some interesting history on the Stars and Stripes and some great tasting cake to boot!
Top Teacher P9– William Fleming Teacher of the Year Melissa Poff, demonstrates a commitment to serving her students that never stops.
They thought they had him “all figured out,” said Ralph Smith, referring to the Virginia State Senate redistricting plan that gerrymandered the one term State Senator out of his 22nd District. That district no longer includes Botetourt County, where Smith lives. Forty four percent of his current district has gone away, said Smith. “Common sense,” he said last week, would have placed Roanoke City (represented by Democrat John Edwards) and
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Sidewalk Art P11– The 53rd Annual Sidewalk Art Show coming up on June 4th and 5th in Downtown Roanoke will have a different look this year.
Taubman Tune-up P10– The Taubman Museum of art continues to reinvent itself in light of challenging times. Check out Gene Marrano’s report of last week’s “Townhall Meeting.”
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at both ends of the district. Ninth District Congressman Morgan Griffith and 6th District colleague Bob Goodlatte were on hand to introduce Smith, as were retiring Delegate Bill Cleaveland, Roanoke City Sheriff Octavia Johnson and Bill Stanley, who is moving as well and will challenge Democrat Roscoe Reynolds in the 20th District. Stanley now represents the 19th Dis> CONTINUED P2: Smith
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Republicans Have Sights On Board of Supervisors T h e Roanoke County Republican Committee has formed a recruitment committee for the upcom- Charlotte Moore ing 2011 elections for the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. “They have met with several of them so far and they have vetted well,” said Mike Bailey, Chair of the Roanoke County Republican Committee. Most interest is coming from the Cave Spring district where Charlotte Moore County Gov’t holds the seat. Two Republican candidates have expressed interest there. George Assaid and Bojangles’ franchise owner Stan Seymour were two names raised as possibilities by separate sources. Moore was elected as a Democrat but converted to an Independent. She serves with two other Independents that were elected as Republicans. Ed Els-
Roanoke County in the same district gomery County, all of Floyd County and but that did not happen. After the next on to portions of Carroll and Wythe census in ten years, Smith expects the re- Counties. Smith is moving in large part districting process to be taken “out of the to avoid a primary with State Senator hands of politicians.” Steve Newman (R-Lynch“No worries,” said the former burg), when his district was Politics Roanoke City mayor last week. combined with Newman’s. Smith has rented a house in The resourceful Smith Roanoke County and is now a candidate also revealed something else to an audifor the new 19th District, which stretch- ence of well-wishers and GOP politicians es from Campbell County through the at the Roanoke County administration Roanoke Valley, Bedford, parts of Mont- building last week; he has ancestral roots
City Passes Up Business Opportunities
Blues in the Blue Ridge!
Photo by Valerie Garner
The tennis facility languishes at the Countryside property.
Photo by Robert Blankenship
87 year-old Nat Reese can’t contain his joy as a perfect blues rift finds its way home. On June 4th blues masters will converge at the Blue Ridge Music Center located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway to give workshops and collaborate in a special concert. Performers include: gospel-blues songster Nat Reese, harmonica wizard Phil Wiggins and the “mistress of the countryblues” Emily Spencer accompanied by the Whitetop Mountain Band. Nat Reese, an 87-year-old “coal country bluesman,” learned his craft from itinerant musicians in the coal camps and later while singing with gospel groups. In 2009, Reese was inducted into the West Virginia Hall of Fame. Phil Wiggins is arguably America’s foremost blues harmonica virtuoso. While rooted in the melodic Piedmont or “Tidewater” blues of the Chesapeake region, his
mastery of the instrument now transcends stylistic boundaries. Emily Spencer is known for her powerful voice, soaring harmonies, authentic sound and large repertoire of songs from the Whitetop region of Southwest Virginia and beyond. There will be a Pre-concert showcase: “Talking About the Blues” from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Music Center’s theater. A free harmonica workshop with Phil Wiggins will be held at 3 p.m. as well. (Reservations required for both events.) The Main Concert will take place at 7 p.m. Cost of admission is $10. For more information go to: www.blueridgemusiccenter.org or call the Blue Ridge Music Center at (276) 236-5309.
According to Freedom of Information Act documents, George Cartledge, III was begging for the Countryside tennis building as far back as November 18, 2010 but the city rebuffed all of the Grand Piano and Furniture President’s proposals. Cartledge and his wife Barbara, along with the Bernard and Hearp families were prepared to City Gov’t renovate the tennis building and even offered to buy it for $250,000. This group was negotiating with Johan Kriek, a former twotime Australian Open Grand Slam winner and four-time senior Wimbledon champion. They were trying to find a public indoor tennis facility where junior tennis players could train in an academy run by Kriek him-
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Roanoke Red Cross Stands Ready to Help Locally and Nationally
A fourteen-year veteran with the American Red Cross, Amy Whittaker, public relations officer with the organization’s Roanoke Valley chapter, is quite proud of the volunteers who contribute their time and talents to the organization’s mission of preventing and preparing for emergencies and, if need be, answering the call of help. “That’s what we’re doing here each and every day,” she says. “I’m proud to be a part of that.” Whittaker characterizes the volunteers involved with the Roanoke Red Cross as “just phenomenal. They do so many great things for the community, and that really attracted me.” Due to recent disasters (tornadoes in Southwestern Virginia, the South and Midwest, flooding in Mississippi), the Red Cross has been quite busy. In such situations the organization’s mission is two-fold. First, it meets the immediate needs—food, shelter, clothing, emotional support, and basic health necessities arising from a disaster. Once those needs are met, issues involving long-term recovery and what further assistance families may require, are addressed. Whittaker explains that in carrying
Photo by Amy Whittaker
Roanoke Red Cross volunteers assist at the site of a tornado in Pulaski County. out its mission, the Roanoke Valley Red Mississippi,” says Whittaker. “Two of our Cross (based at 352 Church Ave. SW) volunteers traveled to Mississippi and concentrates first on the loprovided services there.” The cal area and then other parts Roanoke Valley chapter was Disaster Relief of the nation when called also on site in Pulaski County upon: “Right before the torwhen tornadoes struck there nado struck in Washington County our recently. mobile feeding unit was dispatched to As for the current flooding in Missis-
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sippi and the Joplin tornado, Whittaker says the Roanoke chapter hasn’t received word from the Red Cross’s national office about sending additional volunteers from the Roanoke area to help out in those localities, “Should that occur we have people who can pack their bags and leave within two hours,” says Whittaker. “[But] there have been so many responses across the South. They need additional people. If they request our mobile feeding unit, we’ll put that on stand-by. We call on our volunteers just to assess their availability, and then we wait.” In addition to its disaster relief and blood donation programs, the local Red Cross office teaches CPR and first aid courses in schools, churches, and companies. It will soon offer a Learn to Swim program that, while primarily directed at children, also attracts adults. Another, lesser-known Red Cross program connects military service personnel with their families. “Our job at the Red Cross,” Whittaker says, “is to bridge the gap between servicemen [and] wom> CONTINUED P2: Red Cross