COMMUNITY GROUP AD SUPPORTS NON-RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY NAMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 18, 1993                   TAG: 9303180252
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium
COMMUNITY GROUP AD SUPPORTS NON-RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY NAMES
A new community group, dedicated to supporting religious and ethnic diversity in Montgomery County, plans another newspaper advertisement supporting the use of secular names for school holidays.
The advertisement is scheduled to appear April 4, a Sunday. The advertisement's sponsor, the Coalition for Community, is inviting Montgomery County citizens to add their signatures to those of hundreds of others that the advertisement will carry.
In December, a group of county citizens complained to the Board of Supervisors about the use of the secular names "winter break" and "spring break" on the school calendar. They wanted the county to return to the use of the Christian names of "Christmas" and "Easter" for the holidays.
A larger group of people, composed of those both for and against changing the holiday names, showed up at the School Board's first January meeting.
The supervisors passed a resolution supporting the Christian names for the holidays, but the final decision rests with the School Board. People on both sides of the issue also showed up at School Board meetings in February and earlier this month.
The School Board probably will approve next year's school calendar and the holiday names at its April 6 meeting. If not then, the board will deal with the calendar on April 20, according to Superintendent Harold Dodge.
The Coalition for Community's first advertisement in support of the secular names for the holidays showed up in the Feb. 14 New River Current. Roughly 400 people signed their names to that declaration.
The April 4 advertisement will be worded identically to the earlier one.
That advertisement says that "the undersigned residents wish to affirm their commitment to the richness of life and culture in Montgomery County."
It continues: "We call on all our public officials to recognize and consider the diversity of our people as they make policies and decisions that affect all our lives."
The Coalition for Community was formed after the controversy over the holiday names developed in December.
The mission of the coalition, according to former county supervisors Ann Hess, is to support respect for ethnic, religious and cultural diversity in the county and to work toward solutions for divisive issues.
The coalition's goals go beyond the school naming issue, said Nancy Alexander, another coalition organizer. Part of its efforts are aimed at assisting the county's Human Relations Council, she said.
Alexander said anyone wanting to sign the April 4 advertisement can call her at 552-2473 before March 31.
The coalition will hold a meeting Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Christiansburg Presbyterian Church.
Members of the county school system's 2006 Commission, which is planning for the future educational needs of the county, will speak.
The meeting is open to the public.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB