ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, February 5, 1996               TAG: 9602050033
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: A-1  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER 

ANOTHER DAY OF NO SCHOOL FOR THE KIDS

By now, children in Western Virginia almost don't get excited about another day off from school. They've spent nearly as much time at home as in the classroom since Christmas.

All schools in the Roanoke and New River valleys are closed again today because roads and sidewalks are too treacherous for buses and children, superintendents said Sunday.

Students might not return to classes in some rural counties until the middle of the week because of snow-packed roads and brutally cold temperatures.

Bedford County schools also will be closed Tuesday. Some other school chiefs said their systems could be closed, too, but they won't decide that until today.

"It could be Wednesday or Thursday before we get back," said Leonard Gereau, Franklin County superintendent. "The secondary roads in our county are solid ice."

Superintendent Deanna Gordon said streets are in worse shape in Roanoke County than during last month's snowstorm because of subfreezing temperatures.

"We sure need to get back, " she said. "We'll do it when it's safe."

News reports about a bus carrying Florida college students skidding on ice and flipping down an embankment in West Virginia on Friday were a reminder of the dangers of buses traveling on slippery roads, she said. The bus was taking students to a ski resort.

Gordon said she won't decide until today on whether to open Tuesday, but she said it looks doubtful. One potential problem is that school buses have to turn around on roads where turnaround areas have not been plowed.

"On Monday our people will work on some of these places where we know the [Virginia Department of Transportation] won't get to," she said.

Residential streets in Roanoke are too slippery for buses, said Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations. "We've cleared the parking lots at schools, but the side streets are in bad shape."

School parking lots and sidewalks in Salem have been cleared, but the streets look pretty rugged, Superintendent Wayne Tripp said. Still, he said he was optimistic Salem can open Tuesday.

Clarence McClure, Botetourt County's superintendent, said primary roads and some secondary routes are in good condition, but snow and ice are still on some bus routes.

"It doesn't look good for the first part of the week, but we'll call it one day at a time after Monday," Pulaski Superintendent William Asbury said.

Closing schools can be a tough decision for superintendents. If they keep schools open, they risk bus accidents. If they are too cautious, they get complaints from parents looking for baby sitters. They also have to shorten spring break or make other unpopular decisions to make up the missed days.

A few localities have missed up to 12 days, but most have closed nine or 10. Some already have extended the school year and shortened spring break to make up missed days.

Virginia requires schools to make up the first five missed days, but the state can waive making up the next five. If municipalities get a waiver and miss more than 10 days, they must make up missed days 11 through 15. The state can waive all days beyond that.

Before the latest storm, most localities said they would not seek a waiver. But that could change if they miss several days this week and there's more bad weather this winter.

LENGTH: Medium:   80 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ERIC BRADY/Staff. Ralph Mitchell of Salem loves the snow
          - it gives him and his dogs a chance to practice. The team was on 
          the Blue Ridge Parkway in Roanoke County Sunday.  Without the snow, 
          the team practices mushing with a wheeled cart. Siberian Huskies are
          bred not to mind the cold, which is good because Saturday's 
          overnight temperature dropped to 1 degree in Roanoke and minus 4 in 
          Blacksburg, according to the National Weather Service. And Sunday's 
          overnight low in Roanoke was heading for a new record - between 
          minus 5 and 5 degrees.  The record was 7 degrees in 1947. There were
          no reports of hypothermia or other cold-related problems Sunday. 
          Emergency-room workers at Community Hospital of Roanoke Valley 
          treated more than the usual number of patients who had fallen on 
          ice, but had none complaining of chest pains and no sledding 
          accident victims. color.