ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 26, 1996 TAG: 9602260076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: GENERAL ASSEMBLY NOTEBOOK
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE and STEPHANIE STOUGHTON STAFF WRITERS
Southwest Virginia lawmakers suffered one casualty and one near-casualty in the annual General Assembly Democrat-Republican basketball game Thursday night.
Sen. Jack Reasor, D-Bluefield, hurt his right arm when he fell early in the game, but played on thinking it was nothing more than a sprain.
The next morning - after a night in pain - Reasor went across the street to the Medical College of Virginia, where an X-ray revealed a small fracture just below the elbow. He will have to wear a splint for at least two weeks.
"An old man trying to play a young man's game," he said Friday.
The near-casualty came when House Majority Leader Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, took an elbow in the face from Del. Robert McDonnell, R-Virginia Beach.
Cranwell escaped with a bent pair of glasses, but the feisty, powerful Democrat took some grief during some tongue-in-cheek floor speeches the next day.
McDonnell explained that the elbow was inadvertent, but added, "I would say that is the first clean shot I've got at [Cranwell] this year."
Del. Clifton "Chip" Woodrum, D-Roanoke, later noted the good fortune that the elbow hit Cranwell's left eye, which is already nearly blind from a childhood accident.
"You know he picked the bad eye," Woodrum said. "That's the one with the faint gleam of compassion."
For the record, Democrats prevailed in overtime. Del. Tom Jackson, D-Hillsville, a former hoop standout at Hampden-Sydney College, took home Most Valuable Player honors.
Va. projects questioned
A couple of Western Virginia projects figured briefly during a six-hour budget debate Thursday in the House of Delegates.
Republican lawmakers objected to a $1 million appropriation to assist the College of Health Sciences, which stands to lose financial support from Carilion Health Services.
Republican leader Vance Wilkins of Amherst County questioned the policy of giving public funds to a private nursing school.
"It's a private school that takes public students," replied Del. Vic Thomas, D-Roanoke, who played a key role in getting the money into the budget.
Thomas' response prompted laughter on the House floor.
The chamber then approved the money, 96-0.
The House, however, was in no mood to give Del. Allen Dudley, R-Rocky Mount, an extra $200,000 for Franklin County's plans for a public park on Smith Mountain Lake.
Dudley had asked the Appropriations Committee for $450,000 for the park. His floor amendment not only scaled back the request but stipulated that the money would flow only if the state government had a surplus.
Del. Kenneth Plum, D-Fairfax County - whose Appropriations subcommittee heard Dudley's original request - replied that the House floor is not the place to consider lawmakers' pet projects.
"We all do our best to get money to take home," Plum said.
The House shouted down Dudley's plea.
Tech scholar honored
Mark Embree, a Rhodes Scholar from Virginia Tech, was recognized on the floor of the House and Senate.
Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville, praised Embree for balancing his studies in computer science with teaching and community work in the Blacksburg area.
"It was an honor," said Embree, 21, who blushed and smiled during the acknowledgments. "It was exciting to see there's an interest in higher education in the General Assembly."
Embree and Samantha Salvia, a student at Old Dominion University, will head for Oxford University in the fall.
No time for editing
How do you simultaneously create and eliminate a state agency?
A House bill mentions the "creation of the elimination of the Department of Economic Development and the transfer of responsibilities to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership."
"I don't know how you go about creating the elimination," said Sen. Madison Marye, D-Shawsville. "It just seems strange to me."
Marye suggested amending the language to make it more clear, but other senators disagreed. Apparently, they knew what they were talking about and thought changing it would be a hassle.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines KEYWORDS: GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1996by CNB