Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 2, 1990 TAG: 9003023114
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
But he has a special feel for the common man.
"I worked at a strip tease joint two weeks ago," he said "People were lined up for a half mile."
Thursday, Harper turned his lights on Roanoke, prompting citizens throughout the valley to report sighting unidentified flying objects.
Harper was in the first night of a three-day stand at the grand opening of the Plaza of Roanoke-Salem.
Roanoke dispatchers received about 15 reports shortly after the four 4-billion candlepower spotlights on swivels started cutting circles in the darkened, cloudy sky.
Harper, who hauls the lights and a diesel-powered generator on the bed of a pickup truck for an Atlanta-based company, said complaints for him are just another day at the office. On good nights, the lights can be seen for 25 to 30 miles.
"Anybody has a grand opening, we break out the lights," he said. "We work ball games, car shows and used car lots. The UFO complaints just start rolling in."
Sometimes, a potential curious customer rolls in, too.
"You don't see things like this in Roanoke," said Donna Woods, who tracked down the lights from her home in Botetourt County. "This is something big."
One woman from Gus Nicks Boulevard agrees, although she would not give her name for publication.
"I didn't know whether it was a flying saucer or God was coming out of the sky," she said. "I'm not a scientist or nothing."
by CNB