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

DATE: FRIDAY, April 27, 1990                   TAG: 9004260208
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: PETER MATHEWS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

SHOO-IN CANDIDATES STILL WANT BIG TURNOUT

"If I don't win this one I'd better leave town," joked Mayor Harold Linkous, who is unopposed for a second four-year term.

Here are the candidates:

Linkous, 63, was first elected to council in 1970. He is a retired U.S. Postal Service employee.

Jack Via, 64, served on council from 1958 to 1970 and was elected again in 1986. He has been chairman of the town Planning Commission for decades. His family founded what is now Marshall Concrete Products in Christiansburg.

Via, the town's vice mayor, is now retired but said he is busier than he used to be.

Ray E. Lester Jr., 51, is a certified public accountant seeking his second term.

Ann Carter, 58, whose father preceded Linkous as mayor, is seeking her first full term on council. She completed the unexpired term of her late husband, J.D.

Many Town Council votes are unanimous, and separate interviews with the four candidates revealed general agreement on the big issues facing the town.

One is the increasing demand for services, such as state mandates to localities to increase recycling. Via said governments must motivate people to separate trash so it can be recycled, figure out how to collect it and then come up with a way to pay for the service.

Linkous said the town also must continue to upgrade water and sewer service in areas such as recently annexed Belmont Farms.

Another key issue is U.S. 460 traffic congestion. "We're going to choke ourselves in the corridor if we don't get some relief," Lester said.

The state Transportation Board is studying seven ways to ease travel within the New River Valley or from Roanoke to the valley. Town officials hope the state selects Route 3A, a new bypass east of the existing U.S. 460 between Blacksburg and Christiansburg.

Carter once ran a veterinary business with her husband. She said she was saddened to see businesses leaving downtown, particularly Angle's Super Market.

But the council members generally agreed there is little they can do to stop downtown from changing. Via predicted the area would begin growing again in 10 or 15 years, and Lester said West Main Street already seemed to have more traffic than it did a few years ago.

The town, Blacksburg and Montgomery County are discussing how best to provide services in the U.S. 460 corridor and the possibility of "boundary adjustments" in the area. Linkous did not want to comment on those talks, but the others said the negotiations were useful.

Relations "have taken a positive step forward," Lester said. "I'm not going to say we're where we need to be . . . [but] in the long run they'll help bring us closer together."

The uncontested election was somewhat unexpected. Seven people ran for three council seats in 1986, although Linkous was unopposed for mayor. Two years ago, four people sought the other three seats.

The candidates said they hoped turnout at the National Guard Armory would be strong despite the lack of competition. That would show them voters are satisfied - not just apathetic.

Few residents attend Town Council meetings, and Carter said they just aren't very vocal.

"Maybe we should jump up and down and scream and yell," she said. "Maybe the squeaky wheel does get the grease."

Keywords:
POLITICS