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

DATE: SUNDAY, May 20, 1990                   TAG: 9005200076
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CAVE SPRING JAYCEES NEUTRAL ON CONSOLIDATION QUESTION

Unlike the Roanoke Jaycees, the Cave Spring Jaycees probably won't take a stand on the plan to consolidate Roanoke and Roanoke County.

"We're still considering what we're going to do on consolidation," said Mickey Johnson, an advertising salesman for WSLS-TV, whose one-year term as president of the Cave Spring Jaycees ends this month.

But, he said, any stand by the organization, pro or con, might not fairly reflect the attitudes of Cave Spring residents.

It is easier for the Roanoke Jaycees to take a stand, Johnson said, because support for consolidation appears strong in the city. That is not so in the county.

The memberships of both Jaycees chapters are closely divided between city and county residents. But in the public's eyes, one is a city organization and the other is a county organization, he said.

The Cave Spring Jaycees joined the Roanoke Jaycees in the petition drive to get consolidation on the ballot. Because of that, many people assumed they were pro-consolidation. But "all we did was give people a chance to decide," Johnson said.

The new president of the Roanoke Jaycees, insurance salesman Charlie Watson, said he did not know yet how the organization would put its support for consolidation into action.

It might prepare a position paper on consolidation. And, if nothing else, its 350 or so members can talk up the benefits of consolidation with their friends and co-workers.

Watson shares the view that consolidation would be a boon for economic development in the Roanoke Valley. Slow growth is taking a toll on the valley - and on the Jaycees, he said.

"People like it here, but it's hard to stay here," Watson said. Five to 10 Roanoke Jaycees move out of the area each month. Four of the seven members of the organization's 1987-88 executive board have moved.

"We're not experts in government," he said. "We do have a concern about the future." And the consolidation plan "is a plan for the future."

Watson is not discouraged by the vocal opposition in Roanoke County. "I have faith that residents of the county are open-minded and will make an objective decision," he said. "If they do that, it has a very good chance of passing."

by CNB