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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 14, 1991                   TAG: 9102150476
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: W-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: NEW CASTLE                                 LENGTH: Short

CITIZENS TO STUDY EFFECT OF POWER LINE

Citizens who are concerned about the effects of a high-voltage power line running through Craig County have selected a steering committee to guard the interests of the county.

The Citizens for the Preservation of Craig County, during a recent meeting named Hoyt McCartney, Matt Szechenyi, J.C. Winstead and Ellen Coleman to the steering committee.

The committee will guide the gathering of data that would be pertinent to choosing a route through Craig for a 765-kilovolt (765,000-volt) power line that Appalachian Power Co., proposes to build between Cloverdale and Oceana, W.Va.

Coleman said the steering committee will spot points of interest, such as old cemeteries, scenic spots, historic sites and recreation and wildlife areas, that could be disturbed or destroyed by a high-voltage power line.

Also, Coleman said, the group is interested in special geographical features, including sinkholes that would pose a problem in constructing power-line towers.

The Craig group also is working with a Virginia Tech committee, headed by Benjamin Johnson. The Tech group, at the request of Apco, is studying possible routes for the power line, which may touch Botetourt, Roanoke, Craig and Giles counties in Virginia, and Monroe, Summers and Wyoming counties in West Virginia. The Tech group also is working with West Virginia University to collect the data along potential routes in that state.

The next meeting of the Citizens for the Preservation of Craig County is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the county courthouse in New Castle.

by CNB