Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 17, 1991 TAG: 9103170072
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL HOWES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Gov. Douglas Wilder's Saturday "open house" in Roanoke was punctuated more by snapshots than complaints of budget cuts, although representatives from Roanoke Valley cultural organizations pleaded their case one more time to Wilder and his cabinet, who were arrayed around a conference table in the Roanoke Municipal Building.
William Hopkins Sr., a former state senator from Roanoke, chastised his one-time colleague for backing cuts that appeared to spare state bureaucracy at the expense of the voters - the ones who benefit most from Center in the Square downtown and its diverse programming.
Wilder parried the criticism, enlisting the help of Finance Secretary Paul Timmreck. "Ultimately, while it's highly regrettable . . ., we don't see any alternative given the recession that this commonwealth is in," Timmreck said.
Not good enough, Hopkins shot back. "You're not talking about big bucks. You're talking about little dollars that serve people." As Hopkins sees it, a 5 percent reduction from, say, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts budget in Richmond would save more than enough money to keep Center in the Square's funding alive - and with it Roanoke's comparatively vibrant cultural community.
"Equity is all you're asking, and I think it's a fair request," Wilder said. "The only criteria is money. The case is made in terms of viability. If there are any funds available, we would . . . grant relief."
Roanoke Valley cultural groups stand to lose some $1.2 million in the coming year, including direct appropriations to the downtown Center, the Science Museum of Western Virginia and the Roanoke Valley Transportation Museum, as well as grants to other arts groups from the Virginia Commission for the Arts.
Other pleas followed. Volunteer representatives from the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra urged Wilder and his cabinet to remember the symphony when state finances begin to brighten.
"With schools cutting back [on cultural programs], it's organizations like ours that must pick up the slack," Maxine Hunt, president of the Friends of the Roanoke Symphony, told Wilder. The group aims to involve Roanoke's disadvantaged minority youth in classical music.
"I happen to believe that the symphony is one of those things we should assist, and we will try to do that," he replied.
Still, Virginia lingers in recession and state revenues are slipping. "I don't think it's bottomed out," Wilder said. "I hope we will see a bottoming out sometime this year. What I want people to understand is that it's temporary."
Then came the procession, citizens eager to greet the governor, introduce their small children or voice some special private concern to Wilder in the corner of the room.
Kathy Anderson Elam of Salem, her sister, Margaret Wright from Iowa, and Elam's three children came to say hello. Wilder enthusiastically greeted the children, handing them an autographed picture.
"When are you going back to Iowa?" he asked Wright, pointedly referring to one of the first stops for presidential candidates.
"Tomorrow," she said.
"Well, you never know," Wilder said with a grin, "we might see each other."
by CNB