POWER-LINE VOTE LIABLE TO CHANGE

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

DATE: THURSDAY, February 20, 1992                   TAG: 9202200339
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
POWER-LINE VOTE LIABLE TO CHANGE
Roanoke County Supervisor Ed Kohinke says he will switch his vote on Appalachian Power Co.'s proposed 765,000-volt power line when the Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday - a small victory for power-line opponents.
Kohinke had joined two other supervisors and voted last week to withdraw the "notice of protest" the county filed with the State Corporation Commission last year.
His vote shocked opponents of the power line, which would cut through northwest Roanoke County.
Kohinke explained at the time that he opposes the power line as a private citizen. But because Apco had assured the county that the power line wouldn't have an impact on the new regional landfill at Smith Gap, "we don't have much to protest anyway," he said.
But now Kohinke says he "flubbed" that vote and will ask for another. He expects Chairman Lee Eddy and Supervisor Fuzzy Minnix - fellow Republicans who were on the losing side last week - to join him, making at least a 3-2 majority in favor of keeping the notice of protest on file.
"I'm still basically pro-environment. I haven't sold out to big business," Kohinke said. "I just didn't think we had a basis for protest other than the landfill."
The supervisors' likely action on Tuesday doesn't mean they ultimately will oppose the power line, he said. Rather, it will give them more time to consider the pros and cons - which is what Eddy wanted last week.
Kohinke represents the residents who would be affected by the power line. But Apco's service center at Hanging Rock also is in his district. "I owe [Apco] the same degree of respect and consideration as I do any other business or private citizen in my district," he said.
It is unlikely the supervisors' position on the power line will have much influence on the State Corporation Commission, which will decide whether it is needed and - if so - will choose a 1,000-foot-wide route. The power line, which would run from Wyoming County, W.Va., to Botetourt County, also needs the approval of the West Virginia Public Service Authority.
Once a 1,000-foot-wide route is chosen, Apco would purchase a 200-foot-wide right of way.
Marcy Johnson, a power-line opponent who is active in the Roanoke County Preservation League, said opponents are glad the supervisors apparently will keep the notice of protest on file. "We think it's the appropriate thing to do."
Kohinke "is sincere in his opposition" to the power line, she said. "I think he was hurt" by opponents' criticism of his vote last week. "He didn't anticipate such a strong reaction from us."

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB