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

DATE: FRIDAY, March 13, 1992                   TAG: 9203130460
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MONICA DAVEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD                                LENGTH: Medium

LAKE'S EX-OWNERS WANT INJUNCTION

James and Katherine Sue Burks, who once operated the popular commercial swimming spot on Bedford County's north side, asked Thursday for an injunction against Louis and Catherine Goodwin.

In a bill of complaint filed in Bedford County Chancery Court this week, the Burks allege that the Goodwins have removed timber from 3 1/2 acres and also are "seeking to remove sand, stone, topsoil and/or minerals."

The Burks, who still have a financial stake in the land as part of a deed of trust, claim that the Goodwins' chopping and scraping is lowering its value.

Some Bedford County residents fondly remember spending their weekends as early as the 1940s at the 35-acre lake, created by a dam in the north fork of the Big Otter River.

There are less fond memories, too. In the 1960s, Bedford County sold the lake - a move some people criticized as an attempt to avoid letting blacks swim there.

The lake passed through the hands of several owners until 1989, when the Goodwins moved to Bedford from New Jersey and bought it for half a million dollars.

They reopened it to the public last summer after it had been shut down for several years.

On the witness stand Thursday, Goodwin told a judge that he's done anything but lower the value of Bedford County Lake.

"For four years, I have dedicated my life to making the lake as beautiful as I can," said Goodwin, a carpenter.

Goodwin pulled on his glasses and read from a list of costly upgrades he said he's made to the lake and park: the house he built, $250,000; sand for the beach, $9,000; a new mini-pond, $12,000; a renovated outbuilding and concession stand, $3,500 and $14,000; new picnic tables and umbrellas, $12,000; and the list went on.

Yes, Goodwin admitted, he's been paid for timber taken off the land. But he said he has no plans to remove more trees.

And, anyway, the timber removal has helped the park's look, Goodwin told the judge.

As for taking sand, soil or minerals away, as the Burks allege, Goodwin testified that his only purpose in securing permits for rock-crushing equipment on the property related to necessary dredging of the lake, which collects rocks and other debris.

After hearing the testimony Thursday, Circuit Judge William Sweeney said he will file a written decision on the Burks' request for an injunction.