Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 22, 1993 TAG: 9303220086
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
& NOW THIS . . .
A helping handWilliam Fleming High School senior\
Tamika Gunn couldn't believe her eyes.
She opened an envelope one day recently and found a dividend check for $184 and a personal check for $120.
A Virginia Tech professor had sent the money to help with her college expenses. The professor, who asked not to be identified, said she was struck by Gunn's tenacity.
After Gunn appeared in a newspaper story about college-bound students, the professor called the school and asked if it would be OK to send money.
"I was thrilled to death," said Gunn's counselor,\ Sylvia Wright.
Wright had given Gunn the envelope at school, but the senior didn't have time to open it until she got home.
When she saw the contents, Gunn was speechless.
She said the professor wrote her a letter encouraging her to attend Spelman College - one of the senior's choices - and saying she was motivated by Gunn's determination to further her education.
"Nothing like that has ever happened to me before," Gunn said. "I was really surprised."
Just a little thrill
The first time Dickie Dickson advertised for dancers he didn't say what kind, and professional strippers and belly dancers showed up at Blueberry Hill to audition. He wanted tamer talents though, people familiar with the '50s and '60s steps of the Stroll, Twist and Mashed Potato.
Dickson wants the Williamson Road restaurant and lounge to be more like some Myrtle Beach, S.C., clubs where waitresses twist a little, wait on customers, then twist some more.
"I figured it would be easier to hire dancers and train them as cocktail waitresses than to hire cocktail waitresses and teach them to dance," Dickson said.
He doesn't know if he can hire anyone anyway, since he's waiting for approval from the Alcoholic Beverage Control folks.
What's in a name?
The signs, checks and credit cards still carry the name of Dominion Bank even though it no longer legally exists.
Here's a primer on the nomenclature of the acquisition of Dominion by First Union Corp. earlier this month:
First Union Corp. is the name of the holding company based in Charlotte that owns banks from Maryland to Florida.
\ First Union Corp. of Virginia was formed to acquire Dominion Bankshares Corp. Headquartered in Roanoke, it's a subsidiary of the Charlotte company and runs First Union's banks in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
\ First Union National Bank of Virginia, First Union National Bank of Maryland and First Union National Bank of Washington exist because the federal government prohibits interstate banking. That requires another level of bureaucracy for each state.
Dominion's name is still in the marketplace because the Virginia bank is not yet on line with First Union's data processing system. That won't happen until early November.
When it does, the signs, checks and credit cards will read First Union Bank. And customers who walk into any First Union branch from Baltimore to Miami can access their accounts back home.
Closer ties
Maybe Roanoke has a university after all. Or is it just the perception in Charlotte? Last week's announcement by First Union Corp. that James McComas was nominated to the First Union board said McComas is president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University . . . at Roanoke.
Weather watch
It's just a coincidence, coming nine days after the blizzard of '93, but this is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Virginia.
Some severe weather facts:
Two feet of water can float most cars away.
Opening windows to equalize pressure and reduce damage during a tornado is a waste of time.
Since 1959, lightning has killed 46 people in Virginia.
The eyes of 69 hurricanes have crossed over Virginia since 1871.