Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 18, 1993 TAG: 9301180014
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
HOT ROD RUSTLERS
It wasn't so much the theft of a $150 Holstein calf that startled Wythe County authorities. It was the way the thieves spirited the animal away.A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department says it apparently was hauled off in a Corvette.
Four Max Meadows residents - Harlo C. Smith Jr., 18; Ralph Olen Cregger and James Randolph Tate, both 22, and Samantha J. Cregger, 24 - are charged with cattle rustling.
The calf was taken Dec. 28 from the Steven Walke farm on Virginia 94 and recovered on a farm in Max Meadows, said Investigator Doug Tuck of the Sheriff's Department.
Home-brew headaches
Home-made beer is still cooking at the Lone Star Cantina brewery on Roanoke's City Market, but the OK to serve it might still be six weeks away.
Lone Star has a state ABC license to sell beer, wine and mixed drinks. It just can't sell its own brew because an old federal law says if you own a brewery, you can't have another retail store.
\ Ben Hiatt, the Alexandria-based Lone Star owner, owns five other East Coast restaurant operations (though Lone Star is the only brewpub).
Owners had hoped to get the needed federal license by the end of November.
"When you're dealing with the federal boys you can't push," said Michael McCormack, manager.
Our sons in Somalia
Of the three servicemen bound for Somalia that this newspaper has written about, one left right after Christmas, one's still in California waiting for word of his departure and one's in Kenya flying food into Somalia.
A friend of Marine Lance Cpl. Gary McDaniel Jr., 23, of Roanoke, said last week that he flew to Somalia from California's Camp Pendleton late last month and his family was awaiting word from him.
The family of Marine Lance Cpl. Nathan "Nate" Siner, 22, of Roanoke said last week that he's still at Camp Pendleton and doesn't know when he'll leave.
Air Force Senior Airman Jody L. Akers, 23, of Dublin is working 12- to 14-hour days flying food into Somalia, said his mother, Janice Adams.
In Kenya, he's dealing with nasty thorns from a common bush, lizards in his bathroom, malaria pills that make him susceptible to sunburn and monkeys he hears have rabies.
He told his mother that Somalis sing and wave when his crew lands with food and that he's seeing plenty of hungry people.
He's hungry, too - for good ol' American food. So she shipped him a 26-pound box of canned vegetables, fruit and chicken.
An elder statesman's view
Sixth District Congressman Jim Olin held his tongue during the 1990 referendum to consolidate Roanoke and Roanoke County governments.
Olin is retired now - and free to speak his mind.
Last week, he called consolidation proponents "crazy" for suggesting the Roanoke Valley cannot compete in a global economy because of its multiple governments.
"There's no need to put them all together as one," Olin, a former General Electric executive, told the county Board of Supervisors. "Anyone who says that is going to solve all your problems is crazy."
Olin did not name names, but it was clear his comments were aimed at Roanoke Mayor David Bowers, who said Jan. 7 that fractured valley governments were hurting economic development.
\ (Re-)Living history
Organizers are recruiting Civil War buffs to participate in the second annual re-enactment of Hunter's Raid set for the weekend of July 30-Aug 1.
But some caution organizers not to get too carried away - or the wrong side could win.
Nearly 500 re-enactors from eight states participated in last year's staging of Hunter's Raid, a Confederate victory in a prelude to the 1864 Battle of Hanging Rock.
\ Ricky Showalter, program coordinator with the Roanoke County Parks and Recreation Department, said last week that he expects a larger turnout this year, particularly from Northern regiments.
"The Blue Coats want to come down here and compete," Showalter told county supervisors last week.
"Just don't let us get outnumbered," quipped supervisors Chairman Fuzzy Minnix.
And speaking of the Civil War . . .
Thursday will be the 169th anniversary of Stonewall Jackson's birth.
To celebrate that day, his home on East Washington Street in Lexington will be open for free tours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Costumed tour guides will lead visitors through the home.
And, of course, what's a Confederate general's birthday party without a complimentary slice of birthday cake?