Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 24, 1993 TAG: 9301260263
SECTION: ECONOMY PAGE: EC-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: AMANDA BARRETT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RESTAURANT EMPLOYEE JUST WANTS TO PAY BILLS
As a full-time student at Virginia Western Community College and an employee of Sonic Drive-In, Laura Robinson doesn't have much time to consider the economy."I hardly ever watch television or read the paper. When I am not at school, I am at work. I do a lot of school work on the weekends."
But the 20-year-old native of New Hampshire admits that she was apprehensive when the economy started to turn sour.
"I just wanted to make enough money to pay bills," she said.
She also worried about affording school. After being turned down for a Pell Grant, she received a Virginia Western Community College scholarship. That means she only has to pay for her books.
"Without that scholarship," she said, "I would not be able to go back to school."
Robinson lives with her sister and brother-in-law, Susan and Guy Gibbons and their two children. Her family moved to Roanoke about four years ago.
`It's kind of a trade-off. I do things for her around the house and serve as a live-in baby sitter for her younger child," she said.
She has a used car that she is planning to pay off this year and she would like to save money, but "it's hard to. When you get some money, it all goes for bills."
Though she hasn't been deeply affected by the weak economy, Robinson knows several people who have.
"My sister in New Hampshire was laid off from her job. She has been doing odd jobs and she gets money from her husband working and disability payments from an injury."
She knows others who haven't been so lucky.
"I've talked to people who have been laid off from their jobs and are waiting to be called back."
At Sonic, Robinson works the cash register on weekdays and outside serving food on weekends. She said the drive-in chain, which opened its first Roanoke Valley store last October, has had steady business. "Lots of people come in during the nicer weather. When it rains, people don't want to get out of their cars."
Henry Caldwell, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Kimberly, said the business is doing well despite the slow economy and they have plans to expand.
"Overall, we're very pleased with the amount of business we have been doing so far in the valley," he said.
As for Robinson, she envisions a career as a legal assistant in her future. "I'd like to work with lawyers. The legal system seems pretty interesting," she said.