Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 15, 1993 TAG: 9302150007
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE RULES FOR GOING A-COURTING
Q: Some of us would like to visit certain court trials now and then. What are the rules concerning people coming into a courtroom during a trial? Also, how do we know when a particular trial is beginning? L.B., RoanokeA: Courtrooms are public rooms, except for Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. You may have to pass through a metal detector to prove you aren't carrying a gun. Otherwise, few or no questions are asked at the doors of Roanoke Valley courts.
To learn when a particular trial is coming up, watch newspaper stories for the high-profile cases and jot down the defendant's full name, trial date and the court where it will be heard.
Call the clerk's office the afternoon before trial and ask if the date has been changed; usually there's at least one continuance (postponement), and a lot of criminal cases wind up being guilty pleas with little give and take between the lawyers.
The best courtroom drama isn't predictable, though; almost any jury trial has the potential to produce some surprises for anyone who's willing to sit and pay attention.
Getting rid of old papers
Q: I have 350 pounds of old newspapers to recycle, and the company I was taking them to doesn't handle newsprint anymore. I talked to another recycler who wants it bundled a certain way. There doesn't seem to be a way to recycle without major problems, and nobody seems to be coming forth to help with this. C.H., Roanoke
A: Your situation is aggravated because Roanoke's recycling trucks haven't reached your street yet.
Don't give up on recycling. It's a changing business because some of its markets fill up with "raw" materials even as new buyers emerge in other areas.
A few phone calls turned up a place near your home where you can drop off newspapers.
There are similar drop-off points around the valley. To learn where they are, call the recycling offices in Roanoke at 981-1455 or Roanoke County at 387-6999.
The company that once took your old newspapers has stopped, but others are still handling newsprint, if only as a public service. One company said it makes no money on newsprint.
Recycling has got to happen; any community that hears a landfill's planned for its back yard gets its back up. Who can blame them?
Multiple rabbit films
Q: How many Roger Rabbit short films have been made? Besides the short that opened "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" I only know of "Tummy Trouble," which opened "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids." I've heard rumors of others. W.M., Blacksburg
A: There was "Roller Coaster Rabbit," the warm-up act for "Dick Tracy."
Coming next is "Trail Mix-Up," accompanying "A Far-Off Place," a Disney release due out in March. Clinton health reforms
Q: What is the best way to contact Mrs. Clinton about the work she is doing on medical insurance reforms? D.R., Buchanan
A: Write to: Hillary Rodham Clinton, Health Care Reform Task Force, The White House, Washington, D.C., 20500.
Got a question about something that might affect other people too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.