Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 1, 1993 TAG: 9306010070
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In Richmond, about 200 veterans gathered at the Virginia War Memorial for a morning ceremony.
Veterans said they had mixed emotions about President Clinton's planned appearance at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington. Several criticized the president's failure to serve in the military during the Vietnam War.
Attendance at the event was the largest in years, organizers said. One veteran suggested that opposition to the president might be one reason for the high turnout.
At the city's Hollywood Cemetery, fez-wearing members of Samis Grotto laid wreaths at the graves of Presidents John Tyler and James Monroe.
"We have a color guard and a short memorial service for each of the presidents," said Basil Nisbet of the fraternal organization. "Yesterday we went to Montpelier Station" in Orange County to decorate James Madison's grave.
In Fauquier County, memorial services were held at the Warrenton Cemetery to honor those who died in wars. Col. Rick Davis, commander of the Vint Hill Farm station, served as grand marshal of a parade down Main Street.
Virginia Beach was jammed with vacationers on the traditional first weekend of summer.
"I'm so busy I can hardly talk," said Kathy Corcoran, manager of the oceanfront 17th Street Surf Shop. "Our store is packed" with people snatching up T-shirts and swimsuits, she said.
Corcoran said merchants are pleased with the weekend's turnout at the beach, where the temperature remained in the low 80s and the water temperature was in the low 60s.
Some highways were expected to be congested as travelers headed home from the beaches. The Virginia Department of Transportation urged people coming home from North Carolina's Outer Banks to use the Monitor-Merrimac Tunnel in Newport News instead of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, a primary trouble spot.
It turned out to be good advice. A van caught fire in a westbound lane of the Hampton Roads tunnel, and the smoke forced 50 to 65 motorists to abandon their vehicles, state police spokeswoman Rebecca Feaster said. Traffic was at a standstill from 12:25 p.m. until 3:52 p.m., causing a 400-car backup and forcing authorities to reroute westbound traffic to the Monitor-Merrimac Tunnel.
The driver of the van was not injured, but three people were taken to local hospitals. Leslie Carpenter of Norfolk, who is over nine months pregnant, was being held for observation at DePaul Medical Center in Norfolk, hospital spokeswoman Chris Wagner said.
A man was treated for back pain at DePaul and was released, Wagner said.
Louise Dennis, nursing supervisor at Sentara Hampton General Hospital, said a patient there was waiting to be treated for symptoms of minor smoke inhalation and was not expected to be admitted.
"It could have been a lot worse," said F.D. Murray, a traffic control supervisor at the bridge-tunnel. "We could have had fatalities or serious injuries."
Many Virginians headed to the mountains this weekend, occupying all the lodges and campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park, said park ranger Brock Davis.
"We've been pretty busy giving out information on hiking trails," said Marsha McCabe, who works at the park's Byrd Visitor Center. More than 4,000 people have come through the center over the weekend, she said.
She said the weekend's good weather brought more hiking, camping and wildlife enthusiasts than last year to the national park, which covers 300 square miles in Western Virginia.
Several families flocked to Ashland Berry Farm to pick strawberries and eat homemade doughnuts and shortcakes.
Owner Ken Gustafson said more than 1,000 people this weekend have visited the farm, which also features hay rides to the strawberry patches, a petting barn and a greenhouse.
"It becomes a family tradition" to pick strawberries on Memorial Day, which falls during Virginia's strawberry season, Gustafson said.
State police were on the roads to catch drunken drivers and other traffic violators as part of Operation CARE, the Combined Accident Reduction Effort across Virginia and along the East Coast.
Nine people died on Virginia roads over the holiday weekend, state police said Monday.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB