Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010510
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: W-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CHARLES STEBBINS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And now she wants everyone in the western area of Roanoke County to share in the benefits.
"There are a lot of people out there who don't know about us," she said.
The "us" are the 50 or so people who started the West Roanoke County Civic League.
The group generally defines its area as everything between Richfield Retirement Center and the Montgomery County line.
Crigger says she's surprised at how much has been accomplished since the league was organized in late April.
"I'm really proud of what we've done," she said, adding that organization was the secret of success in getting action in her neighborhood.
"People were complaining individually and not getting anywhere," she said. "But when we complained as a civic league, we began getting answers."
Through their combined efforts, league supporters have attracted the attention of people who can do things to improve life in a community, she said.
They have gotten engineers and other technical people from Roanoke County, the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Army Corps of Engineers to survey road problems, bad drainage and flooding.
"We had real problems with drainage," Crigger said. "Water would back up and make huge puddles."
Sometimes the water also would back up into houses, and puddles would block streets, she said. Many motorists had to drive onto lawns to go around the standing water.
Crigger said all the officials her group contacted have "been very pleasant and very cooperative."
Soon after the league's first meeting, ditches were cleaned, and officials then began surveying other problems in the community.
Since then, the group has identified more than a dozen problems, including such simple things as trimming trees at intersections to increase visibility and installing speed-limit signs.
Others are more major. One was a warning sign at a railroad crossing on West River Road that sometimes failed to operate properly. Norfolk Southern Corp. has since corrected that problem, Crigger said.
Other problems concern continued flooding along the Roanoke River.
Many residents also are concerned about the Spring Hollow Reservoir, which, Crigger said, will be less than a mile from some of the houses.
Representatives from local and state governments and the Corps of Engineers have met with community leaders to review these problems, Crigger said. She said all the officials have been cooperative and are working on all the problems the civic league has identified.
Crigger, a lifelong resident of the West County area, said she was concerned that growing problems would give her home area a bad name. So she organized a citizens' meeting and invited officials from Roanoke County and the Virginia Department of Transportation.
This was intended as a one-time meeting to air the area's drainage problems, she said.
Steven B. Buston, assistant resident engineer with the Virginia Department of Transportation, attended the initial meeting and suggested that the group form a civic league. Initially, he said, the citizens lacked a unified direction.
But, Buston praised Crigger. "She went out on her own" to round up people for the initial meeting. Then she took it upon herself to lead the session.
Since that first meeting, Crigger said, more people have expressed interest in working with the civic league. The group does not yet have an official membership list, but Crigger said between 30 and 50 have expressed interest.
But she feels there are still people in the area who do not know about the civic league. So she has started a neighborhood public information campaign, using posters, door-to-door fliers and telephoning.
The group's next meeting will be July 8 at 7 p.m. at the Fort Lewis Fire Station and will be a public information session on the Spring Hollow Reservoir.
Anyone wishing to reach the West Roanoke County Civic League should call Traci Crigger at 380-3458 or write her at 5441 W. River Road, Salem 24153. The league's regular meeting time is the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Glenvar Library.
by CNB