Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 21, 1993 TAG: 9307210187
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Members of the Blacksburg Townscape Committee are up in arms over what they feel is the continuing destruction of the town's "street landscape."
Their latest gripe is with the bright green newspaper boxes that line the streets of many New River Valley neighborhoods. The boxes were installed by The News. The paper is offering nonsubscribers free delivery for six months to introduce a paper resulting from the merger of the News Messenger and the Radford News Journal.
"I was away for two weeks and when I came back these boxes had sprouted in my neighborhood," said Townscape member Sara Thorne-Thomsen. "Townscape is interested in how the town looks and these boxes don't enhance the neighborhood."
Mike Blanton, publisher of The News, refused to talk about the green boxes.
Bonnie Svrcek, Blacksburg's assistant town manager, said fewer than 10 town residents called the municipal building to complain about the boxes.
"We've heard nothing but negative comments about them," said Thorne-Thomsen.
Not that Townscape is picking on The News. The group of volunteer citizens isn't thrilled with the Roanoke Times & World-News white boxes, either.
In the mid-1980s, Townscape protested when the U.S. Postal Service began requiring more Blacksburg residents to convert from door-side to curbside mailboxes.
"This is just a continuation of that," Thorne-Thomsen said. If she could have her way, all mail would be delivered to boxes attached to houses and newspapers would be tossed on the doorstep.
Blacksburg Postmaster Doug Songer said the postal service began phasing out door-to-door delivery in the late 1970s to make routes safer for carriers.
Some neighborhoods, like Draper-Preston in Blacksburg, haven't converted to curbside delivery because sidewalks make motorized delivery difficult.
by CNB