Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, August 16, 1993                   TAG: 9308160042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

& NOW THIS . . .

Some candidates hire "opposition researchers" to check on their opponents. Morgan Griffith, the GOP candidate for the 8th District House of Delegates seat covering Salem, Southwest Roanoke County and eastern Montgomery County, has his mother.

All summer, Charlotte Griffith - who recently retired as a teacher - has been at the Salem municipal building, listening to nine years' worth of tapes of Salem City Council.

Her object: To find anything incriminating that Howard Packett, the Democratic candidate for the House seat, has said or voted on during his tenure as a Salem City councilman.

Chris Nolen, Griffith's campaign manager, said his mom has put in about three hours each day listening to the tapes.

What does Packett think about the scrutiny?

At the end of one recent council meeting, he leaned into the microphone and said: "Good night, Charlotte."

Explore on the move

The Explore Park has a new home. Its staff has moved out of the Liberty Trust building on Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke and taken up temporary residence at the Vinton War Memorial. In a few more months, Explore expects to move its offices to one of the reconstructed farm buildings at the living-history state park on Rutrough Road in Roanoke County.

Now that the park is open part time (to school groups), Explore leader Rupert Cutler says it makes more sense for the staff to be on-site. But there's also the bottom line: The River Foundation, the non-profit group that runs Explore, has been hard pressed for cash. Moving out of downtown will save the foundation about $2,200 a month in rent, Cutler said.

It's a tough job . . .

So who's got the tougher job - a Roanoke City Council member or a School Board member?

Councilman William White, one of the few people ever to serve on both bodies, believes a School Board member has the more difficult position.

Serving on council takes more time and involves more issues. But a School Board member must deal with more sensitive issues that can have a long-term impact on children, he said.

"I didn't know what I was getting into when I was appointed to the School Board," said White, who was on it for five years before he was elected to council three years ago.

Keywords:
POLITICS