Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 9, 1993 TAG: 9309090242
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: The councilman says the Kansas City Royals signed him in '69 and assigned him to the minor league team in Covington. He reflects on it wryly.
"I was a pitcher, and I was released because I couldn't break a window pane with a fastball.
"I never actually got into a game, but I swear I was signed," he says with a chuckle.
He never played high school baseball, either, but said he made the Air Force Academy team as a walk-on with a good repertoire of curve balls.
McCadden says he went to umpire school in 1973 and fared much better, working his way up through the minors to call some games in the American League in 1978.
During that winter, he received a career-ending injury when he tore up his knee in a pickup basketball game. He couldn't run for six years.
He remains an avid sports fan and advocate of the city's involvement in sporting events.
200 varieties of plates
Q: How many current Virginia license plates are legal? I've seen bicentennial, scenic plates and Save the Chesapeake Bay plates. B.P., Martinsville
A: Virginia has just over 200 kinds of license plates, a DMV spokesman said.
Almost 12 percent of registered vehicles wear specialty tags, and most of them are the cardinal-and-dogwood heritage plate or the mountains-and-sea scenic plate - volume-discounted at $10 you only pay once.
You also can get a duck or bass, a POW or Purple Heart, several universities and civic groups, a city or two. Most of these plates cost $25 per year.
Getting a specialty plate is fairly simple. An organization just needs to apply for approval, design the art work and send applications from 1,000 customers who've paid $25 up front. It takes about seven months.
These things cost, though. A specialty plate with $10 vanity message, added to the standard registration fee, runs $61.50 a year.
Rates rise with water
Q: Once the Spring Hollow Reservoir is operational, what will happen to water and sewer rates in Roanoke County? Will they go down? T.R., Roanoke County
A: Spring Hollow is causing water rates to rise every year through 1995, when they will have almost doubled.
Then Roanoke County will evaluate whether the water fund has enough income. If it's sufficient, the rates won't rise anymore - for a while.
The charges can't go down because it'll take 30 years to pay off the bond that financed the reservoir's construction. After that, the money will go for upkeep on the reservoir and transmission lines.
Sewer charges are not affected by Spring Hollow, although they appear on the same bill with water.
That's the word from Cliff Craig, Roanoke County's utilities director.
Spring Hollow water is expected to reach homes in early 1995, at first serving the south county areas of Hidden Valley, Starkey and Buck Mountain.
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.
by CNB