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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993                   TAG: 9311250362
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: New River Valley bureau
DATELINE: PULASKI                                LENGTH: Medium

PULASKI BOARD DELAYS RENEWING CABLE FRANCHISE

The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors has delayed renewing its franchise with Adelphia Cable Communications for 90 days in hope that the towns of Pulaski and Dublin will join the county in a coordinated franchise for cable television service.

Adelphia already has agreed to install $75,000 worth of equipment at New River Community College to allow Channel 3 on the cable system to become an educational and government access channel.

The school, which already has studio facilities, will be able to broadcast classes and re-transmit educational programs originating elsewhere. Local government announcements also could be run on that channel.

The franchise that the town of Pulaski has for Adelphia to provide cable TV service in its boundaries expires at the end of 1996, and the one for Dublin in February, 1997. The county hopes to fix it so all three franchises end at the same time or find another way for a single joint countywide franchise.

Joseph Price, regional manager for Adelphia from Staunton, told the board Monday night that it probably would take about six months once the franchise arrangements are completed for the necessary licensing and other procedures to start the educational and government access channel.

Adelphia serves franchises in 55 to 60 localities in Virginia, from the largest in Charlottesville to the smallest, about 130 subscribers, in Dinwiddie.

In other business, the supervisors approved a conditional use permit allowing development of a Moose Lodge with retail and office facilities on property owned by the town of Dublin at the intersection of Virginia 747, Old U.S. 11 and Virginia 617 (Ruebush Road) by a 3-1 vote. Joe Sheffey voted ``no'' and Mason Vaughan abstained.

Some citizens at a public hearing on the permit were concerned about potential safety problems with more traffic generated around the proposed site. County Administrator Joe Morgan said no site plan for the project has been submitted yet.

The board approved spending $50,000 for IBM to upgrade its data processing system, a step that would have to have been taken in a few more years anyway probably at a greater cost.

by CNB