Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 28, 1994 TAG: 9403280055
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Craig, 51, suffered a heart attack at his home. Funeral services are scheduled for Thursday in his hometown of Indiana, Pa.
"We'll have to pick up and finish what he started," Craig Hollins Supervisor Bob Johnson said. "But you can't replace a Cliff Craig."
"It's going to be a devastating loss," County Administrator Elmer Hodge said.
Craig was a hands-on engineer who was involved in every phase of the county's water project. In addition to overseeing the construction of the recently completed Spring Hollow dam and pump station, Craig designed the treatment plant that will meet the county's drinking-water needs for the next 50 years.
The treatment plant is expected to come in $12 million under budget because Craig - with help from his staff - was handling the engineering work himself and selected an economical treatment process that is a first for Virginia.
"If ever there was a genius working for Roanoke County, he qualified," Johnson said.
Hodge said the county now may have to contract out some of the design work, a move that means added costs and possible delays.
The reservoir, near Dixie Caverns in west Roanoke County, is designed to provide up to 25 million gallons per day. Hodge said it may be another two years before the treatment plant and water transmission lines are complete.
Craig was hired in 1985 to overhaul the county's water system. The job was a perfect fit for his background in the construction of public water systems.
"Roanoke County had the world's worst water system - you can quote me on that," Craig said in an August 1993 interview. "That was fine with me, because I didn't want to go someplace where I would do nothing more than play administrator and collect water bills."
Craig was a tireless worker, who spent many evenings at home working on a computer propped in front of his living-room sofa.
Craig, a chain smoker, was most comfortable working in the field. He took some ribbing when he showed up at twice-monthly Board of Supervisors meetings wearing the same blue suit. In his defense, Craig quipped that he had two suits - both of them identical.
Spring Hollow was his pet project. The day the county opened an area where the public could view work on the reservoir, Craig stood in the rain all afternoon providing insights to each carload of visitors.
"I think it meant a lot to him that everybody appreciated Spring Hollow," county spokeswoman Anne Marie Green said. "He was proud of it, but he was very modest."
On Saturday, Craig fell ill while visiting the reservoir with one of his sons. His son drove him home, where Craig collapsed.
Craig is survived by his wife, Joann, and seven children.
"It's fitting that [the reservoir] is where he was during the last day of his life," Green said.
by CNB