Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409200049
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
WYTHEVILLE - A former Wythe County supervisor said the county's decision to ship its trash elsewhere rather than create its own landfill ``could be argued forever,'' but probably was a key factor in the most recent board elections.
Sid Crockett, who did not seek re-election after serving on the board for eight years, is still part of the Joint Industrial Development Authority established for Wythe and Bland counties to handle such problems as solid waste disposal.
A community meeting last week at Wytheville Community College began a dialogue on the solid waste problem and meeting state recycling levels that will go from 15 percent to 25 percent of local solid waste next year.
The authority operates a transfer station to ship wastes from the two counties and towns of Wytheville and Rural Retreat to a landfill in North Carolina.
``We load five tractor-trailers 50 feet long each day,'' said Roger Repass, station manager. It costs $200,000 a year to run the station, not counting costs of actual waste disposal, he said, but ``we don't have it in our back yard. That's the important thing.''
The cost of disposing of waste at the station is a $25 minimum for loads up to 924 pounds, and $54.12 per ton above that.
Wythe also operates convenience centers where people can take waste for recycling. They are in Rural Retreat, Max Meadows and Barren Springs, and grading is under way for another at Speedwell. A recycling center is open Friday through Sunday behind the Kmart in Wytheville.
Harvey Atkinson, a Rural Retreat teacher who moderated the meeting, said the recycling group in that area distributed printed information through its schools on what can be recycled. He suggested using the school system county-wide to get the information distributed more widely.
Community band to start rehearsals
WYTHEVILLE - The Wytheville Community College Community Band will begin its weekly fall rehearsal schedule at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the George Wythe High School band room.
Adults from the community are invited to join the band, which is under the direction of Jack White. There is no tuition charge for those who are not seeking college credit.
The group's main purpose is to provide adults from the college's service area a chance to continue participating in an instrumental musical group similar to the high school band experience they may remember.
The band performs concerts in surrounding communities and at the college's commencement and the annual Wytheville Chautauqua Festival in June. This year, several thousand people heard the 85-member band perform as the festival's closing event.
Further information is available by calling Dan Jones at 228-5541, or toll-free from outside the area, 1-800-468-1195, extension 235.
Regional S-F writer wins story honors
CRITZ - Rebecca Ore, who has published a number of science-fiction stories set in Floyd County, has had one of them included in ``The Year's Best Science Fiction,'' an annual anthology edited by Gardner Dozois.
Ore, a Patrick County writer, had the title story of her own collection, ``Alien Bootlegger,'' accepted as one of the best of 1993. The anthology surveying last year's stories was published during the summer by St. Martin's Press.
In his introduction, Dozois said Ore lives ``in the same kind of Appalachian country she describes so lovingly and with such a keen eye for regional cultural differences in much of her fiction.''
Ore has just published a new novel, ``Slow Funeral,'' which is more of a fantasy than science fiction. It, too, travels some roads that will be familiar to area residents.
Applications abound for Council vacancy
WYTHEVILLE - Wytheville Town Council now has all the applications it will take for the vacant seat on the governing body.
Mayor Trent Crewe said early last week that no applications would be taken after Friday. He said he anticipated that council would make its appointment at its Sept. 26 meeting.
The vacancy was left by the resignation of Tom Bralley, who had moved to a new residence outside the town limits and could no longer serve. Bralley had about two years left on his term.
Crewe said council hoped to find someone with credibility who would bring a positive image to council, who was familiar enough with council committee structures to get up to speed quickly, and who would be unlikely to seek re-election at the end of the appointed term.
He said council was concerned that the appointed member, if he or she did seek re-election, would have the advantage of being an incumbent without ever having been elected. However, he acknowledged that there was no way to hold an appointee to a promise not to run.
Giovanni to speak at Reading Council
ABINGDON - Nikki Giovanni, a poet who has been a professor of English at Virginia Tech since 1987, will be the keynote speaker at the 19th annual conference of the Southwest Virginia Reading Council Saturday at Abingdon High School.
Her address will come during the 9 a.m. general session, followed by several workshops.
Further information is available from Patricia BeCraft in Wytheville at 228-5411 or 228-9490.
Voter registration schedule set
WYTHEVILLE - The Wythe County Electoral Board and General Registrar will hold special sites and hours to facilitate voter registration for the Nov. 8 general election. The registration and address-change deadline is Oct. 11.
Wythe County residents may register to vote at the following places in addition to regular office hours at the registrar's office:
Patterson Community Center: Sept. 21, 3-6 p.m.
Williams Superette, Rural Retreat: Sept. 21, 3-6 p.m. nSpeedwell Elementary: Sept. 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Max Meadows Elementary: Sept. 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Shinault's Grocery, Austinville: Sept. 23, 3-6 p.m.
Sheffey Elementary: Sept. 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Speedwell Market: Sept. 23, 3-6 p.m.
Ivanhoe Civic League Office: Sept. 24, noon-4 p.m.
Longwood Elastomers: Sept. 28, 1-5 p.m.
Factory Merchant Mall, Fort Chiswell: Oct. 1, noon-5 p.m.
Regular office hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in room 106 of the County Office Building.
by CNB