Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 4, 1994 TAG: 9401040219
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Eddy said he would like the board to make regional cooperation and long-range planning its top priorities during the coming year.
"I hope we can get a start on that at our retreat," he said, referring to an all-day session set for Friday.
Republican Ed Kohinke was elected vice chairman in a separate 3-2 vote.
The board's three-member Republican majority held firm on its prearranged slate.
Democrats Bob Johnson and Harry Nickens were prepared to support Republican Fuzzy Minnix for chairman.
The two Democrats have clashed frequently with Eddy, who they say too often loses sight of larger policy concerns because of his devotion to the minutiae of government.
After the split vote, Eddy joked about the Democrats' "resounding vote of confidence" in his leadership skills.
Turning serious, Eddy conceded that their criticism had merit and that he would endeavor to look up from the trees and see the forest.
"That's something I need to change," he said. "I need to look at the broad view and leadership, not just the day-to-day."
Eddy, a self-employed electrical engineer, served as chairman during 1992. He was re-elected last fall to represent the Windsor Hills District.
Minnix, the outgoing chairman, recapped the board's 1993 achievements, which included work on Spring Hollow Reservoir and Smith Gap Landfill and the purchase of a county administration building.
Minnix said the re-election last fall of three incumbents - Eddy, Johnson and Nickens - indicated that county residents are pleased with their government.
"I saw our work as a nonpartisan attempt to deal with the issues that confronted Roanoke County," he said.
by CNB