Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 23, 1994 TAG: 9401240243
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
WYTHEVILLE - Wytheville Mayor Trent Crewe says it was last summer's Bike Virginia visit to Wytheville that helped the town secure a spot on this year's Tour DuPont four-state cycling race.
Participants in the Bike Virginia tour, for which Wytheville was one of the overnight stops, found themselves well received by the community as well as those working for the town, he said.
Actually, Wytheville officials had been working for more than a year to find ways of showcasing the town. They had already approached Medalist Sports of Richmond, organizer of the 12-day race, but were told the best they could hope for was consideration in a year or so.
``After being told no, we got a telephone call on Dec. 17, 1993, that, if we could do certain things, Tour DuPont would be here in May,'' he said.
Those things included making available 45 motel rooms at no cost and others at a fixed cost. Town officials began calling motel operators and, although they could not reveal why they were making the request, the response from the motels was positive.
Crewe said the general response was, ``Well, I don't know what you're talking about but, if that`s what you need, we can do that.'' Within two hours, the town had the commitments it needed.
Negotiations among representatives of Wytheville, Tour DuPont and Blacksburg, where the race will have a finish May 10, proceeded quietly until Tuesday when it was announced that Blacksburg would be one of the finishes and Wytheville one of the starts.
After stopping in Blacksburg, the race will resume at 11 a.m. May 11 at Main and Church streets for the next leg to Beech Mountain, N.C.
Businesses or individuals interested in being sponsors for Tour DuPont's Wytheville visit, which is expected to bring hundreds of other visitors to the town, can get in touch with Renee Askren, the town's recreation director, at 223-3378. Askren said the goal is to get enough sponsors to more than cover the costs of the event, so as to have money left for next year if Wytheville is on the route again.
Steve Brunner, vice president of Medalist Sports, said the mountain terrain was a good area for the race but could not predict at this point whether Wytheville or Blacksburg would be among the starts or stops. ``We assess it every year in June,'' he said.
People willing to volunteer to help in other capacities should call Kitty Grady, the town's public information director, at 223-3355.
Cat shelter being considered|
WYTHEVILLE - The town of Wytheville, which enacted cat-license regulations last year, is looking into construction of a cat shelter.
A shelter already exists in Wythe County for dogs.
Plans for a cat shelter will be submitted to the Wythe County Board of Supervisors for approval.
Wytheville Town Council has already contacted the county on the possibility of building a cat shelter next to the dog shelter. The county agreed so long as the new shelter was independent of the existing one.
The town's staff has developed cat shelter plans for a block building with a concrete floor containing a small office, toilet, space for quarantining sick cats and a space to house cats.
If the county accepts the plans, construction could start as soon as weather permits.
by CNB