Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 14, 1994 TAG: 9402140039
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY and MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Others of the power- and heat-impaired stayed for free at the American Red Cross shelter at Blacksburg Middle School or in volunteer fire stations across Montgomery County. Facing its third day of providing shelter, the Red Cross asked the public for donations to support its efforts.
While the shelters drew a few dozen people, the hotels were packed.
O.V. and Pat Koland, for instance, saw a surge of customers to their 72-room Econo Lodge perched on a hill near the interchange of U.S. 460 and Interstate 81.
Most of the hotels in the area sported "No Vacancy" signs, and guest registers were heavy on local addresses instead of the usual nationwide variety.
On Saturday alone the Kolands had 300 telephone calls from people, mostly locals, seeking rooms. Their motel had electricity and water; Simmons Cable TV, meanwhile, restored service after a two-day interruption.
The guests came from isolated rural areas like Pilot in southern Montgomery and from Virginia Tech dorms. Others included tree-cutters and line crews from Appalachian PowerCo.
The utility reserved 20 rooms for its workers to take rests after finishing a shift. The nearby Hardee's and Waffle House fast-food restaurants also reserved rooms for employees.
At the Days Inn on the other side of the interchange, front desk clerk Ray Carty had guests from Radford, Shawsville and Virginia Tech checked into his 121 rooms.
"A lot of people are just looking for a place to take a shower," Carty said.
Beth Ifju, director of marketing for the Marriott in Blacksburg, said the hotel was packed again Sunday with local residents who had lost electricity at their homes.
"I'm exhausted," she said. "But we're holding our own."
Ifju, who had been working at the hotel since Friday, said the guests were understanding about the lack of drinking water.
One worker at the hotel's restaurant spent all night Saturday boiling water.
"That was his one assignment," Ifju said. Guests wanting to brush their teeth could come to the office to get water.
A free, if less private, alternative to a chilly home or dorm was the American Red Cross shelter at Blacksburg Middle School or one of the fire houses in Montgomery, such as in Riner.
Riner Volunteer Fire Department Chief Jay Altizer said about 30 people had stayed at the station house since Friday. The station, because it has a backup power system, was warm, while the Riner area as a whole remained without electricity Sunday afternoon.
In Blacksburg, Montgomery Red Cross chapter chairman Jim Hain reported that 36 people stayed overnight Saturday. The shelter was to remain open Sunday and possibly today. The middle school was also one of two sites in town with a water tanker.
With Montgomery schools scheduled to reopen Tuesday, the Red Cross operation will move to Blacksburg Presbyterian Church if it is still needed then, Hain said.
The chapter is seeking donations to support its efforts, which have already consumed the budget for the year. Contributors should send checks to: Montgomery County Chapter of the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 52, Christiansburg, Va., 24073.
Besides lodging, residents came out in droves for food on Sunday.
Moments after the Wendy's in Blacksburg opened at noon, 22 hungry customers waited to be served. Panicked looks spread across the faces of the restaurant workers.
"They are already backed up past the door," one cashier said.
The adversity spurned by the ice storm brought a sense of camaraderie to the lunch line. Talk of power outages and water woes dominated the constant chatter.
"I'm sick of the smell of kerosene," one man said.
Like much of the New River Valley, Wayne and Nancy Root had been without electricity since Friday, but considered themselves lucky because they had a gas-powered water heater.
"We invited all the neighbors over to take showers," Nancy Root said.
The Roots said keeping warm without electricity wasn't difficult.
"We'll just cuddle together if we get cold," Nancy Root said.
"See, I told you this wasn't all bad," her husband chipped in with a grin.
A woman from Newport who was without electricity or water also commented on the potential romantic advantages of the storm. "There sure will be a lot of candlelight dinners this Valentine's Day," she said.
by CNB