
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 12, 1994                   TAG: 9405120176
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

2 ON BALCONY WITH KING ARE STILL ALIVE

Q: Who were the people with Martin Luther King on the motel balcony in Memphis, and what has become of those people?

R.A., Roanoke

A: According to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, five other people were on the Lorraine Motel balcony when King was assassinated April 4, 1968.

They were the Rev. Samuel Kyles, Mary Hunt, Andrew Young, the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy and an unidentified FBI agent.

Also in King's party, but elsewhere in the building, were King's brother, A.D. King; the Rev. Hosea Williams; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; and saxophone player Bernard Branch.

Kyles is pastor of Monumental Baptist Church in Memphis and directs Operation Push, a civil rights group. He got headlines a couple of years ago by opposing Memphis' bid for a National Football League franchise.

Abernathy died in 1990, and Hunt died in 1991.

Young, 61, is an executive of an international law and engineering firm. He's also a leader in Atlanta's Olympic organizing committee for 1996. Young's political career has taken him to the United Nations, Congress and the Atlanta mayor's office.

Peters Creek Road

Q: When is construction going to start on the extension of Peters Creek Road?

J.P.M. and B.L., Roanoke

Maybe by late 1995.

Construction was intended to start this year, but other work has delayed acquiring the right of way, said a Virginia Department of Transportation engineer.

The project would open a corridor from Melrose Avenue to Brandon Avenue. Once construction begins, it is expected to take 31/2 years.

I-81 rest stop?

Q: We all know about the lack of rest stops on Interstate 81 north of Roanoke, but across the road from the Buchanan rest area (which is for southbound motorists only) is a sign that says "Next rest area 76 miles." Does the Transportation Department intend us to stop our car on the shoulder and cross the road?

S.C., Roanoke

A: Perish the thought. Stopping on the interstate is illegal, and hurdling guard rails is dangerous to the shins.

But relief is on the horizon - though not in the Roanoke area.

Somewhere in Rockbridge County, sometime between 1998 and 2000, there may be a rest stop to fill the 123-mile gap from Ironto to Verona.

The department is about to hire a consultant to check out sites. Work could begin by mid-1997, a VDOT engineer says. Those plans are tentative, though.|

Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.

by CNB