Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994 TAG: 9405190177
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
RICHMOND - Former state Sen. William E. Fears said he resigned from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Board primarily because he was frustrated by a lack of funding for the agency.
Gov. George Allen on Wednesday named Fredericksburg businessman Charles G. McDaniel to replace Fears and said he was not concerned about the department.
``I don't think it's in disarray,'' Allen told reporters. ``Bill has always had very colorful quotes.''
Fears, appointed less than six months ago by former Gov. Douglas Wilder, said he wrote letters to key legislators and to Allen ``telling them about the plight of the agency and asking them to supply operating funds.''
Said Fears, ``They paid absolutely no attention. All they did was raise the cost of the trout license. It's just absolutely ridiculous.''
Fears, a Democrat who served in the General Assembly for 24 years, said many legislators remain fixed on the idea that the 76-year-old agency should still be self-supporting, even though the scope of its programs and state-mandated duties has changed considerably in recent years.
``There are very fine people in there, guys with biology and botany degrees, with master's degrees,'' he said. ``They've been out in the field in other states, and they know what they're doing.''
But continuing budget shortages and unfilled job vacancies make it impossible for the agency to do its job properly, he said.
Fears, who lost his Senate seat more than two years ago, said finances were not his only source of frustration. He said the long drive from his Eastern Shore home to Richmond for board meetings also played a part in his decision to step down.
``It just wasn't worth it,'' said Fears, 73. ``I wasn't getting anywhere.''
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries oversees the supply of game birds, fish and other wildlife and administers boating and hunting laws.
- Associated Press
Shenandoah Valley battlefield OK'd
WASHINGTON - A Senate panel has approved a proposed Shenandoah Valley National Battlefields park that would cover more than 1,800 acres.
By a 17-3 vote Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee agreed to legislation designating 10 properties at Civil War battlefield sites.
In addition, a 19-member commission would be created and asked to draw a plan for possible expansion, which would require approval of the U.S. secretary of the interior.
Sens. John Warner and Charles Robb introduced the park bill last year. The committee voted Wednesday to accept a substitute version with technical changes written by Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark.
Battlefield park sites would include Cedar Creek, Cross Keys, Fisher's Hill, McDowell, New Market, Opequon, Port Republic, Second Winchester, Second Kernstown and Tom's Brook.
- Associated Press
UVa to receive grant for scholarships
CHARLOTTESVILLE - The University of Virginia will use a $2 million grant for scholarships for medical and nursing students to study general medicine.
The money comes from the Theresa A. Thomas Memorial Foundation of Richmond and will be used by the medical and nursing schools for students interested in general medicine as opposed to specializing in a particular field, school officials said Wednesday.
The medical school will have eight scholarships. Recipients will be required to practice general medicine for at least two years after completing their residency program.
The nursing school will have three scholarships.
- Associated Press
What, no shorts? Promgoer peeved
HAMPTON - A high school principal has drawn the line at the knees: No shorts with a tuxedo at the senior prom.
Kecoughtan High student Josh Buckley wanted to stand out at the event and didn't think his request to wear shorts was that big a deal.
``It's just something I wanted to do,'' said Buckley, 18. ``Not to cause any trouble. Just to be noticed.''
After Principal Thomas Bailey learned of Buckley's plans, he informed him last week that he would have to wear long pants. Bailey said he denied the request for two reasons: Students are not allowed to wear shorts to class, and a prom is a formal dance that requires a certain decorum.
``There are minimum standards, if you will,'' Bailey said.
Buckley said he spent $30 to buy a regular pair of tuxedo pants and have them shortened. He planned to wear a tuxedo jacket and chose tennis shoes to round out his outfit.
Buckley still plans to wear the shorts Saturday - when he and his date go out for dinner before the prom.
- Associated Press
Attacked teen-ager's fingers reattached
FAIRFAX - A teen-ager's fingers were surgically reattached after he was attacked with a machete at a suburban restaurant, authorities said.
A man wielding a machete cut off the right ring and index fingers of a 16-year-old Falls Church youth about midnight Sunday, police said.
The man and a companion had argued with the boy and a group of his friends earlier Sunday night at the D&L Cafe in Brookfield plaza, police said.
Neither police nor officials at Fairfax Hospital released the youth's name. His fingers were reattached in a 12-hour operation Monday, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Police did not say what provoked the confrontation, but said the two older men were harassing the youths.
The attack also injured the youth's arms and an ankle, police said.
The attacker fled in a red Honda Civic. There have been no arrests.
- Associated Press
by CNB