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

DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994                   TAG: 9405290106
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`HARD KNOCKS' BUT GOOD TIMES

"We have a good time even when we don't have good time," said Michael Jay, a crew member on "Hard Knocks From Bedrock." The B&M Sheet Metal Shop Inc. craft won two awards at Saturday's Festival on the River.

The B&M gang, regulars in the river race, strives for showmanship rather than speed. This year's "Flintstones" craft, featuring Dino the Dinosaur, won People's Choice and Best Commercial Craft awards.

Last year, B&M won the two honors with "Aladdin's Illusion."

Other years' themes have included "Columbus" (in 1992) and "Saddam's Nightmare" (1991).

Forty craft battled the muddy, shallow Roanoke River two at a time because the water was so low. Some didn't make it through in very good shape, including one from the event's sponsor, Moore's Stores Inc.

A good portion of Moore's 2,000-pound "floating deck" passed the judges' stand piece-by-piece, said Brenda Hoagland, race coordinator.

Lewis-Gale Hospital's "Syringe Raft" also had a sorry time. Three of its crew were tipped into the river just after the start, leaving lone paddler Brian Duff to make the race alone. He did, slowly.

"I was too stubborn to quit," Duff said.

Glad Rags Inc.'s "River Rat" won the heat against the Lewis-Gale craft, but in the final race for the Fastest Boat trophy "River Rat" lost by 7 seconds to Sublett's Electric.

Sublett's boat made the run in 5 minutes, 38 seconds.

"River Rat's" T-Bo Jones said he and his crew of "dressmakers and Navy bomb techs," hope to cut their time to 5 minutes next year.

Other winners in the river race were:

Best Individual Craft, Ann Paris' "We Just Keep on Going and Going"; Best Neighborhood Craft, "Good Ship Drums and Lumber" by Cliff Herington; Best Non-Profit Craft and Most Original Craft, the U.S.S. Normandy Buster LST by the physics and shop classes at Lord Botetourt High School; the "I Can't Believe It Floats" award, the S.S. Charles Bukowski by Simon Adkins.

Festival on the River is part of Festival in the Park, which continues for the next two weeks at Elmwood Park in downtown Roanoke and various other sites around the Roanoke Valley.

Memo: ***CORRECTION***

by CNB