Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 2, 1994 TAG: 9406020087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: associated press
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
Timothy A. Kelly of Herndon starts his new job June 15.
``As a professor of clinical psychology, Dr. Kelly will bring to the department a fresh, experienced, and current understanding of mental illness,'' Allen said.
\ Hopewell pupil, 10, accused in knifing
HOPEWELL - Police say a 10-year-old boy cut a 12-year-old boy with a pocketknife during an argument in an elementary school restroom.
The injured boy was taken to John Randolph Hospital where he was treated for a minor cut on the underside of his left arm and released, officials said.
The argument Tuesday apparently was prompted by an incident at Patrick Copeland Elementary School annex on Friday, officials said.
``One kid was sore because they were playing in the bathroom [on Friday], and one kid was punished and the other wasn't,'' said David Stuckwisch, superintendent of Hopewell schools.
School administrators said the two pupils received counseling after the Friday incident, and officials thought the problem had been resolved.
The small pocketknife had a blade about 11/2 inches long, police Sgt. Larry Tate said.
A third student, a 10-year-old boy, brought the knife to school Tuesday and gave it to the other 10-year-old, Tate said.
Tate said the boy was charged with felonious assault, and the youth who brought the knife to school was charged with taking a weapon onto school property.
Jane McCullen, assistant superintendent, said the 10-year-olds were suspended from school.
Smallest Va. school may be closed
SEVEN FOUNTAINS - School officials in Shenandoah County are considering closing a four-room schoolhouse that is apparently the smallest public grade school in Virginia.
Fort Valley Elementary School has 27 students, too few to justify the $123,887 annual cost of operating the building, School Board member Richard A. Burner said.
The 35-year-old school requires expensive maintenance and will need a costly makeover to remove asbestos tiles and other hazards, Burner said at a board meeting Tuesday.
``I think now is the time to close Fort Valley school. It's just going to streamline things maintenancewise and save a tremendous amount of money,'' he said.
When the school was built in 1958, there were many schoolhouses its size in Virginia. One by one, they closed as school systems consolidated or built newer, more economical buildings.
Parents and some teachers at the school said the school is unique because of its size.
``We have a treasure here and we would like to keep it,'' Carolyn J. Butler, president of the school's Parent-Teacher Organization, said Tuesday.
``There is a lot of talk in Virginia about falling apart of families and community structure,'' she said. ``We have a beautiful little nucleus in Fort Valley. Everyone is knit together as a family.''
The board made no decision Tuesday, but scheduled a public meeting on the proposal for June 13 at 7 p.m. at the Fort Valley Fire Hall.
4 Liberty students charged in bombing
LYNCHBURG - An apparent student prank has resulted in felony charges against four Liberty University students after a pipe bomb exploded on campus, sending shrapnel into a dormitory room.
A Lynchburg General District judge on Tuesday certified charges of manufacture and detonation of an explosive device against the four to a grand jury.
The four students told campus security officers that the bomb was meant as a prank, and that they thought it would make a loud noise and disintegrate when it exploded.
The bomb, hurled from a second-story dormitory window, exploded, sending shrapnel through a first-floor window. The shrapnel barely missed a person asleep in the room.
The four were identified as Jefferey W. D'Angelo, 19, of Vernon, N.J.; Craig R. Konchak, 22, of Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Daniel W. Willis, 19, of Hilton Head, S.C.; and Brian J. Yingling, 19, of North Canton, Ohio.
All were released on bond after the May 6 explosion.
Principal seeks obscenity definition
EMPORIA - A high school principal has gone to the City Council to find out what is obscene in this small Southside city.
Paul Britt, principal at Greensville County High School, started the debate when he brought to a council meeting three sweat shirts with slogans he considered obscene.
Britt said he decided to show the council the shirts after he saw a man walking down Main Street on a Sunday afternoon with a four-letter word written on his back.
``I just thought that was terrible,'' Britt said.
City Manager Tedd Povar said while Britt's comments have merit, the city is unsure how to proceed. The city's obscenity ordinances were written in 1962, long before court decisions required such ordinances to be tightly drawn.
``You've got to go a long way to get something ruled obscene these days,'' he said.
The city's ordinances make it illegal to produce, sell or display obscene items. Povar said ordinances probably aren't enforceable. The ordinances do define what is obscene.
The city asked other members of the Virginia Municipal League weeks ago for examples of their ordinances that prohibit the display of obscene words in public. To date, no other city has responded.
by CNB