Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Volunteers from the American Heart Association picked up the prisoners as part of the Cardiac Arrest fund-raiser for heart disease research.
Jacque Akers and Norma Carroll, event coordinators, hoped to raise $3,000 by noon to put the Montgomery County chapter at more than $50,000 raised for the 1993-94 fiscal year. In the end, they raised $3,349.
Prisoners hoped to be sprung before the heat became unbearable.
Sue Epperly, treasurer for the town of Christiansburg, demanded a color televison set, food and something to drink.
"The air conditioning is broken," she complained. Epperly said she was arrested for not contributing to the heart fund.
Judge Bill Aldridge set her bail at $220. He increased the amount each time she got rowdy.
Dana Sheppard's colleagues from the National Association of Women Business Owners picketed the plaza with signs that read "We're bailing Dana out."
The women needed $400 to free their friend, but her bail was subject to change, depending on the judge's mood.
Sheppard said officials arrested her for "crimes of the heart," but she proclaimed her innocence.
The local chapter of the American Heart Association has taken part in the nationwide fund-raiser for the past 10 years.
Twenty-eight percent of the money raised will go toward national research and the majority of the remaining funds will be used for local programs, according to Kimberly Merritt, the heart association's Roanoke area director.
The money raised will support programs such as Save a Sweetheart, a smoking intervention campaign in middle and high schools, and Culinary Hearts, which teaches healthy cooking methods.
Heart association programs benefit approximately 5,000 people in the Montgomery County area each year.
by CNB