Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 1, 1994 TAG: 9408010066
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Even though his movie didn't give Tazewell County any credit, "Lassie" producer Lorne Michaels is said to have expressed some appreciation for the privacy-respecting nature of people there.
One of the residents who worked on the movie said that when Michaels, the creator of "Saturday Night Live," rolled into Tazewell for a couple of days during filming last fall, he insisted on being hauled around in a limousine with dark windows so nobody would bother him.
First of all, a long limo was hardly appropriate for the rugged, unpaved roads near the film site, on a sheep farm. Michaels reportedly agreed, with some reluctance, to being chauffeured in the van already reserved for him, but he thought maybe they should tape garbage bags to the windows so people would leave him alone.
They say it didn't take long for Michaels to chill out, forget about the limo and the garbage bags and just have a good ol' relaxed time in Tazewell.
Bum rap?
Attorney Joe Painter thinks Paul Peterson unfairly is being labeled as a gun-toting extremist.
"This isn't some wild-eyed radical," he said of his client.
Peterson, who was charged with selling a firearm to a felon and falsifying firearm transaction records, waived his pretrial hearing Friday.
Federal agents say Peterson belonged to the Blue Ridge Hunt Club, a group suspected of stockpiling weapons in preparation of battle with police over gun rights.
Painter said he advised Peterson to waive the hearing because there's little doubt he'll be indicted and a pretrial hearing could further tie him to the "hunt club."
James Mullins, a Pulaski man also charged, allegedly organized the group.
The group has met three times, but Painter said Peterson left the second meeting after he saw members shooting illegal weapons and didn't attend the third gathering.
The police confiscated more than a dozen guns from the two men, but Painter noted there were no illegal or automatic weapons taken from Peterson, a licensed gun dealer.
Peterson offered no resistance when the police surrounded his home Tuesday, a federal agent said.
Colleges for couch potatoes
High school students now can take walking tours of colleges and universities from their homes.
Trips to visit faraway colleges at which the students might apply can be a hassle sometimes for the entire family.
Parents must take time off from work, the cost can be high if the trip is by air, the weather may be bad and who knows what might go wrong.
A New Jersey company, Collegiate Choice Walking Tours Videos, offers help for students and families trying to choose the right college.
The company has made videos of walking tours of more than 300 colleges and universities. They are videos of actual tours conducted by student guides, so they're more objective than a promotional effort by the colleges.
The videos average about one hour in length, but some last for two hours. They include some of the top schools in the country - such as Harvard, Stanford and Yale - as well as dozens of other colleges.
There are videos of colleges and universities in Virginia, including the two largest, Virginia Tech and University of Virginia. Tech's video lasts 80 minutes; UVA's video is 101 minutes.
Videos also are available for these schools in Western Virginia: Hollins College, James Madison University, Lynchburg College, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Roanoke College, Sweet Briar College, and Washington and Lee University.
The videos cost $15 a tour, plus $5 for shipping costs. Where possible, the company will combine tours on 120- to 160-minute cassettes.
Videos can be ordered from Collegiate Choice Walking Tours, 41 Surrey Lane, Tenafly, N.J. 07670. The phone number is (201)871-0098.
by CNB