Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994 TAG: 9408230069
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BY KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEMBROKE LENGTH: Medium
Soon, once the rains let up and the new cement-like trail surface dried and hardened, Sanderson would be able to guide his chair through the woods and along the bank of Stony Creek. The shade, the scents, the serenity would be his to enjoy.
"You don't find that down on Campbell Avenue," he said.
Sanderson, a 14-year Roanoke-area advocate of rights for disabled people and head of the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, had driven into Giles County to witness the innovative efforts a group of Virginia Tech students, working with the Forest Service, had done to make the trail more accessible to disabled people. They had begun the project during the summer of 1993, and during a two-week stint this year, continued it, adding two fishing platforms and more paved trail.
The project reflects a new focus in how the Forest Service develops its assets.
"More and more we're looking at all our facilities to see what we can do to make them more accessible," said Gary P. Sick, acting head ranger for the Blacksburg district.
"The Forest Service is in front of everybody with this. They have taken an approach that goes beyond compliance," said Dean Bork, an associate professor in Tech's landscape architecture department, whose summer students provided the labor as part of a class.
"It's showing a lot of sensivity to people with disabilities. It may not be filled up every day, but the idea is there." said an appreciative Sanderson.
Such projects are welcome news to disabled people who like outdoor activities.
"It's very important for people who like to fish, like myself," said George Flint, a wheelchair-bound Buchanan resident who reviews area handicapped-accessible sites for the Forest Service. He suggested, for example, that low-level rails be added to bridges at Fenwick Mines in Craig County near New Castle, so wheels won't roll off and the canes blind people use can find a boundary. Those suggestions were adopted at Cherokee Flats as well.
"Word is beginning to spread. ... With that word of mouth I think we're going to see a pretty dramatic increase in usage." Sheryl Mills, the Blacksburg district's landscape architect. She pointed out the area is well suited for others users, too, such as parents with children.
Cherokee Flats is a good place for the project because it's a good place to find trout, thanks to shade and shelters installed by Trout Unlimited.
That's important, Mills said, because it means handicapped people can grab their fly rod and visit the site whenever the mood strikes them.
The site is notable too in that it offers cold-water fishing
Cherokee Flats features four platforms for fishing, one of the most popular activities in the ranger district, Mills said. The platforms are integral because trout fishermen need to be able to move upstream as they cast.
"We were trying to simulate the fly-fishing experience that an ambulatory person would have," Mills said.
The students weren't able to complete a ramp leading into the water because of last week's heavy rains. But they plan to return, perhaps around labor day, to finish.
"It's not just a put-together thing. It's exquisite," Sanderson said. "They've made a heck of a facility for people to enjoy and with just a little more work handicapped people can enjoy.
by CNB