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

DATE: MONDAY, November 28, 1994                   TAG: 9411290040
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CATHRYN MCCUE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FREE PROGRAM TO ADDRESS STRIKE FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS

The Roanoke River Group of the Sierra Club will sponsor a program by Terri Cofer of the Richmond-based Virginia Conservation Network on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Cofer will discuss the final recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Government Reform, also known as the strike force, concerning natural resources.

Cofer says the recommendations, if implemented, will dramatically weaken the protection of Virginia's air, water and soil quality, state lands and endangered species.

The program will be held on the 5th floor of Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke. It is free and open to the public.

Solar power at UVa

The trustees of the Class of 1995 at the University of Virginia pledged a gift of $150,000 to put photovoltaic panels atop Campbell Hall, which houses the architecture school.

The money will also fund a Solar Energy Resource Center and fellowships for students to promote sustainable development.

Photovoltaic cells, made of silicon, convert sunlight directly into electricity, producing no pollution, noise, smoke or radiation. The energy will power university facilities for an average of four to six hours a day, or will be sold to a power company.

Architecture school dean William A. McDonough has announced plans to make the school a "net exporter" of energy and model for environmental responsibility by incorporating solar energy and other innovations into a new office wing.

It will take about three years for the 3,000 members of the Class of '95 to raise the money.

Appalachian flora and fauna

The U.S. Forest Service will hold a working meeting on Thursday for a team of wildlife and botanical resource specialists. The public is invited to attend.

The agency is helping conduct the Southern Appalachian Assessment, a cooperative effort between state and federal agencies to assess the health of Southern forests on eight national forests. A meeting on air quality issues was held last month. Upcoming meetings will focus on water, and social and cultural resources.

Thursday's meeting will involve issues surrounding old growth stands, migratory songbirds, threatened and endangered species and game species. The public is invited to comment or ask questions at the beginning of the meeting, and may stay to observe the entire working meeting.

The meeting is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon at the Jefferson National Forest headquarters at Valleypointe.

by CNB