Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 28, 1994 TAG: 9412030005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
St. Clair, 29, works for EFilm, a special effects company. He is listed as an "operator" in the film's closing credits.
St. Clair said even he doesn't know exactly what that title means. What he actually did was help produce the opening credits, transporter and phaser effects, and a few other scenes.
His technological prowess earned him the honor of attending the film's mid-November premiere with the entire cast and crew.
"It was pretty cool," St. Clair said. "Well, I'm trying to understate it. Really, I was stoked."
The University of Southern California film school grad said when he left for the sunny West Coast he had two ambitions: to work for "Star Wars" director George Lucas' special effects company and to get his name in a "Star Trek" film.
"He's a Trekkie, all right," said his father, Michael St. Clair. "We're all Trekkies."
David's mother, Judy St. Clair, said she began watching the "Star Trek" television series with her son when it originally aired in the mid-1960s. She said working on this film was "a real dream come true for him."
But his first major project is hardly David St. Clair's final frontier. Next outing: "Batman Forever."
Miss Virginia missed
To the organizers of a holiday parade in Martinsville, it's a case of the beauty queen who stole Christmas.
Miss Virginia, Cullen Johnson, was scheduled to be the grand marshal of the Christmas parade, which was planned for Sunday, then postponed by miserable weather until Dec.18. But she called three weeks ago and canceled.
The reason: She felt a trip to see her boyfriend in California was more important, according to a member of the parade association.
"She told us, `I'm not coming and there's nothing you can do about it,''' said Kathy Lawson, who was responsible for the parade's entries. "She told us she could get the first runner-up, but who wants a no-name substitute?"
Lawson said the committee tried to find another grand marshal, but time quickly ran out.
So, the parade is now dedicated to the group that loves parades the most: children.
"There's nothing we can do about the cancellation," said Lawson, "but at least this way we won't have someone who will let us down."
Johnson signed a contract in October to appear in the parade. She was to have been paid $250 the day of the parade, plus round-trip mileage from her home in Norfolk and hotel and meal accommodations.
Neither Johnson nor her official chaperon, Margaret Baker of Roanoke, could be reached for comment, so there's no word on whether she'll be able to make the re-scheduled date.
Shredded cars
On Nov. 18, Shredded Products officially opened its new Franklin County facility, sending the first car - a red '72 Fleetwood Cadillac - through the shredder, a machine that separates the nonmetallic "fluff" from the recyclable steel. The Caddy was the first of an expected 10,000 cars to be shredded each month.
The company will bury about 125 tons of fluff every day at its new landfill. The steel goes to its parent company, Roanoke Electric Steel.
Shredded Products' move from its Bedford County site was prompted in part by the fluff fire five years ago that burned for more than a month.
Almost all of the 25 workers transferred to the Franklin County plant, company spokesman John Lambert said.
If you have a car that's ready for the scrap heap, Shredded Products will pay between $50 and $75 to take it off your hands. Call (703) 489-7599.
Governmental pork
Delegate H. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, put a ham where his mouth is, but it's Delegate S. Vance Wilkins Jr., R-Amherst, who gets to eat it.
Griffith put up a Valleydale ham in a friendly wager with Wilkins that Salem High School would beat undefeated Amherst High School in Friday's Group AA, Region III championship football game. Wilkins anted up a bushel of apples and two gallons of apple cider.
When the dust settled, Wilkins' alma mater had racked up 55 points to Salem's 19.
So, for Wilkins, victory is sweet, or maybe smoked, or it could be honey-baked.
by CNB