Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501120062
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Their mandate is to help with the road's design and its environmental aspects. It will not include judging the road's merit and fate, said Dan Brugh, the Virginia Department of Transportation's resident engineer, who will offer guidance and answer questions.
It's a task that will be a bit like making stew: mix in a cup of stewardship of an endangered flower, stir in the design of a 900-foot bridge, spice it up with the mysteries of the alignment for a section of the road, and don't forget that special ingredient - considering Ellett Valley's cultural and historical resources.
The 15 committee members - only four of whom are women - are a mix of professors and engineers, heavy on environmental sciences. Also among them are a housewife, a lawyer, a hospital executive and several retirees.
Brugh picked the group from a pool of 50 people who responded to a newspaper notice soliciting volunteers. He said he was looking for a mix of people with environmental backgrounds, and he said he knew at least several of the panelists are smart road opponents.
Brugh, who played emcee Tuesday but promised to step out of the spotlight when the group chooses a chairman at its next meeting, set the ground rules early.
"This has moved past a location phase and into a design phase," Brugh said.
When one committee member tried to talk about the road's merits, Brugh interrupted him.
Many committee members said they applied for the job because of their interest in the environment.
"Even though I don't support this project, if it's going to happen then I want it to be the best project it can be," said Claudia Phillips, an instructor in landscape architecture at Virginia Tech and a doctoral student in environmental design and planning.
The committee may soon have to deal with a new twist to the well-publicized and controversial project. Brugh said the Transportation Department is considering a third alignment, south of the two already identified, around the part of the route that contains the endangered smooth coneflower.
"The thought was we might move little further to the south and not be right in the middle of them," Brugh said.
One of the decisions the committee made Tuesday was to save money. In a effort to remove the members from his shadow, Brugh had offered to rent a meeting room at an area hotel for subsequent meetings. But the committee decided the conference room at VDOT's Christiansburg office - site of Tuesday's meeting - suited them just fine.
They also decided to meet again Feb 9 at 7 p.m., when they will hear from Paul Johnson, the Transportation Department's environmental expert.
Also on the committee are: Jeff Douglas, a public relations official at Virginia Tech; Michael T. Hadbavny, a retired Navy engineer; Tom Hanes, a Roanoke lawyer; I.B. Heinemann, a Roanoke hospital vice president; Suzie Leslie, a research associate at Virginia Tech; and Don Linzey, a biology professor at Wytheville Community College.
The committee also includes Cecile Newcomb, a Blacksburg Townscape committee member; Tom Poulin, a Jefferson National Forest engineer; Bill Richardson, who works for Virginia Tech's cooperative extension service; Chris Vancantfort, an environmental scientist at Virginia Tech's Waste Policy Institute; and Carl Zipper, an environmental science professor at Virginia Tech.
Not attending Tuesday's meeting were Justin Askins, a Radford University English professor; Dorothy Bodell, a native of Blacksburg; and Robert Cruise, a retired engineer.
by CNB