Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 23, 1995 TAG: 9503230066
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
After some two years of work, the Pulaski County Youth Emergency Shelter has a home in what is known as the VanHoy House at 231 Randolph Ave.
Supporters of the shelter project showed up in force at Tuesday night's Town Council in support of a conditional use permit that had to be approved for the location.
They were not needed. Council unanimously approved the permit, twice.
The first vote included a town Planning Commission recommendation that a fence be built on two sides of the house to shield neighbors from it. But because the commission recommended the conditional-use permit, one neighbor indicated a fence was not necessary. So council rescinded the first motion and approved a new one including the fences unless a neighboring property owner waived any desire for them.
``I hope we got it right that time,'' Mayor Andy Graham quipped.
The only speaker at council's hearing on the permit was Margaret Stevens, president of the shelter organization. She said the shelter was to provide a safe haven for young people, up to age 18, who are in crisis situations.
``It is not for juvenile delinquents, it is not a detention center, it is not a halfway house, it is not just for children who get mad at their parents,'' she said. A stay at the shelter will be voluntary on the part of the youngster and requires the consent of a parent, custodian or the Social Services Department.
``We're looking at three to five days'' as a typical stay, Stevens said. ``From there, each individual will be assessed ... and hopefully work back into their homes. If that's not feasible, then other agencies will step in.''
The VanHoy family is donating the house for shelter use because ``they support what we're trying to do,'' Stevens said.
Shelter program volunteers still have more work to do before the home becomes operational. ``The house does need extensive renovation, inside and out,'' Stevens said.
The need for a short-term youth emergency shelter was established by representatives from a number of different agencies dealing with youth, who have been working on the project for about two years.
``It's very sad and it's unfortunate that it is needed,'' Stevens said. ``Our goal is just to provide a safe place for these kids until the proper agencies can step in.''
In other business, council voted as its highest-priority road project the four-laning of Virginia 99 (E. Main St.) from its existing four lanes to the southeast corporate limits. The request will be passed on to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The second priority is improving Peppers Ferry Road from Memorial Drive to the northeast corporate limits of town. The town must pay 2 percent of the cost for preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction, with 98 percent coming from the state.
Both projects are at least five years in the future. It will take that long for funds earmarked for Pulaski to build up enough to pay for them.
The Virginia 99 project would cost more than $4.2 million, and the Peppers Ferry Road work, more than $3.6 million.
Council also scheduled its first three ``town meetings'' in different sections of Pulaski, to encourage citizens from those sections to meet with their elected representatives.
The 7 p.m. meetings will be Tuesday at the New River Valley Emergency Building on Lagrange Street, April 11 at the Howard Community Center at 320 Altoona St., and April 25 at Pulaski Middle School.
by CNB