Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 2, 1995 TAG: 9504030016
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
WYTHEVILLE - Wythe County supervisors want to collect some $2,500 in legal fees from petitioners who took one of their number to court.
People opposed to a private prison had filed a petition with 177 signatures seeking the removal of Black Lick District Supervisor Charles Dix. They contended that he abused his position by accepting an airline ticket from Corrections Corporation of America when he and two other county representatives traveled to Texas to gauge community reaction to a CCA prison there.
After the group's report, the supervisors voted 4-3 to welcome a CCA prison in Wythe County.
Once the petition was filed, Dix was required to show cause why he should not be removed. After a daylong hearing March 24, Circuit Judge Willis Woods ruled that Dix had not abused his office and dismissed the petitions.
Last week, the supervisors voted 5-1 to initiate legal proceedings to try to collect the cost of Dix's defense from those who signed the petition.
Chairman Mark Munsey cast the only vote against the motion. ``I don't think that this will serve any useful purpose, other than to cause more ill feelings and more problems,'' he said. Supervisor John Davis was not at the meeting.
Depot Day act picked
PULASKI - The Bellamy Brothers have been signed as lead musical performers for Pulaski's second annual Depot Day celebration June 24.
Howard and David Bellamy, operating out of Darby, Fla., and Nashville, Tenn., have been popular performers for two decades.
They own their own record label and are known for popular tongue-in-cheek songs such as ``Do You Love as Good as You Look?'' and ``If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me?''
The first Depot Day last June 11 celebrated the completion of years of restoration work on the town's railroad station after it was donated to Pulaski by Norfolk Southern Corp. It now houses the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce and Raymond F. Ratcliff Museum.
I-77 change urged
ABINGDON - Wytheville Mayor Trent Crewe told state transportation officials that the town is disappointed over the Transportation Board's proposal to bring Interstate 73 along U.S. 460 and 220.
In remarks at Southwest Virginia's annual roads hearing in March, Crewe said a location study by the Department of Transportation showed using the existing Interstate 77 corridor to route Interstate 73 through Virginia from West Virginia to North Carolina would be the most efficient and economical choice. He urged the Transportation Board to reconsider its position.
He also suggested a service road parallel to the south right of way of Interstate 81 in Wythe County, along Lithia and Peppers Ferry roads. Service roads on both sides of the interstate would enhance traffic flow and spur commercial and industrial activity, he said.
He also asked that reconstruction of Wytheville's Main Street and a full interchange at Interstate 81 and Peppers Ferry Road be considered.
3 charged in vandalism
RURAL RETREAT - Three Wythe County men have been charged with spraying obscene words and drawings along with a swastika in orange paint at Rural Retreat High School.
Arrested were Clarence D. ``Pokey'' Gravely, 19, of Wytheville; Oren Shawn Warden, 21, Max Meadows; and Christopher M. Gravely, 20, Crockett. Lt. Doug King of the Wythe County Sheriff's Office said they are charged with breaking and entering, felonious destruction of property and petty larceny.
Intruders used paint stored beneath the gymnasium last week to spray lockers, walls, doors, sidewalks and an activities bus. They were arrested Monday at a home in the Huckleberry Section of the county.
Court rejects appeal
WYTHEVILLE - A Wythe County woman named as the mastermind of a series of burglaries has had an appeal of her conviction denied by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Elizabeth H. Lambert, 35, will serve her sentence at the state prison for women at Goochland.
She was sentenced to 15 years in connection with a computer theft at Rural Retreat High School. Circuit Judge Duane Mink suspended all but five years.
The computer and other items stolen were recovered in Illinois. Willie Lon Rice III, now serving a 20-year sentence for burglaries and other charges, testified at Lambert's trial that she recruited him and others and told them which homes and businesses to hit.
Jobless claim rejected
WYTHEVILLE - The Virginia Employment Commission has denied an unemployment compensation claim filed by former Wythe County Engineer Dave Evans, saying that Evans falsified his job application with the county.
Evans was dismissed in February. The county Board of Supervisors has decided to leave the post of county engineer vacant for now.
The commission said Evans' application stated that he was employed with Epic International when he applied for the engineer post, but he had resigned from that company a month earlier. Evans said the mistake came from filling out the job application too quickly.
Home to install leader
WYTHEVILLE - An installation service for the new chief executive officer at the Presbyterian Children's Home of the Highlands will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday in the home's Eckman Chapel in Wytheville.
John I. Alexander was chosen in January for the job, after a nearly yearlong search by the home's board of directors.
He and his wife, Susan, are graduates of Berea (Ky.) College. They have seven children.
The board will formally commission Alexander to carry out his new responsibilities at the service. A reception will follow.
New hospice leaders
WYTHEVILLE - Travis Jackson will serve as president of the Hospice of Wythe-Bland Inc. for 1995.
Phyllis Ashworth was chosen as secretary and Judson Lambert as treasurer. Andy Kegley and Janet Pynchon were added to the board. Rita Cobbs is the organization's executive director.
Hospice, which offers support to terminally ill patients and their families, can be reached at 228-5424. Its office is at 275 E. Main St.
The hospice is forming a grief support group, which will meet on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 5 p.m. in St. John's Episcopal Church at 175 E. Main St.
by CNB