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

DATE: SATURDAY, May 20, 1995                   TAG: 9505220026
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: BRIAN KELLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                 LENGTH: Medium

THIRD DEMOCRAT JOINS RACE IN DISTRICT F

Harry Neumann, who turns 59 next month, called for bringing an "integrated approach to the vision of the future" of Montgomery County by linking land use, economic development and education planning.

Neumann, a Hethwood resident, is the third person to seek the Democratic nomination in District F. Publisher Mary Holliman and schoolteacher Mary Biggs also are seeking the party's blessing. Democrats will choose at a June 3 mass meeting.

Supervisors Chairman Larry Linkous, who is running for the House of Delegates, is giving up the seat at year's end. Republicans, as of yet, have no announced candidate for District F, which runs from Hethwood northwest to include parts of Glade and Toms Creek roads and the Laurel Ridge subdivision.

Neumann said he would like to run for the board to pursue a better integration of planning for residential and commercial growth with funding for education and other county services. Right now, he said, the board is taking a "fragmented" approach to preparing for the future.

Neumann said he has a "deep interest" in the local school system and has several ties to it. His daughter, Sara, graduated from Blacksburg High School and is working on a degree in elementary education from Radford University. His wife, Donna Neumann, recently retired from the guidance office at Blacksburg High. The Neumanns also have three sons who finished high school elsewhere.

Neumann retired from AT&T in 1992 after nearly 36 years of service. He's from Chicago and spent most of his career there until being transferred to the former Fairlawn plant in 1984. When that plant closed in 1990, Neumann worked another two years in Pennsylvania before retiring and returning to live in Blacksburg.

He said his engineering background, his attention to detail and his experience on the Planning Commission give him a lot to offer.

"You've got to listen to everyone, be open to other people's views and ideas ... and then put together a plan," Neumann said. "Being on the Planning Commission and being involved, you learn a lot about the diverse interests in the county.

"It gives you a very good background and insight into the entire county," he said.

Neumann served two terms as chairman of the U.S. 460/Virginia 114 Corridor Advisory Planning Council, a multijurisdictional group formed as a result of Christiansburg's annexation of the area around the New River Valley Mall in 1988. It helped shape planning for the area until late 1993, when it went inactive because of a lack of financial support from the county and Christiansburg. He also is a certified Virginia citizen planner.

Keywords:
POLITICS