Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 11, 1995 TAG: 9506300097
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BRADLEY G. KLEIN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
These folks better hurry up and retire because, soon, thanks to the visions of the landlords, businessmen and cronyists on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors and Blacksburg Town Council, there won't be a blade of grass left in this area to look at.
Let's look at the picture a few years in the future.
The retirees can enjoy the view of the Apco [Appalachian Power Co.] monster power lines as they sit in a fast-food restaurant along the shoulder of Interstate 73, just next to the new gas station/junkyard across from the once pristine Pandapas Pond.
They'll drive there from their new sprawling housing developments/villages near the once beautiful Mount. Tabor area and the soon-to-be-consumed Toms Creek area. If they want a glimpse of the mountains, maybe the roofs of the old abandoned Wal-Mart, Kmart and Lowe's could be used as observation decks to peer over the new Super Wal-Mart, Kmart and Lowe's.
The more likely possibility is that, as these folks speed along the "smart" road at 65 mph, they'll make a smarter choice and keep on driving toward the mountain views and greenery that were once a valuable asset to Blacksburg and Montgomery County.
Bradley G. Klein Bradley G. Klein is a professor of biomedical sciences at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. He moved to Blacksburg 6 1/2 years ago from New York City.
by CNB