Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 27, 1995 TAG: 9507190076
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The commission will tackle educational disparities, industrial recruitment, tourism enhancement, health care delivery, affordable housing, transportation and other problems common to the entire 9th Congressional District, which covers 23 counties and cities from Cumberland Gap to the Roanoke Valley.
``This is the first time this kind of effort has been targeted squarely at that piece of geography,'' Boucher said Monday in announcing the commission at Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center.
``Our group will not actually carry forward projects,'' he said. ``What we will do is evaluate the potential for various steps ... and then make recommendations to those that actually do carry out the projects.''
He said he saw the commission's role as one of strategic planning.
Its goals include fostering more regional cooperation, identifying and acting on opportunities that can best be realized regionally, and getting recommendations for legislation his office can seek to bring federal resources to bear on regional needs, he said.
Boucher has hired Mary Haviland, a Washington County businesswoman, as special projects coordinator to work specifically with the commission.
``It's an exciting job,'' Haviland said. ``It's closer to a think well than a think tank.''
Haviland owns Abingdon Wholesale Plumbing & Heating and, with her husband, operates a dairy and tobacco farm. She served on the Washington County School Board from 1989 to 1994 and as regional chairwoman of the Virginia School Boards Association.
Boucher said he foresees much cooperation between the commission and groups such as the New Century Council, planning district commissions and regional industrial marketing groups.
A kickoff meeting is tentatively planned for August in Abingdon for commission members to hear about initiatives under way in the region, such as the work of the New Century Council in the Roanoke and New River valleys, and Boucher's project to link district educational institutions through a fiber-optic network, which, he said, could help with the disparities issue by making more classes available over wider areas.
``It's not the sole means of addressing disparities, but it's a promising start,'' he said.
The commission will probably break up into task forces to decide how it can build on existing initiatives.
``The members of the commission will be self-directed,'' Boucher said. Ninety-three people have agreed to serve, he said, ``not simply to have their names on a membership list,'' but to improve the region's quality of life. A few more will be added in the next few weeks, he said.
He said they ``represent a broad cross section of Southwest Virginia's leadership. They will bring to this work a rich and varied experience from their backgrounds in business, education and public service.''
by CNB