Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 13, 1995 TAG: 9508140025
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BLACKSBURG - The Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce is launching a petition drive to expand the Blacksburg's local telephone calling area to include Roanoke.
The chamber needs 1,015 signatures before submitting the petition to the State Corporation Commission, which would then ask Bell Atlantic to poll residents in Blacksburg and Roanoke. If the calling area is expanded, all customers in Blacksburg - both business and residential - could see increased bills, perhaps by about $1 a month, said Harvey Shephard, the chamber's executive director.
A recent survey of Blacksburg-area businesses by the chamber showed 79 percent of respondents wanted the calling area expanded.
Two sets of Yellow Pages would be printed: one for Roanoke and Blacksburg combined, and one for Blacksburg only, Shephard said.
If enough signatures are obtained, Bell Atlantic will send ballots to customers. If at least half are returned and a majority of them want the expanded local calling area, the change will occur immediately, unless rates would increase by more than 5 percent.
Blacksburg's local calling area recently was expanded to include Shawsville and Salem. Residential customers in Blacksburg and Salem saw their basic phone bills go up by $.73 a month, while business customers saw an increase of $3.74.
A proposal to offer local calling among Pulaski, Dublin, Radford, and Pearisburg was rejected by customers last year. Pulaski residential customers would have seen their basic bills go up by $1.02 a month, and businesses would have paid $7.05 more a month. In other places, residents would have paid as little as $.68 more a month, while some businesses would have paid as much as $10.77.
Seminar to inform bosses about employee relations
CHRISTIANSBURG - As traumatic as a negative performance review or termination can be for an employee, in today's litigious atmosphere such a decision can prove to be equally nightmarish for an employer.
Increasingly, employees are taking their bosses to court when things don't go their way at work.
"In the past, the employee wouldn't sue the employer. If they got fired or didn't get the promotion, they just let it go," said Agnis Chakravorty, an attorney with the Center for Employment Law in Roanoke.
But these days, unhappy workers may be just as likely to hire a lawyer, resulting in heartache and expense for the employer.
To help employers avoid such scenarios, the Christiansburg-Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a seminar on the "Legal Aspects of Employee Discipline and Evaluation," Aug. 23, from 1 to 4 p.m. Chakravorty and Tammy Moss, another lawyer at the Center for Employment Law, will conduct the seminar.
Chakravorty said recent changes in employment law and an increase in the number of lawyers ready to represent employees have meant employers must be on their guard.
Chakravorty said he recommends that employers apply their rules evenly and consistently to all employees and regularly tell employees how they are doing.
The seminar costs $35 for chamber members and $50 for non-members. For more information, call 382-4251.
Dinner, auction to raise money for development
PULASKI - The Pulaski Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual auction Saturday, Aug. 19, at 5 p.m. at New River Community College's new Edwards Hall.
At auction will be trips, airline tickets, cars, jewelry, furniture, antiques, collectibles and other items. Included in the price of $15 for couples and $10 for singles will be a buffet dinner. About 500 people are expected. The money raised will be used for economic and community development. Call 980-1991.
by CNB