Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, August 15, 1995 TAG: 9508150067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
For the second time in about a month, Lynchburg came bearing gifts for Bedford County.
This time, Bedford accepted.
Monday night, the county Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to accept Lynchburg City Council's good-faith pledge not to revert to a town and not to annex any portion of Bedford County for 20 years.
The board also unanimously agreed to work with Lynchburg to win the state Commission on Local Government's approval of the agreement.
"I think this is a nice gesture on their part," Supervisor Gus Saarnijoki said. "But I also think there's a lot of politics involved."
Some have said that Lynchburg is making the offer to derail the proposed merger of Bedford and Bedford County - which as a consolidated city would be immune from annexation if a state ban on annexation is lifted in 1997.
Bedford County rejected a similar offer from Lynchburg last month that asked for millions of dollars in infrastructure in exchange for a pledge not to annex.
In other business:
County Administrator Bill Rolfe announced that the county has hired a public safety director.
Dave Nichols, currently the public safety director for Dinwiddie County, will start in a couple of weeks, Rolfe said. Originally from Delaware, Nichols has experience as a volunteer emergency medical worker and fireman.
The board voted 5-0 to join Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in a visioning process for Smith Mountain Lake.
Called "Charting a Course for Smith Mountain Lake," the program was proposed by the Smith Mountain Lake Policy Advisory Board, the lake's quasi-governmental body.
From now until July, planners and elected representatives from the three counties will work on creating unified strategic plans for the lake's economic, recreational and environmental future.
Franklin and Pittsylvania's boards have already joined the program.
The Board approved Bedford County sheriff's deputy Mike Miller's request to apply for a one-year $10,000 grant from the state Department of Public Safety for an extra Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer to teach middle school classes. The Sheriff's Office only teaches the program for fifth-graders now.
Bedford County will supplement the officer's pay and will continue funding the position after the grant runs out.
by CNB