Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 26, 1995 TAG: 9508280042
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Led by a former Roanoke Valley congressman, the local chapter of a national organization that opposes excessive federal spending wants to save the national debt clock that is scheduled to be removed Monday from a downtown Roanoke rooftop.
"I'm going to personally guarantee that we will pay the electricity bill, and we would be very happy to take over the sign and the maintenance thereof," said former Rep. Jim Olin, who is president of the Concord Coalition's Roanoke-Southwest Virginia chapter. The money will be raised from outside sources, not derived from chapter funds, he said.
Former U.S. Sens. Paul Tsongas and Warren Rudman formed the Washington, D.C.-based coalition in 1992. Its thrust is public education aimed at cutting the deficit, and the organization believes the more citizens know about the debt, the better, said member Doug Strickland of Roanoke.
The clock atop the Star City Diner was scheduled as of late Friday afternoon to be taken down about 7 a.m. Monday, said Neal Kinsey, co-owner of Kinsey Crane & Sign Co. of Roanoke. For two years, the lighted sign has tallied the nearly $5 trillion national debt and the share each American would need to pay to settle it.
The removal order came from attorneys handling the estate of the late John W. Hancock Jr., the founder of Roanoke Electric Steel and a longtime civic leader who helped pay to install the clock in 1993. The removal is tied to plans next month to settle and close out Hancock's estate, which has helped pay ongoing costs for the device, said T.L. Plunkett Jr., a co-executor of the estate who apparently will have the final say on what happens to the clock.
The Concord Coalition representatives said they were trying to call Plunkett on Friday to pitch their proposal. Plunkett could not be reached for what his reaction was going to be to their offer to save the clock.
The sign costs about $600 annually to maintain, a task that involves changing all or most of its 896 5-watt bulbs, and an estimated $600 for electricity, according to Kinsey.
Hancock's partner in the decision to erect the clock, Grand Piano Chairman George Cartledge Sr. of Roanoke, said he would continue paying his share of its costs if somebody would assume Hancock's share.
"I'm willing to pay my part," Cartledge said Friday.
Roland "Spanky" Macher, owner of the diner, has said he, too, wants the clock left on his building and will help pay for it.
Keywords:
INFOLINE
by CNB