
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 5, 1995                   TAG: 9509050037
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

NAME THAT BRIDGE!

The people have spoken. Well, at least the 452 who took the time last week to phone into our InfoLine poll have. And it's nearly unanimous - folks want the new pedestrian bridge linking the Hotel Roanoke with the City Market to have a name.

The final tally showed 417 of the callers - or 92 percent - say yes, it should have a name.

That's the kind of landslide not seen since the days of Soviet-style elections. Of course, those elections didn't count for much, either.

Now, here's the kicker: More than 300 callers left suggested names for the bridge. Frankly, our InfoLine transcribers are overwhelmed. Never fear, though, we'll get all the names down - and out for public inspection.

To see what kind of names have been proposed, please see Thursday's newspaper.

Elvis finds a home

Celebrity dog update: Part two.

First, Duke. Now, Elvis, the stray hound with the broken pelvis.

The black-and-tan dog was brought to the Roanoke Valley SPCA shelter five months ago. A motorist had found him on Interstate 81 near Troutville a month before, broken and battered after being hit by a vehicle.

For months, the SPCA tried to find him a home. There were several false starts. After the newspaper ran a story about Elvis - with photo - two people tried unsuccessfully to claim ownership. Neither had sufficient proof.

The SPCA refused to put Elvis to sleep. But it had nearly given up on finding him a home.

Enter kindergartner Alisha Vaught of Roanoke. She'd found a puppy through the classified ads. It was cute, cuddly - and a biter.

Alisha and her parents turned the puppy over to the SPCA shelter. There, she searched for another dog, an older one to replace the pet she'd had to give up.

"She was looking at these little white dogs, " said Alisha's mother, Debi. "But they were jumping around too much. Then she stuck her hand in Elvis' cage. He licked her and that's all she needed."

The Vaughts had no clue of the dog's notoriety. He was simply a lovable dog who'd taken an immediate liking to his new owner.

Alisha proudly showed her new pet around her Southwest Roanoke neighborhood last week, telling kids ```See that dog? That's my dog. He's famous,''' Debi Vaught said.

And what of his name?

``The child seems to feel that any dog she owns is going to be named `Lucky,''' Vaught said. ``But she thinks `Elvis' is cool, too.

``So she named him `Lucky Elvis.'''

by CNB