ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020136
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEYO
THESE are the times that try editors' souls.
These dark, dreary days between major holidays. These times when 20,000 Virginia Tech students flee Montgomery County for a few weeks. This quiet interlude before the rush-and-bustle of the 1996 General Assembly session.
Times like these are made for giving an accounting of the previous year. With that in mind, we've compiled what might be called the 1995 version of the New River Valley by the numbers.
Number of applications for concealed weapon permits filed in Montgomery County since July 1: 183
Number of applications in all of 1994, under stricter law: 51
Number of homicides in the New River Valley in 1995: Eight
Number of homicides in which the victims knew their accused killer: Seven
In the town of Blacksburg, almost half - 44.2 percent to be exact - of the assessed value of property is state or university foundation land, which means it cannot be taxed.
Number of items mentioning the "smart" road in The Roanoke Times in 1995: 122
In 1994: 132
In 1993: 67
Number of comments given to the Virginia Department of Transportation concerning the "smart" road at fall design hearing: 320
(In favor: 235 Against: 75 Didn't say: 10)
Oldest Montgomery County supervisor in 1995: Joe Stewart, 80
Youngest: Nick Rush, 27
Average age on seven-member board: 60
Number of students expelled for bringing a weapon to school:
Montgomery County: Three
Pulaski County: Three
1995 enrollment at Virginia Tech: 23,500 Number of students living on campus: 8,200 Number of students living off-campus: 14,400
As of September 1995, the average sales price for a house in Blacksburg was $121,224
In Montgomery County, the average sales price for a house was $116,492
Number of miles driven by Montgomery County School buses: 791,321; at a cost of $2.06 per mile
(that's $1,630,121.26 per year)
Last school year, Montgomery County Schools served:
750,000 nuggets of chicken
174,000 slices of pizza
146,400 sticks of corn dog
21,000 pounds of Tater Tots
Montgomery County Schools used 16 million sheets of copy paper last year.
Tons of rock salt used on New River Valley Roads in the winter of 1994-1995: 5,500
Number of requests for services from Tony's Strip-o-Gram per semester: Several hundred
Average number of perms given per day at Big Al's Hair Salon: Four
Average number of dogs groomed per week at the Village Groomer Inc: 72
The number of times "Pulp Fiction" was rented from Blacksburg's Moovies Inc. (formerly King Video): 1,947
Number of port-a-john rentals from Handy's Port-a-John during 1995: 8,000
Number of residents holding valid drivers licenses in the New River Valley: 108,604
Average number of people who visit Tan 'N Tone per day: 60
Number of tickets Virginia Tech sold to the Sugar Bowl: 17,400
Pounds of hot wings cooked up each week by Sharky's restaurant: 800
Subs sold per week at Sal's Italian Restaurant and Pizza in Radford: From 500 to 600
Number of sci-fi and fantasy magazines in a collection housed at Virginia Tech's Carol M. Newman Library: 5,000
LENGTH: Medium: 96 linesby CNB