ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 1, 1996 TAG: 9602010010
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO WHAT'S ON YOUR
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: What are the rules for Section 8 housing? Someone I know went to a shelter for battered women and qualified for government help in paying her rent, but now her husband has moved back in, and Section 8 is still paying the rent.
A.H., Roanoke
A: The circumstances you describe could amount to fraud if the facts fit the appearances.
Section 8 rules say anyone who receives rental assistance must report new or departing household members to the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
The amount of rental assistance could be changed as a result, said David Baldwin, director of housing for the authority.
Reality is, the housing authority has only two people to do the kind of inspections that could detect a new household member.
These inspections usually are done yearly unless a tenant complains more than once about a major problem, such as loss of heat.
Cases of suspected fraud can be reported to Helen Shampine, Section 8 administrator, at 983-9218.
Women who go to a shelter and are cleared by its screening process can go to the top of the waiting list for Section 8 housing, which has a slow turnover even though some 1,500 units exist in the city.
Shelters don't follow up on whether women accept men back into their relocated homes, but Darlene Young of the Turning Point shelter said that if she learned of such a case she'd report it. ``To me, that's sponging off the government,'' she said.|
Calling the airport
Q: This may sound trite, but it's hard to find the Roanoke Regional Airport's phone number in the book. When the weather's disrupting schedules, as it has so much recently, we want to call and ask if planes will be coming in the next day.
F.W., Roanoke
A: The answer people really want in this situation is decided by weather conditions. Humans, and our computers and forecasts, don't have much to say about it.
Flight rules are definite: If there's one mile of visibility, passenger planes can land. Less than that, they don't.
The airport's phone number is in the book, but searching it out takes some study. It's at the bottom of an airlines list under Roanoke Regional Airport in the white pages, and in the Yellow Pages the listing just says ``airport.''
That seems to be somewhat deliberate. Airport spokesman Mark Courtney said callers usually ask: ``Is my flight on time?''
It's hard to get an early answer. Airlines wait as long as possible, hoping weather will clear so they won't have to cancel or delay.
The airport management doesn't make those decisions.
Courtney said the best ways to get information are:
1. Call the airline's reservations and flight-information numbers.
2. Call the travel agent who booked the flight.
3. Call InfoLine, this newspaper's information service, at 981-0100 (382-0200 in the New River Valley), info code 3591; Courtney said he keeps this line up to date when weather disrupts operations.
4. Calling the airport office at 362-1999 could be a last resort, and usually the best information it can provide is what's posted on the same computer system used by the airlines and travel agents.|
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RoatimesInfi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.|
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