ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603040010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
He's promising a few surprises, but he'll keep everyone in suspense until Tuesday.
Guy Gentry, chairman of the Radford School Board, said Friday he plans to announce whether he'll run for re-election to his seat - or election to any other board - Tuesday at 6 p.m.
That's one hour before the deadline to file petitions for the May 7 city elections. This marks the first year voters will elect School Board members since they approved the switch from an appointed to an elected board in 1994.
Gentry holds one of the two Radford School Board seats up for election; Chris Strange holds the other.
Earlier this week, Strange announced he would not run. He said his new position as director of campus and college ministries for Calvary Baptist Church has taken time away from his duties as a member of the city's School Board.
"I'm not one to do things half way," he said Thursday. "I feel like I want to be the best advocate I can for children, and I can't do that as a School Board member anymore."
Chris Harrison, a self-employed insurance and investment consultant, is the only person who had officially entered his name into the race as of Friday afternoon. Harrison had applied for a position on the School Board last year, during the final round of appointments made by City Council.
The lack of candidates disappoints Gentry, who said he hoped his delay hasn't stopped anyone else from entering the race.
He said there had been a great deal of speculation as to whether he would run for another term, or run for City Council instead.
"My response to people all along has been that I really did not intend on running, that I would wait and see what the field looks like," he said.
Gentry, who has served on the board for eight years, said he's been "very torn and tense" trying to decide what to do.
His statement Tuesday would include "more than one announcement" and would have "at least one surprise," he said.
LENGTH: Short : 45 linesby CNB