ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Thursday, July 18, 1996                TAG: 9607180049
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KENNETH SINGLETARY STAFF WRITER 

COUNCIL STICKS WITH HORN BAN BUT FEDS HAVE LAST TOOT

Town Council has reaffirmed its ban on train horns at the Chrisman Mill Road crossing, where nearby residents of the posh Diamond Point neighborhood have been complaining about the noise.

But the trains will continue to blow their horns, at least for the time being.

"We will wait until we receive the ordinance and then evaluate it. In the meantime, we will continue all of our current train warnings in the interest of safety," said Norfolk Southern Corp. spokesman Bob Auman.

Council on Tuesday refused to overturn a ban on train whistles at the crossing. NS, whose trains rumble through the crossing an average of 25 times a day, two weeks ago asked for the ban to be lifted, saying the whistles increase safety. Some 125 vehicles a day use the railroad crossing.

Tuesday, council unanimously voted to retain the ban. The flashing lights and gates, installed last year, provide enough safety, council members said.

And to make sure that things stay quiet, council asked Town Manager John Lemley and Town Attorney William McGhee to see to it that the trains abide by the rule. Wednesday, Lemley and McGhee were working on a letter to NS informing them the ordinance had been reaffirmed.

Diamond Point residents turned out before council on July 2 to say that NS' trains had not been playing by the rules since council enacted the ban in March. If anything, they said, the trains blew their whistles longer and more often since they were told not to.

The ban, however, may be short-lived. Congress passed a law in 1994 requiring the Federal Railroad Administration to enact regulations by this November that would remove the ban on train whistles that dozens of communities across the country have adopted.

The FRA is running behind schedule in enacting its regulations, but Lemley expects the regulations to come down in the next year, if not sooner.

The FRA rule says communities may retain their bans if suitable safety measures are available at the crossings. The measures include lengthened gates that prevent motorists from going around them, closing the road during nighttime whistle bans, or one-way streets, none of which seem suitable to Chrisman Mill Road, Lemley said.

In other news:

* Council bought three-quarters of an acre next to its public works facility on Scattergood Drive to make room for a new storage building. The town unanimously agreed to pay the owner, Councilman Jack Via, $15,000. Via did not participate in discussion on the matter and abstained from the vote.

* Council amended its personnel ordinance to require town employees to give notice before quitting. The move comes after several employees had quit recently without giving notice.

* Rejected a request from local developer Bill Matthews to move two dwellings from North Franklin Street near the Wal-Mart Supercenter to behind Kmart. Council said the land behind Kmart is designated for business use.

* Agreed that town employees who are military reservists or members of the National Guard can have 15 days off for training each federal fiscal year.

LENGTH: Medium:   67 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ALAN KIM/Staff. 1. Viewed from Virginia 661, a Norfolk 
          Southern train passes between Diamond Point subdivision and Round 
          Meadow Country Club. 2. New
          construction along Diamond Avenue in Diamond Point subdivision is 
          within sight - and ear shot - of Norfolk Southern engines passing in
          the background. color.