ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607300013
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
Young offenders may have to work, stay home
WYTHEVILLE - Two new sentencing alternatives are available for handling juvenile offenders in Wythe County.
Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge John Buck now has the option of sentencing youths to community service and, starting in August, in-home confinement.
The programs are administered by New River Community Sentencing, a nonprofit agency that has supervised juveniles performing community service in Pulaski County since 1984.
"I'm pleased with what's happening in Wythe County," Buck said. "I've just seen a program start from zero that's proved to be beneficial to the court, an asset to the community and, most importantly, that's a great help to the participants."
Mountain Community Action Program has donated office space for the program in the basement of the Wythe County Courthouse. Phil Blankenbeckler, who has supervised a juvenile community service program in Pulaski County, has added the Wythe juveniles to his case load.
Larry Miller, who has been an adult probation and parole supervisor and a school teacher, will organize the in-home confinement program. Rhonda Cooley, who already works as a family advocate for Lutheran Family Services, will assist him.
The judge is using the community service program.
"I've already seen marked improvement in some of my so-called hard cases," he said. One such juvenile now has a part-time weekend job and requested that he be allowed to continue in the program because he knew it was keeping him out of trouble.
Buck can use the program when he thinks a youth poses no threat to the community and would benefit from doing unpaid community service in place of punishment. He refers the case to Blankenbeckler for a specific number of hours.
As of mid-July, Buck had ordered 11 individuals to perform a total of 588 hours for offenses from traffic violations to larceny.
Blankenbeckler matches each juvenile with an appropriate work site, which can be a local government department, nonprofit agency, church or civic group.
Agencies can interview the youth before accepting the worker. Blankenbeckler monitors each participant weekly and reports to the judge. If a youngster fails to complete the program, the judge can impose a different sentence.
Agencies offering work sites for the program so far include Mountain CAP, the Wythe County Social Services Department, Sunrise Food Bank, Wythe Community Center and Mount Rogers Community Services Board. Those interested in joining the program can telephone Blankenbeckler at 1-800-924-7471, extension 108.
The Wythe County Community Policy and Management Team, which allocates funds for juvenile programs, learned last year of money available to Wythe County from the General Assembly for community-based sanctions for juvenile offenders.
The team got approval from the Department of Youth and Family Services to start these programs, then advertised for organizations to submit proposals for administering them. The team has a contract with New River Community Sentencing for operations.
Mt. Rogers group delays New Century move
MARION - The Mount Rogers Planning District Commission has delayed a decision on whether to become a partner with the New Century Council of the Roanoke and New River Valleys.
The towns of Pulaski and Wytheville recently agreed to become partners in working toward the New Century Council's overall economic development goals.
The Mount Rogers commission covers the counties of Wythe, Bland, Smyth, Carroll, Grayson and Washington, and cities of Bristol and Galax. Including those localities would stretch the New Century Council west to the Virginia-Tennessee line.
Partnership includes adopting the council's seven major vision statements and more than 150 detailed strategies for achieving them, although Pulaski town officials were told that the council would be flexible about those strategies if partners had problems with them.
The goals cover the future of the economy, education, quality of life and the environment, health an safety, infrastructure, government and leadership in Southwest Virginia.
Some representatives to the Mount Rogers commission are concerned about the ability of the council to adequately represent the interests, visions and strategies of its localities. The commission's executive committee will continue to study the proposal from the council.
Group home gets
town's clearance
WYTHEVILLE - A proposed conversion of a duplex into a group home for a supportive living program has drawn no objection from Wytheville Town Council.
The Mount Rogers Community Services Board will supply the support services for four residents at a time to live in the home, funded by $82,800 in federal funds, $25,000 from the state and $1,200 from other sources.
Council said last week that the purchase of the home by Mountain Shelter did not conflict with existing town programs.
Mountain Shelter Executive Director Andy Kegley said moderate interior remodeling will bring the structure into compliance with state and local building codes.
Wythe administrator
choice likely Aug. 6
WYTHEVILLE - Wythe County citizens will apparently not know who their new county administrator is going to be until Aug. 6.
The county Board of Supervisors was scheduled last week to name the applicant who will replace longtime administrator Billy Branson when Branson retires in September.
But one supervisor, Tom DuPuis, was away on business, and three other supervisors felt that the decision should not be made until all seven supervisors were present.
That's expected to be Aug. 6 unless a special meeting is called.
In other business, Sharitz gave a recommendation from a board committee consisting of himself and Atkinson on a boundary adjustment for the town of Rural Retreat.
He said the town's proposed additional territory took in much open farmland and little of the subdivisions already receiving town services.
After meeting with town officials and holding a public meeting to hear the feelings of townspeople, the committee recommended that most of the areas being served by town water and sewer be made part of the new territory.
The committee also called for Rural Retreat to provide police and fire protection immediately after the boundary adjustment happens and add street lights and fire hydrants within five years.
The board will consider the matter again at its Aug. 20 meeting.
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