ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 17, 1996 TAG: 9610170010
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
A team of consultants from the YMCA of the USA has been invited by the Virginia Tech chapter to conduct a feasibility study for a new facility in Montgomery County.
The consultants, who included state and local YMCA officials, met with selected county citizens late last month to determine their views on the issue.
``We tried to find a spectrum of people from across the county who could focus on the needs of the county and various means of paying for a new facility,'' said Tech YMCA director Barbara Michelsen.
This is a preliminary study, Michelsen said.
``And we are interested in needs, not in competing with existing facilities,'' she said.
People think a new YMCA facility and they think ``gym and swim,'' Michelsen said. There is more to the organization than that, though, she said. For example, about 500 Virginia Tech students are working under auspices of the Y on such diverse community service projects as tutoring at the juvenile detention home, after-school care, environmental work, senior citizen gardening projects, and the thrift shop on South Main Street in Blacksburg.
Other major programs at Tech include its popular Open University, which offers noncredit special interest classes on a wide variety of topics as well as hikes.
At this point, Michelsen said only that a new facility, should one be built, would be complementary to what the Tech Y already offers. The Y has offices in a house adjoining campus on Washington Street, about two blocks from Cassell Coliseum, as well as in Squires Student Center.
Existing recreational facilities in the area include the Blacksburg Community Center, the Blacksburg Aquatics Center, and the public schools, which have gyms and outdoor athletic facilities. There are also several private gyms and a new public recreation center is under construction by the town of Christiansburg.
The consultants are expected to have their report by the end of the month. Citizen input is encouraged. The telephone number is 231-6860, fax is 961-5217, and e-mail is ymca@vt.edu.
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