ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 15, 1996 TAG: 9612170004
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
With 1996 drawing to a close, it's time to cast your ballots for the top local news stories of the year. They don't have to be the ones that got the biggest headlines. Maybe they were simply the ones you were most fascinated by or the ones you followed most closely. Or maybe they were the ones that had the biggest impact on your life and your community. Or maybe just the ones you think you'll remember most clearly about 1996 a decade from now.
However, you judge the top stories, take a few minutes to call InfoLine to cast your vote.
HERE'S HOW TO VOTE (in three easy steps).
1. MAKE YOUR LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE. Use this calendar of this year's top stories - 96 in '96 - as your ballot. Make a list of what you think were the top five stories, in order of importance. After each story, there's a number. That's the code number you'll need to vote for that story.
2. CALL INFOLINE. In the Roanoke Valley, 981-0100. In New River, 382-0200. Then press 1996.
Or you can vote on the Internet at: www.roanoke.com
3. CAST YOUR VOTE. You'll be given a chance to vote for five stories, in order of importance, starting with the most important. Follow the directions and punch in the code numbers that go with your top five stories. That's it. But hurry. Voting ends at midnight Tuesday.
TOP STORIES OF 1996
!JANUARY!
2: Former student Christy Brzonkala sues Virginia Tech, claiming two football players raped her. Case attracts wide attention, but federal judge later throws out suit.
BRZONKALA, 01.
3: Virginia Tech fans, stranded in New Orleans after the Dec. 31 Sugar Bowl, finally return home - after camping out for two days in hotel lobbies when their charter flight didn't materialize. FANS, 02.
6: Storm dumps record 22 inches of snow on Roanoke. When it finally melts, there's a flood.
BLIZZARD, 03.
0-11: Forced by maverick Democrat Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount, state Senate Democrats agree to share power with Republicans, who get some committee chairmanships in the General Assembly for the first time.
POWER-SHARING, 04.
11: Southern Virginia College's governing board votes to close the junior college in Buena Vista. Mormon group later buys school and keeps it open.
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA, 05.
11: Jim Taliaferro announces he won't seek another term as mayor of Salem, ending 22 years in the mayor's post. Sonny Tarpley later succeeds him. TALIAFERRO, 06.
16: Former Salem City Councilman and Rescue Squad Chief Garry Lautenschlager, convicted of embezzlement, is sentenced to community service.
LAUTENSCHLAGER, 07.
21: Four children and their grandmother die in a house fire in Southeast Roanoke. Their deaths prompt city to adopt a program to inspect rental housing.
FATAL FIRE, 08.
24: Wal-Mart superstore opens in Roanoke. WAL-MART, 09.
27: Heironimus department store in downtown Roanoke closes. HEIRONIMUS, 10.
30: More than 50 people back Gainsboro library to protest city's plans for Henry Street, as black citizens demand more say in how the former black business district is redeveloped.
HENRY STREET, 11.
30: Paul Thompson sentenced to life in prison for killing Virgie Green of Old Southwest; he claims he's killed others, too.
THOMPSON, 12.
!FEBRUARY!
3-5: Another winter storm hits, this one mostly cold air. Two people die, one in Bedford, one in Giles. COLD AIR, 13.
5: Rep. L.F. Payne, who represents most of Southside Virginia, announces his retirement from Congress. Later says he'll run for lieutenant governor in 1997.
PAYNE, 14.
12: Montgomery County and Radford clamp down on topless dancing. TOPLESS, 15.
12 Roanoke Valley unemployment hits 3.5 percent; lowest in more than 20 years. EMPLOYMENT, 16.
13: Radford University suspends two fraternities after a student dies from alcohol poisoning.
FRATS, 17.
21: R.R. Donnelly & Sons. announces it's building printing plant in Roanoke County, initially employing 175, someday maybe 750. This is the first of several announcements of new plants coming to the Roanoke Valley, many of which are headed for Botetourt County. NEW EMPLOYERS, 18.
24: Roanoke is site of the 1,000 Man March, local version of the million-man march. MARCH, 19.
!MARCH!
5: Martinsville's economy undergoes several shocks. On this date, Sara Lee in Martinsville says it's closing, laying off 420. A few days later, another plant in Martinsville closes and another one comes. On Aug. 26, DuPont announces it will close its Martinsville plant.
MARTINSVILLE, 20.
6: For the third time in two weeks, members of the Stanley family of Rocky Mount are arrested and charged with hauling large quantities of moonshine on Virginia interstates. MOONSHINE, 21.
18: Roanoke City Council names the pedestrian bridge across the railroad tracks the "Market Square Walkway," rejecting option of more colorful names. BRIDGE, 22.
21: Small plane crashes at Valley View Mall, none hurt. This is the first in a series of plane crashes. On April 4, a New Jersey family en route to Virginia Tech crash-lands in a Botetourt County pasture; all OK. On April 16, a Texas couple is killed in a Franklin County plane crash. On Aug. 13, a Vinton man is killed in Roanoke County crash. PLANE CRASHES, 23.
22: Federal judge goes easy on Pulaski County militiaman Bill Stump, convicted on weapons charges, sentencing him to two months in jail and two more under house arrest. STUMP, 24.
24: In the first of two such incidents, Roanoke police kill an armed man after responding to a domestic dispute. On this date, police kill Edwin Plunkett, after they say he aimed a rifle at officers. On Oct. 20, Roanoke police kill Rodney Lee Wilhelm, after he had fired at officers.
ARMED, 25.
26: One of most controversial developments in Roanoke County is finally rezoned with little opposition, as supervisors OK Len Boone's Wilshire project along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
REZONING, 26.
!APRIL!
2: Roanoke County voters reject school bond, most of which would have been used to build a new Cave Spring High School. BONDS, 27.
2: Optical Cable Corp. offers its first shares to the public. Interest in the Roanoke fiber-optic cable maker's stock later soars, creating frenzy. OPTICAL CABLE, 28.
9: Man kills wife, then self, at Lewis-Gale Hospital.
HOSPITAL SHOOTING, 29.
10: Gov. George Allen vetoes funds for the Roanoke-based College of Health Sciences, prompting outcry. HEALTH FUNDS, 30.
11: Researchers announce they've found earliest evidence of human habitation of Western Hemisphere at Saltville, where they have indications hunters killed a mastodon 14,000 years ago.
SALTVILLE, 31.
18: David Wiley named Roanoke Symphony Orchestra conductor. WILEY, 32.
19: Internal struggle for ownership of Roanoke Express hockey team erupts, with minority stockholders seizing control from majority owner John Gagnon. EXPRESS, 33.
21: A driver suspected of minor traffic violations flees Roanoke County police and crashes car at busy intersection, killing Vinton family of three and raising questions about police pursuit policies. FATAL CHASE, 34.
23: Shootout at Bluestone Apartments in Roanoke wounds three after four carloads of young men ride into housing project to settle a score. SHOOTOUT, 35.
27: Balcony collapse at Blacksburg party injures 16 people.
BALCONY, 36.
!MAY!
2: In undercover sting operation, Roanoke police charge 22 people for selling alcohol to people under 21. ALCOHOL, 37.
2: Scott Overby convicted of capital murder for the rape, slaying and mutilation of his wife at a Shawsville trailer park in 1995. But after some of victim's relatives say they can forgive Overby, judge spares him death penalty. OVERBY, 38.
4: More attention is focused on the Roanoke Valley "rave" scene after Salem police shut down one of the all-night dance parties and arrest a North Carolina man on drug charges. RAVES, 39.
5-6: Tour DuPont bicycle race rolls through Roanoke and Blacksburg. But with DuPont dropping sponsorship, will it return?
TOUR DUPONT, 40.
7: In Roanoke City Council elections, David Bowers is re-elected mayor, Jim Trout returns to council and Democrats boost their advantage from 4-3 to 6-1.
ROANOKE COUNCIL, 41.
10: Police make 10 arrests in drug sweep of Sandy Level, a small Henry County community whose crack trade had attracted national attention. SANDY LEVEL, 42.
15: Roanoke School Board expels an eighth-grader for sharing his Ritalin pills with a friend, a case that draws attention to the widespread abuse of the drug, often prescribed for hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder. RITALIN, 43.
16: A Bedford County teacher confiscates a fourth-grader's Rush Limbaugh book, setting off controversy on talk radio and a lawsuit in federal court. LIMBAUGH, 44.
19: The owners of the Iroquois Club auction music memorabilia, as they prepare to sell the popular Roanoke nightspot, which later becomes the Ghost of Hollywood. IROQUOIS, 45.
!JUNE!
9-10: Tornadoes hit Franklin, Henry and Pittsylvania counties.
TORNADOES, 46.
17: Montgomery County Board of Supervisors OKs proposed high-tech "smart road," which has been in doubt. SMART ROAD, 47.
18: U.S. Forest Service blocks proposed AEP power line from crossing national forest land, a decision that could effectively kill the project if it stands. POWER LINE, 48.
26: U.S. Supreme Court rules 7-1 that Virginia Military Institute must admit women. VMI board later reluctantly adopts plan for coeducation. VMI, 49.
28: Roanoke police blame a breakdown in communications with North Carolina police for hindering the search for Aquilia Marcibicci Barnette, who police say firebombed his ex-girlfriend's apartment in April, then returned in June and killed her. TELETYPE, 50.
28: Charlie Nichols, who had wanted to be known as best deer hunter ever, is banned from hunting in Virginia for 11 years after admitting he forged game check cards to enter deer he had not killed in various deer contests.
DEER FORGERY, 51.
30: Union workers at Rubatex vote down contract; company announces it's laying off 300 workers, a decision later reversed after workers accept a new contract.
RUBATEX, 52.
!JULY!
17: Accused Franklin County swindler Clyde Bryant turns himself in. BRYANT, 53.
17: Joseph Savino, convicted of killing a Bedford County man, is executed. SAVINO, 54.
8: The walls of Roanoke's First Baptist Church, ravaged by fire a year earlier, are finally torn down. CHURCH, 55.
30: State authorities suspend the alcohol license of the Roanoke County convenience store that sold beer to a teen-age boy who struck and killed a woman in his neighborhood while driving drunk.
BEER LICENSE, 56.
30: Police finally make an arrest in the 1994 slayings of a Vinton family of four; family friend Earl Bramblett is charged.
BRAMBLETT, 57.
!AUGUST!
1: Police raid a methamphetamine lab in Franklin County.
METH LAB, 58.
1: Emma Saunders' pot-bellied pigs finally leave Vinton after a Roanoke County judged had OK'd the town's ban on pigs, climaxing long dispute over what animals constitute pets. PIGS, 59.
31: Virginia Tech athletes involved in late-night Blacksburg brawl; later results in indictments and the most serious in a series of problems that gives a black eye to Tech's football program. ATHLETES, 60.
!SEPTEMBER!
4: Bill Foster announces he's retiring as Virginia Tech's basketball coach at season's end; his assistant, Bobby Hussey, is tapped as replacement. FOSTER, 61.
6: Hurricane Fran blows through. FRAN, 62.
9: Roanoke's Stonewall Jackson Middle School reopens. Its renovation had been source of controversy. STONEWALL, 63.
24: Spectacular crash on I-581; passing Marine pulls two teens from wreck, saving them. WRECK, 64.
24: Radford University's governing board orders evaluation of President Douglas Covington, triggering speculation its an ouster attempt. He later gets positive evaluation.
RADFORD, 65.
27: Randall Lee Smith, who served 15 years for killing two Appalachian Trail killers, is released from prison and returns home to Giles County. SMITH, 66.
30: Singer-turned-congressman Sonny Bono, in Roanoke for a fund-raiser for Rep. Bob Goodlatte, calls President Clinton "a crook" and charges CIA has hit squads in Haiti. Bono later apologizes. BONO, 67.
!OCTOBER!
2: Daredevil Robbie Knievel is arrested in Roanoke; sponsors cancel his jump. KNIEVEL, 68.
4: Roanoke County police charge an elderly man in 21-year-old murder case that authorities say was racially motivated.
OLD MURDER, 69.
7: Michael Obremski, the Raleigh Court stalker, pleads guilty to the last of a long string of charges of making obscene calls to girls.
OBSCENE CALLER, 70.
10: Roanoke Civic Center and Salem Civic Center institute a no-smoking policy.
NO SMOKING, 71.
15: Franklin County Board of Supervisors OKs first hotel at Smith Mountain Lake. HOTEL, 72.
21: Leonard and Betty Carr Muse file suit, claiming they're the rightful owners of the debt clock atop the Star City Diner, which has remained dark for more than a year following an ownership tussle. DEBT CLOCK, 73.
22: A Wythe County teen-ager sentenced to 43 years for 1994 killing of a deputy. DEPUTY KILLER, 74.
23: Some black residents protest the Henry Street Music Center, saying they want former Dumas Hotel returned to its original owner.
DUMAS, 75.
24: Legionnaire's Disease outbreak announced in New River; one man dies. Source later identified as a hot tub display.
LEGIONNAIRE'S, 76.
28: Montgomery County jury sentences Ben Lilly to death for the 1995 murder of a Virginia Tech student. LILLY, 77.
28: Nurses at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital say staff shortage is so critical they've had discussions with three labor unions; hospital later tells rescue workers to take patients to other hospitals except in certain circumstances because not enough beds were available. CARILION, 78.
!NOVEMBER!
5: Virginia voters return three incumbents to Congress - Sen. John Warner, Rep. Bob Goodlatte and Rep. Rick Boucher. In only open seat, maverick Democrat Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount is elected to 5th District seat.
ELECTIONS, 79.
7: Explore Park executive director Rupert Cutler, who guided park through its opening, announces he's leaving in March. CUTLER, 80.
8: Janet Rasmussen inaugurated as new Hollins College president. RASMUSSEN, 81.
11: Liberty University pays $1.1 million to bondholders, averting foreclosure. LIBERTY, 82.
19: Vinton Town Council says OK, paving way for consolidation of trash pickup in the valley. TRASH, 83.
19: Roanoke County supervisors nix proposed cellular telephone tower on Dragons Tooth.
CELL TOWER, 84.
19: State puts Coyner Springs juvenile detention center on probation for various violations.
COYNER SPRINGS, 85.
20: Roanoke judge OKs transfusion for dying woman who had signed form saying she didn't want one for religious reasons.
TRANSFUSION, 86.
25: Drug Enforcement Agency begins internal investigation of Roanoke-based operation that raised questions about use of informants. Javier Cruz had been charged with first-degree murder, but was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge after becoming informant. CRUZ, 87.
29: Lord Botetourt High School football coach Andy Ward resigns after being convicted of driving 90 mph in his star player's car. COACH, 88.
!DECEMBER!
4: Cox Communications announces it's raising its rates, adding new programming, effective March 1. CABLE, 89.
6: Roanoke moves traditional Christmas tree lighting ceremony to new time and place. TREE, 90.
9: Convicted Bedford County killer Jens Soering returns to Bedford, appearing at a hearing to ask for new trial. SOERING, 91.
9: Roanoke County develops proposal for year-round schools. YEAR-ROUND, 92.
12: Smyth County killer Lem Tuggle, last of the six inmates who once broke out of Virginia's death row, is executed. TUGGLE, 93
14: Salem plays host for fourth time to Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, championship game for nonscholarship college football teams. STAGG, 94.
17: Voters in Martinsville and counties of Franklin, Floyd, Henry, Patrick and Carroll go to polls to elect a state senator to replace Virgil Goode, who's going to Congress. Election is watched statewide, because outcome could give Republicans their first-ever majority in Virginia legislature.
SPECIAL ELECTION, 95.
31: Virginia Tech's football team caps a tumultuous season off-field but its most successful one on-field by playing in the Orange Bowl against defending national champion Nebraska.
ORANGE BOWL, 96.
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