ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701270058
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JEFF STURGEON STAFF WRITER
The New Century Council plans to measure the region's quality of life by tracking such variables as ridgetop obstructions and teen pregnancy.
Coming up Friday is an event for residents who want to get involved. The New Century Indicators and Benchmarks Project will present speakers and information in a free program from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke. The session is open to the public, but only 40 of 80 seats are still available. For a reservation, call 982-3720.
The New Century Council visioning process presented goals in 1995 for the economy, government, schools, health care and other influences on quality of life. According to Robert Manetta, chairman of the indicators and benchmarks project, the vision isn't going to be successful without gauges of progress or decline.
For instance, many people want to see ridgetops remain free from buildings, towers and signs. At this point, however, no one has taken an inventory of ridgetop structures, which leaves the scope of problem and future trends open to guesswork, Manetta said.
Students and faculty at Ferrum College intend to interview 600 community leaders, opinion shapers and other residents and write a strategy by May 4 to get the project started. The project committee must decide what to measure, after which the group will take initial measurements against which goals, or benchmarks, can be set, said Manetta, assistant general counsel for Carilion Health System in Roanoke.
In some cases, measurement will be as simple as checking available statistics, such as those kept on teen pregnancy. For other issues, as with ridgetops, new measures will have to be devised, Manetta said. The committee wants residents to suggest measures and goals.
Manetta envisions starting with about a dozen broad indicators for the New Century region, which consists of the Roanoke and New River valleys, Alleghany Highlands and Bland and Wythe counties. Individual communities may want indicators specific to their issues and needs and could use them as a standard for judging public officials, he said.
Friday's speakers will come from groups and organizations that have used indicators, including Michael Collins of the Thomas Jefferson Sustainability Council; Maureen Hart from the QFL/Atlantic Center for the Environment; and Stephen Keach and Bill Painter of the Office of Policy, Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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