ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, February 14, 1997              TAG: 9702140039
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: RINER
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER

WITH MESSAGE OF UNITY, TWO SCHOOLS TO BECOME ONE

Allison Crigger has some definite plans for her new school.

Aside from the patio, the two kitchens, the science labs and other fancy stuff in the new elementary school, "We're gonna have a humongous playground."

On it, the first-grader would like to see some slides, lots of monkey bars and especially more swings.

"'Cause now, sometimes all the swings are filled and you have to wait for like an hour to swing," she said.

Today, Allison attends Riner Elementary School. By the time she starts her third-grade year, she'll be in a new, 750-pupil school just behind her old one.

Allison said she's excited to meet new friends like the girl she met in dance class. That girl goes to nearby Bethel Elementary, but after the new school is completed 17 months from now, she and Allison will be schoolmates.

The unity between Riner and Bethel - something that has proved difficult to attain in the struggle to build this school - was emphasized by everyone at a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday morning.

Gold shovels in hand and jackets zipped up to their red noses, Allison and five other pupils summed up that sentiment with a poem they created:

"So when the new school is finally done," they read in unison, "we'll no longer be two - we'll be just one!"

For the few dozen teachers, principals, School Board and Board of Supervisor members who stood on the snowy hill, the brief outdoor ceremony was filled with symbolism.

To School Board member Barry Worth, who represents the Riner area, the whipping winds and cold temperatures told of the storms everyone weathered to get to this school built.

The first storm began when the previous owner of this picturesque farmland, Ronald Salmons declined to sell the land more than a year ago. The Board of Supervisors first voted to condemn it, which provoked criticism from Riner residents. Then the board voted first to cut the 40-acre condemnation in half, and then to ask for 30 acres. Finally the county reached an agreement with Salmons at a higher price. In the end, the board paid $330,000 for the entire lot.

Another storm came when some residents of both the Riner and Bethel communities complained the combined school was unnecessary. Some feared closing Bethel and building such a large school in Riner would end the close-knit feel of the two areas.

And a third tempest developed when many parents lobbied for their principal to become the new head of the school. When Bethel Principal Jeff Perry was selected last year, some Riner parents said the process was unfair. Riner Principal Keith Rowland eventually withdrew his name and the School Board again selected Perry as principal of the yet unnamed school.

Administrators envisioned a total of four new schools to relieve overcrowding in the county: two new middle schools in Blacksburg and Christiansburg, plus a new high school in Shawsville. If nothing else, say some School Board members and supervisors, the almost two-year struggle in Riner was a learning experience for these other projects.

Recently, the two boards have managed to quietly attain land in Elliston for the high school. The owners sold a 34.5 acre lot for almost the same per-acre cost as Salmons' land.

Supervisors are still trying to select a site for the middle school in Christiansburg. The Blacksburg Middle School will stay on its present site.

As for Allison's requests, Perry said Thursday he was already working on it. Already, the school is applying for a grant to build an indoor climbing wall in the gym.

"Few have the opportunity to walk into a new school," Perry said in closing Thursday. "Seventy years from now ... these kids can tell their children 'I was the first one to hear my voice echo in the hallway .... or squeak a chair as I sat down.'"

LENGTH: Medium:   77 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON STAFF. Members of the groundbreaking team 
          (from left): Allison Crigger, Joey Wallace, Daniel Reed, Kelly 
          Sutphin, Bram Quesenberry and Anthony Simpkins. color.