ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 16, 1997 TAG: 9704160082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER THE ROANOKE TIMES
The Roanoke County Board of Supervisors candidate says his previous charge that Deanna Gordon owed back real estate taxes to the county was based on faulty information.
Don Terp agrees now that Roanoke County Superintendent Deanna Gordon lives in Bedford County.
He has apologized for claiming her house on Staton Drive was in Roanoke County and for saying she owed more than $31,000 in back taxes to Roanoke County.
Terp, a candidate for the Hollins District seat on the Board of Supervisors, said he has confirmed that Gordon's house is in Bedford County by using a surveyor's wheel to determine the location of the Roanoke County boundary.
In a letter to Gordon this week, Terp said his measurement shows that the location of the boundary sign at the edge of Gordon's driveway is in error.
The sign is approximately 86 feet east of the boundary, making it appear that Gordon's house is in Roanoke County, he said.
When Terp raised the issue earlier about the house's location, John Birckhead, Roanoke County real estate assessor, and Gordon said that tax records showed that it is in Bedford County and is being taxed in the proper jurisdiction.
But Terp contended that the house was in Roanoke County and that Gordon has saved tax money because Bedford County has a lower real estate tax rate.
Terp said Tuesday he has talked with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the sign may be moved to more accurately reflect the boundary.
"Please accept my deepest apologies," he wrote to Gordon. "We did work with the best information available to us. It was not sufficient."
Gordon said Tuesday she would have hoped that Terp would have made his investigation prior to making the accusation.
She said Terp's charge has been a distraction from her job of improving the education of county children.
Terp said top county officials should live in the county so they will understand the financial impact of their spending decisions.
In an earlier letter responding to Terp, Gordon said she takes pride in her 36-year record with Roanoke County schools and in her stewardship in the Roanoke Valley.
Gordon said she and her husband, Ed, have given more than $6,000 to the Roanoke County Public Schools Foundation and made donations to many other community organizations that serve the children of Roanoke County and the Roanoke Valley. She said they have established a scholarship of $1,000 each year to help a student at the Roanoke County Career Center attend college.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines KEYWORDS: POLITICS BOARD OF SUPERVISORSby CNB