Community | News | Perspective NewsRoanoke.com The Roanoke Star-Sentinel PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WHISPER ONE MEDIA POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date Apr. 30 - May 5, 2010 904-2202 • www.dineontime.net Restaurant of the week: Chaba Thai Cuisine Roanoke's Best Restaurants Delivered to Your Doorstep! Priority Top P4– Keith McCurdy says that everything you do in life depends on one simple thing. Vote! Go P6– Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. in Roanoke on Tuesday - read the candidates’ final answers in our Q&A Section. Star Super P8– Former Roanoke Star player Parker Walsh has been named to the United States U20 National Team. Studios Open P11– Several dozen local artists opened their doors last weekend for the “Open Studios Tour.” Gene Mar- rano has the scoop. Get the Roanoke Star - Sentinel delivered to your doorstep every week for only $44 per year! 400-0990 [email protected]PO Box 8338 Roanoke,VA 24014 4341 Starkey Road Roanoke, VA 540-774-4777 1376 Towne Square Blvd Roanoke, VA 540-265-6550 50% Off Diagnostic Testing Call Huntington today. We’re nearby and affordable. If your child is struggling in school, success starts here. •Certified Teachers •Customized, Individual Program of Instruction •Private Tutoring for SAT/PSAT/ACT Prep •Low Student to Teacher Ratios, Individual Instruction Being a transplant recipient is no laughing matter. However, the opposite would seem to be true when observing a group of them at a recent dinner gathering. e joy and laughter being shared was genuine and con- tagious. ere were enough jokes and witty remarks flying around to make everyone’s sides hurt with laughter. How can people who have been through so much laugh so easily? Perhaps it is because they, unlike most, are acutely aware of the fragility of life. Oſten times they have been at death’s door and the in- finite possibilities of a life well lived are always in their mind’s eye. Hearing their stories up close and personal is a life-changing transaction. Prior to 1997, John Cecil, a heart recipient, had a “best friend.” His name was “George” and he was an IV bag. George and he were constant compan- ions. At the age of 73, Cecil had already had two bypass sur- geries and the time had come when he could hardly move at all. He waited 27 months to receive the transplanted heart that has been beating in his chest for the past 13 years. A dapper dresser who drives a sporty little car, he points out that although he is 86 years old, his heart is only 55. His new heart helped him care for his wife of 54 years, 53 days and 2 hours as she lived for four years aſter having a stroke – an opportunity he is grateful to have had. A former pilot, Cecil man- aged to attend a reunion of his reserve fighter squadron -- on the way home from the hos- pital aſter his transplant. Two years ago he traveled to Prague and Berlin. While his creden- tials and sheer drive sound im- pressive, it is his kindness and generosity that leave a lasting impression. He explains, “I made a pact with myself never to do any- thing to dishonor what the original owner of this heart would have done. I have never cheated anyone or hurt anyone intentionally; I treat others like As urban sprawl threatens the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 1,228 views, nearly 150 support- ers of America’s most visited National Park Service site de- cided to do something about it. “FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway,” in conjunction with the Roanoke Kiwanis Club and other community-based orga- nizations, recently spent three hours planting hardwood and pine seedlings on the parkway. When fully grown, the 500 trees will shield the view of homes currently visible from the park- way. e day began with volun- teers arriving by bus at the site, registering, and sharing con- versation as they waited to be- gin. Bob Boeren, a supervisor with the Virginia Department of Forestry, was on hand to in- struct the volunteers on how to plant the seedlings to ensure their survival. Once he was fin- ished, the volunteers went to work. Ranging in age from two months to 84 years old, the volunteers all had a common interest – their love for the Blue Ridge Parkway and its views. e sun shined the entire morning as the vol- unteers worked, gently placing the seedlings into the holes and adding soil and water. “We’re all very blessed to have this ribbon-like park go- ing through our land,” said Da- vid Bowers, Mayor of Roanoke and member of the Kiwanis club. He was impressed with the number of young people on site at the planting, and observed, “e youth here will someday be able to drive this road and say, ‘I put a tree there.’” In support of the Parkway’s Youth Volunteer In Parks pro- gram, the FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway tried to involve as many youth as they could with the event. As Bowers ex- plains, “It is not only a good thing to do, it is the responsibil- ity of all who enjoy the resource to involve their youth. It’s im- portant for us, as stewards, to show these (youth) how to care Photo by Park Ranger Shawn Rhodes Josephine Eaton may be small, but she and her father, Rob- ert, know the big value of planting trees. Three year-old Eaton joined more than 65 youth and 77 adult volunteers to plant trees on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Roanoke Rebuilds a Little Bit At a Time Going the Distance! Photo by Les Hodges Tim Sykes of Blacksburg gives God the Glory as he crosses the finish line as the winner of the inaugural Blue Ridge Marathon held in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Local runners craſted one of the most challenging and beautiful marathons in the country. e full marathon course included 3,076 feet of total elevation gain and 6,140 feet of total elevation change. e breathtaking views and stunning Blue Ridge Mountain scenery offered some reprieve to runners as they persevered to the finish line but only about half of those who started were able to complete the grueling course. Proceeds from the inau- gural run will go to the non-profit, FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. - See page 7 for full coverage. It is no secret that much of the housing stock in Roanoke City is getting older, and that there are some owners who can’t afford to do much-needed repair work. at’s where “Rebuilding To- gether” – formerly “Christmas in April” – comes in. Every spring, scores of volunteers come to- gether in Roanoke to do repairs of up to $2500-3000, typically on several dozen houses. Owners of homes in need of repair can apply for help through local social service agencies, including LOA. Private funds are raised to support the annual project, which is part of a nationwide un- dertaking. ose selected aſter the qualification process open their homes to volunteer crews in April. e number of homes to be worked on depends on how much money is raised and typically includes such projects as roofing, repairing or build- ing porches, painting, plumbing, and handicap ramps. Rebuilding Together board member Alan McClellan, also the operations director, stopped by a home in Northwest Roanoke [Community] Volunteers work on a porch in Northwest Roanoke. Roanoke City Schools to Change Auditors At this past Tuesday’s meet- ing of the School Board Audit Committee, the City Municipal Auditor Drew Harmon recom- mended that Brown Edwards & Co., LLC be selected as the schools’ new independent audi- tors. If the School Board con- curs, they will replace KPMG for the 2010-2011 school year. Brown Edwards & Co., LLC has an office in Roanoke on Mc- Clanahan Street. Having a local presence weighed in their favor, and City auditor Dawn Mullins re- marked that “they were easy to talk to.” eir successful bid came in at $30,000 for a single audit and $15,500 for school ac- tivity fund audits. is was less then KPMG had charged for the current year. Other clients of Brown Ed- wards & Co., LLC include the cities of Lynchburg, Salem, Bedford and Blacksburg. Harmon cautioned the com- mittee to keep in mind that the schools’ audits need to be com- pleted before the city audits. e city is still using KPMG and having separate, indepen- dent auditors may require some adjustment. Separately, Pete Ragone of KPMG briefed the commit- tee on the 2009 Comprehen- sive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Internal controls that are in need of improvement were identified. As a high-risk auditee, 50% of federal fund expenditures were [Local Govt.] Transplant Recipients Share Appreciation for Each “Extra” Day [Environment] > CONTINUED P2: Rebuilding > CONTINUED P2: Auditors Blue Ridge Parkway Tree Planting Brings Community Together [Organ Donors] > CONTINUED P2: Tree Planting > CONTINUED P3: Transplant Keith McCurdy
Transcript
Community | News | Per spect ive NewsRoanoke.com
The Roanoke Star-SentinelPRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGEPAID
WhISPER ONEMEDIA POSTMASTER: Dated material, please deliver by publication date
Apr. 30 - May 5, 2010
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P4– Keith McCurdy says that everything you do in life depends on one simple thing.
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P8– Former Roanoke Star player Parker Walsh has been named to the United States U20 National Team.
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P11– Several dozen local ar tists opened their doors last weekend for the “Open Studios Tour.” Gene Mar-rano has the scoop.
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Being a transplant recipient is no laughing matter.
However, the opposite would seem to be true when observing a group of them at a recent dinner gathering. The joy and laughter being shared was genuine and con-tagious. There were enough jokes and witty remarks flying around to make everyone’s sides hurt with laughter. How can people who have been through so much laugh so easily? Perhaps it is because they, unlike most, are acutely aware of the fragility of life. Often times they have been at death’s door and the in-finite possibilities of a life well lived are always in their mind’s eye.
Hearing their stories up close and personal is a life-changing transaction.
Prior to 1997, John Cecil, a heart recipient, had a “best friend.” His name was “George” and he was an IV bag. George and he were constant compan-ions. At the age of 73, Cecil had already had two bypass sur-geries and the time had come when he could hardly move at all. He waited 27 months
to receive the transplanted heart that has been beating in his chest for the past 13 years. A dapper dresser who drives a sporty little car, he points out that although he is 86 years
old, his heart is only 55. His new heart helped him care for his wife of 54 years,
53 days and 2 hours as she lived for four years after having a stroke – an opportunity he is grateful to have had.
A former pilot, Cecil man-aged to attend a reunion of his reserve fighter squadron -- on the way home from the hos-pital after his transplant. Two years ago he traveled to Prague and Berlin. While his creden-tials and sheer drive sound im-pressive, it is his kindness and generosity that leave a lasting impression.
He explains, “I made a pact with myself never to do any-thing to dishonor what the original owner of this heart would have done. I have never cheated anyone or hurt anyone intentionally; I treat others like
As urban sprawl threatens the Blue Ridge Parkway’s 1,228 views, nearly 150 support-ers of America’s most visited National Park Service site de-cided to do something about it. “FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway,” in conjunction with the Roanoke Kiwanis Club and other community-based orga-nizations, recently spent three hours planting hardwood and pine seedlings on the parkway. When fully grown, the 500 trees will shield the view of homes currently visible from the park-way.
The day began with volun-teers arriving by bus at the site, registering, and sharing con-versation as they waited to be-gin. Bob Boeren, a supervisor with the Virginia Department of Forestry, was on hand to in-struct the volunteers on how to plant the seedlings to ensure their survival. Once he was fin-ished, the volunteers went to work.
Ranging in age from two months to 84 years old, the volunteers all had a common interest – their love for the Blue Ridge Parkway and its views. The sun shined the entire morning as the vol-unteers worked, gently placing the seedlings into the holes and
adding soil and water.“We’re all very blessed to
have this ribbon-like park go-ing through our land,” said Da-vid Bowers, Mayor of Roanoke
and member of the Kiwanis club. He was impressed with the number of young
people on site at the planting, and observed, “The youth here will someday be able to drive this road and say, ‘I put a tree there.’”
In support of the Parkway’s
Youth Volunteer In Parks pro-gram, the FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway tried to involve as many youth as they could with the event. As Bowers ex-plains, “It is not only a good thing to do, it is the responsibil-ity of all who enjoy the resource to involve their youth. It’s im-portant for us, as stewards, to show these (youth) how to care
Photo by Park Ranger Shawn Rhodes
Josephine Eaton may be small, but she and her father, Rob-ert, know the big value of planting trees. Three year-old Eaton joined more than 65 youth and 77 adult volunteers to plant trees on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Roanoke Rebuilds a Little Bit At a Time
Going the Distance!
Photo by Les Hodges
Tim Sykes of Blacksburg gives God the Glory as he crosses the finish line as the winner of the inaugural Blue Ridge Marathon held in celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Local runners crafted one of the most challenging and beautiful marathons in the country. The full marathon course included 3,076 feet of total elevation gain and 6,140 feet of total elevation change. The breathtaking views and stunning Blue Ridge Mountain scenery offered some reprieve to runners as they persevered to the finish line but only about half of those who started were able to complete the grueling course. Proceeds from the inau-gural run will go to the non-profit, FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
- See page 7 for full coverage.
It is no secret that much of the housing stock in Roanoke City is getting older, and that there are some owners who can’t afford to do much-needed repair work. That’s where “Rebuilding To-gether” – formerly “Christmas in April” – comes in. Every spring, scores of volunteers come to-gether in Roanoke to do repairs of up to $2500-3000, typically on several dozen houses.
Owners of homes in need of repair can apply for help through local social s e r v i c e agencies, including LOA. Private funds are raised to support the annual project, which is part of a nationwide un-dertaking. Those selected after the qualification process open their homes to volunteer crews in April. The number of homes to be worked on depends on how much money is raised and typically includes such projects as roofing, repairing or build-ing porches, painting, plumbing, and handicap ramps.
Rebuilding Together board member Alan McClellan, also the operations director, stopped by a home in Northwest Roanoke
[Community]
Volunteers work on a porch in Northwest Roanoke.
Roanoke City Schools to Change Auditors
At this past Tuesday’s meet-ing of the School Board Audit Committee, the City Municipal Auditor Drew Harmon recom-mended that Brown Edwards & Co., LLC be selected as the schools’ new independent audi-tors. If the School Board con-curs, they will replace KPMG for the 2010-2011 school year.
Brown Edwards & Co., LLC has an office in Roanoke on Mc-Clanahan Street. Having a local presence w e i g h e d in their favor, and City auditor Dawn Mullins re-marked that “they were easy to talk to.” Their successful bid came in at $30,000 for a single audit and $15,500 for school ac-tivity fund audits. This was less then KPMG had charged for the current year.
Other clients of Brown Ed-wards & Co., LLC include the cities of Lynchburg, Salem, Bedford and Blacksburg.
Harmon cautioned the com-mittee to keep in mind that the schools’ audits need to be com-pleted before the city audits. The city is still using KPMG and having separate, indepen-dent auditors may require some adjustment.
Separately, Pete Ragone of KPMG briefed the commit-tee on the 2009 Comprehen-sive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). Internal controls that are in need of improvement were identified.
As a high-risk auditee, 50% of federal fund expenditures were
[Local Govt.]
Transplant Recipients Share Appreciation
for Each “Extra” Day
[Environment]
> CONTINUEDP2: Rebuilding
> CONTINUEDP2: Auditors
Blue Ridge Parkway Tree Planting Brings Community Together
Thursday will be mostly sunny and seasonably warm with highs in the middle 70’s. Friday will continue to see lots of sunshine and it will be even warmer with temperatures in the middle 80’s. At this point, it looks like the weekend should see a little more instability, with scattered showers and storms a possibility. Both days will be partly to mostly cloudy and quite warm (humid too) with highs in the middle 80’s.
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> Rebuilding From page 1
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last Saturday to watch volunteer carpenters shore up a wooden porch roof. Several other hous-es had already been worked on earlier in the month.
“We do have skilled laborers,” says McClellan, who estimated that upwards of 300 might have gotten involved this year, “[and] nobody is paid to do any of this stuff.” They make an exception to hire professionals for jobs like siding replacement.
A major grant from The Foundation for Roanoke Val-ley ($100,000), plus smaller
but substantial donations from Wachovia, SunTrust and Car-ilion helped fund repairs this year. Since 1998 more than 300 homes have been renovated by the Rebuilding Together pro-gram locally.
McClellan makes it a point to travel to each house, meet-ing with the homeowners. “The appreciation is just incredible. Most of them are very [grate-ful].” McClellan estimates that several hundred people may have applied this year for the few dozen slots that qualified.
Volunteers benefit as well. McClellan called that a “reverse mission,” where “the people that work on them probably get as much out of it as the hom-eowner does.” Crews that come back year after year gain more experience with the types of work to be done, which means that McClellan gets fewer calls these days from homeowners complaining about some facet of their makeover.
Some businesses send groups of volunteers annually. “[Many] volunteers come back year after
year,” added Rebuilding Togeth-er’s Ralph Stiles, who was mak-ing the rounds with McClellan. “They try it one time and get such a thrill out of it they come back.”
“We are active year round,” said local chapter president Ed Murray, but every April on Re-building Day we pull out all the stops, [and] we allow people to accept help with dignity.”
tion of the audit, primarily re-lated to the implementation of the new financial system that became operational July 1, 2008. Historical data prior to this date is still available on the old system. The schools’ new system started with a blank slate.
The system vendor Harris School Solutions has servers lo-cated in Canada, and a trainer available in Texas. The software solution is called Aptafund and covers human resources, pur-
chasing and payroll. Ragone emphasized that
Harris had no audit (SAS70) reports for KPMG to review and Mullins interjected that they would not commit to implementing the audits. The vendor “was surprised by the request” since no other clients had requested SAS70 docu-mentation.
Harris, being a third party vendor who is providing a criti-cal service, gave Ragone pause. “If you cannot rely on their con-trol [then] what compensating control is there,” remarked
Ragone. Harmon thought that for the type of service provided, the cost to the vendor would be minimal. Audits of computer access controls, physical secu-rity and continuity plans were still needed.
Deputy Superintendent Curt Baker maintains “super user” control authority in the new system. Ragone made a case for removal of the authority by comparing the same access for a CEO or CFO of a corpora-tion, saying “They don’t have the authority.” Baker replied that his access was warranted in case of an emergency. He
could then respond quickly with the assistance of Harris. School Board member Susan Moore said, “they were com-fortable with it.”
Prompt bank reconciliation, separation of duties, cross-training, and accidental data corruption in excel spread-sheets were also discussed. Baker concluded that all the au-dit issues had been addressed. According to Mullins, the audit report will be available online soon.
> Auditors From page 1
Family Service of Roanoke Valley (FSRV) joined over 100 organizations around the world in sponsoring Global Youth Service Day 2010. Celebrating the spirit of commu-nity and the value of our youth, FSRV mobi-lized over 800 young volunteers as they par-ticipated in the 22nd Annual Global Youth Service Day (GYSD) last Saturday. In the Roanoke Valley, over twenty service proj-ects took place, led by youth who have been planning this service event throughout the school year. Family Service of Roanoke Val-ley was selected by Youth Service America as one of the country’s lead agencies to or-ganize Global Youth Service Day 2010. The event offered simultaneous service projects for both youth and families.
The celebration kicked off on Friday with an American Red Cross Blood Drive that was held at Tanglewood Mall. Satur-day’s featured service project was a “Laps for Love” walkathon at Hollins Park where hundreds of volunteers participated to sup-port a diverse range of community agencies including Refugee and Immigration Ser-vices, SWVA Second Harvest Food Bank, Goodwill Industries and the SPCA.
Other projects fell under the themes of hunger and homelessness, helping the en-vironment, veterans and senior citizens, children’s health and welfare, animal care, education and awareness and restoring our community. These projects included: Serving meals at the Rescue Mission - As-sisting with Healthy Kids Day at the Kirk Family YMCA - Working at the SW Vir-ginia Second Harvest Food Bank - Paint-ing at the West End Center on Patterson Avenue - Planning entertainment for the residents of the Veteran’s Hospital - Work-ing in the food pantry at the Presbyterian Community Center - Painting and decorat-ing pillowcases for children at the Ronald McDonald House - Gardening projects at
the office of Refugee and Immigration Ser-vices - Painting and planting projects at the Mill Mountain Zoo - Assisting participants of the Blue Ridge Marathon - Working with the animals at the SPCA to prepare them for adoption and promoting Project Sticker Shock- a RAYSAC sponsored youth-driven initiative where youth volunteers placed stop sign stickers that display a warning message about the penalties for providing alcohol to anyone under 21 on beer cases and wine coolers. This prevention initia-tive took place at various Stop-In locations around the Roanoke Valley.
Global Youth Service Day is the largest volunteer initiative in the world. Students from throughout the Roanoke Valley joined millions of youth in the US and in 120 other countries who have planned community service projects and special events.
Jamelia Ford, a student at Patrick Henry High School, shared her experience as a returning volunteer. “Global Youth Service Day is a really fun event that I look forward to all year long. I always meet new people and learn something new. I love that I can choose an issue that I care about and make a difference. This is my third year participat-ing in Global Youth Service Day and now I volunteer all the time. It’s fun to see your community come together and do good things.”
Immediately following the service proj-ects, the volunteers were invited to a cel-ebration held at the Virginia Museum of Transportation where they celebrated the day of service with fellow volunteers, local dignitaries, and WSLS 10’s Dawn Jefferies. The participants enjoyed free food and lis-tened to music from Jammin’ JJS. In addi-tion, each volunteer received a t-shirt, a free week pass to one of several YMCA locations and a free ticket to an upcoming Salem Red Sox game.
The annual event is a partnership with Youth Service America and is made possi-ble through the generosity of sponsorships from WSLS 10, the State Farm Companies Foundation, Member One Federal Credit Union, Jammin’ JJS, Oakey’s Funeral Ser-vice and Crematory, the Salem Red Sox, Business Solutions, and the YMCA of Roanoke Valley, who are all working with Family Service of Roanoke Valley and the Virginia Museum of Transportation (in cooperation with dozens of other service sites and youth organizations), so that the children and teenagers of the Roanoke Val-ley can feel valued by their community and have the chance to make a difference.
Global Youth Service Day 2010 Gets Strong Turnout
Area youth designed and painted an art mural project at the West End Center.
“I want to personally thank the Roanoke Star Sentinel for their non-partisan approach to the Questions for Council Candidates feature. It is important for Roanoke’s citizens to have access to helpful resources like this in order to really understand where the candidate stands on the issues, and as a person. I understand the issues and I bring to the table qualities that Roanoke needs in an e�ective member of City Council. I respectfully ask that you cast 1 of your 3 votes for me in the Roanoke City Council General Election on May 4th. Thank you.”
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I would like to be treated.” He adds, “I have been frightened enough a few times in my life to have my knees knock, and I think you should live life to the full until you die.”
Another transplant recipient, Tom Philips, is a slender grandfather who loves to rave about his family. He shares, “For me, my heart transplant in 2003 was all about family. My wife has been my guardian angel for the five years that I pro-gressively worsened waiting for a new heart, and ever since, trying to rein me in whenever I get too rambunctious or cocky. She still won’t let me go to UVA for quarterly visits by myself. [She’s] afraid, I guess, that I’ll miss something.”
Family for Philips means six children and four-teen grandchildren, five of whom were born after his transplant and have “shared my rebirth with me.” This is the family “that has accompanied Alice and me to 3 different Transplant Olympic games, cheering me on as I flailed away on a bike, in ping pong games, in a race walk, or in the water . . .wondering, I’m sure, whether I was going to sink to the bottom.”
He proudly adds, “The oldest grandchild is 17 and looking at colleges. The youngest, at ages two and three, allow me to get on the floor and roll around and act like a kid.”
Philips becomes a bit philosophical, saying, “I used to count the days of my new life, but after reaching 1000, then 2000, I stopped counting -- but still enjoy every day as a new day in a new life.”
Penny Baynton is a petite woman who is the force behind “Transplants United,” a support group for organ donors and recipients that meets monthly in Salem. She is also a double transplant (kidney and pancreas) recipient.
She can quickly recall the misery she experi-enced prior to her transplant. She recounts that “After 22 months on peritoneal dialysis I forgot how it felt to be well. After 38 years of Type 1 Diabetes, I forgot how it felt to be free. Post-trans-plant, I’m free of the immediate concern that my blood sugar will go too low or too high, both of which cause life-threatening complications, often landing me in the hospital. I lost sight in both eyes on two separate occasions and would have gone blind but for laser technology. In 1997 at age 45, I had a heart attack. My worst nightmare came true about six months later when my kidneys stopped functioning.”
Baynton, too, is left with a deeper appreciation for the second chance she has been given.
She wants people to know that “I learned that
life is never completely independent, but inter-dependent. I think I’ve matured through the ex-perience of transplantation from self-absorbed isolation to awareness of and gratitude for the similarities and marvelous diversity of life. I have a heightened appreciation for interdependence versus independence, the love of family and nur-turing relationships versus personal ambition that sometimes got in the way. I celebrate each day with joy.”
Baynton offers her gratitude and spiritual per-spective as well, saying, “Two complete strangers offering me the ‘gift of life’ is evidence of God’s mystical and mysterious grace. In 1 Corinthi-ans 12:12-17 and in the following Chapter 13, the Apostle Paul eloquently describes a spiritual transformation that I’ve experienced. I am blessed and what greater joy is there?”
Regardless the difficult and varied journeys most transplant recipients have travelled, they tend to “arrive” at the same destination – one of renewed hope and a heightened appreciation for each day they are alive.
For more information on Transplants United phone 800-847-7831 ext. 4914, and for informa-tion on organ donation, visit www.kidney.org.
Editor’s Note: Reporter Christine Slade is an or-gan donor who through this generous act, extended her own granddaughter’s life by 13 years.
Left to right: Transplants United Members Bob Johnson, Elaine Baynton, Penny Baynton, J.R. Hughes, John Cecil, David Aronson, Syrinda Hughes, and Dr. and Mrs. Michael Bergevin of LifeNet Health.
> Tree Planting From page 1
for the land.”Susan Mills, Executive Director of FRIENDS of
the Blue Ridge Parkway explained, “The viewshed experience provides adults and children/youth the opportunity to make a difference by planting the seedlings and trees that buffer the encroachment of both residential and commercial development along the Blue Ridge Parkway.” FRIENDS is a non-profit organization tasked with supporting the Parkway through volunteer, educational, and fundraising efforts. She added that “being part of solving an issue of encroachment makes the com-munity feel involved and increases their sense of making a difference for their beloved Blue Ridge Parkway.”
Trees were not the only thing that benefitted from the care of the volunteers – the Parkway and the Roanoke area were impacted as well. “Each planting brings a community together,” explained Mills. She continued, “In addi-tion to encouraging a communi-ty to work together, the viewshed plantings provide an opportunity for children and youth to leave their computer games and tele-visions behind and experience activities in the outdoors.
As a result families, community groups, scout troops and individuals call a year in advance wanting to know when the next tree planting will take place…volunteering is the perfect conduit to helping an individual feel they are making a dif-ference.”
For more information about volunteering for the Blue Ridge Parkway, contact Park Ranger Shawn Rhodes, Volunteer Coordinator, at (828) 271-4779 x242, or [email protected]
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The Virginia Press Women (VPW) held their annual conference in Roanoke this past weekend, which included workshops, speakers, a progres-sive dinner, and even a visit to Floyd to treat con-ference attendees to the legendary weekend “Jam-boree.” One of the highlights of the conference included naming the winners of the annual VPW 2010 Communications Contest.
The awards were presented by 2009-2010 VPW President Gwen Woolf at The Taubman Museum of Art. Susan M. Ayers, Roanoke Star Sentinel contributor, received two awards.
She received Second Place in the category "Spe-cial Articles - Government or Politics" for the arti-cle, “City Reveals Plan for ‘Superbranch’ Library” published November 6-10, 2009 in The Roanoke Star-Sentinel.
Ayers also won Third Place in the category "Special Articles - Reviews" for the article, “Cole is Still Unforgettable,” published October 2-8, 2009 in The Roanoke Star-Sentinel.
Ayers said that “it was very humbling to receive the awards. I joined VPW last year. I have found it to be a great organization with very talented and accomplished members. Many of these commu-nications professionals have been active members for several years.” She added that “the educational and networking opportunities are endless.”
VPW is a diverse organization of professional communicators in Virginia that is open to wom-en and men. Its members work for newspapers, magazines, radio, television stations, schools, col-leges, government, corporations, non-profit agen-cies, communications businesses, and a variety of organizations and associations.
As of December 2009, the Virginia Press Wom-en had 150 members -- the statewide member-ship is a collection of four districts.
Virginia Press Women Inc. was founded in 1958 and incorporated in 1973. It is affiliated with the National Federation of Press Women. Both orga-nizations promote the highest ethical standards, foster exchanges of journalistic ideas and experi-ences, offer continuing education opportunities to members and serve the public's right-to-know.
Ayers explains that she “stumbled upon the
group, and after emailing a couple members,” es-tablished a connection that stuck. She found that people were very encouraging, and in the words of national President Cynthia Price, who addressed the group, “We are like a family.” Ayers says that the VPW members are “so accomplished; some have had books published, some teach at major writers’ conferences — it really was humbling to receive these awards” from the group.
The awards are especially gratifying as Ayers left a long career in the mortgage business for health reasons, and later decided to pursue free-lance writing without knowing whether she could be successful at it. According to the VPW, she is quite successful --- enough to be counted and rec-ognized amongst their ranks.
Visit virginiapresswomen.org for more informa-tion.
Star Sentinel Writer Receives Two VA Press Women Awards
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Welcome to spring. Is your schedule hectic? If you have kids, I’ll bet the answer is YES! Soccer and baseball practice, games, tutoring, scouts, school programs, work, volunteering at school and church……and that is just one week.
It is the time of year when I hear the most about stress com-ing from being overwhelmed with activities and obligations, and this year is no different. We as parents can become so consumed and committed that we lose our enjoyment and our only hope is that all of the busy-ness will soon end and then we can relax and enjoy our family.
Maybe we are doing some-thing backwards. It often flows like this: Most of our energy is directed towards our com-mitments, activities, practices, etc. We begin feeling guilty that we aren’t spending qual-ity time with our kids or family so whenever we get a break we attempt to cram in something fun. Then whatever leftover time we have, if we have any at all we, we share with our spouse in a last minute dinner or TV show when the kids are away or asleep. Then on Sunday we think about God if we are not too involved or tired to attend church. If this sounds famil-
iar, no wonder you are stressed. Your process is backwards.
If you spend most of your energy on the outside world of commitments, then family, marriage and God in that order; I would suggest that your focus needs to be the reverse: God, marriage, family and then out-side world.
God: The primary focus is your individ-ual relationship with Christ. Are you living in a way that honors God and is obedient to his commands? Do you spend time developing this rela-tionship in an ongo-ing manner? Are you involved in a larger body of believers that encourage one another in this growth? When these things are true about us individually we are in a health-ier place to manage a marriage relationship.
Marriage: Yes, this comes before family. The marriage is the center and foundation of the family just as God is the center and foundation of the marriage. Do you spend time building this relationship? Do you have regular, uninterrupted time with your spouse, especially if
you have kids? Are you honor-ing God in how you love your husband or wife?
Family: Yes, this comes after marriage and it is more impor-tant than any one individual activity of a child. Is there an ongoing process of activities as a family? Are there limits on how much any one person can be
doing outside of the family? Are there clear boundaries to keep in the good and keep out the bad in-fluences?
Outside world: Now you are able to interact with the outside world of activities without jeopardizing your family, marriage or relationship with
God. This way, the commit-ments and activities that weigh on us only have a small and manageable influence.
To follow this outline, the rules are simple. You start with God and only move to the next category when you have a healthy approach in place and you don’t sacrifice a higher level area for one below. You don’t focus on Family until you have a healthy approach with Mar-riage; in fact you may even let
family suffer some until the marriage is healthy. Yes, this also may mean that a child’s or adult’s activities suffer or have to be sacrificed for the benefit of the Family. This way we are focusing on what is truly im-portant rather than what seems urgent.
Many years ago there was a short article written called the “Tyranny of the Urgent” by Charles Hummel. If you have never heard of it, look it up. In it he discusses the notion that we often focus on what is ur-gent, not important. In other words, we focus on what is pressing rather than deciding what needs to be addressed due to its importance in our lives. This simple readjustment can not only reduce a great amount of stress, it also helps us to de-velop a healthier approach to our lives.
Take time this week and evaluate what order you oper-ate with. Does it start with God or the outside world? Coming from an addict of fundraising and volunteerism, the ongoing challenge is to put the correct order in place.
The mutt lay motionless in our front yard, snow matted in his coarse brown hair, eyes half-closed and mucous running from both nostrils. I feared he would not survive the bitter cold of that January day.
“Please, Mom, please let me take care of him,” my son John pleaded.
We had recently experienced the tragedy of losing two dogs within a few years, and Harry and I did not want our children to experience such heartbreak again. The older children were now in high school and John was twelve. With their many activities they could do without another dog.
Besides, this dog belonged to neighbors, although they seemed indifferent to his welfare. John befriended him, and longed to own him, but we knew he be-longed to the neigh-bors, regardless of their neglect.
Now he was ill and compassion forbade me to leave him there to die. We carried him inside and nursed him back to health. His owners moved shortly afterward, leav-ing him, and he became our third dog – Sam.
But what a mess he was! John bathed him, which improved the doggy odor, but I wondered how anyone could love that un-kempt, dumb animal. Even af-ter a bath his coat was dull and shaggy; his demeanor listless. He slunk about with his head and tail drooping. I didn’t have to worry about Sam jumping on the sofa – he couldn’t jump.
But John did love Sam – they were inseparable. He brushed his brown coat until it began to shine, and his tail, curled upward like a question mark, wagged enthusiastically, ex-pressing his pleasure.
I noticed a sparkle in Sam’s brown eyes that told me he was more intelligent than I had imagined. Soon he developed a repertoire of tricks. When John snapped his fingers, Sam would jump into the air and twirl around. When John asked him to “tank”, he crept across the carpet on his belly like a G.I. on maneuvers. He tapped the spring-type door stop on the back door to alert us to let him outside; one quick bark signaled he was ready to come inside.
The difference in Sam’s per-sonality was remarkable. He would cock his head and look at us as if asking a question, and I’m sure he could actually smile! John’s Grandmother Shannon noticed the change in him and commented, “That just shows what love will do!”
Sam loved birthdays and Christmas. He helped open gifts by chewing the curled paper ribbon until it popped.
Then he would cock his head and look pleased with him-self when praised- “Good dog, Sam!” When asked to pop birthday balloons, he bounced from one to another as if at-tempting to set a speed record.
We were fearful for Sam’s life when he contracted parvovirus before a vaccine was available. But with the help of a good vet and my willingness to admin-ister medications, he pulled through. He was also allergic to flea bites, which required special attention with pills and ointment, but by then Sam was another member of the fam-ily and we were willing to do whatever was necessary to keep him with us.
Within a few years all the children were in col-lege and our home was a bit calmer. Sam was growing older and arthritis slowed him down. When Harry and I traveled, we had to leave him at the
vet’s. When we re-turned, his joyous bark and all-over
wiggling expressed his warm welcome.
All three children worked in Roanoke during summer vaca-tions, and Sam enjoyed their company almost as much as they enjoyed his. Kathy made him a special braided collar with a bell attached, and during Christmas holidays his frol-icking was punctuated with a merry jingle.
In time Sam lost his hearing and slowed down considerably. He was content to spend most of the day curled up sleeping on his mat – a discarded fake-fur poncho that Kathy made when ponchos were the fad. Once I accidentally bumped him when he was asleep. Startled, he jumped up and bit my ankle. Realizing what he had done, he hung his head and looked at me apologetically. A pat on his head and words to indicate I was not angry with him reassured him, but for several days he seemed subdued and his body language said, “I’m sorry.”
At last his health deteriorated rapidly and we faced the inevi-table decision. He apparently had a stroke for he could not control one side of his body. Harry carried him to the car and we drove one last time to the vet. Thirteen years before we had nursed him back to health because that was the compas-sionate thing to do. Now com-passion required that we let the vet end that life. We both shed tears. As Grandmother Shan-non said, “That just shows what love can do.”
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Presenting Environmental DUH vs. FACTOn the 40th anniversary of
Earth Day, it's becoming clear that the waters of the world are being destroyed by...water.
DUH: Sometime in the last 10 years or so, we all decided that water that comes out of a bottle is purer than water that comes out of the tap. FACT: bottled water is a food, under the au-thority of the Food and Drug Administration, while tap water is regulated by the much stricter standards of the Environmental Protection Agency, so in most cases tap water is cleaner. Okay, fair enough, but - DUH - don't most bottled waters come out
of pure little springs that flow fresh from the ground? Well, the FACT is most bottled waters on the market are just tap water that's been filtered, including the top two sellers, Aquafina (made by Pepsico) and Dasani (Coca-Cola). But at least it's cheap, right? (Hint: DUH.) Bottled water is approximately twice as expensive as gasoline. (FACT.)
You want more DUH? Okay, how about the FACT that the act of making bottled water is extraordinarily wasteful of fresh water. Engineers have calculated that, to bring 1 liter of Fiji water
from its source to market in the United States, approximately 7 liters of fresh water are used to make the bottle, bottle the wa-ter, and transport it (as well as a quarter li-ter of fossil fuels and a pound of greenhouse gases). And the thirst for sources of water that can be bottled is leading corporations to buy up any water they can find, deny-ing millions of people access to safe and affordable water.
But all this compares to the great DUH, the mega-DUH, the "what the heck were they thinking?" DUH. The bottled water industry creates about 1.5 million tons of plastic per year. About 20% of that plastic is re-cycled. The other 80% goes into landfills or washes into streams and rivers. Much of it makes
its way to the Pacific, and floats all the way to the Philippines.
Then it gets caught in the North Pacific Gyre, which swirls it back into the center of the ocean, where it becomes part of the North Pacific Garbage Patch. It's a vast continent of DUH, already big-
ger than the con-tinental United States. It's out
there, it will never break down, and it's growing with every sip.
So here's a crisp and refresh-ing idea. Go to your kitchen. Turn on the faucet. See that liq-uid stuff flowing out? It's called water. Drink some.
Otherwise the planet will be destroyed by DUH. And that's a FACT.
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In my own life, when I am not eating right it is simply because I have not planned out our meals well. It is like with most things in life - for it to be done success-fully some planning and organi-zation has to happen. I did not graduate from college by just breezing by and not thinking ahead. Well some may argue with such a statement, mainly my parents (but I got it right by my senior year.) But what I mean to say is being healthy takes forethought and work but it is so worth it; when I begin to eat healthily again I always won-der why I fell off course.
I guess life is hectic and we have cluttered so much of it up that we forget to take care of many important things - not just the way we eat. The mind, body and most importantly spirit should always be the top priority in our lives; without them our God-given potential will simply never be reached and who knows how far we might go in life if we do our part. My experience is that He
always does his. So trust the good things that surely lie down the road and make a new start with this great recipe!
1 1/2 cups baby arugula 1/3 cup fresh parsley leaves 1/4 cup lemon juice 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 oil-packed anchovy fillets, finely chopped 1 tablespoon chopped shallot Pinch of salt, plus 1/4 teaspoon, divided 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 4 cups cooked cannellini beans, well drained, at room tempera-ture or warm 1 7-ounce can wild salmon, any bones and skin removed, flaked 3/4 cup thinly sliced radishes 1 stalk celery, sliced diagonally 1/4 inch thick Freshly ground pepper to taste 4 large leaves butterhead or Boston lettuce avocado, sliced, for garnish
-Place arugula, parsley, lem-on juice, garlic, anchovies, shal-lot and pinch of salt in a food
processor; process until finely chopped. With the motor run-ning, slowly drizzle in oil.
-Gently combine beans, salmon, radishes, celery, the re-maining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour in the dressing and gently toss to combine.
-To serve, line 4 plates with a lettuce leaf. Divide the salad evenly among the plates. Gar-nish with avocado slices, if de-sired.
The Recipe of the Weekfrom The Happy Chef by Leigh Sackett
Bean & Salmon Salad with Anchovy-Arugula Dressing
It’s sometimes daunting how much times have changed. As the change occurs, it seems scarcely noticeable at first--then it becomes so monumental it affects everyday life. Recent events in the world of immigration politics have brought this into sharp focus. In Arizona the idea of official documentation has led to a firestorm of criticism.
Growing up in Roanoke in the 1950’s, I would wager there were not a dozen families in the city who were new immigrants. I was in college before I ever heard a foreign language being spoken here. The first ethnic restaurant was on Salem Avenue and did not appear until the late 1960’s. People com-mented: “Imagine . . . real Chinese food right here in the Star City!”
The only time the word “immi-grant” came into play was in con-versations about Ellis Island or the problems of Mexicans stealing across the Rio Grande into Texas. Their pejorative description was “Wetbacks”; there was still water in the river then.
Itinerant crop harvesters were around, but they were almost universally poverty-stricken Americans. When the trickle of “foreigners” became a substantial stream that turned into a torrent is difficult to say. The social problems and upheavals that have resulted were, at least in the public mind, never considered until they had reach near-insoluble proportions.
While the border states of Texas and Arizona have special problems of their own, no section of the country has been spared the necessity of supplying goods and, more importantly, services to tens of millions who have arrived, legally or otherwise, in the last half century.
The economy has found a place for many of them to work, although their employment is generally menial, providing barely enough on which to live and none of the benefits that most citizens take for granted.
Health care has been a flash point. When immigrants, documented or not, become ill, they go to emergency rooms where they are almost universally treated. Without any form of insurance, the cost of such care has been shifted to the indemnified patients. Nation-
ally, that amounts to billions of dollars a year. That is a partial explanation for the $30 aspirin tablet you may find on your itemized ER bill, should you happen to ask for one.
So critical has the problem become that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed into law a provision for law enforcement officers to require a document of official identifica-tion for anyone who “they might reasonably suspect is an undocumented immigrant.” The
ACLU and their minions must feel as though they have awakened in litigation heaven. It will be interest-ing to see how quickly this reaches the Supreme Court.
While I am always leery of com-paring such actions to those of a fascist state, the concept of an offi-cer of the law approaching anyone who they choose and asking, “Pa-pers, please,” does smack of brown
shirts, jackboots, and yellow stars of David.
The dilemma facing Governor Brewer is understandable. It is not her fault that Arizona is in this position. The federal government, who should have taken owner-ship of the immigrant problem, has been in a state of near paralysis for years. It was only a matter of time before a state would take action on its own. The bumper stickers will soon be out there: “Arizona 2010—The Alabama of 1963.” That isn’t fair. There is nothing of the evil, mean-spirited malice of George Wallace and Bull Connor in this, but class distinction is written all over it.
President Obama has called the law “ill-advised,” but it is going to take lot more than labels and name-calling to bring this into line with principles which we, as Americans, trea-sure. If only the governments, federal and state, had addressed the problem 40 years ago, we wouldn’t be in this mess, but in 1970 we had too many other things on our collective minds to see the nightmare this would become.
Stay tuned. It may get worse before it gets better.
In the past I have referred to Jesus as our elder brother. That is a wonderful familial descrip-tion but it begs the question, “Whose brother is he?” “Is ev-eryone a member of His fam-ily?” This is the question that Jesus deals with in John 3 when he tells Nicodemus that in order to see the kingdom of God, you must be born again. Paul says even more explicitly in Ephe-sians 2:3 that before we are born again we “were by nature chil-dren of wrath.” How would you like going on the “wrath” family vacation? The phrase “children of wrath” means we are “by birth children of disobedience.” It is within that context that Je-sus calls us to be “born again.” When we realize that our family of origin is set on disobedience, and that we are active partici-pants in that disobedience, we begin to see our need to be born again. For some, this hits close to home as you have experi-enced the destruction of abuse, abandonment or divorce within your earthly family. You feel like you have lived the “wrath family” experience. Others of us think because our family looks good, it is not a family of disobedience but we must un-derstand that any failure to love our family, friends and neigh-bors perfectly or failure to love God with everything we are and have is disobedience. So how do we get out of this dys-functional family? In Ephesians 2:4-5 Paul writes, “But God, be-ing rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive to-gether with Christ.” Being born again is a work God the Father does to adopt us because of his great love. God adopted us out of our abusive family of “wrath” at the price of His Son. It is only when we come to admit that we have participated in the de-structive nature of our family of origin, admit that we do not want to live that way anymore, turn from it and put our trust in the death of our elder brother for our sins are we born again. In talking about this subject, author and pastor Sinclair Fer-guson wrote, “What, then, is this new birth of which Jesus spoke, which lies at the heart of belonging to God’s family? It has often been understood to be a special, personal, conver-sion experience. In recent years it almost became fashionable to
be ‘born again’; it was described by the media as a sociological ‘movement’. But very often the phrase denoted little more than having a religious experience of the vaguest kind. The New Tes-tament means something much more specific.”
Do you understand the spe-cifics of being born again? In order to be born again our elder brother, Jesus, had to ransom or purchase us. In order to be born again, we must be redeemed and the only way for that to happen is for the Father to pay the adop-tion costs. What are they? The cost for our adoption is death, so being born again means that we trust in the finished work of Christ for our entrance into our new family. His death paid the price of our sin, his resurrection canceled the debt of our sin and the ongoing work of His Holy Spirit is renewing us to rid our hearts of the residue of remain-ing sin left in us from our for-mer family. The pain and blood of our second birth are incurred by the Father, the blessing and joy are all ours.
Let me just say at this point, there are many who think they are born again because we are “respectable” but we need to see that for many of us, we simply became members of a different family of wrath that manifests disobedience differently. These families abuse and destroy through religious activity. We attend church faithfully, vol-unteer in the nursery and may
even serve in leadership as a way to become adopted or to prove how worthy we are of be-ing adopted. One of the marks of these families, is a lack of assurance that you are a child of God. The main difference between a child of God and a moral cultural Christian is the motivation of the heart. A mor-al child of wrath who has not put their trust in Christ is seek-ing to be good in order to win God’s affection. An adopted child of God seeks to live his life for God’s glory, which results in doing good. As one poet wrote,
Our pleasure and our duty,Though opposite before,Since we have seen his beautyAre joined to part no more. To see the Law by Christ ful-
filled,And hear his pardoning
voice,Changes a slave into a childAnd duty into choice. Which family are you in? Do
you know the joy and delight of the Father for you? Do you know the freedom of adoption, growing in your new family traits? Are you seeking to re-pent more and more and believe that Christ’s work is indeed fin-ished for the Father’s children? It is my prayer for myself and you, from one older brother to another…
Ed Dunnington is the Senior pastor at Christ the King Presby-terian in Roanoke. Visit them on the web at christthekingroanoke.org
Colonel Bob CraigBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
Storm Drains. Of the identified $55 mil-lion storm drain “problem,” it appears that $7 million of work should be done immediately because it is a real health, safety and environ-mental threat. The work should be funded with bonded debt. The remaining work can also be done over time with bonded debt. Sub-sequently the entire system should be with a combination of bonded debt and operating income. To do otherwise is irresponsible.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
Even before the economy improves, I would insure more money is devoted to maintaining Roanoke’s infrastructure.
During the past ten years the City has built things we don’t need and can’t maintain. Not only can the city not maintain what it has recently built, it has not maintained what it already owns. Schools and storm drains are prime examples.
The problem with a “balanced budget” is all that is seen is what is going to be done - unseen are all those things that won’t be done because the money is spent on other things. (And in my opinion for the past ten years, less important things because of the inability of the Council to establish rational priorities.) This is the reason there is a “storm drain problem” and a school roof problem, and why the Fishburn Mansion and Buena Vista buildings are falling down. And the list goes on and on and on . . .
For once, instead of shouting, “look at what we are doing” per-haps the city should show the citizens a list of things not being done because the money is spent elsewhere.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
Get control of the budgeting process. Council consistently fails to set priorities for the operating and capital spending budgets and begrudgingly funds the school system as if it is a necessary evil.
Without priorities budgets are meaningless. There are two Roanoke Budgets. The first is the Operating Bud-
get. It consists of two components: the city and the school system. “The city” (reluctantly) provides funding to the school system us-ing a plucked from air number that can’t be justified and hopes the school system will go away and not bother them for additional money.
The city does not understand the school system’s “business mod-el.” The city thinks nothing of taking money back from the schools. This year, during February, the city took back $2.5 million dollars from the school system. Council members, who were shouting how much they supported the school system at this time last year, raised no objections. Taking that much money, that late in the school year, crippled the school system. Once the funding allocation is made to the school system it must be inviolate.
The second budget is the Capital Spending Budget. Capital Im-provement Budget is a misnomer although the city seems to think money raised by bonds should be spent to buy new things we of-ten don’t need or want, and can’t maintain - while often purchasing capital assets with operational funding.
As a result the city now has the maximum load of debt allowable, $247 million, paying $27 million annually in debt service, had the bond rating downgraded by one rating agency, and has absolutely no capacity to manage any unforeseen problems using debt.
That is dangerous, it is irresponsible and it must be brought under control or Roanoke will not be a better place to live.
Questions for Council CandidatesDuring the month of April the Roanoke Star Sentinel will feature a Q&A section with the seven candidates running for Roanoke City Council. At a time when budgets are strained to the limit and past visions for the city are under heavy scrutiny, we urge our readers to pay close attention to the answers found on these pages and to then get out to vote on May 4th.
“You will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.” - John Quincy Adams
Dr. David TrinkleBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
While I am proud of the fact that we have significantly expanded our greenways -- al-lowing citizens to enjoy the natural beauty and active lifestyle of our region -- I would like to see even more growth in this area. I feel strongly that our nat-ural surroundings are one of the city’s – and region’s – greatest assets and one of our greatest economic development opportunities. The success of the recent Blue Ridge Marathon – which brought over 1,000 runners and countless spectators into downtown – is a per-fect illustration of how to capitalize on our spectacular surround-ings. Specifically, I would like to see the Roanoke River greenway, including sections in Roanoke County and in Salem, completed in the next two years.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
I would re-evaluate the funding to Social Services first -- espe-cially those effecting our socio-economically disadvantaged youth. This is our most vulnerable population and therefore will feel the impact of the recession the most. I have often been the leading voice expressing that we must ensure children are offered a strong foun-dation for success. Youth services and programs are a huge part of this equation. The health and well-being of the children in our community are an important measure of our success as a whole. We need to restore their hope for a bright future by offering as many advantages as possible.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to improve the quality of life for its citizens?
A more efficient and well-funded Parks and Recreation pro-gram would make great strides to further improve the quality of life in our region. Well-maintained and improved parks and athletic fields – along with expanded greenways, mountain biking and hiking trails would build upon the success we have seen in this area in recent years. This change would also address the fact that Roanoke needs an improved downtown park that would serve as a gateway from the Jefferson Street corridor. This would also allow for an improved music/staging venue to attract commer-cial grade acts and would better accommodate our highly suc-cessful and signature festivals. I feel strongly that a focus on such amenities will support Roanoke’s continued growth as Southwest Virginia’s urban arts and cultural hub.
Tony WalkerBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
The Bridge Maintenance, Repair, and Ren-ovation Program. There are approximately six bridges throughout the city that are in need of repair. I feel that this program improves the needed maintenance and repair of Roanoke’s infrastructure to support the transportation system. By proactively addressing the repairs now will save the city from additional costs and repairs in the future.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
Bulk trash pick-up to return to regular schedules instead of alter-nating weeks. This will help neighborhoods by removing eye irritat-ing bulk trash sitting on corners or in front of housing for lengthy periods of time. It also helps the beautification of neighborhoods with the appeal to new home owners wanting to purchase housing.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
Stabilize and grow the economy. This could be completed by pro-actively managing the fiscal budget. The proactive fiscal manage-ment will provide support to existing businesses and support our city school system. The three areas (proactive fiscal management, economic development, and supporting the city schools) triangu-late and support one another. The triangulation will strengthen the economy, lower Roanoke’s tax base, increase Roanoke’s amenities, all of which will help promote a successful image for the Roanoke City. Also, the draw of businesses, entrapenures, and families will generate revenue for the city. This will allow Roanoke the ability to provide adequate services to it’s’ citizens, as well as strengthen the communities and create a positive atmosphere to live.
Bill BestpitchBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
The renovation of the City Market build-ing is an investment that will benefit the eco-nomic vitality of the entire downtown busi-ness district, so it is first on my list of capital projects.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
I would look at cuts that have been (or will be) made in other services to youth. Providing positive programs to keep our young people on the right path, and turning around those who already are in trouble, will pay significant dividends in the long run.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
The most important improvement will come through listen-ing better to our citizens, increasing their opportunities for public involvement, ensuring that they know their voices are heard, and letting them know that their city council and city government ap-preciate them.
Ray FerrisBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
I’d like to see the Valley governments come up with a cooperative, comprehensive plan to handle the storm water management issues, which in my view is a regional and not just a City of Roanoke issue.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
Restoring services or programs when the economy improves implies that the services or programs eliminated were not part of the “fat” in the budget to begin with, but were, in fact, items that were valuable enough to our citizens that they will be willing to pay for them again in the future. If there is enough revenue to restore a program, the alternative to restoring that program is to return that money to the taxpayer in the form of tax cuts. Nevertheless, a pro-gram worthy of restoration might be loose leaf collection.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
A simple, but yet complicated answer: Diversified Economic Development. We need to make Roanoke a more business friendly place, which means nurturing businesses that already call Roanoke home while bringing in new businesses to employ our youth. This means that public education must be viewed as a positive in the City of Roanoke for all the obvious reasons, and that we must continue to develop our relationship with our neighbors, which includes the New River Valley and, of course, Virginia Tech. Further, we cannot underestimate the important role that Virginia Western Commu-nity College will play in this equation, which includes the Roanoke Community College Access Program (CCAP).
Being “business friendly” in today’s world encompasses main-taining and protecting our natural amenities, which is a major sell-ing point when new businesses look at the Roanoke Valley. “Busi-ness friendly” does not mean that smoke stacks will pop up all over our beautiful valley, but it means that our children will return to Roanoke to work here in service, medical, research, and high tech industries and, consequently, start their families in the City that we love.
Mike PowellBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
Making Roanoke City the best place in the country to live and run a business is the proj-ect everyone on council should have been working on already.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
Our first priority should be paying off Roanoke City’s debt not looking for ways to spend money again.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
Stop electing members to council who overspend, overtax, and break promises to Roanoke’s residents.
Carl CooperBesides schools what is ONE high prior-
ity project you’d like to see completed in your term?
I would like to see Roanoke attract and retain a high profile company engaged in a future oriented technology. I would like the company to pay a livable wage and poten-tially employ 200-300 persons.
What service/program (not school related) would you restore first when the economy improves?
I would restore or begin to fund programs to address our air qual-ity and storm water management needs.
What is the single greatest thing Roanoke needs to do to im-prove the quality of life for its citizens?
Roanoke needs to focus on attracting and retaining companies that provide livable wage jobs for its citizens.
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As the first-ever Blue Ridge Marathon and half marathon wound up on Saturday, it seemed there were runners milling about everywhere downtown. Many wore the medals given out for finishing around their neck; others talked about how difficult the course was. Some ate oranges or other compli-mentary post-race snacks; oth-ers drank water and generally reveled in what was for a day at least, a runner’s paradise.
Tim Sykes of Blacksburg may have crossed the finish line first, completing the 26.2 mile course in 2 hours, 42 minutes and 16 seconds, but Roanoke was the big winner, attracting runners from a reported two-dozen plus states and several countries, among the 800-plus that signed up to run. The son of Roanoke Star-Sentinel contributing pho-tographer Jim Bullington (Texas Tavern owner Matt Bullington) finished sixth.
Meanwhile, along the mara-thon route on Avenham Av-enue, residents came out to of-fer encouragement, sometimes turning on boom boxes that blared inspirational music. “It’s a major deal,” said Mark Frye, “I can’t remember a marathon ever coming down Avenham. [We’ve] got the party going on.” Frye would like to see the Blue Ridge Marathon return, adding, “This is a draw for Roanoke.”
Dana Podell wore a tall “Cat in the Hat”style hat and had
music ready when marathon leader (and eventual winner) Tim Sykes ran by around 9:40 a.m. “I’m so interested in these insane people that will run this length,” said Podell, who was also an official volunteer, charged with performing traffic control when necessary to keep runners safe.
Her son Ike, who runs cross-country at North Cross (a mere 3.2 miles) said he might be in-spired to run longer lengths. “[But] I’d have to get lots of training before I even attempt something like this.” He and fel-low cross-country runners may “laugh at people that actually [run marathons],” but they do talk about attempting one. “It’s just incentive to try.”
Tim Sykes thanked God and his family for the support they gave him, adding that knowing the course was primarily down-hill after mile16 provided him a mental boost. He had just driv-en the course for the first time the night before. “It definitely lived up to its expectations,” said Sykes of a layout that reached to the top of the Blue Ridge Park-way and the Mill Mountain Star.
This was Sykes’ fifth mara-thon, and the first in three years. “This was right up there with the Boston Marathon [but] this was harder. People shouldn’t be intimidated about coming out to do it next year. The climb up Roanoke Mountain definitely
lived up to its expectations, but it’s doable. It’s a great layout.” Sykes was even able to enjoy “the views along the way. It makes it well worthwhile.”
A fellow Blacksburg resident (George Probst) finished second in the marathon, while Karen Ostergaard of North Carolina was the top female finisher. Many of the half-marathoners appeared to be trying that dis-tance for the first time, like Lee Gardner, an Atlanta resident and Bedford County native. “It was great. It was good to come home and run one. If I can do this, anyone can do this…No marathons for me - but halves definitely.”
First Blue Ridge Marathon Makes Roanoke a Runner’s Haven
The inaugural National College Blue Ridge Marathon proved as tough as promised, yet all the runners finished under the seven hour time limit. The fastest among them was Tim Sykes of Blacksburg, VA who covered the mountainous, 26.2 mile course in 2:42:17 a pace of 6:12 minutes per mile. Fastest among the women was Karen Ostergaard of Asheville, NC. She covered the course in 3:30:14.
“I was able to maintain my pace throughout the race, said Sykes, I felt really good out there today.” Sykes was a little more than two minutes ahead of second place finisher George Probst, also of Blacksburg. Tim Workman, of Hendersonville, NC finished third in 2:57:51. Only five runners managed to break three hours.
On the women’s side Beni Thompson of Roa-noke, Va. faded after leading early, but still held on for second in 3:34:02. She was followed by Sara Zaragoza of Roanoke who clocked a 3:38:57.
The course, described by organizers as “one of the most challenging, but beautiful marathons in the country,” took the more than 400 registered runners from downtown Roanoke over Mill and Roanoke Mountains for the first 16 miles of the race. The course features more than six thousand feet of change in elevation, and much of it is run on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
In addition to conquering the difficult course and the rest of the field, Sykes and Ostergaard had a nice prize waiting for them – Tag Heuer Watches, donated by Fink’s Jewelers. The watches are valued at about $5,000 each. Finks CEO Marc
Fink was on hand to present the watches during ceremonies inside the Taubman Museum of Art.
“This course represents what the Tag brand is all about, Fink told the crowd of assembled run-ners, “Rugged and beautiful.” He said the inaugu-ral Blue Ridge Marathon was a natural fit for Tag and for Finks. It showcases our beautiful part of the world in a unique way. I’m pleased we could be a small part of it by offering an additional in-centive for people to come here.”
Blue Ridge Marathon Winners Get Bragging Rights and Expensive Watches
Women’s winner Sara Zaragoza with Marc Fink and daughter Katheryn.
Photo by Wade Thompson
Blue Ridge Marathon runners break out from under the starting gate.
Runners persevered through the long stretches in the mountains.
Page 8 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 4/30/10 - 5/5/10
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A new team composed of players from local law enforcement and firefighting/rescue agencies played the second of two home games at Salem Stadium last Saturday. The Roanoke Rampage drew an estimated thousand-plus for the match against the Washington DC Generals. Teams in the nationwide public safety league raise money for the charities of their choice, via game ticket sales and donations.
The Rampage chose “Steps 4 Billy,” which aims to educate people about a form of lymphoma that felled retired Roanoke City Fire Battalion Chief Billy Obenchain. The long-time Vinton Town Council member lost his 9-year battle with a rare cancer last December. Firefighter and Ram-page operations director Todd Stone remembers Obenchain fondly. “He was one of the smartest firemen I ever met. The firemen loved him … that’s no exaggeration.”
Choosing to support research at Duke Medical Center, where Obenchain went for experimen-tal treatments, “just feels right,” said Stone. The Rampage, who have two road games remain-ing, feature a roster of players who competed in high school – some several decades ago, as well as a handful that went on to play in college. One Rampage player even turned pro: former William Fleming star and UVA defensive back Jermaine Hardy spent time with the Carolina Panthers.
See roanokesbravestfootball.com for more in-formation on the team and how to contribute to Steps 4 Billy.
Roanoke’s finest and bravest (dark jerseys) battle Washington DC generals in Salem.
Roanoke Star player, Park-er Walsh, has been named to the United States U20 Na-tional team. Parker is cur-rently playing for Karlsruhe SC in Germany. He has made previous appearances with the national team at the U15 and U17 age groups and has played in some of the most prestigious events worldwide and played against some of the best players in the world.
The Roanoke native grew up playing soccer in the ar-ea’s elite Roanoke Star Soccer Club. Parker is one of many players who have developed his talents in the club and have gone on to compete at the highest level. Parker is a versatile player who, ac-
cording to coaches, spends countless hours training to improve.
Roanoke Star Director of Coaching & Player Develop-ment, Graham Maclean says, “Parker is a great soccer play-er, but also is developing into a fantastic young man. He truly is a credit to his family. He has represented Roanoke Star tremendously well over the years and I am sure he will represent the U20 Na-tional team with the same standards of excellence. He is the type of player and person you want your kids to use as a role model.”
Many Roanoke Star play-ers have gone on to play in college, on the national team,
and in Europe. Another Ro-anoke Star player, Will Hare, is currently playing in Swe-den for IK Brage.
North Cross catcher Micajah Lacy forces out a Blue Ridge base runner to thwart an early bases-loaded jam.
North Cross Defeated By Blue Ridge School 11-6 in Baseball
Blacksburg found the net at the 10-minute mark of the first half and later added an insur-ance goal as the Bruins won the River Ridge matchup at Cave Spring.
Recap and photos by Bill Turner
Recap and photos by Bill Turner
Blacksburg Defeats Cave Spring 2-0 in Girls Soccer Tuesday
Cave Spring midfielder #22 Tori Doyle chases down a Blacksburg attacker.
Knight's junior #5 Lauren Stiles cuts off a Bruin attacker as they battle for posses-sion.
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My platform looks to the future of Roanoke City, and it is threefold. I believe that proactive fi scal management, strong economic development and supporting our city schools is the key to helping Roanoke maintain success. These three areas go hand in hand, they triangulate and support one another. They also support the community with a variety of resources. Our school system is a major economic factor in Roanoke’s economy, so by supporting the school system we are investing in Roanoke’s future.
Our current city council has lost focus with the city’s budget and funding of the city schools. They have also lost focus with whom they are working for, which is the community. You deserve a city councilman that will work for you and be transparent and accountable, and will respect the vote that you give.
So on May 4th, let’s stop the re-cycling of previous city council candidates, or new candidates with the same philosophy on wasting your tax dollars, not monitoring city assets, who practice indecisiveness with decisions, and not providing adequate funding for our school system. The time is now to stop the insanity, the time is now for change!
Endorsements
OCTAVIA JOHNSON, ROANOKE CITY SHERIFF THE HONORABLE BOB GOODLATTE, CONGRESSMAN 6th DISTRICT
“I am pleased to support Tony Walker in his fi ght to be Roanoke’s next city councilman. Roanoke City is at a crossroads and this is once again a time for Roanoke citizens to choose candidates to shape the cities’ future. I am endorsing Tony Walker as he will be a voice of fi scal responsibility, a visionary for strong economic growth, and be a strong supporter for the Roanoke City School System. Please join me in supporting Tony Walker for a seat on city council, as he is the right candidate - with the right message - at the right time.”
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Three local organizations have announced that they will back Roanoke Council candi-date Ray Ferris. The Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors, Roanoke Business Leadership Fund and Roanoke Education Association announced their endorsement of Ray Ferris in what will be his first run for Roanoke’s City Council.
"We are blessed to have dedi-
cated citizens, such as yourself, who are willing to serve and to devote tremendous time and energy to improving the qual-ity of life in our Valley. We look forward to your election and to working with you on future is-sues," said Laura E. Benjamin, Roanoke Valley Association of Realtors CEO. “We thank you for all that you have done and will continue to do for citizens
of Roanoke City and the stu-dents of Roanoke City Public Schools,” said Latasha J. Suggs, REA Co-President.
In Ray Ferris' first campaign for Roanoke City Council, he has come out as "an advocate and supporter of Roanoke city schools and ensuring that Roanoke is a friendly and easy place to do business." As a local business owner, Ferris says he
knows exactly what is needed to operate multiple successful businesses in Roanoke City. "I am very pleased to receive this broad based support and if elected, it will be my goal to give equal representation to all parts of the city and its citizens," said Ferris.
The Roanoke City Council General Election is on Tuesday, May 4th.
Ferris Receives Three Endorsements
Keeping old computer ter-minals, TV’s, microwaves and other electronic appli-ances out of landfills is the motivation behind Roanoke’s “E-Waste Day,” held for a sec-ond year at the Civic Center last Saturday. A steady stream of vehicles stretched around the backside of the complex, waiting for volunteers from Cox Communications, the Roanoke Valley Cool Cities Coalition and others to take unwanted electronic items off their hands.
Cool Cities Coalition mem-ber Mark McClain, also a local Sierra Club official, said some electronic components can be environmentally hazardous, while in other cases certain parts, metals or plastic hous-ings can be recycled. “Every-body’s got this stuff, and it’s really good they’re bringing it in. A lot it can be recycled and reclaimed.” The push to replace old-style televisions
with flat screens helped bump up the overall volume on Sat-urday.
McClain wasn’t surprised by the turnout. As he watched cars pull up and volunteers extract unwanted or outdat-ed E-waste, he said, “There’s a huge need for this. I think we need to do a better job of picking this stuff up. Obvi-
ously you’re not getting all of it here.” He estimated that 1200-1300 vehicles may have come through last Saturday, with five or six items each to discard. “Do the math,” noted McClain -- “there’s a lot more of it out there.”
E-Waste Day Attracts Steady Stream of Recyclers
Roanokers line up to get rid of their old electronic devices.
Thousands came out last Saturday to the Roanoke Civic Center for the 15th annual Kiwanis pancake and auction day, which raises money every year for the agencies and projects supported by the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke. Groups supported by the Kiwanians, both with money and sweat equity, include the Community Outreach Program, the Harrison Museum of African American Culture, Key (student) Clubs at local high schools, Roanoke Rescue Mission, Apple Ridge Farm, Family Services of Roanoke Valley, the greenway system and Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Flapjacks For A Great Cause
Photo by Gene Marrano
Roanokers paid $5 each for pancakes, sausage, hot coffee and good conversation.
Roanoke attorney John E. Lichtenstein was elected vice president of the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association for 2010-2011 at the Association’s an-nual meeting.
Also elected to leadership positions in the Virginia Tri-al Lawyers Association were Matthew B. Murray of Charlot-tesville, president; Edward L. Allen of Fredericksburg, pres-ident-elect; Lisa P. O’Donnell of Norfolk, vice president; Bar-bara S. Williams of Leesburg, vice president; Thomas J. Cur-cio of Alexandria, vice presi-dent; and Stephanie E. Grana
of Richmond, treasurer. The Virginia Trial Lawyers
Association is dedicated to promoting professionalism within the trial bar, enhanc-ing the competency of trial
lawyers and protecting and preserving the liberties, rights and benefits of an efficient and constitutionally sound judicial system.
Lichtenstein Elected Vice President Of The Virginia Trial Lawyers Association
Mayor David Bowers will lead the annual May-or’s Bike Ride on Saturday, May 1. The two and one-half mile trek will take bikers from 210 Reserve Avenue downtown to the Mayor’s Monument in Elmwood Park.
The Event will start at 10:00 a.m. with the ride beginning at 10:30 a.m. sharp. Cyclists of all ages and experience are invited
to join says Barbara Duerk of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, Inc. All cyclists must sign a waiver and wear helmets.
Enjoy the annual Straw-berry Festival and Chili Cookoff at the conclusion of the ride. For more in-formation go to www.brb-cva.org or phone 343-1616 or 344-4803.
Mayor’s Bike Ride Saturday
valley BusinessPage 10 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 4/30/10 - 5/5/10 NewsRoanoke.com
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More than 140 employees at the United Health Group call center in Roanoke volunteered at the Friendship Manor retire-ment community last weekend, spending time with residents there. UHG workers have a bit of a kinship with Friend-ship residents, since the com-pany’s insurance products cater to those eligible for Medicare plans, primarily senior citizens.
“It kinds of puts you at the same level as the people that are calling us,” said Twila Waller, a member of United Health Group’s LEET team that encour-ages employee teamwork and social networking. Waller hopes that UHG employees can return to Friendship a couple of times a year,” as they have done in the past. The majority of United Health group’s employees na-tionwide – more than 70,000 in all – spend time volunteering every year,
The activity took place dur-ing National Volunteer Week, designed to encourage people to lend a helping hand. Many United employees visited an orthopedics wing at Friend-ship; some sat and talked one-on-one with residents, others helped with coloring exercises, and several crooned songs on a karaoke system.
“I’ve never had a group like this,” said Ellen Grimes-Babione, an activities assistant for Friend-ship Manor. Despite some off-key singing, several residents were sad to see the group depart after several hours. “It’s always good to talk to somebody,” said one. “We hate to see you leave,” added another.
Besides helping bond UHG employees closer to the types of folks they might take calls from -- often about “Part D” prescrip-tion drug plans -- Twila Waller said there was a simpler motive as well: “It is nice to give time.”
It is not necessary to be em-ployed by a particular com-pany in order to spend time in the community helping others; check the Volunteer Roanoke Valley link at councilof com-munityservices.org for oppor-tunities.
-By Gene Marrano
United Health Group Employees Making Friends at Friendship Manor
The Blue Ridge Autism & Achieve-ment Center welcomed guests to their facility located off of Peters Creek Road in North Roanoke on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 for a ribbon cutting and open house. The month of April is Autism Awareness Month and the staff at the center held this open house to welcome and educate the public about autism and the effects on their students. Angie Leonard, Executive Director of the cen-ter, along with Craig Balzer and George Young, Co-Chairmen of the center all spoke on the fact that the venture is a labor of love and the excitement for the future of the students. After the ribbon cutting and speeches, guests were given tours of the facility and treated to lunch.
Blue Ridge Autism & Achievement Center Ribbon Cutting Celebrates
Autism Awareness Month
With so much focus these days on saving for retirement, it’s easy to overlook an equally critical step that relates directly to your future security—how successfully you convert your savings into retirement cash flow. This process might sound simple, but it prompts several key questions: Which account should you draw from first? How do you keep your remaining assets growing? And, perhaps most important, how much can you take out each year without running out of money?
Withdrawal RatesNot surprisingly, an aggressive withdrawal rate
increases the likelihood of depleting your assets prematurely. Generally, 4% per year (indexed for inflation) has been the recommended withdrawal rate for most people. But one size does not fit all and 4% may be more—or less—than you need.
One objective shared by many investors is to develop a withdrawal strategy that aims to give you as much as possible—especially in the early, active years of your retirement. For example, you may decide on an initial withdrawal rate to be in-creased every year by inflation. Or you may with-draw a fixed percentage of the previous year’s end-ing portfolio value, with no increase for inflation. A more conservative option would be to increase the rate for inflation only in years when your in-vestment returns are positive. You may wish to recruit a financial professional to help you with this process.
Once you have settled on a withdrawal rate, it’s important to stick to it and avoid altering your spending patterns dramatically. Increasing your withdrawal rate even slightly can jeopardize your standard of living later in retirement, compromise your ability to meet unexpected expenses and de-crease the amount you’re likely to leave to heirs.
On the other hand, decreasing your rate might cause you to unnecessarily sacrifice your standard of living in your early retirement years, when you have the greatest chance to truly enjoy your new-found time.
Order of DepletionConventional wisdom says to draw down tax-
able accounts first and keep tax-deferred accounts growing. For many people, that rule of thumb holds true; but again, for others it may not ap-ply. Wealthier investors, for example, may want to spend tax-deferred assets with the intention of bequeathing taxable assets, which receive more-favorable tax treatment when inherited. Other investors may want to sell low-basis assets first, so they don’t incur the income later and trigger higher taxes on their Social Security benefits.
You’ve worked too hard saving for retirement to not get the most out of it. So once you’ve crafted a strategy for withdrawing income in a tax-efficient way, aim to review your situation on a regular ba-sis to make sure you stay on track for the retire-ment you deserve.
Mike Kemp is a Financial Advisor located in Roanoke, VA and may be reached at 345-1555.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC and its affili-ates do not provide tax or legal advice. To the extent that this material or any attachment concerns tax matters, it is not intended to be used and cannot be used by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
Cracking Your Nest EggThey have been called “finan-
cial weapons of mass destruc-tion” and blamed for a num-ber of catastrophic losses and bankruptcies. New research by a finance professor at Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Busi-ness, however, counters the popular perception of deriva-tives as dangerous tools and in-vestments.
In a study to be published in the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Yong Chen, an assistant professor of finance, investigates how deriv-atives are used by hedge funds and focuses on the relationship between derivatives use and hedge funds’ risk-taking behav-ior.
Despite the widespread use of derivatives by hedge funds, Chen says, little is known about their effects on fund risks and performance. How do deriva-tives users differ from nonusers with respect to fund risks and performance? Do hedge funds that use derivatives demonstrate a greater propensity for risk shifting? Are derivatives-using funds more likely to fail? “Such questions, and their answers, are very important to investors, lenders, and regulators.”
Examining more than 5,000 hedge funds during 1994-2006, Chen found that 70 percent of them trade derivatives. On av-erage, those that do so showed lower fund risks (as measured by fund return volatility, aver-age market exposure, and mar-ket exposure during market downturns or extreme market events). “Overall, the evidence does not suggest that deriva-
tives use by hedge funds leads to more risk-taking.”
His findings would be of broad interest, he says, given the current concern about the risk-taking activities of hedge funds and other quasi-bank institu-tions among lenders, investors, and regulators, who are seeking to increase government over-sight of hedge funds.
“In the past two decades,” Chen says, “derivative markets and the hedge fund industry and have experienced explosive growth and wielded increasing influence on the market and economy.”
Deriving their value from other assets, derivatives are fi-nancial instruments that allow investors to speculate on the future price of an asset — com-modities or shares, for example — without buying the underly-ing asset. Developed to allow investors to hedge, or insure against, risks in financial mar-kets, derivatives such as futures,
options, and swaps, have be-come investments in their own right.
Hedge funds, which use ag-gressive strategies to maximize returns in managing invest-ments of wealthy private inves-tors or institutions, have become major players in derivative mar-kets, Chen says. “The perva-sive use of derivatives by hedge funds stands in sharp contrast to mutual funds,” he notes, cit-ing one study that found that only about 20 percent of mutual funds use derivatives.
The high-risk image of de-rivatives, Chen notes, resulted from a number of spectacular financial failures, all of which involved derivatives trading: the bankruptcy of Orange County, Calif., in 1994; the collapse of British-owned Barings Bank in 1995; the fall of U.S. hedge fund Long-Term Capital Man-agement in 1998; the failure of another U.S. hedge fund, Ama-ranth, in 2006; and the huge losses of French bank Société Générale in 2008. It was legend-ary investor Warren Buffet who called derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction.”
Depending on the purpose — hedging or speculation — the use of derivatives may be associated with lower or higher fund risk, Chen said. “Although it cannot be ruled out that some hedge funds use derivatives to speculate on asset prices,” he says, “the overall evidence is more consistent with risk-management-motivated use of derivatives.”
Chen’s study found that “de-rivatives users engage less in risk shifting,” the practice in which funds performing poorly in the first half of a given year tend to increase portfolio risk in hopes of catching up in the second half, while funds performing well try to lock in their returns by lowering risk. Derivatives us-ers, he adds, are also less likely to liquidate during market downturns.
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Faith Christian School enjoyed having local authors Dr. Mark and Mrs. Kimberly McBride read to the kindergarten students on Tuesday, April 20th.
Dr. and Mrs. McBride have recently pub-lished their first book, “The Chickens and the Ice Cream,” about a real-life adventure they had with their son at the local Homestead Cream-ery. The back of the book reads, “find out why a young boy and two curious chickens’ encounter is so funny and mysterious. A farmer and his wife come to some new realizations about their farm and how it only takes one family to help uncover the mystery behind this story.”
Dr. McBride shares, “Kimberly and I … wrote this book in order to capture a delightful family experience at the local creamery. It was inspired by the glorious day and the eagerness of [our son] Benjamin to share his ice cream with those little red hens. We have both had a desire to write children's literature (books) for some time and this opportunity was the start-ing point…
Also, we feel that God intervened and al-lowed Kimberly to meet the illustrator through her email experience in sharing and witness-ing about Christ and remarkable ways He had worked in each of their lives. Our goal in writ-ing children's books is to glorify God with our
talents in hopes that many children and families will be inspired and enjoy the charming tales. ‘To God be the glory for His unspeakable gift.’ We feel blessed to have had the opportunity to write this story about our family experience, and that God led us through the process.”
The McBrides have written other children’s stories to be published in the near future. “The Chickens and the Ice Cream” is available for purchase for $12.99 through many local retail-ers, with book signings scheduled at Barnes and Noble and Maggie Moo’s on Franklin Road in SW Roanoke.
Authors Read Newly Published Book to Kindergarten Students
Shaftman Performance Hall, Jefferson Center | For tickets, please call 540-982-2742 | www.operaroanoke.org
Lucia di Lammermoorby Gaetano Donizetti
Friday, April 30th at 8:00 pm & Sunday, May 2nd at 2:30 pm
Once again several dozen lo-cal artists opened their homes and working studios for the 10th annual “Open Studios” tour over the weekend, welcoming fellow artists and art lovers. Among the highlights was the opening of a new working art studio/gallery at 110B Kirk Avenue in downtown Roanoke, owned by Ann Bondurant Trinkle.
Trinkle, the wife of Roanoke City Councilman Dave Trinkle, earned a master’s in fine art (for sculpture) from Virginia Com-monwealth University and has been working out of her home until now. Dozens showed up for the opening reception last Friday and more stopped by over the weekend as part of Open Studios. “This is beyond luxury for me…I’m so excited,” said Trinkle, referring to her new space.
Trinkle’s work on display now at 110B Kirk Ave. includes carved wood. “They are paint-ings with sculpture on them,” is how her daughter describes it. “It’s been sort of [my] mode for the past ten years.” Before that Trinkle was more prone to cre-
ating larger, freestanding sculp-tures. “I’m really wondering what I’m going to make…Kirk Avenue’s the place,” said Trinkle. “The art scene is thriving in Roanoke, Virginia. It’s such an exciting time to be here.”
Meanwhile on Saturday, Jamie Nervo was setting out some of her paintings on a lawn in South Roanoke, sharing space with several other artists. Blue Ridge Marathon runners whizzed by early in the morning while others got ready for the
annual Garden Tour. “We get all different types of folks,” said Nervo, “people that are into art and people that are just brows-ing. It’s just a fun [weekend] to get out and look at art.”
Nervo liked that so much was happening last weekend, and right along Avenham Avenue in some cases. “The more that’s go-ing on, the better for Roanoke. I think it’s great.”
Open Studios Tour, New Gallery Highlight Local Art Scene
WHAT: Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. Using the provided clues and coordinates, you, your team or family will be challenged to search for hidden caches in areas throughout the County, with point values given to each team based on order of arrival. This is a FREE event, and there will be prizes!
Saturday, May 15thRegistration: 10:00am-11:45am*GPS Instruction: 11:00amTreasure Hunt: 12:00pm-5:00pm
*You may choose to register your team in advance. A limited number of GPS devices are available with a deposit.
Your hunt begins at:Garst Mill Park2599 Willowlawn St.Roanoke, VA 24018
Discover the “hidden jewels” of Roanoke County and geocache your way to
some amazing “gems!”
An event of:
Media support by:
For more information or to register in advancecall 387-6078 ext. 251or visit us online atwww.RoanokeCountyParks.com
The Roanoke City-sponsored “Creative Connector’s” program (based on Richard Florida’s book on the Creative Class) led to an initiative called S.T.A.R.: The Spirit of Tolerance & Art in the Region. They are kicking off the inaugural Down By Down-town music festival -- a music event celebrating culture and diversity – this week in down-town Roanoke.
The festival started Wednes-day April 28 and will run through Saturday, May 1. Bands from all genres from rock, pop, and hip-hop to classical, blue-grass and Americana are slated to appear. During the week, venues such as Gala Studio, Kirk Avenue Music Hall, Blue 5, Martins Downtown, Fork In The City, and the Jefferson Cen-ter will be offering an exciting concentration of musical expe-riences to celebrate culture, di-versity and Roanoke’s growing music scene.
The festival will feature an Outdoor Showcase from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 1st at the corner of Kirk Avenue and First Street – the exact geo-graphical center of Roanoke City. There is no cost to attend
most events – including the Outdoor Stage -- and special discounts will be offered by par-ticipating downtown business-es. Discounts can be obtained by presenting a laminated “VIP pass” which are available at the participating venues and at 101.5 The Music Place.
“We have over 1,300 fans on Facebook, a multitude of local and regional bands wanting to play, and have had an amaz-ing response from venues,” said Bruce Bryan, one of the event organizers. “The city is clearly ready for a musical event of this magnitude,” he added.
In support of the event and in recognition of Roanoke’s grow-ing status as “Virginia’s Music City”– Councilman Dave Trin-kle sponsored a Proclamation declaring the festival “Roanoke Music Days.” Mayor David Bowers joined him in present-ing the proclamation to mem-bers of the group in City Coun-cil Chambers last week.
“Supporting the initiatives and efforts of these young pro-fessionals is exactly how we keep them excited about liv-ing in Roanoke,” said Council-man Dave Trinkle. “Events like
Down By Downtown add to the great vibe of the city and secures our reputation as a great place to live and do business,” he adds.
To round out the experience, the group will host a “Music Summit” with key music indus-try professionals, including a national music agent and radio program director, at The Red Room in Blue 5 on Thursday, April 29 at 7 p.m. Musicians will have unprecedented access to these key industry individu-als to learn about the elements needed to make it in the music business.
The event is free and open to the public. The distinguished panel will be moderated by Susanna Rinehart, associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Cinema at Virginia Tech.
For more information visit www.STARroanoke.com of find them on Facebook/DownBy-Downtown
Down By Downtown Music Festival Kicks Off This Week
The Valley Beautiful Organization is proud to offer its Garden and Landscape Contest. This contest is open to all levels of gardeners. Resi-dents, Businesses and Organizations may enter to win prizes of up to $100 per entry category. New gardens and new gardeners are encour-aged to enter, but all levels of gardeners are wel-come. Entries will be judged by members of the Valley Beautiful Board on or about August 15, 2010. Winners will be notified by mail. Awards
will be publicized through local media and on the Valley Beautiful website. Applications may be obtained at your local library, the Chamber of Commerce, and garden centers and nurser-ies throughout the valley. An entry fee of $10 is required with the application. Photos are en-couraged with the application.
See www.valleybeautiful.net for more infor-mation or contact Wendy Jones at 362-3292 or e-mail [email protected].
Valley Beautiful Announces Garden Contest
Jamie Nervo took part in the annual Open Studios event.
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OUTDOOR SHOWCASE STAGE
VENUES
KIRK AVE MUSIC HALL
MARTIN’S DOWNTOWN
BLUE 5
JEFFERSON CENTER
FORK IN THE CITY
GALA STUDIO
MAP
VENUES
DxDT
SPEciAl ThANkS To oUr SPoNSorS
V i Z i W O R XC R E A T i V E S T U D i O
April 28Thru May 2
2010
For schedule of events and other info:
Become a fanfacebook.com/DownByDowntown Graphic Design by:
• CITY COUNCIL HAS FAILED TO SET PRIORITIES AND HAS LOST CONTROL OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
• THE COUNCIL HAS NEGLECTED AND UNDERFUNDED ROANOKE'S SCHOOL SYSTEM FOR YEARS AND DOES NOT UNDERSTAND ITS OPERATING PROBLEMS.
• ROANOKE HAS NO MEANIINGFUL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
Colonel Bob CRAIGColonel Bob CRAIGBob Craig Has
Served His Country, Now He is Serving
His Community
Vote for Bob Craig A PROVEN LEADER, EDUCATOR AND FINANCIAL MANAGER
- Bob Craig is an award winning financial manager with 25 years experience dealing with problems similar to those facing Roanoke. He knows how to set priorities, allocate resources and make tough decisions.
- The school system must be our top priority. An educated labor force is Roanoke's long range economic development engine. Bob has been and is the school system's most outspoken advocate. Bob's record as a Leader, Trainer, Educator and Marine Corp Officer demonstrate that he can and WILL get the job done.
- Bob will ensure that Economic Development is a Top Priority and that Roanoke has a First Class Economic Development program resulting in QUALITY jobs. Roanoke will once again be open for business!
Thanks to the support of companies like Highland Propane, the American Cancer Society is able to provide free breast cancer programs and resources to patients and their families in the Roanoke Valley, and fund lifesaving research.
Reach to RecoveryOne-on-one support for the newly diagnosed breast cancer patient through face-to-face visits or support over the phone from a local breast cancer survivor.
Look Good…Feel BetterVolunteer beauty professionals teach small groups about skin care, makeup techniques, nail care, and options related to hair loss such as wigs, turbans, and scarves. Program offered monthly in the Roanoke Valley and each program participant receives a free kit of cosmetics for use during and after the workshop.
Wigs, Turbans, Bras and ProsthesisCancer patients or their caregivers may visit the Roanoke Office of the American Cancer Society for a wig, turban, bra or prosthesis, free of charge.
Help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a yearRound-the-clock support for cancer patients and their caregivers- call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visits www.cancer.org
Research and Early DetectionACS funded research has led to the discovery of lifesaving treatments like Tamoxifen and Herceptin, and the ACS has invested more in breast cancer research grants over time than any other voluntary public health organization - $352 million since 1972. And, it was the American Cancer Society that established mammography as the gold standard for the early detection of breast cancer.
For more information on any of the programs listed above, or for local support services available for patients and their families dealing with all types of cancer, please call or visit our local office:
HIGHLAND PROPANE, ROANOKE, VA5306 Peters Creek Rd.
Roanoke Va 24019P: 540-777-7928F: 540-777-4373
TF: 800-552-6514
American Cancer Society2840 Electric Rd., Ste. 106ARoanoke, VA 24018540-774-2716
Stop by and show your support for this wonderful cause and for a day of excitement.
• 37” LG LCD flat screen, Wall mounted Fire place, portable space heaters and much much more.• We will have free food including hotdogs, drinks and chips for you.• We will sell merchandise to help support the American Cancer Society
Highland Propane is going to donate 1¢ to the American Cancer Society for every gallon we pump in this truck for the entire year.
