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PAGE 2WEEKEND

Community | news | Per spect ive

Ken Cuccinelli at last Mon-day’s press conference.

Cave Spring High School, Class of 1979, recently held their class reunion. In addi-tion to the traditional gather-ing meant for reconnecting and reminiscing with long-ago friends and classmates, it was also a fundraiser for one of their own who has fallen seriously ill.

Until a few years ago, Dean Kemp and his wife Cheryl were living a normal and happy life in Richmond with their twin sons, Tyler and Reece. In October of 2007, Dean was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Shortly after, they moved back to Roanoke to be closer to Dean’s family so they could better cope with their situa-tion. Cheryl has been his pri-mary caregiver for the last three years, spending hours ev-ery day monitor-ing Dean’s condition and the machines that allow him to continue to live and breathe.

Dean is now completely confined to a special bed and chair. A ventilator breathes for him. He cannot speak and has no movement. Amaz-ingly, his eyes are bright and he works to communicate

through those sparkling eyes.ALS is a progressive and

fatal neuromuscular disease that slowly robs the body of its ability to walk, speak, swal-

low and breathe. Even as the body fails, the mind re-mains sharp and

fully aware of what is hap-pening. Life expectancy in ALS patients ranges between two and five years from the time of diagnosis. There is no cure.

Adding to the family’s trou-

With the economy continu-ing to be a concern for individ-uals and businesses alike, it is all too easy for the entrepreneurial spirit to be quickly squelched, and with good reason. One young Roanoke business owner had the courage and confidence to go against the grain, purchas-ing her first business just a year ago. Christin Burdette, a Liber-ty University graduate, and just 25, is the owner of “Pure Spa,” located in the back of West Vil-lage Center (behind Fink’s.)

A spa is generally consid-ered a “luxury” business, and as such, Burdette was advised to think long and hard before pur-suing this venture, especially since she is so young. One CPA flat out told her not to do it. Burdette was not to be swayed; she followed her gut feeling and bought the business. It is a move she has not regretted. She says “our numbers this year are better than the three previous years.”

Maybe that is because Bur-dette possesses just the right mix of talent and personality to make her business work. Her passion for catering to her cus-tomers is ever-present and she is not shy about making sure they know how loyal she is to them. She is also loyal to her

staff, which she considers top-notch.

Most view a spa as a niche or specialty business, but Burdette is not limiting herself to that expectation.

She makes a good case that ev-ery single person can benefit from one or more of their ser-vices. The last few years have many people more stressed than ever and a visit to a spa can help people find that they are better able to regain their focus after taking a little time to take care of themselves, according

to Burdette.Burdette, who says “I’ve al-

ways been in sales; I’ve always loved people” once wrote a pa-per for a professor on the topic of what career to pursue. She got an “F” on the paper because she wrote about having a career which would essentially be “talk-ing to people for a living,” which the teacher said was not topic-related. The professor gave her the option to re-write the paper for a better grade, suggesting

Principal InspiresStudentsto Learn

Season of Magnificent Light

Photo by Bill Turner

Learning doesn’t have to be a dull, rote exer-cise, even in this age of Standards of Learning and Aver-age Yearly Progress. So says Glen-var Middle School prin-cipal Dr. Julie Myers, recently named the 2010 Virginia Out-standing Supervisor/Curricu-lum Leader of the Year by the Virginia Association for Super-visors and Curriculum Devel-opment (VASCD).

Myers , who also t e a c h e s about cur-ricula and instruction to future administrators in a graduate level program at Virginia Tech, was honored by the VASCD for a “commitment to effective instructional practices … con-tinuous professional growth and development [which pro-vides] a culture of learning for students, staff and educators,” said VASCD executive director Ann Etchison.

Myers went to UNC-Greens-boro for an undergraduate de-gree before earning a master’s at Hollins. She finished her PhD in educational leadership

[Education]

Cuccinelli Seeks Fast-Track To Supreme Court

This past Monday as midday rolled around, the whole country waited to hear the ruling being made in Virginia on the con-stitutionality of the Patient Pro-tection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). At exactly high-noon, Vi rg i n i a F e d e r a l D i s t r i c t C o u r t Judge Henry Hudson issued his ruling, and pronounced the “mandate” unconstitutional.

Attorney General Ken Cuc-cinelli was elated as he pro-claimed the Commonwealth’s case the most significant case so far to gain national attention. The lawsuit was narrowly focused on the mandate that every person must buy government-approved health insurance.

Cuccinelli, in an “I told you so” moment pointed to media outlets and legal experts, “ who said ‘we didn’t have a chance …’

[State Govt.]

Cave Spring Class Makes Reunion a Fundraiser

[Business]

> CONTINUEDP2: Principal

> CONTINUEDP2: Cuccinelli

Young Entrepreneur Force Behind Pure Spa

[Community]

> CONTINUEDP3: Pure Spa

> CONTINUEDP2: Reunion

Roanokers celebrated the holiday season last week by enjoying the beauty of several historic churches in downtown Roanoke. The first “Stained-Glass Christmas Tour,” benefitted RAM House. Pictured above is the sanctuary of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church elegantly decorated for the holidays. (See Story on Page 3.)

Cheryl and Dean Kemp with their twin sons Reece and Tyler.

Dr. Julie Myers, statewide win-ner.

Christin Burdette (2nd from left) and her staff at Pure Spa join in the festivities with Santa at this year’s Junior League Stocked Market.

On!Hats

P6– Greene Memorial church extends a hand and a hat to all those in need of warmth during our recent wintry weather.

BlessingsLarge

P8– Roanoke valley Horse Rescue takes in horses from virginia to California and works to place them in good homes.

FoundStar

P5– 100 baby stars adorned the streets of Roanoke decades ago. This year a star returns, sent from Floyd to the Transportation Museum.

UnwrappedTotally

P7– Lucky Garvin’s discov-ers that women are the only ones that should really be wrapping the presents.

Lucky Garvin

Page 2 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/17/10 - 12/23/10 newsRoanoke.com

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Limitations on federal power [do] mean something. ”

“This won’t be the final round, as this will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court, but today is a critical milestone in the protection of the Constitution,” said Cuccinelli.

At his press conference following the rul-ing Cuccinelli stated that, “there was a need for speed.” He expects that the federal gov-ernment will appeal the ruling to the Fourth Circuit Court. He estimated that skipping over the fourth circuit could shorten the process to a year. Otherwise it could take two or more years. He cited an extraordi-nary level of uncertainty that state govern-ments and the private sector face while the case is being decided.

Congressman Eric Cantor has already urged the Department of Justice to agree to an expedited appeal.

In the summary judgement, the Com-monwealth argued that the mandate pro-vision compelled a person to perform an involuntary act and as a result submit to the Commerce Clause. “The insurance mandate penalizes people for not engaging in com-merce. In other words, you can get fined for doing nothing,” said Cuccinelli.

The Secretary of Health and Human Ser-vices maintained that Congress concluded “that the minimum coverage provision is necessary to make the other regulations in the Act effective.” Without it the entire health care regime would “implode.”

The court also severed any directly de-pendent provisions. There is no severabil-

ity clause in the Act and by eliminating the mandate the other pieces could not survive. These pieces include lifetime caps on cover-age, insuring children until age 26 and ac-cepting anyone with preexisting conditions.

The Secretary argued that a person’s deci-sion to refuse to purchase health care insur-ance is an activity subject to the Commerce Clause. The Secretary also argued that the penalty for not purchasing insurance was not a penalty but a tax. In the final version of the health care bill Congress intentionally substituted the term “penalty” for “tax.”

The Commonwealth argued that the gov-ernment could not call the penalty a tax to try to make it legal under Congress’s taxing authority. Congress and the President called it a penalty and said it was not a tax. Judge Hudson agreed.

Cuccinelli later said this was “a good ex-ample of the kind of leaps of logic and lan-guage that the federal government needed to prevail.”

Judge Hudson in his ruling concluded: “The unchecked expansion of congressional power to the limits suggested by the Mini-mum Essential Coverage Provision would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers. At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance – or crafting a scheme of universal health in-surance coverage – it’s about an individual’s right to choose to participate.”

Cuccinelli sympathized with people who couldn’t afford insurance. “But as someone who has sworn to uphold the law, I can-not endorse taking away the rights of all so

that government can provide health care to some.” Cuccinelli called the government’s action “a peaceful attempt for noble pur-poses.”

He thanked the General Assembly for passing the Virginia Health Care Freedom Act and praised Virginia’s Tea Party for making it their first priority. Virginia’s Act states that no Virginian can be forced to buy health insurance against their will. “This is truly unique and it speaks to the severity of the breach of the constitutional boundary,” said Cuccinelli.

According to Cuccinelli, litigation ex-penses were under $1000 and included the human resources of four attorneys that worked in the Attorney General’s Office.

Governor McDonnell in a statement said he was pleased with the ruling and believes any reform should be “based on free-market solutions and individual liberty. No level of government should seek to achieve a goal, no matter how worthwhile, at the price of our freedoms and constitutional protec-tions.”

Greg Habeeb the Republican candidate for 8th district House of Delegates said, “For too long the Federal government has expanded the scope and authority of federal regulation under the auspices of the Com-merce Clause. This judgment is a victory in the war to restore the proper balance be-tween government and the people.”

By valerie [email protected]

> Cuccinelli From page 1

at Virginia Tech several years ago. A math teacher at Cave Spring High School for nine years, she went on to be the as-sistant principal at Cave Spring Middle School (1999-2005) be-fore taking the principal’s job at Glenvar Middle in 2005.

Claiming that curriculum “is a very open field” when it comes to teaching the basics, Myers said that creating “meaning-ful experiences” helps children learn in more effective ways. At times you have to get outside the four walls of a classroom.

“You can’t just learn about math in a math class,” said My-ers, “it has to be integrated into real life experiences – things that [have] meaning for them.” A “green” club at Glenvar where “math skills are used to build gardens is one example of that meaningful experience,” according to Myers. Those stu-dents are now working with architects and engineers at Vir-ginia Tech to construct a green-house on the Glenvar campus.

Last year students wrote folk tales about the Chesapeake Bay; they then communicated with students in that area and sci-entists at the Chesapeake Bay

Foundation via Skype to en-sure that their yarns remained authentic. “With that feedback they were able to make them accurate,” said Myers. Students then created animated videos about the experience.

As a reward of sorts, Glen-var Middle students involved with the folk tale project had a chance to travel to the Chesa-peake Bay last month, where they worked with fishermen there. “It was so much fun and they learned all about the con-servation efforts in the bay, and the things that threaten the en-vironment there,” said Myers. “They will always remember certain aspects of that trip.”

At least one student who as-pires to be a marine biologist was “completely absorbed” by the trip to the bay. “We have a small window to capture their interest,” noted Myers. “It’s how you do it that makes the differ-ence.” Students met residents from Tangier Island and con-ducted surveys they analyzed back at school. “It creates au-thentic learning opportunities for students and shows them that there are so many ways to learn.”

Myers said there are exam-ples at other county schools where creative learning prac-tices have taken place. “They help kids make it authentic. Every school could [share] similar stories.” Working within the Standards of Learn-ing mandates has meant that “we’ve been challenged to be more creative,” said Myers.

“Teachers didn’t go into teaching [because of] a certain test. That’s the quickest way to demoralize that passion for learning. How can we accom-plish these goals - but make it something that celebrates learning? That is possible.”

“It was an incredible honor,” said Myers of taking the state-wide award as Outstanding Su-pervisor/Curriculum Leader. Several teachers at Glenvar Middle and Roanoke County Schools superintendent Dr. Lorraine Lange nominated My-ers; Lange called her “a vision-ary and lifelong learner [who] inspires awe and respect from all those who know her.” Myers deflects some of the praise: “It’s really the teachers that deserve this award. To be honest. I was just blown away by it.”

> Principal From page 1

By Gene [email protected]

bles, it is almost unbelievable that Cheryl was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago. She remains a tireless rock for Dean even as she struggles with her own condition. To their great credit, Tyler and Reece are incredible boys who remain strong and try to sup-port their parents in every way. Tyler and Reece are seniors and are both co-captains of the Cave Spring High School

football team.Like many in such a dire

situation, Dean and Cheryl are proud and don’t want to be a burden on others, even when offers of help are made. How-ever, their situation is so se-vere that the Class of 1979 de-cided to set up the Dean Kemp Special Needs Trust, to receive contributions to be used for Dean’s needs and to help with his tremendous expenses.

It is expected that upon Dean’s passing that the re-maining funds, if any, can help his twin boys with their col-lege education. Both boys will graduate from Cave Spring in June of 2011. It is hoped that both the financial and emo-tional support coming from this effort will be a boost for this family in need.

In addition to the CSHS Class of ’79, anyone who

would like to help the Kemp family can contribute to this fund. Checks should be made payable to the Dean Kemp Special Needs Trust c/o Bob Boehling, 178 Bogey Lane, Sa-lem, VA 24153.

> Reunion From page 1

By Carla [email protected]

Glenvar Middle students meet with fishermen on the Chesa-peake Bay in November.

newsRoanoke.com 12/17/10 - 12/23/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 3

Seven downtown Roanoke churches had a chance to show off their ornate stained glass windows, vintage pipe organs, impressive stone-work and interesting architecture last Sunday during a holiday tour organized as a benefit for RAM House. Roanoke Area Ministries provides meals, shelter and emergency financial assistance for many of the needy in the valley from its home base at 824 Campbell Avenue.

Calvary Baptist, First Christian, Greene Memo-rial, Second Presbyterian, St. John’s Episcopal, St Mark’s Lutheran and Trinity United Methodist opened their doors to those taking the tour, with members of each congregation acting as guides.

Many of these churches have histories that date back more than 100 years; Trinity Memorial (305 Campbell) for example began when Greene Me-morial UMC was filled to capacity, with Civil War aides to Robert E. Lee (James David Johnston) and Jubal Early (Andrew Pitzer) two of the prime forces behind Trinity’s construction.

At Second Presbyterian, tour guide Boo Mill-er advised a couple that the beams and wood-planked ceiling looked like “the bow of a boat…if you turn it over, in the time of Jesus.” St Mark’s Lutheran showed off its Chrismon (Christ Mono-gram) Tree, first developed in 1957 by Frances Kipps Spencer at a Lutheran church in Danville.

The tall evergreen was adorned with Christian

symbols. Chrismon trees have “spread all over the world,” said church member George Kegley, who liked the holiday tour idea. “[We] thought it would be nice to open the churches,” said Kegley.

St. John’s Episcopal features authentic Tiffany stained glass windows in its sanctuary, works that were featured in an audio tour put together by the

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. St. John’s, over 100 years old at its current location at 1 Mountain Av-enue, just spent five million dollars to renovate its sanctuary and pipe organ, and may raise several million more for further changes.

Several styles of stained glass are featured in windows at St. John’s Episcopal, as explained by a tour guide – some used colored glass, others are clear glass painted in different hues. Many were donated by patrons in the 1940’s and were made by a company in New Jersey. Others date back to the 1920’s. Church member and tour guide Mary Green called it “the most inspirational [sight] when the sun comes through the stained glass windows during church services.”

Dedicated in 1903, Trinity UMC features a ro-tunda-style roof, unlike the arched style of many other churches on the tour. The small church conducts a community outreach program for lo-cal underprivileged children in the city, feeding them, taking them out on field trips and conduct-ing Bible studies.

Early on, Trinity Memorial held Sunday school classes in the old opera house that once resided

on the top floor of the City Market building, now undergoing renovations. “That’s where [poor children] learned to read and write,” said Trinity congregation and tour guide Eddie King of Sun-day schools, when they offered lessons for those that could not afford to attend private schools.

At St. John’s Episcopal, Mary Green liked the idea of a holiday tour, as a way to expose Roanokers to some of the city’s more venerable congregations, in buildings that are historic. “I think it’s great. I loved talking to everybody today. It’s been amaz-ing how interested people are…this has been real-ly nice.”

Local Churches Open Their Doors During Benefit Tour

Story and Photos by Gene [email protected]

The “Rose Window” at Second Presbyterian Church at 214 Mountain Avenue.

The sanctuary at 118-year-old St. John’s Epis-copal was recently restored.

The Annunciation at St. John’s Episcopal.

The rotunda-style ceiling at Trinity United Methodist Church.

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she write along the lines of pur-suing a career in motivational speaking, for example. Burdette says “I didn’t re-write the paper because I didn’t want to be a motivational speaker.” She adds almost humorously, “besides, I have a country accent.”

Later, when she bought Pure Spa, Burdette wrote the teacher to let her know that she was indeed now “talking to people for a living.” The teacher wrote back with an apology, and said that Burdette had caused her to “change her focus to grad-ing with her ears instead of her eyes.”

One of the talents that cus-tomers most appreciate in Bur-dette is that of makeup artist. She is well trained but she brings an innate ability to the table in that she can quickly assess a cus-tomer’s strengths and play those up, and prioritize what needs to be addressed first. One recent makeover client, 19-year-old Victoria, lit up when her make-over was finished. Her new pol-ished look clearly hit the mark.

The young lady said she learned a lot about make-up techniques and feels her new look will help with future job interviews. She says, “Christin is awesome, fun, and easy to connect with. Her love for skin care is evident; she doesn’t care about the sales as much as helping to improve the actual skin care, and help-ing people look better, which is nice.”

Burdette says she does “really care more about helping clients,” and says that she doesn’t worry so much about sales because putting clients first allows “sell-ing makeup [and services] to ‘happen.’” She says she is most fulfilled by establishing “long term relationships and being there for my clients, and helping them to be their own makeup artist.”

There have been times she has used her talent to help those who are sick or disfigured. One lady with a terrible rash from lupus had given up looking nor-mal, much less attractive. All the makeup she tried burned and

irritated … Burdette used the line she carries, “Jane Iredale” – a skin care makeup -- which worked just fine. The woman says it turned her life around.

Burdette also does some trav-elling to work with other spas to help with things like makeup consultations and spa events; she seems to have a knack for kick-starting sales for them too. But she is committed to making Pure Spa a true retreat where clients – both men and women -- feel comfortable and pam-pered. That has been a goal from the beginning. Notwithstand-ing the steady traffic in and out of the spa, it is pretty clear from Burdette’s resolve that she will continue to steer Pure Spa in the right direction.

Pure Spa is located at 3555 Electric Road, Suite H; Phone 540-904-5900. Visit puresparoa-noke.com for more information.

> Pure Spa From page 1

By Cheryl [email protected]

The Roanoke County Re-publican Committee held their bi-monthly GOP luncheon at Sunnybrook Inn on Decem-ber 16. Instead of giving each other gifts or drawing names, the members decided to make a donation of gifts and toys to the Roanoke Rescue Mission Women and Children's Center.

The Women and Children's

Center houses approximately 175 people, including 58 chil-dren. The center offers help with jobs, education and hous-ing needs for homeless mem-bers of our community.

Mike Bailey, Chairman of the Roanoke County Republican Committee, delivered a trunk load of gifts that were collected at the luncheon to the center for

the homeless children. The gifts will be distributed Christmas morning based on the needs and desires of the residents.

County GOP Finds New Way to Donate

By Carla [email protected]

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Local Crossword for 12/17/2010

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10

11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

31 32

33 34 35 36 37 38

39 40 41 42 43

44 45 46 47

48 49 50 51

52 53 54 55

56 57

58 59

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

1 Vigor 4 Possessive pronoun 7 Bone 9 Suggested

11 Lags behind 12 Hid in hand 14 Day of the week (abbr.) 15 Saint befitting 17 Fold-up bed 19 Cleanse 21 Rich man 22 Leaky faucet noise 23 Victimizing 25 Latest 26 Senses 27 2008 Mayor of Roanoke 29 Chilli brand 31 Sky 32 Palter 33 Stolen money distributors 36 Formerly Gish's Mill 39 Music Director and

Conductor of the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra

40 Compass point 42 Singing voice

44 Snow gliders 45 Roanoke ----- and produce

co., wholesale fruits and vegetables since 1910

47 Coin 48 Cobweb 49 Rioted 51 Lout 52 Make weak 54 Something to run 56 Two __ (has two faces) 57 Attracts lures 58 Berth 59 Grow older

DOWN

1 A well loved city matriarch. 2 Wading bird 3 Downtown tobacconist since

1912 4 Toothbrush brand 5 Unattractive 6 Rock group 7 Unimportant details 8 People from Asia 9 North of downtown

10 Official order

11 Throw out 13 Fancy round mat 14 ___ shot (2 wds.) 16 Compass point 18 Fast movers located in Vinton

on Parker Lane. 20 Makes angry 22 Erased 24 Dirty 26 Stone 28 Anger 30 Boxer Muhammad 33 Cycled 34 Where people were at crime

time 35 Steeled 36 Covered like a bride 37 Smelly vegetables 38 Gypsy 39 Compass point 41 Take to court 43 Official 45 Gave a lavish party 46 __ cotta (clay) 49 Brash 50 Lag 53 Liberal (abbr.) 55 Veneration

Star-Sentinel Crossword

By Don Waterfield

Find the answers online: NewsRoanoke.com

Have a clue and answer you’d like to see?email: [email protected]

Watching my one football game of the year, share for a moment my per-plexity at a Super Bowl commercial

showing a pathetic gaggle of men in their under-wear marching resolutely across a prairie meadow proudly singing “We wear no pants! We wear no pants!” Dockers. Wear the pants—the kicker punch implored. Say what?

The high-dollar point of this Super Bowl ad went zing over my head. But months later, I got the punchline. Oh my. My wife passed me the Atlantic Magazine article on a summer flight to or from somewhere. The title read “The End of Men.” Its 8000-word message (and Dockers’) is clear: today, she wears the pants.

“Earlier this year, women became the majority of the workforce for the first time in U.S. history. Most managers are now women too. And for every two men who get a college degree this year, three women will do the same” begins the long and thorough report. All but two of the 15 job catetories expected to grow the most are dominated by women. (Males will still hold the lead as janitors.)

The statistics of gender role change in America (and the world) in just the past few decades are staggering in their implications. The transformation has come with whip-lash rapidity, so that out-of-the-loop elder-males like me might be tak-en completely off guard. The causes are complex, and the consequences mixed.

The gender transformation goes much farther than a reshuffling of the workforce, a female-to-male ratio made even more gender-shifted lately by the disappearance of male-dominated heavy-industrial jobs gone overseas and by a general loss of young-male employment with manufacturing and construction’s decline in the current anemic economy. (High finance also was ruled by males. But that was then.)

In choose-the-sex fertility clinics, females are increasingly the choice—in some, almost two to one. Women want girl babies, because they like who they are, and because they see how cultural selection is shifting in favor of the feminine. A girl might have the better shot at the good life in the future than a boy.

While there’s more than this, the shift may have much to do with the way the world has changed—centuries ago—and our societal adaptation is fi-

nally catching up to the new realities. In the ac-customed order of things, the traditional roles of male and female have resulted in large part from our biology, the generally greater physical size and strength of the male making him “faster, stronger and hardwired to fight for scarce resources” and bring home the bacon. And driven, once upon a time, to make a killing on Wall Street.

But the age of testosterone may be over. Wom-en are at last moving forward towards and often beyond parity with men, now that the cultural cir-cumstances of our era reward the strengths, skills and temperaments the ladies possess.

While her world diversifies, his stagnates, as if today’s males were “fixed in cultural aspic.” Intel-lectually, the genders are on par, but they think

and learn differently. And when it comes to communications skills and social intelligence, woman are gaining ground, while men are not adapting well to make the changes necessary to at least share the pants.

Boys in this decade have been de-scribed as “the new girls.” The pen-dulum has swung too far, and today, it is boys that are the underdogs, an academically mis-served population in need of advocates and support. Girls move on to become the majority of proficient readers, high school honor

society members and valedictorians. “Girls get extra help while boys get Ritalin” reads the telling title of a 2003 article in USA Today.

Compounding the gender divide, there are few male teachers standing at the front of the class in our schools. An increasing number of boys don’t have fathers at home. Television, from Archie Bunker to Homer Simpson, has been emasculat-ing males since father knew best.

There may even be an environmental-hormon-al cause underlying this complex societal shift of gender dominance. Guy fish and frogs show the feminizing effects of PCBs, DDT, BPA and other endocrine disruptors in the water, and we drink from the same well—a disturbed and uncertain toast, to the rise of the beta male!

Fred First / Floyd County VABooks: slowroadhome.com

Blog: fragmentsfromfloyd.comtwitter.com/fred1st

Rise of the Beta Male

Fred First

Several years ago I agreed to coordinate Journey to Bethlehem, a Christ-

mas tradition at Raleigh Court Presbyterian Church that began shortly after our pastor, Tup-per Garden, began his ministry there.

He described a different ap-proach to the usual re-enactment of the Nativity. The characters, dressed in appropri-ate costumes, are the same–Mary and Jo-seph, shepherds, and the Wise Men. The difference involves the three separate “journeys,” and the combination of carol-ing and community participation. Live animals are also part of the scene.

About five o’clock on the Sunday before Christ-mas, the three groups meet at three separate locations. The costumed characters are joined by everyone who would like to make the pilgrimage – other church members or community residents. As they make their way to the church where a stable has been erected, they fill the cold December air with joyous Christmas carols. Spectators who prefer not to “travel” gather before the stable to witness the re-enactment of that special night.

My major problem involved the animals. When I contacted the farmer who had loaned us sheep he said no, not this year. Last year one of them escaped and he had a difficult time catch-ing it. The records did not have the name of the donkey owner.

Someone told me that Cov-enant Presbyterian Church had live animals for their nativity tab-

leau, so I decided to consult my good friend, Imogene Gregory who was at that time the direc-tor of Christian Education. We had worked together when our children were young and often compared notes now. Imogene listened patiently as I poured out my frustration, complain-ing that time was passing swiftly and so far I had no animals – not

a one!“Well, I can’t help

you with the donkey, or the sheep, but I know where you can get two llamas to sub for camels and a curly-haired goat that could pass for a sheep.”

She explained that her daughter, Mary Beth Coffey, who lives on Bent

Mountain, has llamas and goats, and would be delighted to let us use them for the Journey. Over-joyed, I called Mary Beth and confirmed her mother’s offer. Now – to find a donkey!

Eventually, I learned that Viv-ian Gobble in Vinton had sup-plied the donkey and I made an-other phone call. Sure, she said she would be glad for us to use the donkey again, but we would have to find transportation for she no longer had a trailer. After several phone calls I was told by "someone who knew someone" that a man in Montvale who moved horses for them might be able to transport the donkey. But, she said, he will probably charge you. I thanked her and took the number.

Hesitantly, I made the call. After all, I had only two days to find someone to help. I got an answering machine. I left a lengthy message, describing my

need and asking for a return call. Those two days passed swiftly and no call. I decided Mary would have to walk to the stable Sunday evening.

On Saturday evening I was serving guests when the tele-phone rang.

“This is Lon Reed. You called about moving a donkey tomor-row? Yes, I can do it. When should I be there?”

“Oh, but wait – first I have to know how much you charge . . . ” I knew there was little money available for the effort that would involve going from Montvale to Vinton to Raleigh Court and then back again.

“I wouldn’t think of charging you!" came the totally unex-pected response. "You’re a good friend of my mother-in-law.” “What?”

“Yes, I married Nancy Young – Imogene’s daughter.” Dear Imogene! She had rescued me again!

All the animals arrived on time. Mary rode the donkey, led by Joseph. The curly-haired goat pranced along secured by a leash in a shepherd’s hand, and the lla-mas actually looked like camels if you didn’t look too closely!

Was this all coincidence? I don’t think so!

Travel to Bethlehem this Sun-day, December 19. At 5:00, meet at the corner nearest you: Mary and Joseph, Brandon and Carter; Shepherds, Windsor and Dud-ding; Wise Men, Arlington and Windsor. At approximately 5:45 the re-enactment of the story of Jesus’ birth will take place at Ra-leigh Court Presbyterian Church.

My Christmas Donkey Miracle

Contact MAry Jo [email protected]

Mary Jo Shannon

“Are they both yours?” was the question from a stranger in the grocery store as my wife walked through the fresh produce. That was a common question for my wife a number of years ago when we only had two children. Two children who looked so different that it begged the question. Our oldest has blond hair and blue eyes while our second child has dark hair and brown eyes. For the more shameless they would even ask, “Do they have the same father?”

Since our third and forth child have come along, my wife no longer gets that question, just curious looks. Not because we have four children, but because our third and fourth are adopted. Now people have no idea were any of our kids came

from. And yes, they are all ours.Though the Christmas season is in full swing,

I find myself still in November. November was National Adoption month. A month designed to raise awareness about the 115,000 children in the US foster care system who are available for adop-tion. For the past several years, every November I stare at the numbers…over 420,000 children in the foster care system, 100,000 children awaiting adoption, 69,000 children whose parental rights have been terminated while only 57,000 children were adopted in 2009.

But the number that is most striking to me is 300,000. That’s the number of Christian congre-gations in America as of 2005 (see Journal for the

Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 44, Number 3, September 2005, pp. 307-322). The reason this is so striking is not because there are three times the number of Christian churches as children in need of domestic adoption; nor is the reason that so few of us know. Few of us realize that if just three congregations agreed to adopt one child, we would take care of the orphans in our midst. Just think, three congregations could come up with the money to pay the legal fees, three congrega-tions could find one home for a child to live in and three congregations could provide the com-munity needed to nurture the child. Not every-one is called to adopt a child, but everyone who has been adopted by God by faith in the Lord Je-sus is called to care for the orphans and widows. Adoption is central to the Gospel because being adopted is the identity of everyone who has be-come a Christian.

Author J.I. Packer described it this way, “Do I, as a Christian, understand myself? Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too. Say it over and over to yourself first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true. For this is the Christian’s secret of – a happy life? – yes, cer-

tainly, but we have something both higher and profounder to say. This is the Christian’s secret of a Christian life, and of a God-honoring life: and these are the aspects of the situation that really matter. May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine.”

This Christmas, we will celebrate the birth of Christ. The Son of God who is both fully God and fully man. We will celebrate the coming of the Christ. The Christ who was himself adopt-ed…by Joseph. “Is he yours?” was a question Jo-seph would have gotten. I suspect his answer may have gone something like this, “Well, it’s compli-cated, but yes. He is my son, but He is my Lord.” Jesus exchanged his perfect home in heaven to dwell on earth, in order that we might know Him as our great elder brother and Savior and join His family.

So this Christmas season, if you have saving faith in Christ, reflect on what Jesus gave up in or-der for you to be a member of His family and ask, “How does the reality of my adoption make me care for the orphans in my community?” If you are still in the "foster family of wrath," it’s never too late to be adopted. Relinquish the rights of sin over you and relish the joy of having a new family this Christmas.

Ed Dunnington is the Senior Pastor at Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Roanoke. Visit their website at www.ctkroanoke.org.

Preacher’s Corner - Is Your Adoption Complete? by Ed Dunnington

PersPectivenewsRoanoke.com 12/17/10 - 12/23/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 5

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In the greenhouse adjacent to my lab, I grow dozens of spe-cies of tropical plants. Orchids, bromeliads, banana palms, cycads, and ferns are among my favorites. With its warm,

wet air and lush-green visage, the little hothouse is a much loved spot for my students and colleagues during Roanoke’s harsh winter months.

For me, the word, greenhouse, evokes blissful images of color along with rousing fragrances and rich earthy smells. A moment of quiet work in my greenhouse carries me ardently into faraway exotic landscapes like Amazonia and the Yucatán, two of my favorite places in the tropical world.

The word, greenhouse, also calls to mind another, more pernicious relevance: climate change. Climate change in this context refers to any change in climate over time that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over com-parable time periods. A natural greenhouse effect exists to keep Earth warmer than it would be without its atmosphere, thanks to its cozy blanket of carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and other so-called greenhouse gases. It turns out that these invisible gases in the planet’s atmosphere act like the glass walls in my greenhouse: the translucent glass allows solar radiation into the structure but traps the resulting heat to keep the interior toasty warm.

We know, however, that changes in the atmospheric abundance of greenhouse gases and aerosols as well as in solar radiation and in land surface properties can alter the energy balance of the climate

system. If the balance in the amounts and fluxes of greenhouse gases shifts, then Earth’s overall climate will change accordingly.

For our day, two big questions concern us humans.Have humans impacted Earth’s atmosphere in any measurable

ways? The short answer: yes, definitely. Examples include increases in the amount of atmospheric greenhouse gases from in-dustrial and agricultural activities, particularly carbon di-oxide from fossil fuels, and increases in particulates from industrial pollution and deforestation.

Have humans been drivers of climate change? The short answer: yes, extremely likely. Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased mark-edly as a result of human activities since the 18th century and now far exceed pre-industrial values as determined from ice cores spanning many thousands of years. Given the strong correlation between carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere and temperature, it follows that increas-

ing concentrations of greenhouse gases lead to increasing tempera-tures and, consequently, to sudden and dramatic surprises in the world’s climate.

In early December, I was one of more than 27,000 attendees at the COP16 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Can-cún, Mexico. The international gathering was upbeat, organized, focused, and hope-filled as world leaders attempted to find sustain-able solutions to one of Earth’s greatest environmental challenges. Uninformed and misleading comments by pundits and politicians notwithstanding, the science behind climate change is robust and convincing. Even that silly incident in November 2009, dubbed

“Climategate” by the media, involving hacked e-mails of climate sci-entists from the University of East Anglia did not compromise the science but only a handful of scientists. Does it come as a surprise that scientists are human and, thus, have their faults and foibles like anyone else – including the Glenn Becks and Rosh Limbaughs of the world as they babble on with their off-base fiction? The con-ference put to rest “Climategate” as a tempest in a teapot and then addressed significant topics related to climate change.

A few of the take-home messages from my participation in the conference: (1) the evidence for global warming is unequivocal based on actual observations with the most rapid warming since the 1950’s and very likely (95% probability) anthropogenic, (2) the array of disinformation must be countered with a succinct, con-structive narrative, (3) fear is not a sustainable emotion, but hope is, and (4) science has done its job regarding such a pervasive and complex issue as climate change.

One of the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, prophesied, “Some-thing wicked this way comes.” The wicked thing, of course, is the murderer and traitor, Macbeth, but she could have been talking about climate change with its human causes, all of them ultimately selfish, ominous, and blinkered. Climate change is upon us. It’s our fault. But it’s also an opportunity for humankind to unite as a species, “the power of 6 billion” as the world’s only superpower, to turn climate change into a success story for Earth and all its rich biodiversity. H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D.

Ecologist, Educator, and [email protected]

Mistakes Aside - Human Beings Drive Global Climate Change

H. Bruce Rinker, PhD

I was near-about done with wrapping Christ-mas presents. I like to

get an early start; and more importantly an early finish. As I plowed my way through this self-appointed task, the love of my life and Mistress of the Estate had just finished a typical breakfast: hot tea and a Milky Way. She came over to see what I was about.

I fancy there's a method to it....wrapping presents, I mean; but it eludes me; one look at my counter top would tell you that. There, most of the packages I `cover' appear to be the work of a right-handed, left-winged political extremist calculated to deto-nate in some crowd-ed urban area. So I expected some teasing about this. And sure enough she started up. "Are we recycling paper today, Gahvin?"

She began hooting with laughter. "I know I don't wrap well..." I began.

"That's not it, Gahvin. You wrap wrong. That's male wrapping paper. Any nitwit can see that!"

"This nitwit can't.""I'll stay with you, Gahvin.

If ever a man needed inten-sive home care, it's you. Look, here's some female wrapping paper." So, wrapping Christ-mas presents, once merely a chore, becomes a reflection of failing intellectual vigor. It isn't going as well this year as it usually does.

She picked up the present I had bought for Mom and looked at it admiringly. "Gah-vin, I'm going into light-head-ed shock! Such a nice present you picked out! Your Mom

will never believe her ears when she sees this!"

I had used up one roll of paper [No, I don't know if it was male or female] and she snatched up the large card-board tube that I had dis-carded. She tapped me on the head with it as I bent forward laboriously trussing electrical tape around and around my package [my staple gun having

given out.] Thub. Thub. "Something sounds funny here, Gahvin. I wonder if It’s the tube or your nuggin that's hollow? Whatchu think, Gahvin?"

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking."

"You've got a growl on your face. Now don't get all

grumpy, Gahvin. Tell you why. Sandy Claws is coming to town!" Then she started mak-ing noises through the end of the tube, playing it like an Alp horn. "AAH oo Gah! AAH oo Gah! Now hear this: Christ-mas is coming!" She began her version of Christmas car-ols, "Sidewalks sing! Are you glistening? In the lane, snow is listening; It's a beautiful night/ To go fly a kite ...". I think I made that last part up, Gahvin."

"Hang on to that day job at all costs...."

As any hopes I had for a ra-tional Christmas sank slowly beneath the waves, she quizzed me, "Now, what are the two main things to remember about Christmas shopping, Gahvin?"

"`It's not the thought, it's what you paid for it'..."

"Right. And?" I went blank.

"Keep those receipts so I can

take everything back and ex-change them and shop some more."

If she got a present from Archangel Gabriel she'd prob-ably try to return it.

"Oh yeah. A central theme of Christmas and I forget it."

"I think your little mind doesn't have much traction, Gahvin. One of your belts is up there slippin'."

Not long ago it was my birthday and she wanted to do something special.

"I'm almost ready for your party, Gahvin. Even got the fire permit. Had to; you ex-ceed the allowable number of candles. At your age they say the flame on the cake will be the equivalent of a fire in a high-rise. They promise to have a hook and ladder stand-ing by.

"And I was going to bake you a cake. But now I can't do it."

"Why not?" "The recipe says I need two 9

inch cake pans." "So?" "I have three of them, Gah-

vin; I have too many. So I can't do the cake. Why don't we open a can of fruit cock-tail while we sing you that song....`When I Am Old and Feeble and One Foot in the Grave'?"

"`Happy Birthday?'""Oh. If you'd rather sing

that one." "I was really hoping for a cake." "We'll put a candle on the lid and call it a fruit cake, Gahv."

Merry Christmas.

Real Men Don't Wrap (Or Shouldn't)

Contact Lucky [email protected]

Lucky Garvin

Have you ever no-ticed how December seems to be a month

filled with “shiny things”: clothes with sequins, trees with lights, decorations that sparkle and shiny new toys. Even the people in our lives seem to get polished up – if only for a few weeks. The holidays are a time when we find ourselves shop-ping for the aunt we haven’t spoken with for months; writing a Christmas card to the college roommate we haven’t seen for years or baking cookies for co-workers – includ-ing the ones we hard-ly know. Maybe it’s the “Christmas cheer” – maybe it’s the glow of the tree lights – maybe it’s the eggnog – or maybe it’s simply a tiny win-dow into the world of magic we wished for on those shiny stars. Maybe it’s all those things.

For me – the tree is always my favorite shiny thing about the holidays. This year – I think I figured out why.

For many reasons, I found myself alone while decorating the tree that fills the huge win-dow in the front of my home. In this moment of solitude I found myself in an unexpected place of introspection. As I unwrapped each treasured and glittery or-nament – I began reflecting on the history of every one. Where it came from and what it had meant at the time. It made me think of all times in life when I have been like the shiny crystal angel and other times when I’ve been more like the 2nd grade art project. Once the boxes were all unpacked – when I stepped back to admire the completed task – I realized something spectacular.

This 8-foot pine tree with little white glistening lights represents the story of my life.

It holds the white ceramic an-gel hand-painted with the words “Stefie” -- from the only person who has ever used that term of endearment. It holds the story of the sterling silver angel that my sister and I would fight over

hanging as children. It holds the multitude of ice skates – serving as a reminder that I once aspired to be an Olym-pic champion. It holds the golden ornament from the US Capitol from the days when I worked there. It holds the rhinestone studded crystal dog

bones with “Jack” and “Blue” in-scribed. It holds bells and music notes to honor my love of such things.

This living storybook isn’t just a reminder of the happy times – but it also bears witness to the moments of sadness and loss that are stitched throughout our lives. There is a millennium glass ball I got the Christmas be-fore my brother died. There’s a once matched pair of “his and her monograms” – now hanging alone – its partner on another tree in another place. No matter what the circumstances of each detail – as I looked at the fin-ished tree – everything looked so beautiful – so shiny.

I thought back about all the gifts I have joyfully discovered under the tree over my 40 years of life. The Barbie Townhouse

with the elevator and plastic horses; the REAL kitty I named “Blackie” and the leather ET: The Extra Terrestrial doll; the PJ’s and sweaters; Coach purses and diamond jewelry; the books and music; and electronic gad-gets. All of them seemed so shiny at the time – but most have lost their luster and faded away – either sold at a garage sale or donated to Goodwill. An overwhelming melancholy feel-ing came over me…

How is it possible to love something so much when we newly discover it shining under the tree – only to have its status replaced by the time the next holiday rolls around. Do we treat the humans in our lives the same way? Do we bask in the glow of new friendships only to replace them when the next “shiny” person comes along? Or do we treasure them deeply – carefully protecting them for life like the ornaments on the tree? I suspect we are all guilty of both.

So, as we wander our way through the holiday traditions -- enjoying the magic of new memories and the sparkle of new things – may we also re-member that which was once shiny and new but has long since been buried in a closet or faded to a memory. And most of all, may we remember to honor their place in our life’s story.

A Perspective On Shiny Things

Contact Stephanie [email protected]

Stephanie Koehler

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We dedicate our second annual

Manger Offeringto help fight homelessness in the

Roanoke Valley

Second Presbyterian Church214 Mountain Avenue, SW (between Mountain and Highland Avenue)

Roanoke, VA 24016540-343-3659 www.spres.org

You are invited to join us for any or all of theChristmas Eve services at Second Presbyterian Church

being held on Friday, December 24, 2010:

Communion Service (Chapel), 12:00 noon

Family Service with Christmas Story(Sanctuary), 5:00 p.m.

A Service of Lessons and Carols (Sanctuary)with Communion, 10:00 p.m.

All offerings received at these services will be donatedto the Roanoke Valley Interfaith Hospitality Network to

benefit services to those facing homelessness.Come join us for a time of worship and joyful music!

. . . because there wasno room for them

in the inn.

Luke 2:7

Dr. George C. AndersonSenior Pastor

We welcome you to Sunday morningworship at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. eachweek. There will be only one service at11:00 a.m on December 26.

Manger Offering Ad - RSS:Manger Offering Ad - MSN 12/13/2010 4:46 PM Page 1

Photo by Laura Gomez

Matt Bullington and his niece, Alexandra Gomez, (center in red shirts) run together in the 5K Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis held in down-town Roanoke on Saturday December 11th. The run raised $77,290 in donations.

Youth was served at the 20th annual Jingle Bell Run on Saturday, a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. Cave Spring High School graduate Tim Smith, now run-ning for the University of Richmond, finished first over-all with a 5K time of 15:51. His brother Andrew, now at Cave Spring, placed 6th. 15 year old Katie Fortner - a cur-rent Cave Spring student - was the top female finisher at 19:21. 1010 ran or walked the 3.1 mile course. (See more results at starcitystriders.com)

Jingle Bell Runners Take Cold in Stride

The Faith Christian School Robotics Team captured first place wins in last Saturday's ro-botics competition at Virginia Western Community College.

Each year, VWCC sponsors an autonomous robot competi-tion for area schools. This year, thirty-six teams participated,

with students ranging from middle school to college age. Participating teams were in-structed to build a "tree-harvest-ing robot" capable of collecting six red colored dowels without moving the six green dowels, positioned around a route de-fined by a black tape line.

The Faith Christian School Middle School team took first place in the middle school di-vision, and garnered for them-selves "bragging rights" for the best overall time for a perfect run among all competing divi-sions. FCS Upper School team members earned first place in their division and took second place in the overall competi-tion.

Saturday's event marked the fifth annual competition spon-sored by the Department of En-gineering at Virginia Western Community College. Its stated purpose is for students to gain a better understanding of the de-sign process and to "have some engineering fun."

For more information visit www.FaithChristian-School.com.

Faith Christian School Robotics Team Wins Regional Competition

Just in time for this year’s first cold snap, which can best be described as “brutal,” Greene Memorial United Methodist Church has been adorning the gate out front with caps and gloves that are offered for free for anyone that needs them. According to the church’s pastor, Rev. Gary Robbins, “so far, what-ever we put out there has dis-appeared.” He adds, “And we thought Chicago is the windy city!”

With passersby bundled up, leaning into the wind as they hurried along the side-walk, some stopped to see what the little bags on the gate contained. The church’s Needlework Guild, headed up by Nancy Healy, “had seen the idea done in Bedford and thought it was a great idea, and wanted to make it avail-able for folks downtown,” according to Robbins. He adds, “The group here gets together on a regular basis to knit – they also have done

prayer shawls; they are a good group.”

The Guild had finished about 100 caps in different sizes, which are marked on the bag so people can easily choose what they need. The church still has more to put out, but judging from the rate the hats are being picked up, the ladies will soon be getting started knitting more of them for next winter. Healy says that when she was putting hats out on a frigid evening, she realized how much they may be appreciated and “that really made me feel good about what we’re doing.” She adds, “It doesn’t matter your background, when it’s that cold, if you need a hat, you need a hat!”

Greene Memorial was also one of the churches that participated in last week’s Stained Glass tour – an event which included several downtown churches opening their doors to the public on a Sunday afternoon during

the Christmas season. Rev. Robbins said “many of these sanctuaries were constructed during Roanoke’s boon time, and they are just gorgeous. [Some of] the architecture, craftsmanship and workman-ship was done by hand.”

Referring to these unique-ly beautiful and ornate sanc-tuaries, Robbins said, “Not many places are set up like this, for peacefulness and quietness and reflection. They really do invite people to be calm and peaceful in-side.”

The knitting ministry is another way to give people on the outside a little piece of that peace and warmth com-ing from the inside.

Need a knitted cap? Stop by Greene Memorial Church, located at 402 Second Street SW. Phone 540-344-6225 or visit gmumc.org for more in-formation.

Greene Memorial Spreads Some Warmth Downtown

Hats and gloves hang along the wrought-iron fence alongside Greene Memorial United Method-ist Church at 402 2nd Street SW.

Photo by Gene Marrano

Frigid runners cross the finish line during last week’s race.By Cheryl Hodges

[email protected]

sPorts 12/17/10 - 12/23/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 7

Around the Hardwoods With Wild Bill

By Bill [email protected]

High school basketball has moved into high gear before the Christmas break and so far the parity has been fairly evident. Teams are still assessing their lineups in non-district play, and one matchup, William Byrd against Cave Spring, had a repeat thrilling finish last Friday. Only nine days after Cave Spring won in double overtime on a buzzer-beater by senior Storm Furrow, the Knights and Terriers played the rematch at Cave Spring. In front of a pair of very spirited stu-dent sections, the two teams played a classic nail-biter in which nei-ther squad held more than a five-point lead. In the end, Cave Spring commanded a loose ball with less than four seconds remain-ing and went the length of the court before Michael Phlegar was fouled going to the hoop with two-tenths of a second left. After two Byrd time-outs and a missed shot, Phlegar found nothing but net on the final-of-two charity shots to give the Knights the 48-47 win.

In the unusual game of the week we go outside the Roa-noke area for a River Ridge team that will be a familiar foe for three of our local teams. Christiansburg made the road trip to Stuart,Va, where they dismantled Patrick County by 55 points. It was a total team ef-fort for the Blue Demons as 14 different players scored, yet, de-spite being one shot away from hitting the century mark, the 97 points put up by Christians-burg did not provide the game’s leading scorer. Patrick County’s Jalen Reynolds netted 14 points, more than any of the fourteen Christiansburg scorers. Don’t

say this great predictor has not forewarned Salem, Cave Spring and Hidden Valley to be aware of the Blue Demon bench come district play.

For you holiday planners, here’s the lineup for the K-Guard Holiday Classic, to be played at the Salem Civic Cen-ter December 27, 28 and 29. In the opener on the 27th, Patrick Henry takes on Alleghany at 3 p.m., followed by Cave Spring

/ Brook Point at 4:30 p.m., Hidden Valley / GarField at 6 p.m. and Salem-William Flem-ing in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. This is always a super basketball event and I will provide a clear-cut prediction to

the K-Guard folks, I predict my gutters will be full of leaves

by tipoff. I should have bought your product.

Let’s handle a little house-keeping from the ever-lingering football season. Congrats to EastMont for their run to the state final at Salem Stadium. Everyone in Shawsville should be proud of the Mustang’s great season that captured that com-munity’s attention. I’m going to hang out with Mustang’s coach Mark Poston. I figure I can pick his brain and easily become the offensive coordinator for a ma-jor college team.

Ditto to Dave Crist and the Blacksburg Bruins, winners of the 60th annual Civitan Sports-manship Award presented Monday. The award, chosen by the Western Va. Football Offi-cials Association, went to a well-deserving group.

Now to the mailbag for some help with night-time interstellar photography and a look at pit-falls in predicting.

Dear Mr. Wild Bill: My hus-band was inspired by your men-tion of moon photography, so I have bought him several thou-sand dollars worth of camera lenses for Christmas. His goal is to take a picture of Haley’s Comet that he hopes will be published in a major magazine. I’m worried the shot will be in the winter and he’ll need special gloves to capture the magnifi-cent tail and trailing ice crys-tals of the celestial body. How should he practice? (Loretta/Floyd)

Answer: I’ve got great news, Loretta! The comet’s next fly-by will be in the month of July, so don’t fret the gloves. And, your hubby will have plenty of time to get ready for the shot - it’s July, 2061.

Dear Master Predictor: With all your accurate predic-tions and hunches, do you clean up at the horse races? (Harvey/Charles Town,WV)

Answer: Harvey, there’s a fine line between predictions and hunches that I’ll explain with an experience I once had. When I played hockey, I wore #5. So imagine my excitement when I went to the track and in the fifth race a horse named Five Aces was starting out of the fifth gate. When the odds were posted at fifty-to-one, it was like a sign from the gods of wagering. I rushed to the fifth window and put down fifty dollars. I was so excited, I jumped up and down, never seeing the ponies do the circuit. When I went to claim my four-figure booty, the stew-ard shook his head and pointed to the board - I should have predicted it- Five Aces came in, well, fifth.

Bill Turner


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Cave Spring's Michael Phlegar sank a free throw with two-tenths of a second remaining as the Knights edged the Terri-ers 48-47 Friday night at Cave Spring. Ty-ler Kemp led Cave Spring with 13 points while the Terrier's Scott Cole tallied a game-high 22. Cave Spring improved to 2-1 on the season; Byrd fell to 1-3.

Cave Spring #14 Aaron Cupp (in white) defends as Byrd ballhandler #22 Zack Barnes looks for an opening.

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Hidden Valley jumped out to a 36-14 halftime lead and coasted to the non-district win Tuesday night. The Titans were led by Carter Wright and Taylor Walker, both of whom scored 12 points. Eric Sloan led the Terriers with 11 points.

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The Happy Chef by Leigh Sackett

I have been going to a won-derful Sunday school class at my church taught by my friend Anne. It is about the season of Advent and how to make the Holidays more meaningful and less stressful. This is the ques-tion that usually pops into my mind as soon as Thanksgiving is over. What would Christmas be like if I really had control over it? How could I make it smaller, more special, less hec-tic?

Then I ponder the word … Control … Isn’t that what God keeps teaching me over and over - that I don’t control things and that I am to find His gifts in the unexpected and even in the greatest challenges of life.

So I have decided not to stress over simplifying Christ-mas, (goodness!). I just want to enjoy uplifting the important things and easily give up the things we don’t need - to hold onto what the season is about and let the beauty find us . . ., Sometimes that beauty comes in totally unexpected places and sometimes it comes in the most familiar places. (Like in my car belting out Silent Night as I do each year!)

I don’t scream about the traffic at Valley View anymore, I just laugh and wonder what God thinks of us and pray

that all of us will find our way through that traffic to Him.

Each year has new surprises and great memories. My chil-dren are always a year older and there is always new joy found in their experiences each year at Christmas. It is a wondrous time of year in so many ways.

So don’t worry over creating the perfect BIG Christmas and sure don’t worry over creating a simple Christmas. We are not to create it at all, really, it is God’s to create - so I will just do my small part and allow Him to do the rest.

Below is a Paula Deen reci-pe. Because really who would know how to experience the joy of Christmas better than Paula! Hope you enjoy it all as much as I will! !

4 (6-ounce) bone-in pork loin chops 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1/4 cup Cranberry Mustard Sauce, recipe follows Nonstick cooking spray Salt and freshly ground black pepper Cranberry Mustard Sauce: 1 (12-ounce) package fresh or frozen cranberries, about 4 cups 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Arrange the pork chops in a single layer in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, add the mustard and cranberry sauce and stir to combine. Brush the mustard mixture evenly over both sides of the chops. Cover and refrig-erate for 1 to 12 hours, turning occasionally.

Coat a large frying pan over medium heat with nonstick cooking spray. When the pan is hot add the chops. Partially cover and cook for 10 minutes. Uncover, turn the chops over and cook uncovered on the second side until the meat is cooked through but still juicy, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and transfer to a serving plat-ter.

Cranberry Mustard Sauce: Wash and pick over the cran-

berries. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the water and the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries burst, about 10 minutes. Stir in the pecans and the mustard and transfer to a small bowl. Let cool completely at room temperature, then cov-er and refrigerate until ready to use. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

Pork Chops with Cranberry Mustard SauceFor Pat Muncy and her husband Jason, res-

cuing abused horses and nurturing them back to full health is a way of life. The Muncys run Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue Inc. from their farm in Hardy, taking in horses seized by ani-mal control officers in Virginia and elsewhere.

RVHR is funded by small grants and dona-tions – the operation does not receive money from local governments to take in and feed horses. In all, the operation covers two pieces of property totaling almost 50 acres. RVHR can hold up to fifty horses. The couple has five of their own at the farm on Edwardsville Road.

Pat Muncy had been involved in another lo-cal rescue operation in the past and notes that three others in the area have closed up over the past few decades. “We bought [the property] to start the rescue,” said Pat Muncy, “over eight years ago.”

Some horses have come from as far away as California; Pat Muncy says there just aren’t many rescue operations in the country. Loudon, Franklin, Henry and other Virginia counties have sent seized horses. Some are voluntarily released to the RVHR when their owners real-ize they can no longer take care of the animal or they have been charged with neglect; some find they cannot afford to keep it fed and sheltered.

Muncy appreciates the volunteers that come by to help out with the twice a day feedings. “[The horses] look forward to seeing every-body. Otherwise it’s usually just me all winter long.” Local grocers and restaurants donate food supplies at times or she goes out and pur-chases items on sale.

When they can, the Muncys will send bales of hay and other foodstuffs to horse owners elsewhere who are struggling to feed them-selves, let alone their animals. “We’ve helped

out several of them now,” said Muncy, noting how many people are out of work.

Others that donate feed and hay make life easier for RVHR, also enabling the Muncys to help others at times. The 400 cans of corn from Food Lion she purchased at half price came in handy. “They eat it,” said Muncy, noting that other horses like fresh vegetables – even apple cider mixed with grain, especially the older ones.

Pat Muncy said they look for qualified new owners when the animals are restored to good health. Over 20 can be adopted right now. “They normally come in starved,” added Muncy, a stark comment on the condition many arrive in. It can take eight weeks to six months to re-store them, depending in part on the age of the equine. At the discretion of a Board of Direc-tors, horses at times may have to be euthanized - RVHR is not a retirement facility either.

A 501 c 3 non-profit, donations to RVHR are tax deductible. “We are constantly in a fundrais-ing mode,” Muncy said with a chuckle, “always looking for contributions.” It’s a 24/7 endeavor

for Pat Muncy, who grew up and around horses.

“[We] try to help as many animals and owners as we can,” said Muncy. “It’s something that was needed. I’d love for [the res-cue farm] not to be needed.”

For more information or to donate call 721-1910 or visit rvhr.com.

Rescuing Animals a Labor of Love for Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue

By Gene [email protected]

Rescued horses are restored to good health by Roanoke Valley Horse Rescue.

James V. Revercomb (Jim)Jim Revercomb died Sunday

Dec 12th. He was preceded in death by his father and mother Chapman and Sara Rever-comb as well as his sister Anne Graney and brother George Hughes Revercomb. He is sur-vived by his wife of 55 years Nancy Anderson Revercomb and his brother Bill Revercomb of Charleston WV. He is also survived by three sons and a daughter: Jim Jr. and wife De-nise, Randy and wife Cindy of Richmond VA , Stuart and wife Beth Anne and Anne Cox and husband Bob of Greenville SC. He is also survived by 15 grand-children: James, Joe, Wes and Max Revercomb; Chapman, Blair and Wood Revercomb; George, Gussie, Jane and Rob Revercomb; Lee, Roscoe, Anne Stuart and Hollis Cox and many beloved nieces, nephews and cousins.

Jim grew up in Charleston

WV, was a graduate of Green-brier Military School, attended Hampden-Sydney College and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1954. He might have happily settled in his hometown of Charleston but chose to strike out on his own and landed a po-sition with Kaiser Aluminum in New York City. He then went on to work for the RB&W Nut and Bolt Company in Connecticut

and Greensboro NC. In 1969 Jim started his own

business, RevCar Fasteners, leaving his family every week to sleep in the back of a delivery truck in the warehouse he leased until he was able to move them to Roanoke. He became one of the industry leaders and was elected President of the National Fasteners Distributorship Asso-ciation and was one of the first members to be voted into the associations Hall of Fame. The company thrived and was sold in 1996 to The Wurth Group, a corporation based outside of Frankfurt Germany with over 50,000 employees worldwide. All RevCar employees main-tained their jobs as part of the acquisition - a condition to the sale that Jim had insisted upon.

Jim Revercomb’s family, friends and work provided the great joys of his life and he gave of himself endlessly in support of them. He knew no stranger and gave fully from his heart wherever he perceived a need. He knew his Lord and humbly and beautifully loved as he was loved. He will be greatly missed by family and friends and the many lives he has touched.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Jim can be made to Apple Ridge Farm, The Roanoke Valley SPCA or the charity of your choice.

Jim Revercomb

December 27, 1932 – December 12, 2010

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On November 2, 2010 my friend, Morgan Grif-fith, was elected to be one of almost 100 new col-leagues who will be join-ing me in January in the United States House of Representatives. As a re-sult, Salem and Roanoke County will be losing an extremely valuable leader in the Virginia House of Delegates. On January 11, 2011 we must elect a new Delegate to fill this vacan-cy. Greg Habeeb is the only candidate running for this seat who will be able to be the leader this community needs in the House of Del-egates, as well as uphold the high standards that Congressman-elect Mor-gan Griffith has set for this seat.

Greg Habeeb has the business and legal expe-rience to bring new jobs to the Roanoke Valley. Greg's outstanding work in his law partnership and in the business commu-nity has earned him rec-

ognition as one of the top 20 business leaders under 40 by the Blue Ridge Busi-ness Journal and as a Legal Elite attorney by Virginia Business magazine.

In addition, Greg has shown his leadership ca-pacity and his willingness to serve our community as a member of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of South-west Virginia, as a vol-unteer attorney for mili-tary families through the Military Family Support Center, as a Sunday school teacher at the Church of the Holy Spirit, and as a local Young Life Leader.

And when it comes to the crucial decisions that he will have to make as a Delegate, Greg gets it. He will oppose any effort to increase taxes, put-ting job growth first. He

will fight wasteful spend-ing and work to make our state government more ef-ficient. I know he shares Governor Bob McDon-nell’s commitment to ac-complish those goals.

Most importantly, Greg knows that an open and transparent limited gov-ernment is the best kind of government. Greg un-derstands that the govern-ment answers to the peo-ple; and he will be a truly great representative of the people as Morgan Griffith has been for the Roanoke Valley during his years of service in the House of Delegates.

I hope you will join me in supporting Greg Ha-beeb on January 11.

-Bob Goodlatte

Commentary - Habeeb "Gets It" - Is Perfect Leader to Replace Griffith

Voters in the January 11 spe-cial election for the House of Delegates have a clear choice. Ginger Mumpower, owner of Ginger's Jewelers and proven creator of local jobs, is running against mostly-unknown liabil-ity lawsuit lawyer from Salem, Greg Habeeb.

Mumpower was elected Vice-Mayor of Radford in the 1980s. A southwest Virginia native, Mumpower has lived in Roanoke County since then. She knows and cares about our community, and knows how to make tough choices and stand firm on an issue. Her opponent has never held elected office.

Mumpower demonstrated strong, bold leadership when she held a press conference last week to announce her opposi-tion to Governor McDonell's controversial plan to privatize Virginia's ABC stores. The plan would put local small businesses at a disadvantage, would hurt Virginia's budget, and might increase student-to-teacher ratios in our schools by reducing school funding.

Habeeb has flip-flopped re-

peatedly on this issue. Habeeb wrote last year that he saw "al-most no cons" in the privati-zation plan and said "it'll be a HUGE cash bonanza for the state." When he announced his campaign last month, Habeeb surprisingly said he hadn't taken a position on the liquor privatization plan. A few weeks later, Mumpower boldly an-nounced her opposition to the plan. Later that day, Habeeb tried to imitate her and said he was against it, too. He stated mostly the same reasons Mum-power had stated. Then when he was criticized by conserva-tives for not supporting the plan, he said he does support it but opposes linking it to trans-portation funding.

The funniest part of this flip-flop, dubbed "ABC Gate," is that when Habeeb wrote so glowingly of staunchly sup-porting the plan, he referenced State Senator Mark Obenshain's privatization bill. Obenshain has stated, "Privatizing the ABC stores and using the revenue to help fund transportation is one of Governor McDonnell's pri-

orities, and I look forward to working with the Governor to make this a reality."There is a clear link between transporta-tion funding and Obenshain's bill.

While Habeeb's verbal ac-robatics are hilarious, they are also very serious. Our state's economy is in rough shape. We need mature, principled, hon-est leaders who are willing to make tough choices. We don't need flip-flopping politicians who don't know how to create jobs and change their positions depending on who's asking.

Many local business lead-ers and teachers from across the political spectrum are sup-porting Ginger Mumpower. If you value small businesses and strong schools, and you want a strong, principled leader repre-senting our region in the House of Delegates, vote for Ginger Mumpower on January 11.

-Tom Mall (Retired Teacher and Small Business Owner), Vinton

Commentary - Mumpower is Strong Leader - Has Support of Community

The sale of the 2011 Church Mouse Calendars go to benefit the Second Harvest Food Bank, now called Feeding America Southwest Virginia and a Mil-lennium Development Goals fund through Christ Episcopal Church.

The calendars make great Christmas gifts and are avail-able for $10 at Tinnell`s Finer Foods, the Roanoker Restau-rant, Wheeler`s Fast Service Laundry & Cleaners, Aesy`s Restaurant, Metro Paint and Christ Episcopal Church.

I would like to thank these retailers for all their support. I really enjoy creating these drawings throughout the year and I thank you, our commu-nity for supporting this annual fundraiser.

This year's calendar is in memory of my mother, Fran-ces Shepherd who was quite an artist and two of her works are featured - an ink drawing of our church in the month of April and an early “wood-cut” Christmas card of her design from the late forties in the month of December…If you see me, I`ll have Church Mouse Calendars available and will gladly sign them for you!

Merry Christmas to All!

-Tim Shepherd, 540-580-4287, [email protected]

2011 Church Mouse Calendars Are Here!

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel

The Roanoke Star-Sentinel is published weekly by Whisper One Media, Inc. in Roanoke, Va. Subscriptions are available for $44 per year. Send subscrip-tions to PO Box 8338, Roanoke, VA 24014. We encourage letters from our readers on topics of general interest to the community and responses to our articles and columns. Letters must be signed and have a telephone number for verification. All letters will be verified before publication. The Star-Sentinel reserves the right to deny publication of any letter and edit letters for length, content and style.

All real estate advertised herein is subject to national and Virginia fair housing laws and readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Communi ty | News | Perspect ive

Publisher | Stuart Revercomb | [email protected] Features Editor | Cheryl Hodges | [email protected] Editor | Gene Marrano | [email protected] Editor | Leigh Sackett | [email protected] Webmaster | Don Waterfield | [email protected] Director | Bill Bratton | [email protected]

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When people hear the words “estate planning,” they often assume it’s an activity only for retirees or near-retirees. But if you have a family, it’s never too soon to create your estate plan.

Of course, estate planning can seem like a daunting task. But you’ll find it easier to handle if you break it down into three key areas: distributing your as-sets, protecting your family and reducing estate taxes. Let’s look at these topics:

• Distributing your assets — Obviously, it’s essential that you let your family know just how you’d like to see your as-sets distributed, and to whom. At the very least, you’ll need to draw up a will. If you were to die without one, the state could end up distributing your re-sources, and it might do so in a way you wouldn’t have wanted. But even a will may not be suffi-cient. Many people design a liv-ing trust, which provides them with more flexibility in distrib-uting assets — for example, you could direct your living trust to disperse assets to children or grandchildren at specific ages — and allows assets to be distrib-uted without going through the time-consuming, and public, probate process. • Protect-ing your family — Estate plan-

ning isn’t just about dollars and cents — it also involves taking the necessary steps to preserve the welfare of your family if you are not around or become inca-pacitated. Consequently, you’ll need to name a guardian for your minor children — some-one who can step in and raise them should anything happen to you and your spouse. And when your children are adults, you’ll want to help them with decisions that could prove ago-nizing. For example, by creat-ing a living will, you can state whether you want your life pro-longed if you ever face a termi-nal illness or catastrophic brain injury and are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. And by drawing up a health care power of attorney, you can name someone to make health care choices for you if you are unable to do so.

• Reducing estate taxes — Depending on the size of your estate, your heirs may never have to worry about estate taxes. But that’s hard to predict, espe-cially given the fact that federal estate laws have gone through several changes in recent years, and may do so again. Your best bet is to stay informed about the exemption level — the amount you can pass on to your heirs,

free of estate taxes — and look for ways to reduce the size of your taxable estate. You could, for instance, make charitable gifts, thus moving these assets from your estate. You may also want to consider arrangements such as an irrevocable life in-surance trust — under which you can transfer a life insur-ance policy out of your estate and have the trust distribute the proceeds to the beneficia-ries you’ve chosen — or a credit shelter trust, which allows both you and your spouse to take full advantage of both your estate tax exemptions.

A trust can be a complex in-strument, so before establishing one, you’ll need to consult with your tax and legal advisors. In fact, you’ll want to consult with them on all aspects of estate planning. It will take time and effort, but it’s worth it to leave the type of legacy you desire.

Edward Jones, its associates and financial advisors are not estate planners and cannot pro-vide tax or legal advice. Please consult your attorney or quali-fied tax advisor regarding your situation.

This article was written by Edward Jones for use by your local Edward Jones Financial Advisor.

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The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, West-ern Virginia’s largest business organization, has elected of-ficers and directors for 2011. Kenneth L. Lanford, president of Lanford Brothers Company, Inc., has been elected chair. Other officers are: John Fran-cis, Jr., First Citizens Bank, chair-elect; Charles Robbins, BB&T, past chair; Steven An-derson, D’Ardenne Associates LTD, vice-chair membership; Harvey Brookins, Wachovia Bank, vice-chair economic development; Jim Lee, JBL Consulting, LLC, vice-chair of operations and treasurer; John

Parrott, Rutherfoord, vice-chair at large; Kim Stanley, Cox, vice-chair of public poli-cy; and Joyce Waugh, Roanoke Regional Chamber, president and secretary.

New members of the 2011 Board of Directors are: Vickie Bibee, Scott Insurance; Me-linda Chitwood, Brown, Ed-wards & Co.; F.B. Webster Day, Spilman Thomas & Bat-tle, PLLC; Chris Head, Home Instead Senior Care; Dale Lee, RGC Resources, Inc.; Curtis Mills, Carilion Clinic; Todd Morgan, MB Contractors, Inc.; and Todd Putney, Medi-cal Facilities of America.

The Roanoke Regional Cham-ber of Commerce was established in 1889 and has approximately 1,200 members in 42 localities.

Lanford To Chair Roanoke Regional Chamber

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The Blue Ridge Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) today an-nounced its newly elected of-ficers and board of directors to serve its 90 plus membership. The new officers were formally inducted at the chapter’s profes-sional development luncheon on December 9 at the Hotel Ro-anoke and Conference Center.

“It’s a huge honor to be elected to lead this group of the region’s best and brightest public rela-tions professionals,” said PRSA

Blue Ridge Elect President Laura L. Neff Henderson, APR.

“The Blue Ridge Chapter is stronger than ever thanks, in part, to the tireless leadership of outgoing President Thomas Becher during the past year.”

The PRSA ]Blue Ridge 2010 Officers are:

•President Laura L. Neff Hen-derson, APR, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation

• President Elect Nancy Sim-mons, National College

•Treasurer Heidi Ketler, APR•Secretary Melinda Mayo;

City of Roanoke

Blue Ridge Chapter PRSA Announces 2011 Board of Directors

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arts & culturenewsRoanoke.com 12/17/10 - 12/23/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 11

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CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE

The annual Roanoke Sym-phony Orchestra Holiday Pops concert is one of the most popular of the year and this year's was certainly one of the best. Roanoke native Jane Powell, with her boom-ing voice that covers five oc-tives, captured the nearly full Salem Civic Center audience immediately. Her warm smile and self deprecating humor with comments about her "$20 ‘close out’ dress making her look skinny" brought the near capacity house down. From then on it was all "Jane."

Powell opened with "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and then went on to sing “Twas the Night Before Christmas" and other Christmas favorites like "Jingle Bells Rock" and "Christmas Baby," made pop-ular by the late Eartha Kitt in 1951.

Adding to the fun was San-ta Claus dressed up like Music Director and Conductor Da-vid Stewart Wiley. The fes-tive spirit carried over to the orchestra members as they all seemed to enjoy Jane Powell and the concert as much as the audience. It was light hearted entertainment at its best.

The Roanoke Symphony Chorus, Salem Choral So-ciety, and Roanoke College

Children’s Choir added some beautiful choral work with renditions of "Hello Santa," "This Christmastide" and "We Need A Little Christmas." Powell received several stand-ing ovations and especially one for her version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow."

Wiley, an unlikely Grinch, did a very entertaining vocal rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

It was a fun-filled evening that had smiles on the faces of all the patrons as they were leaving. It is the time of year when the right combination of people and music elevate the spirit and make everything seem right, if just for a while.

The group repeated this program on Sunday at Mar-tinsville High School and on Monday at Radford Univer-sity.

Jane Powell, who has been doing shows on cruise ships and college campuses for many years, recently signed a contract to work at the Green-brier resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. for several months.

The next performance of the

Roanoke Symphony Orchestra will be "Movie Masterworks" on January 23-24, 2011.

RSO Holiday Pops Concert Brings Christmas Cheer

Text and photos by Jim Bullington

Jane Powell and David Wiley-Claus brought down the house.

In the same year that the Mill Mountain Star first shared its glow with the Roanoke Valley, one hundred “baby stars” were made to adorn street lamps throughout Downtown Roanoke. Decades after their disappearance, one baby star has come home to Roanoke for permanent display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. The star was lit in a ceremony to recognize its festive holiday heritage on December 14.

Both the big, beloved neon star on Mill Moun-tain and the baby neon stars were made by the Roy C. Kinsey Sign Co. for the Roanoke Mer-chants Association in 1949. They were all first lit on the same night—November 23, 1949—both the 100-ft. star on Mill Mountain and the 100 3-ft.stars that hung along Campbell and Church Av-enues and Jefferson Street.

The baby stars were used as Christmas deco-rations in Roanoke through the 1960s, when 23 were sold to the Town of Floyd. The stars illu-minated Floyd for the holidays for two decades, but were eventually discarded on a hillside in the 1980s. Their existence was rediscovered last year during the 60th Anniversary Celebration for the Mill Mountain Star.

The Town of Floyd very generously donated one of the stars to the Virginia Museum of Trans-portation to be hung in honor of a much-beloved chapter of Roanoke’s history. The star has been restored by Budget Signs and will hang in the Mu-seum’s Advance Auto Parts Auto Gallery, to shine down once more on cars from the forties, fifties and sixties as it did during the holidays long ago.

“We are so honored and grateful to the Town of Floyd for the gift of this precious star,” said mu-seum executive director Beverly T. Fitzpatrick, Jr. “I guess this really makes us one of Roanoke’s ‘star’ attractions, and we invite everybody to come see it!”

The Virginia Museum of

Transportation is home to two of the most pow-erful steam locomotives in existence today—the N&W Class A 1218 and the N&W Class J 611—the Virginia Museum of Transportation regularly attracts visitors of all ages from across the U.S. and 45 foreign countries. Through exhibits, artifacts, and an outstanding collection of rail equipment, cars, trucks, airplanes, and more, the Museum tells the rich story of Virginia’s transportation his-tory.

The Virginia Museum of Transportation is the

Official Transportation Museum of the Common-wealth of Virginia. It is located in the historic N&W Freight Station at 303 Norfolk Avenue SW, Roa-noke, VA 24016. Hours are Monday-Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5. 540/342.5670. www.vmt.org.

Roanoke ‘Baby Star’ Comes Home to the Virginia Museum of Transportation

The restored “baby star” shines from its new permanent home.

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Celebrate the Miracle. Come to St. John’s Episcopal Church this Christmas.

St. John’s Episcopal Church is your place to welcome the Christ child this Christmas with beautiful traditional Communion liturgy, an acclaimed choir and a grand and welcoming place to celebrate the mystery of Christ among us. You belong at St. John’s … singles, professionals, empty nesters and families are all welcome here!

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The Botetourt and Roanoke County Boards of Supervisors con-sidered approval of an Agreement at separate meetings on De-cember 14 that terminates their revenue sharing agreement at Jack Smith Industrial Park, transfers full ownership of the Blue Ridge Library to Botetourt County, and results in ownership of a 15.197 acre parcel of land by Botetourt County Public Schools for use as a future elementary school site.

Botetourt County Administrator Jerry Burgess and Botetourt County Public Schools Superintendent Tony Brads had jointly con-ducted a site search in 2009 to identify land suitable for location of a future elementary school site to serve the Blue Ridge area of Botetourt County and to ultimately replace the aging Colonial El-ementary School. The results of that search clearly indicated that a 15.197 acre site located within the Jack Smith Park and near the Blue Ridge Library was the best option. That site is jointly owned by the Botetourt County Industrial Development Authority and the

Roanoke County Economic Development Authority. After discussing the matter with individual members of the Bo-

tetourt County Board of Supervisors and the Botetourt County School Board, Burgess and Brads approached Roanoke County officials about purchasing the Roanoke County EDA’s interest in the property. After some delay, Roanoke County officials notified Botetourt County that it intended to opt out of a 1986 agreement to develop and operate a joint library (now the Blue Ridge Library) and a 1988 agreement to develop and share the revenues from an industrial park (now the Jack Smith Industrial Park). After months of negotiations, the counties reached an agreement to settle ter-mination of both agreements and to convey the land to Botetourt County (see attached Memorandum of Understanding).

The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors will also consider a separate agreement with the Botetourt County School Board and the Industrial Development Authority of Botetourt County to

transfer ownership of the IDA’s interest in the land to the School Board at no cost and to convey the interest in the land obtained by Botetourt from Roanoke County to the School Board. In return, the Botetourt County School Board agrees to pay the cost of the land purchase from Roanoke County by transferring $493,902.50 from the School Division Capital Reserve Fund to the County’s General fund. The net result of this transfer and the net settlement payment from Roanoke County will be a $1,026,157.41 increase in the County’s General Fund balance.

Dr. Brads noted that “the land being obtained is perfectly sized and is located in a pastoral setting well suited for an elementary school. Relatively level and fully served by all necessary infrastruc-ture, it will be economical to develop.”

Both the Botetourt County School Board and the Industrial De-velopment Authority of Botetourt County have already approved the agreement with Botetourt County.

Botetourt and Roanoke Counties End Agreements - Future Botetourt School Site Acquired

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