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A danger to our children

Floyd County has its share of dangerous drivers on the roads: Those who venture over the center line on turns, drive 15-to-20 miles per hour over the speed limit, fail to turn on their lights in the rain or a dusk or dawn and those distracted by talking on cell phones while hurtling down the highway.

But the dangerous drivers who scare me the most are some who drive the school buses that take our children to and from the county’s five schools.

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve watched a school bus run the stop sign at Barberry Road and East Main Street in Floyd. Sometimes, three or four school buses in a row will run the sign without pausing. Last week, I had to brake hard and bring my Wrangler nearly to a stop when a bus pulled out onto Main Street without stopping.

I’ve clocked school buses running at 55 miles per hour or higher in the section of U.S. 221 north of Floyd where the speed limit is 45. Some of them start speeding up as soon as they pass Floyd Pharmacy and hit 50 in the 35 mph zone. Recently, I followed a school bus on the dirt section of Sandy Flats Road that runs between Shooting Creek and Harvestwood. I was running 35 and the bus pulled away easily on the narrow, rutted, dirt road.

I’m sure most of the operators of the county’s school bus systems are careful drivers who consider the safety of the children they ferry to and from school. But we have some hot dogs who drive dangerously and it is only a matter of time before some of our children are killed or mangled by their irresponsible actions.

March 31, 200926 CommentsRead More

Filling empty bowls to feed hungry children

They call the project "Empty Bowls," a local program started by Floyd potter McCabe Coolidge and his wife Karen Day. Along with New River Community Action and a lot of volunteers who cook soup, bake bread, concoct desserts and help put the event together, the project raised more than $5,000 this year for the "Backpacks for Kids" project that provides backpacks with food for needy children.

The crowd gathered before the doors officially opened at 11 a.m. at The Jacksonville Center Sunday and the soup and food flowed.

For $10, eaters picked out their own bowls and then picked from a variety of soups while listening to music from local musicians.

This is the second year for what is now a firmly-established annual event on Floyd County’s charity schedule.

(The photos are the top of this article are a slide show. Click on the "Next" and "Previous" clinks to scroll through the photos)

March 30, 20091 CommentRead More

Smell of pork in the morning smells like hypocrisy

Jeff Walker of Floyd thinks I should be more "temperate" when it comes to chastising local Congressman Rick Boucher for his lavish use of "earmarks" (AKA Congressional pork) to buy votes in Southwestern Virginia.

Citizens watchdog groups have long cited Boucher as one of the kings of pork in Congress and he has no qualms about spending millions upon millions of federal funds to cultivate support from his district.

Two other Virginia Congressmen appear often on the walls of shame when it comes to pork: Rep. Bob Goodlatte and former Rep. Virgil Goode, whom voters had the sense to dump in the last election.

Says Walker about Boucher:

I have to say that critical comments about the Federal facilities funded through the actions of Boucher ought to be tempered as well, as our Representative he has kept his eye on the ball. We can probably agree that there is a role to be played by the Fed in taking on projects that are not appropriate for private initiatives.

This is what I love about the hypocrisy of local bias. What Walker sees as Boucher keeping "his eye on the ball" is, in the eyes of watchdog groups like Citizens Against Government Waste, just plain, old-fashioned pork.

And it is.

An example:

$400,000 by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) for horseshoe crab research at Virginia Tech. According to a March 28, 2008 Richmond Times Dispatch article, “The horseshoe crab’s blood is useful in intravenous medications and has cancer-fighting properties.” This is a crabby case of corporate welfare; companies that need the research should pay for it.

Or this:

Virginia Pork for Crabs and Sheep

The 2009 federal budget will include funding for some strange animals if one Virginia lawmaker has his way.

Rep. Rick Boucher, a Democrat from southwest Virginia, has requested $744,325 to study the horseshoe crab and $250,000 for hair sheep – a unique bread of short-haired sheep that does not require shearing.

Both requests would go to Virginia Tech, which already has efforts to establish a “hair sheep research center” to study the genetics of the sheep and improve the animal’s resistance to parasites, and get more people to buy the lamb’s meat.

…Critics of earmarks, like David Williams, a vice president at Citizens Against Government Waste, laughed at the requests.

“Would it be inappropriate to say, ‘This is baaaad,‘” Williams joked. “Those are ridiculous local projects that should not be paid for by taxpayers across the country.” …

The article goes on to defend the earmarks as being necessary for food supply and even medicine, but because these projects are earmarks, they have not been properly vetted. Even if these were national priorities, how do we know if southwestern Virginia is the best place for funding projects of this kind? Rep. Boucher isn’t asking for funding based on any proven merit, but because it will go to his district.

Or this from last year’s Roanoke Times:

To distant watchdogs targeting wasteful spending by Congress, some federal funds flowing to Southwest and Southside Virginia this year may raise eyebrows.

Such as $245,000 for awnings and infrastructure improvements at the historic farmers market in downtown Roanoke. Or $149,000 to control coyotes. Or $98,000 to expand the Bassett Historical Center.

Those are examples of targeted federal spending, or "earmarks," secured by the three veteran congressmen who represent Southwest Virginia — Republicans Bob Goodlatte of Roanoke County and Virgil Goode of Rocky Mount, and Democrat Rick Boucher of Abingdon.

Boucher had a hand in $9.4 million worth of earmarks in the current fiscal year, according to the database.

The Times goes on to offer some defense of Boucher’s pork by listing only projects that benefit "first responders" and other projects that appear justifiable, at least on the surface. Not surprising: The Times has never been shy about defending local pork.

But don’t expect my comments on pork spending to "be tempered" simply because our local Congressman is using the pork for our area. Pork is still pork and I don’t look the other way when the lard is ladled into Southwestern Virginia.

You want temperance? Try a summer tent revival. You won’t find it here.

March 28, 20097 CommentsRead More

Ask not for whom the Parkway tolls: It tolls for thee

Dan Casey of The Roanoke Times wants to charge tolls for those of us who use the Blue Ridge Parkway to get from Point A to Point B.

Writes Casey in Thursday’s Times:

If you’re in a hurry and you need to get from Clearbrook in southern Roanoke County to the eastern county section of Bonsack, there is exactly one quick and hassle-free road you want to take: the Blue Ridge Parkway.

So many Roanoke-area drivers have happily discovered this nifty National Park Service shortcut that it’s often swarming with rush-hour motorists. Some wags already call it the "Wal-Mart Expressway."

Spend any weekday evening on that gorgeous blacktop ribbon and you’ll see what I mean. Long lines of hurrying-to-get-home commuters zip along at 50 to 60 mph or so, unimpeded by traffic lights, stop signs or typical traffic bottlenecks.

That’s one of the reasons it’s time to reconsider an idea floated but rebuffed in the past: tolls, or some sort of fee system, for parkway users who get a free ride now.

If you’re thinking, "That darn Casey is one of those infernal parkway bicyclists who doesn’t like all that traffic," you’re partly right.

But what you may not know is that all those motorists are helping to wear out that beautiful road much faster than the National Park Service’s repaving budget can handle.

As one who often uses the Parkway as an alternate route from home to Roanoke, my first thought is "wow, Casey must be smoking some of Floyd County’s primary cash crop." The last thing we need in these over-taxed times is yet another way to separate cash-strapped locals from their hard-earned bucks.

Park roads often serve as commuter routes. In the Washington area, the George Washington Parkway, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and the roads that wind through the National Mall — all parts of the federal park system — serve as primary routes during rush hour. I used them often during our 23 yeas in the National Capital Region.

Yes, the Parkway is far, far behind in maintenance projects but the crumbling roads exist not so much because commuters are pounding the pavement into dust but because the feds diverted much of the Parkway’s budget to other areas — like the endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

You find potholes and cracked pavement on the Parkway on areas not used by commuter traffic. Try driving south of Meadows of Dan and the pavement will pound your fillings loose. The road there is in far worse shape than the stretch that runs from U.S. 220 to U.S. 460 in Roanoke County.

A major repaving and rehab project is underway on the stretch that runs down Bent Mountain but attention is needed elsewhere.

Perhaps the Parkway would be better served if elected representatives like Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) spent more time getting the Parkway funds for maintenance instead of concentrating on funding monuments to themselves like the Blue Ridge Music and Rockey Knob Visitor’s centers.

Perhaps those of us who drive the Parkway would be better served if the political appointees who run the Parkway would budget funds for upkeep instead of using limited resources to create Gestapo-like "criminal interdiction teams" to harass users of the region’s primary tourist attraction.

(Edited on March 28, 2009)

March 27, 200911 CommentsRead More

The pain of rain causes some to complain

Enough rain has fallen on the area lately that some are actually starting to complain about all the wet stuff. Usually, a few days of rain is dismissed with "we need it" and folks move on. But rain and the late winter snow storm that brought March in like a lion has soured some on all the wet stuff.

After four straight years of below average rainfall, the water tables in the area are up because of higher than average wet weather in March.

Even with a wet March, the region needs a lot more rainfall to make up for the dry conditions of past years. The snowfall at the beginning of the month helped restore nutrients to the ground during the week it took for the foot of white stuff and three-foot-high drifts to melt. But we could have used three or four such snowfalls over the winter months.

So let it rain. We need it.

March 26, 20093 CommentsRead More

The NASCAR connections

Floyd County has a long, colorful history with the National Association of Stock Car Racing (NASCAR).

Floyd Countian Curtis Turner was one of the early stars of the sport, one of the original moonshine runners turned racer that gave provided much of the lore.

County native Darian Grubb serves as Tony Stewart’s crew chief after stints with the Rick Hendrick and Richard Petty teams.

And Randy Hallman, a Floyd County High School classmate from the 60s made his name as a racing writer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch and now serves as Deputy Sports Editor and one of the stars of "R & R Racing," a webcast on the newspaper’s web site.

Hallman probably knows more about NASCAR and its history than just about anyone walking around today. He covered stock racing in the days before it became a media-managed, money-controlled spectacle.

Now you can test yourself against his knowledge or racing by matching your predictions on the outcome of each race with his. Try your hand this week as the drivers head to Martinsville.

March 25, 20096 CommentsRead More

Old age and old injuries

Walking with a limp today and nursing a right arm that’s pretty much useless. Thanks to a foot that slipped on some loose gravel, I ended up underneath a 680-lb motorcycle in a Meadows of Dan parking lot Sunday.

Several fellow riders and some metric riders who were nearby rushed over and lifted the bike off. It wasn’t even scratched but a right ankle pinned under a footpeg was mangled and a right shoulder that struck the ground hard when the bike went down is stiff. As luck would have it, it’s the shoulder with a bad rotator cuff. At the moment, I can’t lift my arm to even shoulder level, shift the manual transmission in my Wrangler and even put on a shirt without help.

At 61, I’m finding that a combination of old age and old injuries get the last laugh. With bum knees, bad hips and ankles held together with pins, screws and probably baling wire, I’m an orthopedic nightmare.

A hour in the hot tub helped some Sunday night. So did lots of Ibuprofin. But trying to pick up a coffee cup at Cafe del Sol today brought a sharp stab of pain.

With luck, I can work it off over the next few days. If not, an orthopedic surgeon who’s been sharpening his scalpel in Roanoke may get his wish.

But not if I can help it.

March 23, 20092 CommentsRead More

Spring? Well, yes, sort of

The thermometer on the back porch reads 27 degrees. By mid afternoon, according to the national weather service, the temperature will hit 56 degrees.

Sunday morning’s low is expected to hit somewhere below freezing with a high in the mid-60s by afternoon.

Welcome to Spring, Blue Ridge Mountain style.

Spring officially arrived Friday morning, with morning lows in the freezing range and the day’s highs only in the mid-40s. By the middle of next week we should see highs in the upper 60s and mid-70s but mornings will continue to be cold.

Winter tries everything it can to hang on. Consider it a pest of a guest who refuses to leave.

March 21, 20091 CommentRead More

Yep, there’s a lot of traffic to control around here

Lots of speculation about those cameras installed recently above the county’s one and only set of stoplights at the intersection of Main and Locust Streets in the center of Floyd.

Red light cameras designed to give tickets to those who dare run the light? Nope. Traffic monitoriing cameras in a town where three cars backed up at the light constitute a traffic jam? Nah.

Resident highway administrator Bob Beasley tells me they’re the Virginia Department of Transportation’s new-fangled way of controlling when the lights turn green and red.

Floyd’s solitary traffic light has, for many years, been a timed signal. It stays green for a specified length of time, then cycles through yellow to red. Traffic on Main Street (U.S. 221) and Locust Street (Virginia Route enjoyed the same length of time to make it through the green light.

But the geniuses at VDOT think Floyd’s overwhelming traffic problem is better controlled by keeping the light on green longer during backups so we don’t start looking like Roanoke’s Orange Avenue at rush hour. A combination of video cameras and sensors monitor traffic flow on both streets and trigger the lights when necessary and keep turn on green longer when that is needed as well.

So video cameras come into play. VDOT cannot afford to keep the county’s maintenance shop open and will close it this fall as part of budget cuts but the agency can spend a bundle on traffic control cameras in a town where traffic is not a problem.

Our tax dollars at work.

March 19, 20094 CommentsRead More

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance blogging

My six week old Harley Superglide is sitting in the shop at Roanoke Valley Harley-Davison for installation of some accessories while I sit in the dealership’s customer service lounge. Bored by what’s on CNN, I start to blog…on a Blackberry Storm.

RVHD has not yet discovered the concept of providing wi-fi so customers can bring a laptop and get real work done while waiting on their bikes so I’m typing with my thumbs on the Blackberry’s touch screen: Not an ideal situation but one that works in a pinch.

As I type away, I realize how tethered we are to technology. On the road, I look for restaurants with wi-fi so I can work while eating. I cuss at my cell phone when a signal is not available. I carry a Blackberry because I’m addicted to instant access to email. When someone sends me an email, a tingling sensation on my hip tells me it has arrived immediately. I can reply instantly. Too often, I stop what I’m doing to do so.

Down time appears to be a relic of ther past in our fast-paced, do-more-with-less lifestyles — even here in the country where things are supposed to be laid back. On any given day there can be four or five laptops using Cafe del Sol’s free wi-fi service in Floyd while others chat on cell phones.

Most people don’t even think of trying my office or home phone numbers. I get more calls in both places on the cell.

Which is why I’m typing away on a Blackberry in the customer service lounge of a motorcycle shop instead of leaning back on their soft leather couch, drinking their free coffee and watching CNN. So much for relaxation.

But soon, my bike will be ready, my Blackberry will go into a saddlebag where I can’t hear it or feel the vibration and I will be on the road and — for a while at least — out of touch with the rest of the world.

Now that’s nirvana.

March 18, 20098 CommentsRead More

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