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This stretch of sidewalk deemed the worst in the Town of Fincastle will be repaired as a test site with donated funds given tot he town in the fall.

The Town of Fincastle discovered a couple of years ago during a survey by Virginia Tech, that sidewalk repair was one of the items most citizens would like to see in the town and keeping the current structure of some brick, some stone, some cement sidewalks intact that reflect the different generations of homes in the town seemed to be residents preference.

The Town of Fincastle received a private donation of $10, 000 in the fall for sidewalk repair seed money. They also formed a sidewalk committee made up of citizens and chaired by town council member Alan Brenner to come up with a few ideas to bring to the public. Mayor Scott Critzer presented background information to the committee at their first meeting several weeks ago.

The committee has met several times and decided to send a letter to their fellow towns people about the project and to announce  several spots that will be test candidates and repaired first using some of the seed fund.

The worst spot they located is across from the Treasurer's Office on Roanoke Street. The concrete and stone is crumbled and the area has sunken. Other areas include a stretch of brick sidewalk near the Law office of Buck Heartwell on Main Street and a stone sidewalk in front of a home on Back Street where the underneath area of a stone sidewalk is eroding.

The Town has received a grant for a "School to Main Street" sidewalk system that is still in the planning stages and will not encompass the entire town. Want to view some of the types of sidewalks in Fincastle?

"We want to include every one," said Brenner, "but that will require more tax deductible donations to the funds which can be included in the fund." To make a contribution send it to the Town of Fincastle, PO Box 250, Fincastle 24090. The committee hopes to use a lot of volunteer effort to make the project realized when it comes time to repair and replace stretches of sidewalk.

Committee findings will be presented to town council on Feb 10.