www.newrivervalley.com

East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc., manufacturer of lead-acid batteries and accessories for the automotive, telecommunications, marine, commercial, industrial and stationary markets, has decided to locate a new facility in the Wurno Warehouses in Pulaski County.

The roughly 24,000 sq. ft. facility will employ four people initially for service and repair of batteries used in mining equipment.

East Penn makes different sizes and types of lead-acid batteries, battery accessories, and wire and cable products. The company currently has over 2 million sq. ft. under roof on a 490+ acre plant site in Lyon Station, Pa.

More manufacturing in Pulaski County - good or bad, and why? What are your thoughts in light of the recent news of Mack Trucks cutting production in Dublin?

--Amy Matzke

Claytor Lake’s Rock House Marina in Dublin has been sold from local group Striper’s Landing to Tom Cole of Bluefield, W.Va., and marina manager and operator Mike Burchett of Pulaski.

The sale was finalized June 27 after about a year of negotiations. The sale consisted of two parts, including a property purchase and a purchase of the marina’s assets for an undisclosed amount.

Cole and Burchett are planning to replace the boat docks, add additional gas docks for boats and move them to a more accessible spot, build a waterfront patio and possibly add a small food area.

“Our main goal is to make the Rock House a destination,” Burchett said.

Is this a good thing for Claytor Lake and the surrounding area? Have you been to the marina lately and noticed anything different or think there are some changes that need to be made under the new management?

--Amy Matzke

Attorneys involved in the contentious case of the Blacksburg big-box store widely thought to be a Wal-Mart Supercenter got a shock at a hearing Wednesday in Richmond.

In a rare moment of candor, Virginia Supreme Court Justice Barbara Milano Keenan told attorneys for the town, Ohio developer Fairmount Properties and activist group BURG that the court would likely grant two appeals seeking to block construction of a 186,000-square-foot store planned behind the Gables Shopping Center.

Town Attorney Larry Spencer characterized Keenan’s comments as extremely rare. Writ panels convene several times a year to consider which appeals filed to the state’s highest court will be accepted. But rulings are generally issued in writing several weeks after the panel meets.The official ruling must still be issued, Spencer said.

Fairmount attorney Jim Cowan declined to comment Wednesday, saying he needed to discuss the day’s events with his clients. But if the appeals do go forward as Keenan indicated, construction of the big-box store will surely be delayed for several months.

There are technically two appeals related to the project.

Blacksburg Town Council wants the power to strictly regulate or nix the big-box and has been fighting for that right for more than a year. The council has, however, lost its argument before its own Board of Zoning Appeals and in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Both bodies have ruled that Fairmount has a right to build without further governmental interference.

Members of the anti-Wal-Mart group BURG, or Blacksburg United for Responsible Growth, filed their own appeal in the case hoping to block the big-box store.

The writ panel considered both appeals Wednesday and, according to Spencer, Keenan said both would likely be granted.

A supreme court ruling in this case could set a precedent in Virginia land-use law by clarifying the fuzzy boundary between the rights of localities to regulate land use and the rights of property owners to develop their land. If the justices reject the appeal, Fairmount can break ground.

Only a fraction of appeals filed to the court are accepted. This would be the second time in less than two years that the high court has granted an appeal for a Blacksburg case. In 2007, the court ruled that the council could not be held to a 30-year-old annexation agreement that promised public sewer service to residents of the Toms Creek basin.

-- Tonia Moxley

Now, don't let that headline get you all excited. This does NOT mean that the case against the Blacksburg big-box store -- widely thought to be a Wal-Mart Supercenter -- is going to the Virginia Supreme Court.

But it does mean that Blacksburg Town Attorney Larry Spencer and the town's legal consultant Greg Haley of Gentry Locke Rakes and Moore will be in Richmond on Wednesday, Aug. 27, to argue before a panel of three justices -- officially called a "writ panel" -- that the state's highest court should hear the case of Blacksburg vs. Fairmount Properties' big-box store.

I've lost count of the number of stories I've written about this case. Suffice it to say that the Town Council wants the power to strictly regulate (or to nix) a big-box store planned for land along Country Club Drive and has been fighting for that right for more than a year now. The council has, however, lost its argument before its own Board of Zoning Appeals and in Montgomery County Circuit Court, both of which have ruled that Fairmount has a right to build its big-box without further governmental interferance. The council now wants the Supreme Court to rule on the matter.

The town will get 10 minutes before the panel to make its case, Spencer said. An attorney representing members of the anti-Wal-Mart group BURG, who have joined the town's appeal, also will get 10 minutes to speak. Under the court's rules, Fairmount's attorneys may not speak.

After the hearing, the panel could take a month or longer to render its decision, Spencer said. According to the Supreme Court's web site, it takes only one affirmative vote to grant the appeal and three votes to deny.

If the justices take this case, they could clarify the fuzzy boundary between the rights of local governments to regulate zoning and land use and the rights of property owners to develop their land. If the justices reject the appeal, Fairmount can break ground on its big-box.

Read about the outcome.

-- Tonia Moxley

There was a lively discussion in Radford City Council Chambers Monday night about zoning.

For months now, council has been trying to get some land rezoned so that land can be sold and someone can build a house on it. It's a classic case of no good deed going unpunished.

The land in question is in an area zoned for businesses, though it's mostly houses right now. That puts people in the awkward position of not being able to expand their houses -- though they could turn their land over to all sorts of businesses, including, apparently, a junkyard.

Council's solution was to rezone the area for mixed used -- houses and businesses. But some folks who live in the neighborhood didn't get it. They seemed to think their neighborhood was residential just because it's filled with residences.

Not so.

Read more »

In a letter dated the day before last week's official announcement that Elliston will be the site of Norfolk Southern's Roanoke Region Intermodal Facility, Gov. Tim Kaine thanked elected officials from Pearisburg to Franklin County for their "support and cooperation" over the past two years.

"I want to commend all of you for coming together again to provide a collective recommendation on the economic opportunity presented to the region by this facility," Kaine said.

Of course, not all of the folks Kaine thanked recommended that the facility be built in Elliston.

Read more »

By Lerone Graham

The Dixie "O" Zone World Series champion Christiansburg baseball team was recognized at Town Council Aug. 19. The Town of Christiansburg also learned recently that it will host the 2010 Dixie Baseball World series. Parks and Recreations Director Art Price shared his thoughts in a letter to The Roanoke Times.

Letter to the Editor:

Thank you Dixie “O” Zone State Champions

As I have stated many times, God has truly blessed me in my 50 ½ years. I have been blessed with wonderful parents. I have been blessed with loving wife, three precious daughters, caring in-laws, three great beagles, and good son- in-law. I have been blessed with many friends. I have been blessed with a dream job with Christiansburg Parks and Recreation for 25 plus years, to work for the Town of Christiansburg Administration and Town Council. I have been blessed with the opportunity to teach part time at Radford University and to have worked as a part time scout for the Kansas City Royals. I have been blessed to see the construction of the Christiansburg Recreation Center, Harkrader Sports Complex, improvements to Kiwanis Park, and construction of other facilities.

Recently, I was blessed to experience a dream come true for several special and wonderful people, a baseball team from Christiansburg Parks and Recreation winning the Dixie "O"Zone Virginia State championship and advancing to the Dixie "O"Zone World Series in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Chuck Muncy, my good friend and employee worked hard for many years to get us to this point. His dedication is sincerely appreciated by all involved. Words cannot describe the feelings that I have after being around these excellent players, coaches, parents, and fans. They are some of the best people that I have been blessed to be involved with. To experience and see the love, happiness, and fun that they all displayed has been truly a blessing that I will never forget. Words cannot express how thankful I am that they allowed me to be a part of this dream come true. We all had a fun and rewarding time in Mississippi.

The support from Town of Christiansburg Administration (Lance Terpenny, Barry Helms), Christiansburg Town Council, and many others that contributed to make it possible is sincerely appreciated. Thank you, Christiansburg.

On Monday, August 4 in Covington, GA, we found out that Christiansburg Parks and Recreation will host the 2010 Dixie Boys World Series. This World Series will for state championship teams made up of 14 year olds from 11 states (VA, TN, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, AR, TX) and the host team Christiansburg (made up with a lot of the players that just advanced to the 11-12 year olds World Series this past July in Mississippi). The series will be double elimination and last for one week. This will be a big recreation and tourism event for Christiansburg. To say the least, we are very excited.

Sincerely yours,

Art Price

Cathy Greenberg, who came to Radford Univeristy in October as associate vice president for university advancement, was upgraded to interim vice president, and now has been named actual vice president. The university says Greenberg, who used to work at The Roanoke Times/roanoke.com, "will be responsible for the private fundraising efforts to support the university and for the management of the advancement staff."

That means she's in charge of drumming up cash.

It's a good time to have someone officially in charge because Radford is planning a major capital campaign tied to the university’s centennial. That comes in 2010.

Read the university's press release, if you'd like.

-- Tim Thornton

A new 6,000 to 7,000 sq. ft. Floyd Community Health Center will be built on 3.8 acres on Christiansburg Pike in Floyd.

Robert Rogers, president of Architectural Alternatives, will lead the project with completion expected by October 2009. Services at the new facility will include primary health care, x-ray, laboratory and counseling. Floyd Community Health Center is operated by the Laurel Fork Health Commission, a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation.

The current health center opened in March 2008 at 216 Parkway Lane South in Floyd. The 1,200-square-foot clinic sits in front of the Jacksonville Center for the Arts in a building that once served as a dormitory for the art center's campers housing three examination rooms, a waiting room, office space and a mini-laboratory.

--Amy Matzke

Radford University music professors Robert Trent, guitarist, and Wayne Gallops, pianist, released CDs this month.

Gallops released "Jazzicale," a fusion of jazz and classic performance on August 1, available on CD Baby, I-Tunes, Amazon.com and Napster. RU professor and percussionist Al Wojtera is featured on two tracks, "A Night in Tunisia" and "Milogna Del Angel." The recording was partially funded through an RU Creative Activities Grant.

Trent's work, called "Robert Fruehwald: Music for Flutes and Guitar" will premiere later this month at the National Flute Association Festival in Kansas City and is available on CD baby, iTunes, amazon.com and in Borders stores nationwide.work. Former RU music faculty and flutist Leslie Marrs performs with Trent on the recording.

--Amy Matzke