www.newrivervalley.com

Hunters call it Cracker's Neck. Bicyclists call it Ingles Wilderness.

What do you want to call it?

The answer could be worth $100.

Radford's Parks and Recreation Department is holding a contest to officially name more than 260 acres the city owns in Montgomery County, out near Exit 105 on Interstate 81. Hunters have used the place for years. A new system of biking/hiking/walking/running/birdwatching trails opened a few months ago..

The winning entry earns the namer $100.

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Tyler Place made some progress Sept. 22, even though not much happened.

City Council didn't grant Jeff Price's request to close one alley and a portion of another to make way for the project, but council held a public hearing and accepted reports from the planning commission and a board of viewers. And that's really all Price wanted for the moment. He doesn't really want to close the alleys anyway. Not all of them.

It gets kind of complicated. Price is buying some more property, negotiating a deal with the owner of the lot where 7-Eleven sits on the corner of Tyler Avenue and Downey Street and trying to calm the owners of adjacent properties who fear his alley closing will leave them without access to their rental property.

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Robert McNeil of Christiansburg is trying to set the record for world's largest online auction. McNeil hopes to sell 1,000,000 items on eBay and submit the auction to the Guinness Book of World Records.

"I had been talking about this for awhile, and finally my wife said just do it," McNeil said.

Starting 8 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 20 buyers will be able to purchase a numbered certificate saying they were part of the auction. A pdf version of the certificate can be emailed to the buyer for no additional charge, or buyers can choose a printed version that will include a shipping and handling fee. Ebay only allows 10,000 items to be listed at a time, so McNeil is also considering a continuous auction "until the goal is reached or bust," he wrote on his blog.

To follow the auction, visit McNeil's myspace page or ebay.com and type in "World's Largest Online Auction." As of Thursday afternoon, 10 places had been pre-sold.

--Amy Matzke

Leyland cypress by Matt Gentry

In recent years the fast-growing evergreen Leyland cypress tree has been planted by the hundreds across the landscape of Blacksburg, causing concerns that there isn't enough diversity in the town's hedgerows.

A blight or insect infestation could leave large gaps in privacy screens and landscaping across the area, horticulturists and landscape professionals warn.

In addition to Leyland cypress, Blacksburg town code Sec. 5429 contains a list of recommended tree species to choose from.

--Tonia Moxley

The Christiansburg Police Department will be conducting free child safety seat checks on Saturday at the town's Wal-Mart.

The event, part of "Child Safety Seat Saturday," will include giveaways and refreshments for the kids. It will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

To have a child safety seat inspected, your child also needs to be present.

-- Shawna Morrison

The City of Radford will host a "New River Cleanup Day" on Saturday along the New River in Radford. A combination of canoes and people on foot will pick up trash at the all-day event.

Meet at Bisset Park in the Tangent Outfitters parking lot at 9 am. Anyone with a canoe is asked to bring it, and everyone is asked to wear wear close-toed shoes and clothes that can get dirty.

The National Committee for the New River (NCNR) coordinates and sponsors volunteer activities that provide hands-on opportunities to make the New River watershed a better place. Each year, groups of volunteers organize cleanups on the New River throughout Virginia, pulling tons of trash from the river and its tributaries. Cleanups are organized in partnership with community groups and NCNR.

For more information, call NCNR's Courtney Wait at 336-982-6267 or Courtney@ncnr.org or Deb Cooney at 267-3153 or dcooney@radford.va.us

--Amy Matzke

Pipers and drummers and athletes and at least one high school band will be there. If you want to be there, too, get in touch with the folks organizing the Radford Highlanders Festival Parade. Organizers say the parade is open to businesses, churches, civic groups, marching bands, scout troops, organizations and individuals.
The 13th annual Highlanders Festival, a partnership of the City of Radford and Radford University and a celebration of the region’s Scots-Irish heritage, is Oct. 11. The parade begins at 11 a.m.
If you want to be in the parade, your application must be received by the parade committee by 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29. To request an application, learn about parade rules and get more information, e-mail Becky Haupt or call her at (540) 731-3656.
— Tim Thornton

Donna VanCleave, Radford University's vice president for finance and administration, is leaving RU to become the Virginia Community College System's vice-chancellor for administration.

VanCleave, who worked with RU President Penelope Kyle at the Virginia lottery as well as Radford, leaves Oct. 10. She came to Radford in August 2006.

Read the Radford University press release.

-- Tim Thornton

Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control today granted the owners of Shooting Creek Farm Brewery in Floyd a license to brew and sell beer.

A group of neighbors and Baptist ministers had opposed the license and sought to quash plans for the county's first microbrewery operation just off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

-- Tonia Moxley

Mountain Lake before the drain by Alan Kim

It's a reality of life working for newspapers that not all the interesting stuff you find out for a story actually makes it into print.

Just as the advent of DVDs gave directors a chance to show audiences all the scenes they wanted but didn't get in their movie, blogging gives newspaper reporters a chance to shoehorn in all those things editors cut for silly reasons like "we don't have the space," or my favorite, "it's redundant."

What??!! Redundant? You jest. I prefer the term "complete," thank you.

So, here are some nuggets that because of space concerns got cut -- either by me or an editor -- from my recent story on the drying up of Mountain Lake:

Mountain Lake today by Justin Cook

-- Retired Virginia Tech biologist Bruce Parker has studied, researched and written about Mountain Lake for 38 years. He hopes to present a new paper on the recent condition of the lake at a national conference next year in Hawaii.

-- 540 million years ago, Mountain Lake was actually the sea shore.

-- The lake has been operated as a resort since at least 1857.

-- The entire lake and hotel property encompasses 2,600 acres of woodlands and is overseen by the Mountain Lake Conservancy.

-- At full pond, the lake is approximately 110 feet deep at the northwestern end, near Newport cottage. Today it looks more like a desert gorge.

-- Drought is the main cause of the drying up of the lake. But the geology of the area also contributes to its odd "drain and fill" cycles. Dozens, if not hundreds of "leaks" caused by fissures in the lake bed's foundation, as well as the "big drain" on its northwestern end, causes Mountain Lake to dry up at twice the rate of a normal lake. Over the years, some have argued for trying to plug these holes to stop the lake from draining. But biologist Bruce Parker says that "would destroy the lake once and for all." You see, the lake not only drains from those holes. In times of abundant rainfall, water rushes in through those holes to fill the lake, Parker said.

-- Earthquake activity also affects the water level at Mountain Lake. Twice in recorded history, the lake has filled quickly following earthquake activity on the mountain. Parker postulates that earthquakes shift boulders beneath the lake bed and open up streams that refill it. Faults the run along the Virginia-West Virginia border are some of the most active on the east coast, Parker said.

Mountain Lake stories from The Roanoke Times print edition:

-- Lake water level drains to small pool

-- Lake is doing its cyclical disappearing act

-- Mountain Lake: A consequence of long-term drought

-- Tonia Moxley