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There's been a lot of talk about record turnouts for next Tuesday's presidential election. Here are a few numbers from one small city -- Radford -- that might bring the point home.

According to Tracy Howard, the city's voter registrar, the big turnout has already started. The largest number of absentee voters in the city's history came in 1992, Bill Clinton's first presidential election. There were 327 of them then. Thursday afternoon, just before his office closed for the day, Howard said he's had more than 400 absentee votes already. More than 230 of those came by Howard's office to vote in person.

Radford has more registered voters than ever before -- 7,739. Among those are 678 new voters and 839 who transferred their registration from somewhere else. About 48 percent of those new and new-to-Radford voters are in the precinct that holds Radford University.

The highest turnout Howard can remember was in the high 70s, in 1992. He's predicting a new record -- 80 to 85 percent.

"Everybody and their grandmaw wants to vote in this election," Howard said.

He also said -- particularly this year -- people should be sure about their registration and their polling places before election day. So give your registrar a call if you're not certain.

-- Tim Thornton

Vernon T. Harris, former mayor and town council member of Floyd and longtime co-owner of Harris Cleaners with his wife, Cornelia, died Monday. He was 96.

He was always teasing his daughters, Judy and Connie, and playing jokes, like the time he put red spots on his mother-in-law’s glasses and told her everyone had the measles, said Connie Mitchell, Harris’ daughter.

“He was such a fun-loving man,” Mitchell said. “He would always tease and have a good time but he always had such a sense of community and cared about people too.”

Harris served on the Floyd town council from 1948 to 1951 and as mayor of Floyd from 1963 to 1970, but was probably most well known for owning Harris Cleaners. The Harrises ran the store for 58 years, closing it in 1997 to retire.

"He could just make your day. He always had a smile on and had a little tale for you," said Vernon Baker, owner of Harris and Baker Furniture in Floyd, who knew Harris from the Ruritan Club and other activities around Floyd. "If he had an enemy in this town I don’t know who it is."

BLACKSBURG — The town has won second place in its population category in the first annual Virginia Municipal League Go Green Virginia Challenge.

Localities were scored on performance in 11 sustainability categories such as sustainability planning, energy efficiency, green building and waste management and compared to other governments of similar size.

Charlottesville took first place in the 15,001 to 90,000 population category, with Blacksburg and James City County coming in second and third.

Full list of winners
Population under 15,000
1st place – City of Williamsburg
2nd place – Town of Dayton
3rd place – Town of Abingdon
4th place – City of Falls Church

Population 15,001-90,000
1st place – City of Charlottesville
2nd place – Town of Blacksburg
3rd place – James City County

Population over 90,000
1st place – City of Roanoke
2nd place – Loudoun County
3rd place – City of Alexandria

Presentation of the awards last week at the VML conference in Norfolk coincided with the town’s third annual Sustainability Week celebration.

For its second place win, Blacksburg received a plaque, certificate and $2,000 in prize money. $18,000 in cash donated by Richmond-based MoseleyArchitects was given out to this year’s winners. There was no official word Wednesday on how Blacksburg would use its winnings.

At Tuesday’s town council meeting, Mayor Ron Rordam recognized Blacksburg environmental manager Susan Garrison for her work coordinating the town’s day-to-day sustainabilty policies and practices.

Blacksburg officials had hoped to beat out Charlottesville -- home to Hokie football rival Virginia Cavaliers -- in the Go Green competition, Rordam said.

“We’ll work hard to do that next year,” Garrison said.

The city of Roanoke took first place in the over 90,000 population category, beating out Loudoun County and Alexandria.

— Tonia Moxley

A Blacksburg High School student crashed her car Monday afternoon when she mistakenly put her foot on the gas instead of the brake, police said.

The teenage girl wasn't hurt in the crash, which happened about 2 p.m. in the school's parking lot, Blacksburg police Sgt. Nathan O'Dell said.

The girl, who wasn't named by police, was driving her Dodge Stratus out of the parking lot. As she approached the intersection, she reached into the back seat for her backpack, O'Dell said.

The girl accidentally stepped on the accelerator, O'Dell said. Her car sped across Patrick Henry Drive and off the roadway, where it struck a large pine tree. With the pine tree still on top, the car continued into someone's yard. The car came to a stop about 20 feet from a house, O'Dell said.

The Blacksburg Fire Department had to use a chainsaw to remove the tree from the top of the car so the car could be removed from the yard, he said.

The crash caused about $4,500 in damage to the car and $500 in damage to the tree, O'Dell said. The driver wasn't charged.

-- Shawna Morrison

Blacksburg Transit will expand its bus service on Nov. 4 to help get voters to the polls. According to the Montgomery County registrar's office, between January and Oct. 15 the number of Blacksburg's registered voters increased by 52 percent.

On January 2, 14,403 Blacksburg residents were registered. By Oct. 15, the number had increased to 21,829. Long lines are expected at some precincts, especially those that cover the Virginia Tech campus. Many of the new registered voters are Tech students, Montgomery County registrar Randy Wertz has said.

Election day bus service will run from 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m. to the following town precinct locations: Blacksburg Library, Blacksburg Middle School, Community Center on Patrick Henry, Gilbert Linkous Elementary, Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, Margaret Beeks Elementary, Slusser’s Chapel and St. Michaels Lutheran Church. For updates and route maps, visit www.btransit.org or call (540) 961-1185.

Voting locations on existing routes:
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church
Route: Toms Creek A
Departs From: Torgersen Hall every 10 minutes, starting at five minutes after the hour (e.g., :05, :15, :25, :35, :45, :55)
Closest Stop: Intersection of Toms Creek & Winston

Blacksburg Community Center on Patrick Henry
Route: Patrick Henry
Departs From: Torgersen Hall every 15 minutes, starting on the hour
Closest Stop: Intersection of Giles & Patrick Henry

Gilbert Linkous Elementary
Route: Toms Creek A
Departs From: Torgersen Hall every 10 minutes, starting at five minutes after the hour (e.g., :05, :15, :25, :35, :45, :55)
Closest Stop: Gilbert Linkous Elementary at intersection of Toms Creek & Watson

Blacksburg Library
Route: South Main Street
Departs From: Squires East every 20 minutes, starting on the half-hour
Closest Stop: Blacksburg Municipal Building, 300 S. Main St.

Expanded dervice:
Slusser’s Chapel
Route: North Main Tripper
Departs From: Squires West every 30 minutes, starting on the hour
Closest Stop: Slusser’s Chapel

St. Michael Lutheran Church
Route: Hethwood Tripper
Departs From: Burruss every 30 minutes, starting on the hour
Closest Stop: St. Michael Lutheran Church

Blacksburg Middle School
Route: Hethwood Tripper
Departs From: Burruss every 30 minutes, starting on the hour
Closest Stop: On Prices Fork Road, beside Blacksburg Middle School

Margaret Beeks Elementary
Route: South Main Tripper
Departs From: Squires East every 30 minutes, starting on the hour
Closest Stop: Margaret Beeks Elementary School

-- Tonia Moxley

Radford City Councilman Bob Nicholson put in a plug for the Radford Child Care Center Monday night. The center, a non-profit that was the subject of a recent story, needs $10,000. The economic downturn has hit the center from several directions. Prices for all sorts of things, including an increase in the minimum wage, have gone up. Layoffs have meant fewer parents need -- or can afford -- child care. And some of them haven't been able to pay for the child care they already got. The center called in a consultant and came up with a plan to turn the current situation into a self-sustaining arrangement. But there's still that $10,000.

There are 16,000 people in Radford, Nicholson pointed out. If everyone gave the center $1, he said, that would get the center, which has been watching Radford's children for more than 50 years, back in good shape.

-- Tim Thornton

At Monday's city council meeting (Oct. 27), Radford City Manager Tony Cox mentioned the recent conclusion of Radford's Biggest Loser, a program intended to help city employees lose weight and get in better shape. About 50 folks began the program, according to Cox, and 20 completed it. Those 20 people lost a cumulative 400 pounds. The top two losers lost 164 pounds. The biggest loser, Cox said, dropped 31 percent of his body weight. Cox didn't share any names.

"We did, fortunately, call the finish line just before the holidays," Cox said.

-- Tim Thornton

Blacksburg has filed a brief to the Virginia Supreme Court in its pending case against Fairmount Properties of Ohio and partners.

The town is appealing a ruling of the Montgomery County Circuit Court that granted Fairmount the right to build a 186,000-square-foot big-box retail store (widely thought to be a Wal-Mart Supercenter) on four acres just off South Main Street without town council approval. The council wants to apply Ordinance 1450 to the project. The ordinance requires special council approval of buildings larger than 80,000 square feet.

The ordinance was passed after the four acres was rezoned for commercial use in 2006. The developer has argued -- successfully so far -- that state law bars the council from retroactively applying the ordinance to the project.

The Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, the Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Municipal League have filed a joint brief in support of the council's right to regulate the big-box.

Fairmount and partners have less than a month to file their legal response to the court, Town Attorney Larry Spencer wrote in an e-mail.

-- Tonia Moxley

Blacksburg outdoor enthusiasts who have been without a sleeping bag and dehydrated meals source since Blue Ridge Outdoors closed more than a year ago now have reason to rejoice. A new regional outfitter is coming to town.

Blue Ridge Mountain Sports will open in mid-November in the new First & Main retail center along South Main Street, according to a news release. The store will feature outdoor clothing and footwear as well as technical gear for hiking, backpacking, kayaking and climbing.

The retail chain has 13 stores spread across Virginia, Tennessee and New Jersey. The new 7,000-square-foot Blacksburg store is being constructed with recycled building materials and sustainable design features, the release states.

-- Tonia Moxley

Photo by Justin Cook/New grant and loan programs could spur refurbishment of vacant and blighted buildings such as the old National Bank at Roanoke and Main streets.

Come January ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown may move from public sidewalks to private storefronts.

Two grant and loan programs currently under development by Blacksburg’s Downtown Revitalization Committee and the nonprofit Blacksburg Partnership Foundation could help fund improvements to deteriorating commercial buildings in the town’s core.

Next month the council will review and vote on a $50,000 matching grant program that could help pay for facade improvements to qualifying downtown commercial buildings. An additional $10,000 in funding would be available for project design. Funding for the grants would come from the town’s annual federal entitlement allotment — a pool of money also used to pay for affordable housing projects. Applications are already being accepted.

The nonprofit Blacksburg Partnership Foundation board has already approved a $25,000 low-interest revolving loan fund that would offer up to $5,000 to building owners or tenants who want to do either interior or exterior remodeling. Money for the loan fund came from the sale of Hokie bird statues sold through the partnership’s Gobble de Art program. The partnership will begin accepting applications in January, director Diane Akers said.

The development of public-private funding programs and incentives follows years of discussion of what to do about a downtown pockmarked with vacancies and blighted buildings.

A list of other town-sponsored incentives meant to spur private investment in the downtown are also under discussion and could go to the town council for approval sometime next year.

The town is also pursuing an expansion of the downtown historic district, which could qualify some property owners to use federal historic tax credits to remodel buildings.

-- Tonia Moxley