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“Is Tech doing any research on them? Some-body has got to do something about these things before I go crazy!” These are comments I hear when I get calls on the Brown Marmorated Stink bugs. They may be down for the winter, but they are not out, as I am reminded every time we get a sunny day and one or two wake up and come on in for a little hospitality. Do they just love Christmas, or is it the warmth of my tree lights that attract them? Well I have good news - BUT we need your help.

A nationwide team of scientists is assembling to launch what may become one of the largest grant projects done in partnership with the USDA. As you may already know, the Brown Marmorated Stink bug is thought to have accidentally entered the US via a shipping port in Pennsylvania around 1998. Like many other alien imports, it did not

arrive with any natural enemies, so the popula-tion has exploded. This happened with some of our earlier imports, such as the Japanese Beetle and Gypsy Moth. At first, the stink bugs did not attract much attention, but now we are discover-ing they are not just little household pests. These bugs are posing a serious threat to our agricul-tural crops and home gardens as they spread from Pennsylvania across the Commonwealth.

Anecdotal stories abound about the stink bugs. We think we know that after they finish feeding on our crops, such as apples, peaches, beans, to-matoes, peppers, okra, corn (and even some of our ornamental plants), they turn their attentions to finding winter harborage. As fall approaches and the leaves begin to change, you will find them congregating on the sides of

[Winter Weather]

> CONTINUEDP2: Bugs

Hot En Roanoke?

Train Station Renovations in Sight

Roanoke City Council signed off on an application to the Vir-ginia Department of Transporta-tion to seek additional money to renovate the historic Virginian Railway Passenger Station, locat-ed at the corner of Williamson Road and Jefferson Street. Built in 1909, the depot is one of the Virginian network’s most signif-icant brick stations, and is also one of just a handful of Virginian buildings remaining. It served as Roanoke’s Virginian station until passenger service ended in Janu-ary 1956.

A fire on the night of January 29, 2001 destroyed the building, which at that time housed Depot Feed and Seed Inc., a retail store.

The local chapter of the Na-tional Railway Historical Society, or NRHS, will manage the funds and the project. The NRHS has already been appropriated more than $500,000 in tax money for the renovation. NRHS spokes-man Jim Cosby said the addi-tional quarter of a million dol-lars will make it possible for the society to begin the renovation in earnest.

City Councilman Bill Best-

> CONTINUEDP2: Station

Art Bridges Cultures: From SW Virginia to TibetJane Vance says she likes to

quote Georgia O’Keeffe. “Fill a space in a beautiful way,” she al-ways says. And she does. Vance is intrigued by detail, and that makes her art, well, intriguing.

Vance is an adjunct professor of The Creative Proces at Vir-ginia Tech, among many other activities. She also spends her days working with special-needs middle schoolers. So why did a small Nepali village throw this Blacksburg local such an extrav-agant, two-day celebration?

Her art.For more than 20 years, South

Asian cultures enchanted Vance. After developing a close relation-ship with Tsampa Ngawang Lama, a Bud-dhist monk, and housing him as a guest professor for her class, the lama agreed to have Vance paint his lineage portrait. This portrait has major significance for Tibetan

Buddhists.Vance is the first female westerner to

produce art of this religious worth.“The painting is a lineage portrait, which

means it places an individual in his histori-cal context. It explains how he is an ency-clopedic representative of his culture’s tra-

ditions,” Vance explained.It took Vance 10 months

to complete the portrait. She scrupulously painted Tsampa Ngawang’s story of his visit to Virginia Tech and his impor-tance in his own culture in both Tibetan and English. The entire canvas, 7 feet 6 inches tall by 6 feet 6 inches wide, is com-pletely covered in vibrant oil paint and is 13 feet 6 inches by 9 feet 6 inches with its silk bro-cade frame. Tsampa Ngawang Lama sits cross-legged in the middle, surrounded by

prayers, gods, swirls of color, and flowers of both Tibet and Southwest Virginia.

“In all the Tibetan paintings before this one, the flowers were either lotuses or chry-santhemums. But for the first time this hybrid painting shows flowers from our

Tsampa Ngawang Lama (left) holds his lineage portrait with Jane Vance.

> CONTINUED P2: Bridges

Lt. Gov. Asks Armstrong to be Ally “Not Foil”

In a four-page letter dated De-cember 15 to Virginia House Mi-nority Leader Ward Armstrong, Lt. Governor Bill Bolling asks the delegate from Martinsville to be an ally and “not an occasional political foil.”

Bolling’s letter to Armstrong was in response to a Roanoke Times November 21 article in which Armstrong seemed skep-tical of the “chief jobs creation officer.”

Armstrong (D-Henry Coun-ty), whose district has some of Virginia’s highest unemployment rates, was quoted as saying:

“Things haven’t gotten precipi-tously better; I haven’t been that impressed.”

In his letter to Armstrong, Bol-ling said he was concerned that Armstrong “may not be aware of the commitment of time and resources we have made and the progress we are beginning to see.” He wanted to make sure Armstrong was fully informed of activities and asked for his sup-port of efforts to create jobs in the 10th district.

Bolling said, “As a leader in a region as challenged as Martins-ville/Henry County, we want you to be an ally in our efforts to pro-vide opportunity and prosperity, not just an occasional political foil.

We hope we can count on your ideas, your support and

> CONTINUEDP2: Ally

Stink Bugs in Your Christmas Tree?

Photo by Tim McCoy

The “dreaded” Brown Marmorated Stink bug has invaded Southwest Virginia.

Well, not exactly - the neon sign maker just needed to connect the two letters above the old arched entrance way to the Hotel Roanoke to make the sign work, and with snow still lingering on the ground, it’s clear that things haven't been too warm in the valley lately. Roanoke's average high temperature so far this month has

been a frosty 36.5 degrees, with the average low checking in at a frigid 23.4. The pattern doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon as the National Weather Service is forecasting a 60% chance of a White Christmas, with Saturday's highs and lows forecast to be 34 and 24 degrees respectively. But it's Christmas, so after all the distractions have passed, let the lovely white stuff bring its own certain peace to this most Holy Day . . . And give thanks for the incredible blessing of it all. A Merry and Joyful Christmas to You Dear Reader - From the Staff of the Roanoke Star-Sentinel.

Skates!Lace the

P3– The Roanoke Civic Center is the place to be for great holiday ice skating with family and friends.

MagiMisplaced

P4– keith McCurdy points out that most of our manger scenes aren’t quite right when it comes to the three kings.

TitansTowering

P7– Hidden valley rides a strong second half perfor-mance by Carter Wright and kevin Draught to knock off northside.

InvasionCeltic

P9– Blue Ridge PBS is helping to bring a variety of live performances to Roanoke from the world-famous Celtic Women group.

Keith McCurdy

Photo by Stuart Revercomb

Page 2 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/24/10 - 12/30/10 newsRoanoke.com

Wind speeds increase which will bring the colder air back in for Thursday and Friday. With sun and clouds, highs will top out in the upper 30s.We are still tracking a potential storm for Christmas Day that could make things white for the holiday. Temperatures will top out in the low to mid 30s with snow possible throughout the day. Western mountain snow showers are forecast for Sunday and Monday with sun and clouds and wind elsewhere. Look for highs in the mid 30s.

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> Bridges From page 1

Appalachian woods, from wild bird-on-the-wing to wisteria to apple blossoms and many garden flowers as well. This was the story of a man making a bridge between his Asian, Himalayan village and our Appala-chian village, so I bridged with flowers as well as with the story,” Vance said.

In June 2007, Vance and her team trav-eled 13,000 miles, riding rickety planes and trekking more than 100 miles through the Himalayas with the large, fragile portrait. The festival was in western Nepal, in a re-mote region called Mustang.

“To travel to Tsampa’s village requires 13,000 miles and three flights before the long walk. You travel from jungle to moon-scape in the remote western Nepal,” Vance said.

“A Gift for the Village,” a documentary about Vance’s journey to Nepal to deliver the artwork, hopes to bring awareness to the United States about the difficult situa-tion Tibetans have been in since the 1950s. The film was recently screened at the Vir-ginia Film Festival.

For thousands of years, Tibet was peopled with peace-loving Buddhists. High in the Himalayas, this country was untouched by other cultures for a very long time. In 1950, after the Communist revolution, China in-vaded Tibet. Worshipping peace, war was not a language the Tibetans understood, and they crumpled under the unrelenting People’s Liberation Army. Since then, Ti-betans have been persecuted and tortured. The Dalai Lama, the religious and political leader of Tibet, hasn’t been able to return safely to his own land since 1959.

According to the Tibetan government-in-exile, more than a million Tibetans have died because of the Chinese invasion. Tens of thousands of others live outside the bor-ders of their homeland.

According to Vance, Tibet’s fate lies in our hands. “Tibetans have been called the most successful exiles in the world. They maintain their traditions of wisdom and compassion. His Holiness [the Dalai Lama] often reminds us that the hope for Tibet is really the responsibility of the free peoples

of this world. The first step Westerners can take is to learn the history of Tibet.”

Virginia Tech’s Outreach and Interna-tional Affairs supports the university’s en-gagement mission by creating community partnerships and economic development projects, offering professional development programs and technical assistance, and building collaborations to enrich discovery and learning all with the overarching goal of improving the quality of life for people within the commonwealth and throughout the world. Outreach and International Af-fairs leads Virginia Tech’s presence on five continents; its regional research and devel-opment centers across the commonwealth focus on graduate education and profes-sional development. Blacksburg-based cen-ters are dedicated to student engagement, language, policy, and governance.

Leah Weisman, of Fairfax, Va. is a senior majoring in communication in the VT Col-lege of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

light colored homes. If it is too hot, they will be on the cool side of the house. As the temperatures drop, we begin to find more and more on the sunny South and West sides. But wait, I’ve also had many reports about them being attracted to dark surfaces, as tem-peratures continue to decline.

Once inside, they may even seek out dark places. I had lots of calls from people who were finding them hiding in the laundry bas-ket, preferring the folds of the dark towels to the light! I even had a call from someone who snatched up a dark towel and dried their face before noticing several bugs clinging to the towel. They expe-rienced a burning sensation to the face and a good blast of “stink” before they knew what had happened. All this leads me to wonder; just what do we really know about these guys? Clearly, we need facts.

We do know something about what they do in their native coun-try, but that does not mean they will do the same here, with unfa-miliar conditions. We know that the efficacy of control measures has had variable results. Timing, age of the insect, conditions, and dose of sprays all alter the results. What about pheromone traps or light traps? Will they work, or might they make it worse, calling all the insects in the neighborhood to our house?

So, here is where you can help. We want to study the behavior of these insects. What will they do when they wake up from their winter slumber? What are their crop preferences? Does it change

throughout the year? How can a farmer manage them vs. what might we do when they become a household pest? To learn these things we need a supply of insects. Since they do not breed during the winter, that means we have to go get them. Were you bothered by large populations of stink bugs this fall? If so, do you know where they are overwintering, and most importantly, could one gain easy access to a large number of them?

If you can answer yes to these questions, and can confirm the identity and that large numbers of them are still alive and acces-sible, then please contact me. You may have to bring a few in-side in a jar to warm up, to ensure they are still alive. To identify them, make sure they have the banded antennae (http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1100/2902-1100.html).

Of course, we cannot come to everyone’s home to collect, but we do need a resource list of folks who are willing to let us come and collect, and perhaps even willing to let us monitor the insect’s ac-tivity throughout the season. We hope to start winter collections after the first of the year. You may call and leave the particulars and contact information at the Master Gardener Help Desk at 776-7178, or call me at 772-7524 for the Roanoke and surrounding area sites. Together, perhaps we can find viable solutions to the problem of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug.

-Barbara Leach, VA Cooperative Extension

> Bugs From page 1

pitch said “It’s really good to see the passen-ger station is finally going to be renovated. I know a lot of people have been looking for that for a long time.”

Cosby said the project would benefit the city in several different ways. The most ob-vious – it would clean up a long-time eye-sore near a property in which Carilion re-cently spent millions to build a new medical college. It would also increase the property value and create jobs.

The society intends to open a museum on the property in the smaller baggage and ex-press building, dedicated to former employ-

ees of the Norfolk & Western Railroad, but the biggest part of the renovated building

would be leased to a commercial business.Cosby said the society was in talks with

several “interested parties” about using the building as a business location, but declined to elaborate.

It is also envisioned that the station will provide the public with a comfort station at the midway point of the Mill Mountain Greenway and will also serve as a gateway to the Riverside Center for Research and Technology.

- From News Partner WSLS 10

> Station From page 1

> Ally From page 1

The Historic VA-Railway Passenger Station

your partnership in the weeks, months and years ahead.”

The Lt. Governor was suc-cessful in securing two NA-SCAR Sprint cup races at the Martinsville Speedway which was in imminent danger of losing one of its two races. The result would have been a loss of $75 million in annual economic benefits, 1000 jobs and millions of dollars in state and local tax-es, according to Bolling.

The deal struck with the Inter-national Speedway Corporation included a $2 million package of infrastructure improvements to the speedway in exchange for keeping the races at Martinsville

for at least five years. Resources from the Jobs and Opportunity Agenda served as the title spon-sor of the 2010 Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 300 Late Model Stock Car at Martinsville

Governor McDonnell and Bolling touted a payoff of their hard work and pointed to a 3.2% decrease in unemploy-ment in Henry County and a 2.3% decrease in Martinsville.

Bolling listed seven compa-nies that have announced new businesses openings or expan-sions in Martinsville/Henry County “which will result in 584 total new jobs and $12.45 million in capital investment to the region.”

In his letter Bolling admit-ted to realizing that even with these new jobs, Martinsville’s unemployment rate remains the highest in Virginia and has “endured some setbacks … too

many people in Martinsville/Henry County are still unem-ployed.”

During the 2010 General Assembly the Jobs and Oppor-tunity Agenda received broad bipartisan support and over $60 million in funding for proven economic development initia-tives.

While Bolling said that nei-ther he nor Governor McDon-nell pretended “to have all the answers” he was optimistic that with “significant collaboration and partnership between the private sector and executive, leg-islative and local political lead-ership” the region’s economic condition would improve. Bol-ling said that, “Martinsville/Henry County is fortunate to have a talented and dedicated economic development team and a committed group of local elected officials who have been

invaluable teammates.”In closing Bolling wrote, “As

always, Governor McDonnell and I are available to discuss any issues related to Martins-ville / Henry County and we look forward to your thoughts and advice.”

Delegate Ward Armstrong responded to Bolling’s letter Wednesday saying, “Bill Bolling can write all the four-page let-ters he wants but at the end of the day I’ve got a district that is struggling harder then any oth-er district in this state .”

When asked of his future political ambitions, Armstrong confirmed that he will run for the House of Delegates in 2011 and that 2013 is “a long way off.” The letter in its entirety can be viewed at NewsRoanoke.com.

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newsRoanoke.com 12/24/10 - 12/30/10 |The Roanoke Star-Sentinel |Page 3

Samantha Bowes, Shantasia Calloway, Jakima Forney, Shae Bowes and Stephanie Gunn (In back against wall).

Dalmatians Visit Rescue Mission

Roanoke City Kids Hit the Slopes

Photo by Martha Mikkelson

Roanoke area schools were out December 13th and 14th due to the first significant snowfall of the season. Children of the Grandin Court area did not waste any time as they pulled out their sleds and headed for the hills for what has become an annual sleigh riding event down Spring Road. It looks as though another sledding event may be taking place on the 25th as we find a nor’easter in the forecast bringing the possibility of a White Christmas!

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The Roanoke Civic Cen-ter is home this year to VT Hockey which runs through January, as well as some inter-esting sounding events such as “Guns N’ Hoses,” the 8th an-nual charity hockey game (Jan. 8) to benefit MDA. Mixed in with the official events are days the rink is open for pub-lic skating.

On a recent Sunday af-ternoon, dubbed “Blessed Blades,” by Sunday sponsor Spirit FM, there was a good-sized crowd of all ages and ability levels making their way round and round the rink.

The sound of scraping ice skate blades against the back-drop of Christmas music lent a holiday feel for skaters and onlookers alike.

Many brand new to skat-

ing clung to the side rails as they struggled to stay upright, while one young couple both dressed in black, sailed along effortlessly -- with the guy skating backwards leading his lady as they wove their way through the crowd. There were families that came together, church groups, people just looking for something fun to do on a cold day, and accord-ing to one civic center worker, there are a good many parents who drop off their kids so ev-eryone won’t get cabin fever.

Perhaps the youngest skater was Alyssa Brown, who just turned two. Decked out in requisite pink hooded snow jacket, little Alyssa took six inch steps without ever lift-ing her feet off the ice, slowly making her way along. Her dad David Brown seemed completely at ease taking such a young tyke on the ice – turns out he is a “skate guard” who spends many hours keeping

things moving, so he often takes his kids with him.

He says being on the ice with people with such differ-ent ability levels means that he “ends up giving lessons more than guarding.” With a warm smile, the youthful Brown seems perfect for helping peo-ple navigate the challenges of being on the ice.

Public skate days will con-tinue through January, with the “School’s Out” week (Dec. 27 – Dec. 31, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. sponsored by CW5 & Subway) providing a great diversion for kids during winter break.

For more information, visit www.RoanokeCivicCenter.com or call (540) 853-LIVE. Tick-ets are $5 per person with an additional $2 skate rental fee. Groups of 20 or more receive $1 off each ticket.

Public Ice Skating Makes for Good Cold Fun

By Cheryl Hodgescheryl@newsroanoke.com

Dalmatian Rescue of South-west Virginia led the Rescue Mission's Bedtime Stories last week at the Women & Chil-dren's Center. They brought Dalmatians, their favorite bedtime stories and snacks to visit with 25-30 children for the evening. All together the Mission presently has close to 60 children, ages two weeks old to teenagers, in the shel-ter with a parent or guardian.

Photo by Cheryl Hodges

Alyssa Brown (barely two) looks like a miniature ice princess as she fearlessly navigates the crowd - with dad nearby.

Photo by Cheryl Hodges

Teenage girls at work getting their skates laced up just right.

As a nursing assistant working her way through school in the 1970s, Sue Ranson took care of a patient who was dying. “He had a lot of tubes” and “halfway through the night . . . I walked in and just leaned over and said, ‘Is there anything I can do?’ He very faintly said, ‘Take them out.’ He kind of waved his hand, and that made me very nervous.” Not knowing what to do, Ranson summoned the nurse in charge that evening.

Ranson recounts that, “She basically berated him for that comment and said, ‘You need to help us get you well. We’re going to get you home. Your family—they’ll want to get you home.’ And even in my naivety about health care and cer-tainly about end of life, I knew that that wasn’t what was going to happen with the gentleman. And so, I think from that very first experience, I came to the conclusion we had to do better—that this was not a dignified death. And I believe that people can have dignified deaths anywhere—even in the hospital.”

In the early 1990s Ranson was asked to be a co-founder of Good Samaritan Hospice. Two-and-half years later, when the president of Good Sam (as the facility is also known) decided to leave that position, Ranson took over the reins and never looked back. Eighteen years later she says “it’s still my passion.”

Located on Electric Road in southwest Roa-noke County, Good Sam is dedicated to provid-ing “aggressive comfort care” to those patients— elderly, children, babies, or teenagers—who have reached a point in their illness where ei-ther a cure is more harmful than beneficial, or the patient or their family decides it’s not what they want, and have chosen to focus instead on comfort and quality of life. The patient must also have an attending physician to direct the hospice team’s treatment of the patient, and reside within the service area the hospice covers, and be fo-cused primarily on living their remaining time comfortably.

“They can change that anytime, Ranson says. “We have patients who will have hospice for awhile and then they might read of a new treat-ment and they can always get out of hospice and go and have that treatment. But many times pa-tients, by the time they come to us, have had all the curative or potentially curative treatments that are out there and they’re ready for quality of life.”

Contrary to what people may think, hospice patients don’t receive care in an in-patient facil-ity. “About two-thirds to three-fourths of our pa-tients live in their own homes,” Ranson explains, while others reside in such facilities as nursing

homes, assisted living facilities, and adult homes. “So really wherever that patient lives is consid-ered their residence, and we go to them. That’s kind of the beauty of hospice . . . our whole team (social workers, nurses, chaplains, nursing assis-tants, physicians) will go to wherever that patient is. Some of our referrals come from doctors’ of-fices, some come from nursing homes, and some come from patients and families themselves. Our first introduction to that patient is always to go out and have a meeting and sit down and [ask] what questions do you have about hospice, what kind of goals do you have, what are you looking for that we might be able to help you with?”

When it comes to funding Good Sam, Ranson says that about 80 to 85 percent of it “comes from Medicare because most of our patients are elderly or have Medicaid.” The latter also has a hospice benefit to it. A good portion of their patients have insurance that will now cover hospice.

She adds, “Sometimes we get patients who have no reimbursement, and that’s OK. As a non-profit, we take donations to help us provide services to patients who can’t pay. We never want payment to get in the way of somebody having a hospice. If they need hospice, they will get hospice care. We provide all the medications that the person needs related to their terminal illness [and] all the equipment.”

Ranson feels that hospice is “normalizing” the concept of dying at home. “We are saying, ‘There are alternatives.’ You don’t have to be in a hospital if you don’t want to be. We’re the people that can bring you home.”

Further information about Good Samaritan Hospice can be obtained by calling toll free at (888) 466-7807, in the Roanoke Valley at (540) 776-0198, in the New River Valley at (540) 381-3171, or online at www.goodsamhospice.org.

After Eighteen Years Hospice Remains Caregiver’s Passion

“Good Sam” President Sue Ranson.

By Melvin E. Matthews, Jr.info@newsroanoke.com

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PersPectivePage 4 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/24/10 - 12/30/10 newsRoanoke.com

Everyone knows the next word: Jolly. Af-ter decking the halls

with boughs of holly, that’s what we’re to be. But suppose your halls are decked with no heat, peeling paint, and no money for the rent? It puts a little dif-ferent slant on things and that can make Christmas a very depressing time. This is not go-ing to be a column of Mr. Grinch running amok, but those hard facts are worth some reflection.

Almost everyone has concerns this year that are greater than those of “the good old days.” But it’s helpful to remember that when those days were actu-ally being lived they were called, “these trying times.”

The economy is as bad as it has been in recent years. As a people we can be grateful that we’ve being doing our job; we have been spending quite brisk-ly, according to the business re-ports. That much of it has been done on credit is a matter for concern another day; right now, the merchants are happy and that’s good.

It will be interesting to see the figures on end-of-year charitable giving. If they track right along or even exceed the increase in consumer spending that would indeed be good news. Not only will it help those in need, it would show that our hearts are

still in the right place.The seduction of Christmas

advertising is hard to resist. We really do need that new car - or other products that delete the ravages of the years and make us oh-so-attractive to whomev-er it is that we deem important to impress. On the other side,

those who receive the benefits of our lar-gess under the tree will come to realize that we really should be forgiven for all the less than-wonderful things we have per-petrated. One would hope that our emo-

tions are more ma-ture than falling for that hype.

That said, it is a special time of the year. Re-gardless of one’s religious be-liefs, we can all think about the past year, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly. No one is exempt from some mea-sure of each of those, although it doesn’t seem very well balanced when looking around with open eyes and heart.

When we were young, it was understandable that we were in the receiving mode. During the war, toys were scarce, food was rationed, and coal for heat-ing was in short supply. It may have been a concern for our parents but for us, Christmas was a magical time. We wanted realistic-looking rifles and Flex-ible Flyer sleds. If we didn’t get them, life went on pretty much

unchanged. If they did arrive, happiness reigned for a few days then we went back to school. For our children and grandchil-dren today, some of that sense of magic still persists, but not in such a simple way. Electron-ics have changed all that and gifts that would have struck the world speechless years ago now find their way even into mod-estly filled stockings.

In thinking about gifts that we receive, the ones that we most appreciate went to someone else. Money given to The Good Neighbor Fund, a contribution by a friend given in your name to The Rescue Mission, The Sal-vation Army, or any number of agencies that help those in need. My favorite this year, as in many others, has been livestock. A goat sent to Africa, heifer for Brazil, or four dozen chicks for Haiti. When those things hap-pen, it takes away a little of the cynicism that has commercially crept into our lives.

So when the packages have been opened, the tinsel taken down, there is still time to send gifts that count to those who need more than we do. It may make your season jolly and it will surely take the edge off someone’s hard times.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and whatever helps each of us spread a little light and happiness.

‘Tis the Season to Be . . .

Hayden Hollingsworth

Contact Hayden atjhayden2003@cox.net

If a reporter had invited one of the shepherds to share his story the day

after Jesus’ birth, maybe, just maybe, it would have sound-ed something like this:

If you’ve ever felt like a no-body…

If you’ve ever received “the glare” that says, “You don’t belong here”…

If you’ve ever read con-tempt on another person’s face…

Then you know what my life feels like as a shepherd.

There was a time in my people’s history when ev-ery family raised sheep and goats, when we wandered gypsy-like over the foothills

of Judea struggling to pro-vide for our flocks. Shep-herds were seen as models of courageous leadership and compassionate care. But that day was long, long ago.

Things changed when people moved into towns to become merchants and shopkeepers, scribes and priests. Religious leaders began to group us with gam-blers, tax collectors, and loan sharks. Town folk lumped us together with the sad souls who collected dung in the villages and the tanners who smelled of feces and urine. We were accused of pastur-ing our flocks on other peo-ple’s land, under-reporting

the number of lambs born in lambing season, and pilfer-ing the sheep under our care. As outrageous as it seems, no judge would accept our testi-mony in court.

It hurts to be treated as a swindler and cheat. The sting of contempt and deri-sion can make nights long—and bitter.

And that’s part of what made that one extraordinary night so incredible—and so life-changing!

We had divided up the watches of the night. I had sat for hours listening for thieves and predators. Sud-denly, a brilliant light filled the night sky.

Terror gripped my heart! My knees buckled! Startled from their sleep, my fellow shepherds scrambled for cover.

“Be still!,” the angel said. “Don’t be afraid.”

“Hear this imperial proc-lamation, a proclamation not for the privileged few, but for you and all humankind: Today, in the village of your father David, a Savior was born -- God’s Anointed.”

“And by this you will know that I have spoken truthfully: you will find the newborn swaddled in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”

It was staggering, over-whelming—and puzzling. Once or twice in my life I had heard royal heralds announce the birth of a prince or the enthronement of king—but a proclamation from the very throne of Heaven?

“And what kind of prince-ling,” I thought, “is placed in a cattle trough like a bucket of grain or an armful of hay?”

A moment later, without warning, the whole sky was filled with angel wings.

“Glory to God, in the very highest of the heavens,” they sang,

“and on earth, the shalom of God

to all the beneficiaries of God’s favor.”

And as quickly as the an-gels appeared, they were gone, leaving only stillness—and the pounding of our hearts.

It took less than a half an hour for us to rush to Beth-lehem. We found a tired, exhausted teen—just about the age of my own grand-daughter—and her drained husband. And there—right beside his mother—a new-born infant, wrapped in nar-row strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough!

Every detail, just as the an-gel had said!

The events of the night cascaded from our mouths in breathless sentences. The mother listened deeply, turn-ing every word over and over in her heart as if each were an important piece of a puzzle.

Then, like the breaking of dawn, the enormity of all that had happened flooded my own soul and my heart took flight. I suddenly realized that it didn’t matter who sat on human thrones. It didn’t matter how big their armies or how extravagant their ti-tles. Something world-shat-tering had happened—some-thing that made all human pretensions and posturings

laughable. God’s regent, God’s Anointed, had made his home in a place as poor and unassuming as any that could be imagined and, from there, he promised to remake everything.

And what was equally amazing to me, in God’s kindness and grace he had announce it all—not to Tem-ple priests or village rabbis, not to palace bureaucrats or Roman officers, not to wealthy merchants or privi-leged landowners—but to me, a “nobody,” and to all of the other “nobodies” with me that night.

For the first time in a long, long time, a song filled my heart. The other shepherds and I left that unpretentious stable, singing praises to God at the top of our voices. I knew that God had changed me that night and that I would never be the same.

And grander still, I knew—in a way I could never fully explain—that from a rough-hewn feeding trough God had changed all of human history … Forever!

Gary Robbins is the senior pastor at Greene Memorial United Methodist Church in Roanoke. Visit them on the web at www.gmumc.org

Preacher’s Corner - A Shepherd’s Tale by Gary Robbins

This year are you cel-ebrating Christmas or the holidays? If you

look around it seems to be get-ting more and more difficult to find Christmas among all of the “holiday” celebrations. To say that it bugs me that some stores require their employees to say “happy holidays” instead of Merry Christmas or that ref-erences to the birth of Christ are greatly muted or not present, is an understatement. The con-tinual dilution of the Christian faith is absurd. Oh it is all done in the name of tolerance, which is coming to mean not stand-ing up for anything you believe in, or political correctness, in a time when it is hard to say that much that is political is correct. But before you begin to think that this is just a column to rant and rave about the ills of the im-moral world, which I do think would be easy to write, it is not. This is a column about how we as Christians mess up the telling of the Christmas story.

Now, we have to be careful here, this type of article in the wrong hands could get a lot of choir directors and Christmas play writers all in a tither, so be careful who you share this with. Although nativity scenes are a lot less visible today than they were 30 years ago, they are still one of my favorite things, es-pecially the live nativity scenes. The problem is most of them are inaccurate. Long pause…

deep breath… It’s the wise men. We portray them all wrong.

First of all, we know there were three gifts, but we don’t know how many wise men there were. OK, I can live with the three wise men to represent the three gifts, not that big of a deal. The bigger is-sue is this, they weren’t there. The wise men did not show up at the birth of Christ and did not visit at the manger. They visited Christ at a house and he was described as a child or toddler. Yes, this means that for years all over this country we have been misplacing the Magi. They have been present at the birth of Christ in musical presentations for generations, yet they didn’t belong. Woops?

“Are you kidding me?” was the most memorable and very vocal response I have ever re-ceived when I discussed this in a Sunday school class some 15 years ago. It came from an elderly class member who told me later that she was just dumb-founded at the notion that the wise men weren’t there. She had never paid attention to the passage to notice. I would guess that most folks, including me, have been in the same category.

So why is it a big deal? If we have the Magi in the wrong context, we miss a very impor-tant thing. The shepherds were

called by the angels. They had a traumatic experience and were overcome by the presence of the Heavenly Host which led to them visiting Christ in the manger. The Magi did not have that experience. The Magi went

looking for the King. Their journey, on foot and camel, took a long time. They traveled a long way. Herod at-tempted to use them. I dare say not any of it was easy. Yet, in the end, they found Christ. The Magi expended great effort, seeing past much distraction, and

found Christ.So this Christmas, have a little

fun. When you are shopping and someone says “happy holidays”, ask them which holiday. When they say Christmas, say “Merry Christmas” in return. Put up a nativity scene, although you may want to put the wise men in a separate room. But most importantly, this Christmas, do what the wise men did. Don’t just celebrate the birth of Christ, go looking for Him now.

The same class member told me the summer after that “shocking” class that her wise men had finally made it to Christ. She said, “They never gave up.”

Have a Merry Christmas!

“The Misplaced Magi”

Contact Keith atpsycyou@msn.com

Keith McCurdy

Local Crossword for 12/24/2010

1 2 3

4 5 6 7

8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17

18 19 20

21 22

23 24

25 26 27

28 29 30

31 32 33

34 35 36 37

38

39

www.CrosswordWeaver.com

ACROSS

1 Luau dish 4 Magic city? 8 Bond flick

10 In Roanoke VA it’s against the law to advertise on tombstones True or False?

11 Time period 13 Kid's mom (animal) 14 It glows inside our city limits 16 Extremity 17 Resort hotel 18 Teaspoon (abbr.) 19 __ A Small World... 21 Stretch to make do 22 Insult 23 Relief 24 Negative 25 Not (refix) 27 Writing tool 28 Chair 30 Superintendent 31 Petty fight 33 Life histories 34 Plan oriented 38 Secretaries 39 Imitate

DOWN

1 Wrestling mat 2 Single 3 Charged particle 4 Trounce 5 Bullfight cheer 6 Password 7 Potato sprouts 8 Metric weight unit 9 Chow

10 Sub’s weapons 12 Quickness 13 Roanoke City Chief of Police 2008 15 Military food 18 Drink 20 Concord e.g. 26 Dozes 27 Tallest mountain nearest to roanoke salem and

vinton area and holds the broadcast towers for our television stations.

29 Sensitivity 30 Slant 32 Scriptural your 33 Deli order 35 Environmental protection agency (abbr) 36 Souse 37 Utilize

Star-Sentinel Crossword

By Don Waterfield

Find the answers online: NewsRoanoke.com

Have a clue and answer you’d like to see?email: puzzles@newsroanoek.com

Will host a series of informational meetings for the 2011-2012 school year (see schedule below). Parents

and prospective students are encouraged to attend any of the sessions listed below in order to

obtain an application. Applications are not available at local schools.

Thursday, January 6th 6:30 p.m.

Governor’s School Tuesday, January 11th 6:30 p.m.

Governor’s School Thursday, January 13th 6:30 p.m.

Staunton River High School Thursday, January 20th 6:30 p.m.

Franklin County High School Tuesday, January 25th 6:30 p.m.

Governor’s School

For more information call the Governor’s School at 853-2116

or check out the website at www.rvgs.k12.va.us

The Roanoke Valley Governor’s School

for Science and Technology

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Years ago churches in Roanoke would have double, even triple

their normal attendance on Eas-ter Sunday as the unchurched and nominally churched came for their annual visit. The thing pastors have noticed in the last five to ten years is that non-christians (“unsaved” people) do not care one bit about Easter and now, do not even pretend to care about it. They do not be-lieve in the resurrection Of Je-sus Christ, so why, they reason, should they celebrate it? It’s just another day off from work. The community pressure familiar in small Southern towns and cit-ies "to be a good Christian fam-ily" and go to church just is not there anymore; Even if it was, folks are increasingly indiffer-ent to the faith. It is a shock when I meet people to find out they have never been to church. Others share that they have been to church a few times in their life but have not attended a worship service in years.

My mantra to our congrega-tion and staff is that “Christmas Eve is the new Easter”. Non-believers will still come with friends or family to a Christ-mas Eve service because, on the surface, Christmas Eve is a less doctrinal, less overtly Christian holiday. It is a lot easier for an unsaved person to sing a few Christmas Carols and hear a story about a baby born in a manger then to deal with Eas-ter . . . Jesus Christ being raised from the dead, defeating sin and death and calling us to live exclusively for Him.

Many folks that come on Christmas Eve are in the "Christmas Spirit". Some are in the "Holiday Spirit" or "Yuletide Spirit" or just into the eggnog laced with spirits. But whatever the reason, the unchurched are still coming to visit our church-es on Christmas Eve. For that, we should give God thanks,

AND we should make the very most of the opportunity.

Church staffs like ours and many others in the valley have worked diligently to plan and improve our annual Christmas Eve services. Every detail has been thought through. We are advertising in the newspaper, on electronic billboards, on Facebook and Google. Some have sent out direct mail pieces inviting folks to come and join us in celebrating the birth of Je-sus Christ. Why? Because Jesus Christ loves the lost and we do too. There is a window of op-portunity and we are throw-ing a party to honor Jesus. We want everyone to come.

Who will you invite to come with you this Christmas? Fam-ily? Friends? Neighbors? Single friend? Lonely person? The checkout person at Kroger? Your friend at the gym? A per-sonal ask is hard to refuse.

Quigg Lawrence is the Senior Pastor at Church of the Holy Spirit in Roanoke. Visit them on the web at www.coths.org

Making the Most of Christmas Eve

Consider All the Pampered, Ungrateful Professional Athletes You Know - And Then There's This Guy

He joined the Cleveland Indians in 1936 for the bargain price of $1. He immediately proved himself

to be one of the hardest-throwing and ef-fective pitchers in the game. In his first season, at the age of 17, he struck out 17 batters in one game, becoming the first and one of only two to pitchers to ever "strike out his age." In 1938, he set a record for strikeouts in a game when he fanned 18. He was the first pitcher to win 20 or more games in a season before age 21. He pitched a no-hitter to open the 1940 season, and remains the only pitcher to ever do so.

And then. On December 7, 1941, the Jap-anese attacked Pearl Harbor. On December 8, Robert William Andrew Feller of Van Meter, Iowa enlisted in the Navy, the first major leaguer to do so. For the next four years, at the absolute height of his athletic

powers, he served aboard the USS Alabama, as a gun captain. Over those four "lost sea-sons," he launched missiles and bullets with the same intensity that his baseball alter-ego

could hurl a fastball. He ended the war decorated with 5 campaign ribbons and 8 battle stars.

He returned to the Indians in 1945 and played for 12 more sea-sons. In his career, he pitched 3 no-hitters, and 12 one-hitters (anoth-er record). He led the American League in strikeouts 7 times. His fastball remains the second-fastest

ever clocked, at 107.6 MPH, and he threw that one when he was almost 30 years old. He won the

World Series once, amassed 266 wins and 2581 strikeouts, was an 8-time all-star, was once the league MVP runner-up and came in 3rd place for the MVP twice more. For all this, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, in 1962.

He is longest-tenured living Hall of Fam-er. This past spring - at age 91 - he threw out the first pitch at the Indians first spring training game. But then, in August he was diagnosed with leukemia and underwent chemotherapy; he had a pacemaker in-stalled; he was treated for vertigo, thrush, and a fungal infection. Last week the sports papers reported the news that "Rapid Rob-ert," "Bullet Bob," thrower of the "Heater from Van Meter," was nearing his end and on Wednesday December 15 he passed away in Cleveland.

And just a couple of nights before in Mo-bile Bay, aboard the USS Alabama, they pol-ished the plaque that sits next to the humble bunk he slept in for almost four years, to commemorate his service: Cleveland In-dian Bob Feller, the only Chief Petty Officer in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mike Keeler

Contact Mike atinfo@theroanokestar.com

Perhaps the most com-mon phobia shared by people of all ages is

the fear of speaking in public. Clearly, the thought of standing before a large group, a solitary figure addressing the masses, can make the bravest of us quake, whimper and plead for our Mommy. Add the heightened anxiety of having to deliver that oratory in a foreign language and you now face the daily double of distress.

Months ago, my sis-ter Sally informed me that I would be per-forming a speaking role in my niece Irene's upcoming Bat Mitz-vah. Knowing that I could not refuse an invitation to be part of Irene's big day, Sally dispensed of the asking and assigned me a job. Sally has successfully car-ried on our mom's tradition of making me do the right thing despite the trunk full of angst I schlep around. Someone had to do it. Sally also assured me that she would write the Hebrew out phonetically, if needed. Still a bit stunned by this sudden ap-pointment, I agreed to partici-pate and continued our conver-sation. It was only after I hung up, that the terror set in.

From age ten to age thirteen I attended Hebrew school twice a week and I have little to no recollection of the experience. There is a dark blot in my mem-ory when I think about Hebrew school - kind of like the missing time phenomenon experienced in alien abduction scenarios. One thing is for certain, I don't know one word of Hebrew.

My own Bar Mitzvah was ac-complished by paying an older Hebrew school classmate ten dollars to recite the portion of the service for which I would be responsible into a cassette ma-chine, recreating the same read-

ing that he had done the year before. I heard that this method had a fairly high percentage of success and the boat had long ago sailed on actually learning the material. I listened to that re-cording hundreds of times prior to my impending temple per-formance and when the big day

arrived I was able to sing out that informa-tion like a rabbinical scholar. Afterwards, I made a little gift mon-ey and got out of the Jewish business while I was ahead. I cer-tainly never thought that I would need to remember some of those prayers forty years later!

Driving up to New York, I practiced my lines with my wife Janet. Unfortunately, Janet did not understand a word I was chanting, and I had no perspec-tive whether I was doing it right or wrong. She did mention that I was saying it really fast and that I needed to slow down a little. Frankly, I felt speed could be an ally, reasoning that if I went fast enough no one would catch my errors or even understand what I was saying. That night in the hotel, I repeated my lines over

and over again. I needed to get this right for Irene.

The following morning we arrived at the temple and I was drowning in my own suit. I had foolishly told Sally that I didn't need a phonetic cheat-sheet and I was beginning to regret my arrogance. At one point in the ceremony Sally handed me a small index card with another prayer on it. "Oh now are we going off script,” I thought, “are these last minute changes?"

Thankfully, the card was meant for Matt, my brother-in-law. Minutes later I was handed a laminated card by a member of the temple who instructed me that I was on in five minutes and I was to give the card to the man up at the pulpit. I would have prayed at this point, but I was afraid that I might confuse myself further. Instead I swal-lowed hard and looked at Irene, who was the picture of tran-quility, which helped calm my nerves.

When the time came, I rose from my seat, approached the platform and launched into prayer. At one point I failed to repeat a line in the text and the congregation members who were standing with me stopped me and pointed to the Hebrew

passage that I had missed. My sweat glands went into over-drive. They could have been pointing at a picture of Wash-ington crossing the Delaware and it would have been just as helpful. I didn't know the words on the page and never did.

Quickly, I somehow regained my composure, righted myself, delivered the right phrase and nailed the dismount. Nervously smiling at Janet and my nephew Andy, I completed my duty and returned to my seat. Irene did a fantastic job during the lon-gest Bat Mitzvah in history and somewhere in the heavens our mother was smiling.

Forty years between perfor-mances, and I still did fairly well. It's funny how I can remember something from so long ago, yet still manage to forget where I put my glasses daily. Perhaps there was a larger force at work last Saturday?

You've just gotta believe.

Public Speaking Requires Divine Intervention

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The Roanoke Star-Sentinel is published weekly by Whisper One Media, Inc. in Roanoke, Va. Subscriptions are available for $44 per year. Send subscrip-tions to PO Box 8338, Roanoke, VA 24014. We encourage letters from our readers on topics of general interest to the community and responses to our articles and columns. Letters must be signed and have a telephone number for verification. All letters will be verified before publication. The Star-Sentinel reserves the right to deny publication of any letter and edit letters for length, content and style.

All real estate advertised herein is subject to national and Virginia fair housing laws and readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis.

Communi ty | News | Perspect ive

Publisher | Stuart Revercomb | stuart@newsroanoke.com Features Editor | Cheryl Hodges | cheryl@newsroanoke.comNews Editor | Gene Marrano | gmarrano@cox.netProduction Editor | Leigh Sackett | leigh@newsroanoke.comTechnical Webmaster | Don Waterfield | webmaster@newsroanoke.comAdvertising Director | Bill Bratton | advertising@newsroanoke.com

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Page 6 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/24/10 - 12/30/10 newsRoanoke.com

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The stories of a Christmas past are so fun to hear; it is like stepping into someone else’s life when a friend shares a meaningful Christmas tra-dition or special memory from Christmas.

Traditions follow the pat-tern of life itself – some tradi-tions are carried on from our parents. Some traditions are our own that we hold onto for a lifetime; some traditions don’t last long or fade in time as the children grow up or our circumstances change; some traditions are new and come with new beginnings. Life is always full of nostalgia for the past and hope of the future; so memory and life anew move us forward and come together in this common time we share called Christmas.

It is such a time cut out of time for this reason. I don’t know what I was doing each year on February 4th but I do remember moments from al-most every December 25th. In this God steps in - He captures us in this day to re-member the birth of His son. Although we have created a lot of hoopla around the day, He breaks through to tie our memory, our traditions, our celebrations, our sentiments to His Son . . . if we have hearts humble enough to lis-ten and allow it.

We have several traditions in our family but this year I almost forgot one very im-portant one. My daughter Maddie said to me the other day, “Mom, we have not read ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ yet. It just won’t feel like Christmas if we don’t read that book.” This tradition spoke to Maddie (or should I say God did?) and He has connected her to His Son through this tradition. Mad-die will move through her life and she will make her own Christmases one day but she will remember this tradition and then she will remember Him. Christmas - it truly is such a time set apart - a magi-cal time.

Last year I shared with you my recipe of our Christmas dinner tradition, beef fondue, but below is the recipe for the

traditional Christmas din-ner we had each year in WV when I was a child. Enjoy!

4 beef top loin steaks, cut 1 inch thickSaltPepper4 4-ounce frozen lobster tails1/4 cup butter2 teaspoons lemon juice1/4 teaspoon saltDash paprika

-Slash fat edge of steaks at 1-inch intervals.

-In skillet cook steaks over medium-high heat to desired doneness; turn occasionally.

-Allow 9 to 10 minutes total time for rare or 11 to 12 min-utes for medium.

-Season with salt and pep-per.

-Meanwhile, drop frozen lobster tails in boiling salted water to cover.

-Return to boiling; reduce heat.

-Simmer 8 minutes; drain.-Snip along each side of

thin undershell; remove un-dershell.

-Remove meat from shells; cut in chunks.

-Return to shells; place one atop each steak.

-In saucepan melt butter; stir in lemon juice, salt, and paprika.

-Spoon over lobster.

The Happy Chef - by Leigh Sackett

Christmas Surf and Turf “Schtake and Yobster”

After exhausting debate in the lame duck session of con-gress, President Obama signed the tax cut extension that for-mer President George W. Bush enacted two years ago. The bill added a payroll tax cut that will boost take-home pay.

Taxpayers will see a two-percent reduction in Social Se-curity withholding. Employee withholding will be 4.2% while the employer’s portion will re-main at 6.2%.

This puts employer payroll departments in a rush to imple-ment the change beginning January 2011.

The same day the bill was signed on December 17, the In-ternal Revenue Service released

instructions to help employ-ers implement the 2011 cut in payroll taxes. Employers also received the new income-tax withholding tables that they will use during 2011.

Millions of workers will see their take-home pay rise during 2011 because of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Re-authorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. The reduced Social Security withholding will have no effect on the employee’s fu-ture Social Security benefits.

The new law also maintains the income-tax rates that have been in effect in recent years.

Employers should start using the new withholding tables and reducing the amount of Social

Security tax withheld as soon as possible.

The IRS recognized that the late enactment of these changes makes it difficult for many em-ployers to quickly update their withholding systems. For that reason, the IRS asks employers to adjust their payroll systems as soon as possible, but not later than Jan. 31, 2011.

For any Social Security tax over withheld during Janu-ary, employers are required to make an offsetting adjustment in workers’ pay no later than March 31, 2011.

Time Is Short For Employers To Make Payroll Changes

By valerie Garnerinfo@newsroanoke.com

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Virginia House of Del-egates candidate Republican Greg Habeeb has earned the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, the cam-paign announced Monday.

“I am proud to have the endorsement of the NRA. I appreciate the work they do in protecting our Second Amendment freedoms and I look forward to working with them in the future,” said Habeeb.

The NRA announced the

endorsement in a letter to supporters this week, call-ing Habeeb a “pro-Second Amendment, pro-hunting candidate who supports the rights of gun owners and sportsmen in Virginia.”

“The NRA knows that I am a strong believer in an individual’s right to bear arms. I will work to protect that right as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates,” Habeeb said.

Habeeb was given the ‘AQ’

rating, the highest rating possible for a first time can-didate.

Habeeb is running to fill the open seat in the House of Delegates being vacated by Morgan Griffith, who was elected to Congress on No-vember 2nd. A special elec-tion has been called for Janu-ary 11th, the day before the 2011 session of the Virginia General Assembly convenes.

Habeeb Earns Endorsement Of National Rifle Association

Ginger Mumpower, Dem-ocratic candidate for the 8th House of Delegates district has announced that she has received the endorsement of U.S. Senator Mark Warner.

“Ginger has always been focused on people not poli-tics, Warner said. “She understands that partisan bickering and back room deal-making is not the way to get things done. Ginger will work across party lines to ensure that Government

works for the people of the 8th district and Virginia.”

Mumpower’s campaign says she will focus on jobs and rebuilding the local economy in Roanoke and Salem. “Ginger shares my priorities of job creation, supporting education and improving our transporta-tion infrastructure," Warner said. "She will bring with her to Richmond a common sense approach to these is-sues and a strong foundation

of leadership.”Responding to Warner’s

endorsement, Mumpower stated “I’m so excited to have the support of an esteemed leader like Mark, and I intend to follow his lead as a repre-sentative who will support our local economy. I pledge to the people of the 8th dis-trict that I will keep their best interests at heart and never forget who I serve.”

Mark Warner Endorses Mumpower as Candidate

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Glenvar Stays Unbeaten With 40-25 Win Over Cave Spring In Girls Basketball

Glenvar used a swarming full-court press to limit Cave Spring to 3 first-half points as the Highlanders improved to 7-0 Monday night at Cave Spring. Glenvar led 34-10 after three quarters before the Knights rallied late to close the gap. Jessi Strom led Glenvar with 12 points. Knight's Tori Doyle led the Cave Spring scoring with 13.

Glenvar's #10 Jessi Strom brings the ball upcourt as Cave Spring's #12 Dani Duff defends.

Cave Spring senior #22 Tori Doyle breaks the Glenvar press.

By Bill Turnerinfo@newsroanoke.com

By the time you faithful readers see this week's piece, Ole St. Nick will have his flight plan filed and be on his way to our area. Merry Christmas to all of our read-ers and a Happy New Year to everyone from the Wild One. I talked briefly to Santa last Friday night when I caught him practicing a landing or two at Dickens of a Christ-mas. It looked like he is plan-ning on carrying a lot of great toys on his sleigh this year, so hopefully all you kids have been extra nice.

The snow slowed down the hoops schedule last week, but after the Christ-mas weekend there will be the eight-team K-Guard Clas-sic at the Salem Civic Center starting Tuesday, as well as the Northside Tournament being played the same three nights in the Viking gym. So there wil be some great matchups during the holiday break.

I'm going to venture into the college ranks where a couple of announcements hit home hard for the Wild One. One of the best players I have ever seen at the high school level, Ben Boggs, formerly of Hidden Valley, said he was leaving Virginia Tech to play elsewhere, citing the desire for more playing time. Inter-estingly, Tech Head Coach Seth Greenberg commented after the announcement that Boggs a) "has been a valuable member of our team," and b)"has been a model student-athlete". Seems to me with these credentials, this would be the guy you'd want as the cornerstone of your program - not heading out the door. Boggs rarely got significant playing time, which is ironic since this year's Tech team could hardly be called world-beaters. A prediction here on Boggs. He'll land on his feet and be a key player in anoth-er program.

Two days later another Hidden Valley product, Abby Redick, decided to depart the women's program at VT, like-wise looking for more play-ing time. Abby is too good to not be seeing action. Big winner here- Redick. She'll play a key role in another program.

Back to football, where the

ACC is clearly showing it's in turmoil. After giving him a contract extension, Miami canned head coach Randy Shannon after the Canes lost to the University of South Florida. Not to be outdone, Maryland showed its stuff by firing Ralph Friedgen. Fried-gen only led one of the big-gest turnarounds in football this year when the Terps went from a 2-win to an 8-win

team. I guess being the ACC coach-of-the-year isn't enough these days. It's all a little whacky in Mary-land football; do you think the Terps saved on travel expenses on their bowl game this

year? You know, the game that re-wards your suc-

cessful season. Maryland can hop the Green-line Metro on campus, and via a transfer at L'Enfant Plaza, take the Blue-line to RFK, the site of their bowl. Total cost per player- $4.00 one-way.

In high school football, congrats go out to three Cave Spring standouts who made the 2010 All-Region IV first team- Josh Woodrum, Mi-chael Cole and Adam An-derson. This brings us to the Wild One's Unsolved Mys-tery case. Woodrum is com-mitted to Liberty and Cole to Virginia Tech. Here's a chance for all you guys who have close ties to your col-lege programs to get a bunch of brownie points with the head coach. Anderson, one of the best defensive players I saw this year and a quality prospect off the field, hasn't been given an offer yet. What an opportunity there for the taking. Believe me, all you coaches, if I'm running out of the backfield, the LAST guy I want to see coming at me is Anderson. Let's watch to see who nabs the bounty.

The unusual high school

basketball game of the week goes to the Dayspring-Park-way Christian girls matchup on Dec. 7th which Day-spring won 39-37. Dayspring pulled out the win by scoring zero points in the third quar-ter, then outscoring Parkway 20-6 in the fourth. That's do-ing it the hard way. Now, we go to the mailbag, where last week's visitor was unhappy with my answer and wants to know more, plus we straight-en out basketball sizes.

Dear Mr. Smarty Pants: Thanks a lot for bursting my husband's bubble after telling him Haley's Comet won't ar-rive until 2061. And, I'm out all that camera equipment. Can't you come up with something he can shoot dur-ing December of THIS year? (Loretta/Floyd)

Answer: Sure, Loretta!! We have a winter soltice total lu-nar eclipse, the last of which occurred in 1638. This is great for a beginner like your husband because it lasts for over an hour, so a lot of shots can be taken. Get the tripod ready, it's going down on , uh-oh, last Tuesday.

Dear Basketball Expert: Are men's basketballs and women's basketballs the same size? (Harvey/Lexington)

Answer: Believe it or not, they are not. Men's are 29.5 inches in circumference, women's are 1 inch smaller. A couple of weeks ago a men's college game accidentally started with a women's ball, and when neither team could find the basket they discov-ered the error. This predic-tor says they should put a big M or W on the ball, since in most cases one inch is hard to detect.

Send your inquiries to info@newsroanoke.com

Around the Hardwoods With Wild Bill

Bill Turner

By Bill Turnerinfo@newsroanoke.com

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Hidden Valley ballhandler #22 Kevin Draught looks for an opening as Viking #52 Todd Dunbar defends.

Northside senior Trey Smith goes to the basket over Hidden Valley defender #3 Dee Fletcher.

Hidden Valley's Carter Wright (with ball) tries to muscle to the basket past Northside defender #10 Ryan Bowden.

Hidden Valley was effective at both ends of the court in the second half as the Titans defeat-ed Northside Tuesday night in the Viking gym. Hidden Valley led 23-19 at the half and pulled away late with a 20-10 fourth quarter run for the non-district win. Hidden Valley was led by Carter Wright's 16 points. Kev-in Draught added 15 and Riley Worrell chipped in 11 for the Titans. Todd Dunbar led the Vikings with 14 points.

Hidden Valley Knocks Off Northside53-41 With Strong Second Half

By Bill Turnerinfo@newsroanoke.com

sPortsPage 8 | The Roanoke Star-Sentinel | 12/24/10 - 12/30/10

Send sports pictures, announcements and story ideas to

info@newsroanoke.com

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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater won its third NCAA Division III football championship in the past four years last weekend by besting ten-time titleist Mount Union, 31-21. Lev-ell Coppage rushed for 299 yards to set a new Stagg Bowl record and was named the game’s outstanding player. It was the sixth straight time the two schools had met to decide the D3 cham-pionship.

“This game came down to turnovers,” said Warhawks head coach Larry Leipold, now 57-3 with three national titles in four years at Whitewater. Each team picked off three passes and

Mount Union lost a fumble.Coppage went over 2000 yards rushing for a second straight

season. For good measure, he found a hole and burst through the line of scrimmage for a 75-yard touchdown run to put the

game out of reach at 31-21 with 2:28 left. “I knew if I could get through the line I could break a long one,” said Coppage.

Whitewater safety Steve McCollom down-played any rivalry with Mount Union, claiming the “business approach” taken by UW-Whitewater coaches means the Purple Raiders are “not mentioned until we play them in the 15th week.”

Leipold, who praised the City of Salem for hosting the game again, said he will miss his first class of seniors, who won three titles with him: “this is a special group of guys.” Coppage, a ju-nior, will be back - and he wants a return trip to Salem. “This is why we work so hard.”

Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres, who has won ten titles with his Purple Raiders, joked about the latest conquest by UW-Whitewater: “they’re kind of ticking me off. I might have to win three of the next four [Stagg Bowls].”

Notes: This was the 18th year that the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl was played in Salem, and the 38th Stagg Bowl overall. With a first round 49-0 playoff win over St. Lawrence, Univer-sity of Mount Union head coach Larry Kehres became the 11th coach in all college divisions to reach 300 wins. Kehres (300-22

at that point in the post season) was the fastest ever to reach the 300 victory plateau.

Game time conditions were much better than they were last December, when City of Salem workers and others labored to clear about twenty inches of snow from the field, portions of the stands and parking lot. Although several inches of snow fell two days before this year’s UW-Whitewater-Mount Union rematch,

the stands were free of the white stuff and the parking lot- full of tailgaters supporting both schools – was in much better shape.

Kickoff temperature for the nationally televised game was 34 and skies were overcast. Almost 4600 (paid) turned out to watch the title game. The great-granddaughter of legendary coach Amos Alonzo Stagg was there to handle the opening coin toss, which UW-Whitewater won. The Warhawks deferred to the sec-ond half and kicked to Mount Union.

Adding insult to injury, Coppage broke the Stagg Bowl rush-ing record of 273 yards - set by Mount Union’s Chuck Moore against Bridgewater in 2001.

Salem Visit Another Winning Experience For Warhawks

By Gene Marranogmarrano@cox.net

Photo by Bill Turner

Mount Union takes the field.

Photo by Bill Turner

Wisconsin-Whitewater running back #33 Levell Coppage races past Mount Union defenders #4 Cameron West and #7 Alex Ferrara for the Warhawks' first touchdown. Coppage was named the game's outstanding player as he rushed for a Stagg Bowl record 299 yards.

Photo by Bill Turner

UW-Whitewater linebacker #51 Greg Arnold moves in to force a fumble by Mount Union QB #13 Matt Piloto.

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Named to the Group AAA honorable mention list was Liz Brailsford (Patrick Henry).

Named to the Group AA first team were Morgan Shan-non (Cave Spring), Shannon Craighead (Cave Spring) and Sarah Patterson (Hidden Val-

ley). Hidden Valley’s Kim Mc-Dow was named to the Group AA second team.

Named to the Group A first team were Maribeth Kern (James River) and Maryah Sydnor (Radford). James Riv-er’s Audrey Easter was select-ed as the Group A, Division 2 Coach of the Year.

Second team selections to the Group A team included Allison White (Galax), Jordan Watson (Auburn) and Chris-tine Surface (Craig County), who established a new Virgin-ia High School League-recog-nized career high this season

for service aces.The VHSCA Players of the

Year included Group AAA, Cheyanne James (Floyd Kel-lam) , Group AA, Morgan Kline (Grafton) and Group A, Brittany Crawford (Nelson County).

The VISAA D3 All State team was also announced. Named to the first team were – Aidan Guilfoyle (Rke Cath-olic), Emma Caveness (North Cross), Kaki Comer (North Cross), Alexandra Martin (North Cross), Ava Perez (Rke Catholic), Gussie Revercomb (North Cross) and Mairin Guilfoyle (Roanoke Catholic).

The VISAA D3 Player of the Year was Aidan Guilfoyle of Roanoke Catholic.

Volleyball All State Teams Were Announced Recently With Many Local Girls Selected

Cave Spring’s Morgan Shannon

By David Grimesinfo@newsroanoke.com

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The Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet will perform at The Lyric The-atre (135 College Avenue in Blacksburg) on Friday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. The concert is presented by the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech and Virginia Tech's Department of Music.

The program includes Beethoven's "Quartet in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131" and Scheibert's "String Quartet in G Minor, D. 877."

The world-renowned Em-erson String Quartet stands alone in the history of string quartets with an unparal-leled list of achievements over three decades, including nine Grammy Awards, two of which they won for Best Classical Album, an unprec-edented honor for a chamber music group. Established in 1976, the Emerson String Quartet, which derived its name from the American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, features vi-olinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer, violist Law-rence Dutton, and cellist Da-

vid Finckel. Tickets are $35 for the gen-

eral public, $30 for seniors, and $15 for students. To pur-chase tickets, call (540) 951-4771, or visit the website: thelyric.com (only general

admission tickets are avail-able for purchase online), or stop by The Lyric Theatre during regular box office hours, 10 a.m. 2- p.m., Mon-day - Friday.

Virginia Tech Presents Grammy-Winning Emerson String Quartet

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Crossword Solutions

Local Crossword for 12/24/2010

Solution: P O I

R O A N O K E G O L D E N E Y E

T R U E Y E A R G O A T S T A R A R M S P A

T S P I T S E K E D I S A I D N O T

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T Y P I S T S A P E

Celtic Woman is coming back to the Roanoke Valley in March 2011, returning just one year after launching their na-tionwide tour here with three shows. The demand for this world-famous musical group continues to grow, and is at-tracting more international tal-ent to the region. Live perfor-mances in 2011 include Cirque du Soleil, Celtic Crossroads, Celtic Thunder and former Celtic Woman member Órla Fallon, who is on a solo tour. Blue Ridge PBS has exclusive tickets for all, available with special pledges during the sta-tion’s Winter Festival.

“We’re getting an enthusi-astic response from so many people in the Blue Ridge region who appreciate the chance to see internationally renowned performers right here in the Roanoke Valley,” said James Baum, Blue Ridge PBS presi-dent and CEO. “There really are some great live entertain-ment opportunities coming to our region, and Blue Ridge PBS has the best seats available.”

Celtic Woman, which is cur-rently touring Europe, recently announced the addition of new vocalist Lisa Lambe, who will be with the group for its Sa-lem Civic Center performance on March 2, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. Lambe is a renowned Irish actress and vocalist who has starred in numerous title roles in top theatrical productions throughout Ireland, Europe and the United Kingdom. Blue Ridge PBS has exclusive tickets to the group’s local show. Orla Fallon is also coming to the

region on April 3, 2011 for a show at the Roanoke Perform-ing Arts Theatre.

Other Winter Festival high-lights include Cirque du Soleil, which is bringing its acrobat-ics and artistry to Roanoke in the spring for a production of Alegría. Blue Ridge PBS has exclusive tickets to the troupe’s Roanoke performances on May 4 and 5, 2011, available by visit-ing BlueRidgePBS.org or tun-ing in to watch “Flowers in the Desert.” This new program fea-tures performances from six of Cirque du Soleil’s spectacular

shows in Las Vegas. All Cirque pledges are also being entered into a special drawing for two VIP tickets to see Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, along with two nights at a resort hotel.

Tickets are also available to see Celtic Crossroads, the fea-tured musical group for Roa-noke St. Patrick's Day Celebra-tion. The group, comprised of nine world-class musicians

playing more than 20 instru-ments, captivates audiences with a wonderful fusion of musical genres including Eu-ropean gypsy, North Ameri-can bluegrass, world classical and jazz and the various forms of Celtic music. Special Blue Ridge PBS pledges are available for tickets and an opportunity to meet with the members of Celtic Crossroads.

The parade of Irish stars continues with Celtic Thunder, coming back to the Roanoke area. Two vocalists from the group will be live in the Blue Ridge PBS studio on March 2011. The lads will be meet-ing with fans and talking about their Roanoke-area concert planned for the fall of 2011. Tickets for this unique studio event are extremely limited.

Visit BlueRidgePBS.org for more pledge and ticket informa-tion, as well as updated Winter Festival schedules.

Blue Ridge PBS Viewers Welcome International Stars

Orla Fallon

Lisa Lambe

Visual artist Suzun Hughes, co-owner of Roanoke’s WIL-SON HUGHES gallery, has been nominated by the Uni-versity of Virginia to attend a two month artist residency starting in January, at Cité In-ternationale des Arts located in the Marais district of Paris, France.

The Cité Internationale des Arts is intended to provide short or long stays (2 months to 1 year) for professional art-ists who want to develop an artistic work in France. The Cité Internationale des Arts is a foundation directed for the public benefit since 1957.

It is related to a vast net-work of partners and associ-ates with founders includ-ing a large number of states, schools, institutes, univer-sities and ministries from over 50 countries around the world. Three of its historic founders and key partners are the City of Paris, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The facilities of the Cité are divided between two loca-tions in Paris :

- The site located at 18 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville includes 270 individual workshops in the heart of the Marais district, a dynamic quarter swarming with art galleries

and a favorite destination for Parisians.

- The site located at 24 rue Norvins is composed of sev-eral buildings in a large gar-den in Montmartre and has 30 individual workshops. Montmartre was for many years a focal point for artists over the world.

Residents may practice their artistic discipline and develop their creative techniques for

the duration of their stay at the Cité Internationale des Arts. The residence also houses an exhibition area where artists can display their works and an auditorium where they can perform concerts.

Since its opening in 1965, the Cité Internationale des Arts has accommodated more than 18,000 artists from all over the world.

Roanoke Artist to Attend Paris Residency

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&S u r f T u r f

The Science Museum of Western Virginia (SMWV) will once again bring mayhem and family fun to downtown Roanoke with its Third Annual Bouncy Ball Drop at noon on Friday, De-cember 31.

The Bouncy Ball event will take place in the atrium of Center in the Square and will feature hundreds of kids of all ages dropping bouncy balls from various landings onto the ground floor level.

“We’re thrilled to continue our tradition of bouncing in the new year with our friends and families,” says Nancy McCrickard, SMWV ex-ecutive director. “What a fun way to help young people associate science with fun—which is what we’re all about,” she adds.

Last year’s event attracted hundreds of children and their parents who watched more than 11,000

balls drop at the noon countdown. The event has since been viewed by thousands of people on YouTube.

The Bouncy Ball Drop is a play on the world-famous New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York’s Times Square and is free to the public. Children and their parents are invited to arrive at SMWV at 10:30 a.m., where balls will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Museum will also offer free admission on December 31 immediately following the ball drop and until 2 p.m. (There will be no Planetarium or Megadome shows.)

The Science Museum of Western Virginia is lo-cated on the fourth and fifth floors of Center in the Square, One Market Square, in Roanoke, and is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more, please visitsmwv.org.

Fun Bouncy Ball Facts• A chemist invented the original bouncy ball

in his spare time.In 1965 Norman Stingley compressed scraps

of synthetic rubber together under 3,500 pounds of pressure per square inch, resulting in a com-pressed rubber ball with an unexpected resil-ience.

• More than 7 million bouncy balls were sold in

just 6 months after being “launched.”Wham-O, the company that bought Stingley’s

idea and named it SUPERBALL, gave their new product a big market promotion. By Christmas, only 6 months after being introduced, Wham-O, sold 7 million SUPERBALLS at 98 cents each.

• It takes 3,500 pounds of weight to create a single bouncy ball.

The material in the bouncy ball must be com-pressed under 3,500 pounds of pressure to form correctly.

• A typical bouncy ball can keep around 90 per-cent of its kinetic energy in one rebound.

In one celebrated incident, a giant Wham-O SUPERBALL, produced as a promotional item, was accidentally dropped out of a 23rd floor hotel window in Australia. It shot back up 15 floors, then down again into a parked convertible car. The car was totaled but the ball survived in per-fect condition.

“…3…2…1…Happy Bouncy Ball New Year!”3rd Annual Bouncy Ball Drop at Science Museum of Western Virginia

SC

IEN

CE M

USEUM OF WESTERN VIRGINIA

Bouncy Ball New Year

Bouncy Ball New Year

Bouncy Ball New Year

Frank L. Moose

�ank you for your supportover these many years.

We look forward to servingold friends and new

at our new location asF. Geo�rey LTDat 1919 Westover.

Opening March 2011

All of us atFrank L. Moose Jeweler

wish you a very

Merry Christmas

J E W E L E R

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR.It isn’t the end of the world, but it can be the start of a new one.

For over 40 years we’ve been Virginia’s leading provider of prosthetic and orthotic technology. When you consider that we have the knowledge, experience, and 15 locations to help you live your life to the fullest, the choice becomes clear.

Believe in Your Possibilities540.366.8287 | 888.366.8287 | www.virginiaprosthetics.com

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South Boston | Tazewell | Low Moor | Danville | Richlands | StuartRocky Mount | Eden, NC | Reidsville, NC