Watching her spin raw fiber into yarn at Yack and Yarn at the Vinton Library, it is easy to imagine Burnette-Dean in her period clothing. Change the fashion, replace the women bent over their knitting with schoolchildren, and swap the library’s large meeting room for the tight walls of a 19th century home, and Burnette-Dean could once again be at Explore Park, spinning away.

While other crafters worked on knitting projects at the Vinton Library's Yack and Yarn on Tuesday, Vinton librarian Kimberly Burnette-Dean spun raw fiber into yarn, which she then knit into a blanket. Yack and Yarn is a monthly gathering for knitting and crochet enthusiasts. Photo by Kristin Adams

Since Explore Park closed in 2007, the former Explore Park employee has been back in the 21st century, working as a library assistant at the Vinton library. She has not let her skills from Explore Park go to waste, however.

Burnette-Dean first learned to knit as a costumed park ranger at Humpback Rocks Mountain Farm on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Her job was similar to her responsibilities at Explore Park: teach visitors about the past by showing them, mainly with old-fashioned cooking and spinning.  

“I was spinning all this yarn, and I knew I needed to do something with it,” Burnette-Dean said.

Knitting was a natural fit. And when she was hired at Explore Park in 1994, Burnette-Dean took her knack for spinning and knitting with her. The skill certainly came in handy in a 19th century farm house. But in a modern library? Not as much.

Luckily for patrons at the Vinton library, Burnette-Dean found a way to merge the two careers. In April, Burnette-Dean began Yack and Yarn for knitting and crochet lovers to gather once a month.

“I had always wanted to be in a group of spinners and knitters,” the librarian said.

Burnette-Dean noticed that one of the library’s patrons, Cindy Baldwin, checked out knitting books often, and asked if she would be interested in a knitting group at the library. Baldwin, and the eight other library patrons and staff at Yack and Yarn on Tuesday night, had been looking for the same thing. From a 23-year-old library assistant to a 93-year-old grandmother, all of the women at Yack and Yarn were glad to have company.

“It’s fun to get with other ladies that knit,” Vinton resident Cara Blake said.

Blake, who is an avid knitter herself, designs hats, knits, and then sells them. 

Other women were working on mittens, blankets, and scarves. The atmosphere switched from silent concentration to laughter, but usually quieted to a low murmur as the women gave each other advice.

“That’s one good thing about this group,” knitter Pam Vaughan said. “They’re willing to share their ideas.”

In fact, Burnette-Dean, who has been spinning for 21 years, was not the most experienced knitter in the group.

“I’ve probably learned more about knitting in the four times we’ve met than any time before,” Burnette-Dean said.

Nevertheless, Burnette-Dean still has a few tricks up her sleeve. In late August, she will be teaching the art of the drop spindle, something which other members of the group should not have much experience in.

Yack and Yarn meets the last Tuesday of every month at the Vinton Library, from 6:30 to 8:30.

The new collectible will be available at Apple Barn II on Lee Highway this Sunday, Aug. 1 during a “Party on the Porch” from noon to 5 p.m.

Proceeds from the sale of this Cat’s Meow of Troutville Town Park will be used to build a gazebo (as seen in the Cat’s Meow) at the park.

Visitors will be able to purchase the new Cat’s Meow of the Troutville Town Park and pick up “Party in the Park” tickets at a discount, as well. Refreshments will be served, including ice cream sodas.

Proceeds from the Cat’s Meow promotion will go to purchase a gazebo (depicted in the Cat’s Meow piece) for the Town Park.

The fifth annual “Party in the Park” will be held Saturday, Sept. 11 with a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 12. Read the town’s newsletter, “Troutville Tidbits” online for more details, www.townoftroutville.com, or call 819-6335 for information.

Hunting Hills was the overall champion of the meet with 11,537.6 points, while the Roanoke Country Club was second with 11,108.2. Stonegate was next with 9,880.1 to place third overall among the 14 pools entered. Hidden Valley had 4,745.5 points to place 11th overall and third in Division 2.

Cullen Cash of the Stonegate Swim Club competes in the butterfly event in last weekend's City-County Swim Meet at the Salem YMCA pool. Photo by Jim Devinney

“I was very pleased with our performance,” said Stonegate coach Marianne Fleenor. “Our two most exciting events were the 8-and-under Medley Relay that Stonegate won and the women’s 50 and over 50 free.”

The relay team included Carly Griffith, Nick Lawson, Anna Clare Fleenor, and Miranda Kirtley. In the women’s free Wendy Rotanz not only won, but broke the meet record with a 30.80.

“We had some other great races where our swimmers won 1st place,” said Fleenor. “Nelson Helm was first in the 50 Breast and 100 Free and Blair Burns was first in his 50 Fly and Wendy Rotanz also won her 100 IM and 50 Fly.”

Stonegate had 10 swimmers score in the Gold Division in all their 5 races. They scored the most points overall for the team. Those swimmers included Nelson Helm with 296 points, Rotanz with 298 points, Burns with 290, Allie Criss with 270, Josh Stick with 290, Anna Clare Fleenor with 274, Miranda Kirtley with 276, Carly Griffith with 271.5, Nick Lawson with 290, and Jake Lawson with 277.

Stonegate’s 9 and Up relays scored 7th in both the free relay and medley relay. This relay consisted of Jake Lawson, Maia Foley, Nelson Helm, and London Reinhard.

Cameryn Norris dropped 15 seconds in her 50 Fly and some others who improved their times included Will Hicks (6 and U) in the 25 Back made a Gold time, dropping 18 seconds and scoring 46 points; Chandler Jearls (11 and 12) dropping 15 seconds in his 50 back and 9 seconds in both his 50 Fly and 50 Free to score 47 points this weekend; and Carson Pugh dropping 12 seconds in both his 100 IM and 100 Free, 8 seconds in his 50 back to score a total of 57 points for Stonegate. Jordi Berroteran dropped 35 seconds in his 50 Free and Aaron Peters dropped 20 seconds in his 50 Free.

Hidden Valley fielded a smaller team than in recent years, when the Blue Wave was consistently in Division 1. However, the Wave had some good performances as well.

“Although our numbers were small this weekend, HVCC swimmers made a strong showing,” said coach Becky Guynn.

In the 7-8 division, Elena Lloyd led the age group with gold times in five events. In addition, 7-8’s Daniel Byrnes, Chris Farmer, Emily Allara, Grace Graham and Macy Farmer scored a mix of gold and silver times each.

In the 6 and under division, Graydon Bartlett recorded gold times in all of his events and Hope Smith, Kalei Memmer and Elizabeth Walker were strong contributors.

Hayes Bartlett had all gold times for the 9-10 division and Kaitlyn Westerhold, Emmy Graham and Grace Whitesell earned points for the Blue Wave as well.

Maddie Robinson scored 5 gold times in the 11-12 division and Riley Farmer, Will Pryse and Justin Wright recorded strong silver times. Sarah Hans and Reid Williams challenged in the 13-14 division with gold and silver times and Rachael Wright earned gold times in the 15-16 division.

“We took less than 50 swimmers to City County this year, the smallest team I can remember in my 16 years of swimming for HVCC,” said Guynn. “But I am very proud of how well everyone swam, and not just those who scored gold times but the kids who were dropping ten and twelve seconds from their seed times. We finished 11th at the meet and 3rd in our division for the season, but considering our numbers I think that’s pretty good.”

It all started more than a year ago with the otherwise naked concrete pig in front of Henry’s Memphis BBQ on West Main Street.

Salem dancers in the Raging Bulls from Divine Dance Center who painted the West Main Street pig for the final time before it was moved July 23 are, from left, Sarah Wilke, Courtney Boyd, Abbie Hoback, Bryn Burns and Allie Hoback.

Initially, after owner Henry Caldwell asked people to suggest what color the pig should be painted, it was a plain maroon. Salem High School’s colors are maroon and gray.

Then in the wee hours of April 10, 2009, a group of spirited Glenvar High School students, former students and a friend painted the pig Glenvar Highlander green with a gold G.

Though he might not have known exactly what the Glenvar supporters planned beforehand, Caldwell told responding Salem Police officers he didn’t mind.

Just after midnight a couple of weeks later on April 25, a group of Salem High School girls’ soccer players calling themselves the Salem Soldiers, took back the pig by painting it Spartan maroon with a big letter S in white. They also tied a camouflage bandana around the pig’s right ear, and added a pair of soccer cleats as a necklace.

The pig-painting war was on.

The final known group to paint the pig were members of the “Raging Bulls,” dancers with the Divine Dance Center in Roanoke. After they returned from their final dance competition of the year in Norfolk, Salem dancers met up at the pig on Thursday, July 22, with red paint to turn the pig into a raging bull, complete with horns.

The next morning, the pig was gone to a new, undisclosed home a Salem garden.

Salem dancers who painted the pig last week were Sarah Wilke, Courtney Boyd, Abbie Hoback, Bryn Burns and Allie Hoback, who had their photo made with the pig.

Bryn Burns’ mother, Lani Burns, explained in an e-mail note along with the photo, “We had been wanting to paint the pig at Henry’s for a long time, but with the upcoming competition practices, there was very little time. So, when we returned, we decided it was time.

“Funny thing is, it really was time. We painted the pig, took our photos and went on to eat ice cream. The next morning, I was driving down Main Street and lo and behold, the pig was gone! Well, as they say, ‘Timing is everything.’”

The pig was removed to a new, undisclosed home, still in Salem. “I sold it to a lady that has a pretty good-size piece of property,” Caldwell said Tuesday night.

“It stayed in Salem but I don’t want to give out her name and address so people won’t go there and start painting it again. Let’s just say it found a good home around her garden area.”

Caldwell closed the restaurant June 13 and leased the property to another business, initially saying he was considering moving the pig to his Roanoke barbecue restaurant. He even considered giving it to Glenvar High School mom Becky McConnell, who started the whole pig-painting process. She declined.

McConnell encouraged three of her children and their friends to paint the pig green-and-gold in the middle of the night during last year’s spring break. McConnell documented the Year of the Pig in photographs and scrapbooks, and set up a website for it.

Over the months the pig was painted, dressed, and had signs and, at times, had props including a hula skirt and lei, and a baby pig.

The pig morphed from high school athletic spirit to become a 3-D billboard of sorts that congratulated graduating classes, welcomed home military from Iraq and Afghanistan, wished numerous teens and adults happy birthday, and expressed sorrowful feelings when a former Glenvar football player died in an accident on West Main Street.

Some of McConnell’s – and the community’s – favorite painted pigs out of all the hundreds of paint jobs and costumes were:

• “Spidey Pig” in red-and-blue Spiderman designs; • a bright pink pig in memory of Janelle Mason;

• pig-turned-Glenvar Lion with shaggy black mane and signed by the Glenvar Lions team;

• a passionate purple pig painted for the Salem Relay for Life in June 2009 – which Relay supporters had to paint three times in about 24 hours to keep the relay message in between paintings by other groups, and

• a red-white-and-blue Support our Troops pig in honor of Charlie Graves serving in Iraq.

• There was even a Confederate battle flag pig.

“I was sad it was gone when it was gone because Henry’s birthday was Sunday and I would have liked to have painted it one more time,” It was good memories and I hope the town will remember it was fun.”

Few people signed their work or went public with their pig painting. For most of the first year until pig painting slacked off during the fierce winter, the Salem Times-Register ran a regular feature on the front page with a pig of the week photo.

Another pig that is painted less frequently remains in front of Bastian’s Barbecue on Apperson Drive in Salem.

The West Main Street pig is gone. Long live the pig in memory.

Sports correspondent

RADFORD – Radford pro cyclist Scottie Weiss spent the weekend racing in the Blacksburg Cycling Classic, a series of three events with divisions for all ages and ability levels held this past weekend in Blacksburg (CRC Criterium), Christiansburg (Mudpike Time Trial), and Craig County (Maggie Valley Road Race). Weiss would start the weekend with a 3rd place finish in the Men’s Cat 1-3 criterium race.

That race would see an early break of two riders get a sizeable lead on the main field. Led by Weiss, the peloton would pull within 12 seconds of the break with three laps remaining, but that was as close as they would come.

Weiss would follow that up with a third place results in both the Mudpike Time Trial and Sunday’s Maggie Valley Road Race. His consistent high finishes would give him a 2nd place overall in points.

Even though disadvantaged by not having full his full complement of time trial equipment, Weiss was satisfied with his race results. He’ll be participating in a three-day stage race in Elk Grove, Illinois next weekend.

Weiss is an eight-year professional cycling veteran, and is currently racing a national schedule for Kenda Pro Cycling. This is his second year on the team, which is coached by Frankie Andreu, a nine-time finisher of the Tour of France and former captain of the US Postal Service team. Weiss is a longtime resident of Radford, where he and his wife Catrina enjoy being new parents of son Noah.

CHRISTIANSBURG – How do you beat the heat and humidity on the final week of July?

Well for over 100 runners throughout the New River Valley and as far away as Lexington and Bristol, the best way is to run in the annual Cruisin Christiansburg 5K and Fun Run.

The Cruisin' Cristiansburg 5K race and Fun Run began before 8:30 a.m. last Saturday in downtown Christiansburg. Photo by David J. Bissett

Runners raced down Main Street in Christiansburg early in the day thanks to the help of the local Christiansburg Police, who blocked off traffic and made roads easy for all runners/walkers to finish the race no matter how long it took.

The race actually began ahead of schedule (before 8:30 a.m.) but for the runners it was a perfect time to be enjoying a day in the sun. The sun was slowly climbing into the eastern sky but at the same time there was a gentle breeze that swept over the course before the temperatures rose into the mid to upper 90s.

Winning the men’s overall 5K race was George Probst of Blacksburg.

“I led almost from start to finish,” said Probst, who came to Blacksburg for his undergraduate and masters degrees and remained in the NRV ever since.

“I think the first five to 10 steps I wasn’t in the lead but after that I led the entire way,” he said.

Probst turned the 5K race into a sprint wining in 16:38. Second place was Andrew Grubb who nosed out Shane Guynn, the Race Director and Christiansburg High School track coach 17:34 to 17:42 respectfully.

Alex Cooper and Dan Smith finished in a deadlock for fourth and fifth with 18 minute runs. Will Stratton at 18:49 and Connor Gray at 18:59 finished sixth and seventh and were the only other runners under 19 minutes.

Gabriel Whitlock placed eighth and was the only runner in the 19 plus minute mark (19:56).

Three runners ran the course in under 21 minutes to finish ninth, 10th and 11th. They were Mark Joyce (20:08), Erik Olsen (20:09), and Daniel Altizer (21:12).

Pepper Raines was the overall women’s 5K winner with a time of 21:46.

No other runner in the field of 40 was under the 22 minute mark.

Linda Schumann placed second (22:12), with Lynn Baluh third (22:44) and Emilee Hall (22:55).

Jennifer Fleming placed fifth (23:17) while Robin Dowdy took sixth (24:33).

Rounding out the top 11 were Shannon Boston 7th (25:32), Eric Bookout 8th (25:50), Nicole Lloyd 9th (25:52), Nasim Schwab 10th (26:44) and Kayla Richardson 11th (27:23).

Receiving one of the biggest cheers of the day was not the winners of the men’s or women’s overall runs, but the runner in the fun run.

Brian Zentz from nearby Lexington ran as if he was floating on air coming down Main Street. Men and women of all ages cheered this six year old on to victory.

He was clocked in 7:21 and members of the Christiansburg Cross County crew, who served as hosts for this event, shook their heads in disbelief. He ran across the finish line with plenty of energy to spare as if the Fun Run was no big deal to win in under eight minutes.

Mom and Dad as well as his grandmother watched and cheered one of the youngest participants in the event as he crossed the finish line in such a remarkable time.

Brian’s brother, Logan, would finish the course in 21:37 which was good for 14th place overall among the 52 man-field.

Other candidates are current Clerk Sharon Braden who was deputy clerk before Bostic retired Dec. 31; and the Rev. Bill “Billy” Frazier, Sonja C. Jones, Sharon Oliver, Danielle Snider and Betty H. Wolfe.

Trevor Craddock

Prospective candidates have until Aug. 13 to file papers with Registrar Betty Williams. Necessary papers include a petition signed by 125 registered voters within the county.

Craddock has 21 years experience serving the citizens of Virginia which include 13 years in Craig County. Craddock believes his years of experience within the court system have enabled him to develop good working relationships with judges, attorneys and court staff. Through his current position he has acquired a vast amount of knowledge required by the state on court documentation, procedures and Virginia laws.

Craddock said among other things, his years as a law enforcement officer have instilled in him discipline, structure, organization, professionalism, dependability and integrity as well as problem solving, communication and organizational skills.

“I take pride in my attention to detail,” Craddock said, “and I strive to always be fair, honest, dependable and thorough in my work.” All of these attributes he feels are important to the position of Circuit Court Clerk.

“I realize the list of candidates for this position is long, but I would like the people to know my decision to run was made with thoughtful, careful consideration.”

Craddock promised that as with everything he chooses to do, he would be 100 percent committed to the position of clerk and will put all his effort into learning the job and running an efficient, successful office with a professional atmosphere and personal/quality customer service.

“I believe presenting a polished, professional image will be a positive reflection for the county as a whole,” he said. “Above all,” I will strive to treat everyone who enters the office with dignity, respect and fairness. I would be honored to serve the people of Craig.”

Craddock has been married for 20 years to Mary who works as a mental health clinician for EHS Support Services in Roanoke. The couple has three daughters: Grace, 14, Emily, 11, and Lauren, 8, all students in the Craig County School System.

In his spare time he enjoys all types of hunting, shooting and spending time with his family.

After graduating from James River High School in 1984, Craddock continued his education at Radford and graduated in 1988 with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. While in college, he volunteered as a Roanoke City Auxiliary Police Office, he said. In 1989 he graduated from Roanoke City Police Academy and was police officer for Roanoke City from 1989-1992.

Since graduating from the Virginia State Police Academy, he has been a Senior Trooper with the Virginia State Police.

Provost currently serves as the State Coordinator of the Farm Machinery Extrication Program and has been an instructor of farm machinery extrication for 20 years. His profession as a dairy farmer has provided him with many experiences to assit him in his farm machinery extrication classes.

District I Vice-President Greg Burton (left) presents Charles Provost the District I Life Membership award at the District I meeting at the Lake Monticello Rescue Squad building.

He has taken a host of classes to become a more knowledgeable squad member throughout the years. Provost also serves as president of the Botetourt County Rescue Association.

He is a certified EMT-B and has served on the Buchanan Rescue Squad for 25 years.

They were dedicated during a special service led by Minister Bill Frazier on July 11, the second in a series on God and Country that began with an Independence Day service on July 4.

The congregation of Forks of Johns Creek Christian Church show off their new flagpole during dedication ceremonies for the pole and flag on July 11.

Congregation members have sent numerous care packages to Tim A. Wells and his unit. Wells flew the flag while serving in Bagram, Afghanistan, with the Combined Joint Task Force Paladin in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The flagpole replaces one toppled by high winds earlier this year that was erected and donated by Dennis White. The replacement flagpole was dedicated in honor of Donald Caldwell and in memory of Betty Caldwell, James and Pansy King.

They each appreciated the patriotic and spiritual meaning of celebrating God as a guiding force in shaping the United States, the minister said.

Donald Caldwell and J. Wayne King, son of James and Pansy King, raised the flag, assisted by M.L. “Pug” and Mary Lee Wells, the parents of Tim Wells and his sister, Dale King, who is a member of the congregation.

Donald Caldwell and J. Wayne King prepare to raise the flag flown over Afghanistan by Tim Wells, whose parents, M.L. "Pug" and Mary Lee Wells of Lafayette, are at right.

Their parents presented the flag and a certificate that explains “The accompanying American Flag was flown by Tim A. Wells in support of Operation Enduring Freedom during combat actions, as we engaged the enemies of America through our mission to defeat Improvised Explosive Devices and save lives in Afghanistan. This flag represents our commitment to defend and establish freedom around the world.”

Mr. and Mrs. Wells are frequent guests at the church. Pug Wells is chief of the Elliston Volunteer Fire Department and Mrs. Wells is president of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Elliston Fire Department.

The company has been collecting meteorological data—primarily wind speed and direction—through its BP Wind Energy division since April 2009 to determine if the mountain might be suitable for electricity-generating wind turbines.

The company realized late this spring it needed a special exceptions permit (SEP) for the 198-foot pole it erected on the crest of the mountain that runs in a northeasterly direction and straddles the Botetourt/Rockbridge County line.

The meteorological pole or tower is on 4,350 acres owned by the Jerry Fraley family as part of the Fraley Family Restated Irrevocable Dynasty Trust.

When BP Wind Energy realized it needed an SEP, the company notified the county Planning and Zoning Office, Zoning Administrator Chuck Supan said. That started the procedure for the company to apply for the SEP.

The tower is more of a pole, Supan said. It has just a 4-inch base, but its height is what is out of compliance with the county code that allows structures not taller than 40 feet without an SEP on property zoned Forest Conservation Districts.

The tower is held up by guide wires, and, essentially, isn’t visible because of how remote the mountain is.

Jerry Fraley has expressed an interest in wind energy in the past. He is a coal operator in Big Stone Gap and has owned much of North Mountain for several years. He manages the land for wildlife habitat and hunting, although he has had at least two proposed commercial ventures involving part of the property fall through in recent years.

In 2005, Nestle tested a spring on the property that’s off Dagger Springs Road and the Bluegrass Trail north of Eagle Rock. Nestle was searching for a source of spring water to bottle and sell.

The spring showed signs of surface water infiltration and would not work for the beverage bottling giant.

Two years later, General Shale was interested in establishing a shale quarry on another part of the property farther north off US 220. Neighbors opposed that proposal and it died.

BP Wind Energy is a part of BP Alternative Energy. The wind energy component of the multi-national company has wind farms in seven states in the U.S. where it produces electricity for sale to electric utilities.

The company also has interests and supports research into other alternative energy sources. It has a solar power division, biofuels division, hydrogen power division and is interested in carbon capture and storage (CCS), a process of reducing carbon in the atmosphere by capturing it and storing it in underground geological spaces that would hold it.

Earlier this year, Botetourt officials dealt with the county’s first wind generating turbine or windmill that was higher than 40 feet.

The planners and Board of Supervisors approved the 60-foot windmill for a single-family home, but not without some concern from neighbors and with stipulations.

As the planners were going through that process, Planning Commission Chairman Chris Whitely suggested the county become “proactive” so the county is ready to deal with wind energy, or wind farms in the future.

At the time, Roanoke County was learning more about a proposed windmill farm on Poor Mountain in south Roanoke County.

At the time, Whitley said the issues that arise from wind farm development don’t come from the utility companies that buy the power, but from developers who may not have a lot of experience with wind farms.

He said the wind turbines themselves can be massive—400 feet or more, with 40-foot foundations in the ground—but there are roads and other infrastructure such as the interconnect substations that go along with developing ridgeline wind farms.

He said both sides of the wind turbine issue have valid arguments.

Associate Planner Jeff Busby has been designated the “wind farm expert” in the planning office and he had already started looking at ordinances in other communities that might work in Botetourt and some of the issues that may arise with wind farms.

Supan said his office hoped to be ready for a workshop for the planners on the matter this year.

Busby and Associate Planner Tim Ward said Botetourt only has two mountainous areas that have enough wind to be considered for wind farms. That’s according to James Madison University’s wind energy survey of Virginia.

One area is the Fraley property on North Mountain and the other is along the Blue Ridge on federally owned land.

The planners have scheduled a public hearing on BP’s SEP request and a text amendment request on Monday, Aug. 9 at 6 p.m. in the Old General District Courthouse in Fincastle. The supervisors are scheduled to hear the requests at their regular meeting on August 24.