Instead, it was Snead who was surprised to hear her name called as the recipient of the Unsung Virginian Award from the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Jack Reasor, president and CEO of the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives, presents the Unsung Virginian award to Craig County's Debbie Snead in Richmond.

Groseclose was there to say good words about the retired Craig County Extension Agent who has been a mover and shaker in the county both before and since she retired after 28 years as a family and consumer sciences agent.

The award was presented to her at a luncheon in her honor at the Omni Hotel Jan. 30 for her services to the Commonwealth “without thought of personal gain.”

She was nominated for the award by Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative, headquartered in New Castle.

Association President and CEO Jack Reasor said the award was presented to Snead for “her unselfish service and leadership improving the quality of life and broadening the horizons of opportunity in her adopted rural community of Craig County.”

“For her leadership role in establishing Craig County’s first Youth Sports Complex, the Craig County Child Care Center, her contributions in establishing Craig County Rural Health Center, and for the countless examples of her community-service work, Virginia’s electric co-ops are pleased and honored to call Debbie Snead to the attention of her fellow citizens of the Old Dominion and thus to celebrate her as the Unsung Virginian for 2012.”

Also present to congratulate her were Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative General Manager Shawn Hildebrand, Groseclose, and Craig County Administrator Richard Flora.

“When you look at some of the major projects in our area that have been successful in bringing opportunities that otherwise might never have been available to our community, one trait is consistent in them all, and that trait is her leadership and participation,” Hildebrand said.

“Craig County is a rural mountainous community and is often underserved due to its low population,” added Groseclose. “If it were not for Debbie Snead, many of the programs that currently benefit both youth and adult citizens here would go unrealized.”

“Communities have people with good ideas, people who are leaders, and people who work to get those ideas going,” added Flora. “Debbie Snead is all three – she’s the ‘go-to’ person in Craig County, if you want something positive to happen.”

Born in Williamsburg, Snead earned a B.S. in Home Economics Education from Radford and an M.S. in Home Economics/Adult Education from Virginia Tech. She taught three years before beginning work as an extension agent.

While she retired from the extension service in 2002, she intensified her efforts to improve life in her beloved Craig County, in community-improvement projects in areas ranging from health care to agriculture.

“Debbie Snead does everything she does and never asks for anything in return,” said Flora. “She is, truly, an unsung hero of our community.”

The Unsung Virginian Award was established in 1968 and is presented annually by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. Nominations for the award are solicited from the members of the 13 electric cooperatives that serve Virginia.

The one-day tournament, featuring eight of the leading basketball teams in the Roanoke Valley and state, will build on the Member One Shootout the Salem Kiwanis have showcased for several years. The event will be held on Saturday, February 4, at the Salem Civic Center, and Comcast has signed on as the presenting sponsor.

Roy Stanley, a friend and a fixture in the Roanoke Valley, died when a sudden illness claimed his life in April of 2002. He was one of the first African American broadcasters in the south. For almost 30 years he was on the air on WDBJ with an emphasis on high school athletics.

“This is a wonderful joint venture for the Salem Kiwanis Club,” says Brenda Giles, club president. “Roy was such an icon in the valley and we’re most appreciative for the opportunity to be associated with his memory.”

Since Stanley’s death, WDBJ through, the RSM Charitable Foundation, has awarded more than 50 scholarships to deserving high school seniors in the WDBJ viewing area. Following the completion of a successful tournament, the Salem Kiwanis Club hopes to join the RSM Charitable Foundation list of scholarship donors.

 “The shootout is a good fit for us in that it provides an opportunity for a civic club to make some money that can be applied right back into the community through charitable funding,” said Mike Bell, WDBJ programming and public service director. “The Kiwanis Club has a hefty list of organizations it supports that could benefit from this project and we’re going to do our part to promote the cause.”

Each year Salem Kiwanians raise thousands of dollars to give back to those in need in the Salem/Roanoke Valley. The club has supported such projects as Snack Buddies, a program that provides more than 4,000 mid-morning snacks to under-privileged students in elementary schools in Salem and Roanoke County; Challenger Little League, that gives physically and mentally challenged kids the joy of play the game of baseball; and scholarships for disadvantaged students to attend camp at Apple Ridge Farm and 4-H.

The tournament lineup features Salem versus Rockbridge(1 pm), Patrick Henry versus Waynesboro(3 pm), William Fleming versus Virginia Episcopal(5 pm) and Oak Hill versus Christ School(7 pm).

Tickets are $8 and are available through Ticketmaster or the Salem Civic Center box office. Tickets will be $10 the day of the event.

Last Tuesday the Rockets hosted James River, at Craig, and dropped an 80-55 decision to the Knights. Andy McCarty had 14 points and a game high 15 rebounds in the loss, and he continues to lead the area in rebounding. Derek Persinger had 15 points for the Rockets.

Zach Towers goes to the hoop against Parkway Christian. Photo by Regina DeVinney.

On Thursday the boys played at Parry McCluer, which has proven to be a tough place for the Rockets in the past. It wasn’t any better this time as the Blues took a 75-52 victory. McCarty had 21 and Persinger had 11.

“It was one of our better games at Parry McCluer,” said coach CJ Crowder. “We always struggle up there.”

The Rockets also played Parkway Christian in Vinton last week and dropped a 68-51 decision. Parkway was hot from behind the three-point-line in the early going and built a 30 point lead at one point. Craig rallied, but the Rockets found themselves in too big a hole to catch up. Josh Looney had 18 points and Zach Towers had 10.

The Rockets were scheduled to play at home against Highland on Tuesday, but results were too late for publication. On Thursday the Rockets are at Bath County and next week they have Parkway at home on Tuesday and a trip to Bath on Wednesday.

Craig comes into the week at 2-14 and 1-6 in district play.

In November, the Craig County Youth & Community Services board received a grant for $30,000 from Roanoke Women’s Foundation for the CCR&CA. The Field of Dreams was one of five organizations selected out 46 applicants that applied for a grant from the $242,000 the foundation awarded. The RWF is a component Fund of the Foundation for Roanoke Valley.

Heavy duty equipment moved dirt late summer and early fall at the “Field of Dreams” getting it ready to seed with the expectation of having two fields ready in the spring. Photo by Gwen Johnson

The middle of January the Foundation for Roanoke Valley notified Debbie Snead from the CCY&CS Board that the board had approved a grant in the amount of $10,323 from Community Catalyst Funds to be used to pay for grading and seeding the much anticipated ball fields.

“We are most appreciative of the foundation reaching out of the Valley and helping our families and children here in Craig,” Snead said. “The funding couldn’t have come at a better time because we are pushing to finish grading the field and getting it seeded.”

The goal of the CCR&CA is to have two ball fields ready to play on when the season opens this spring.

Records show that this past summer there were over 450 children, coached by 80 volunteers, playing seven different sports on any flat surface they could find in the county.

Snead said it is encouraging how supportive local organizations have been as well. “The New Castle Town Council recently donated $15,000 to the project; the Fairgrounds Association donated $2462.36, and Farmer’s & Merchants Bank of Craig County has provided $2,000 toward developing the field. “The fact that our local organizations are showing faith in our project to have a sports complex here in Craig County really means a great deal,” Snead said.

It is to be noted that the 18-acre Craig County Sports and Recreation Complex is a million-dollar project that will not only have ball fields but other amenities such as a walking trail, food stand with restrooms and will provide access to the creek for boating and other activities.

“This is a big thing for Craig County,” Snead said since the county does not have a department of recreation and parks and virtually nowhere to hold outdoor activities and sporting events.”

“The funding we have received recently from such generous donors will assist in pushing our sports and recreation complex a step closer to reality,” Snead said.

The Feb. 2 meeting will begin at 5 p.m. in the Craig County Courthouse. A public hearing on the proposed festival is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Young musicians Cory Slaydon and Dustin Lee of Deep Roots Productions, who live in the Bradshaw area of Roanoke County, are calling their planned May 18-19 festival the Happiness and Harmony Festival. It would feature blue grass, country and rock-and-roll music, they said.

A similar event the roommates sponsored on 76 acres of family land near Bradshaw a few years ago attracted 700 people, Lee said.

The Craig County Planning Commission considered the request and recommended supervisors approve it for the campground owned by the late Tony Reynolds near Craig County Mercantile and Lillie’s Deli, and Custer’s Trout Ponds, the county administrator’s office said. Reynolds’ daughter, Lisa Reynolds Caldwell, is the executor for the property.

The reason the festival that charges admission has to come before the supervisors is because it is not one of the uses provided for under the county’s Zoning Ordinance.

Slaydon said his and Lee’s earlier music get-togethers in Roanoke County did not charge admission. This time, the two plan to charge a total of $35 for both days, including camping. Proceeds would go to the Alzheimer’s Association, Slaydon said.

There would be an additional fee for the 20 campsites that have electricity, he added.

Music would start at 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday, Lee said. Gates would open at 9 a.m. on May 18, Lee said.

Staff in the Craig County Administrator’s office said neighboring property owners have not expressed concerns over the music and arts festival, other than the possibility of noise. Slaydon said the cut-off time for performances would be midnight for the amplified stage and 3 a.m. at the smaller acoustic stage, on both Friday and Saturday night.

Also at the Feb. 2 meeting, supervisors are scheduled to consider:

• appointments to the Craig County Tourism Board;

• appointing a alternate member of the Community Policy and Management Team for Craig County Schools;

• a resolution amending the Fiscal Year 2011-12 budget for the schools’

• a resolution amending this fiscal year’s budget for attorney fees for bailout; and

• a resolution amending the county budget for the Craig County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.

Supervisors are also expected to set a schedule to discuss the 2012-2013 budget.

A work session is scheduled at Thursday’s meeting with Gordon Jones of Robinson Farmer Cox to review the 2011 county audit.

In the evening portion of the meeting, a public hearing is scheduled to be held on:

a proposed ordinance to establish April 12 as the date by which applications to the Board of Equalization must be made by property owners or lessees for relief, and to establish May 15 as the deadline by which all applications must be finally disposed of by the Board of Equalization.

This afternoon House of Delegates’ Bill 46 died in the Agriculture Committee when no committee member made a motion to advance it.

The bill was filed by 8th District Delegate Greg Habeeb, a Republican who represents Craig County, at the request of constituents in Craig, Roanoke and Montgomery counties could have gotten the state out of the kitchens of people who can and want to sell pickles, chow chow, relish, salsa, pepper jelly and other preserved foods that contain vinegar.

For years, individuals prepared and sold home-canned acidified foods at farmers’ markets, as well as at their farms, and festivals.

Home-canned pickled products can still be sold at festivals and church bazaars, but not at farmers’ markets.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services opposes the sale of home-canned pickles and other acidified foods because of the health danger if such foods are not processed properly, VDACS staff said.

The third time was not the charm for the bill. Two years ago when a Democrat from Charlottesville submitted a similar bill, it failed in committee. Last year another bill was withdrawn, according to members of the Virginia Independent Consumers and Farmers Association, because of large agribusiness opposition.

VICFA’s mission is to “promote and preserve unregulated direct farmer-to-consumer trade that fosters availability of locally grown or home produced food products.”

Sheehan also had big goals for a cafe and coffee shop for Friday night music in downtown New Castle in 2007. The Keltic Café closed after less than a year at 322 Main St.

Bonnie Sheehan, shown in the 2007 file photo, formerly ran the Keltic Café and a coffee shop in New Castle. Photo by Gwen Johnson

According to Tennessee court records, Sheehan was arrested on Jan. 17 in that state on more-than 120 counts of animal cruelty. Court records say a Tennessee Highway Patrol officer stopped a U-Haul driven by Sheehan that was pulling a mini-van with 127 dogs and a cat inside the two vehicles.

Tennessee law enforcement authorities said Sheehan was driving from California to Roanoke. The latter is on arrest records as the city where Sheehan, formerly from California, lives.

Sheehan is listed as the founder of Hearts for hounds, a non-profit “dog rescue organization,” according to the organization’s statements on various websites.

When she ran the businesses in New Castle, Sheehan’s coffee shop two doors away on Main Street from the Keltic Café had a section in the back with products for pets, New Castle people recall, including handmade dog treats and knitted pet sweaters.

Other volunteers with various animal rescue organizations in the Roanoke Valley said they were unfamiliar with Sheehan or her organization, Hearts for Hounds, before her arrest made headlines.

Hearts for Hounds listed more than 50 dogs for adoption on the website Petfinder last week.

“Bonnie was a dog lover, no doubt about it,” said New Castle resident Gwen Johnson who used to go to Sheehan’s cafe and coffee shop, and wrote articles about their opening for The New Castle Record.

“I think her heart was in the right place when she tried bringing all those dogs back to here to Roanoke. I just don’t know what she was thinking when she tried to transport them under such conditions. I think she desperately thought everything would be alright if she could only get them to Roanoke,” Johnson said, after reading news accounts.

According to Tennessee law enforcement authorities, in the vehicle Sheehan was driving and towing some of the dogs were in cages but most were loose, and there was no evidence of sufficient food and water for them.

In addition to the individual tournament awards, the RVSGT awards gift certificates to the top 20 points finishers. The top 5 positions for 2011 were: 1st place, Hank Highfill; 2nd place, Woody Deans; 3rd place, Lee Hipp; 4th place, Ken Gross; 5th place,Crady Adams.

Hank Highfill is local senior golf champion.

The following nine Golf and Country Clubs have been selected for 2012: All tournaments start at 9 AM and, with the exception of Roanoke Country Club, will be played on a Tuesday.

Roanoke Country Club – Monday, April 16th

Botetourt Golf & Swim Club Tuesday, May 1st

Hanging Rock – Tuesday, May 22nd

Draper Valley – Tuesday, June 12th

Westlake – Tuesday, July 10th

Pulaski Country Club, Tuesday, August 7th

Vista Links – Tuesday, August 28th

Blue Hills – Tuesday, September 25th

Ivy Hill – Tuesday, October 16^th

A Craig varsity doubleheader at Highland last Thursday was postponed due to the threat of snow. It actually did end up snowing and Highland missed school on Friday, but no makeup date was scheduled as of press time.

The Craig girls put their hands together after a timeout. Photo by Jon Fleming.

On Friday the Rockets were scheduled to play a home girls-boys doubleheader against Montcalm. The girls were ready to go for the 5:30 pm opener and fans were streaming into the Craig County High School gym, but the visitors didn’t show. Apparently there was a discrepancy as to the scheduled date for this game, and Montcalm had it as a different time than Craig. Rocket athletic director Matt Coe reached Montcalm High officials about game time when it became obvious the visitors weren’t coming, and the doubleheader was postponed.

Both teams managed to get in district games with Parry McCluer last week with mixed results. The girls beat Parry McCluer in Buena Vista last Tuesday, 36-33. Craig trailed 30-24 after the third quarter but rallied to outscore their hosts in the fourth period, 12-3, to blow past the Blues for the win.

“Defensive pressure and rebounding was the key to the victory,” said Craig coach Donald Eggleston.

Melia Hutton led Craig with 15 points, seven steals, and eight rebounds. Jordan Persinger was seven for 10 from the floor and finished with nine points and seven boards as Craig improved to 3-4 overall and evened their district record at 1-1.

On Wednesday the boys played host to Parry McCluer and dropped an 88-54 decision to the Blues. Craig hung tough in the first quarter, trailing just 20-16, but Parry McCluer opened a 40-23 lead by the half, then scored 29 third quarter points to 17 for Craig.

“We started off strong but they’re a good, quick team,” said Craig coach C.J. Crowder. “They’re the best team in the district.”

Derek Persinger led the Rockets with 17 points, Andy McCarty had 14, and Josh Looney had nine.

With the loss Craig dropped to 1-10 overall and 0-2 in the district. The boys were scheduled to host Covington on Tuesday and Bath County will be here today, followed by a trip to Covington on Friday.

The girls were at Bath on Tuesday and at Covington on Thursday.

The bank plans to expand on the back, but not touch the front of the building that is part of the New Castle Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places, said bank board chairman Pat Charlton.

Farmers & Merchants Bank has purchased the former G.W. Layman Insurance Agency building from Barker Realty that used it for the agency's office in Craig County. Photo by Gwen Johnson

Barker Realty and the bank were scheduled to close the sale on Jan. 17. The real estate company has owned the little building for the last 10 years.

“We don’t know exactly what we’re going to use the property for yet,” said Charlton Monday. “We’ve got to sit down with the architects,” explained Charlton, who is one of seven members of the bank’s board. “We just need more room. I can assure the public we don’t want to take away from the looks of the historic building. We’re glad we could purchase it from the Barkers.”

Barker Realty President George Barker said his company was not interested parting with the building at first. “When the bank approached us several weeks ago to see if we were interested in selling, we were not. Over a period of time we decided to go ahead and sell it to them,” added Barker, who did not disclose the purchase price.

Barker assured the community that agent Ginny Fisher is continuing to work for Barker Realty, from the Salem officer and from her home in New Castle

Barker added he is glad the bank has plans to use the building. “It will be a great addition to Main Street in New Castle,” he said. “For that reason, I’m glad to see it’s going to happen.”