Where: Radford University in Preston Hall

When: February 9th  7-10 p.m.

Admission: 1$ – plus donations

Tonight, in Preston Hall, Radford University students will be rocking out to raise money for 15-year-old Roanoke girl, Kendall Bayne. RU Parks, Recreation and Tourism students are putting on “Battle of the Bands” to raise money for Bayne, who was diagnosed with a rare childhood cancer, Adrenal Cortical Carcinoma, last February.

“She lives up the street from me in Roanoke. And I’m up here in Radford. I wanted to get involved some way,” said Senior Ben Perfater, who coordinated this event with the help of his classmates.

“It was the first thing that popped in my mind. Maybe we can do something for this girl,” Perfater said.

The entry fee is only one dollar, but bands will have their own donation buckets. The buckets will be used as the voting process and donations will be accepted throughout the entire concert. At the end of the show, the band with the most donations wins.

A variety of music will fill Preston Hall tonight in honor of Bayne, who will not be present due to another surgery. Eight bands are scheduled to play music from rock to “easy-listening country” and from blue-grass to jam bands. All band members are students at RU.

“All money that we make goes to Kendall,” Senior Sarah Davis said. “Everything.”

If you can’t make it out tonight, there is always a way to help Kendall Bayne and her family at kendallbayne.com

It’s been nearly a year since a group of Pittsylvania County residents traveled to Floyd County to give a power point presentation, alerting local residents about Virginia Uranium Inc.’s intent to mine and mill uranium in Virginia for use in the production of nuclear power. A reported 119 million pounds of uranium – worth as much as $10 billion is at stake for the company, which consists of Virginia investors, Canadian partners and land owners of the property in Pittsylvania County where the mining site is proposed.

Concerned about the radioactive waste associated with uranium mining and its risk to drinking water, human health, farmland, property values and tourism, a group of Floyd citizens formed UBAN, a grassroots organization named for the goal of keeping a 30 year statewide ban on uranium mining in place.

Throughout the year UBAN members have partnered with other Virginia groups to educate people on the issue. Members have staffed educational booths at festivals, hosted benefits, collected petition signatures, attended local and regional meetings and voiced their concerns to their representatives.

“Other countries are pulling away from nuclear power,” said UBAN member Anne Armistead. Since the nuclear power plant disaster in Japan the price of uranium in the global market has fallen, she reports. “Studies have shown that solar is already cheaper than nuclear.”

Armistead’s fear is that if the ban is lifted and uranium mining is allowed, it will ruin Virginia’s economy. “How many companies will leave if this happens? Who’s going to want to relocate here other than another dirty mining company?” she asked. “Clean water is our biggest asset to future jobs. Even the perception of such a dirty industry around dairy farms will have a negative effect.”

“Property values near the proposed site have already gone down,” said UBAN member Michael Kovick. Kovick recently contacted his insurance agent to ask about coverage for water contamination. There is none, he was told.

UBAN member Cheri Chalfan pointed out that Pittsylvania County is only 50 miles as the crow flies from Floyd. “We need to reach out to every person we know in this state. They need to let their delegates know that our water is more important than uranium.” She noted that full scale uranium mining has never been done in the east where floods and hurricanes would make the spread of toxic materials more likely.

Uranium mining and milling has been known to increase birth defects and cancer, particularly in those who live near the mines. The mining industry’s safety record in the past has not been good, Armistead said. “Church Rock in New Mexico is the biggest radioactive release disaster in this country. It was worse than Three Mile Island, but you don’t hear much about it.” A waste water storage system in Church Rock failed and radioactive water was released in 1979.

The National Academy of Science recently released its highly anticipated 22-month review on uranium mining. The report did not make any recommendations on the ban but pointed to “steep hurdles” that mining prospectors would have to overcome. It also highlighted the difficulty of storing radioactive waste for thousands of years, considering Virginia’s climate, geology and population.

UBAN members agree that, because the problem of permanent storage of the radioactive waste has not been solved, uranium mining can not be considered safe even if it is heavily regulated. “When they dredge up this low grade ore it will take 2,000 pounds to get 4 pounds of yellowcake. That leaves 1,996 pounds of toxic waste on the ground,” Kovick explained. “Some of it is released as particles into the air and it’s processed with water. That toxic water has to be stored. Everyone’s asking can you mine safely, but the real question is ‘how are you going to store the radioactive waste for 100,000 years?’ There is no way. Every facility breaks down in 50 years or so and is vulnerable to storms.”

UBAN members are unanimously concerned that Virginia Uranium, Inc., a well-financed and politically connected company that currently employs 14 lobbyists, will drown out the public voice and push for a General Assembly vote on lifting the ban before it can be thoroughly reviewed. Another concern is that if the ban is lifted land throughout the Appalachian Mountain chain, where uranium deposits are believed to be, will be open to mining.

Kovick refers to the rush to mine and mill uranium in Virginia as “irresponsible and irrational.” “On the one hand they are pushing this by talking about putting regulations in place. On the other hand they have lobbyists in D.C. trying to shut down any regulations that are here to protect the public right now. They’re speaking out of both sides of their mouth.”

A by-donation “Keep the Ban” benefit dance concert is planned for Thursday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Dogtown Roadhouse. Along with the scheduled music entertainment, Mighty Shakey and the RockuPyers, organizers plan to host an information table and have a guest speaker. They hope to inspire others to attend a Keep the Ban Lobby Day, hosted by the conservation community in Richmond on January 23rd. Mary Rafferty, a Sierra Club organizer and UBAN resource from Richmond, says the event will involve a morning workshop on lobbying, followed by a trip to the capitol to meet with legislators.

“This is our one chance. If people take one day out of their life to do this one thing and we make enough of a showing, we can have an impact and stop this.” Kovick urged.    ~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com.

Post notes: UBAN members Michael Kovick, Anne Armistead and Cheri Chalfan are pictured at a meet-up at the upcoming benefit dance concert venue, Dogtown Roadhouse. Read the article I wrote for Natural Awakenings magazine on how the “Risks Outweigh the Benefits” HERE and a more recent excellent commentary in the Roanoke Times HERE. More information can be found at keeptheban.org.

~ The above was also published in The Floyd Press.

When “Speed Junkie” first saw roller derby on TV, she knew that it was the sport she wanted to play. Disappointed that she couldn’t find a team close enough to home, she decided to start a group of her own. Since the group formed out of Christiansburg in 2007, the NRV Roller Girls have been whipping through obstacles to compete on a national level.

Colin Goddard (l) was shot four times on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Tech. Omar Samaha lost a sister, Reema, on the day of the massacre. Both now advocate gun free schools. (Photo by Bill Kovarik)

By Maria Medina

Radford, VA – Students with differing perspectives on gun rights demonstrated at Radford University today. Favoring rules that would allow concealed weapons on college campuses were about a dozen members of the Virginia Citizen’s Defense League and RU students.

Opposing them were two students with first-hand experience of the Virginia Tech 2007 massacre who have been staging counter-demonstrations at universities where the VCDL has been demonstrating over the past two months.

“It’s our belief that the innocent life is sacred and that it should be allowed to be protected,” said President of VCDL Philip Van Cleave. “And we feel like the message of Virginia Tech was, no one was armed, no one could protect themselves, so they were basically just waiting to be murdered, and we think that’s wrong,” he said about his campaign in reference to the April 16, 2007 tragedy.

VIDEO:

RU Republicans favor concealed weapons on campus

Two Virginia Tech students support gun-free campus.

—————————-

VCDL also visited VA Tech on November 17, where the campaign was the same. They are currently using the slogan “No guns? No funds!” to encourage the halt of donations to campuses with restricted gun policies.

(Photo by Bill Kovarik)

“We are telling alumni and others, ‘don’t contribute any money’ and basically saying ‘no guns no funds.’ Unless you change your policy I’m not contributing anymore… I want the students to be able to protect themselves, as well as faculty,” said Van Cleave.

Liberty University is one school in Virginia already leaning towards what the VCDL is hoping for. They recently made policy changes which will allow students to keep concealed weapons in cars parked on campuses.

“We want to go much further than that. If you’ve got a permit you should be allowed to carry your weapon… permit holders carry in buildings all the time… and nothing unusual is happening except that these people are able to protect themselves. So we want more than that, however that was a good first step,” said Van Cleave.

Van Cleave makes the argument that university policies or state laws are not going to be followed by those who bring weapons onto campus with ill will anyway.

“Keep in mind always that criminals don’t ask for permission. So by giving me permission to carry or not in a building has nothing to do with a criminal, because he will do it anyhow,” said Van Cleave. “I think a lot of people say ‘well if the university said no guns I wouldn’t carry a gun, therefor nobody will,’ but that’s just not the way it works.”

Advocates for campus gun policy were also present. Two young men, Virginia Tech shooting survivor Colin Goddard as well as Omar Samaha, who lost his sister in the tragedy, braved the cold and wet as well.

“We realize that campus violence is not something you’re going to shoot your way out of,” said Goddard. “If we were talking about somebody in law enforcement that’s been trained in high stress situations and is accountable, then that’s a conversation that, let’s have. But, not just giving guns to students and saying ‘shoot the bad guys first’.”

Samaha pointed out that the VA Tech shooting was preventable and that campuses can become safer without the use of firearms. “First of all, the state needs to start with the background checks… from there you can get into so many different things with the school, like having locks on the doors. At Tech, there were no locks on the doors,” said Samaha.

Both Goddard and Samaha also feel there is a faulty notification system, saying that there was a two hour time difference between the first homicide at Tech and when students were notified that there was a shooter on campus.

“I woke up and drove to class before I even knew there had been a double homicide with a shooter on the loose… if students had known that, you know, people wouldn’t have been in class at ten in the morning,” said Goddard.

Goddard and Samaha stress the point that they are not anti-gun, but against the idea that in their opinion those who would be allowed to carry concealed weapons would not be well enough trained to help a violent situation.

“Why can’t we have an armed guard in each building? Okay, call it too pricey or too expensive, but I don’t think you can put a price on safety in the end. But why have a student who has potentially never shot a gun in his life carry one to school? Why can’t we put a professional in there to protect us?” said Samaha.

Student reaction was mixed, some grabbing stickers and handouts from VCDL campaigners and some coming to thank and speak with the opposing side of the debate.

“I am definitely for us having guns and being able to arm ourselves and defend ourselves if necessary,” said Katelyn Crispino, an RU student.

Caitlin Tedesco, a transfer to RU from Tech, sees it differently. “Guns on campus would cause fear on campus where students have been told they should feel safe. Also, any mix up with a gun carrier could possibly cause major chaos leading to a dangerous situation,” said Tedesco.

Earlier in the month VCDL also visited Virginia Commonwealth University and plans to take their fight on the road again to neighboring James Madison University tomorrow, starting their campaign at 10:30 am in the Commons outside of Gibbins Hall.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

http://www.studentsforgunfreeschools.org/

www.vcdl.org

This family-owned winery has grown into one of the commonwealth's leading wineries.

Click here for the video.

By Corey Mann and Taylor Kelly | New River Voice correspondents

The constant hum of a grape press isn’t just a soothing noise in the background for customers to enjoy; it’s a constant reminder of the hard work David Morrisette has put in to create the biggest winery in the New River Valley.

The family-owned winery started in the mid ’70s in a blasted underground cave. By 1981 it had evolved into a full-scale winery, restaurant and gift shop known as Chateau Morrisette. The Floyd County tourist destination, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway, is now one of the most profitable wineries in all of Virginia.

Morrisette met Bob Burgin, now vice president of the winery, when they were two of three enology majors at Mississippi State. They graduated just before the program closed down. “We went our separate ways, and when I realized I shouldn’t be the wine maker because I was terrible at it, he came in and took over,” Morrisette said. “I should have been doing other things, like marketing.”

Chateau Morrisette produces and ships 15 different wines that are sold throughout the commonwealth and along the East Coast, including North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee and West Virginia. With 70,000 cases and more than 100,000 customers each year, the winery is flourishing. October is by far the best month for sales, as the fall season brings in much more business than the winter.

It wasn’t always smooth sailing. “We put it up for sale three times during the ’80s, and even now it’s a tough market. It’s hard for all the wineries right now.” The family has learned from experience. “In 1987 the temperature was 35 degrees below, and we had all our grapes grown here in Floyd. Needless to say we lost 100 percent of our grapes. That’s when we decided we needed to grow them in different areas around the state.”

Through trial and error, Morrisette has found better locations. “Different grapes grow better in different microclimates. The grapes are brought in 24 hours a day by refrigerated tractor-trailers.” They have grapes growing in Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, the Shenandoah Valley, Patrick County and anywhere from 10 minutes away to five hours away. No matter where the grapes are grown, every last one is shipped through the mountains to the beautiful winery in Floyd to be pressed and used.

With their Sweet Mountain Laurel and Red Mountain Laurel dessert-style wines flying off the shelves, most profits come from grocery chains. “Walmart, Sam’s, Kroger, whatever grocery chain. But Kroger was the main chain that helped us get our foothold,” he said. “It’s nice because now Walmart is pushing to have regional products in their stores, from wine to apples, pears, local beef — anything local you can put in there.”

Gov. Bob McDonnell has made a big push to promote Virginia wineries, in contrast with some past governors who never served Virginia wines at the Governor’s Mansion. In this economy, the governor isn’t the only one pulling for the wine industry. According to the Virginia Wine Marketing Office, sales of Virginia wine reached an all-time high in 2011, with more than 462,000 cases sold. The office reported that it was an 11 percent increase over 2010, making the commonwealth the nation’s fifth largest wine producer.

Suzette Miller, one of 85 current employees in Floyd, had nothing but great things to say about the winery. Her job consists of greeting customers, taking them through the wine-tasting process, giving tours of the production facilities, and sharing interesting facts. She was the ultimate guide. Miller was an intern who just couldn’t leave. “I can’t express how much I enjoy working here and being apart of this winery, giving to the Service Dogs has really won me over.”

Miller is referring to Chateau Morrisette’s community involvement. It is known for its support of “Dogs 4 A Cause,” one of many service dog organizations Chateau Morrisette supports. Profits from Liberty and Independence wines benefit St. Francis Service Dogs. “The money pays for the dog as well as the training to serve as a service dog,” Miller explained. They also give to “For the Love of Dogs,” which benefits the research for EPI, Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, a disease in which a dog has the inability to digest food due to a lack of pancreatic digestive enzymes.

The black labrador, or “Black Dog,” featured on a number of the wines at Chateau Morrisette, has been a symbol of the winery for more than 25 years. Winery? Black lab? Where’s the connection? While Morrisette was growing up, he was the proud owner of a black lab named Hans. When Morrisette took over the winery, Hans could always be found snooping around, as he had a fine taste for a special vintage.

Trilogy was Hans’ favorite wine, an off-dry wine with a blend of cabernet, chambourcin and merlot. Though Hans could always be found slurping up a freshly poured bowl of what is now known as “The Black Dog,” he lived a long and loving life until he passed at the age of 15. Morrisette was so affected by Hans’ death that he decided to start the Black Dog marketing strategy, showing his respect for the dog he loved. Little did he know, the strategy turned into what is now one of only two wineries in Virginia that sells more than 50,000 cases of wine a year.

Chateau Morrisette has found its place in wine making and is doing extremely well on the East Coast. Though Morrisette is grateful for all that the winery has accomplished, he’s considering expansion. As of right now, they are working on exporting to China. Morrisette plans to visit Hong Kong to start selling his wine there as well.

It’s important to David, his seven children and four dogs to keep the winery in the family. Even though his children are young, Morrisette can tell some are destined to join the family business. “I know a couple of them are really interested in the winery. They’ll definitely want to get involved when they’re older.”

Don’t let the cabin feel fool you. The River Company Restaurant and Brewery has an upscale appeal. The moment you walk in, you are greeted with a smile.

The moment I bit into the warm white rolls our server brought out, I knew I was in for a treat. If their bread was wrong, then I don’t want to be right. Then came the moment of truth, what was I going to order? From the savory steaks, to the catch of the day, or even pasta, I knew anything I ordered was going to be delicious.

“The sautéed shrimp and scallops with their homemade rice pilaf is divine, the six pieces of shrimp and scallop is just enough to fill me up,” Amanda Myers, a 22-year-old diner said.

I decided on a salad topped with medium rare cooked steak on it and a balsamic dressing. Marinating the steak with nothing but salt and pepper was a delightful curveball, but at different times of the year the executive chef, Joe Lackey, will put out a demi-glace; which is a rich French glaze.

Luckily, I got the chance to talk with the owner of The River Company, Mark Hall about where he gets his seafood and meats, “We have both of our dry and wet-aged meats come from our family farms River Company Beef, and we get our seafood from Pro-Fish Products. Our seafood is brought in fresh every 24 hours.”

The restaurant isn’t only the prized possession Hall has, The River Company also offers a brewery down below the restaurant filled with many different flavors of beers, ale’s, and casks. They offer seasonal beers, for instance the Peachicot Blonde Ale, which is what Amanda Myers ordered. “It’s not like a normal ale, it’s really sweet and the peach is definitely the dominated flavor over beer,” Myers stated. Even though it is just seasonal as of right now, Mike Pensinger, Chief Brewer wants to make it permanent and start brewing it in house. Hall also has plans to bring it to Blacksburg’s Brew Do Craft Beer Festival the weekend of September 24^th. This is what Hall had to say about the festival, “Good chance to try a whole lot of different beers, about 30 brewers will be there we’re bringing the Peachicot and if it’s anything like last weekends festival we brought it to, it will probably sell out again.”

If you want to go to a place that’s “homey” but has an outdoor patio with a fireplace and breathtaking views and enjoy an exquisite meal or just come to check out the many flavors of the brewery, come out to The River Company. You’ll be in a range of different aged atmosphere, and the service is ready to impress.

RADFORD, Va.-Taking on a new business venture in a struggling economy may seem risky for most. But not for John Long; a prime location and high demand made his plans for a coffee shop in Radford that much more realistic.

Located on the corner of First and Clement streets, Brewin’ Around is Radford’s newest addition. For many people, starting a business from scratch takes years of planning. For Long, the idea transformed from a dream to reality in a calendar year.

“The idea dated back to December of last year. We started to buy equipment before we even found our location because we knew we were going to do it somewhere, just a matter of where,” Long says. They decided on a vacant lot underneath Price Williams apartments on Clement Street, in the heart of “lightside.” Brewin’ Around’s location makes the shop easily accessible by students, faculty and people in the community.

If he was beginning his business elsewhere he may have had reservations about starting it up in a struggling economy, but Long is confident there is a high enough demand for coffee in a college town. “I’m a college student myself; I know they love their coffee.”

Brewin’ Around gets its coffee beans from a local supplier called Honduras Coffee Co. out of Floyd, Va. The supplier owns a plantation in Honduras and has the beans shipped to the United States. He roasts them in the basement of his coffee shop, then sells his beans to local buyers like Brewin’ Around.

Brewin’ Around offers more than just your average cup of Joe. “We have a pastry chef that comes in at 5:30 a.m., so [there are] fresh-made pastries cooked in-house, Paninis, [and] eight flavors of smoothies,” Long says.

The local business aspect may give Brewin’ Around an edge over what it considers its biggest competitors: 7-Eleven and Starbucks. “We care. If I make a drink and it’s bad I don’t give it out,” Long says. “it’s my reputation.”

“I’ll definitely give them my business; it’s great having a little coffee shop on lightside. That’s just right down the street with way more reasonable prices than Starbucks,” says Chelsea Cotman, a Radford University junior.

The new business also gives provides job opportunities for locals and students. “We put ads out on Craigslist and Facebook and people also just walked in. We had huge turnout,” Long says.

As they hit their two-week anniversary of being open, they are optimistic that Brewin’ Around will generate enough business to one day be Starbucks’ competition. “I haven’t slept in two months. We’ve put in hundreds of unpaid hours; it’s been a lot more work than I thought it would be,” Long says. “I think once word gets out there, they’re going to learn it’s just as good.”

I’m a big fan of  Donna the Buffalo and Jeb’s Puryear’s guitar work. They played in Floyd at the Dogtown’s Sun Music Hall Friday and Saturday and we danced our socks off.  Listen to another clip HERE.  ~ Colleen Redman blogs daily at looseleafnotes.com.