The next BURG community meeting, Sunday, June 17

The whole town is invited, 7:30 PM, in the Blacksburg Public Library. This will be a strategizing and re-energizing session. We will have updates on the legal developments. And we will have some exciting new ways to involve the wider community, not just in stopping a bad project, but in advocating for the kind of growth that is consistent with our vision and values as articulated in the BURG mission statement.

It is our goal to turn BURG into a permanent force on the development and land use scene in Blacksburg, to be the Blacksburg Partnership for the rest of us.

With this in mind, we are looking for concerned, energetic people to help staff the following committees and working groups:

• The fundraising committee: assuring that the town's residents are represented in the legal proceedings will be expensive. Our fundraising drive is on, but we will need some creative thinking and energy to finance the best case possible.
• Media committee: how do we keep our issues and our ongoing work in the public consciousness? If you are good at writing or have a talent for publicity, we need you to help in this crucial dimension of our work.
• Working Group for New Initiatives: how do we implement our mission statement after the S. Main issue is resolved? This group will examine a variety of possible initiatives and pick one or two to be the focus of community-wide forums and campaigns. The group could also explore creative solutions for the S. Main site.
• The BURG Citizens' Review Committee: Our experience with the South Main project and other recent developments has shown how important it is for an independent citizens' group to scrutinize development proposals as early as possible. This is an exciting way to have an impact, for anyone who is ready to read plans and studies, and conduct background research.

Of course we are open to other suggestions, and will save time at the meeting for brainstorming and community input. These are action committees. Their purpose is not only to hold discussions, but to plan and execute.

If you are ready to take an active role in changing the way Blacksburg does development, if you want to keep up with the legal case, or if you want some input in our ongoing work, please join us on Sunday.

The School Board responds to Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth

Members of Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth (Eva Hudlicka and Sharon Hartline) attended the Montgomery County School Board meeting on June 5, 2007. Sharon Hartline voiced the group's safety concerns if a big box store is built in such close proximity to Margaret Beeks Elementary School. She asked the board to get involved and to create a fact finding committe to study safety issues.

Later in the meeting the board had an extensive discussion about this issue and asked that different types of background research be conducted. They will revisit this topic at their next meeting on June 19, 2007. Concerned parents and citizens are encouraged to attend this meeting. If you would like to speak at the meeting, you must arrive early and sign up with the school board clerk. The public portion of the meeting begins at 7:30pm at 200 Junkin Street in Christiansburg. For directions, see the school board's website. Once the agenda is made public, we will post more information.

If you have concerns about student safety or other school-related issues, please email the superintendent, Dr. Tiffany Anderson, and all of the school board members prior to June 19, 2007. The email addresses of the superintendent and school board members are listed below.

superintendent@mail.mcps.org (Superintendent, Dr. Tiffany Anderson) alythgoe@mail.mcps.org (Amy Lythgoe, District A)
pfranklin@mail.mcps.org (Penny Franklin, District B)
ddunk@mail.mcps.org (David Dunkenberger, District C)
jbond@mail.mcps.org (Jamie Bond, District D)
BJones@mail.mcps.org (B. Wendell Jones, District E)
smorikawa@mail.mcps.org (Susan Morikawa, District F)
whopkins@vt.edu (W. Wat Hopkins, District G)

Concerned Parents for Responsible Growth
Contact: parents123@earthlink.net .

Reminder:
A special showing of the new film OURTOWN, about a small town in Maine that took on Walmart, and won.

At the Lyric Theatre
Sunday, June 24, 3 PM
$5

The film will be followed by a conversation with special guest, Jenny Mayher, who founded Ourtown Damariscotta, and is featured in the film.
Download our PDF poster.