The Roanoke Times from Roanoke, Virginia • 3

RAM helps Roanoke man through the cold winter By BETSY BIESEN BACH SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES Phil who asked that his real name not be used for this story measures time in how many days he is free of the fog that often clouds his mind for weeks leaving him unable to remember details or carry on a conversation On a recent morning he was up to 27 days breaking his previous record of 12 Of course he said the physical pain that haunts him night and day is never gone Phil spends most of his time in the living area of a con verted commercial building he owns The sunny room is fur nished with comfortable couches and chairs and ten drils of ivy are strung across the high ceiling creating a can opy of green In one comer a fish tank burbles away Phil said I wish never seen this He became too ill to work shortly after he bought it in 1997 but not before he had tom out the heating system and most of the plumbing In past winters he hasL Neighbors und The 4 Goodllfl warmed his rooms with porta ble oil heaters but his doctors have told him the fumes are causing respiratory problems and he must make do with elec tric units He has a toilet but must wash himself and his dishes in cold water in the bathroom sink Last winter he sold the old claw foot tub just to make some money ive years ago Phil 61 was a successful business owner He owned a nice home and was able to buy new cars and boats if he wanted them He even put his two children through college never had to depend on nobody" he said had what I Today he is mostly con fined to his home shifting from the chairs to the couches try I ing to get comfortable while he watches television shows he enjoy because he i concentrate enough to follow the story lines Phil grew up in Roanoke but ran away from home at 1 5 to work on a shrimp boat At 17 he joined the Marines wanted to be tough and I wanted to serve my country" he said His medical problems began in boot camp when he PLEASE SEE UNDB6 I 3 7 The Roanoke Times Well now ot bragging true Your mother probably told you rude to brag She was right But sometimes you help it especially when you have great news to share the case today for The Roanoke Times so let me beg your for giveness for this seemingly shameless self promotion (And please tell my mom) As you 11 see the rea son behind our boast The Roanoke Times is the best read daily newspa per in the country according to the 2002 Scarborough Report the scoop: Of 162 newspapers in top US metropolitan arpas Thp Rnannkp Titties ranked first in the percentage of adults who read their daily newspaper That makes us better read than die ROM THE NEWSROOM MIKE RILEY EDITOR Richmond Times Dispatch The Wash ington Post the Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe among others And we ranked second in the coun try behind The Buffalo (NY) News in the percentage of adults who read their Sunday newspaper Going to the source: Readers The Scarborough Report an exten sive survey of 75 top metro markets produced by one of the leading research companies shows that nearly 63 percent of adults in the Roanoke inetropolitan statistical area read this newspaper on a daily basis That figure rises to 75 percent on Sundays! These rankings are the newspaper equivalent of the Nielsen rating which measure TV viewership and the Arbitron ratings which do the same for radio listenership Last year Scarborough began sur veying about 2000 adults in this region including 868 in Roanoke using i telephone interviews and a lengthy questionnaire to discern shopping and lifestyle habits as well as media use and demographics i how they figured out the Times is the best read newspaper in the country We feel pretty good about this ranking So should you I As readers you care deeply about this region and about all sorts of issues from education to government from transportation to sports You want to know about business and the arts inter esting local people and important regional events hungry for national and international news that affects us all and you turn to The Roanoke Times every day to keep informed and connected Some of you love the newspaper while others find us a constant irritant But all of you read us and for that grateful long believed that a strong regional newspaper is a reflection! in large part of its loyal and caring read ers and that theory is buttressed by our Scarborough ranking Our strength as a newspaper flows in large part from our readers who! have a 120 year tradition of reading us telling us what they think and helping us understand and explain this region Thank you for making us No 1 'Z' I II Racism in the spotlight I heard some complaints from readers about our recent front page story about changes in the National Alli ance a white supremacist group based nearby in West Virginia Several readers accused us of giving the group exten sive free publicity that it would use to recruit members RThat was not our pufpose though werealize that could happen We ran thp story because of the dqep seated belief that the bright light of coverage promotes awareness and understanding of vital issues that need toTe discussed always rather do that than allow the veil of ignorance to such important matters Ultimately readers will determine whether something is good or bad Our role is to bring to your attention crucial matters while giving you the facts you need to make informed judgments MIlL Riley can be reached at mike'lleyroanokecom or 981 3227 Virginia Local news online or more news including 4 pm updates on weekdays go online at wwwroanokecom Obituaries B2 ZSUNQAY DECEMBER 8002 1 0 is just as sad as the Michael cousin said PHOTOS BY NATALEE WATERS THE ROANOKE TIMES loyd Anderson of Anderson Auction Service takes bids on real estate during an auction Saturday of the Short home and possessions in Oak Level 7 i rZ? iWr 1C wt riUi Short family possessions auctioned The relatives sold everything including the family home with the hope of extinguishing debt By LOIS CALIRI THE ROANOKE TIMES OAK LEVEL Men removed their hats as the solemn crowd of about 250 bidders bowed their heads Saturday morning in a moment of silence in memory of 9 year old Jen nifer Short and her parents Michael and Mary Short The life belongings of the slain family were laid out in the yard behind the home alongside US 220 in Oak Level as auctioneer loyd Anderson a 32 year veteran in the auction field conducted the sale His wife and recording assistant Sandra Anderson said she had walked through the house earlier feel creepy or anything like that to me Just very sad To see little room her toys and things I have a daughter and I can just PLEASE SEE AUCTI0NB8 1 vt Brandie Emerson 4 plays with dolls that once belonged to Jennifer Short The dolls along with everything else in the Short household were put up for auction Saturday Richard Burrow trial to begin over Day Memorial dealings raud trial shaping into fierce battle Burrow The prosecution contends that Burrow lied on applications to obtain loans the defense argues he was trying to complete the Day Memorial By JAY CONLEY THE ROANOKE TIMES Did Richard Burrow con banks and taxpayers out of millions of dollars to build the National I Day Memorial in Bedford only to leave it facing shame embarrassment and bankruptcy? Or did the former president of the National Day Memorial oundation legally manipulate fund raising to get the $25 million monument built so that World War II veterans who are dying at the rate of 1000 a day could visit it before they die? Those two conflicting theories likely will be played out before a jury in federal court this week as Burrow 55 goes on trial on fraud charges related to fund raising for the construction Assistant US Attorney Patrick Hogeboom said last week that he intends to present between 20 and 30 witnesses The trial is supposed to start Monday morning in federal I court in Lynchburg Burrow who lives in Roanoke and formerly worked as an engineer for the city and Explore i Park is charged with bank fraud loan application fraud wire fraud and mail fraud The charges stem from his five year tenure at the foundation during which he oversaw the con struction He resigned in July 2001 shortly after the memorial was dedicated by President Bush A few months later federal authorities began looking closely at the memorial's financing after it came to light that the foundation was $5 million in debt to contractors and that it had improperly spent another $2 million in donations The foundation never recovered from that debt Last month still $38 million in debt it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors This past summer following a nine month investigation US Attorney John Brownlee i announced the four indictments against Burrow saying he crafted a complex financial shell game to fool banks private donors and the state so the PLEASE SEE BURR0WB7 1 01 Center would coordinate efforts of various agencies that investigate child abuse cases Roanoke Valley plans child advocacy center The centers strive to make investigations less traumatic for children and more successful for the legal system By USA APPLEGATE THE ROANOKE TIMES ROCKY MOUNT The room is small but just the perfect size for a 6 or 8 year old child Drawings of farm tractors and tiny sheep decorate the walls Heart shaped pillows cover the couch But in the comers hidden behind the barnyard decorations video cam eras reveal the real reason for this cozy room Children suspected of being abused or neglected are brought to this room at the Southern Virginia Child Advocacy Center They talk with one perhaps two adults while police prosecutors and others in an adjacent room watch the interview via closed circuit television Every two weeks representatives from the sheriffs office the department of social services Carilion ranklin Memorial Hospital and other agencies meet to coordinate their efforts About a dozen people attend discussing as many as they can of the roughly 150 open child abuse cases The interview room and group PLEASE SEE CENTERB6 i Ur a 'Mi fag 1 KELLY HAHN JOHNSON THE ROANOKE TIMES Joyce Moran (center front) executive director for the Southern Virginia Child Advocacy Center meets with representatives from ranklin County's court system social service agencies and counseling programs to advocate better care for abused children a.