Virginia Tech basketball stars Liz Kitley (left) and Georgia Amoore (NYTimes photo)

A (Not So) Modest Proposal for Virginia Tech Women's Basketball

I have an idea that could well be irresistible for Virginia Tech and its followers: Hire the marvelous Blacksburg sculptor Larry Bechtel to forge a sculpture representing the Tech women's basketball team and its two All-Americans.

These two and the culture they represent are well worth the investment and Bechtel, who has done some terrific work in this region, would be a natural.

I don't need to go into how appropriate this sculpture would be, standing outside Cassell Coliseum where Liz Kitley and Georgia Amoore have re-defined not only women's basketball, but Tech sports in general. The most famous athlete in Tech history is Michael Vick--without a question. But his involvement with dog fighting--and serious jail time--obviates any mention of him among the role models, which Amoore and Kitley slide into naturally and with huge smiles. 

ODU's Nancy Lieberman and her statue

Tech has a statue of Frank Beamer, its legendary football coach. The University of South Carolina plans to construct a statue of Dawn Staley, the UVa All-American player and USC national champion coach. UVa does not have statues of football coach George Welsh or basketball coach Terry Holland, both of whom are deserving. There is no statue of Wendy Larry, Old Dominion's outstanding coach with 600 wins, but it does have one of ODU basketball player Nancy Lieberman (an All-American and two-time Division II national champ).

These young Tech women--one from Greensboro, the other from Australia--have brought huge crowds to a venue where a few hundred people at a game has most often been the reality, regardless of how good the teams and players have been. Kitley and Amoore (or Kitmoore) have been leaders in a new age of attention and that attention has been good for Tech, Blacksburg and this region overall.

Kitley (6'6") and Amoore (5'6") have helped create an atmosphere of the possible at Tech, taking a program to the final four last year and hoping to repeat. The team is good enough, but basketball is a game of streaks and anything can happen in a single game or set of games, especially tournament games. Tech won the ACC tournament last year and has already clinched at least a tie for the regular season title this year. Neither of those had happened before. Kitley's list of school and conference  records speak for themselves. She's been the ACC player of the year the past two years and appears to be a shoo-in for a third. Amoore set a league record for assists last night in beating North Carolina. At guard, she is the team's leader and with that smile, its most attractive and outgoing personality.

Does that deserve a statue in front of the Queens' Cassell? Yes, it does. Coach Kenny Brooks, who has built the program and recruited its stars, deserves his own notice, if not his own statue. But his career is young and there is plenty of time for that.

Amoore and Kitley not only set a standard on the basketball court, but also in the classroom, where they shine. And don't ever believe that playing basketball at a high level and getting a graduate degree (which Kitley is pursuing) at the same instant is easy. But these women don't do easy. 

Their efforts have helped Tech's image nationally and that eventually could lead to more and better students and well-funded programs. A few years ago, I was sitting in the press box for a football game between Tech and South Carolina. The game was close and near the end, Tech driving driving for the lead. It fumbled and eventually lost. "That fumble cost us $1 million," said Tech's top PR guy, emphasizing the overall benefit of a good program. 

If that fumble was worth $1 million, imagine what a dynamic assist from Amoore or that beautiful fall-away jump shot from Kitley could mean in the short and long runs.

And that deserves a bronze statue.

Let me suggest that some of you wealthy, die-hard Hokies get together, talk to Bechtel and pump in about $25,000 or so for a statue that would gain national attention for Tech in a wildly positive way. You could also pass the hat at Tech's regional home games coming soon. My bet is you'd almost get the money necessary with the hat.

 

Rene Marie sings her closing song at the Jefferson Center Friday night.

Roanoker Rene Marie Wows Jeff Center Crowd

Rene Marie and her band.

My memory is more than a little foggy, but I remember interviewing Rene Marie a number of years ago when we were both cubs. I was a feature writer for somebody and she was a new singer with a new name. 

I had been writing feature stories after a career as a sports writer and she had changed her name from Rene Marie Stevens. I was working on an assignment profiling the hot young singer.

What we had in common at the time was Roanoke. She had moved here at the age of 10 and was to leave 40 years later for Warrenton, her hometown. She's 68 now with hair so short she looks bald at a distance and remains equipped with one of the best jazz voices in the business. Last night, she played the Jefferson Center and my friend Susan took me as a Christmas present (a bit late, but all the more appreciated).

I mentioned our long-ago meeting to Rene after her hour and 15 minutes of singing and wasn't surprised that she didn't recall it. I am certain it was far more important to me than it was to her. I was and am a fan of her music and her strong stand for what is right in this world. She even writes about her beliefs--standing up for the dispossessed and the forgotten. I admire her for a heck of a lot more than her superb music.

She is almost a child of Roanoke, as am I, and I am proud to share the Star City with her.

Susan and me at the Jefferson Center Jazz Club.

The old editor and jazz fan.

Susan and I enjoyed snacks before the entertainment began.

Susan looking content.

Rene Marie and her excellent trio.

 

Patrick and Annette Patterson

In Defense of Patrick Patterson of Roanoke Catholic Schools

It has been a bit more than a week since Roanoke Catholic Schools announced the dismissal of its Head of School Patrick Patterson and Associate Head of School Nicole Lieber, and to this point, there has been little defense of Patterson and Lieber. WDBJ has done the only report of the dismissals that I’m aware of (other than Facebook posts), and its coverage has weighed heavily on the side of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond’s decision that the school “has determined that Roanoke Catholic Schools … would benefit from a new leadership approach.”

There was no further word from the diocese for the reasons behind the firings, but WDBJ quotes several parents (anonymously). In cases like this, non-disclosure agreements are common, giving dismissed employees monetary benefits for their silence. Patrick declined to talk to me about the reasons for his dismissal. Others, however, were eager to defend a man they consider to have been a strong and creative leader, a man of solid ethical base, and a role model.

I have known the Patterson family for years and it would never have occurred to me that Patrick was anything less than a visionary, a strong leader, a kind and forceful personality, a man whose primary professional attention was to the students. His wife, Annette, is one of the most influential and creative business leaders in the region and his kids are a delight, young women who are making their mark on the Valley.

I reached out to a number of people with close association to Roanoke Catholic over the years, including one who was part of the committee that hired Patrick some years ago, and without exception, they were shocked at the dismissal and supportive of Patrick. Not all were willing to go on the record, but they gave positive assessments of Patrick.

There is quite a bit of rumor filtering through the RCS community. I have found that Patterson shared information with the diocese about a smear campaign being pursued against him by a parent. Apparently, internal documents about students with identified disabilities were leaked outside of the school community and Patterson and his close associates told the diocese about them. This is the kind of information that circulates—whether or not true—in a dysfunctional system.

WDBJ reported that some “teachers say they felt a lack of support from administration, which led to some staff leaving. Some parents say they’ve considered removing their children from Roanoke Catholic as well.” The TV report featured only octogenarian Jerry Ewbank, who never worked with Patterson. He retired from RCS in 2001 and Patterson didn’t go to work there until 2010.

From what I’ve learned, the initial news source for WDBJ’s story works at the station.

When Patterson took over RCS in 2010, it was near death. There were fewer than 200 students registered to return and the budget that year was for 400 students. The school had 90 days to turn it around or the Bishop was reportedly ready to close the school in June 2011. Patterson saved RCS with some creative and thoughtful administration.

During his years, he was promoted to Regional Associate Superintendent, a first for the 200-year-old diocese. He served in a leadership role to administrators and faculty from Charlottesville to Bristol. He was on the Diocesan School Board and the diocesan accreditation review committee. He was selected to serve on the superintendent interview teams for the two most recent superintendents selected by the bishops of Richmond.

Paul Yengst, in a letter to Patterson, wrote that he was “disappointed to hear of your dismissal from Roanoke Catholic School. As the chairman of the committee that recruited you for the position, I have kept an eye on happenings on the hill. You told me once that ‘if you’re not green and growing, you’re brown and dying.’  I have certainly seen the green and growing at RCS.

“From the graduation rate, college scholarship awards, initiating of a building trades program and an aviation program, to the gym refurbishment, grounds improvements, energy innovations—and I could go on—Roanoke Catholic is a better school because of you. … From my perspective you have far surpassed what the committee expected in 2010. I think the School will be diminished by your absence.”

Frank Toney and his wife, Angela, are past school parents and current board members. Says Frank, “I have found [Patterson] to be nothing but man of integrity, He is a good communicator, a great leader. He saved the school, and he is a great business leader.

“I have seen him navigate quite a bit. He’s a compassionate man. He is more concerned with the less fortunate and he has a heart for those who are less than [others] … He is definitely concerned about the minority [and that is] not always the case dealing with Roanoke Catholic. … He made [the school] more a family than it was a school. It will be their loss that he’s no longer there. The school won’t be as strong as it was.”

Peter Radjou, Roanoke Catholic Schools’ chef and owner of Food Fanatics Kitchen, says Patrick is “a great administrator. I have great respect for him. I was surprised [at his dismissal] and I, pray for him. [The dismissal] does not change opinion. Definitely not.”

The silver lining in all this back-stabbing of a worthy man is that he is happy, relaxed and waking every morning eager to go to work at his Vinton gun shop, Pollard Street Pawn and Gun. He is working full-time there now.

All the while, a lot of those of us who have held RCS in high regard for a number of years, no longer do so. And that’s a damn shame. This is an ugly story, one where a good man suffered for doing a good job. The Pattersons have my support and my prayers going forward. They will be fine because they are good people.

 

E.B. Smith in the final scene from "The Mountaintop"

 Mill Mountain's 'The Mountaintop' Examines MLK's Final Hours

Mill Mountain Theatre has launched its ambitious production of “The Mountaintop,” a fictional examination of Martin Luther King’s last night before his assassination April 4, 1968, at the shabby Lorraine Motel in Memphis. The play's reception through Friday night was lukewarm, but live theatre in Roanoke has struggled to attract African-American audiences for years. This play is about one of the real 20^th Century icons of the Civil Rights movement.

The Fringe Theatre production is on the Waldron Stage (across from Fire Station #1) and tickets can be ordered by calling (540) 342-5748. Tickets are $25 and $15 for adults and young people and are subject to a “convenience fee.”

This is an hour and a half, two-character telling of King’s imagined last hours, where he meets the angel assigned to take him “home,” ostensibly via a bullet from the gun of James Earl Ray. There remains doubt and controversy that Ray acted alone, but the play does not discuss the killing in any detail.

Shannon Sharkey effectively plays Camae, the motel maid sent to deliver coffee to King at check-in, who eventually reveals she is an angel sent to ensure King makes it to heaven. Hers is a vital part in the imaginings of award-winning writer Katori Hall and she delivers with authority, seriousness and humor the role deserves. Sharkey is an Atlanta-based actor, model, educator, and diversity consultant.

King is forcefully (and loudly) played by E.B. Smith, a business professional with considerable acting credits. In this drama, King and Camae spend much of the final evening discussing King’s sometimes shady, often inspiring background, his goals and the final reality that he has only hours to live.

Their interaction ranges from a genuinely funny pillow fight, constant requests by King for “one more cigarette” from her, to King recoiling at the prospect that she is really an angel. A crucial scene features King talking on the phone to God (a woman), making the case that his death would be premature because he has “so much left to do.” Of course, he loses, but the back-and-forth with Sharkey’s earthy, potty-mouth angel with a colorful history is often fascinating.

Veteran director Marci Duncan understands the power of this play and brings it in with authority. Bill Munoz is the production stage manager who has worked at Flat Rock Playhouse, near Hendersonville, N.C., for 30 years.