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| Bridge Named After Slain VT Student |
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| Written by EverythingNRV | |
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The weather for the day could not have been any better as many Giles County and New River Valley residents came to honor the life of Jarrett Lee Lane. Lane, a native of Narrows, was one of the 32 slain Virginia Tech students and faculty killed on April 16th, 2007. The theme of the ceremony was "Building Bridges" and it framed the ceremony perfectly.
Giles County Board of Supervisor Eric Gentry opened the ceremony with some short thoughts prior to an opening prayer and the National Anthem played by the Narrows High School Band. Gentry again addressed the crowd on many thoughts about Lane, with one in particular standing out. In a moment of humor he joked that Lane would probably have said that he "already had a monument named for him - Lane Stadium". Gentry then turned things over to Ralph Davis, the Deputy Secretary for VDOT.
Davis explained how the bridge being dedicated to Lane came into being. He talked about the fact that the bridge had been constructed by Giles County and talked about what a wonderful job the county had done in building the bridge.
Following Davis was Virginia Tech Professor of the Civil and Environmental Engineering School at Virginia Tech, Marc Edwards. Edwards knew taught Lane and spoke about how Lane wanted to "build bridges", something he had told his mother years earlier that he wanted to do. Edwards talked about the other "bridges" that Lane built. He said that Lane's "true legacy of bridge building was the friends he had made along the way at Virginia Tech, his family and with the Town of Narrows." He said that Lane had a "kind heart, was friendly to everyone he met" and was "wise beyond his years".
Following the ceremony, I asked Edwards what was the most memorable story he had about Jarrett Lane. He noted that his most memorable story he heard about Lane was after he had died. Lane had a classmate in his lab that had the same cell phone ringtone as Lane. Every time she heard it ring, she just assumed it was her phone, but it was always Lane's phone. She made a comment to Lane, in jest, about the phone. Following lab that day, about 15 minutes later, her cell phone rang and it was Lane assuring her that she had many friends. "That was the kind of person he was," said Edwards. "Always reaching out to making friends".
Following a song from Narrows' Craig Whitaker, Giles Board of Supervisor Richard McCoy presented Lane's mother and family with a dedication plaque. Lane's mother spoke briefly, recounting the story of her son telling her that he wanted to build a bridge that was his goal in life.
The dedication monument is already in place on the side of the bridge. The bridge is located on Route 724 over Wolf Creek near Narrows.
Click here to see more photos from today’s events in our photo album.
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Falling Branch Elementary School students were visited by nationally-acclaimed anti-bullying representative Jay Banks, this week. He presented the students with a campaign called S.T.A.M.P., and taught them how to STAMP out the bullying at their school. Students were both entertained and educated by Banks' display, while teachers were given information throughout the program. Local celebrity and former Falling Branch student, Melissa Devore, was present. Devore is currently pursuing a pageant dream. Banks introduced Devore as a positive role model for the children to look up to. Photos by Leigh Anne Correll |
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| Today's Birthday | |
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Queen Elizabeth, England's last Tudor monarch, came to the throne during a turbulent period in the nation's history. Although she has been described as vain, miserly, and fickle, she was remarkably successful as queen. During her reign, England pursued a policy of expansionism in commerce and geographical exploration, literature, and the arts flourished. The Elizabethan era saw the defeat of the Spanish Armada and the colonization of North America. Which US state is named after Elizabeth?
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