Category: Floyd

The tower is down.

Roger Mannon of The Floyd Press reported:

The water tower, a part of the town skyline for most of the 20th century, was pulled down and cut up for scrap. Residents and passers-by watched from back yards and streets as workers used torches to cut away the legs and guy wires. The actual demolition took several hours, but the whole process took much longer.

The tower was 78 feet tall and weighed 31.1 tons. It was owned by Daniel Bower. It was rusty.

“It hadn’t been used for town water for decades,” Mannon wrote.

You might think it would have been neat to clean it up, maybe paint something on it, again making it a beacon of our little town. I thought that, secretly hoped for it.

But according to Paul Shively, sandblasting and repainting the tower “would have cost upwards of $100,000.”

The town council discussed it, but, shoot, we don’t have that kind of money lying around for an old water tower. So they cut down the artifact of 20th century life and hauled it off to the recycling center.

Floyd has just one traffic signal. It’s at the intersection of U.S. 221 (Main Street) and Virginia Route 8 (Locust Street).

Since it’s the only stoplight we have–not just in town, but in the entire county–it’s pretty important from both a functional and symbolic standpoint. Our lone stoplight is considered the geographic center of the county and serves as the starting point for directions to Floyd County destinations.

“How do I get to your place?”

“Well, from the stoplight, you head toward Roanoke on 221 …”

I’ve heard talk about a second traffic signal at the intersection of East Main Street and Barberry Road to help regulate school traffic. It makes some sense but would also be a signal of growth that many would regret.

But back to our lone stoplight.

The lines are painted well back from the intersection to keep cars a safe distance from the big trucks that need a wide berth to make the turn in the center of town. Which also means there’s no turn on red. Miss the light and you have to wait–unless you cut down Oxford Street or behind the courthouse to avoid the light altogether, which I sometimes do.

Now why would I ever avoid the only stoplight within 25 miles?

There’s no good reason. I guess it’s a sickness I still have from living too long in large cities.