The World-News from Roanoke, Virginia • 25

Quickline 344-1555 Highway mirrors as safety device Q.1 While driving along the Mediterranean Sea in Italy and France we were impressed with the large mirrors hung at dangerous curves. They were like the ones in stores to observe for shoplifting. There is a very dangerous curve I must use in Roanoke County and I would like to install one of these mirrors at my expense if Quickline could find where to get -Mrs. H.W. A.

We regret to tell you the mirrors you mention are not approved for highway use in Virginia. And anyway, a spokesman for the highway department said, citizens cannot be allowed to place signs or other devices of their own choosing anywhere on the highway right-of-way. Quickline suggests you get in touch with your representatives in the General Assembly and see if you can get a movement started to have the mirrors approved. Medicaid has own eligibility requirements Q. Why can't I get a Medicaid card? I am under 65 but am on disability.

Why did they put me on disability? Whom can I contact about A. You apparently have met the requirements for disability benefits or you would not be receiving them. The requirements for Medicaid, however, are differ-primarily based on income or resources. For a proper explanation of your eligibility or lack of it, you should call the Roanoke Welfare Department at 981-2388. As to why you were placed on disability, Quickline is unable to answer because you do not receive disability insurance payments without applying for them.

Tardy information on bird census Q. Is there any way that I can participate in the annual bird census? Can I take part just by counting the birds on my own feeder at A. Anyone is welcome to participate in the census. Unfortunately it is over in this area for this year. You will be welcome next year, however, and for information may call Barry Kinzie at 992-2743 or by contacting any member of the Roanoke Valley Bird Club.

Advertised items not in stock Q. Why does Peoples Drug advertise a Presto hamburger cooker in the Sunday paper and, on Monday, when you call every one of their stores, they do not have A. This frequent complaint is caused by the fact that advertisements are released for the entire chain of drugstores and some stores do not receive the merchandise. The local stores usually place a notice in the newspapers the following day explaining their problem. State laws forbid marijuana Q.

Why is smoking "pot" A. Most states have laws forbidding the possession of marijuana. Smoking it is not specifically referred to, but possession covers it. Quickline gets answers, solves problems and cuts red tape. For action or information, call 344-1555 or write Quickline, P.

O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010. Questions used are chosen for general interest. Heartline Heartline is a service for senior citizens.

Anytime you have a question or problem, or you need assistance, write Heartline, 8514 N. Main Dayton, Ohio 45415. You will receive immediate action from Heartline. Q. My wife and I were divorced.

I am a World War II veteran and drawing nonservice-connected disability pension. have lost a dependent, when will the VA reduce my pension? J.H. A. The effective date of reduction of your VA benefits will be the last day of the calendar year in which your divorce occurred. Q.

My husband worked 4 years under Civil Service. Is he entitled to any retirement pay based on this service? H.W. A. Probably not. He must have worked at least five years as a civilian to attain retirement eligibility.

However, all of these five years do not have to be covered by deductions; just one during the last two does, assuming he last separated from federal service on or after October 1,1956. Register and Tribune Synd. The World Roanoke, Friday, December 26, Soldier rape An 18-year-old AWOL soldier from Roanoke surrendered to Roanoke police yesterday and was charged with two counts of rape other offenses. He was identified as Frank. Boltin Adams, who police said had escaped from the Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington a week ago.

Roanoke authorities were notified after the escape and Adams had been the subject of an intensive manhunt. In the case of a 32-year-old Northwest Roanoke woman who was sexually abused early Tuesday, Adams is charged with statutory burglary with intent to commit rape, rape, sodomy and robbery. In the case of a 14-year-old girl who was assaulted Dec. 20, Adams is charged with rape and sodomy. He threatened both victims with a knife, police said.

Since military offices were closed for the holidays, police said they had only sketchy information about Adams' background and why he was in the hospital.A spokesman: at Walter Reed hospital said today that the public information office was closed until Monday. Partying packages offered By JACK CHAMBERLAIN Staff Writer Maybe money can't buy happiness, but merriment and cheer are for rent at various Roanoke area restaurants and nightclubs on New Year's Eve. The package deals available to usher in 1976 range from $65 a couple at the Hotel Roanoke's Regency Room, including sixcourse dinners, champagne, hats and horns, after-dinner liqueurs and dinner and dance music, to $8 a couple for two chairs at a table at the Cock and Bull. Most of the New Year's Eve celebration packages are $25 or $30 a couple and most include hats, horns and party favors and others also include champagne and hors d'oeurves. Music, from hard rock to soft nostalgia, also is included.

Reservations are required for most, requested for others and many require that tickets be paid for and picked up in advance. Besides the Regency Room package, Hotel Roanoke also has a deal for $25 a couple in the Windsor Room, which includes champagne, favors and rock music. The hotel also has a New Year's special on rooms, $15 for one or two persons, including a buffet breakfast. The World-News spot checked other Roanoke area restaurants and nightclubs for special New Year's Eve packages, but the following is not necessarily everything that's available. The three Holiday Inns in the area are offering champagne for two, hats and noisemakers breakfast for $19.50 a couple.

The Airport Holiday Inn also is including dinner for two for $29.50 The Sheraton has two packages, dinner for two, champagne and party favors for $30 a couple and champagne, favors and hors d'oeurves for $15 a couple. At the Ramada Inn, $17.76 per person includes dinner, champagne, party favors and breakfast. Without the dinners, it's $11 per couple. The Club Restaurant at Lakeview is See New, Page 32, Col. 1 -News 1975 25 faces charges Adams apparently was stationed at Ft.

Meade, before he was hospitalized but no information was available as to the nature of treatment he was receiving. Judge rules basketballer eligible now By JACK CHAMBERLAIN Staff Writer Sylvester "Sy" P. Bohon Jr. of Roanoke County hopes he is as fortunate on a court tonight as he was in a court earlier this week. Roanoke Circuit Court Judge Robert J.

Rogers ruled that Bohon, 17, did not have to wait a semester before playing basketball for Roanoke Catholic High School. Bohon said he hopes to be in the starting lineup tonight against Fries in the Galax Christmas Invitational Tournament. Bohon, who played for Cave Spring High last year, transferred to Catholic last August. The day before the basketball season began, however, the Virginia Catholic High School League said he had to sit out a semester because he transferred from a high school without changing his residence. Bohon lives at 2774 McVitty Road SW, but Catholic is a parochial school without attendance zones.

'He said His father was upset with the league ruling that has cost his son five games so far and they went to court after Catholic Coach Bob Ayersnan reviewed the rules. "I'm just real happy," young Bohon said today. "I think that Judge Rogers saw that the rule was wrong." Bohon, a senior, said he transferred from Cave Spring because he couldn't adjust to the modular scheduling there and because he felt he would prefer the atmosphere at Catholic. Also, he said, he is Catholic. Bohon said Catholic has 21 more basketball games he can play in, counting all the tournament games he says Catholic is going to win.

He said he averaged 10 points a game as a forward for Cave Spring last year. Firemen seek aid for victims of Salem blaze The Salem Fire Department is accepting donations of clothing and money for a family that lost its possessions in a fire early Christmas Day. Mark and Sandy Swain, who lived in an apartment in a two-story frame house at 739 Kessler Mill Road, Salem, and their 3-day-old baby were staying over night with a relative when fire destroyed their house. The fire was reported at 2:30 a.m. and the house was destroyed, according to Fire Capt.

Charlie King. One couple reportedly was in the building when the fire broke out, but neighbors woke them up. No one was injured. A neighbor said the Swains lost everything in the fire, including clothes and other items for the baby. "We're accepting clothes and money for them now," said King.

He said some donations have already been received. Firemen said the fire appeared to be the result of faulty electrical wiring. 'Time Out' leaves one The mind reels, the brains are boggled and the nervous system is reduced to a quivering blob of jelly. The eardrums ring with the sound of explosions, screeching tires, gunshots and whining engines. It is, indeed, a relief to step from the Time Out Family Amusement Center into the relative solitude of Tanglewood Mall on a busy afternoon.

For those who have not worked up the nerve to venture into the bowels of Time Out, you should be informed that unless you have an iron constitution and a definite yearning for competition, you have done the right thing. Time Out is not for the faint of heart, nor for those in search of serenity. From the moment you enter that quarter arcade until the second you leave, you are swept up in an unnatural world that may be habit forming. Electronic triumph Time Out consists of a long dark room jammed with odd contrivances designed to separate the unwary citizen from his hard-earned quarters. It is, for various reasons, successful.

First of all, the games offered by the arcade are somewhat addictive, especially to the younger generation, which is possessed of rapid reflexes, a vast curiosity concerning things mechanical and an abiding interest in roaring engines and games of skill. TImE a SCORE all mACHINES SHewInG WEEKLY RECEIVES CONTEST 10 FREE GAmES TELL ATTENDANT Teen-agers crowd Tanglewood amusement center Coin arcade no mall problem By JOHN PANCAKE Staff Writer A year ago a New York amusement company executive, Tico Bonomo, told the Roanoke County Supervisors that -despite the fears of Tanglewood Mall merchantsthe amusement arcade his company planned to put at the shopping center would not cause problems. He assured the board that the amusement center would be policed by uniformed security guards. No gambling, no loitering would be permitted. Not even that minor iniquity smoking would be allowed.

Some merchants objected, saying the arcade would attract gangs of rowdy juveniles to the center. A year later, it appears Tico Bonomo was right. James Stamps, director of the Tanglewood Merchant's Association, said he has not received a single complaint about the center. And T. D.

Steele, one of the owners of the shopping center, said he hasn't heard from any unhappy merchants either. Scott Shaffer, manager of the Time-Out Amusement Center, says he believes that when plans for the amusement arcade were announced it thought of as a "pool room," not a "family amusement center." Shaffer, who wears a uniform and badge to work, says the main complaint he has heard is that there aren't enough balls in the pinball machines. Business: at the arcade has been "fairly good," Shaffer says. He says that during the Christmas season parents sometimes park their children at the amusement arcade for part of the day. He believes having something for youngsters to do during long Christmas shopping tours is an asset for the mall.

All of the merchants who originally opposed the arcade contacted by the WorldNews said they were pleasantly surprised at how well the arcade turned out. "It's brought in a lot of good traffic." Steve Body, a clerk at Discount Records said. "I was one of the merchants who originally opposed the thing. But it has been well supervised and we haven't had any problems." The ownership of Lock, Stock and Barrel, which opposed the arcade a year ago, also is apparently satisfied. Photos by Betty Masters Heather Cook, 5, of Mullens, W.Va., shoots machine gun drawn shootable visuals include U.S.

Tank, Crack Shot, Gun Flying Ducks, Stunt Pilot, Bit Devil and Big Twin. more time' Marshal, Fight, Top, Sea After taking: a crack at many of these strange items, I can only say that they are enought to drive a man to drink, or worse. The reflexes are always a millisecond slow and the end of the game usually leaves the player with a great urge to pump another quarter into the slot for just one more attempt at perfection. Competition is the name of the game. Many of the games are set up for operation by two players competing against each other.

For the solitary player, there is always the high score contest, with the week's high score prominently posted on the machine. The pinball machines, of course, offer free games for. high scores. Scott Shaffer claims that the best moneymakers in the joint are the Tank game near the front door and a newly added Gun Fight game nearby. Both utilize the competition angle with dual controls so that best friends can become mortal enemies for a few minutes.

Both also cost 50 cents a crack, which is a large bite for the average citizen out to kill some time. Shaffer also says that his best customers are high school and junior high and school students, although businessmen, lawyers and housewives give the joint a casual play from time to time. The manager admits that the games can become somewhat addictive. "We had a kid who came in here last Saturday and blew $35," he says with a touch of awe. "He asked me for five bucks worth of change seven different times and pumped all that money right into the Indeed, there is nothing else to spend money on in Time Out.

According to signs at the a entrance, patrons may not smoke nor drink, nor can they eat or operate such items as strollers and shopping carts on the premises. Strictly business. Shaffer, like most Time Out employes, is something of a wizard on the machines himself. He reckons that either he or assistant Lex Gibson can probably beat most of the seasoned game freaks who come through the door. The freaks have their specialties.

There are pinball wizards and auto aficionados. There are also those who work out on the lone foosball table for hours at a time. And there is, of course, the inevitable set of air hockey tables. Air hockey is a curiously popular game in which a plastic disk is rammed back and forth on a thin cushion of air by opponents with a vast appetite for noise and carnage. quartered bu Mike Ives The arcade is divided roughly into two types of games.

In the rear of the hall are the traditional pinball machines, the best of which is a Bally "Wizard," which manager Scott Shaffer calls simply, "the best pinball machine I've ever seen." Like the Cadillac, the Wizard has "a lot of The front of the arcade is reserved for the newfangled "visuals" -the TV screens where the fate of little white dots is controlled by tense customers gripping various handles in sweaty palms. There are two basic types of -those related to automobiles and those featuring some form of marksmanship. Among the automotive variety of visuals are such machines as Wheels II, Super Shifter, Gran Trak 10, Gran Trak 20, Speed King, Drag Races and Chopper. My Turn "Air hockey is a violent game," Shaffer says distastefully. "It can also be dangerous.

We haven't had any serious injuries here, but when I was at Penn State I saw people with broken noses and badly bruised necks where the disk jumped the table and hit them." Observing the game freaks from a distance is like peering into the innards of a madhouse, but I must admit that it is possible to become totally involved in many of the games once you've plunked in your quarter and girded your loins for action. When you've got a clutch, an accelerator, a gearshift lever and a steering wheel at your command, and a tiny car running on a road race circuit in front of you, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant. The realistic sound effects serve only to goad one to further insanity. Booming crashes, squealing tires and revving engines tend to excite the game freak to a fever pitch, and after a session on the Tank game or Wheels II or the Gun Fight, the player emerges somewhat spent emotionally and physically, to say nothing of the pocketbook. Indeed, these marvelous electronic gadgets are almost frightening in their hold over certain fascinated elements of the population.

And, as some anonymous immigrant announced several decades ago, "It could only happen in.