Lake Country Visitor & Newcomer Guide 2009 - (Page 62) hot numbers 62 Here’s your complete guide to getting hooked up, turned on and keyed in. LOCATION Virginia / North Carolina’s Lake Country is located in south central Virginia and northeast North Carolina. The centerpiece of the area is the 81-mile-long, 75,000 acres of water that is Buggs Island Lake/John H. Kerr Reservoir, Lake Gaston and Roanoke Rapids Lake tied together by the Roanoke River. Virginia’s Mecklenburg County has 247,797 acres of forestland and its earliest economic roots lie in agriculture and tobacco though today’s economy is strengthened by manufacturing, service and retail industries as well. The county contains the intersection of I-85 and U.S. 58 and the watersheds of the Roanoke and Meherrin rivers. On the North Carolina side, the Roanoke Valley is located along I-95 and approximately 90 miles west of the Atlantic coast. Driving time to both Raleigh, NC, and Richmond, VA, is approximately 90 minutes. POPULATION WMVE Radio: NPR Plus The Local Touch B ill Miller gets to Lake Country as often as possible. He’s vice president and general manager of radio operations for Idea Stations, the community-based, public radio group that added a repeater station – the 8,000-watt WMVE-FM (90.1) – at Chase City in 2007. For now, WMVE mostly broadcasts the content heard on a similar public radio station in nearby Richmond, VA. Even so, Miller says, a reporter works in the Lake Country area and broadcasts frequent reports about the area’s happenings. “We’re proud to be in the area and just like to be as present as we can,” Miller says. “We monitor the weather information from Chase City and pass on reports when we need to, in addition to providing just regular information.” Miller, who works in Richmond, now relishes any assignment that sends him to Chase City. “I like the wide-open spaces,” he says. “I love the drive down, and I love to spend time around the lakes. Having a station down there has really gotten me interested in the area and the small towns. It’s one of those things that, if I could relocate, it’s a place that I would have to strongly consider.” Tune in to WZRU-FM (90.1) for NPR in the Roanoke Rapids area. Chase City, VA: 2,457 Clarksville, VA: 1,400 (est. 2006) Halifax County, NC: 56,023 Littleton, NC: 655 (est. 2006) Mecklenburg County, VA: 32,529 (est. 2005) Roanoke Rapids, NC: 16,505 (est. 2006) South Hill, VA: 4,608 (est. 2006) CLIMATE Average annual precipitation: 46.4 inches Average temperatures: DEGREES 100 80 60 40 20 0 JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC Southern Virginia ⁄ Northern North Carolina’s Lake Country
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