PULASKI, Va. – People don't usually give a whole lot of thought to road names, but some are passionate about the name of a new road in Pulaski County.
It's a short road, connecting Route 11 to the new middle school, but they argue it's a big deal.Â
A crowd filled half the meeting room at the Pulaski County School Division administration office Tuesday night for the school board meeting.
Despite the crowd, only three people approached the board to give their public comment. The comment session was added to the school board meeting after the debate over the naming of the road grew in early July.
Construction on the new Pulaski County Middle School is starting to ramp up. But for the time being, many eyes have shifted to the property's edge along Route 11.
"This has been going on, the building of this school and getting to this point has taken a long time," Pulaski County School Board Chair Timmy Hurst said. "It's an exciting time for Pulaski County and, of course, everyone has their ideas."
The community agreed the old middle school had to go. But now there's division on what to name the road students will follow from the intersection at Route 11 to the school's front doors.
"We had some great proposals as far as naming the road and we just want to make sure we hear all proposals," Hurst said.
There are six options before the school board, but two are getting the most attention. Local veterans are among the many who want the road named after Cpl. Lewis Bausell, Pulaski County's only Medal of Honor recipient. All three people who spoke were in favor of this plan.
"The young generation would ask: 'Who is this person? What did he do?' And it would just be a way to teach the young generation who this hero really is," American Legion member James Radcliff said after presenting his comment to the board.
The second option is naming the road Citizens Way, after Citizens for Education, the local group that rallied the community to approve the new construction. It's an active Facebook group, but no one spoke up for the option at the meeting and the group did not return our request for comment.
The school board said there are naming opportunities for other parts of the school, such as the gym and ball fields. That could help settle this debate and please as many people as possible.
"People are passionate about what they believe in and you respect their opinions," Hurst said. "And I think anybody that cares about public education in Pulaski County will be OK. They will be OK."
The board will vote on what to name the road at its meeting on Aug. 14th. That name will then go to the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors for approval.
"I don't necessarily look at it as drama. To be honest, I look at it as folks who are serious about naming it after a war hero, as they should be, and folks who are serious about naming it after the work that the citizens did in the county, as they should be," Hurst said.Â