Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 13, 1995 TAG: 9505170041
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Motor-vehicle-caused deaths do not discriminate on the basis of ability or experience. Consider: U.S. national cycling champion and world silver medalist Mary Jane Reoch was killed by a pickup truck while training near her home in Texas. Canadian national champion and Olympian Jocelyn Lovell was paralyzed for life when, during a race, a vehicle strayed onto the ``closed'' course and hit Lovell.
To prepare for their sport, cyclists must use the roadways, alongside motor vehicles. There are no alternatives. Roads in Virginia, as elsewhere, are rarely closed for the exclusive use of bicycles. There are no bicycle racing tracks in Virginia. The nearest velodrome to the Roanoke Valley is more than 400 miles away - in Pennsylvania. Sharing the road with motor vehicles is an unpleasant but necessary aspect of bicycling.
Governments spend taxpayers' dollars building and maintaining public parks, tennis and basketball courts, soccer and ball fields, and golf courses so that children and adults have safe places to play. The least public agencies can do is close some roads every now and then so that recreational and competitive cyclists alike can have safer places to ride and to race. For three hours, 22.9 miles of Roanoke Valley roadways are closed to provide a safe venue for the Tour duPont race. That's not really for very long, is it?
Public rights of way, unlike playing fields and courts, are uniquely suited for bicycling. They also represent very special kinds of land, partially paved over to better accommodate motorized traffic. As they free us all from being landlocked, the rights of way should not be reserved for the exclusive use of motor vehicles. It is past time for politicians, planners, engineers and motorists to recognize bicyclists and pedestrians as full-fledged legitimate users of the public rights of way, and to provide for their safe travel.
ROGER W. O'DELL
ROANOKE
Used specs put to good use
ON APRIL 30, the ``Questions in the News'' column, by Cox News Service, had a question concerning an organization that accepts used eyeglasses. The response given was correct in a generic sense. However, Southwest Virginia readers need to know of a special facility here in Roanoke.
In the Lions of Virginia building at 5th and Elm streets is located one of five centers, under the auspices of Lions Clubs International, for the recycling of used eyeglasses. The other centers are in Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas and California.
Since the Lions' Eyeglass Recycling Center, Inc., began operating on July 1, 1993, 100,000 pairs of used eyeglasses have been cleaned, sorted, categorized by prescription and packaged in individual containers. Fifty pairs of similar prescriptions are packed into a box, and then eight boxes are packed into to a crate for shipping.
Of the 100,000 pairs processed, about 80,000 have been distributed free of charge to Third World citizens by missionaries and medical missions to various countries. As an example, 19,000 pairs of used eyeglasses from the Roanoke center recently were taken to two rural towns in Chile. Some of the recipients rode a bus for seven hours to reach the town, and then stood in line up to six hours to be examined and receive a pair of glasses.
All local Lions Clubs solicit donations of used eyeglasses. Any member will be pleased to accept glasses and pass them on to the center.
MICHAEL S. FERGUSON
President Lions Eyeglass Recycling, Inc.
ROANOKE
The nurse's role in abuse cases
AFTER READING the May 3 article regarding Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, I feel I must add to the story. I have been a certified SANE nurse since February. I am employed by Carillion at Franklin Memorial Hospital, working in conjunction with the hospital and Franklin County police.
Rape examinations are not the only service provided by a SANE nurse. I am also qualified to perform the examination of allegedly abused children and adults, male and female, including the elderly. I also collect evidence from the alleged perpetrator.
The main goals of a SANE nurse are to perform the examination of the victim, collect the evidence in a proper manner and, most importantly, support the victim.
Sexual assault is not confined to rape. Nor is it confined to females. It knows no boundaries. Sexual assault occurs in all cultural, ethnic, age, occupational and socioeconomic groups.
The medical profession has a legal obligation to report suspected abuse within 72 hours, but anyone may report suspected abuse, and it can be done anonymously.
TRENA BOUDREAUX
BOONES MILL
by CNB