ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, January 13, 1996 TAG: 9601150009
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
MY HUSBAND and I have lived in Roanoke County for 30 years now, in a community that has evidently been forgotten.
In those years, we have signed petitions a couple of times trying to be annexed to Salem. Do you know why our community wants this so much? Because the community west of Salem known as ``Little Brush Mountain'' (above Holiday Inn) gets absolutely nothing for its tax dollars from the county.
Our community doesn't have a water or sewer system, and each well on our mountain has iron water. Our streets are maintained by the state, not the county. We have no sidewalks or curbs. Our children have been out of school for several years so we receive no benefits from the county school system. Did I mention that our streets are not patrolled by the county police department?
I want the county to know how much we got our hopes up when the new Spring Hollow Reservoir was built. We thought for sure that we would finally have good water. I should have known better. Although our tax rates are the same as the folks in the Cave Spring area, they always seem to come first for receiving benefits from our tax dollars. The water line has already been laid to provide more service to the Cave Spring area. What do the rest of us have to do to be recognized?
The water hook-up charge for Roanoke County is approximately $3,000, whereas Salem only charges $675. Where is all this money going? It's certainly not being spent in this neighborhood.
The excellent fire and rescue squad our community has is absolutely one of the very best. It is made up of volunteers, and is supported solely by the community.
LINDA HODGES
SALEM
Thaw the colleges' hiring freeze
REGARDING the proposed state budget:
I support the compromise that Gov. George Allen has proposed, particularly those areas where money has been added for education. I would suggest that much of this money be put into higher education to lift the hiring freeze. I want General Assembly members from my district to know that I hope the ban will be lifted.
FRANCES S. BOWLING
ROANOKE
The president took the high ground
REGARDING your Dec. 14 Talking It Over feature on the Opinion page, ``Clinton rolls the dice in Bosnia'':
The letter writer, William Vassallo, made no effort to separate opinion from fact and engaged in motive reading.
In my opinion, if ever a president took the high ground on a political issue, Clinton did with the Bosnia decision. He gave the United Nations and European countries three years to stop the rape and killing. During that time, his critics argued that he should be doing something. He finally convinced members of NATO that a judicial use of air power, mostly by the United States, would have a good chance to bring the warring factions to the peace table. His critics argued that we would lose planes and personnel, and it still wouldn't work. We lost one plane and no personnel.
I believe it did help to bring about a peace agreement. To get that agreement, President Clinton had to promise to provide leadership and military presence in a peacekeeping effort. He did this in spite of polls saying it was quite unpopular. It's good to see a president not bound by polls. He didn't feel bound by polls before going into Haiti; his judgment there seems to have been vindicated. He doesn't feel bound now; let's give his judgment another chance. We need to stop the rapes and killings. This may not work, but I believe it's right on moral grounds. And morality has become a political issue.
Vassallo stated that Clinton has ``a poor record since his election'' and ``is willing to gamble all to retrieve his popularity with the American people.'' I admit the handling of the Somalia affair was badly flawed - a problem left by the Bush administration - and Clinton mishandled the health-care issue. But he gets high marks, and not just from me, for Haiti, Northern Ireland and Palestine. ``Blessed are the peacemakers.''
Clinton's handling of the economy also gets excellent marks. Republican pundits were wrong. After the 1993 budget, we didn't have a recession, there was no increase in unemployment, inflation remained low (in fact, it has declined), and the stock market didn't crash. It's also a fact that the size of the federal deficit and the number of federal employees have shrunk for each year Clinton has been in office. As for his popularity, it was at an all-time high and climbing before the decision to send troops to Bosnia.
JAMES G. MILLER
VINTON
Conservatives aren't faking it
REGARDING Karen Bird's Dec. 17 letter to the editor, ``Real Virginians, too, need newspapers'':
I must say that I was quite intrigued by her statement: ``Real Virginians are liberal-minded - always have been, always will be.''
I was born and raised in the Old Dominion, but am conservative-minded. To think that all this time I had no idea I was a fake Virginian!
DANNY ADAMS
VINTON
LENGTH: Medium: 97 linesby CNB