ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603290023
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: G-2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
CONGRATULATIONS to the Roanoke City Parks and Recreation Department for the wonderful job it did on March 23 with the Easter Egg Hunt. My daughter and I attended the hunt at Preston Park, and, from my observations, it was well-organized, with plenty of staff available to assist.
My comments, however, are addressed to the parents who attended this event. Upon arrival, I was given a plastic bag for my daughter to put her eggs in. Inside the bag were the rules for the hunt. Essentially, the children were to line up behind a white line, and parents were to stay on the other side of a fence and watch.
However, when the horn sounded for the hunt to begin, 70 percent of the parents stepped over the fence and went to ``help'' their children. The eggs weren't hidden, but simply thrown at random onto the ground, so I don't believe 70 percent of the children needed help.
This may be a somewhat simple indicator of our society. But if parents, by their own example, disregard basic rules for an Easter Egg Hunt for 3- to 5-year-olds, then when their children reach the teen years, will they, by the same example, be permitted to disregard rules of society? These are the same parents who will claim to not understand why their children are having problems with the juvenile-court system.
Children learn by example, and we all need to observe the boundaries of the white line.
JOY B. LUGAR
ROANOKE
Again, a court has sanctioned murder
THE LIBERAL 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of physician-assisted suicide, a euphemism for murder. And your liberal Opinion-page editors once again show their stripes and applaud the decision, calling this abhorrent crime "death with dignity" (March 8 editorial, "A right to die with dignity").
How compassionate you are. Now compassionate Dr. Death is talking about opening "clinics" so he can make it even more convenient to murder, and do it under the smiling auspices of our courts.
Legal (not necessarily right), safe (for whom?), rare (1.5 million a year) abortions are available for any woman, at any time during her pregnancy, for any reason or for no reason, by the cruelest means imaginable. Now murder, in yet another form, is legal, deemed so by our misguided, misinformed, immoral judges.
America, you should be outraged over this grotesque imitation of justice from our federal courts. Wake up, and don't get caught up in this vicious, self-perpetuating cycle of sanctioned death. Euthanasia is the next step in the name of "compassion."
We're cheapening human life. Whatever happened to morality and plain old common sense? God alone gives us life; he alone has the wisdom to judge when it should end.
LESLIE COTY
ROANOKE
Wal-Mart can find another site
I AM DISTRESSED to learn of Wal-Mart's intentions to build a new store in Stafford County on Ferry Farm, the boyhood home of our first and most prestigious president, George Washington. Is Wal-Mart running out of room on which to build their new stores? Have they already built one on the home grounds of President Clinton?
I've always proudly told people that I grew up at Ferry Farm. I'm afraid that I will no longer be able to brag on that if those building plans are fulfilled. No, there's no "big house." It has long since been demolished. The cherry tree is gone. Left are the surveyor's cottage and remains of the ice house. Yet what's most important is the feel of the land and the atmosphere of that area. It instills pride and provokes memories of days gone by, when our country was just beginning and important people such as Washington were growing into responsible Americans.
Since a Wal-Mart is in the offing for Stafford County, couldn't another location be considered - one that will not perpetuate the defacement of Ferry Farm?
JEANNE MOTLEY DOOLEY
MONTVALE
Knowledge craved is readily available
ON YOUR March 8 Opinion page, Latoya Jones (letter to the editor, ``Black history needs more study'') stated that students should be able to learn about their African-American ancestors year-round. I couldn't agree more.
However, she seems to imply that it's her school's fault that she hasn't had the opportunity to find out more about her heritage. If that is the case, she needs to know that, now she has been exposed to the fact that black history exists, it's up to her to find out what she wants to know.
She can do that by using the school library and public libraries, as well as other available sources of information. If she's willing to put forth the effort, and if she can read and write, the whole world is open to her. She doesn't have to rely on anyone other than herself, and I'm sure she can do it. In my opinion, that's what education is all about.
CHARLES D. WARING
ROANOKE
Cranwell's clout with the SCC
YOUR NEWSPAPER had it right on with Dickie Cranwell when your own editorial (Feb. 18, ``Tricky Dick and Cheeky Chip'') criticized his slick parliamentary maneuver to bury campaign-finance reform for the year. Can ex-Sen. Bill Hopkins (thank goodness and thank Ray Garland) explain that in a way that isn't an outrage?
Trigon, that monument to high ethical standards, surely hired Cranwell to represent it before the State Corporation Commission not only for Cranwell's legal smarts, but also for his political clout with the three SCC judges that he and his cronies appointed.
JOHN C. LOWDER
ROANOKE
Gun safety should be the focus
I CANNOT believe recent editorial comments regarding concealed weapons, and the blatant attempts to propagandize readers with unreasonable fear. I bit my tongue (or rather taped my fingers so I couldn't fire off a letter) when you printed your Feb. 16 editorial (``Mixing booze and bullets'') with its tongue-in-cheek forecast of ``Live music and shooting in our lounge'' and ``Home-style cooking. Saloon-style gun fights.'' These slogans were the writer's subliminal interpretation of the impact of proposed legislation.
After reading your latest attempt (March 13 editorial, ``A right to bear arms - to work?'') at ``Rootin', Tootin', straight-shootin''' distortion, I couldn't help but think: Is the writer serious? Or is this a technique to stir up mail from readers via yellow journalism, and sell newspapers with pathetic attempts of sordid humor?
The concealed-weapons debate isn't a matter to joke about. It's a serious matter - dead serious.
I can well imagine my letter would be rejected if I chose a similar tactic on a topic such as abortion: ``Hurry, hurry, hurry. Step right up, and see the great, magical vanishing act performed right before your eyes, here at our local abortion clinic. Amazing! It's the one and only place on Earth where two patients enter and only one departs!''
Defensive gun ownership isn't an ``irrational overreaction.'' Rather, it's a responsible, individualistic approach to personal safety.
The real issue that should be addressed by this newspaper is the quality and amount of training private individuals need to be safe and competent using a firearm, and where a person can obtain such quality training. Please promote safety and education, not fear.
SUSAN VARY TRAXEL
RINER
The name describes the food fare
I WOULD like to make a few points clear, not to argue or complain about Dolores Kostelni's comments (Feb. 28 ``Dining Out'' column) because beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. If she doesn't like our food, somebody will.
The name of our restaurant is Szechaun 11 (named after U.S. 11). Szechuan and Hunan are provinces in China where most food is spicy. It became a trend in the United States that most restaurants serving spicy Chinese food be named Szechuan this or Szechuan that or Hunan this or Hunan that. It's like that in the Roanoke Valley. We've never intended to mislead the good people in this valley or to cling to any relation with other restaurants.
Also: We never sell a buffet on Saturday. We have never used any meat in our spring rolls since the day we opened for business.
MICHAEL FONG
Manager, Szechuan 11
Chinese Restaurant
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Long : 156 linesby CNB