ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, November 21, 1996 TAG: 9611210068
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
AS COLD air from the north gets in place and moist air comes up from the Gulf of Mexico, snow possibilities return to Roanoke. Roanoke city schools were closed 12 days last year, days that were made up during the spring break and at other times.
Safety is the No. 1 issue concerning the closing of schools after a snowfall. As you can figure, incontinuity can be harmful in the academic year. Too many days missed can stall the learning process and cause a rush to cover certain materials by a certain time.
In the city Code Book, the law states: All snow, ice and sleet must be removed from sidewalks three hours after snowfall has ceased. If the snowfall occurs in the evening, it must be removed by 9 a.m. on the following day.
Please, let's all do our part to make our sidewalks and walkways safe and passable so that we may return to our normal routine as soon as possible.
Education is important, so be responsible: Shovel the snow and treat the ice. Children shouldn't have to miss so many days of school after a snowfall, and they definitely shouldn't have to walk in the street.
PAT WILHELMS
Corresponding secretary, Central Council
Roanoke City Parent-Teacher Association
ROANOKE
Seniors are paying their own way
REGARDING all the letters to the editor from the young people who think they are taking care of the old people today (Nov. 11 Readers' Forum):
They don't know what they are talking about. How would they like for their parents or grandparents to move in with them so they would have to take care of them? We old people take care of ourselves with our Social Security.
Yes, we get Medicare, but we pay for it - it isn't free. It doesn't pay for the medicine we take or our doctor and hospital bills. We pay.
Most of us do not ask our children for anything. If the young people had to take care of us, they would be hurting, and they would then have something to talk about.
MARIE TOLLEY
ROANOKE
Many don't have a fighting chance
IN YOUR Oct. 27 edition, there was a lovely news article (``Handful, soon to be a house full''), along with photographs, about a 4-month-old baby going home from the hospital with her parents. She had been born prematurely, weighing just 14 ounces. At one point, her weight had dropped to 12 ounces. But she was such a fighter and had such a will to live that she not only survived but is thriving. She is being called a medical miracle.
This story has a happy ending, and I didn't realize until later that there is a tragic side to this story. During the four months this baby was in the hospital fighting for her life, how many 14 ounce or larger babies lost their lives by being aborted?
SUSAN V. TEMPLE
ROCKY MOUNT
LENGTH: Medium: 61 linesby CNB