ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 30, 1996 TAG: 9612300077
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
I AM a law-enforcement officer and on the board of the Roanoke Valley chapter, Police Benevolent Association. One of the functions of the association is to make its members aware of the personal consequences of their actions, and to ensure they are aware of their individual rights. Knowing the consequences in advance helps avoid potential lawsuits and/or disciplinary action or termination. Unfortunately, some have to learn the hard way.
I read with horror your Dec. 12 news story, ``Mom dives into frigid pond, pulls son from sinking car.'' The mother had left the child unattended in her vehicle while she went into a grocery store in Richmond. The child shifted the vehicle into neutral, and it rolled into a pond. The mother was able to free her son just in time.
My first reaction was that people this careless with their children should not be allowed to have them, but viewing the accompanying photo I saw a mother who would never intentionally cause harm to her son. How then did this happen? This story clearly illustrates how a simple act can lead to possible tragedy.
How many times have you gone to the grocery store and observed infants left unattended in vehicles, parked in the fire lanes in front? Aside from the injuries a child can cause himself while unattended - choking, electrocution, suffocation - consider the potential for auto theft, child abduction, vehicle fire or a motorist hitting your car with your child inside.
The mother in the Richmond case said she was only gone for a minute, and that she could see the child from inside the store. True, yet the situation came dangerously close to causing the death of her 3-year-old son.
My intention here is not to condemn, but to make us stop and consider that for every action there is a reaction. Is leaving your child unattended to run into a store for a minute worth the potential for a lifetime of pain and sorrow? Knowing in advance the possible consequences of your actions can help eliminate just such a tragedy from happening to your family.
PAUL N. FISHER
ROANOKE
A pat on the back to single moms
THE SINGLE mothers who are going back to school in a special room at the Lansdowne public housing development in Northwest Roanoke (Dec. 6 news article, ``Women learning to get back on feet'') is the most positive thing they can do.
Let's not forget the young mothers who get loans they will have to repay and are full-time students at schools like ECPI. Two years of work accomplished in one, working the government required hours and raising two or more children. This is their only hope for a future outside a convenience store or fast-food.
Thirty-four years ago I was divorced, and came back to Roanoke during a recession. No job. My parents let me live with them. My father floated me a loan at 3 percent interest to go to business school. I went to school, got a part-time job, and later had a life because of positive input!
I commend all these women. God bless and keep you!
JOAN K. SHANNON
ROANOKE
Many are into it for the meat
DEER ARE gorgeous and graceful animals with big, brown eyes. If they were ugly, ungainly and expressionless like opossums, I wonder if anti-hunters would be so quick to call the killing of a deer ``murder.''
Does Alwyn Moss (Dec. 5 letter to the editor, ``Hunting for sport is bloody murder'') consider every animal at the top of the food chain a murderer? I am intrigued by the lack of common sense in arguments from people who want the deer population left alone.
All of the hunters I know either eat the meat or share it. They don't hunt for ``sport'' as if it were a baseball game.
Overpopulated deer destroy gardens and crops. They get out in the road, unable to learn the concept of a vehicle that moves faster than they do, and occasionally end up in the front seat of a car. Deer are decidedly against such transportation, especially on short notice, and those sharp hooves make hamburger out of human tissue. I'd just as soon have Bambiburgers.
JENNY GRIFFIN
FLOYD
All will benefit from program overhaul
BRAVO TO our brave governor who has the courage to take a stand against outdated, useless, ineffective government programs, and to revamp these programs in a humane and responsible way. This will not only this help the programs' recipients. It also will encourage people who have worked hard to have a good job today to think that just maybe taxes will abate and they will be better able to enjoy the fruits of their labor. It's a good start for a win-win situation.
Our biggest problem is the lack of organization and common sense within state and federal agencies in the implementation of programs. Either do it right or privatize.
COLLEEN SHOEMAKER
BLACKSBURG
LENGTH: Medium: 93 linesby CNB