ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200006
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-12 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
Careless smokers affect others
WHAT IS the automobile industry's purpose in putting ashtrays in cars if cigarette smokers do not use them? Driving down any street or highway, I constantly have to avoid cigarettes being negligently tossed out of a window by unconcerned motorists.
Are they too lazy to use their ashtray?
Maybe they feel that by not putting out cigarettes in the car, it will make them smell less like cigarette smoke. Wrong.
Tossing cigarettes out of a moving vehicle is littering. The cigarettes can enter a window of a passing car and, if lit, cause substantial damage. In dry and arid weather, many forest fires can be started by this negligent act.
It's no wonder that laws are getting stricter for smokers. Most smokers are unconcerned about the consequences of their actions, whether to other individuals or to the environment.
If smoking affected only the smoker, this wouldn't be a problem. I believe each person is responsible for his or her own destiny. But when it affects others or surrounding areas, then it becomes a serious issue.
KATHERINE MANER
ROANOKE
Censorship has its purposes
IS FEAR of censorship honest or a sly liberal tool for taking over society?
This fear was precipitated by authoritarians who feared freedom of speech and press would hinder their rule. Our Constitution ended this in America. Censorship laws continued to be needed, but only as a positive influence in safeguarding democracy, which is threatened today from the far left. These outdated fears have plunged civilization into the worst moral morass in American history, possibly the worst in world history.
King Hammurabi of Babylon and religious leader Zoroaster of Persia probably had better laws governing sex morality than we have today. That was hundreds of years before the laws of Moses and the grace of Christianity upholding these laws claimed Western civilization.
The Supreme Court's recent overturn of a new law banning explicit sex materials from military posts is an example of how the far left is fighting true democracy rather than upholding it.
Any honest, normal man will admit that the sexually explicit showing of the female body stirs primal sex instincts, said to be 12 times as strong in men as in women. Various social leaders have responded to this truth in modern marriage counseling.
If the recent law banning sexually explicit materials from military posts was censorship, so be it. Many more such laws are needed in order for our streets to be safe again for women and children and, for that matter, men.
NORRIS E. VAN CLEAVE
ROANOKE
Stand up to the developers
JOE KENNEDY is to be commended for his columns (Jan. 22, ``Let's not tarnish our shining star: Mill Mountain'' and Jan. 29, ``Mill Mountain Zoo's director answers back'') relating to his concern for the preservation of Mill Mountain in its natural state.
Seldom does the Roanoke Valley find an individual who will stand up to the forces and succinctly state his or her case.
We need more private citizens such as Evelyn Bethel and Betty Field to do the same so that public and private organizations will be more sensitive to what makes the valley's neighborhoods and environs so special.
Those who should listen are the ones who are intent on devouring the integrity of our older neighborhoods, as well as developing our open and mountainous spaces - all in the name of progress. These include the valley governments and certain churches and charitable organizations, along with the omnipresent developers.
JOEY T. MOLDENHAUER
Threatened Sites Committee member
Archeological Society of Virginia
SALEM
Franklin needs a branch library
AS FRANKLIN County moves toward the next century, it has made great strides in the public schools, economic development and recreational opportunities for its citizens. One institution that touches upon all these areas is the public library.
With limited resources, the Franklin County Public Library provides quality services for the entire community. For the library to maintain this level of service. However, it needs the same kind of growth that other county agencies have experienced.
As has been discussed by the library board and concerned citizens, the next logical stage in the library's development is a branch facility. This would be a first step in localizing service countywide. It is a more economical alternative than enlarging the current facility.
Of all the public-library systems in Virginia without a branch, the Franklin County Public Library serves both the largest geographic area and the largest population.
As our county continues to make economic, educational and cultural progress, a strong public-library system is essential. The time for a branch library facility is now.
CAROLYN HART
Chairman, Board of Trustees
Franklin County Public Library
ROCKY MOUNT
Editor's note: This letter was signed by five other members of the Franklin County Public Library Board of Trustees.
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