Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 29, 1993 TAG: 9310150360
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Not everyone yearns for growth, at any cost, or wishes to increase the size of their community so that newspapers can sell more of their product. Your wishes and desires concerning this area are irrelevant, and I suspect you know it.
I suggest that you all move back to the Xanadus you suspect lurk around the next bend in the road, and leave those of us who love Roanoke as it is alone.
I tire of hearing you, Bev Fitzpatrick and all the naysayers deplore the life we have here. If Roanoke is growing older and the population remains static, what of it? I rejoice that we have a city where older Americans feel safe and well-taken care of.
I meet many who have moved to the Star City precisely because it's not Charlotte or Greensboro, but a kindly, caring, safe place. We have few racial problems, because people in this small Southern city care about each other.
I shudder to think what life must be like in a large city like Charlotte, where racial tensions hover near explosive levels and people fear for their lives. Oh, we have our problems, but they are minuscule compared to those of other cities.
We have shown a spirit of cooperation here that is envied by larger cities. I serve on the Board of Human Development for the city of Roanoke.
Our committee is characterized by harmony and a joint purpose to provide for all people a safe haven through community solidarity in the social realm. Being poor in Roanoke is not the stigma it is in other places, but merely a temporary stop toward a better tomorrow.
So please cut the constant harping and say something positive about this wonderful place we live in - or move somewhere where your dreams of constant conflict can come true.
MICHAEL W. RIDENHOUR
ROANOKE
Still waiting for a tax return
THE SUPREME Court has ruled that states that taxed retired pay of military and federal retirees while not taxing retired pay of state and local government retirees must provide some relief to those federal retirees. In 1989, the Supreme Court declared this burden on Virginians and taxpayers of several other states both illegal and unconstitutional.
I called the office of Mary Sue Terry asking her stand on this matter. One of her assistants informed me that he would advise me of the answer, but I did not receive a reply.
There is no doubt that if I had failed to pay these illegal taxes, the state would have taken action to collect the taxes, plus penalties and interest, regardless of whether I could afford.
I retired from the United States Army in October 1974. My certified public accountant has informed me that from 1976 to 1988, I paid the state of Virginia illegal taxes in the amount of $10,342. Since the accountant did not start preparing my tax returns until 1976, he could only estimate the amounts paid prior to that time, possibly $3,000 or $4,000.
I'm sure there are numerous other government retirees who are in the same category. I want and expect fair compensation. Further, I would like to know the sentiments of each gubernatorial candidate on this issue.
CHARLES D. COLEMAN
SALEM
Cranwell is no friend to city
WALKING past the new Democratic headquarters on the market in downtown Roanoke, I noticed signs and posters asking us to re-elect Dick Cranwell. It seems odd that a man so anti-Roanoke city as Cranwell would bother to ask the citizens of our beloved city for their vote. He has managed to place a choke hold on the city and seems to have no intentions of letting go until our status would be less than that of a Third World city.
I ask all those who reside outside the city limits to stop and think where they would be without Roanoke. It just may be in their best interests for the city to do well.
Cranwell will not get my vote.
MICHAEL L. SMITH
ROANOKE
Welfare reform is for the children
WORKFARE, George Allen's proposed welfare reform, has a built-in benefit that, though intangible, is worthy of mention.
By providing job training, experience and a means to rejoin the mainstream to our current subculture of unemployed, we can offer assurance that future generations will not be ensnared by welfare dependency. This will be so because, by meaningfully employing qualifying welfare recipients, we will create positive role models for their children. By reaching out a helping hand, we can restore hope to the children at risk in Virginia. Let's send out a caring message to our innocent young ones and help their elders pursue the American dream.
Let's get behind Allen for a better Virginia for all Virginians.
CATHY GARDNER
ROANOKE
by CNB