Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 18, 1995 TAG: 9504180107
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY REED
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
R.H.W., Roanoke
A: It's hard to make an obscenity law stick, given the First Amendment's unwavering command that government ``shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.''
Lots of localities have tried to clean up bumpers, without much luck. Hampton arrested a few foul-stickered drivers on charges of disturbing the peace in the late '80s.
Several state legislators in 1990 tried to ban off-color bumper stickers and T-shirts. Each bill died in committee.
Burning the flag is protected by the First Amendment, and profane song lyrics have artistic value, the courts have ruled.
The most notable retreat on this front came when rapper Ice T reissued a song in response to a public outcry, toning down its references to killing cops.
Clearly a community expresses its standards best in the marketplace. A message like the one you saw can stay on sale only if someone buys it.
Stop isn't required
Q: I travel U.S. 460 to Petersburg frequently and wonder what I'm supposed to do when school buses stop in the other lane and there's a median in the road. If I stop, people look at me like I'm crazy. What's the Virginia law regarding this?
J.S., Roanoke
A: If there's a guardrail or unpaved median between your lane and the school bus, you don't have to stop.
That's because bus drivers cannot let children cross a divided highway. The buses have to make another pass in the opposite lanes.
But: If the bus is at a four-way intersection, even on a divided highway, all vehicles must stop. Kids could be coming from any direction to reach the bus.
Rabies-free birds
Q: Buzzards and crows eat dead animals in woods or along roads. Because there's a possibility that one of these animals might have had rabies, can the disease be passed to crows or vultures?
L.S., Daleville
A: No. Birds do not get rabies.
The disease occurs mainly in mammals, said Dick Tabb, Roanoke County environmental health supervisor.
Even if the carrion eater were a dog or cat, there is only a slim possibility that rabies could be transmitted from the carcass of an infected animal, Tabb said.
The rabies virus is present only in the saliva and central nervous system tissue of the infected animal, and is passed only when the tissue or saliva gets into a wound in another animal, Tabb said.
The carcass of an animal suspected of being rabid should be buried 5 feet deep as a precaution to prevent other animals from eating it, Tabb said, and its head should be sent to a laboratory.|
Got a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Give us a call at 981-3118. Maybe we can find the answer.
by CNB