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                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, January 13, 1992                   TAG: 9201130221
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

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WOULD PICK HENNIS TO BUILD HOUSE

TO QUOTE my wife, "If we had read that article ["A house of horrors," by Sandra Brown Kelly, Dec. 8] before we built our house, we would have missed out on a good builder. I refer to Patrick Hennis, treatment of whom in Ms. Kelly's article is at best ambiguous and at worst severely and unfairly damaging.

My wife and I recently moved into a house built for us by Patrick Hennis. If we were building another house, we would enthusiastically choose him as builder. Reasons:

Throughout the planning and building, relations with Mr. Hennis were friendly and cordial. He made many useful suggestions and was always mindful of our need to consider costs.

The workmen and subcontractors were of high quality. They took pride in their work and made every effort to ensure we were satisfied.

Friends knowledgeable in construction visiting the site were impressed by the quality of the work.

My wife and I are convinced we have a home (not the first we have built) that is well-built and of high quality.

During construction, Mr. Hennis took us to three other houses he had completed. The owners showed unmistakable enthusiasm for Mr. Hennis and the homes he had created for them.

It seems to me that the contents of Ms. Kelly's article do not justify use of the word "horror" in the headline or the sentence, "The Kreitzer case may be the most severe example of what can happen to people building a house."

Besides, a really good reporter would not be guilty of dangling a participle - see paragraph three of the article. WILLIAM K. SMITH LEXINGTON

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