ROANOKE TIMES 

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

DATE: TUESDAY, June 15, 1993                   TAG: 9306150366
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHAT'S RIGHT, WHAT'S WRONG FOR ROANOKE AREA'S FUTURE

ROANOKE'S power force - City Council and top administrators - has no way of knowing what a "vision" is. Their "vision" is only for themselves - be it for re-election, popularity or private financial gain, i.e., two-for-one.

As a citizen of Roanoke for more than 45 years, I have seen it all. A retired black mayor for 17 years seemed to have forgotten about Northwest and Northeast. Once he's out of office, the city wants his dream fulfilled. This should have been done while he was in office supporting council's "dreams or visions" (the historic Farmers' Market, etc.)

First Street or Henry Street will never be as it was, so society can forget that. Downtown Roanoke got the support it needed to move upward, but not the oldest section in the city. It did not get any support from the mayor or other black religious leaders in the neighborhood. Is this because they do not live on this side of the tracks or in Roanoke, but only work here?

Roanoke's "vision" seems to change each week, with new stories coming from cities such as Charlotte, Greensboro, Asheville and Knoxville. Now, with Lynchburg and Buchanan having success with the Tour du Pont, maybe we will have another "vision".

City Council, here's another one: hockey back in the city. For what? Roanoke has never supported a sports team. And how many citizens are clamoring for hockey now? With our taxes, the city will end up buying tickets and giving them away to have a crowd at each game.

City administration, make up your mind about what's good for the city, and not for each of you to get richer and fatter. I have walked on and under the tracks, and now our mayor has a "vision" of walking over the tracks from the city market to this side of the tracks. Such wild ideas and too little support will get us no place. We will be the laughing stock of the valley!

City Council members should work together and with our surrounding communities to move in a more positive direction. "Visions" can come true when based on well-thought-out and sensitive plans. WILLIS W. COOPER ROANOKE 


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