Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010011
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Ray Reed
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A: Conventional wisdom says a Hokie is one who focuses on technical matters, and is respected at MIT and in similar circles for taking an analytical and quantitative approach to solving problems. A current one: how to end the dry spell in football victories over Wahoos.
These latter are more likely to take a qualitative and comprehensive approach to the arts and life, leading perhaps to careers in law or management. A frequent office pursuit: forming intellectual arguments that the inevitable end of this sports cycle won't matter because it's not a conference game.
The origin of Hokie lies in an 1896 contest for a new cheer. O.M. Stull, a senior, wrote, "Hokie, Hokie, Hokie Hi - Rae, Ri, old VPI." The word was a product of his imagination; it had no special meaning.
Wahoo's earliest use also came from the 1890s, during a baseball game in which Washington and Lee players called their UVa opponents "Wahoos" - probably normal baseball chatter then. Now, players call that "trash talk."
Both "Hokie" and "Wahoo" were preserved for posterity when they made it into their respective schools' fight songs.
The words just sounded good to a bunch of male undergraduates high on victory, camaraderie or CH 3 CH 2 OH. (That's alcohol, whether you're a Hokie or a Wahoo.)
Railroad pension untaxed
Q: Why are railroad retirees exempt from state taxes on their pensions, both tier I and tier II? Federal and state employees will pay taxes on their pensions and so do private pensioners, so why should railroad people be exempt? G.P., Roanoke
A: Federal law says states can't tax either tier of railroad pensions.
That's a protection few, if any, other groups enjoy. It leaps out in view of the recent Supreme Court ruling that Virginia could not exempt state retirees from taxes while collecting on federal pensions.
The railroads' tier 1 pension is virtually identical to Social Security, so excluding it from taxes is the same benefit enjoyed by most average-income retirees.
Tier 2, however, is an additional pension level and railroad workers contribute to it by choice. It can be compared to a typical private-employer pension plan - on which benefits are taxable.\ Not really pond scum
Q: The duck pond in Walrond Park (in North Roanoke County) is really green and murky. Why don't they clean that up? B.S., Roanoke
A: That's mostly algae in the pond. It could be cleared chemically, perhaps with copper sulfate, but there are at least two reasons not to.
First, the pond drains into a waterway and the county Parks and Recreation Department would be responsible for any chemicals that reached the water course.
Second, the ducks seem to like it just as it is.
These are wild ducks and the parks people don't feed them on purpose. They choose to land and eat the stuff that grows in the water.
The pond does clear up in the winter when the algae freezes and dies.
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.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***