Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 26, 1993 TAG: 9310150357
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: D2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
As recently as the mid-'60s, six passenger trains a day served the Tennessee-New York corridor. Amtrak did not continue this service because of funding constraints and lack of enough modern equipment, rather than because patronage had made the route uneconomical.
Since 1971, when the last train was discontinued on this line, automobile traffic has mushroomed as air and bus service has atrophied. Yet eight out of 10 intercity trips are between cities 100 miles apart or less. The potential demand for dependable rail service in this corridor is greater than ever, and could have an enormous impact on increasing tourism, economic and industrial development, and simple access for those who do not drive or prefer not to fight highway congestion.
Norfolk Southern allegations that one passenger train a day in each direction would interfere with freight service is preposterous. With modern signaling, dozens of trains could use this corridor daily, as is demonstrated in such high-volume corridors as West Palm Beach to Miami, Fla.
In addition, Norfolk Southern would benefit from additional direct Amtrak revenue and potentially from future increases in freight revenue as population growth and increased industrial development follow improved passenger service. One reason our region has lagged in tourist and economic development is its relative isolation and lack of access to common-carrier passenger services as bus and air services have been downgraded in recent years.
If Korea can spend $13.2 billion on a rail line between Seoul and Pusan to fuel economic development, America ought to be able to find a million or two somewhere to accomplish the same thing.
RANDOLPH GREGG
ROANOKE
Take pride in our universities
THE STORY carried on the front page on Sept. 14, "Professors often not in class," is yet another shocking example of fallacious reasoning and misplaced distress about the multifaceted missions of our major universities.
I would contend that the purpose of a university is not just for the benefit of the relatively few who attend classes, but to expand and circulate knowledge in technology, commerce, literature, the sciences, the arts, culture and philosophy to improve the material welfare and spiritual welfare of us all.
It seems to me the idea of a university is to create a climate, an atmosphere, a special place, for the exchange of new ideas and information whether in a library, a laboratory, a dormitory, a math club, a school newspaper, or a classroom. Whether these ideas have immediate commercial value is less important than generating the spirit of discovery that is shared with students and our entire society.
This sharing takes place not only through the teaching of our graduate and undergraduate students, but by informing those outside the university through the media, conferences for businesses and state institutions. And, yes, publication of our exponential effect on increasing knowledge for our country.
So let us take a little more pride in what is accomplished by professors at our universities.
RICHARD M. EISLER
BLACKSBURG
Choose again from county's ranks
RECENTLY, the Roanoke County School Board announced an increasing work load as it prepares to select a superintendent to replace Dr. Bayse Wilson, who will retire next spring.
The board has included a citizen from each of the five magisterial districts to form an advisory committee, as well as enlisting representatives of teachers and parents.
All this extra attention may be unnecessary and may serve only to complicate an otherwise simple routine. The process has been kept simple in the past by traditionally selecting the new superintendent from the county schools' ranks. Beginning with Roland E. Cook in 1906, followed by Douglas Ninenger in 1945, Herman Horn in 1955, Arnold Burton in 1965 and Bayse Wilson in 1980, these leaders served long apprenticeships in the county schools.
Virginia school boards are not required to advertise that a position is soon to be vacant. If it's their wish, they are permitted to select a person from their own school division and that's the end of it.
THOMAS C. FISHER JR.
ROANOKE
Don't hand over our health
PRESIDENT Bill Clinton wants to re-invent government because he found it to be inefficient, wasteful and expensive. Yet, Presidents Bill and Hillary want to have the government bureaucracy operate their plan for national health insurance. God help us!
LOUIS P. GLENN
LEXINGTON
When the rage is for money
I HAVE watched with interest the outcry over the senseless killings in Florida of tourists from outside our country. Well taken was an article (``Murder, American style: Victims not created equal") in the Sept. 17 Roanoke Times & World-News, in which people strongly suggested the outcry was largely an economic one. Where was the outcry over thousands of other senseless murders each year in that state?
A larger question haunts me, however. In a nation that has become largely de-sensitized to violence, we decry (and rightfully so) the deaths of foreign tourists.
But what about the 1.5 million-plus babies we slaughter each year in the womb? Who speaks for them? Where is the public outcry over this abominable practice? If there were no money to be made through abortions, how many would be done?
Can it be true, as the stepfather of one murder victim said, that ``This country isn't geared toward human beings. It's geared toward only one thing - m-o-n-e-y"?
LARRY CLARK
NARROWS
Wainwright needed in Roanoke County
WE HAVE not seen much in the news about Brenda Wainwright's campaign to unseat Bob Johnson on the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. She is a hard-working, successful businesswoman with two children in the county school system. We desperately need someone like her to balance the male-dominated county government.
Wainwright will be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility and for an improved school system. As the owner of a landscaping business, she knows the importance of controlling unnecessary costs and running an efficient operation.
We need that kind of experience on the board. Electing Ms. Wainwright will help prevent continuation of the type of expensive mistakes that have been made in past years.
ROBERT J. LOVELACE
ROANOKE
Not six, but 60-hour weeks
IN SENSATIONALISTIC higher-education articles in the Roanoke Times & World- News on Sept. 14, Philip Walzer molests Virginia's distinguished university faculty (``Professors not often in class"). Despite his inadequate research, misrepresented statistics and venomous vendetta against professors, Walzer offers himself as a credible authority on the challenges facing Virginia's universities.
Allow me to offer an alternative view. As a lifelong Blacksburg resident and a senior in communication studies at Virginia Tech, I've cherished the honor to work with a tireless, dynamic and world-renowned faculty.
They enter the classroom only after extensive preparation, meet eagerly with us outside of class, write scores of recommendation letters, advise us on course selection, volunteer their expertise to student organizations and community groups, and generate new knowledge for government and industry. Six hours per week, Mr. Walzer? Try 60.
These highly educated professionals could double or triple their salaries in the private sector, yet they endure the commonwealth's financial assault on higher education because they love learning.
Sure, there is room for improvement in our colleges and universities. However, Walzer's contemptuous invective - including sarcastic references to professors on "easy street" and disingenuous claims about "big raises" - do a grave disservice to the commonwealth.
As our elected officials continue to hack the limbs off higher education, Virginia's citizens deserve candid deliberations, not malicious diatribes.
JEFF MORRILL
BLACKSBURG
by CNB