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

DATE: TUESDAY, April 12, 1994                   TAG: 9404140011
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

BLIND CRITICS

CLEARLY, the natural beauty, clean air, uncongested highways and small-town ways many Western Virginia communities enjoy are a plus. But are they not eclipsed by double-digit unemployment rates, underfunded public schools and social services, crumbling infrastructure and kids leaving town with their high-school diplomas?

I have watched with frustration as vocal minorities crank up the volume on projects like the development of a commercial marketplace for the New River Valley, a ``smart road'' that can bring millions of dollars and national recognition to our region, and now, Interstate 73.

As was pointed out on your op-ed pages almost five years ago by former Virginia Tech Vice President Charles Forbes, roads are the catalysts of production, commerce and consumption that have historically expanded the frontiers of civilization. Even the most belligerent opponents must admit that the economic development opportunities associated with I-73 are far more manifold than the ``burger-slinging'' jobs they conveniently ridicule.

I am especially disappointed that some of the critics include those who have bought their 100 acres and built their dream homes and now cry foul at the thought of anyone spoiling their view. Are they blind to the fact that for every one of them are 1,000 others who can't pay the rent, can't afford to get sick, and sigh with resignation at the thought of their children's future?

The challenges we face in our present and in our future have been credibly outlined in your ``Perils and Promise'' series, and if you ask me, we in Western Virginia had better pay attention. Demographic changes are further concentrating political power (read future allocation of public resources) in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Richmond. Manufacturing industries that once provided our economic backbone may be gone for good.

Fortunately, organizations such as the New Century Council, the New River Valley Economic Alliance and others are emerging as beacons of light in the fog. Entrepreneurs are crafting visions of our region as a cradle of fiber-optic and wireless communications. Perhaps most important, our state's largest university is working energetically with the Roanoke and New River valleys on linkages that promise benefits for all.

If we reject opportunities for growth because they threaten the way things have always been, we will not only compromise the futures of our children; we will find ourselves struggling to rise from the depths of stagnation, not debating the merits of growth.

|JEFFREY S. DOUGLAS |CHRISTIANSBURG

by CNB