Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 21, 1994 TAG: 9404210154
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
I am trying to contact any ex-member or anyone with information about former members of the 249th Engineer Combat Battalion that was formed at Camp Bowie, Texas in 1943.
The object is to collect and share current addresses, receive a newsletter, information on a reunion, etc. Please write me at P.O. Box 3134, Staunton, Va. 24402-3134 or call me at (703) 886-6941.\ Sincerely, Irmin C. Magruder Staunton\
Dear Neighbors:
Recently, as I was traveling to work on U.S. 220 from Franklin County to Roanoke, I experienced a life-threatening situation caused by a school bus stopping to pick up children.
The school bus was in the right lane, but a van was slowing to stop in the left lane. I was slowing up behind the van. There was a lot of traffic, as it normally is that time of the morning.
As traffic was coming to a halt for a school bus, an 18-wheeler came around Graham's curve. (There is a warning sign of a school bus stop 500 feet ahead. However, it does not have blinking lights, as the warning sign in front of Dudley's Truck Stop, where several people have been killed because of the visibility.)
The 18-wheeler noticed we were all stopping and laid in on his air horn. Everyone froze. Somehow, he swerved between the front of my vehicle and the back of the van in front of me. He then ran over the embankment toward an oncoming car.
The oncoming driver noticed that the 18-wheeler had lost control and swerved to keep from being hit. The driver of the 18-wheeler regained control once he got to the other side of the highway but had to continue in the wrong direction until the next cross-over.
Fortunately, he was able to complete this task and the only [thing] damaged was his front windshield. Everyone was very fortunate not to have been involved in a major pileup by the truck driver choosing to run over the embankment, which could have taken his life.
However, I am sure that he was doing everything possible to keep from running into the back of the school bus. I-73 is needed to save lives.\ Tommy Hubbard Jr.\ Rocky Mount\
Dear Neighbors:
I am writing to thank and commend the staff at Crystal Springs Imaging. I recently had my first mammogram there and feel compelled to share my experience with other women.
I had put this appointment off several times because I had heard all of the horror stories a woman hears concerning the process of having a mammogram. My experience was nothing like the stories.
I was treated kindly and courteously. The procedure was explained to me very simply and within a matter of minutes it was finished. I was not embarrassed, the equipment was not cold, and there was no excruciating pain as I had been told by many. I will attest to a "slight" discomfort that lasted no more that a few seconds but it was no where near the "excruciating pain" I had been told about.
It was not the experience I was expecting, and I am thankful I finally went ahead in spite of what I had heard.
I am sure each woman is different, however, what may be a painful experience for one woman may not be the same for another one, as I found out. However, it is certainly worth the few minutes it takes for a procedure that could save a life. I hope now that some other woman who may be putting off having a mammogram because of fear will learn from my experience.\ Sincerely\ Sherry L. Hinson\
Dear Neighbors:
My wife and I were in the process of moving. We had a perfectly good couch with a tear in one arm. We really wanted to give it to one of the charitable groups.
Neither the Salvation Army nor the Disabled American Veterans Thrift Store would take it because of the tear. I will not even get into the fact that Goodwill refuses to come out and collect donations.
I guess what really upsets me is that these groups will beg you for money year round, but when you want to give them something perfectly good except for a slight tear, they can't be bothered.
Goodwill, D.A.V. and Salvation Army - do not ask me for money. All you will get is a scowl and a humbug.\ Richard E. Walkley Salem\
Dear Neighbors:
One day last year as I stepped out of my home, there was a foul odor in the air. It took my breath, and I couldn't get back in the house quick enough. Every time I stuck my head out the door, my breath would cut off. It was three days before I could get any relief.
I called the Environment Protection Agency about the foul smell of chemical which was supposed to make lawns beautiful. Someone had sprayed next door to my home, and some of the spray came over into my yard. It had apparently killed some of my flowers and grass.
The people who came back to inspect the lawn were not very cooperative in answering questions. Neither was the EPA.
The only sound answer I got was that the sprayer was licensed to spray. What good will that do when we are dead with cancer or dead with asthma or emphysema, which I already have.
How much is three days of your life worth? How many days would I be closed in if everyone sprayed at different times of the year? I know there is a different type of yard care that can be put out in pellets that does not pollute the air.
I am writing this on a beautiful day outside but I am shut in because of the foul odor from the spray. There is no use in calling the EPA. I tried last year. It did not work.
Murray A. Barnes
Roanoke
by CNB