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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 3, 1994                   TAG: 9408040006
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROAD CHECKS PROTECT EVERYONE

AFTER READING and rereading Tim Poland's July 21 commentary, ``Less cheer, more fear,'' I concluded that the police were trying to protect him, his wife and other citizens ``from the very real danger of drunken drivers.''

I came to that opinion because of his reference to ``the alleged lingering residue of the single glass of wine she had consumed with dinner two hours before.'' If the roadblock officers believed such a residue were present, then it was imperative they determine, as best they could, that there was no reason the Polands shouldn't continue driving home.

After all, an impaired 100-pound individual can kill people as easily as an impaireat did he mean by that? Does he mean the police actually pulled her physically out of the car? Did she refuse to exit the car voluntarily? The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that checkpoints are legal, yet he describes the incident as an "unwarranted intrusion" that was "disturbing, humiliating, and, in light of the holiday, most undemocratic.''

I'm certain they were inconvenienced, as I might be someday, but I've been driving a good many years. And, while I've been fortunate from the inconvenience viewpoint, I've been assisted a number of times by state police in several states. Would that all of our governmental agencies were as efficient and responsive as the state police agencies that I've encountered are.

MAXWELL DYETT

MONETA

Open up the churches

AS I testified before the governor's commission on welfare reform, one of the best ways to help people rise above the welfare system would be to open inner-city churches every night with parenting classes, grandparents helping kids with homework, and support groups for substance abusers, the depressed, unemployed, divorced or any other need.

JANE THURBER

LYNCHBURG

Explore exhibit is more than sport

I READ the July 10 commentary by Eric D. Randall, a business writer for USA Today, concerning his visit to Virginia's Explore Park (``Say hello to Explore's lactose-intolerant frontiersman''). Of particular interest was his first stop - a tomahawk-throwing demonstration by a volunteer in a Daniel Boone outfit. I'm responding so that there may be an accurate account of the facts.

The exhibit is typical of life on the Southwest Virginia frontier during the 1700s to 1730s. Boone was born in 1734, and drove a mule in 1755. The tomahawk throw represented a form of recreation much like pitching horseshoes. Iron tomahawks were traded to Native Americans for buckskin and fur. Iron hawks eventually replaced some stone implements, and were used by settlers for disjoining game, cabin building, camp chores, weapons and sport. After years of teaching the public to throw a hawk, we've yet to have an injury.

Randall was evidently so preoccupied in the commentary he was about to write that he failed to accurately record facts, and he totally missed the spirit of the entire presentation. The demonstration features not only tomahawk throwing, but skills and traits that developed on the frontier. It features not just the sport, but the physical hardship of our forefathers. The exhibit isn't just historical rhetoric, but a celebration of a culture whose memory is fading.

Just below Randall's commentary was Alan Sorensen's column that spoke of ``editorial oatmeal'' (``Where we stand on the question of editorial oatmeal''). His column indicated that editorials should contain fairness, substance and accuracy. With the factual way in which Randall contributes his opinion, I shall look at the USA Today business page in a new light.

I encourage those who visit this exhibit to ask questions and join in the demonstration. You can look for me there. Randall describes me as the one ``in the Daniel Boone outfit.''

SCOTT SARVER

ROANOKE

Three cheers for the parking lot

HAVE you seen the new Cox Cable building? Well, I think each of the architects involved said, ``I want an arch here, a square there, something big and shining over here, and lots of different glass ... and colors,'' while some must have spoken for the bat-wing effect to attract attention. There it is, everybody - the composite. (Everyone got his or her way!)

Personally, I'm glad it's on a back street. The parking lot is nice.

PENNY ZIRKLE

ROANOKE

by CNB