Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501280015
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I think Virginians should know exactly what the initials VPDES stand for. This is the Virginia's Permit to Discharge Elimination System. In other words, a fee is paid to the bureaucracy for permission to discharge pollutants into our environment. This is the elimination system? I see the system, but where is the elimination?
Instead of outrageous fines and permits, why doesn't the regulatory agency encourage investment of these funds into pre-treatment or recycling equipment? This would be a real elimination system.
SHEILA ROBB
ROANOKE
GOP should admit its error
I FIND the continued news of the John Warner-Virginia GOP feud disturbing. I was drawn to the Republican Party because it represented a system of government based on freedoms, responsibility, independence, opportunity for an individual to pursue his own fortunes, and minimization of government intrusion into one's personal and family life.
It appears the Republicans' leadership, suffering the sting of defeat, has chosen to overlook the party's guiding principles. Does the demand for party unity come at all costs, including sacrifice of one's beliefs, independence and responsibilities? Should the GOP dictate which candidates its members must support? Do these intrusions into one's personal choices in the name of unity bear a hint of socialism or big government?
I respect and am much more likely to vote for a man who has the courage to speak his mind than for sheep who sacrifice their personal beliefs and integrity because the organization's leadership has made a questionable decision. I was appalled by the comment by Doug Domenech (Mike Farris' advisor) that Warner ``represents everything that a Republican shouldn't do.'' To criticize a man for adhering to his beliefs is an affront to the principles on which our government is founded, supposedly the same ones guiding the Republican Party.
It's time the Virginia GOP leadership accept responsibility for its actions and find courage to admit that nominating Oliver North for the U.S. Senate was a mistake. This is a view shared not only by Virginia voters, but by those (primarily Republicans) who worked closely with North in Washington, D.C.
Warner and the press didn't cost Virginia Republicans a Senate seat. The Virginia GOP simply nominated a candidate Virginians would not elect as their representative to the U.S. Senate.
STEVEN COX
BLACKSBURG
Taking money is county's specialty
I AGREE with W. Harold Gregory (Jan. 15 letter to the editor, ``Tax and spend in Roanoke County'') that it's time for Roanoke County to change its way of doing business. It's the mood of the entire country to have less government and a lot fewer bureaucrats.
I moved to Roanoke County six years ago, and the taxes on my 10-year-old automobile were more than I had paid when I purchased it new. I built a new home, and a good example of an out-of-control local government was the electrical inspector I encountered - a young man who obviously didn't know what he was doing.
When I went to get the $20 sticker for my vehicle, the lady filling out the forms politely told me to go to the next window, about 3 feet from hers. There, a young lady announced proudly several times, with a big smile on her face, that her only job was "to take your money." How many stores could afford to have a second person just to ``take your money''? You wouldn't go back if they did.
It's high time taxpayers do something about local bureaucrats who are throwing our money away. It's time we tell them what we can afford instead of it being the other way around. If the county doesn't straighten out that bureaucratic mess in its big, new headquarters - larger, by the way, than some multinational companies' headquarters - it's time for a tax revolt at the next election.
HUGH H. CLAPP
ROANOKE
by CNB