Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300054
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Rather than accept promiscuity as acceptable conduct (as both the student and Garst appear to do), Cobble calls for a higher standard. Sexual conduct isn't a mere physical activity such as jogging where you wear the ``proper shoes'' to protect your feet and legs from risk of injury. Sexual conduct involves the deepest of human emotions, and our human psyches are the fragile, silent partners. Lives have been scarred forever because of loose standards of sexual conduct.
Wholesale distribution of condoms as the ``proper shoes'' for risky behavior only promotes the very behavior it purports to protect. Cobble recognizes the fallacy of this modern-day myth. Sadly, Garst apparently doesn't. The reality is that AIDS is best prevented by higher standards of conduct rather than distributing condoms.
LEWIS E. WERTZ JR.
ROANOKE
Federal retirees aren't state's villains
UNDOUBTEDLY, Ruth G. Cunningham's view (March 11 letter, ``Federal retirees' issue still nettles'') about the federal retirees' refund of illegal taxation is shared by many. Clarification seems in order.
State retirees were exempted from paying state taxes on their state retirement benefits, but federal retirees were not exempted on federal retirement. The Supreme Court determined this was illegal, which brought about the refund to federal retirees. Interestingly, the state retiree was allowed to retain 100 percent of the exempt taxes while the federal retiree, under the state plan, will receive only a percentage of the taxes illegally collected.
If a federal retiree owes taxes to the state, there are no provisions to allow just a percentage be paid with the remainder exempt. Federal retirement, like all taxable income, is fully taxed by the state. To suggest the federal retiree enjoys a special status, or is some kind of villain, is grossly inaccurate and unfair.
WILLIAM N. GILES
TROUTVILLE
No one fired for speaking out
MAG Poff's March 4 article, ``Trigon workers on TV to air `backstabbing','' contained serious factual errors.
While we have a longstanding policy against disclosing information related to personnel matters, we feel the need to correct the record with regard to certain information cited in the article that apparently was provided by Mary McEnheimer, a former Trigon employee.
McEnheimer reportedly said that she was fired by Trigon on Dec. 15, several weeks after the Charles Perez show was taped in New York. The fact is that she wasn't an employee of Trigon at the time of taping. Her employment ended on Dec. 15, 1994, and the show was taped on Jan. 21, 1995.
McEnheimer is reported to have said that of the six people on the show (from Trigon), two were fired after the show was taped. The fact is that no employee was fired after the taping. As we noted above, her employment ended prior to the taping. A second individual resigned from the company prior to the taping, and the remaining four are currently employed by Trigon.
While we recognize that Poff was reporting information provided by a source that may have appeared to be reliable, that information was false.
Let me make it clear that Trigon supports the right of employees to air personal opinions in public forums. As Poff accurately noted in her article, we do reserve the right to ask that employees speak as private citizens and not as Trigon.
JOSEPH M. MACRUM
Senior Vice President
Corporate Communications
Trigon
RICHMOND
The flap over the budget amendment
IT'S JUST as Rush Limbaugh states: ``The liberal news media just does not get it.''
Your March 4 editorial (``A good thing the Senate said no'') negating the importance of a balanced-budget amendment is simply asinine. It appears that voters know how to get results, and it isn't difficult to predict that additional Democrats, as well as President Clinton, will be defeated in future elections.
It's also time that representatives who would flap their arms and cluck like a chicken be replaced by more statesman-like individuals.
RICHARD H. FISHER
SALEM
by CNB