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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 21, 1995                   TAG: 9506220020
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SMALL TOWNS MUST PROTECT THEIR HERITAGE

AS A FORMER Shawsville resident, I read with interest the May 30 article ``Visions at odds.'' I now live in a suburb of Kansas City called Olathe, which faced similar growth problems approximately eight years ago. Sadly, rather than capitalizing on its significance as a historic prairie town, the city was guided by development based on profit. If someone had only had the foresight in 1985 to plan this town's growth, it would be a far nicer and more attractive town in which to live.

I firmly believe the days of people in small towns thinking ``it just wouldn't happen here'' are over! Small towns all across the country are experiencing tremendous growth as people flee crime and overcrowding in the cities, but I also believe there can be a harmonious balance in which everyone's best interests are met.

Take St. Michaels, Md., or Seaside, Fla., as examples of small communities wishing to retain that which makes them unique. Their success as communities is largely based on careful planning. In the case of St. Michaels, it's based upon establishing a historic-preservation committee to ensure positive, planned growth.

I agree that affordable housing is necessary, but not at the expense of small towns with historic significance such as Shawsville and Elliston. Important events occurred in both towns, and I urge residents to remember this unique heritage and try to preserve this history. If residents of these communities worked together and organized themselves into a group such as a historic-preservation committee, they could plan and implement growth that would benefit everyone's needs rather than just the desires of developers. It takes far longer to undo a wrong than to never allow it to occur.

ANN ANGLE SMITH

OLATHE, KS

Religious group due respect

REGARDING Mike Luckovich's June 8 cartoon on your Opinion page:

I am disappointed in your decision to print a cartoon that attempts to make a point at the expense of a religious group. I feel this is in poor taste and makes a mockery of the Jehovah's Witnesses.

While I'm not a member of their group, I respect their belief system, and find them to be dedicated and sincere individuals.

PATRICIA B. CONKLIN

MARION

Sobriety checks protect the public

THE UPCOMING Fourth of July celebration offers an ideal time to talk about freedom. We may not often consider some freedoms, including the freedom to travel safe from the threat of alcohol and other drug-impaired driving; freedom from the threat of a violent, life-threatening crash; and freedom from fear of resulting serious injury or even death.

These freedoms may be ones you and I take for granted. But for the more than 16,000 Americans killed each year in alcohol-related crashes, they are freedoms destroyed. And for the more than 1.2 million injured each year, maybe permanently, they are freedoms denied.

One effective way to protect people from the dangers of impaired driving is the use of sobriety checkpoints. These checkpoints help police detect and deter impaired drivers. They present only a minimal delay to travelers, while they help raise awareness of enforcement of laws against driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence.

One protection against death or injury in an alcohol- or other drug-related crash is safety-belt use. Sobriety checkpoints also provide a highly effective opportunity for police to remind travelers to buckle up.

BRENDA ALTMAN

Chairperson, Mothers Against Drunk Driving

Smith Mountain Lake Region

UNION HALL

Being on call to help those in need

IN RESPONSE to negative articles written about the fire-and-rescue volunteer teams in the area (May 21 Horizon section, ``Too late''):

I salute all volunteers for the hard work they do. I should know, because I'm married to one of those volunteers. My husband volunteers with some of the hardest-working people I have seen. He has worked so hard to train new people who want to volunteer their time, and has given up many weekend hours to this cause. There is a tremendous amount of training and education a volunteer must go through before answering that first call.

I lost count of the times he has been called out in the middle of the night to help those in need. I don't think people realize the amount of personal time that is spent performing volunteer rescues. If anyone thinks that volunteers don't work hard and don't risk their lives to help others, think again and be thankful for them.

LAURA WALKER

ROANOKE

by CNB