Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508210011
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
I also read in your newspaper (July 6 Business section article, ``Smith Corona files for bankruptcy'') that the largest manufacturer of typewriters was finally calling it quits since it was no longer able to compete with computers. Do we owe it to Smith Corona to return to manual typewriters? Do we owe it to all families who lost their farms due to automation, or all factory workers who lost their jobs due to more efficient machinery?
We don't owe anything to the tobacco industry. And if it cannot withstand the current trend of health-conscious Americans, then it should go the way of the typewriter and fold up and call it quits.
We offer our sympathy to the few hundred tobacco growers who will lose their money crop. But in the same breath, we offer it also to everyone who has lost a job due to changes in the economy and the introduction of automation to industry.
Change is the only constant in our society, and change is blowing in the wind. And that wind is clean and smoke-free.
MICHELLE LOWE BLACKSBURG
Teens don't want to skip this flick
REGARDING Mike Mayo's Aug. 12 review, ``You can skip `A Walk in the Clouds''':
I'm very upset, and also disappointed in some of his movie reviews. I'm 15 years old and have totally disagreed with many of his so-called opinions on what we should or shouldn't see at the movie theater. We simply can't listen to one man's opinion. Many movies Mayo has rated as pitiful, I have really enjoyed. But many movies he has rated as wonderful are ones that probably teen-agers wouldn't go see.
Maybe reviewers should think about my age group when commenting on a movie. Mayo reviewed ``A Walk in the Clouds,'' and he said that ``a simple-minded story won't add up to a real movie.'' Well, I paid $3.75 to see it, and like many others my age and older thought that it added up to be a ``real movie.'' The next time Mayo reviews a movie, he must remember to think about what the public likes, not just what he likes.
MELISSA SIMPSON EAGLE ROCK
Powell-Perot is the dream ticket
A COLIN Powell-Ross Perot ticket should appeal to everyone - a real ``dream team.'' I sincerely believe that both men have the welfare of our country at heart, instead of glory for themselves.
Why can't the Republican Party see this as a sure win and act accordingly, or will a grass-roots campaign have to take over?
BEN M. HAWES ROANOKE
City roads discourage drivers
AS RESIDENTS who have to drive in and around Roanoke city and Roanoke County, have you ever wondered why there's such a difference in the planning of streets and traffic conditions therein?
When I drive in the county, I find planning has taken care of lanes for traffic so that there are enough lanes for traffic flow. But when I get to the city, the flow starts to clog up, causing much delay. An example: On Brambleton Avenue, it's two lanes in the city with twists and turns that would cause the best driver to take two aspirins and stay home. The county has widened the street to four lanes, and Brambleton is a great avenue to travel.
When will the city do something to take care of the traffic flow on all its two-lane wagon roads that wind around and cause much delay? Several other streets come to mind, such as Hollins Road, 10th Street, Mudlick Road, and Grandin Road south of Brandon Avenue.
RICHARD G. ERICSON ROANOKE
Police seem to be trigger-happy
DOES Blacksburg have its own version of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau? A man draws a BB pistol and officers respond with 10 to 15 shots. Not only did they hit the suspect with a barrage of gunfire, but also wounded one of their own in the process.
A Roanoke firing squad did in a Floyd man in a similar fashion. Are our officers so unsure of their marksmanship that they have a ``squeeze the trigger till it's empty'' complex?
From reports, Blacksburg officers approached the suspect at a drugstore counter and called him by name. This indicates to me that they were in close proximity to him.
From the number of shots fired, the intentions in both incidents were to kill the suspects. Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown said, ``I'm going to shoot until the threat is gone.'' When was the threat gone? After the first shot? Second? I'm sure it was long before 10 shots.
I don't blame the officers for taking action. They had every reason to believe they were in a life-threatening situation. But if someone were to break into my home and I shot that person 10 times, they would charge me with murder. They would claim that once or twice would have been sufficient, that I had crossed over the line and committed murder.
GARY K. SPENCE CHRISTIANSBURG
by CNB