Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 21, 1995 TAG: 9508210075
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It shouldn't be the responsibility of the state of Virginia to make cyclists wear helmets. It's the individual's responsibility. When your neighbor or friend is struck by a car, you'll probably do what I did - go buy that helmet.
It's absolutely necessary that drivers in residential neighborhoods obey the 25 mph speed limit, and be aware that there are children on rollerblades and bicycles. Sometimes grownups are out jogging or walking, too.
Darin has a long recovery and a lot of therapy to go through. I will help him, push him in his wheelchair, and wear my helmet when riding my bike.
BRENNAN G. OVERSTREET CHRISTIANSBURG
Can the OIC spirit be duplicated?
OIC was the heart of the poor and disadvantaged. You may or may not have heard of it. It stood for Opportunity Industrial Center, a training center mainly for the poor and disadvantaged.
I will never forget the sign over the entrance door that read OIC. It was a key with the written words: ``The Way Out.'' And, indeed, it stood by its meaning because it was the way out for many into the mainstream of life.
As I thought about it and chatted with the former director, it brought back inspiration in my heart and tears in my eyes.
OIC was like feet to the lame, eyes to the blind, food for the hungry, and success. It was like a song in the darkness, after hours of despair and hopelessness. It was like an answer to a poor mother's prayer for help for her child.
OIC was the heart of our city for the poor and disadvantaged, citizens of all colors. And though we try to duplicate some of its programs, without hearts and souls rooted in the depth of love for all humanity, all we'll do is promote selfishness. This is something of which no one can rightfully accuse the OIC.
TONY TAYLOR ROANOKE
Wasting time on Whitewater probe
WHY IS Congress spending so much time - not to mention taxpayers' money - on Whitewater? After all, President Clinton wasn't even president when the alleged improprieties occurred.
What about all the other failed savings-and-loan businesses, particularly in Texas, to which no such intense attention is given? Shouldn't they all be examined in the same detail?
Actually, should members of Congress be spending hours on this when the country has so many other pressing needs? Just whom are they kidding?
VIRGINIA CURRIE BLACKSBURG
Killing by police was not `justifiable'
REGARDING the Blacksburg police shooting of Maurice Taylor:
I find it appalling that we have empowered police to immediately sentence and carry out a death penalty on a 22-year-old black man carrying a BB gun in a drug store, who wasn't actually committing a crime, while a judge lets a man live for the cold-blooded murder of five people, and a jury finds pity for a woman and lets her live after she murdered her own children.
Also, I was amazed to learn how dangerous a BB gun can be. I spent eight years in the armed forces of the United States, and never saw one person killed by one of them. If three police officers cannot disarm a person with a BB gun without killing him, they definitely need more training.
If police want any respect, they have to earn it. The Rodney King case is a good example of police who make the wrong decision. I think this is another example. Something has to be done to correct it, even though Blacksburg Police Chief Bill Brown finds it to be ``justifiable.''
ROBERT HIPPS RADFORD
Praise, thanks for Governor's School
I AM a rising senior at Radford High School. In July, I had the honor of attending the Virginia Governor's School for the Humanities at the University of Richmond. This program offered 200 rising juniors and seniors from around the state an opportunity to study, learn and grow with some of this country's best faculty.
In the past, the state of Virginia fully funded the Governor's School. In February, the state cut the budget for this program in half, and left it up to local school systems to finance the rest on an ability-to-pay basis. Unfortunately, most school systems had planned their budgets long before this time, so the money was hard to find. Although all school systems found the needed money, many voiced concerns that money might not be available in the future.
I would like to thank the Radford City School Board for finding the money to send me to Governor's School. I would also like to thank Virginia taxpayers for paying for me to attend. Rest assured, this program is worth the money. It was an invaluable experience that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life. I hope that I can transfer the positive energy I received at Governor's School to my school and community.
JENNIFER WILKINSON RADFORD
by CNB