Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 8, 1995 TAG: 9509080075
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Constitution says you are supposed to defend the country against foreign enemies and promote domestic peace and tranquility. It does not say we are supposed to protect the whole world.
I do not need you to take care of me from the cradle to the grave.
Stop telling me bad things about your opponent - I probably already know them.
Tell me what your qualifications are, what you will do if you are elected, how you will do it, and what it will cost the taxpaying citizen in terms of money and lost freedoms.
All citizens should study the Constitution, and find out if the person they are going to vote for has studied it.
Would-be politicians should stop promising people things they know they can't deliver. They are only making themselves look foolish.
GEORGE W. BUSH, SR.
ROANOKE
Prison high jinks aren't Allen's doing
YOUR NEWSPAPER'S top story on Aug. 30, ``Convict's $1 million tale buys sweet life in prison,'' gives us another fine sample of investigative reporting from your writers.
David Poole and Robert Little tell us that a clever state inmate duped several prison employees into doing him favors, like bringing Chinese food, booze and a cellular phone to him in prison.
The staff writers claim that the employees' favors ``could become another embarrassing security breach on the watch of Gov. George Allen,'' somehow implying Allen's personal responsibility for the incidents.
Funny, I don't recall your writers referring to a multiple escape of murderers and rapists from a state prison a few years ago as being ``on the watch'' of then-Gov. Charles Robb. I believe those fine citizens on the loose were a slightly greater threat to society than the prankster who ran up an unpaid cellular bill.
You wouldn't be scraping for dirt on Allen just because he's a Republican, would you? Please confine your political bias to the editorial page.
MARK L. BAIN
SALEM
Exploring Explore without the crowds
THIS PAST weekend, our family visited one of the jewels in the Roanoke Valley. We spent three hours in the Explore Park, and if our time constraints had been fewer, we would have spent a couple more hours there learning from the interpreters.
Now is a great time to go, before Explore gets cranked up to be a heavily visited, wall-to-wall people attraction.
There were few visitors there with us, and we were practically one-on-one with the interpreters who answered questions, gave demonstrations and shared fascinating facts.
The interpreters have done a great deal of their own research in their particular areas, and they truly seem to love their work. That's true of the blacksmith, the dulcimer maker, the ladies and young man at the Hofauger Homestead, the schoolmarm and student at the one-room schoolhouse, the young man driving his own beloved workhorses and giving visitors rides in his wagon, the two early-American hunters, and of the Native American of Algonquian ancestry who shared from his heart his heritage.
It was a fascinating morning that we spent at Roanoke's Explore Park. We highly recommend it.
GEORGIA, WINSTON and BEEJAY CHAPMAN
BEDFORD
Eatery was given an unfair rap
AS A former employee and loyal patron of the Buck Mountain Grille, I would like to correct the inaccuracies in your recent review (Aug. 18, ``Buck Mountain Grille changes not all for the better'').
The reviewer, Delores Kostelni, did not exhibit a thorough knowledge of the restaurant. She was not correct in describing some of the dishes.
Kostelni provided a harsh critique of the crab cakes, but failed to clarify that a smaller version, included on the fisherman's platter, met with her approval.
This, along with failure to mention positive changes created by Al and Joann Mazzarella, such as an improved dining atmosphere, unique daily specials and an expanded menu, conveys unbalanced journalism.
It must be pointed out that Buck Mountain Grille is handicapped-accessible.
I served many disabled customers while there as an employee, and have visited the restaurant with a physically challenged person. Parking, a ramped entrance, wide doors and sufficient restroom facilities are provided.
Kostelni did a disservice to the handicapped by inaccurately stating that the restaurant is not accessible to them.
EMILY DOMALSKI
ROANOKE
Editor's Note: Our restaurant reviewer does not assess whether a place is handicapped-accessible. That is done by the Blue Ridge Center for Independent Living as a service to the newspaper and the public.
by CNB