ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, December 23, 1995 TAG: 9512250025
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
IN RESPONSE to Laurence Hammack's Dec. 16 article, ``Juvenile justice on trial'':
The article closes with a quote from Linda Nablo of the Action Alliance for Virginia's Children and Youth: ``As dangerous as they may be, they are still kids.''
Pardon me, but isn't Deputy Cliff Decker just as dead as if he had been shot by an older, more experienced criminal? The key word should be ``dangerous,'' not ``kid.''
I don't have all the answers, but I believe the missing ingredient in our punishment system is accountability for one's own actions, regardless of age or environmental factors.
ANNE C. CARNEY
ROANOKE
The handicapped deserve respect
IT HAS been brought to my attention by a handicapped veteran that some local shopping centers and others with parking facilities have been shoveling snow into the parking spaces reserved for the handicapped.
This is unthoughtful and dangerous for the handicapped. This situation should be addressed and rectified as soon as possible. Handicapped people deserve our consideration and respect.
WILLIAM W. ARNOLD
ROANOKE
A new U.S. 221 is the answer
MY WIFE and I have lived for more than three years now just off U.S. 221 near the foot of Bent Mountain in Roanoke County.
We have kept silent until now in the debate over what to do about U.S. 221. Many of our friends and neighbors have been silent, too, until now.
We believe that the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Commonwealth Transportation Board should give us a new U.S. 221 road in the south corridor, away from the existing roadway.
This existing roadway would then remain rural, and maybe become even more so. Constructing the new road could proceed with minimal disruption of traffic, and it might be less costly.
I doubt that the current road can be adequately fixed considering the terrain, the creek and other factors, unless you made the old road one-way in one direction and the new road one-way in the other direction, with connecting roads running between them at reasonable intervals.
BOB BERSCH
ROANOKE COUNTY
Tell the truth about Jesus' birth
I COMMEND Cherie Shelor (Dec. 5 Associated Press article, ``Baby Jesus photos replace Santa's) for speaking the truth.
Paul condemned the Corinthians for adding to the word of God. Christmas is a pagan religion, and it is a lie. Christ wasn't born in the winter, because he would have frozen in an open barn.
Let us worship the resurrection and not the Easter bunny.
JOHN LUNDGREN
THAXTON
Physicians respect the hospice concept
THE DEC. 3 letter to the editor by Sue Moore, ``Life with dignity to the end,'' may have left readers with the impression that hospices are in agreement that doctors make dying more difficult and deliberately limit access to hospice services by withholding information.
To the contrary, I have found that the majority of referrals into hospice come directly from a physician, and doctors often initiate the discussion about hospice care.
Most physicians have been open to the hospice-care concept and are receptive to innovative approaches in pain management and symptom control.
Physicians are a vital part of the hospice team and direct a plan of care that meets their patients' complex needs. I've found that physicians want to respect their patients' wishes. They strive to keep them comfortable, while also preserving their dignity and quality of life to the end.
Hospice is one of many alternatives available to individuals with terminal illnesses. Advances in medicine have provided us with options we didn't have a few years ago.
Hospice by nature and practice emphasizes the dignity of every individual and the individual's right to remain in control of the decisions about his or her care.
Ultimately, these are very personal decisions that differ from patient to patient. The fact that some patients choose not to use hospice services doesn't make them less mature, nor does it make their physicians less compassionate.
The ongoing health-care debate and subsequent budget battle have raised some very important issues. Singling out a particular group or viewpoint as one major cause of the health-care crisis doesn't serve the public well.
Rather, the public's best interest is met when health-care providers work together in an environment of mutual respect, support and cooperation.
DON ECKENROTH
President and CEO
Gentle Shepherd Hospice
ROANOKE
LENGTH: Medium: 98 linesby CNB