ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 28, 1996 TAG: 9604270001
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
READING ``Almost satisfied in Salem'' (April 22 news article), I noticed not a word was mentioned about taxes. This made me wonder if there were any substantial business leaders or landowners among those interviewed.
Perhaps I might inject a little different perspective on the subject of living in Salem.
While Salem is a fine place to live, with education and services second to none, it's expensive for the small-business owner. Real-estate, personal-property and business-license taxes can cost in the neighborhood of $8,000 to $10,000 per year! Operating a small to medium business with buildings and just one acre of property, along with paying one's own personal-property and real-estate taxes, would cost a business owner around $300,000 for a 30-year stint in Salem.
That would make a decent retirement for a lot of people. It takes money to run a city, but I didn't vote for the baseball stadium because I didn't think I could afford it. You can imagine how I felt when the price doubled!
The problem is that the majority of those voting on public capital projects don't feel the tax sting endured by the small-business owner. I know the city fathers would say that our tax rate is in line with other localities and it's better than some, but that doesn't make me feel any better.
My message is for those who will be elected to Salem City Council: Professional ballparks, Olympic swimming pools and championship golf courses are nice, but I really can't afford them.
TONY WILLIAMS
SALEM
What's PC now may be offensive later
SOME THOUGHTS regarding our state song, "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia."
The trouble, according to a very few, is the word "darkie" in the song. Word meanings and usage constantly change. In my youth, if you called someone "gay," it was a compliment. Call someone "gay" today and you may wind up in a fight.
A word currently undergoing change is "correct." It means "accurate, truthful and right." That all changes when the word "politically" is placed in front of it. The politically correct complainers who wish to change the song should recognize that what's politically correct today may change meaning tomorrow, and become unacceptable because it has offended someone.
What does ``offended" mean? Is every offended person to be accommodated? If so, then all Catholic, Baptist and Holiness churches must go; all U.S., Confederate, state and Christian flags must go; there can be no reference to Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, George Washington, Martin Luther King, the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the Ku Klux Klan.
Our state song isn't being sung as it once was because of a gag order started by former state Senator and Gov. Doug Wilder. Without even the pretense of consulting the majority of state voters, he saw to it that the song can't be used at official state functions or in public schools. Politically correct complainers argue that this somehow improved Virginia's society.
Removing all things offensive won't make this a better society. To the contrary, we'll all be worse off. Correct, not politically correct, education and a change in personal attitudes will help our society move in a positive direction, not changing the state song.
As a postscript: In my latest book, ``Civil War Tales Vol. II,'' I document that "Carry Me Back to Old Virginia" was not written by James Bland. The song was being sung when he was only 3 years old.
GARY C. WALKER
ROANOKE
It's litter - no butts about it
I RECENTLY moved to Roanoke from Washington, D.C. I was drawn here by the people, the scenery and the beautiful, old community with a sense of pride and history. In the short time I've been here, I've come to accept that many people smoke cigarettes. I believe everyone has the right to make decisions affecting their own body, and I begrudge no one the right to smoke.
However, it seems that every sidewalk and every intersection is covered with disgusting cigarette butts. As I walk down Jefferson Street, I watch drivers flick lit cigarettes from their cars. I see people downtown, standing next to a trash can, throw their butts on the ground next to it. Is there some unwritten law in Roanoke that this is somehow not littering? These same good people would never think about throwing a McDonald's bag out their window. I'm sure many of them are avid recyclers and care about our environment.
I've confronted smoking friends about the problem, and have heard some interesting rationalizations. One mentioned that cigarette butts are so small. Maybe so, but the volume of butts defeats that argument. There are millions of butts on the ground.
Another friend enlightened me to the fact that the brand he smokes uses cotton filters. This allows the butts to biodegrade and might actually, in the future, be beneficial for the environment. Interesting theory, but I don't think the butts will biodegrade for several generations. They will be around for our grandchildren to enjoy. It puzzles me that intelligent members of the community do not relate cigarette waste products and garbage.
Some of my smoking friends carry around a zip-lock baggy in their pockets. They extinguish their cigarettes and put them in the bag, which they dispose of later. Why not give it a try? Don't hurl your butts from your car, and I won't throw McDonald's trash on the steps of City Hall.
SAM CARLSON
ROANOKE
Williamson Road has lost its quality
WHAT HAS happened to Williamson Road?
Gone are the days of locally owned, nice restaurants like the Oasis, Canary Cottage, Archie's Lobster House, Plaza Restaurant, Dave's Roadside Inn, Gill's Hamburger House, Toot's Drive-In, Bob's Drive-In and Lendy's. You could get a good meal at a reasonable price. We need some good, locally owned restaurants that have variety on the menu - like Coach and Four, Charcoal Steak House and Sassy's. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, Chinese-food and fish houses are everywhere. We don't need more!
Williamson Road at one time was a community that had just about everything you needed for everyday living: Oakland Elementary School, William Fleming High School, Lee Theater, Newman's 5 & 10, Barr's Department Store, Parsell's Pie Shop, Michael's Bakery, Bowles' Bakery, Painter's and Crouch's Pharmacy, Kroger, Mick-or-Mack, Bibee's Super Markets, Kay's Ice Cream, Deluxe Laundry and Cleaners, banks, and a gasoline station on just about every corner. It was once known as "Gasoline Alley.''
Most of those places are gone now. We have 30 car lots and seven furniture-rental stores from Orange Avenue to Crossroads Mall.
It's time City Council and real-estate companies started working toward bringing something to Williamson Road besides car lots and fast-food joints. Get some good restaurants again.
GEORGE A. STULTZ
ROANOKE
Kids aren't drugged indiscriminately
I WAS very offended by the cartoon on your April 12 Opinion page regarding Ritalin and school lunches.
I'm in the eighth grade, and schools don't shell out Ritalin to everybody who has a problem just to make them shut up. They do it to help students if they can't concentrate. Doctor, teachers and parents consult to make sure it's safe.
I should know because I have attention-deficit disorder, and it isn't fun to have. If you could only understand how it feels not to be able to concentrate and not to do that well in school. The cartoonist must not know a whole lot about attention-deficit disorder, but I have it and I have to live with it. I'm glad my parents and I made the choice for Ritalin.
When my dad was growing up, he had attention-deficit disorder. Nobody knew much about it, and so he had to suffer. The condition is better understood in the '90s. That's the reason you hear more about it.
Parents on the verge of getting Ritalin for their children should do it. The cartoon isn't the truth.
CALEB DAWSON
ROANOKE
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