ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, June 30, 1996                  TAG: 9607010010
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
                                             TYPE: LETTERS 

BETHEL BACKERS NEED TO KNOW FACTS

As a parent of two children at Bethel Elementary, I am concerned about the small group of individuals who want to keep Bethel Elementary open. Where were these people during two years of planning?

Numerous meetings were held, notices were sent home with children of these meetings, but very few parents attended. Now that everything has been finalized, a few people are stating that they would prefer to keep Bethel open.

Needless to say, I am not one of these individuals. A lot of the problem is that some of

By not attending the various meetings, these individuals have not been well informed. I would like to state a few facts:

Keeping Bethel open will not affect the after-school programs at Bethel. Everything that is currently held at Bethel is held at Riner also. It will also give our children a greater opportunity to participate in other after-school activities not offered at Bethel.

There is a great need for before-and after-school care in the Bethel area. At Riner, our children would have a greater opportunity to participate in after-school activities. Riner has programs such as the Adventure Club that Bethel does not qualify for because we did not have the minimal number of pupils.

Bethel has minimal recreational facilities (such as a gym) for the children to participate in such sports as basketball and volleyball. Even the small baseball field was decreased in size because of the expansion of Tyler Avenue.

The bus ride will be approximately 10 minutes longer, but the children will have to make this adjustment when they begin sixth grade at any rate.

Bethel is alongside a four-lane highway and one-half mile from Interstate 81, which has always been a great concern of mine.

There are six trailers at Bethel, and the enrollment is continuously growing. This school is landlocked, and expansion is out of the question. With the increased enrollment, the student/teacher ratio will increase greatly.

With the hospital coming, the addition of the four-lane road and the numerous subdivisions and trailer courts being developed, the "Bethel community" is a thing of the past.

It is difficult for our children to join the Riner students in the sixth grade and feel as if they belong. If our children went to school together through elementary school, this adjustment would not be necessary.

It is time for the Bethel and Riner communities to pull together for our children. The new school will offer many opportunities to our children that they will not have if Bethel remains open.

Ed Stike

Christiansburg

Blacksburg folk show hospitality to hiker

I'd heard of Blacksburg, Va., several times over the years as my work seemed to revolve around cyberspace. Months ago, I resigned that work to pursue what I hoped would be a more human endeavor - a through-hike on the Appalachian Trail.

And Blacksburg came back in a truly human way. I have spent five days as a delighted guest of Tech graduate and Blacksburg resident Jonathan Shultz while some swollen tendons subside and I respond to several weeks' worth of correspondence from home.

But I feel more a guest of the community than of Jonathan alone. The hospitality bestowed on an errant hiker (the trail doesn't even come through here) is stunning.

Boots purchased in Seattle were showing signs of undue wear. Mark, at Blue Ridge Outdoors, offered to replace them immediately while his colleague, John, suggested a brilliant alternative to hiking in brand-new boots. The care was sincere.

The folks at SEED (a nonprofit educational group that deserves much support) were kind enough to drive me about for a bit in their van. Heather Switzer, a Virginia Tech teacher, proved herself an excellent tour guide of the campus's botanical delights.

The Cellar provided a special treat, Seattle's Red Hook, as the Sonics fell to the Bulls, and Bollo's brought me straight home with wonderful coffee and yummy bread.

Scott at Ewald Clark brought me bubble wrap from his house to wrap my camera, while the facilities at the marvelous new library allowed a quick check of Web sites I follow and occasionally contribute to.

So, what is community? An issue that anthropologists and sociologists can debate forever. I'd just answer Blacksburg.

Christopher Martin

Seattle

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