ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610070007
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
TYPE: LETTERS
While Montgomery County Board of Supervisors member Jim Moore may have thought his Sept. 9 resolution "got the ball rolling" on the Blacksburg Middle School issue, he actually constrained the project with a ball and chain. The Board of Supervisors already has an anti-schools bias and an anti-Blacksburg bias and his resolution played right into that mix.
Instead of being able to seek a good long-term solution, the School Board has been locked into having to make due with the current middle school site, which is marginally adequate at best. Moore has ignored the past lessons about landlocked school sites. The opportunity exists to locate a new school on a large site in the north end of the county, along with some much-needed county recreational facilities, but Moore has effectively killed that option.
Moore's resolution also rolled over a lot of time and effort by many volunteers, rendering their donations and input meaningless. By sneaking the resolution into a meeting with no advance notice, he blocked the opportunity for an open dialogue about the validity of this action. He used the phantom constituency of "keeping the Middle School downtown will help the downtown." There has yet to be any valid evidence produced that shows that Blacksburg Middle School plays a critical role in the vitality of downtown Blacksburg. What this has done is placed the educational needs of the students second to the economic desires of the downtown merchants.
Instead of locking the School Board into making due with a pittance, the Board of Supervisors should be working hard to make sure Montgomery County has one of the best school systems in Southwest Virginia. Cheap and quick fixes may play well with the fiscally conservative residents of the county, but such solutions are putting the future of the county, our children, in a bad situation.
Bruce B. Harper
Blacksburg
Don't delay a BMS decision
Why does the quality of education for our children have to suffer? This past week I attended an open house at the Blacksburg Middle School. I have attended many open houses at BMS and will attend more since my youngest son is presently in the fifth grade. The faculty and staff at BMS are professional and dedicated people. Yet, it continues to amaze me how they function and strive to teach our children under stressful conditions. The existing facility was designed to accommodate several hundred fewer students than are presently there.
The overcrowding at BMS should not be a surprise to either the School Board or the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. I find it inexcusable that no action has yet been taken to alleviate the overcrowded condition in the second-largest school in the county. While the political squabbling continues as whether to renovate, build a new school on the existing site, build a new school on a new site, etc., our children and teachers suffer the consequences.
I personally prefer that the school be kept downtown if at all possible and am sympathetic to the teachers, parents and students who do not want the school occupied while under construction. The present location makes BMS a community school and this would be lost if it is located outside of town. The decay of downtown Blacksburg will continue to erode with the loss of the school. I don't want the school to become an island to which all students are driven and bused and the school and playgrounds become empty at 3 p.m.
What compromises can be reached to appease all concerned? Is the construction of a new facility on the existing site acceptable? Can the children be schooled in a temporarily facility while the building is being renovated?
Action needs to be taken now otherwise our children's education will continue to suffer! Our children are the town's greatest resource and I along with many others do not want to see their education hindered and lessened unnecessarily. Whatever is decided ... please for the sake of our children ... let's do it now!
Patrick J. Donohoe Jr.
Blacksburg
Muldoon a loose cannon
On Sept. 22, I watched a public television program "At Issue," which featured Republican congressional candidate Patrick Muldoon. During the program, Muldoon was critical of 9th District Congressman Rick Boucher's success in obtaining $96.5 million in federal funding for the federal maximum security prison to be built in Lee County.
Muldoon is certainly not in step with Republican elected and appointed leaders. State Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott County, and state Sen. William Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, appeared at the groundbreaking ceremonies of two state maximum security prisons in Southwest Virginia.
The Lee County federal high security prison is expected to employ approximately 500 people. In addition to the jobs created and money spent during the construction of the facility, the prison is also anticipated to annually contribute more than $20 million to the local economy.
Muldoon appears to be a loose cannon, firing unfounded criticisms at Boucher's many successes in the "Showcasing Southwest Virginia" program. Citizens of the 9th District deserve better than Muldoon. We can be thankful that Boucher's leadership is helping to create jobs right here in Southwest Virginia.
David Ray
Appalachia
Remember fire safety
Every 15 seconds, a fire department responds to a fire somewhere in the United States. Nationwide, there is a civilian fire death every 123 minutes. About 80 percent of all U.S. fire deaths occur in home fires.
Three major causes of home fires in the United States are cooking equipment, heating equipment and smoking materials. Simply being alert, specifically watching what we heat, can prevent the majority of home fires. The nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, headquartered in Quincy, Mass., and the Pulaski Fire Department offer the following advice to help you prevent home fires.
Cooking equipment is the leading cause of home fires. Most fires in the kitchen happen because cooking is left unattended. Watch the food on the stove, so you'll be able to respond quickly if something goes wrong. It's also important to pay attention to the cooking area and remove hazards, such as pot holders, knick-knacks or other combustibles placed too close to burners.
Heating equipment is the leading cause of homes fires during the winter, according to NFPA. As with cooking equipment, keep an eye on space and portable heaters, wood stoves and fireplaces. Remember the three foot rule: Measure a safe distance between heating equipment and anything that can burn.
Fires caused by smoking materials kill more people than any other cause of fire. If you have smokers in your home, you need to be particularly careful. Careless disposal is the major culprit. Always flush ashtray contents or douse them with water before placing in the trash. Watch your matches and lighters and keep them up high, out of sight and preferably in a locked cabinet - away from children.
The things we heat at home put us at great risk from fire. Being alert and prepared can eliminate a disaster! And don't forget to start with the basics: smoke detectors. Make sure your home has working smoke detectors on every level and outside each sleeping area. Test them monthly. For more information, call the Pulaski Fire Department at 980-3772.
Lt. C.H. Hutchinson
Fire Marshal
Pulaski
New chamber stance criticized
As a former member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce who two years ago moved to Giles County, I must write to express my disappointment - even my dismay - at the pitiful response made by the current executive board of the newly named Blacksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce to Barry Evans' searching letter of Sept. 15.
For those who missed it, Evans expressed his concern that the Blacksburg chamber no longer works to cooperate with other chambers in the New River Valley to promote the region. Not only does the chamber no longer cooperate, charged Evans, it is developing advisory groups in competing areas such as Giles County; had announced a so-called "joint mixer" with members of both the Blacksburg and Giles chambers and was following an inclusive and self-achieving agenda. Evans then challenged the members of the Blacksburg Chamber to return to a policy of regional cooperation. I applauded the letter when I read it.
Now comes the Blacksburg chamber response, printed Sept. 29. This response is appalling.
What do the Blacksburg chamber's leaders have to say to Evans' charges? Do they respond? Do they explain why they have chosen to take an independent, non-cooperative stance in regional activities? No. Here's what they said:
They bought their own building; they've increased membership; they're a strong voice for business.
Now, I'm not opposed to patting oneself on the back occasionally. Perhaps the formerly named Greater Blacksburg Chamber was a "weary, struggling and under-performing organization" (as their letter refers to it) during the time I was on the board of directors. Perhaps I, and my other fellow board members, could have and should have worked harder to buy a building and increase membership and be a stronger voice.
But why choose to become bigger and better by going it alone? Why work for the "betterment of the business community throughout the New River Valley" from Blacksburg alone, rather than cooperating in the regional coalition? Do they really think that the sun of the New River Valley rises and sets in Blacksburg?
I believe the best position for the entire New River Valley is that each county or city have its own chamber to focus on immediate and specialized needs and they all work together as a coalition to promote the regional needs. The lack of cooperation among the Roanoke Valley chambers in the past should be a lesson.
Barry Evans raised some valid points, and they deserve an answer from the Blacksburg Chamber's Board. And if satisfactory answers are not forthcoming, I join with Barry and would ask my friends in that chamber to rethink their new direction and take appropriate action.
Don Clements
Narrows
Memories of Dole's WWII service
I am a World War II veteran and no, Bob Dole did not win World War II by himself. No, Dole did not take any mountains in Italy. I was there. Dole did not do any training in the Rocky Mountains at Camp Hale, near Vail, Colo. No, Dole did not stay in those rough mountains for six weeks and back to camp for about two weeks of rest.
I helped take those mountains from the Germans in Italy. I know a lot of GIs who didn't get to come home, some came home in bad condition; we lost about half of our GIs in those mountains and had to get replacements.
Dole was one of those replacements. He came to us when he got out of officer candidate school, after about two or so months of training and receiving his gold bars as a second lieutenant. Dole was wounded soon after he got with the 10th Mountain Division, which was very unfortunate.
But veterans do not think much of Dole for trying to make everyone think he won World War II by himself. I was just down the road with my outfit when Dole was injured.
I am a member of the National Association of the 10th Mountain Division, I belong to the D.C. Chapter; so does Dole. He never has attended any of our conventions. His office would send a letter to be read at the convention, but that was all.
I am very sorry Dole was wounded. I guess it's just the way the cards fall or whatever. If Dole would like to know what World War II was all about in the mountains and Po Valley of Italy, I am sure any veteran of the 10th Mountain Division would be happy to sit down and go over it with him. It was rough training in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado for combat, and it was awful rough fighting in the mountains of Italy. Sorry Bob, just telling it like it was.
Emmett J. Long Sr.
Blacksburg
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