ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 6, 1996 TAG: 9611060007
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
ROBIN SCOTT (Oct. 6 letter to the editor, ``An eyesore at downtown's entry'') plies Williamson Road daily, which is ``nice'' until she sees the deteriorating Shenandoah Hotel at Campbell Avenue. She suggests that it should come down because ``Roanoke needs a couple of extra tall buildings (taller than First Union) to make a nicer skyline.''
The hilarity of Williamson Road pleasing the eye and extra tall buildings making a nicer skyline made me assume the letter was a tongue-in-cheek appeal to Roanokers' higher sensibilities and it was a clever cue designed to make us look with pride at our mountainous skyline not much insulted by skyscrapers. I thought the letter was a twisted congratulation to Roanoke for its well-preserved historic districts that represent an architectural integrity many cities have lost to the wrecker's ball. On second reading, I realized Scott wasn't joking, and have been troubled ever since.
The Shenandoah Hotel is an important visual bookend to our historic downtown City Market area. Its builder was my great- grandfather, J.F. Barbour, whose imprint on the City Market also includes the Colonial Arms building, the Farmer's Supply (McGuire Building) that now houses Center in the Square, the white brick building at Wall Street and Campbell Avenue (where Peters Meat Market once was and Confeddy's is today), and the No. 1 Fire Station on Church Avenue. His architectural legacy is important to me and to Roanoke's vested interest in preserving our historic architectural integrity.
I hope the owner of the Shenandoah Hotel appreciates its rarity and saves it from further deterioration, and that Roanokers appreciate our rarefied environment. We are enriched beyond measure by mostly unbroken mountain views and remaining historic architectural landscapes. Those clamoring for Williamson Road aesthetics and torn skylines may fare better in Charlotte or Timbuktu.
Floor space downtown suffers high vacancy rates, so this isn't a time for the hotel to be an object of great expense. Likewise, new tall buildings can be expected to remain vacant (and tall). However, if Roanoke preserves its natural vistas and historic legacy, it will be one of the most attractive tourist destinations and places to live in this country during the next century.
ELIZABETH CLAY BARBOUR
ROANOKE
Don't expose kids to cigarette smoke
FOR YEARS, I traveled thousands of miles by car to Virginia, Texas, California, Florida and New Hampshire. And I've seen small babies to teen-agers traveling with their parents with car windows closed tight.
What does this have to do with traveling? Well, parents smoke in their cars, and their children are in there, too! If babies have to smell secondhand smoke from the time they are 3 weeks old until they are teen-agers, then how many packs have they smoked without putting one cigarette to their lips? How bad are their lungs from exposure to secondhand smoke?
Stop smoking, parents, in front of your kids. Give them a chance to breathe clean air until they are teen-agers and beyond. And just maybe they won't pick up a cigarette when they are older. Think about it, parents.
My parents smoked for years in the car and in the house, and I had to breathe it. There should be a law that stops parents from smoking in front of their kids.
And stop littering our streets with all those cigarette butts.
ROBERT CHANTAL
FLOYD
Kiss-and-tell saga had many versions
NOW THAT the story of the 6-year old boy who kissed a girl and was accused of sexual harassment has drawn worldwide attention and led to extensive analysis, it's pertinent to examine the role of media coverage in this case before being judgmental.
About the kiss: On Sept. 29, it was reported in The Chicago Tribune that the boy obliged a female first-grader's request for a kiss. In Ellen Goodman's Oct. 15 commentary in The Roanoke Times (``Young-kisser story has another side''), it was stated that the little girl complained to the teachers. And on Oct. 4, The Washington Post reported that a teacher spotted the boy planting a kiss on the cheek of a classmate.
About the punishment: The Washington Post (Oct. 3), as well as Peggy Orenstein's Oct. 6 commentary (``At school, it's not all pudd'n and pie'') in your newspaper, claimed that the boy was suspended for a day from school. This conflicts with Goodman's commentary saying that he wasn't suspended but was just sent to another room.
Was he really charged with sexual harassment? Several newspapers reported that he was. However, your Oct. 5 newspaper reported (``Punished kisser gets apology'') that he was accused only of unwelcome touching. On Oct. 4, The Washington Post stated that school officials initially accused him of sexual harassment, but backed down from this charge amid criticism.
Is this irresponsible journalism or willful distortion of facts by biased newspapers?
NISHA NAGARKATTI
BLACKSBURG
Did protester bother to read the book?
IN RESPONSE to Virginia Richmond's Oct. 11 letter to the editor, "A principal shields a child from porn":
Who is she to push her morals and beliefs on other people in the community? Granted, she has the right to believe that certain books are inappropriate for children, but to demand their immediate removal from the library is unfair to others. Did she actually read the book and discuss it with her child? Does she not realize that causing such an uproar over the book will more than likely only lead to more interest in it?
It was disheartening to see that the school principal gave in so easily to Richmond's bully tactics and immediately removed the book in question. As a librarian, I've seen this type of thing happen many times. If we do not stand up to people like her, our libraries of the future will only contain a handful of books that are deemed acceptable.
JEFF GRAVELINE
BLACKSBURG
More must join drug-abuse fight
I ATTENDED the Oct. 27 candlelight vigil at Hotel Roanoke sponsored by the Roanoke Valley Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Roanoke Area Youth Substance Abuse Coalition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving as part of Red Ribbon Week, the annual event that spotlights the problems associated with substance abuse. It was a very moving service commemorating the lives lost as a result of substance abuse, and rededicating the participants' efforts to the ongoing battle against this menace.
One of the speakers, a police officer, expressed concern that we seem to be fighting a losing battle here. He particularly noted that the media were represented by only a single radio station.
As a newcomer to the Roanoke Valley, I was somewhat surprised. Similar events usually receive more attention in other areas. While there was some advance coverage of the event in your newspaper, it apparently wasn't seen by many. Even those attending had learned of the vigil from other sources.
Red Ribbon Week, designed to raise community awareness of the problems of substance abuse, deserves the community's full attention and support.
KAY KOEHLER
ROANOKE
Naked pedestrian wasn't a prankster
YOUR OCT. 27 news article (``Hokie fan walks I-81 in the buff'') was incorrect and totally disrespectful of the man and his family.
I saw the incident take place from the beginning when the car pulled off to the side of the road. The man jumped out of the car and was followed by what appeared to be his parents. An older and very upset gentleman was trying to follow him and get him back into the car, while an older and even more upset woman followed behind, carrying his clothes. All three were clearly under a lot of stress. This was no joke or prank as the article suggested. They also were driving in a car with Ohio plates, and there were no Virginia Tech stickers, flags, etc.
As we drove down the road with the CB on, truck drivers were talking about how the man tried to hurt himself by darting out in front of the big trucks. He might have been handed a Tech pennant at some point, but he did not have anything of the kind when he got out of the car. The incident also took place in the southbound lane with the man headed north on foot.
Considering the seriousness of this incident, the article was a great injustice. Please investigate completely and carefully on your future stories.
YVETTE DUFFY
ROANOKE
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