ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 1996 TAG: 9612030104
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's On Your Mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: I suspect that somebody (probably a student) is getting money by providing pornographic materials on a public computer of Virginia Tech. Isn't it illegal to use university public resources for commercial purpose? I sent e-mail to the university, but nobody moved on this. K.
A: Virginia Tech's information systems department checked out the e-mail addresses you provided.
Tech concluded the pornographic material (if that's what it is) resides in a privately owned computer on the student's desk, said Michael Williams, associate vice president for information systems.
The computer's phone-line connection to the outside world is not much different, legally, from university lines that are used for phones in students' rooms.
Public resources aren't being abused; the user is paying for the phone line. The student apparently is within his legal rights, especially when the free-speech aspects of the First Amendment are considered.
Nevertheless, Williams said school officials will talk to the student on the subject of preserving the university's image and about being a good citizen on the World Wide Web.
Holiday openings
Q: When will Salem Avenue be open again at Second Street in downtown Roanoke? R.L., Roanoke
When will the Walnut Avenue bridge reconstruction be completed?
J.T., Roanoke
A: Salem Avenue is expected to reopen this week, according to engineers with Roanoke city and the state Department of Transportation.
Although the new Second Street Bridge won't be complete until spring, its intersection with Salem Avenue was paved recently.
The Walnut Avenue bridge's contractor hopes to have traffic flowing by Christmas. That's a goal, not a promise.
Both of these schedules depend on the weather, naturally.
U.S. 460 concerns
Q: A Virginia Department of Transportation employee told me recently the two-mile stretch of U.S. 460 in the Glenvar area is now in the six-year plan for widening. Can you verify this?
Also, there's some utility-line work being done here. What's the story on that?H.B., Salem; R.W., Roanoke County
A: This section of road did not make it into the six-year plan approved in June, although industries and residents' groups asked for the improvements.
That doesn't mean the heavy traffic is being ignored; six-year plans can take on a new appearance in just a year's time under certain conditions - usually involving development.
The utility-line work is a sewer project by Roanoke County, which is extending a line in partnership with Salem and some businesses on 460 that had septic problems.
The $175,000 project is expected to be completed in the spring.
Have a question about something that might affect other people, too? Something you've come across and wondered about? Call us at 981-3118. Or, e-mail RayR@Roanoke.Infi.Net. Maybe we can find the answer.
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