ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 12, 1996 TAG: 9612120045
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: What's on your mind?
SOURCE: RAY REED
Q: Doesn't the appointment of Madeleine Albright to be secretary of state make her third in line for the presidency, and isn't this the highest office ever held by a woman in government? S.L.S., Roanoke
A: Madeleine Albright, assuming her appointment is confirmed by the Senate, would become fifth in succession to the presidency.
The Constitution puts the vice president second in line in case the president leaves office or becomes incapacitated.
The Presidential Succession Act sets out the order in case both the president and vice president are unable to perform the duties. They are:
Third in line: speaker of the House, currently Newt Gingrich. Fourth: president pro tem of the Senate, currently Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. Fifth: secretary of state, soon to be Albright.
Would this put Albright in the highest office ever held by a woman in our country? No, but secretary of state is the highest-ranking Cabinet post and closest in succession to the presidency.
The highest office held by a woman is Supreme Court justice and the first was Sandra Day O'Connor. Next came Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
While they don't command any departments, O'Connor and Ginsburg have power. O'Connor has been the swing vote in several Supreme Court rulings, notably those limiting abortion.
Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion that opened VMI to women. She's also a voice against capital punishment, though currently a minority one.
Janet Reno, as attorney general, is eighth in line of succession and as of now the highest-ranking woman in the executive branch.
Elizabeth Dole held two Cabinet posts, neither as high as Reno's. The posts are ranked by the date they were created; the first secretary of state was Thomas Jefferson in 1789.
Water's far away
Q: I live near Dixie Caverns on Twine Hollow Road near the Spring Hollow Reservoir, which is now supplying water to most of Roanoke County. Our wells are contaminated, but we don't have water yet from this new reservoir. Why are we not getting water piped to our homes? All the county ever did was put up a little house on the hill where we could get our drinking water in buckets. A.T., Roanoke County
A: The county doesn't plan to put a water line to your road, said Gary Robertson, head of the utilities department.
Dow Hollow Road is near you, however, and a line is planned there in a few years, Robertson said.
The best hope he offered was that you and your neighbors can petition the county to have a line extended to your homes then. This option is available to people with failing wells.
It's a cost-sharing arrangement, with each homeowner paying a share. For example, if there were 20 houses on the line's route, each home that connected would pay 1/20th of the cost. Owners who don't connect immediately would pay that amount if they hooked up later.
One other possibility is open, though: If development occurs in your neighborhood, it could bring in a water line quicker.
Got 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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