ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997                TAG: 9701060102
SECTION: EDITORIAL                PAGE: A-4  EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: LETTERS 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tech fans showed little class

MY WIFE and I have just returned from a very enjoyable trip to Miami to watch Tech play Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

Your Jan. 1 article, ``Fans killing 'em with kindness,'' written by Christina Nuckols, was very interesting. I fully agree that the Nebraska fans exhibited nothing but class and respect in their actions. However, I got a different impression of our fans' actions. I have never understood why our fans boo the opposing team's members when they come on the field.

Nebraska has earned the respect that it deserves. We are the newcomers trying to gain respect, and Nebraska's fans didn't boo our team. If we can't outcheer them, let's not boo them.

Another thing that bugs me is that our fans never seem to know when our national anthem is over before they interrupt with cheering. To me, this is disrespectful and disgusting.

Our football team has been through a lot of adversity during this past season, and we hear much about the negatives, but we have a lot of great young men on this team. They played their hearts out, and played possibly the best team in the country evenly for almost three quarters, but just didn't have the depth in numbers to finish it off. The team and the coaching staff have my utmost respect.

HAROLD W. GREENE

COVINGTON

Why Gingrich needs to stay

IN RESPONSE to your Dec. 31 editorial, ``Why Gingrich needs to go,'' here's why Newt Gingrich needs to remain as speaker of the House.

His re-election will send the signal that the House of Representatives should follow his leadership during the 105th Congress. Newt has studied history and has prepared a fine college course, "Renewing American Civilization,'' which documents the failure of liberalism and suggests compassionate, conservative solutions. I believe he would like to present his ideas to the 105th Congress and to the rest of this country so that we can move from a failed welfare state to a compassionate opportunity society.

The editorial compares the fund-raising activities of Gingrich with the actions of former Speaker Jim Wright and President Bill Clinton. It concedes that ``no evidence suggests Gingrich used the power of his office to illicitly line his own pockets, as Wright did.'' It calls Gingrich's fund raising ``systemic political corruption,'' and tries to equate this with the repeated fund-raising efforts that Bill Clinton has conducted in the White House, the Commerce Department, Buddhist temples, etc.

Newt's opponents in Congress include Richard Gephardt, the minority leader who is from Missouri but has a $700,000 residence in North Carolina that he is trying to keep quiet about. Rep. David Bonior, Newt's chief accuser, is trying to hide the fact that he used questionable ethics to get Mrs. Bonior on the government payroll. These two moral midgets should not judge Gingrich any more harshly than they judge themselves.

The entire country could benefit if Newt's detractors would concentrate more on how to lead this country from a failed welfare state to a compassionate opportunity society.

EARL ABBOTT

ROANOKE

Gas rates are burning customers

SEVERAL YEARS ago, Roanoke Gas Company's customers fought against Roanoke city's buying the gas company and we won. I have regretted more than once taking a part in this. Soon after, the gas company started increasing the rates it charges.

Now, Roanoke Gas is increasing its rates by about 25 percent. My gas bill will go up about $20 a month.

With utility costs going up and nothing but sports in the newspaper and on television and radio, I think I will buy a wood-burning stove and go back to heating like in the old times. Living was much better then. I'm fed up with all of it.

MAE D. JONES

ROANOKE

Speed isn't post-office priority

THE U.S. Postal Service has been doing a lot of advertising for its priority-mail service.

We recently received a package from California that cost the sender $3.75 in postage. It took 11 days for the package to arrive. Likewise, a first-class letter from Georgia took six days to arrive. I can drive that distance in eight hours.

Great service.

T.M. MARTIN

BEDFORD

LENGTH: Medium:   89 lines