ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, March 12, 1997 TAG: 9703120034
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: LETTERS
Clinton has sold Lincoln's great legacy
IT IS DIFFICULT to conceive why President Clinton would allow overnight guests to sleep in Lincoln's bedroom. To use this shrine to a great president for financial gain is inconceivable. This hallowed ground and sacred place is not to be desecrated.
To offer a legacy to Lincoln as a reward for campaign contributions is outrageous. Is this how we honor a great president and orator? This was no ordinary man. He was destined to be a leader during an extraordinary time in our history.
However, when you consider Clinton's questionable financial ventures, it becomes less difficult to believe. Whatever he achieves from now on will be insignificant to me.
The issues pertaining to Whitewater, marijuana and infidelity didn't deter me from voting for Clinton. But his use of Lincoln's bedroom is the last straw. I believe this is an impeachable offense, reason for him to be removed from office.
America is proud of its heritage, and I hope America will let Clinton know this.
WILLIAM D. STALLARD
ROANOKE
Development's atrocious reach
IN RESPONSE to J. Colville Lambert's Feb. 19 letter to the editor, ``Why not develop Mill Mountain?'':
He said that he had no objections to ``improving our assets.'' Let me assure him that never in the history of humankind has man improved upon the assets of nature, except for a few occasions of irrigating desert areas, which often became deserts in the first place due to human ignorance.
It's already atrocious that developers are planning to develop along the Blue Ridge Parkway and drain more of the ecosystems and the beauty of the mountains. To further ruin the mountains, the natural ecosystem and beauty of the one area in this part of Virginia that is established to educate people about wildlife, natural plants and environmental awareness would be an absolute sacrilege. It would be a desecration to the area and to humanity within our vicinity.
In no way should there be any further consideration to develop within the area of Mill Mountain Zoo or anywhere nearby!
SAMUEL E. COFFEY
MONETA
Churches have been education's champions
REGARDING ALLIE Light's statement (Feb. 23 commentary, ``The patronizing priesthood of physicians'') that ``people were once put to death by the church for owning books'':
Cite me a case of this having happened. Nowhere can this be documented.
For 2,000 years, the church has led the way in education - from the most basic elementary- and secondary-school systems to founding great universities worldwide. Mathematics, sciences, astronomy, the arts - no field has been ignored.
The church preserved the knowledge of the ancient world through the Dark Ages. Had it not been for the church, we probably wouldn't know that Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Cicero, the Caesars and countless others had even existed.
Light's statement is asinine, untrue and calls into question the merit of the main point she was trying to make.
ROBERT BOWEN
PEARISBURG
Benefits will flow from smart road
YOUR FEB. 24 news article on the economic potential of the ``smart'' road (``High hopes for smart road rewards'') emphasized how important this project is to Southwest Virginia.
We believe most people realize that the new road will reduce the time it takes to get from Interstate 81 to Virginia Tech. Anything that improves the traffic flow is important to Montgomery County, Christiansburg and Blacksburg, and to the Virginia Department of Transportation. That is welcome news for those of us who regularly make that trip.
However, the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce and other chambers throughout the region see greater benefits associated with the smart road. The article helped explain some of what we're talking about.
The smart road will contribute directly to Tech's transportation-research program. That research will spin off private industry and high-tech jobs for the region, and the research will make all roads across America and the world safer and more environmentally sound in the future.
The jobs generated are the kind we want in this region. They will be higher-paying and more stable, which will have a positive impact on people's lives. Industry executives from firms like Ford Motor Corp. and Allied Signal call the smart road ``impressive" and "exciting" from a business perspective. That excitement can be used to positively leverage our region for future economic development.
The opportunity is here; we just have to use it. If we don't, another region will. We have a responsibility as a region to take advantage of those things that will provide us positive, stable and controllable growth. The Roanoke and New River valleys must aggressively embrace this opportunity and make it work for us and for our future.
DANIEL G. OAKEY
Vice President, Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce
ROANOKE
Killers must pay for their crimes
REGARDING your Feb. 27 news article, ``Execution raises Va. toll to second-highest in U.S.'':
The message is loud and clear that the "wages of sin is death.'' Why was Coleman Gray trembling as he walked to the execution chamber?
Let's not forget what Jesus said: ``And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
LINDA H. OLIVER
SALEM
Slaves weren't given any respect
IN RESPONSE to Nina McCormick's question: ``Why do I never hear persons of African descent say they are proud of the part their forebears played in the making of our great country'' (Feb. 28 letter to the editor, ``Blacks should decry state song's demise'')?
Persons of African descent weren't allowed credit for all their contributions. Read your history (black). Seems if ol' massa owned the slave, he took credit for the slave's intelligence.
Regardless of race, it isn't pleasant to be forced to work for free, to have sex whenever ol' massa wants to, and to accept any treatment given you. Respect for ol' massa and his family was forced. No respect was ever given.
I really can't find in history where George Washington, Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson deserved any black person's respect. But Martin Luther King was a great leader for black people.
MARY L. LEAR
ROANOKE
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