ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130038
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-14 EDITION: METRO
BUZZARDS, like prisons and landfills, have to go someplace. But who can blame New River Valley residents for their Not-In-My-Back-Yard attitude toward them? And Yankee buzzards, at that!
No, we can't imagine many downstate residents who'd cheer a proposal to import some 200 Northern Virginia vultures into their community. Not only do black vultures attack livestock, but they've been known to tear up cars, boats and roofs. Plus, as Martin Lowney of the U.S. Department of Agriculture concedes, with vultures comes a general feeling of doom and gloom.
Alas, some ``lucky'' Virginia locale is likely to get it: a shipment of buzzards to be rounded up by Lowney in Leesburg, which has a big problem with the scavengers. But no black birds for Blacksburg. He has ruled out the New River Valley, where rumors had been flying about the vultures' imminent arrival.
Lowney says he's not yet decided on a destination. Well, don't make it Roanoke - not unless Northern Virginia is willing to take Roanoke's pigeons and crows, the number of which makes Leesburg's buzzard population look sparse.
LENGTH: Short : 31 linesby CNB