THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 14, 1994 TAG: 9408130119
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Ugly or not, the sight of an old car propped up on cinder-blocks in somebody's yard has a certain Southern country charm. There was a time when they were about as common as wringer washers on front porches and ramshackle, tin-roofed outhouses.
But times have changed. Park a rusty jalopy in the yard nowadays and you're likely to rile up your neighbors something fierce.
That's what's behind the recent crackdown by the Chesapeake Police Department to find and tow away old automobiles. Citizens whose esthetic sensibilities had been offended by the old wrecks called City Hall to demand that something be done.
Already this month, 1,200 old cars have been towed away to the city impoundment. Police Chief Ian Shipley has ordered a neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweep to seek out and eliminate the blight wherever they find it.
The cops intend to haul away any car that has flat tires or missing parts or that has an expired inspection sticker, invalid license plates or an out-of-date city decal. To get their vehicles back, owners will have to pay hefty towing and storage fees.
A jalopy-owner's only recourse is to park inside a garage or behind a privacy fence. The serious hobbyist - says the guy who spends his weekends rebuilding his '57 Chevy - will have to learn to be a little more careful about appearances.
Old-timers might complain that the police should find better things to do with their time, but they'd be wasting their breath. Chesapeake's a city now, and we'll have to get used to citified ways.
KEYWORDS: CHESAPEAKE POLICE DEPARTMENT
by CNB