THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503290157
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Our City Council has assured us that minorities need not be concerned with their ascension to power because they have been and always will be well represented in the city of Chesapeake.
The most recent move to extend the School Board hearings cast some doubt on this claim. Two highly qualified black women have applied and are supported by the community, yet the council found the need to do a further search.
May I bring this to their attention: There has not been a black female on the School Board for more than a decade.
I sincerely hope the promise of equal and fair representation will take this fact into consideration.
Beatrice Hudson
Willow Bend Drive Food stamp service
I am writing in response to the article entitled ``New food stamp system criticized,'' which appeared in the March 9 issue of The Clipper.
In the article, it is reported that instead of renewing its contracts with Crestar Bank and the Bank of Hampton Roads for food stamp issuance, Chesapeake Social Services hired Cost Containment Inc. What was not stated in the article was that Crestar Bank, the primary issuing agent, elected not to renew its contract with Chesapeake Social Services because the long lines of food stamp recipients were creating some problems for its regular banking customers. It was also not mentioned that Chesapeake Social Services had worked with the banks for years, had been very satisfied with the arrangement, and would not have sought another issuing agent had Crestar been interested in renewing its contract.
The article indicated that some of the food stamp recipients in line at the Providence Road site were unhappy about obtaining their food coupons in a grocery store, as opposed to a bank. Only one other company besides Cost Containment submitted a bid to distribute the food coupons. It would have operated from at least one grocery store and would not have been able to have been open every day.
The article states that, after receiving some complaints about the food stamp lines, Social Services sent out a letter asking people not to come before 11 a.m. to avoid forming a line. The notices were, in fact, sent in advance of the initial issuance so that food stamp recipients would be aware of the potential for lines if they arrived at the site too early.
Since food stamp issuance is the only service being provided by Cost Containment, the customers should move through the lines fairly quickly. As the article mentioned, once the line began to move, the wait was only about five minutes. In March, the Providence Road grocery store set up additional waiting space inside the store to prevent people from having to stand outdoors for any length of time. This was done to accommodate the food stamp customers and yet provide an orderly means of managing lines.
Because Social Services wanted its customers to be prepared for the change, it sent notices to them in December informing them that there would be a change in the issuing agent and in the procedures, beginning in February. In January, instructions and site assignments were mailed to all recipients. A hotline number was installed so the agency could respond to customers' questions and work out any problems.
Chesapeake Social Services is interested in seeing that its customers receive good service. There are a number of cities and counties that have only one food stamp issuance site. Because of the size of Chesapeake, Social Services wanted sites in several locations to better serve its customers.
Cost Containment was very amenable to locating sites in five areas of the city. They also agreed to remain open until 6 p.m. to accommodate people who work. We hope that in time our food stamp customers will find the new arrangements work to their benefit. As the article mentioned, they will no longer have to wait for a card to arrive in the mail before going to a site to obtain their food stamps. They have been given calendars for the year which indicate the date(s) that their coupons will be available at their site.
M. Jane Brockwell
Assistant Director
Chesapeake Department
of Social Services Blighted 'slums'
Chesapeake City Council has issued findings and declarations that large portions of the city have deteriorated so severely that these neighborhoods now ``constitute a menace to the health, safety, morals and welfare of the residents. . . '' and these areas ``impair economic values and tax revenues, and cause an increase in and spread of disease and crime.''
The blighted, drug infested, amoral slums so cited by city council include Miars Farms, Wellington, all new construction along Bruce Road, Winds of Silverwood, King James Colony, Ashley Woods, Bayberry Forest and many more.
Chesapeake City Council has specifically named these areas (and more) as redevelopment projects. Residents of these areas need to be especially alert, because once a city establishes a ``redevelopment project/conservation district'' the rules of eminent domain change. In fact, under a redevelopment project, the city has full authority to take private property for private and public use. In addition, redevelopment projects are the ``key'' to the federal coffers for obtaining federal funds to pay for new sidewalks, playgrounds, schools, underground utilities, etc.
For more information as to the blanket authority the city has given itself by naming your neighborhood a redevelopment project, read section 36-48 of the Code of Virginia.
And for heaven's sake, aren't we all entitled to a tax break for living in a slum?
Rosemary Fuller Thornton
Christopher Drive by CNB