The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, April 2, 1995                  TAG: 9503310217
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS      PAGE: 06   EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Letter 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   69 lines

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - PORTSMOUTH

Thanks to kind neighbor

I would like to thank my neighbor, Carleen Smith, who is trying so hard to clean some of the ``trash'' in our neighborhood. She picks up toys and puts them where they belong.

Just a sample of what we have to put up with. Recently I was in front of my home at 5:45 a.m. picking up 16 pieces of small candy covers and bags and banana peels. I am 81 years old and I like my lawn clean and free of trash.

Carleen Smith is a good worker and a good leader. She should get some help. God bless her.

Alice H. Iman

Webster Avenue

March 26, 1995 Wake up, Sleepy Hole

What is going on at Sleepy Hole Golf Course is basically the privatization of a public facility for personal profit. This is hardly worth a cover story in The Currents. I would think the newspaper's reaction to this would be more objective, rather than the free publicity the cover story provided.

Let's take a look at the facts.

The golf course (while not the park and campground) was being profitably managed at the old fee structure. In addition, city residents received a discount off the green fees at their municipal course which was one benefit we no longer enjoy. No municipal golf course that is part of a city park system in this area charges fees as high as those going into effect on April 1 at Sleepy Hole. It's now less expensive to play at some bona fide country clubs than at our municipal facility. It's very hard to see how anyone had the interest of the golf-playing resident at heart here.

The area is fairly full of expensive semiprivate and public courses. What was lacking, and still is, was a decent, affordable public facility. Sleepy Hole, while no Pebble Beach, was good enough to rate three stars in Golf Digest. The only local course rated above it was Hell's Point at Sandbridge, as I recall. Now, Sleepy Hole has effectively priced itself right out of consideration, regardless of what improvements are made. We are all making our arrangements to play elsewhere - and permanently.

It is a growing concern in the sport of golf that new courses being built are pricing themselves out of reach of all but the wealthiest golfers. It is sad to see a public facility following this trend. Portsmouth doesn't need any more ``country clubs.'' It needs precisely what it is losing: a decent, affordable, public golf course.

Craig L. Barry

Woodside Lane

March 27, 1995 Don't axe lunches

When I read in the paper about the school lunch issue, I thought to myself, ``Why would they want to take away free lunches from children who need them?''

It's about time that the taxpayers' money is being used right. Now they want to take that away, too.

Look, some people can't afford lunch, so why take free lunch aweay? I think it's about time the U.S. started helping their own people, because most of the time the U.S. will help other countries first. Don't get me wrong. That's good that we help others, but we have to help our own first.

KeJuan Lawrence

Old Virginia Road, Chesapeake

March 27, 1995 by CNB