THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504140201
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
Wolves here first
As Barry Cahoon put it, ``I read with great disgust'' his letter, ``Humans should be first,'' published in the March 25 edition of The Coast. What a joke!
Did you ever stop to wonder why some wildlife species are threatened, endangered, or extinct, Mr. Cahoon? If you did, you would figure out that some species have become extinct or are endangered of becoming extinct because we humans have always ``come first'' for so long.
Did you know, Mr. Cahoon, that red wolves have been extinct in the wild since 1980, and that worldwide only about 220 animals exist? I don't know about your figures, Mr. Cahoon, but I think there are a little more than 220 people vacationing on the Outer Banks every summer.
There is no doubt that we need better health care for needy families, but I do not think the blame should be put on any wildlife species because of inadequate health care coverage. All wildlife, including the red wolf, has the right to exist just as you and I do!
Try and remember, Mr. Cahoon, these wolves roamed freely in North Carolina and were an important part of the ecosystem long before you or I were.
Marlo Shedlock
Kitty Hawk
Somebody tell the germs
Could someone control the germs for me?
Under state law, students cannot miss more than nine days per semester. This well-intentioned rule I wish would equally be passed on to the viruses and germs that crowd our island. It can become quite sad to realize that not only do we have to deal with a sick child, but that we are forced to send him or her to school no matter how sick, hoping the infection will not spread.
My son had the bad luck to get a virus last fall that led to bronchitis twice. He started to suffer from allergies a lot and missed 12 days. Despite doctor statements and my assurance that I was aware of his absences, he was not granted credit for his PE class. The review board denied him credit, too. With severe breathing problems, my son was
not a great candidate for PE anyway! My efforts to explain the situation to the principal, the vice principal, the guidance counselor, the attendance office and the superintendent were in vain. Our son now has to go to summer school for PE for two weeks. I also got a call from a very nice lady from Social Services who told me that by law, she had to check on us to make sure that we knew that our son has to go to school and to make sure that we do not neglect our children.
It makes me wonder if all the time and energy that went into enforcing the absence rule could have been used to help us to cope with the sickness and the missed assignments, maybe by counseling us on what to do.
Talking to other parents, I found that they face similar problems. A lot of parents were distressed about too many rules and regulations that make life rather difficult for parents and children. Most parents are concerned about their kids' education, and they sure make an effort to educate their children. Why punish all for the fact that some parents don't care?
I feel like asking the state of North Carolina to hand me some kids, in exchange, that don't get sick - I need a break!
Edith Deltgen
Colington Harbour Elegant Mason Peters
The media generally don't say much about themselves, or their people, until a popular columnist, broadcaster, or talking head retires - or dies. The recent long-overdue feature on Mason Peters, happily, falls into neither of these categories.
There is only one word to approach adequacy when attempting to describe Mason's writing, his career, his demeanor, or his lifestyle, and you used it!
ELEGANT.
As a June graduate in 1948, and an aspiring sports writer, I applied for a job on the Washington Times-Herald . . . and finally in September, I got a call to come downtown for an interview. It was Mason Peters that I sat opposite, and his questions were terrifying. But I somehow convinced him that I REALLY wanted to be in the newspaper business, and wanted to learn, and experience, and someday become good at it.
He said, ``I'll quickly find out how devoted you are to this game. . . . I offer you a 'copyboy' (gofer) opening, hours being midnight to 8 a.m., Monday through Friday.''
I took the job. What a great way to really learn the intricacies of the business on a morning newspaper. But I didn't know that, then. Mason did, and began to shape my career, from the sidewalk up.
Thanks! And now, so many years later, I so much enjoy reading Mason because he uses 21x21 crossword puzzle words, in proper context, and smooths them with a mist of STP. Oh, Thurber, Gabbett, Dorothy Parker, and a few others used to write like that, but save for Mason, it's all outgoing tide, now, alive only in the spindrift that rolls along the berm of the beach.
Richard Darcey
Rodanthe
Ronald L. Speer and Margaret Talev did super work recently on ``An elegant man, an elegant writer,'' and ``Media giant,'' Mason Peters.
Gerald White
Elizabeth City by CNB