THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507200147
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
Guest columnist Richard D. Guy (The Clipper, July 14) proposes the same specious arguments against controlled growth that have put the citizens of the city of Chesapeake and its citizens at odds. What he fails to mention is his hidden agenda. Nowhere in his righteous defense of creators of housing in the city does he mention that he is employed by a law firm that represents one of the largest developers of high-density, low-priced housing currently operating in this city.
While Mr. Guy sings the praises of the wonderful conditions that developers have brought to the city of Virginia Beach: low taxes, good schools, recreational facilities, roads, medical facilities, higher education, etc. What the columnist fails to mention is that we, the citizens, not his clients, are paying dearly for these services. With a little more effort on his part and that of our short-sighted council members, Chesapeake, too, will be able to enjoy the calamities that Virginia Beach is attempting to cope with.
Yes, as Mr. Guy suggests, we should plan for the growth that will come and make Chesapeake a great city. However, that plan should include requiring the contractors to pay their fair share by contributing to the necessary supportive facilities that vast housing development requires. We do need water, roads, schools, recreational facilities for our children, police and fire services, etc. This, too, should be part of Mr. Guy's and our elected officials' concerns.
Nicholas J. Marino
Oak Lake Terrace Part-time residents
Bill Clinton recently denied that he has started his effort for the 1996 campaign, but the truth is he started about two minutes after he was sworn in as president. This is not an indictment, but a reality!
My recommendation is that we elect a president for six years only, no option to renew. The president we ``hire'' can be concerned with the job at hand and not how his decision might affect his opportunity for re-election.
In the current scenario, the newly sworn-in president has a honeymoon for several months and then during the last year the president attempts to do the things on a part-time basis while trying to get re-elected. How much of the current four-year term is spent not doing presidential things? Think about it.
Don Pearsall
Indian Creek Road Citizenship test
Speaking as a parent of two school-age children, the latest Supreme Court ruling regarding drug testing for athletes certainly excites me.
My kids can be assaulted, threatened, even robbed on school property with no legal action taken against the perpetrators by the school, but if they participate in organized sports in that same setting, they will be subjected to an intrusive search without any probable cause whatsoever.
This latest action, coupled with the ``honoring'' of a dishonored ex-president by the post office, certainly helps me instill good citizenship in my kids. Reminds me of what a farmer once told me about the nine most feared words that someone in his profession could hear: ``I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.''
A.C. Black Jr.
Hornsea Road Foul ball
On the night of July 10, while I was tucking my 8-year-old son into bed, he asked me sadly, ``Daddy, are there any other summer sports?''
I got a sick feeling in my stomach. My son eats, drinks and sleeps the game of baseball, and until Monday evening, it was the game that he loved unconditionally. I am proud of my son as this year he made the Great Bridge Pinto American Green All-Star team. I thought that the disgust I had with Major League Baseball couldn't be topped, but what's happened to this All-Star team is unbelievable.
His team was playing in the Pinto All-Star Tournament run by the local Pony Baseball Tournament director. On July 9, with all the parents and coaches standing by, our team manager verified our Monday night game time with the tournament director to be at 7 p.m. This is how it appeared on the schedule, and is the time verified by the tournament director. However, when we showed up on Monday for a 7 p.m. game, we were told that our game was at 5:30 p.m. The tournament director had already forfeited our game, which put the team out of the tournament.
There are too many people who saw this happen for it to be denied. These boys were not even given the benefit of the doubt as they lost a protest voted on by the tournament director's staff. These boys have worked very hard in preparation for this tournament, and they deserved better treatment. It is a shame when adults cannot admit to their mistakes, especially when it is at the expense and pain of a group of 7- and 8-year-old boys.
This is a bad reflection on the entire Pony Baseball organization, and I strongly suggest that it is time to replace this tournament director, as well as all of the people connected with this incident. I think my mother summed it up best when she said, ``This is what happens when the adults begin to act like children.''
I've had a hard time answering my son's question concerning what happened, why didn't we play the game and when are we going to play again? I feel very strongly that he has an empty feeling inside that hurts. I think he feels cheated, and rightly so.
I tried to answer my son's question about other summer sports. I told him that there may be summer soccer, but that did not thrill him. I told him there is swimming, but he is not a strong swimmer. I suggested that he could take up the game of golf. He perked right up and asked me, ``Daddy, is there kids' golf?'' Hmmmmm . . . food for thought.
Jack Graf
Blackthorne Drive Economic clout
I found myself frustrated at what happened at the recent NAACP convention. About all I heard was bashing of Republicans and conservatives, a call for more money to the NAACP, a new call for voter registration and, finally, a plan for a rudimentary computer network to link the branch offices together.
What frustrated me was that the obvious was being missed. There was no talk of economic organization or of pulling money out of racist banks and putting it into black-run or pro-black banks. There was no talk of letting department stores know that if they will not buy black-made products, that black customers will shop at those who would. (This worked well in the '60s.)
The battle of the '90s is economic. There is only so much legal damage that you can do to the base of the nation before such efforts become counter-productive. Black America has more than enough economic clout, if it ever gets its financial house organized, to accomplish its goals with or without affirmative action.
There is an advertisement that says, ``Money talks, the rest walks.'' If black Americans will get economically organized instead of blaming Republicans who are trying to fight bureaucratic tyranny, they will accomplish their goals.
Donald W. Davis
Haviland Road by CNB