THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507290107
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 145 lines
In response to ``Ida Kay's Portsmouth'' on July 7, thanks for the reminder to respect our lost loved ones.
I was fortunate to have lived at a time in this country when patriotism welled up inside you and tears came easily to your eyes whilst pledging allegiance to our flag.
My wonderful father, who taught by example, said to me in 1966, ``My God, what has happened to our beautiful America?''
Many mothers went to work and I'm sure out of necessity, some children were left at home to be adults and responsible at 12 years old. I see children, under 12, out riding their bikes at 10:30 p.m. Where are mom and dad?
Why are they allowing their babies to be responsible and make decisions when they have no guidance?
Until quality time is taken with our youth, we will continue to destroy even more the values and beauty left to us to pass on. How can the youth be responsible if their parents aren't?
If you feel a tinge of guilt in your heart, act upon it.
Press your hand to your heart, thank God, and pledge allegiance to our flag with our children.
It's almost too late, folks. Where are you?
Sue Landerman
Swimming Point
July 18 Poor management
It's hard for me to believe the director of Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority or the manager of Ida Barbour Housing didn't know that ``frames'' from 12 windows were stolen from there recently.
When the thief was caught, didn't someone have to press charges? Doesn't the PRHA have an attorney? I'm sure they knew the thief had to pay restitution, and believed they would never see their money, so why threaten the tenants with eviction if they didn't pay for them?
And to make matters worse, the story states one tenant was told not to pay, write a letter stating why they shouldn't and then told to get a copy of the police report citing the incident.
To add insult to injury, if they didn't pay by the deadline and faced eviction, there was an $18 late charge on two $23 frames. Sounds like greed at work to me.
I'm sure if they acted upon these evictions the judge would have been most annoyed at such a waste of his time; especially when a restitution order was in effect.
Perhaps, it's time for the powers in control to consider some more qualified staff to manage Ida Barbour more effectively.
What an embarrassment for PRHA, and what an insult to the tenants. I bet there wasn't even an apology letter sent to each tenant.
By the way, were the frames returned to them after the conviction?
Joyce Saxon
Suffolk
July 15, 1995 Less `care' in `health'
Upon reading Robert Pear's New York Times piece in The Virginian-Pilot Sunday, July 9, and Elizabeth Wasserman's Knight-Ridder piece in the same issue, my mind kept asking whether there is any intelligent reason why insurance companies are being allowed to so arbitrarily make so many of our important health decisions. An even more fascinating question might be: How have they managed to become so dictatorial to one of the most powerful groups in history - medical doctors?
I suspected health care in this country was in trouble a few years ago, when one of my good friends in Chapel Hill, N.C., took a job at N.C. Memorial Hospital as a ``patient advocate.'' Good for the hospital for creating such a position, but whoa, now! Aren't the hospital staff all supposed to be ``patient advocates?'' Is it my imagination, or has there been less ``care'' in ``health'' since it became an industry? When accountants and business people took over the management of health care facilities, rather than medical people, it seemed to me that it bred trouble. Too many decisions have been made since then that look good on the spread sheet, but don't add up to good care for the patients. Any good nurse will say so.
The No. 1 goal of industry is to grow bigger, faster, and to do it more profitably than the competition. The goal of health care, I thought, is healing. Am I wrong? The very word has now become a daringly ``new'' concept in the medical industry. Some brave professionals have had to fight to even utter it in an official capacity.
Now, it seems, one must choose between a large, sprawling facility with the most sophisticated equipment and a smaller one with the most TLC. Personally, I'll take the TLC.
Is there no way that we can be creative and assertive enough to keep health care from going the way of supermarkets and department stores? Have we lost the gumption and spirit it takes to avoid being blackmailed by those whose scruples and humanitarian goals are fenced in by dollar signs? Do we really want our health care decisions made by CPAs?
Frankly, I'd rather have my clients pay me in collard greens.
Mary F. Curro
Hartford Street
July 10, 1995 Solution for causeway
Many years ago I wrote about not closing the (Caroline Avenue) causeway. Why? Because you would only bottleneck the traffic elsewhere. I tried several times to get in touch with city officials; but, to no avail. So, I guess I'll have to address them through The Virginian-Pilot.
Many years ago it was a wooden bridge, then the city spent thousands of dollars filling it in and paved the small but very important street calling it the ``causeway.''
I have lived on Shenandoah Street 21 years and closing the causeway would handicap many residents living on Shenandoah. If the city big wigs want to do something smart and intelligent, don't close the causeway but instead make Shenandoah Street a one-way street from Orange, entering Shenandoah to High Street. Remove the right turn only sign going into High Street and let the very small amount of traffic go either way, right or left, on High Street. The traffic coming off of the Churchland Bridge would then have four exits - Grayson and Orange streets, Western Branch Boulevard and Rodman Avenue. Residents living on Shenandoah could exit down Sussex, Rockbridge or Orange. Residents living on River Side Drive could come out to Shenandoah, turn right, and use the causeway.
Think about it, a one-way street from Orange to High down Shenandoah would eliminate all the so called traffic that everyone seems to be so worried about.
Pete ``Wahoo'' Preston
Shenandoah Street
July 19, 1995 It's City Council's fault
Don't blame them!
The former City Manager V. Wayne Orton, former assistant city manager Roy Cherry and Sheriff Gary W. Waters have been criticized and raked over the coals for acquiring their substantial police and fire retirements. They are not at fault.
The former city manager submitted and recommended to the Portsmouth City Council that they be placed in the police and fire retirement system. That was all he did!
The City Council, in their infinite wisdom, voted in favor of this recommendation. Then, all the former city manager did was submit another recommendation before his retirement to discontinue the generous police and fire retirement package for future police officers and firefighters.
Again, the all-knowing City Council voted in favor of the recommendation.
So, if blame should be placed anywhere, it should be dropped loudly at the feet of the Portsmouth City Council!
Gerald B. Myers
Reese Drive
July 24, 1995 by CNB