THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 25, 1995 TAG: 9508240147
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines
Unsupervised kids wreck summertime at rec center
Do the savants on City Council ever walk into a recreation center, much less read the brochure? I counted 303 special events for children. Most are free; some have a fee. In addition, there are at least 89 daily, weekly and monthly programs for them. I wish Council members would spend a few days during the summer at a center. Maybe they could tell the staff what else they can possibly do on top of these 400 activities to keep the hundreds of children racing up and down the halls and crowding the lobbies entertained. Maybe Council could finance trips to Disney World or come in and do magic shows.
Oh, did I mention many of these children are at the centers for eight to 10 hours a day?
As to all-night youth basketball curing the crime problem - isn't this just the teeniest bit naive? Are criminals really going to come out and play basketball? Is this really going to solve adult robbery and murder? Spouse and child abuse? Kidnapping? Didn't they try keeping the centers open late? As I recall, the centers remained open and empty. The plan was abandoned after six months.
Why not develop programs that will help parents assume responsibility for their own children? Why not use new additional money to help develop job skills and attainment for the teens rather than have them shoot basketball all night? City Council has many connections with the hotel and restaurant businesses in the area. Don't these businesses need employees?
Instead of abetting the problem or applying a Band-Aid, City Council should investigate and work out solutions that get to the core: breakdown of economy and family.
Pamela S. Riley
Christa Court
A `citizens' posse'?
My husband and I are seniors who are appalled and fearful of traffic conditions. We wish we had a tank!
Our idea is to form a citizens posse that would report each violation spotted, along with the license number, date, etc. We could each stake out an intersection much as various civic organizations claim a portion of roadway for cleanup. Our favorite is Independence and South Bou-le-vard/Bak-er Road. If we were to collect only a small portion of the fines for violating the light there, we could go on a cruise! And the city would be wealthier, too.
Anybody out there interested?
Ginny and Joe Sillman
Virginia Beach by CNB