THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601090069
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
Efforts to banish tolls from the Jamestown-Scotland Ferry will garner support from legislators representing Isle of Wight County in the 1996 General Assembly.
Local lawmakers speaking at the Isle of Wight/Smithfield/Windsor Chamber of Commerce's annual legislative breakfast last Wednesday pledged to continue advocating the removal of tolls during the General Assembly's 1996 session. The assembly convened Monday.
Last year, a bill lifting the tolls cleared the House of Delegates before being killed in a Senate finance committee.
Sen. Fred Quayle, R-Chesapeake, said the Commonwealth Transportation Board is looking into the toll issue. That board has the authority to remove the tolls without legislation.
The lawmakers said that the State Corporation Commission is still examining GTE's proposal to extend its long-distance calling area and that the General Assembly could do little to rush the process.
The SCC is holding statewide public hearings in February and March on the proposed changes.
Del. William K. Barlow, D-Isle of Wight, said the General Assembly will be looking at how the state's criminal justice system deals with the growing number of juveniles committing violent crimes.
``Fortunately, there are only a few violent offenders,'' Barlow said. ``The great majority of our juvenile offenders are youth who have gone astray. We need to make resources available to make sure they get the rehabilitation they will need to become productive citizens.''
Del. Robert Nelms, R-Suffolk, introduced his idea to create a wetlands bank surrounding the Great Dismal Swamp. The program would work by obtaining wetlands surrounding the swamp through private investment and storing them in a bank. Then, when a builder in Hampton Roads develops and needs to replace wetlands, they could purchase acreage in the wetlands bank. ILLUSTRATION: Sen. Fred Quayle
R-Chesapeake
Del. William Barlow
D-Isle of Wight
Del. Robert Nelms
R-Suffolk
by CNB