THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602090228
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Long : 202 lines
My experience with The Virginian-Pilot's coverage of news topics of which I have had intimate knowledge has been, on the whole, fair and accurate.
However, the lead article published in the Jan. 6 North Carolina News section, ``State delays building codes,'' with the subhead, ``Home builders won't have to attach roofs until next year,'' is not your newspaper's best work.
It is inaccurate, incomplete and misleading.
The North Carolina State Building Code Council is composed of residential and commercial building contractors, building inspectors and representatives of utilities, as your article reported. But also on the council are engineers, architects, a public representative, an electrical contractor, a fire inspector, a plumbing and heating contractor and an engineer from the North Carolina Department of Insurance. North Carolina is one of the few states in the nation that has such a code-administrating body.
Nowhere in the article does The Virginian-Pilot explain why the Code Council delayed the proposed wind codes. So here is that rather essential missing part: Last March 15, a whole array of building code changes related to wind resistance in the 90, 100 and 110 mph wind zones were about to be initiated by the North Carolina Code Council. The next day, building inspectors would be required to enforce them, so builders would have to understand them, and suppliers would have to stock the materials we would need to build in accordance with the new requirements. However, our industry was not prepared.
The Department of Insurance and the Outer Banks Home Builders Association had held a local seminar for builders, inspectors, engineers and architects prior to all this to bring everyone up to speed on the new requirements. There were only 50 spaces available. Consequently, many who needed to know did not have what appeared to be adequate access to this information or help in interpreting it.
The day before the council vote to put the new code changes into effect, hundreds of builders appeared at the council's public hearing to urge it to delay the changes. Our industry needed more time to prepare, plus we had great concerns about code changes, which appeared to add about $3,000 to the price of the average home.
We wanted to take a close look at the proposed changes to see if our homeowner consumers could get more bang for their buck where increased wind code requirements were concerned. We wanted to add good practical experience concerning what does and does not work to the voices proposing solutions.
Fortunately, the North Carolina Building Code Council voted to establish an Ad Hoc Wind Code Committee to study the proposed wind codes in terms of costs versus benefits and to see if we might come up with other solutions to the structural questions. I was a member of this committee, which met one to two times a month from March through September. We revised the earlier wind code proposals and saved about $1,500 on the cost of the average home when the Code Council accepted them last fall with minor amendments. We also recommended that the Code Council delay its implementation until January 1997 so that everyone in our industry could become properly prepared and that the revisions could make it into print in our Residential Code books.
This is WHY the Code Council delayed its ``hurricane codes,'' and it should be commended for having done so in the way it did.
Another inaccuracy in The Virginian-Pilot article is the statement that ``current house construction rules do not spell out that roofs must be connected to the rest of the house, or how the entire structure should be bolted to the foundations.''
Homeowners having homes built under current code requirements should know their roofs are, in fact, attached to the tops of walls with galvanized steel connected at each rafter. These connectors, commonly known as ``hurricane clips,'' resist from 335 to 415 pounds of uplift force per rafter. These create a fairly substantial resistance to the uplift forces caused in wind storms. The 1997 wind codes will virtually double the requirement of each rafter's ability to resist uplift. But to report that roofs are not presently connected to homes is simply not true.
We cannot build ``hurricane proof'' homes that you and I can afford. But we also feel we must be able to insure our homes. So we are compelled to find middle ground, whatever that is.
It remains clear to me that the builder's voice should be part of finding solutions, both for what we have to offer and what we have to learn from each other.
It is regretful the builders' view was not heard in your January article.
Skip Saunders
Kill Devil Hills `Juicy tidbits' decried
I read with interest your article on the coming of J.E.B. Stuart to the Albemarle School. For the most part, it was well-presented, a good article.
I wish to take exception to one statement made in the beginning when the story stated Mr. Stuart would be going from one ``stormy'' situation to another.
I have little knowledge of the situation in the Camden County schools; however, as a member of the staff at Albemarle School, I feel your writer wrote somewhat judgmentally when he called the situation at our school ``stormy.'' Perhaps he should spend the day at the school before writing such.
Dr. Henderson hired me. I have great admiration for her and her ability. Families, as well as organizations, sometimes reach an impasse in attempting to settle differences. Apparently, there were some conflicts that could not be resolved, and which led to her resignation, for which I was sorry.
That chapter is over. Why not close the book on it - both for her sake and for the sake of young people (including Dr. Henderson's granddaughters, who are students here) whose lives are not helped by a continued reminding of something that hurt? How can that possibly help anyone? It does not help in family situations to bring up the past. Neither is it a balm in public situations.
A poet wrote, ``Let the dead past bury its dead.'' God have mercy on us as a public, and on good journalism, if we have to resort to ``juicy tidbits'' to sell newsprint.
Myrtle Virginia Thompson
Librarian
Albemarle School YMCAs worthwhile
A recent editorial asks wayward Outer Banks youth not to waste their lives and suggests a dialogue on how best to help them climb out of the ``Potholes of Paradise.'' I would like to join the discussion by presenting for comments the reasons why I believe a YMCA can help them.
YMCAs are people helping people not to waste their lives. Said in a more positive way, the YMCA is a Christian movement organized by volunteers motivated and interested in helping all people become better citizens and making communities better places in which to live.
Although YMCAs are better equipped to prevent wasted lives than to treat them, I was amazed to find this past year, on the Outer Banks, three highly respected community leaders who would argue otherwise. All three, in their early years, were wayward youth destined for trouble on the streets - one in Greensboro, one in Cleveland and one in Norfolk. All three had their lives changed by their neighborhood YMCA where they learned, among other things, the values of honesty, caring, responsibility and respect. All of these values are elements of character I find in all of them today.
Whether it is prevention or treatment, YMCAs seek to build foundations for life based on Judeo-Christian principles by providing programs that build healthy bodies, minds and spirits.
YMCAs are not just facilities. They are programs - from swimming to child care. Depending upon each community's needs, programs and activities can range from arthritic exercise classses for older adults to ``Teen Scene'' for youth; from Indian Guides & Princesses for the busy dad and his young children to pre- and post-natal classes for moms-to-be; from baby-sitting for families using the YMCA facilities to fitness programs for young adults. The program menu of any single YMCA is determined by a volunteer board based on local needs, interests and affordability. Programs are led by talented volunteers and skilled professionals.
YMCAs are different than other organizations, institutions and agencies. What sets them apart is the diversity of people and values-based programs - people of all ages, races, sexes, religious beliefs, abilities and financial means use the YMCA. It's not only a place to swim or exercise, it's a place where youth and everybody else can also develop skills in sports as well as social, artistic and intellectual pursuits. Fun, enjoyment and laughter - important elements in people feeling good about themselves - are found at the YMCA.
YMCAs are different in their youth programs, too. They place more emphasis on growing than winning, and they are more concerned with the full participation of all then the limited involvement of the few who excel. At the YMCA, people set their own goals and work toward them with the encouragement and support from other participants. For youth, as for everybody, YMCA programs provide opportunities to believe in yourself and develop a healthy self-image. They consider all people as children of God and help them reach their God-given potential. They know that health of mind and body is a sacred gift and that physical fitness and mental well-being are conditions to be achieved.
It is my wish that what I have written in this letter will enlighten youth - and everybody - about the YMCA and at the same time enliven the discussion on the needs of youth.
Donn A. Snyder
Outer Banks YMCA volunteer
Southern Shores Timely service well done
A pat on the back for the Kill Devil Hills Fire and Police departments. On Saturday, Feb. 3, I had the opportunity to witness several back-to-back responses from these departments. The weather was terrible, and roads were a sheet of ice. As motorists met accident after accident, the town of Kill Devil Hills' emergency personnel rendered professional and timely service, which most of us have come to take for granted. True, it is their job, and true, they do get paid for it; however, the commitment and general concern demonstrated by these individuals are truly commendable. As a resident and taxpayer of the town of Kill Devil Hills, I salute them. They deserve our praise.
Terry Gray
Kill Devil Hills Going extra two miles
Periodically, complaints appear in the press and elsewhere spewing less than complimentary reviews of the U.S. Postal Service and its personnel.
During my 40 years as a Manteo resident, I found the services received from the dedicated, friendly, helpful, hard-working Manteo post office personnel left little room for complaint in the performance of their responsibilities. History also shows numerous incidents where these good neighbors went that extra mile to accommodate patrons.
Saturday morning, Dec. 23, I failed to check my letter box. At noon I received a phone call from postal employee Patty Callum, informing me that I had a large Christmas package at the post office. With no car at my disposal at the moment, I told her that I would have to walk to the post office - a distance of two miles - to retrieve it. The kindly young lady said the post office closed at noon and would not reopen until Tuesday.
Patty Callum, the good Samaritan, when she got off work at noon, put the package in her car and brought it to our home. That was the nicest Christmas present my wife and I received last year. Many thanks, Patty.
Dennis E. McGinnis
Manteo by CNB