THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 24, 1996 TAG: 9605220258
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 85 lines
Compassionate students
As the parent of a seventh grader at Crestwood Middle School, I was fortunate to be able to attend the May 3 ``Westward Ho'' event at the school, which included great food, line dancing and a trail walk through the surrounding neighborhoods.
As the food was being served outdoors on school property, a homeless man with a shopping cart started digging through a nearby trash bin looking for aluminum cans. As I watched, someone fixed him a plate and offered him a soda.
One by one, the young people crushed their drink cans when finished and put them in his cart. I even saw several come over and give him a dollar or two. Each time, the thankful man would say, ``God bless you!''
I was truly touched and so proud of these young men and women. The compassion shown by these kids to a complete stranger was commendable. The parents of these boys and girls should be very proud of the kids they are raising.
In times when we hear so often about bad kids, I felt compelled to share the kindness I observed being shown by some very good seventh graders.
Janice C. Rumsey
Lindale Drive
Silent majority
Another local election has come and gone. Again, the turnout at the polls was disgraceful.
When will we wake up and take our local and state elections seriously?
Only 35 percent of registered voters in Chesapeake cast ballots. The people they put in office are the people who will tell you how you will live, what you will pay for your utilities, how much for personal property tax you will pay, what roads will be built and fixed, what kind of education your children will have, how many policemen and firefighters the city will have and so on.
When will you 65 percent in Chesapeake wake up? How can you let 35 percent of your fellow citizens make the decisions for you?
More of us vote in a presidential election - which is great - but presidents can do only so much. Your local and state politicians will spend the money in Chesapeake and Virginia. With Congress giving more money and power back to the states, your local representatives will be more important than ever.
Do you like the idea of others telling you how your tax dollars will be spent? Think about it, and if you don't like it, do something about it when the next local and state election is held.
The majority now has no voice because you did not vote.
Ute Hitchings
Canton Avenue
Affirming faith
On Mothers Day, May 12, our family made a trip to Chesapeake's Northwest River Park. While there, we inadvertently left our $1,100 video camera on a bench near the ranger's office, and got on the tractor-driven tram to ride about a mile into the beautiful wilderness of the park. Half-way there, we remembered the camera.
Needless to say, our hearts were in our throats for the remainder of the trip. Upon our return, we found our camera in the capable hands of one of the rangers on duty.
Our sincere thanks to the rangers and especially to the unknown person who found our camera and turned it in to the park staff.
Honesty has its own reward - in this case, knowing that one did the right thing as well as affirming one family's faith in the goodness and honesty of the majority of the people in Tidewater and Chesapeake in particular.
Douglas W. Nicholson
Virginia Beach
Alternative drugs
As females, we can band together to save 75,000 foals per year from slaughter.
Some mares are impregnated solely for collecting their urine, which is used to produced premarin, thereby enabling Ayerst to manufacture the estrogen replacement drug. During gestation, the mares' urine is collected, then the offspring is destroyed and the mares are impregnated again.
We women can stop this tragedy by asking our physicians to prescribe safe alternatives such as Ogen or Ortho-Est, which are both derived from plants. I challenge those of you who require estrogen replacement therapy (and especially animal lovers) to switch to a more humane synthetic drug.
I, myself, used premarin for years. When I knew better, I could not in good conscience continue, so I spoke to my doctor and a pharmacist. This was easy to correct. You, too, can feel the reward of helping save 75,000 lives per year. The month of May brings new life to the earth and is an appropriate month to celebrate motherhood.
Linda Batten
Kinglet Avenue by CNB