THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607260182
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 07 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 111 lines
Don't play ball in lightning
While I was driving through the greater Virginia Beach area June 24, I was greatly troubled by what I saw - not the tremendous amounts of electricity bolting through the sky but, instead, the recreational softball teams and little league baseball teams that were playing during this lightning and thunder.
When I finally reached an area park to make sure our softball game was canceled, much to my dismay the teams were still out there like sitting ``ducks on the pond.'' When I asked the umpire why they are still playing, he looked up in the sky and said, ``I think the storm is still a couple miles away.'' This was after we had 20 minutes of relentless lightning and severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect all over Hampton Roads.
They finally did call the game, but not before rain came pouring out of the lit-up sky. Why are we putting people's lives at stake for some needless recreational softball or baseball game? The umpires are supposed to have a protocol to follow during electrical and rain storms.
Scores of persons every year die from being struck by lightning, most while playing athletics such as baseball, softball and golf. Virginia Beach has a great recreational program, but all it would take is one death and one lawsuit to wipe out several million dollars in funds.
I am an athletic trainer at a local high school and our protocol is at the first sign of lighting all games or practices must be stopped immediately and the student athletes must return inside until it stops. I hope that the area athletic leagues see the need to stop playing when lightning occurs and seek shelter.
Chad Byler
June 25
Rec center woes persist
The two new Virginia Beach Community Recreation Centers at Great Neck and Bayside were dedicated in 1990 and 1992 respectively as part of a series of three new centers built with taxpayers' money after considerable parochial bickering concerning their desirability and location.
The centers are an attractive asset for our area, their popularity having been proven by early bird opening at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday, with a staff that is both friendly and professional.
The sole black cloud in this picture is the inferior quality of the unseen and complicated equipment necessary for the operation of the luxurious Olympic-size pools in these two centers. Apparently a low bidder contractor at some level in the organization saw the opportunity to make a fast buck by using shoddy equipment with the hope that his work would endure beyond the short warranty period which economic frugality imposes in these matters. It's naive to believe that the lowest bidder will be the best competitor for a complicated mechanical undertaking.
As a result, the combined closure time for these two highly patronized pools has been almost one year! We frustrated users and taxpayers have been able to do little more than wait, and write letters such as this one in the hope that the Municipal Center will pursue our legal remedies to the fullest. I cannot imagine that the membership of a private country club would be as patient as we taxpayers over a six-month closure of a swimming pool.
It will be interesting to observe the extent of restitution that the city will demand and receive in the pending litigation in the Virginia Beach court system. And we hope that the Beacon will hound-dog this fiasco, keeping the heat lamp on the accountable and dishonorable parties.
A.P. Pirrone
July 4
HMOs control too much
Please investigate the drastic changes in the quality of our lives by the overhauling of our health care system. The care of our health is in grave jeopardy and ``managed care'' is just another name for socialized medicine. How can we allow the Health Maintenance Organizations so much control over our doctors, hospitals, and health care professionals that they are afraid to talk about what is really going on for fear of losing their jobs? There are too many questions about this ``unrivaled health care reform'' that is causing a state of panic and distrust in our society.
HMOs are dictating this country's medical options and no one is doing anything about it. We must investigate the entire medical care system and determine how it is linked to government and large corporations. Who, in fact, owns them?
I wonder if these companies are in control of making major decisions and changes concerning medical standards, policy and procedures. Who is changing our medical standards? Are insurance officials infiltrating the legislature, lowering medical standards, and reducing trained personnel to make more money for themselves? Is this why we have massive medical mistakes being made at the expense of human life and suffering with little change or correction?
There are too many freedoms and liberties at risk not to challenge this fast acting revolution. If HMOs are so good for America, why are so many people so unhappy? We need some vital questions answered.
We must take charge of our future health and well-being by becoming informed and aware of the facts. I strongly urge you to be alert, ask questions, and most of all, don't bury your collective heads in the sand and pretend everything will be OK.
Karen Floyd
June 28
Hospital deserves praise
Fear going to a hospital? Well, I did. Would I be treated as a person or put in a bed and forgotten? As a senior citizen and a widow, these questions were whirling in my mind when I was recently rushed by ambulance to the Sentara Bayside Hospital.
But I left my fears at the door when I entered the Emergency Room. The staff there immediately relieved my apprehensions by showing such genuine concern. They expedited the tests for my admittance to the fourth floor.
During my two-week stay, I was under the care of dedicated and professional people, whose positive attitude gave me the strength to overcome my illness. The whole staff was always cheerful and smiling. Their positive attitude kept my spirits high.
When the doctor ordered my discharge, I told him I had serious misgivings about leaving because I had never been so pampered in all my life! The Sentara Bayside Hospital has my eternal gratitude and my vote as a top-notch institution and model for all the rest.
Marjorie Babb
July 7 by CNB