THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 5, 1996 TAG: 9608310178
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 208 lines
Supervision is needed
The recent news stories and television newscasts concerning the accidental deaths by drowning of two small children are tragic and heartbreaking. Especially in the context of the article appearing in the Aug. 23 edition of The Virginian-Pilot - a heart-rending story about a 5-year-old child.
The Concerned Citizens of East Ocean View are advocating the fencing off of Pretty Lake, stationing lifeguards along the shore and, in general, demanding that city officials give attention to the dangerous, unprotected waterfront at the end of 20th Bay Street in Ocean View.
It appears to me that something is out of order with this scenario. For starters, Pretty Lake is a street in East Ocean View bordering a body of water known as Little Creek. Little Creek is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. As such it is influenced by tidal action. The dangerous, unprotected waterfront at the end of 20th Bay Street is but a shallow tidal creek.
If, in the heat of the moment, our city officials determine that fencing off Little Creek is necessary to prevent further drownings, then why should they not advocate the fencing off of the Chesapeake Bay, just yards to the north of ``Pretty Lake,'' or how about fencing off the Elizabeth River, and for the citizens of Virginia Beach, why not fence off the Atlantic Ocean?
The death of a child is a deplorable waste and a tragedy. As a parent, boatman, seaman and a concerned citizen, I believe I have a better solution. It's called supervision. Near water, a child of mine, or one whose safety is my responsibility, will not get out of my sight or far from my reach. I know and understand the beautiful peril of water and the sea.
Before we get carried away with the emotion of the moment and start fencing off the Chesapeake Bay, Little Creek, ``Pretty Lake'' and the Atlantic, can we not take responsibility for the safety of our children? Have we, as a society, become so immune to simple responsibility that we must fence off Little Creek?
The drownings are tragic, regrettable and a sordid waste, but what of parental, adult supervision, simple common sense? Accidents have happened and will continue. However, what has happened to the care and supervision of adult over children? And who is responsible?
Andrew Maggard
Ester Court
A case of hippo neglect
If staff writer Nancy Lewis' report on the death of Nyla the Hippo is accurate, then those responsible for Nyla's veterinary care should be truly ashamed.
How could the risks of surgery be judged too great when a complete diagnosis had not even been made during the month preceding Nyla's death? Why wasn't Nyla given an X-ray early on if, according to the report, ``it was clear that Nyla was suffering from some kind of impaction.'' If impaction ``is not unusual,'' as the report goes on to say, did those responsible simply chalk up Nyla's deterioration as old age, and with that, the expectation of imminent death?
Sounds like the sacred dollar was the pivotal point in determining Nyla's future. Let's see, how much more can we expect out of Nyla? If the zoo doesn't plan on replacing Nyla, then why would they bother with further diagnosis (like an X-ray), which would have led to an obligation of surgery (can't hide an ingested racquetball) for this sick (but less popular) creature?
You can fire back your salvo of expertise if you want, but Nyla is dead, and along with her death went the zoo's credibility. The Virginia Zoological Park owes the citizens of Hampton Roads a new baby hippopotamus, dedicated to the beloved Nyla.
John R. Crane
Broadfield Road
Norfolk has much to offer
Who is William F. Blair (Compass, Letters to the editor, Aug. 15) and why is he saying those terrible things about us?
Mr. Blair may be correct about the long history of downtown Norfolk, but he obviously has not been here recently. I have. In the three years that Studio One has been located in the historic Plume Center West, I have seen downtown at all hours of the day, night and morning. I have never felt threatened. There is a constant police presence and therefore a lack of intimidating characters on the street. The very few panhandlers I have met are polite and will not bother you if you ignore them. Do your children exhibit the same good behavior?
There are, of course, some problems. There are empty buildings that I would like to see restored and alive again. We have bulldozed too much of our history. The city should do more in that direction. We have enough ugly new buildings. The parking Gestapo does nothing to encourage a leisurely dining or shopping experience, but that is not their fault. They are only following orders.
Perhaps Mr. Blair could pull himself away from the TV long enough to enjoy dinner and theater at several locations in historic, safe, downtown Norfolk.
James R. Stine
Way Off Broadway Cafe
Help people find jobs
This letter is to personally say ``thank you'' to all businesses and employees who are willing to take and give a chance to welfare recipients who are seeking jobs. Believe me, there are many people, welfare or not, who want to work but can't seem to get their foot in the door.
Many people, myself included, have found that finding a decent job is indeed an uphill battle. I have been quite blessed and very fortunate. Someone gave me a chance and believed in me. It made all the difference. If more employers would embrace this wonderful gesture, imagine the possibilities.
With the forthcoming changes in the Welfare/ADC policies, people will be desperate for jobs. Self-esteem, self-sufficiency and a sense of responsibility is what most of us need and want.
Valerie L. Johnson
Sinoe Place
My husband and I grew up in Norfolk and decided to stay in the area for many reasons. It was a very pleasant neighborhood (Bayview) and I thought it to be a nice place to raise our family. Every single time (I'm not exaggerating) I go to a store or shopping center, I am approached by someone who has every reason under the sun for needing my money.
At a grocery store last month I was approached by four different people asking me for gas money, cigarette money, beer money and just money in general. Sometimes I don't even stop my car in a parking lot without people waving me down for money. A friend of ours was in a 7-Eleven recently and was asked for a cigarette and when he found out it was his last one, he was asked for half! Then he said he was trying to figure out how to get a beer. He went on to say he would get one no matter what he had to do.
I just want to give these people one suggestion - get a job! My husband and I work very hard to support our family and it is quite frustrating, not to mention scary, when you are attacked by these people every time you leave your home. One night someone knocked on our door at 9:30 p.m. asking for money to buy medication.
Norfolk was once, and still could be, a very nice place to live. The only way anything is going to get better is to have either police or security persons in stores and shopping centers. The only way we are going to bring local business back in our area is to first make the consumers feel safe enough to shop in their stores.
Brenda Parker
Old Ocean View Road
Tired of unfair treatment
To date, no one has addressed the outrageous treatment of East Ocean View condemned area property owners by officials of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the city.
Instead of acknowledging a difficult situation and treating those being displaced with compassion and respect, people who have owned property in the condemned area for decades are now facing financial ruin because of the low ``take bids'' being offered by NRHA. In some cases the ``take bids'' are significantly below existing mortgages and/or current city property tax assessment values.
When the argument of ``fair market value'' is presented (as it always is) the question must be asked: fair to whom? Why did the city allow the adverse conditions in East Ocean View to fester for so many years, and why, in the process of finally solving the problem, are the people who have invested the most in East Ocean View being treated like second-class citizens and preempted from any beneficial interest in the solution?
To stand a fighting chance, property owners with the means and the will are being forced to demand that real ``fair market values'' be hammered out in court. How disgusting that local officials would rather spend property owners' and taxpayers' money on litigation than offer realistic compensation to dispossessed citizens in the first place! This arrogant attitude is badly in need of adjustment.
Public seizure of private property for the private profit of others is a bad idea at best. Norfolk officials have taken it a step further and made it punitive. No government should have the power to jerk around a law-abiding citizen simply because that citizen has something the government wants.
H.E. Robertson
Virginia Beach
Shortchanging Granby
Webster's dictionary defines ludicrous as causing laughter by reason of being absurd or ridiculous. Even that definition does not adequately cover the dialogue coming from City Hall with reference to funding the long overdue renovations and expansion of Granby High School with no cutbacks as now proposed.
We hear how much was spent on renovations to Maury High School completed several years ago. Such comparisons are totally irrelevant.
Among facts that are relevant is that the council approved at least once in the past a budget that included $9 million requested by the School Board for renovations at Granby High School. These funds apparently were spent elsewhere by the School Board. When the city council is asked about this approved amount, the answer received is that once an appropriation is approved by City Council, they have no control over how the money is actually spent.
It is beyond my comprehension that any governmental body or city council has no control over a $9 million expenditure of taxpayers' money that was approved purporting to be earmarked for the Granby High School renovation program and was not so used. I suspect, in all honesty, that such an appropriation was approved on more than one occasion in the past, but I do know it did occur at least once.
The Norfolk City Council has no problem finding funds for raises for themselves, to demolish a modern, functionally sound fire station, to hire too many assistant city managers to keep count of, or, in action contrary to that thought prudent by many leading financial institutions, put up prime city property as collateral to fund a downtown shopping mall. Surely adequate funding can be made available for the renovations at Granby High School.
To undertake a renovation program at Granby without gym rebuilding and enlargement and other upgrading necessary to put the school in first-class condition is, as stated at the outset, ludicrous in the extreme. The $3 million-plus shortfall in available funding is only a portion of funds appropriated in past years for work at Granby that was spent elsewhere. Certainly the Norfolk City Council has an obligation to that section of our city that is served by Granby High School to provide those students with a first-class facility.
If these facts are true, and I believe them to be, it appears to me that perhaps we need a change in city management and administration.
G.D. Beasley Jr.
Blake Road
Honor the Constitution
Our Congress and the president in 1956 designated the week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week in recognition of the importance of their governing document for the greatest nation in history. We must celebrate the creation of our U.S. Constitution by remaining alert and diligent to its democratic principles. It is our cherished legacy.
All citizens of these United States should fly our national flag proudly the week of Sept. 17-23 in honor of one of our nation's most treasured documents, the Constitution.
Martha P. Beale
Harmott Avenue by CNB