THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609130202
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 116 lines
Proud of Cradock's past
Concerning the Sept. 1 issue of Currents and articles on Cradock:
In the 1930s, community issues involved the entire Cradock community, and a focal point was Lee's Cradock Pharmacy on Afton Square. It was owned by my father, Mason Lee, who died October 1938.
This little community came together and donated money and work to have their own fire truck, a well-trained volunteer fire department and outstanding athletic programs for both grammar and high school. The football team made the state playoffs. As to education, even though this was a blue-collar community, heavy emphasis was placed on education and the public school had better-than-average teachers who worked hard to instill in us, their pupils, a desire to further our education, and some were able to obtain multiple college degrees.
The community spirit that affected most of the citizens of Cradock was ahead of its day and time and may well be something to be desired but not obtainable in this modern age. I, for one, am very thankful that I was privileged to live in Cradock when community issues were solved with input from a concerned population.
Cradock of the past is a model of what community involvement can accomplish.
Mason ``Buster'' Lee
Dunwoody, Ga.
Sept. 5, 1996
A pair of true heroes
On July 30, I, along with other security personnel, was working for Tower Auditorium. We were approached by a patron who informed us she was not feeling well. She was escorted outside the facility in order for her to be more comfortable. Shortly thereafter, we notified her twin sister, Joylette Wilson, who was inside the facility. She came to her sister's aid. About five minutes later the patron lost consciousness, stopped breathing and had no pulse. Her sister immediately began CPR on her and was able to revive her.
Unfortunately, the patron went in and out of consciousness several times, but each time her sister calmly and methodically revived her twin sister. It was quite an incredible scene.
Another individual to be recognized for his heroic actions is security agent Lt. Col. Curtis Holland, who was very instrumental in all the emergency techniques. It was Holland who revived the patron two times prior to her sister's arrival. Without the two, Wilson and Holland, fate may have not have been so bright.
Thankfully, the Portsmouth Fire Department and rescue squad arrived and transported her to the hospital, where she fully recovered.
While any one of us could have panicked and gone into an agitated state due to the severe medical emergency of a loved one, Wilson and Holland exemplified what true heroes are and I feel they should be recognized as such.
Frank C. Smith
Portsmouth Sheriff's Office
Sept. 1, 1996
Look at Water's record
As the Public Affairs Officer for Sheriff Gary Waters, I'm writing about some interesting points regarding his tenure as sheriff.
Sheriff Waters knows that the main function of the Portsmouth Sheriff's Office is the care and custody of inmates within the facility, and protection of the community from his residents. He has always taken this job seriously and in the past 14 years has done a satisfactory job. However, Sheriff Waters has also enjoyed providing extra services to the citizens of Portsmouth. These services are many, but I want to illustrate just a few.
Since 1986, Sheriff Waters has brought into the City's General Fund a total of $4,693,777 by housing U.S. inmates. Yes, the jail is crowded; however, these inmates do not have an adverse effect on the jail's population. The small number of these individuals are distributed over an eight-story building. The general belief is that for housing these inmates, the city reaps far more benefit than if we were to discontinue this program.
In 1987, Sheriff Waters brought the Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program to Portsmouth public and private schools. Over 16,000 elementary school students have graduated from this program. Five deputies are furnished to the Portsmouth Public School System at no cost to the Portsmouth School System or to the city.
One should be aware that the city has placed police officers in most of the schools at city expense, whereas no effort has been made to fund the positions of DARE officers. At an average salary of $22,000, that is a yearly commitment of over $110,000 to the Portsmouth School System. In addition, inmates from the jail help keep the school grounds clean and have assisted in painting the schools through the Inmate Work Program.
In 1989, upon the request of then Police Chief Joe Koziol and City Manager George Hanbury, the sheriff's office assumed the responsibility of serving criminal warrants. As a result, five police officers were freed up to take on other assignments.
A study completed in 1995 by the city of Portsmouth found that should the police be required to take over the booking operation (which the sheriff's office currently operates), it would cost the city $533,100 annually in salaries alone. In addition to that, the city would have to construct a ``police lock-up'' for all pretrial prisoners; food and medical needs would also have to be met by the city.
According to the 1995 Annual Report presented by the Sheriff's Office, the Inmate Work Program contributed 42,020 hours in services such as street cleaning, moving exhibits in and out of museums, working in the libraries, schools, police department, and more . . . which resulted in saved tax dollars of $178,585. This figure was derived by multiplying the city's laborer wage in 1995 times the number of hours.
No, the sheriff is not doing the supervising, but you can be sure that without his creation of this program, neither would the deputies. The CEO is the brain of a company, and the workers of business process the jobs. Anyone in business knows this.
There is one more subject I would like to address, and that is retirement. Sheriff Waters is a member of the Police/Fire Retirement System. As such he will receive the same treatment as would a member of the police or fire department. He will not receive two retirements. Sheriff Waters has personally made payments into the Police/Fire Retirement System.
And let us not forget that Sheriff Waters was once a Portsmouth Police Officer who served this city for 14 years in that capacity, and has served as its sheriff for 15 more years. That's nearly 30 years combined that he has been serving the city of Portsmouth as a law enforcement officer.
Lt. Elizabeth Aronson
Public Affairs Officer
Portsmouth Sheriff's Office by CNB