THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 6, 1996 TAG: 9610040208
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 119 lines
Buying on time
Bill Pierce's letter to the editor, ``Fiscal atrocity,'' in Sunday's Clipper shows that he does not understand the concept of purchasing over time. The purchase of the planned convention center is no different from purchasing a home on a 30-year mortgage.
The big difference here is that this convention center will end up paying for itself well ahead of the 30 years it may take to pay the loan off. If the city chooses to pay the loan off ahead of schedule, it will be an even better value.
If Mr. Pierce and others opposing this center will take the time to work the revenue-generating numbers instead of just the cost, they may see a different picture.
Having been involved in many conventions over the last 15 years, I know that there will be several sources of revenue for the city. The city will receive revenue from booking the conventions, which in turn will sell space to exhibitors. Additional sources of income will come from selling refreshments and from taxes collected from businesses in the area. My business and most of the retail businesses in the Greenbrier area will experience growth due to this partnership.
If Chesapeake is to continue the prosperous path it's on, it must continue to grow. Yes, we need roads, better water, more recreational areas and more schools. The best way to achieve the funds necessary for these services is to broaden our tax base. By broadening our tax base, the whole city will benefit, not just those businesses and special interest groups in Greenbrier, as Mr. Pierce suggests.
The mayor, many City Council members and businesses like Armada/Hoffler understand these ideas.
Chris Nicholas
Kelly Run
Sweet deal
You suggest that a city needs to build a convention center. Then you sell that city a piece of property that is too small at a price twice what the city said it was worth only a few months ago. Oh, yes, then you offer to build the facility on that property. Good deal, huh?
Who is minding the store in Chesapeake? Apparently no one.
John W. Johnson
Creekside Crescent
Satanic practices
I strongly object to Halloween.
Even before the first leaf has turned color or the crisp smell of fall fills the air, the stores bulge with satanic paraphernalia in shades of black and orange. Many unknowing parents eagerly purchase this assorted junk thinking it is cute and harmless. In truth, it is neither.
Trick or treat, jack-o'-lanterns, etc., are remnants of practices associated with the religion of the ancient Druids, who worshiped the biblical Baal as chief god. Their custom was to appease evil spirits and dead souls by offering them food as they allegedly visited homes on Halloween night, the highest holiday of the satanic calendar. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the appeasing practices of Druids originally included human sacrifice. Victims were confined and set on fire. They also celebrated festivals in which babies were sacrificed to another biblical idol called Moloch.
What I also find offensive is since federal, state and city agencies, as well as the public school system, have systematically purged all references to Christian celebrations, such as Christmas and Resurrection Day, why are blatant celebrations of the highest satanic holiday not only permitted but also encouraged? Nonbelievers are so concerned about their children being ridiculed or even feeling out of place if the Ten Commandments are posted or a prayer is said in the schools, that they have brought lawsuits to stop these practices. Christian children who practice their faith feel most out of place when Satan is worshiped in any way and have experienced ridicule for not participating.
I urge parents to resist participation in Halloween in any way.
Thea Spitz
Shillelagh Road
Capital of Sodom
The U.S. Senate failed by nine votes to repudiate Bill Clinton's veto of late-term abortions, thus allowed the ``Abortion is OK in the ninth month even if the baby is alive and well'' policy to stand.
Our senators split their votes along moral lines. Charles Robb voted predictably with ``Sleazy Bill,'' and John Warner voted to override the veto.
With this vote, the land of the free and the home of the brave has become the official capital of Sodom and Gomorrah, thus further vexing mainline Americans.
In 1973, the Supreme Court decided that life did not start at conception, and that even if it did, it was not meaningful and was, therefore, expendable. Since the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision we have terminated the lives of more than 30 million babies. Their sacrifice has been unwarranted, but women of choice have consistently justified their acts and pointed out that rape or incest may have occurred, thus dulling society's senses.
Today we have absolutely no justification or excuse for our acts because we are affirming a pregnant woman's right to take life on the very day of delivery. We are ordaining and giving our approval to legalized wholesale murders of viable human life, not at conception, but at the time of life.
We are proving to all that the most dangerous place for a baby to be in America is in its mother's womb. So much for the sanctity of motherhood and the grace of God that used to cover our land.
Annabell Ruffin
Virginia Beach
Ill-advised light
I am amazed at the decision of the Chesapeake Traffic Engineering Department to place a traffic light at the corner of Military Highway and Georgetown Boulevard.
What were they thinking? Another light, not coordinated with others in the area, to add to an already congested traffic pattern was certainly ill-advised.
For what purpose was the light placed there? To make it more convenient for Georgetown residents? Why can't they use the existing light at Dunbarton and Military Highway by traveling down Providence to Dunbarton?
The new light adds to the terrible congestion caused by the Greenbrier Mall traffic controlled by the light at Dunbarton and Military. I have witnessed traffic backed up almost back to Robert Hall Drive because of the new light.
Come on, traffic engineers! Think of the majority when you change traffic patterns to make it convenient for a select few.
A.C. Black
Hornsea Road by CNB