THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 27, 1996 TAG: 9610250196
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letters
LENGTH: 230 lines
Not confidence but spreading malignancy
Let me offer my congratulations to City Manager Myles Standish on his unanimous vote of confidence by City Council on Oct. 16. I would also like to offer my condolences to the citizens of Suffolk.
This was an act of desperation by council to buy Mr. Standish some breathing room. The hoax played on the citizens of Suffolk was worthy of any trick David Copperfield has ever performed.
We know that his act is an illusion and that there is no lasting damage. Council's action was not an illusion but an act to perpetuate an administration that is indifferent, irresponsible and unresponsive. The vote of confidence gives the all-important appearance of harmony - one for all, all for one - which every politician craves and believes the public wants to see. The malignancy in Mr. Standish's office has spread to council chambers. Mayor Thomas G. Underwood and Councilman Samuel B. Carter, who heretofore seemed immune to Mr. Standish's charm, have been infected as well.
Former Councilman Andrew B. Damiani once referred to city employees as family and said, ``We look after our own.'' Don't forget that Underwood and Carter were city employees for more than 20 years, part of the same system that protects Mr. Standish. Obviously, they are also looking after one of their own.
Time after time, information has been presented to council, as well as the press, about the manager's total disregard for the City Code and council's authority. Their response: a vote of confidence.
The fallacy in council's decision is that these seven individuals were elected to look after the welfare of the citizens of Suffolk, not the welfare of the city manager.
You cannot instill courage in those who lack it, nor can you make someone tell the truth. Some individuals possess no backbone and prefer to be led rather than lead, especially if dissenting may cause controversy, even when telling the truth.
There is a solution. In May 1998, four council seats - the majority - are up for grabs. Underwood, Carter, S. Chris Jones and Charles Brown all face re-election. It will be your chance to change the makeup of council and determine the course of this city for the 21st century.
Become involved, take an interest. Your future and that of your family and our city depend upon it.
Richard R. Harris
Sleepy Hole Road
Suffolk
Show that you care by getting involved
The PTA is one of the largest organized groups of parents, teachers and students in our country, but you wouldn't know it at Nansemond River High School. And if last year were any indication, Lakeland High School faces the same dilemma.
Recently, a cartoon portrayed a mother telling her son she was going to school to talk with his teacher. A worried look came across the son's face as he exclaimed, ``Huh? I didn't do anything!'' The mother told her son, ``So many parents only go to school twice, to enroll their kids and to see them graduate.'' Mom said she wasn't one of those parents and added that she was deeply involved with her children's education. The son added, ``Lucky me!''
Which parent are you? Does your child feel your participation at school, parent teacher conferences and PTA/PTSA meetings or is this lacking in your home? Talk to your children. Get involved with their education. It's not up to someone else. It's up to each one of us.
At NRHS this year, the PTSA theme is ``Together We're Better.'' When we all work together for a common goal - the education, safety and well-being of all children - we truly are stronger and better because we worked together.
The next meeting of the NRHS PTSA is at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18. Our program is ``Organization/Club Night,'' where all school organizations will be invited to have a table/display for interested parents and students to find information on clubs and activities within our school.
Is your high school student a PTSA member? Are you? For only $3 (amount set at each school), one would think every parent and adult in Suffolk would be a PTA/PTSA member. It's probably the cheapest way to get your voice heard on legislative issues in Richmond and Washington that affect our children, Suffolk's children. Considering the cost, it's a very small investment whey you take into consideration the return - our future. Besides, I hope you agree, it's the best investment one could make.
I encourage every parent and every adult in Suffolk to call your child's school or the school closest to your neighborhood and ask about joining PTA/PTSA (student membership at high school level only).
In February 1997, PTA will be 100 years old. What better way to say, ``Happy Birthday'' than to say ``I care'' with a PTA/PTSA membership. Let's show Virginia and the nation that Suffolk truly cares for its children. Get involved today. Our children are counting on us.
Brenda D. Galen
Bennetts Pasture Road
Suffolk
Still another meeting to protect land rights
Citizens of Suffolk affected by the proposed Family Transfer Ordinance will again have to go to the Planning Commission meeting on Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. This is the third time!
When will the planning director and Planning Commission get the message we do not need or want a new ordinance that restricts the rights of property owners to give or sell land to a family member, or regulations or restrictions on the family member to which we give or sell our property.
The planning director is quoted in The Virginian-Pilot as saying that ``The new ordinance is needed to address residents' concerns.'' Which residents? I have not heard of anyone in favor of restricting a property owner's rights to give his son or daughter or any other family member a piece of his land.
City officials say these small subdivisions do not receive the same city services as others in the city. In 20 years, we have not received any new services out here, only larger tax bills.
William H. Harward
Manning Road
Suffolk
These hard workers deserve citizens' thanks
It is a cold, stormy, dark and dreary morning. I am taking my garbage cans to the street and my recycling bin, too.
The rain from the current northeaster is blowing against my face, and I'm holding an umbrella in one hand while trying to drag the trash can to the street with the other one. I made it with a little effort, got a little wet and now I'm sitting in my comfortable office, safe from the cold and rain.
But there is a group of our finest, who are out there all day every day through all kinds of weather, picking up our garbage. They are doing a great service for all of the citizens of our community.
They must have the most thankless job in town. I just want to salute them today and every day for the fine work they do. May God bless them with health to do the job they have to do.
The Rev. Charles W. Thompson
Pastor
First Baptist Church
Suffolk
Halloween: not harmless as you might believe
One of the biggest compromises that people make who call themselves ``Christians'' is at Halloween.
Church goers not only compromise but embrace the tradition of dressing as ``demons'' and ``witches'' and anything else that is contrary to what they are taught the rest of the year in their churches. Then it is passed off as just fun.
Did I ever participate in trick or treating as a child? The answer is yes. Did I know what it was all about? No. I had no one to tell me. When I found out, I quit participating. What bothers me today is that so many of my fellow believers, from the pulpit on down, see this form of satanism as acceptable.
Do you think that dressing as a demonic figure and begging for goodies is of God? Of course, if you don't get any goodies, then you are supposed to be destructive to that property. After all, that is where trick or treat comes from.
Is this what your churches teach? What are we telling our children? Do we feel like we are ruining Halloween for our kids if we tell our children the truth about this holiday?
Why are we not offering more alternatives like an ``All Saints Party,'' where children dress as biblical people and have games and food and a good old-fashioned family event?
It is interesting that we as believers can allow God's name to be taken out of our schools, even out of the Christmas carols that we have sung for years, but satanism in the form of Halloween is not only acceptable but encouraged. Are we really ``believers'' and, if so, believers in what?
Bill Ward
Virginia Avenue
Suffolk
The name Halloween means hallowed or holy evening. Yet, for some reason, this holiday has become one of the most popular and best-liked holidays of the entire year and is celebrated with great enthusiasm in many countries.
Halloween, which takes place on Oct. 31, is really a festival to celebrate autumn, just as May Day is a festival to celebrate spring. The ancient Druids, who were the religious priests in ancient England and France, had a great festival to celebrate autumn, which began at midnight on Oct. 31 and lasted through the next day, Nov. 1.
They believed on that night that their great god of death, called Saman, called together all the wicked souls who had died during the year and whose punishment had been to take up life in the bodies of animals. Of course, the very idea of such a gathering was enough to frighten the simple-minded people of that time. So they lit huge bonfires and kept a sharp watch for these evil spirits.
This is actually where the idea began that witches and ghosts are about on Halloween. And there are still people in isolated parts of Europe who believe this to be true.
The Romans also had a holiday about the first of November, which was in honor of their goddess Pomona. Nuts and apples were roasted before great bonfires. Our own Halloween seems to be a combination of the Roman and Druid festivals.
Originally, the Halloween festival was quite simple and was celebrated mostly in church. But all over Europe, people looked upon this occasion as an opportunity to have fun and excitement, to tell spooky tales and to scare each other.
So instead of being devoted to the celebration of autumn, it became a holiday devoted to the supernatural, to witches and ghosts. Of course, no one goes near a cemetery on Halloween because spirits rise up on that night. Today, we use many superstitions as a way of having fun on Halloween.
Barbara McDowell
Boykins
He'll take the company of Kemp and Dole
Here we are just weeks before the presidential election and neither the President nor Senator Dole has provided anything ``new'' of substance to win my vote.
Each has pledged to ``protect the welfare'' of the American people, by reducing taxes, saving Medicare, cutting crime, getting tougher on drug dealers and users, etc. Frankly, I have heard it all before and no amount of rhetoric from either candidate can convince me that they can deliver on all of these promises.
I certainly don't always support the positions taken by either candidate. I think most will agree that neither candidate is perfect.
What concerns me the most is that the President (and/or the First Lady) have placed themselves in the company of people who have been accused or convicted of committing crimes against the American people, such as the Whitewater scandal, Vince Foster's death and the questionable actions taken by the White House staff, Travelgate, access to FBI files without just cause, and the acceptance of illegal campaign contributions. Additionally, the Paula Jones accusations and the President's admitted use of drugs, however limited, have demeaned the office of the presidency.
My parents taught me that ``you are known by the company you keep.'' I think I will visit Bob Dole and Jack Kemp on the second Tuesday of November.
A.J. Judy
Pitch Kettle Road
Suffolk
Vote for Dole, and let us elect our mayor
I wonder which debate the poll-takers and media were watching. The one I saw Oct. 16 was between a real statesman and a clown.
Mr. Dole is honest and straightforward, a man who served his country and has suffered and overcome a disability. No one, to my knowledge, has ever questioned his character or accused him of lying. Mr. Dole asked Mr. Clinton some hard questions. I don't blame him for not answering them. Mr. Clinton asked if we were better off than we were four years ago and if we were not to vote for Mr. Dole. I'm not and I will!
Secondly, I don't think I have ever agreed with former Councilman Richard Harris before, but I do agree that citizens should elect the mayor.
I worked for Mr. Underwood, and it concerns me that he might remain as mayor. When he was assistant city manager, he would not tolerate anyone who had the audacity to question one of his decisions. I hope the people of Holy Neck will continue to limit their councilmen to one term.
James M. White
Mineral Spring Road
Suffolk by CNB