DATE: Wednesday, July 30, 1997              TAG: 9707300009

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Letter 

                                            LENGTH:  116 lines

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR -THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

HEALTH Diabetes Institutes still needs your help

The excellent coverage this paper gave to the announcement of the nearness of a cure for diabetes, as a result of the work being done by the research team led by Dr. Aaron Vinik at the Diabetes Institutes, was very much appreciated.

Would it not be wonderful if Norfolk became known around the world not only for its powerful naval facilities but also as the place where the battle was won against that pernicious internal enemy that can rob children of their childhood and adults of sight and limbs and life?

As your reporters pointed out, this research has been supported by private contributions. Anyone who wants to join in the battle can make contributions to the Diabetes Institutes Foundation, 855 West Brambleton Ave., Norfolk 23507.

Jean Canoles Bruce

Williamsburg, July 18, 1997

PIPELINE

Hey, folks, you're

paying for Gaston perks

I read recently the city is building an expensive lakeside home at Lake Gaston for the facilities manager of the automatic pump. In addition, a $360,000 detached lakeside facility - with three bedrooms, a conference room and cooking facilities - is being built. I guess there will be a boat and jet skis for the manager and visiting poobahs.

My husband, who is from Jersey City, sees nothing wrong with a politician getting the perks of office. Well, Virginia Beach is not Jersey City, and our elected officials are not from Jersey City!

I drove to Lake Gaston to satisfy myself but was appalled to see what I described. If you don't believe me, drive to Littleton or ask your council representative and watch him tap dance. Think of it when you pay your next personal property tax. It's your money!

Joan M. Lucas

Virginia Beach, July 10, 1997

OCEANFRONT

Swampy swim

a turnoff for tourists

My husband and I had the displeasure of encountering your way of dredging Rudee Inlet and recycling its contents onto your beautiful shoreline properties. We were swimming at a prime time of the day, noon, and we watched as the discharge from the pipe turned from sandy-colored to a black, murky, rank silt. The offensive smell reminded us of a cesspool. As we emerged from the water, our skin was coated with both the smell and the blackened smear.

We complained to the manager of the expensive Oceanfront hotel where we were staying, and he graciously relocated us some 30 blocks or so away. The water was cleaner, but the knowledge of what was going on down the beach remained with us.

This is a totally unacceptable practice during the day in a resort area, especially during the summer months. We actually had to pay extra to come during these months to swim in this muck. In the 22 years that we have been vacationing along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to South Carolina, we have never encountered such neglect and lack of concern for tourists. Why would any of us come back to a place where no one is bothered by dumping a swampy discharge into the ocean with swimmers? These vacationers will look elsewhere in the future.

P. Carpenter

Waterbury, Conn., July 18, 1997

TRANSPORTATION

``Third Crossing'' sounds

like another Nauticus

The ``Third Crossing'' and its projected route, which you so heartily endorse (editorial, July 19), is something that requires a lot more thought.

The new bridge into the area will cost $2.4 billion, and, you say, it is necessary because without it we will have ``stalled traffic around the clock by 2015.'' This is a long-shot prediction that you make lightly. Fifteen years ago we were building up our military, and personal computers were a rich man's plaything. Fifteen years from now, new technology may cause a major military downsizing, and computers may wipe out commuters, who will work at home. It's possible traffic conditions could improve.

If, however, you are right, we should surely be worrying about other things than speeding port traffic and keeping trucks off Hampton Boulevard.

The best way to Hampton Roads is through the present tunnel. The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, which the proposed crossing will parallel to some extent, is underused. A parallel route to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel would be cheaper and speedier. Will people use the proposed new route? Only if you are right about a traffic jam we have never seen in this area.

More than $50 million was spent for Nauticus, a museum to which nobody comes. Are we to spend $2.4 billion for a bridge nobody will cross?

Edward F. Bacon

Virginia Beach, July 19, 1997

MEDICINE

Dr. Wilson deserves

community's support

In response to your July 11 article about Dr. Alan Wilson's woes with the American Board of Family Practice:

I have known Alan Wilson, in his role as a leader in the care of patients with HIV/AIDS in Hampton Roads, for many years, and I have found him to be remarkably selfless in that service. The hours he maintained as a solo practitioner were inhuman, and his practice included too many who were unable to pay him adequately (or at all); yet, Dr. Wilson, with unbelievable good spirit to each of his patients, never denied the very best care.

I have seen Dr. Wilson serve endless volunteer hours as board president of the leading southside AIDS service organization. I have seen him prepare meals at his church for delivery to those with HIV/AIDS.

The lives of people in Hampton Roads are profoundly better because of Dr. Wilson. He is a man of expertise, compassion and integrity, and an invaluable asset to the region.

I hope that the American Board of Family Practice will work with Alan Wilson to resolve the issue of his certification. And I pray that Sentara will acknowledge the greater good provided to this community by Dr. Wilson and support him in that resolution. We cannot afford to lose him!

Debra Griggs

Norfolk, July 20, 1997

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