DATE: Monday, August 11, 1997               TAG: 9708090003

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Letter 

                                            LENGTH:  134 lines

LETTERS TO EDITOR -- THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT

EDUCATION

Malnutrition plays

a role in test gap

I read with great interest (July 27) about the major disparity in standardized test scores between white and black children in local school districts. Your article says that officials continue to be perplexed by these results.

I have seen no references to childhood poverty and malnutrition as one factor that may influence the test scores. Statistics show a wide disparity between white and black children living below the poverty level. In 1994, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 16.3 percent of all white children were living below the poverty level, while 43.3 percent of all black children were living below the poverty level.

A Tufts University School of Nutrition publication notes that ``in ways not previously known, undernutrition impacts the behavior of children, their school performance, and their overall cognitive development.''

These test scores should be yet another wake-up call for our nation to re-examine our priorities and commitment to our children. Childhood poverty and malnutrition are only two of the factors affecting these scores.

Janice Zimmerman

Produce expansion project coordinator

Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia

Norfolk, July 29, 1997

LABOR

UPS strike hurts me,

your customer

As the fourth day of the UPS strike rolls by, I can tell that, as the owner of a very small business, I definitely feel the effects. I have orders stuck on trucks, unhappy customers waiting for specific merchandise and thinning shelves. While I have all sorts of obvious solutions (hey part-timers, go somewhere else to get full-time employment and benefits), I do think that I know the bottom line - any benefits or relief that result in increased operating costs for UPS will be trickled down to the customer - me.

My only recourse is to not be so quick to specify UPS as my shipper of choice. Sorry, guys, your strike might make you feel better, but you're sure not making friends. Your customers should always come first.

Sharon Hwalek

Virginia Beach, Aug. 7, 1997

VIRGINIA BEACH

Sidewalk dumpsters

block beach access

The July 30 letter, ``Swampy swim a turnoff for tourist,'' motivated me to write. I, too, am dismayed by the dredge discharge at the beach commented on by the Connecticut visitor. It truly shows lack of concern for the tourist.

Here's a similar example. A 20-story hotel on the ``beach side'' of Atlantic Avenue places its dumpsters in the middle of the beach access at 5th Street. How rude.

Hotel dumpsters do not have to be placed completely across the sidewalk. This location inconveniences every walker, every bicycle rider, every surfer and in-line skater who wants to access the boardwalk at 5th Street.

All the hotel owners need to do is line up their dumpsters one in front of the other instead of side by side. This would cut the problem in half.

Vacationers may very well look elsewhere in the future if we do not address these issues.

Renee M. Russell

Portsmouth, Aug. 2, 1997

VIRGINIA BEACH

Shopping for waste?

See homeless ``shelter''

Joan Luca's July 30 letter about the ``Gaston perks'' is right on the mark, but you don't have to drive all the way to Lake Gaston to see how our money is being wasted.

Just drive by the corner of 18th and Washington Avenue at the beach and take a look at the $350,000+ day center for the homeless. This was built with money that all of the homeless providers in the city thought was going to be used for construction of an overnight shelter.

Just think, 3,500 square feet at a cost of over $350,000!

Kenneth Nichols

Virginia Beach, Aug. 1, 1997

RECREATION

Water-scooter ban

isn't the answer

I disagree with Virginia Beach Vice Mayor William Sessoms' call for an immediate ban on the use of water scooters (News, Aug. 6). It is certainly not the ``smartest ... thing we could do'' to prevent deadly injuries. As Councilman William Harrison Jr., has noted, there are responsible operators and owners of water scooters: they know and observe the regulations and rules of the waterways, learn about the watercraft before riding them, and never ride while under the influence of alcohol.

As an emergency physician, I have treated victims of personal watercraft accidents. However, I have treated more victims of automobile, motorcycle, and truck accidents. Following Mr. Sessoms' logic, we should call for an immediate ban on all motor vehicles as well. (Unlike water scooters, we have seen deaths from these.)

I agree that safety issues must be addressed. Licensure is not necessarily the solution, however, as evidenced by the numerous daily motor vehicle crashes. Consider minimum operator age of 16, instruction courses and close supervision of renters, and available safety courses for owners. Ultimately, it is up to the individual operator to act responsibly.

Richard A. Craven, M.D.

Virginia Beach, Aug. 6, 1997

NORFOLK

Ring around a rosy . . .

I believe I may have found a use for Norfolk's downtown pagoda. Considering its round shape, couldn't it be rented out to a law firm? Those guys can run you in circles, and I've yet to meet one I could back into a corner.

Bill Zimmerman

Norfolk, Aug. 1, 1997

EXECUTION

At last, compassion

for O'Dell victim

My hat is off to your editorial writer, Kerry Dougherty. Her factual and insightful column July 26 was quite a refreshing change on the final chapter on Joseph O'Dell. Finally somebody has given thought to a victim and the grieving relatives left behind.

Ms. Dougherty pointed out how the criminal (in)justice system again failed the people. How else can you explain how a man supposedly serving 114 years in Florida is released to kill another innocent victim (my cousin, Helen Capps Schartner), in Virginia?

Ms. Dougherty also correctly portrayed the terror Connie Craig must have felt between the time she turned O'Dell's bloody clothes over to police investigators and when he was taken into custody. Without this woman's courage, O'Dell would most probably have slipped through the cracks once again.

O'Dell has finally parted this earth, and we are all better off for it. Ms. Dougherty is a woman with true compassion and understanding, and she has my family's sincerest appreciation.

Bryan P. Wade

Knotts Island, N.C., Aug. 5, 1997

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