The boat ramp, the column, a dog’s life and Obama

By Published by The Editorial Board

Published: September 23, 2008

Great to be back out on the river

To the editor:

This letter is to offer my thanks to the appropriate persons for getting the boat ramp in Schoolfield cleaned up and reopened. I’m sure I speak for many who used the ramp in the past and have missed having access to that area of the Dan River.

For those who don’t know, the next real ramp upstream is in Eden, N.C., approximately 26 river miles from Schoolfield.

I have both power boats and paddle-powered boats (kayaks and canoes). As a paddler, I’d like the city to consider an unpaved area prepared for kayaks and canoes. Having fished and paddled in lakes and rivers up and down the East Coast, I’ve seen the advantages of an area that keeps the paddlers out of the way of power boaters and vice-versa. That speeds loading and recovering boats of both types. Being unpaved, the bottom doesn’t damage the hulls of the boats like the concrete ramps do. Such an area shouldn’t hold up opening the ramp, however, we’d all like to see that ASAP.

I’m already planning a trip from Eden to Danville in my kayak. That part of the Dan has been effectively closed for the past few years. I just hope I get to do it before the cold weather sets in.

Again, thanks!

MICHAEL DAMERON

To the editor:

Jeff Schapiro, in his column, “Uranium is a hot topic for the GOP,” (Sept. 19, page A8), was grossly negligent in not referring to the fierce opposition of homeowners, Republican and Democrat alike, to the mining of uranium in Pittsylvania County.  His political arm-chair quarterbacking would lead one to believe that he knows what is good for regional Republican delegates in particular and those of us who live here in general.

At a recent forum about the uranium mining, I asked if anyone could show me studies of the economic impact mining the site at Coles Hill would have on our area. Although a number of proponents — some of whom are major shareholders in Virginia Uranium Inc., were in attendance — no one was willing to provide data demonstrating that homeowners would not be negatively affected by the “fallout” (metaphorically and realistically speaking) of this mining. Some will privately tell you that jobs will be created and county revenue will soar. If that is the case, show me a proposal that does away with county taxes, because I suspect real estate values are going to drop so sharply that reassessments will have to follow.

More often than not, perception is reality. If potential homebuyers in the county think property values will decline, they will decline. If parents of potential students at Hargrave Military Academy and Chatham Hall perceive there is a danger to their children, they will not send them to those respective schools.

I don’t know whether Schapiro has stock in Virginia Uranium or not, but I’m guessing he doesn’t own property in Pittsylvania or Halifax counties. He did sidestep the greater argument and took the easy way out when he advised the Republicans to “circumvent the House and Senate next year and wire up a study by the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission.” Perhaps he will purchase my home as an investment in energy futures.

LARRY WILBURN

To the editor:

I am so glad that someone is finally looking into improving Pittsylvania County’s dog pound located in Dry Fork, “Animal welfare group argues that local shelter is understaffed, needs to improve,” (Sept. 17, page A6).

If Board of Supervisors Chairman Coy Harville has had no complaints about the conditions at the shelter, let me be the first to step up.

A while ago, someone dropped off a dog in my neighborhood. He hung around looking for food, water and shelter from anyone who would oblige him. Yes, I fed him, as did many of my neighbors. I found out through the grapevine that an officer had picked up the dog and took it to the county pound.

My husband and I went there to check on him. There was no staff there, only a sign that they were closed. After making two more trips, we found out that they had scheduled the dog to be euthanized. We were told we couldn’t adopt him before his time ran out because the King holiday was approaching and no one would be available to fill out the necessary forms. How can you expect to adopt an animal if it can’t be seen and there is no staff?

In order to prevent the dog from being put down, I had to admit to feeding and giving home to an unlicensed dog. In other words, to save the dog. I had to say that I owned the dog.

Charges were filed against me and I had to go to court.

Neither the officer nor the court wanted to hear my story about the dog being abandoned; the judge even told me as I was explaining the events, “to make it snappy.” I was found guilty of having an unlicensed and unvaccinated dog.

After it was all said and done, I paid the fines, court costs and paid to adopt the dog, (which was not an issue with me, because I wanted the dog).

It was obvious that all the “system” cared about was getting as much money as possible. They were not remotely interested in helping the dog or saving its life.

Since that time, several animals have shown up on my doorstep. I have always taken them to the Danville Area Humane Society shelter in Danville, where the cages are cleaned and they are well taken care of and every effort is made to find homes for them.

I hope other animal lovers in Pittsylvania County will speak up about the problems at the county shelter. The fact that we have the highest percentage of euthanizations among the surrounding counties speaks volumes about our community. This is a record we all should be ashamed of!

SUE FOWLER

To the editor:

Barack Obama plans to withdraw most of the troops from Iraq in 16 months. He plans to concentrate on Afghanistan and ask for help from our NATO allies. John McCain says there is a possibility of getting the troops home by 2013. By then, how many more will have been killed? How much more money will this country have to borrow to finance this war?

Obama plans to put $10 billion a year toward pre-K programs, Head Start and he will reform the No Child Left Behind Act. He will reward great teachers; however, standardized test scores won’t be the only criteria. He wants to reward a college student with $4,000 in exchange for 100 hours of community service. He wants to make community college free for all. McCain would like to see more charter schools, give vouchers for parents to choose their child’s school and will give tax credits for parents who send their child to a private school. This is like a slap in the face to the public school teachers.

For the seniors, Obama opposes privatization of the Social Security system. He believes the system can be reformed and continue to work.

McCain wants seniors to invest their money. Take a look at the stock market today. How reliable is that?

SUZANNE CLAY

Providence, N.C.