Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Social stuff is nice, but it won't pay the bills
Letters to the Editor
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- Pick of the day: Home-schoolers reject public schools
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From the RoundTable blog
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Social stuff is nice, but it won't pay the bills
As a recent college graduate, I have returned to my hometown of Roanoke seeking employment. I was pleased to see that a campaign seems to have been initiated to retain young professionals.
There are many social networking groups that one can become a part of. However, I, as well as a number of my fellow graduates from Radford University who are job hunting in Roanoke, are discovering a lack of continuity. The majority of local businesses have been reluctant to hire entry-level employees.
After completing the course of study for a bachelor's degree, as well as an internship with a well-known local and respected agency, and countless networking opportunities and interviews, I and my fellow grads are all still jobless.
Please encourage local professionals to get on board with Roanoke's campaign and take seriously the pool of young professional applicants at their fingertips.
If there are no jobs available, no amount of social engagements will be enough to keep recent grads in the area.
Nostalgia or workhorse?
On page 2 of the June 17 Virginia section, there is a photo taken of the reenactment of the first train to Roanoke. Of interest:
First, the two gentlemen on the left are R.H. Smith, president and Harry Wyatt, vice president-operations.
But of more interest, the locomotive in the background, M class, 475, still exists and is in almost daily use on the Strasburg Railroad in Strasburg, Pa.
Why should the lender remains nameless?
You named and photographed the innocent couple who are unjustly losing their home (June 18 article, "Shattered security"), yet conceal the identity of the lender who is the one who has gone back on a promise.
Shame on both that unscrupulous lender and The Roanoke Times.
Thanks for the laugh-out-loud letter
Thanks to Christopher Walter (June 18 letter to the editor, "The audacity to call for Jefferson's resignation") and The Roanoke Times for the best laugh I've had reading your opinion page since moving to the area five years ago.
Walters' letter in defense of Rep. William Jefferson's storage of marked bribe money in his freezer -- giving new meaning to the term "cold cash" -- was ludicrous enough, but his accusation that your editorial about Jefferson was written to " ... spread your conservative right-wing bias" was hysterical.
I laughed out loud when he asked if you'd take the same stand against Republicans who did what Jefferson did, "or would that be too traitorous for your conservative masters?"
He then talked about canceling his subscription, but he couldn't possibly be a regular reader of The Times and conceivably harbor the belief that your self-admitted "progressive" positions are biased in a right-wing manner.
I'm certain that most readers would agree that it would be difficult to find a major metropolitan daily south of The New York Times with a more consistently liberal bent than yours.
As usual, you published his letter despite his disagreement with your opinion, one of your redeeming graces, and I'll bet I'm not the only reader who got more than a basic chuckle out of it.
In catering to Ukrop's, city hurts others
What has Roanoke done to the small businesses on Franklin Road? There will be no middle lane in the 2300 block of Franklin Road because Ukrop's Super Market was given this lane for turning in to their store.
We have been on Franklin Road for 25 years. We have been a good citizen, paid our taxes and purchased our business license, to what avail? So that our businesses can be threatened?
It will be very hard for UPS, Fed-Ex or any deliveries to be made without the use of this turn lane.
What is the city thinking?
Let's give them tax incentives, let's give them turning lanes and let's congest our street so that our customers of 25 years will have a hard time getting into and out of our parking lots.
We have endured inconveniences for three years of construction. We have had to paint our building and wash our customer's cars because of all the dirt.
The drilling has driven us crazy, but we tried to be a good neighbor. We should have given the city heck from the start.
Is Ukrop's going to be as good a neighbor as our city? What do you think?
Waynes Imported Automotive
Americans dream of enforcing the law
In his June 18 commentary "Believing in the American Dream -- for all," Ed Lynch chastises conservatives who do not support the immigration reform being considered in Congress.
Lynch claims that conservatives who don't support the "reform" have lost faith in the American Dream, indeed have drifted from true conservative principles. He writes approvingly of those who "ridicule" government regulations, and apparently wants open, unregulated borders.
Lynch is clearly out of step with the American people.
Americans want the federal government to secure the border, laws to be respected and enforced, and they have difficulty understanding why lawbreakers should be given a fast track to citizenship, compared with their law-abiding countrymen who stayed at home.
Many are also concerned about the impact of excessive numbers of illegal immigrants on low-income American citizens. Corporate America has been busily exporting as many jobs as possible to low-income countries. Now, they want to import as many people as possible from low-income countries, people who are eager to take low-income jobs with no benefits.
There needs to be meaningful enforcement of the current law that is supposed to impose penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants. The loophole in that law has been big enough to allow some 12 million illegal immigrants to pass through it.
Stop the insanity, impeach Cheney
Enough is enough. Our country has been raped and pillaged for the last seven-plus years. Our economy is in a shambles, and we have lost innocent lives in a war that we should never have started. Stop Vice President Cheney and the insanity now.
Reasons to oppose Bland puppy mill
I would like to comment on the June 16 letter to the editor "Best puppy ever came from Dogwood Kennels," by Ray Hash concerning the puppy mill in Bland County.
I am very glad he got to observe the breeding operation. He said that anyone who has opposed Schumucker's effort to rebuild never visited Dogwood Kennels.
No, I never visited the facility because I did not know there was a puppy mill on the property. I live in Mechanicsburg, about three miles from the Schumuckers' property. A lot of Bland County people did not know what was going on until the tragic fire that killed 192 caged dogs and puppies.
I oppose this operation for several reasons.
One is the overpopulation of purebred dogs in animal shelters. Another is the possibility of this tragic event happening again. The Amish community does not believe in modern ways such as electricity.
I do not think Hash owns land or pays taxes in Bland County. I think the Schumuckers should be fined for not having the proper county permit. If it had not been for the fire, he would not have asked for a county permit.
I also think Hash needs to look at the full picture.
