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If Europe can,

U.S. can develop mass transit, too

"Baloney" is all I have to say to letter writer Jeri Collins' ("Trains, bikes and, ouch! My bursitis!" March 7 letter) cynical dismissal of Ray Stubblefield's more-than-reasonable proposals to wean Americans off foreign fuel sources ("Explore energy independence," March 3 column).

So rural areas have no access to mass transit? Collins should visit western Europe, where many rural locations have at least a daily bus service to the nearest city or town. Europe's population is aging even faster than ours, and they seem to be doing just fine with the transit system they have, thank you very much.

Collins could also come to my little old hometown of Blacksburg, where we have one of the finest bus systems in America that even offers a special service just for seniors.

Stubblefield was dead-on with his article. Don't believe the naysayers. If the rest of the industrialized world can develop transportation networks advanced enough to gain energy independence, then I refuse to believe that we here in America -- the richest, most technologically advanced nation on Earth -- can't.

Once all the oil runs out, we sure won't have much of a choice, will we?

When in dought, check the dictionary

On Page 8A of Saturday's Roanoke Times, I read in a subhead that Samantha Power "cast dought on Obama's Iraq plan." Curious to find out what she was tossing around so freely, I went to my ancient Merriam Webster and found very little of relevance beyond a cross-reference to "dow" -- and given the state of the Dow Jones at Friday's close, I decided not to go there.

I then ran a Google search on the word and turned up a lot of references to the stuff (or should that be "stough"?) from which Hillary made her chocolate chip cookies, and two sites that gave definitions of a sort: 1. to be able. 2. to thrive; prosper; do well. "chiefly Scottish: to be able or capable."

So she evidently approved of the plan? I have my doughts abought that.

School start times are not a problem

Why is it that Roanoke City Council and the Roanoke School Board always want to try to fix problems that truly don't exist? I blame the council members for appointing the school board that is thinking of this preposterous idea of changing the school hours.

The main concern is kids aren't getting enough sleep. Well, guess what? That's the parents' responsibility. It's up to parents to make sure kids get adequate rest before school.

How can a child getting out of school at 5 p.m., have extracurricular activities and eat supper before the time he or she should be in bed? Leave well enough alone and take the money and invest in books so the kids can actually bring them home to study.

Everyone wants to change for the better, but how about fixing what is broken then worrying with everything else later? How many of the members desiring this change have small children and older ones who help get them off?

Let the parents do their job and the officials do theirs -- listen to our opinions and heed them. Take a page out of Salem's book on how to manage a system.

New approach needed for Roanoke's homeless

One definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over, expecting different results. Like the way Roanoke handles its homeless problem.

They feed them, get them in treatment, let them stay somewhere over night, study them, count them and try to fix them.

They've done everything imaginable except get them a home. And you thought the homeless were crazy.

A good reason for closed primaries

David Goode ("Crossover voting is unethical," March 6 letter) longs for a Utopia that never was (and cannot be) where all politicians have high ethics and no one practices the "devious partisan strategy" of crossover voting. It is natural to wonder if his problem is with the devious or partisan part of the strategy.

I believe that if you are not partisan, you are not engaged in politics and especially for a primary. The solution for the problem that Goode has is not higher ethics, but to have a closed primary with party registration, including independents. On primary election day, independents would not be allowed to vote unless that was a group listed on the ballot.

The primary is a partisan process. People who are unwilling to identify with an affiliated group can just stay home until November and let the partisans choose their candidates unhindered by crossover voters.

The present system of open primaries in many states invites crossovers, but does not assure the selection of the best candidates. It does provide a possibility for having the worst candidates competing in November.

Help turn disabilities into gifts

The recent article about the teen who had ADHD and who has written a book on ADHD points out that having a disability can be turned into a gift ("ADHD from a teen's point of view," March 4 feature story).

Many children who are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder get a bad reputation. We, as educators and society, should realize the positive aspects of ADHD. Most of these children have a high IQ, leadership qualities and are very creative. We need to help channel their energy into productive activities.

Many times educators have trouble seeing beyond the problem behaviors that sometimes are seen in a child with ADHD. As a society, we need to be more positive about any disability, whether it be physical or mental.

The way a child with a disability is treated early in life can influence his future. If they are treated as though they are special or that they have a gift, their self-esteem will be higher, and they have a better chance of becoming successful, productive adults.

Just plain tired of the race

I will be so glad when all the primaries are completed. I am tired of listening to the candidates have to repeat themselves to reporters who have already decided the answer. They ask the same questions over and over.

They tell you so many poll results and what each candidate said, as if you, the public, can't understand what you hear. I understand that the candidates try hard not to say anything concrete that might come back to haunt them. I guess the reporters and analysts have to decode it for us.

Now I ask you, the people, aren't you tired of being told how you are going to vote even before you cast that vote? I don't respond to any polls, and when they call I hang up.

For those candidates who are filling the airways with ads, I have found out that there is a good use of the on/off button or channel changer. I am basically tired of you saying the same thing, complaining about the present government, but not really suggesting how it can be fixed.

Another paradise may be lost

For years I have seen SUVs and pickup trucks displaying round window stickers with the letters OBX. I never knew what the big deal was until I went to the beautiful Outer Banks in North Carolina.

I was excited to see that I could drive my SUV to remote spots on the beach, relax and fish. I saw a responsible balance between recreation and conservation.

Last spring, a federal judge ruled that the beaches be closed to off-road vehicles. Didn't hear about it, OBX people? That's because our local media are concerned with other things.

Do you drive out to your favorite spot? Maybe not this spring. OBXers, get off your duffs and call your congressman, call the National Park Service. Do a Google search on the issue to learn more about it. Go to OBPA.org and join a group that wants you to be able to use the beaches responsibly.

Do something, or this place will be lost to your children forever. Roanoke Times, do a feature on the fight over this issue. It's a hot one.