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Reconsider the vote on Forest Park Elementary

My heart goes out to Forest Park's children, their parents and teachers regarding the action taken by members of the Roanoke City School Board ("Board votes to close Forest Park," May 2).

Not only will the children be uprooted from their neighborhood school, but also separated from their friends and siblings sent to other schools with the fall closing of Forest Park Elementary. For shame.

The school board deserves an F for this heartless decision. It is more concerned with improving the city's graduation rate than the welfare of the students (at least, those in Northwest Roanoke).

Couldn't they have voted to upgrade Forest Park for the current students, rewarding them instead of punishing them? The overage academy could be located elsewhere, perhaps saving money in the process. Also, think of the high cost to transport all those kids from Forest Park to other schools.

Unfortunately, most money for schools now goes to upgrading high school ballfields, etc. The elementary schools often miss out -- no funds. I know I speak for hundreds who feel as I do. School board, please hold another vote. This time, consider the children.

Why, there's dissent in the pews

I have polled the members of Blacksburg United Methodist Church where I serve as the pastor. Much to my surprise, shock and dismay, I cannot find a single member who agrees with everything that I have said from the pulpit.

When I have questioned them about why they remain in the congregation, they claim that the church is about more than the pastor. Imagine that.

A mountain view from the future

The year 2038:

Son: Dad, how did you guys think the next generation would make its mark on Mill Mountain?

Father: I guess we took the last good spot, son. Maybe you can build a community center where there's actually a community.

Son: What was up there before?

Father: I heard some working-class people liked to have picnics on the lawn we paved over.

Son: Didn't it seem a little socialist for the city to push the restaurant that always fails?

Father: But most Roanokers supported it.

Son: A poll? Probably even more Roanokers supported cutting their taxes in half, but you didn't do that, did you? Or offer spending their money on schools and local centers, instead? Did you ask the poll that way?

Father: Well, no.

Son: Where was the political opposition?

Father: You mean the young professionals? They were busy building careers and raising families. They didn't really have our flexible working hours and free time.

Son: That's why they liked the mountain more natural, right? For a calm place to spend time with their families?

Father: That's what they said.

Son: Maybe my generation can restore the nature. The polls are for it.

Move the substation; cut impact to zero

Telephone calls from Apco raised red flags left and right. Its calls informed us that it was proposing a "low-impact" substation on property adjoining my home. While at a local informational meeting at Green Valley Elementary, an AEP representative was overheard to say about the negative responses, "This happens every time."

Well, duh!

Later, I drove to Wytheville to see for myself exactly what Apco was proposing to build adjacent to me. As I continue to talk with AEP representatives, not one has said he would want this 55-foot high by 86-foot long by 42-foot wide substation adjacent to his property due to perceived dangers/property value decreases, real or unreal. So why do they think it's OK with me?

Space not adjacent to residential areas can be found. Think outside of the box and make it work. Somehow, the argument to bury these 138 kV lines has clouded the picture for me. Buried lines are not economically feasible, but relocating the substation site is.

As a courtesy, AEP's representatives offered a meeting in their office to answer some questions. I have only one question: What is the only courtesy AEP thinks I would like from it?

If farmers get a pass, be a farmer

In reference to "Lake brings flood of complaints" (April 30 Virginia section):

Let me see if I have this straight. They dammed up a creek. They formed a lake. They installed a spillway. They built a dock. They installed a boat ramp. They stocked the lake with fish.

Authorities have concluded that the lake/dam is little or no threat to anything downstream. Am I correct so far?

Now the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is concerned about safety and environmental issues. What's wrong with this scenario?

I have no problem with environmental concerns, but this borders on the asinine. The same problems would be present whether the lake was built for recreation or farm use. If the owners built the lake for agricultural purposes instead of recreational purposes, the lake would probably have been exempt from regulations. Well, duh! Livestock are polluters by their very nature.

The same criteria should hold true for everyone. Basically, it's going to cost the lake owners $20,000 to have something that a farmer could have for free. This is a classic example of lack of common sense in government. Hey, guys, buy a cow and call it a farm pond.

JIM McCALLUM

A necessary tip for prom night

It is prom time again, when tuxes are rented and young ladies dress up in their beautiful gowns.

We as parents remind the gentlemen to open the door for their dates and the ladies to sit up straight and how to maneuver in those long dresses. But somehow we overlook the reminder of how to tip the waiter who works hard to make the dinner experience special and memorable.

My son works for a local restaurant. He shared with me last week how wait staff dread prom season -- not because high school students are ill mannered or sloppy, but because they either do not tip or they leave only a few bucks for a $50 meal.

Moms and dads: As you are sending your teens out the door and taking the photos, please remind them the folks who wait on them make approximately $2 an hour and rely on tips to make a living.

Thinking has changed in favor of trains

"Where is John Henry when we need him?" (April 26 editorial) is well crafted and timely. More passenger trains could well be the answer to high gasoline prices, global warming, jobs for the New River Valley, highway carnage, even Mideast terrorism funded by oil.

The budget crisis in Virginia transportation spending could be resolved by shifting road spending to the operation of more trains and feeder buses that would collect passengers in areas not served by rail, then ferry them to rail stations such as Lynchburg or Clifton Forge.

The issue is not so much technology but the grip of the highway lobby on government and reluctance of railroad management to believe that public opinion has changed since the 1950s. A good start would be to run the Smart Way bus to the nearest rail stations in time to pick up and discharge boarding or alighting passengers. This could be done once a day to Lynchburg and three times a week to Clifton Forge.

A groundswell of public opinion could force our myopic governments and rigid railroad management to restore the passenger train network we enjoyed in the 1940s and '50s. The longest journey begins with one step.