Saturday, June 28, 2008
Editorial: Short takes
Quick views on some of the week's news.
From the RoundTable blog
Read the latest entries
Oops, next time check the goodie bag
There are lots of red faces in Bedford County over a hygiene packet sent home with Otter River Elementary School's fifth-grade boys. A pamphlet by Old Spice was tucked in along with the toothpaste and deodorant. It talked about body changes that adolescent boys could expect. The school said it didn't know the pamphlet with what it deemed "age inappropriate" material was included until an upset parent fired off letters to the school board.
That might have been a bit of an overreaction. Parents like to know in advance when their kids are going to be exposed to new sex-ed material so they can be ready to answer questions. But kids are exposed daily to all types of sexual messages through TV, songs, billboards and so on. As much as some parents might wish, they can't shield kids from sex-ed. Better that the facts of life come from school and not the schoolyard.
A new old mayor takes office
Technically, Roanoke's new mayor, David Bowers, doesn't assume office until Tuesday. But he and the newly elected council members -- Sherman Lea, Anita Price and Court Rosen -- took the oath of office Thursday. Only Price and Rosen are new to city government. Lea won re-election and Bowers, well, he's held the mayoral post twice before.
"Third time's the charm," he quipped.
For the city's sake, we hope that it is and wish Bowers and the new council members well.
We expect that voters who believed Bowers' pledge for a more open government will pay attention.
Shaq takes a rap for his B-I-G performance
NBA star Shaquille O'Neal shot the sheriff's confidence and can no longer be a deputy.
Bedford Sheriff Mike Brown asked O'Neal to turn in his badge after a video of the basketball player rapping showed up on the Internet. Shaq knocked his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant and used derogatory language that isn't at all suitable for the wholesome image that Brown had hoped he portrayed. O'Neal has been somewhat the poster child for Brown's national campaign to track down Internet child pornographers and served as spokesman for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
As a public person, O'Neal should know better than most that what he says and does will be recorded and posted. Using the language he did around youth tarnishes his reputation and the good works done in the past.
