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I'm writing this letter in hopes that some sort of minor change can be made this year when the Christiansburg Relay for Life is held. The event is always held at Christiansburg High School and lasts all night. It is a wonderful event and I don't want to take anything away from this worthy cause. However, there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of people living within earshot, and the playing of extremely loud music all night long is very disturbing.

Last year, it went on all night and prevented me and many of my neighbors from sleeping that night. I know it is held on the weekend, but everyone can't afford to stay up all night listening to "Cotton Eyed Joe."

I do not think turning it down after, say, 11 p.m. or midnight is unreasonable. In fact, I think it is the right thing to do. I'm also pretty sure that this would not take away anything from the event itself. It would be very nice for whoever is in charge of this event to consider the people living in the area.

Taxpayer-funded deadfall removal

I wish to apologize to the citizens of the United States and Virginia. We, residents of the Laurel Ridge subdivision outside Blacksburg, are using your tax dollars, in my opinion, for personal use.

Instead of individually ridding our home sites of deadfall to reduce the danger of forest fires, we obtained a grant from the Virginia Department of Forestry in 2008 for $3,527 for chipping and disposing of debris.

Of course, each of us could have used our own hands, clippers, hand saws, etc. to cut this debris into small pieces that would then easily rot in place. Some residents did just this. Or, each homeowner could have hired someone to do this manual labor.

Yet many of my neighbors have so little respect for your financial situation that we, who live in a relatively upscale neighborhood, essentially take money from you without a second thought. And surprise, we may be getting a similar grant again this year.

It's a shame that any citizens would have this attitude, but we do. Some of my neighbors have the attitude that everyone else does this, so why shouldn't we? The answer -- it's just wrong.

A Christiansburg finance director

At the March 3 Christiansburg Town Council meeting, the finance committee presented its job description for the new post of treasurer/finance director. This position was created in response to the past two audits of the town's financial statements. The description recommended by the committee included "budget preparation."

Mayor Richard Ballengee promptly rejected that requirement, saying, "The job description should be to assist in preparation of the budget since the town manager has that responsibility."

If Lance Terpenny had "the qualifications, training, skills and knowledge to apply generally accepted accounting principles in recording the town's financial transactions and preparing its financial statements," a quote from the 2008 audit report, then the town would not need to create this position.

Is anyone else bothered by Ballengee's unilateral disregard of the finance committee?

Security at the courthouse

Beware to those who will be entering the Montgomery County courthouse. Many of us have had total knee replacement, hip replacement and so many things that require metal parts in our body. We expect security, but want respect.

As I entered through the security unit, it went off. I have a total knee replacement. There were three deputies who began to yell, throw everything down and get back. I was trying to get to my card from my doctor. One deputy said I don't want your permit. I told him I wasn't after my permit.

I will be 83 years old in June, and to have people yell, throw everything down and get back is quite shocking. The deputy refused to let me get my card. He continued to yell, "Get over here; we are going to search you."

In the meantime, a female deputy at the desk kept saying I was very rude, sending me deeper into shock. I was treated like a common criminal.

I had back surgery in November plus the knee replacement last year, so I couldn't move as fast as they seemed to want.

Please have security refrain from acting like Barney Fife.