Schools didn’t need $1.4 million after all
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
7. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
Monday, June 24, 2013
Schools didn’t need $1.4 million after all
It appears to me that the editorial content of this newspaper is very quick to publish what it thinks are deficiencies in the governance of Franklin County, especially when it comes to criticizing school system funding provided by the board of supervisors.
Why is it that there is no editorial mention of the fact that, as it turns out, the school system didn’t even really need any additional funds, other than another $300,000 the board provided to the original budget, to save all the jobs they threatened to eliminate?
Why ask for $1.4 million when $300,000 is sufficient? It seems to me that the editor who wrote those many deceptive pieces during our struggle needs to get the facts straight before using The Roanoke Times as a bully pulpit to promote a personal agenda.
Is it any wonder that liberal, biased newspapers like The Roanoke Times are having trouble staying afloat? When this newspaper allows its employees to use its pages to print untrue rhetoric, all it does is further diminish any credibility that it might have had.
In the future, please get your facts straight and try to concentrate on the positive aspects of Franklin County.
GERALD MODARO
SNOW CREEK
Coal counties, look closely at candidates
When it comes to who you can trust to boost Southwest Virginia in a state election, it is important to realize who is advocating for what and who is the “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe wants to grow coal exports to Asian nations and keep Virginia in the international marketplace, creating jobs in the coalfields and at our Hampton Roads deep port.
He wants to build on this year’s transportation agreement and build the Coalfields Expressway in a public-private partnership with Alpha Natural Resources.
He wants to reform or end Standards of Learning tests that force students and teachers to teach to a single test.
McAuliffe wants Virginia taxes low and a continued triple-A bond rating, and to make the state the best managed in the nation again. He will not buy into a $1.4 billion tax gimmick that will destroy its financial solvency.
Republican opponent Ken Cuccinelli has no experience in international trade or as a business entrepreneur.
The true Republican Party has been hijacked from the likes of Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling, requiring us to consider what the real Cuccinelli would do to our lives in the Virginia coalfields over the next four years.
EULA HUGHES
COEBURN
Washington scandals get scant attention
Have you noticed the lack of coverage of the scandals in Washington? Fast and Furious, the Benghazi attack with four Americans killed (Hillary Clinton’s comment, “What difference does it make?”), the Internal Revenue Service problems, the National Security Agency snooping, the investigation of reporter James Rosen.
The only answer from President Obama: “He read it in the paper.”
Lois Lerner from the IRS took the Fifth. Eric Holder, the attorney general, knew nothing about anything. The FBI director had no information about the FBI investigation of the IRS.
But The Roanoke Times can cover any wrong step by Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli. Now that Obama supporter Warren Buffett owns The Roanoke Times, we can expect more of the same.
CECIL H. GUILLIAMS
ROANOKE
Bedford can work to keep Amtrak link
Recent news stories have suggested that Amtrak’s return to Roanoke by 2016-17 will terminate Smart Way Connector Bus service to Bedford, stopping access to passenger rail and creating a transportation desert there.
However, Bedford can take swift, inexpensive actions now to boost Smart Way ridership and retain Amtrak access:
* Install signs on U.S. 460 to identify for potential bus/train riders that Bedford is a stopover point for better Northeast Corridor transportation. Amtrak signs, erected by the Virginia Department of Transportation on existing structures, are free.
* Promote a taxi service so vacationers can reach lodgings, restaurants, the D-Day Memorial and other attractions, creating a great job for an enterprising individual or company, but costing the city nothing.
* Encourage local amateur photographers to post their photos and videos of Bedford and nearby attractions, for free, as links on the city’s website.
These actions will stimulate ridership for the connector bus, forcing Amtrak to consider a Bedford stop. If the only impediment to passenger service was a platform, I hope the state would help the city to finance it. In the interim, the higher bus rider numbers should preserve at least a Bedford-Lynchburg bus link.
DAN PEACOCK
Member, Virginia Association of Railroad Patrons
MANASSAS
1. 41-vehicle wreck ties up traffic Sunday on I-81 in Rockbridge County
2. Virginia Tech football roster has holes on picture day
3. Medicare penalties hit hospitals in Roanoke, New River Valleys
4. Microfestivus beer event gets downtown Roanoke hopping
5. McFarling: 2 little numbers are a big hurdle for Virginia Tech football
6. Arrest made in case of missing Nelson County teen
7. DAN CASEY: Copter cost still stirring up dust
8. Roanoke farmers markets making local foods more accessible
9. Virginia attorney general's office grows under Ken Cuccinelli
10. Man's drowning is 5th in Lynchburg area
THE ROANOKE TIMES
