The heart of the matter
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, July 8, 2013
The heart of the matter
I have been an avid watcher of the George Zimmerman trial from the beginning. I realize that situations of this type can be looked upon as emotional and speculative versus objectively, meaning that as the events unfold through examination and cross-examination, the truth may not ever be realized.
We know one individual died and one individual lived. But as a mother and grandmother, I grieve the loss of a young 17-year-old male child by the name of Trayvon Martin who was killed on Feb. 26, 2012.
Through this process of events, I’ve come to realize that Martin will no longer have the ability to achieve personal aspirations and goals. He lost the opportunities for high school graduation, college, employment, military options, marriage, children, grandchildren, etc.
Martin was a citizen of this great nation called the U.S.A., and the opportunities were limitless; a teenager still so young, still able to be molded, shaped and developed into a great man, with a great future in this nation. For this, my heart continues to grieve for a life taken and lost too soon.
FRANCES ANDREA SAUNDERS
ROANOKE
Be kind to animals, and close the zoo
I’d like to respectfully suggest it’s time to close the Mill Mountain Zoo. It has neither the money nor the appropriate space to house the current inhabitants.
I have come to believe all zoos are unethical, inhumane reflections of our ill-conceived sense of superiority as a species.
There are plenty of ways the land at the zoo can be put to better use, futile justifications of education, tourism and preservation of endangered species aside.
It’s time to be kind to our fellow inhabitants on the planet, all of whom have proven to be better stewards of the planet’s resources than ourselves.
ANDY CLINGEMPEEL
SALEM
Woman’s best friend, too
I enjoyed the CornerShot written by J. Ed Harris on June 30 (Extra section). He brought back a lot of memories of his dog, Asia, and my dog, Eddie. Yes, I think dogs go the heaven, and someday when we call Asia and Eddie, they will come running and bound up into our waiting open arms — to stay.
MARY SHARP
SALEM
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
