Letters to the Editor for Saturday, October 3, 2009
Published: October 3, 2009
JA thanks community for support
The board of Junior Achievement of Virginia’s Piedmont Inc. made the difficult but necessary decision to cease operations as of Sept. 30. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in the same position as other nonprofit and for-profit organizations that have had to make similar tough choices due to the challenging economic environment.
Junior Achievement of Virginia’s Piedmont is proud to have served more than 57,000 local youth for the last 41 years with JA programs, teaching them to value free enterprise and understand business and economics and to use that understanding to improve the quality of their lives.
We thank all those who have made this outreach possible. This includes the individual and corporate donors who have given outright or those who have sponsored one of our eight Business Hall of Fame Celebrations or one of our 22 Bowl-A-Thons. We also thank our hundreds of volunteers who may have worked in the classroom or assisted with an event. We also express appreciation to our dedicated staff who promoted the JA vision on our behalf daily.
Finally, we’d be remiss not to thank the administration and staff of our wonderful schools, our local government leaders and administrators and our fellow Region 2000 nonprofit organizations for the support they’ve given JA through the years.
The Lynchburg area is a better place because of their efforts and we encourage your continued support of their work.
LARRY JACKSON
Board chairman
Junior Achievement of Virginia’s Piedmont
Heartfelt thanks
The students, parents, staff and board of directors of Elizabeth’s Early Learning Center would like to thank the staff of the Lynchburg Juvenile Detention Center for volunteering at our school.
The 14 employees of the City of Lynchburg arrived at our school on the morning of Sept. 23 with smiles, enthusiasm and tools to clean the building and grounds, landscape and assemble equipment. They worked diligently for more than four hours and left our school sparkling and look like new.
Thank you to Ray Smith, Yvonne Franklin, Rosie Hampton, James Smith, Bernard Mitchell, Gregory Haythe, Steve Brown, Walter James, Emma Taylor, Laurie Williams, Jackie West, Vincent Early, Brian Farmer and Melba Kelso for giving back to the community in such a generous way.
Our founder, the late Elizabeth Forsyth, actively gave of herself to build a better community, and we appreciate you carrying on that tradition with us.
JANE P. GERDY
Executive director
Elizabeth’s Early Learning Center
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Reader Reactions
Much as I think I might be amused by attending The N&A Reader Reactionary Gala on Oct 6, this is to reluctantly convey my sincere regrets. There are three primary items I would dearly love to bring to the forum, but due to serious handicaps (severe emphysema and miserable hearing), I’m concerned that I would not serve the cause with ample distinction.
So, if anyone should care to read short summaries as a “proxy” submission, perhaps, and either collectively or individually return here after The Gala to “pin my ears back”, here are three major aspects of past Reader Reactions that concern me greatly.
First would be Fred’s infuriating practice of religiously—oops! make that consistently—posting almost every incident of firearm violence that appears in the mainstream media, in total naive ignorance or possibly deliberate avoidance of the thousands of incidents of people using defensive weapons to abort such acts of violence. Unfortunately, guns are “out there”, and there’s just no way short of some Star Trekky “selective matter vaporizer” to make them go away, and as long as bad guys have them, it’s logically advantageous for the far greater number of “good guys” to be able to resist them. I have a problem understanding how someone who seems to be pretty intelligent otherwise can fail to grasp this simple concept.
Next would be the propensity for so many writers here to blatantly disregard established facts in making their arguments, such as a recent submission belittling the 9/12 Tea Party in DC, quoting
~~~~~
“...(This is my favorite today) “my wife and I gathered in front of the United States Capitol with 1.2 million other Americans”-
“The DC Police count was 60-65,000 TOPS.“
~~~~~
That ridiculous number has been so thoroughly refuted and discredited by so many different sources that for one of you to seriously quote it is to immediately destroy the credibility of anything else you may ever write. Unfortunately, that sort of distortion goes on far too often here.
And then we get to health care, and I simply cannot see how anyone can conjure the idea that it is a “basic human right”. A true right comes naturally, without time and expense on the part of anyone else. Freedom of speech, for example, demands no money or time from anyone, simply the acceptance and observance of the principle. The provision of health care, however, requires someone (many someones) to invest time and money in learning the science (and art), and other someones to invest time and money to develop and produce the medicines and facilities, and for the government or anyone else to force those someones to provide those services to anyone else is simply a different form of slavery.
That we have a humanitarian obligation to try to help others in need (medical or otherwise) goes without saying, but to get the government into it and make it a requirement is simply wrong, and that issue might be a worthwhile item to broach on the 6th.
Enough from the peanut gallery, perhaps too much. Y’all enjoy the Gala. Sorry I’m so burnt out (lungs) and blown out (ears), that I can’t join you, but I’ll look forward to reading upcoming reviews of it here.
Hate,
You are right. I was trying to be cute. Sorry.
I hope that won’t prevent you from coming and having drinks and rice!
Fred said: “Do not forget: Tuesday October 6 at 6:00 pm.
Once again: all Reactionaries are invited regardless of how stupid I may think they are!“
WOW!!! What an invitation!!! Makes me want to go!! Insulting people before they even arrive. So much for civility…....
The Olympics are going to Rio!!!!
While this sorry excuse of a POTUS jets off to Denmark on our dime our troops are fighting and dying over seas, our Generals are begging for more help in fighting this war, unemployment is through the roof, the stimulus is failing and higher taxes and enormous inflation on the middle class are on the way. Obozo has finally made it to the top of the list of Morons On Parade. How’s that hope & change working for ya?
I will not be there, gentleman, as I have a previous commitment. When I said I have little time in a previous post and my attendance was unlikely, that accurately foretold my plan.
Enjoy and use the cream pies wisely.
Indy,
“OMSOC”!
What’s the “secret password” to get into the gala?
REACTIONARIES’ GALA DINNER:
GREAT NEWS!
I just made the reservation at King’s Island. Unknown to me, they have a semi-private room with a round table that seats up to 10 people. It’s ours! There is room to accommodate even more people.
The cream pies will be on a table by the door, on the way out!
Do not forget: Tuesday October 6 at 6:00 pm.
Once again: all Reactionaries are invited regardless of how stupid I may think they are! That’s your chance to show your face even if you don’t want to divulge your real name.
Sad news about the JA program. I always thought it a good activity.
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