Letters to the Editor for Friday, January 29, 2010

Writer: Civic center not doable now
A recent article in The News & Advance noted that Liberty University wants to resurrect the effort to build a civic center in the area. Evidently, it has outgrown its own facility.

Liberty wants another costly feasibility study done with the university as a major user of the facility but not directly providing capital to build it.

In what may be the understatement of the year, the paper reports that Lynchburg City Manager Kimball Payne said now might be a bad time to ask local governments to pay for a study on a civic center or to pay to build and operate it. Payne went on to say that it could cost $80 million to $100 million to build and at least $5 million a year to operate.

“If I’m at all accurate in (those) numbers, does it take a feasibility study to tell us whether we’re even in the ballpark or not?” he asked.

I am in complete agreement with Mr. Payne.

In another article, Payne’s research found that only two civic centers in the country are breaking even. Is LU aware of the dire fiscal straits that the citizens and local governments are facing?

One thing is certain. If Liberty University succeeds in its effort to elect three more Lynchburg City Council members this spring, it will be a lot easier for it to get its way. As stated in The News & Advance’s 10 news events to watch for in 2010: “Liberty, which already has flexed its electoral muscle in the last state and federal elections, has been aggressively promoting local voting among its students with the explicit goal of influencing City Council decisions.”
RONALD OVERSTREET
Lynchburg

Some reform needed
I am writing this to express my anger to the health insurance companies.

Make no mistake, I am a die-hard conservative and deeply against Obamacare and all this administration is doing.

With that said, I am deeply disgusted with health care costs. I am retired and am 63 years old. My health insurance went up $60 a month recently, without any doctor visits or hospital charges involved.

When looking on the Internet for cheaper insurance and filling in a questionaire, I was called shortly thereafter by a rep from an insurance company. I was told that my costs would be high, due to my age and proximity to Medicare. I am and have been in good health all my life and find this attitude reprehensible.

Retired people have limited incomes and should not be the focal point of gouging. We definitely need to make health care more affordable and not adversely affect increased costs on seniors. Perhaps allowing retirees to buy into their group coverage at a higher rate would be the immediate fix.

Let’s eradicate the idea that people who are older and have retired are no longer useful and soon to die. We want the same quality of life that everyone else has, and should not have to pay an exorbitant price to get it.
JERRY WILMER
Lynchburg