Letters to the editor-2/16/12

Local homeless are invisible

To the editor,

What does a homeless person look like? Sure, some are easy to spot, but most look like you and me. They are invisible and try to stay that way. They are not going to a police station and say, “I’m homeless, find me shelter.” They have learned not to be trusting because of what people think and how they are treated. Most homeless people are not lazy, drug and alcohol users wanting handouts. Many are simply looking for a way out of their situation. Homeless people can have a job and even a car, but just not enough to afford housing or food.

Yes, we did have a “tent city” in Orange which is now gone. The single men who lived there found other places to stay. The couple living there was forced to leave. They were finally taken to Charlottesville and hopefully getting the help they need. It seems you need identification for everything these days and it’s difficult for folks who don’t have any. Yes, we do have homeless people in Orange—they are just invisible.

Feed My Sheep offers a free meal to anyone once a month and we have fed a number of homeless people over the last three years. We have been thanked several times over for offering a free meal. Sometimes, a person has not eaten for days before coming.

There is no one place a person can get information if they need help finding a job, housing, transportation, bill-paying, etc… Homeless people don’t buy newspapers or necessarily have a phone.

Donna Mork

Feed My Sheep, Orange

Fox pens unsportsmanlike, uncivilized, unacceptable

To the editor,

A recent letter, “Don’t outlaw fox pens in Virginia” (Feb. 9, 2012) contains a number of misleading and inaccurate comments concerning the operation of fox pens. I have attempted to monitor the operation of these facilities for a number of years by attending meetings of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, from whom I requested copies of inspection reports, letters from operators requesting changes to their facilities and requests to “replenish” the population of foxes.

Information provided by the VDGIF indicates that inspections are performed sporadically, are not complete, are seldom signed by the inspecting officers and are of no useful value in meeting the goal of the department. There is no follow-up of incomplete or inconclusive inspections, no assessment of the health status of the foxes, no physical verification of escape areas, fencing, habitat conditions, etc. Although losses are alleged to be “minimal,” one training preserve needed to be restocked with 83 foxes, while eight other preserves were restocked with a total of 302 foxes—all within a one-year period. Obviously, these are not minimal losses, nor did these foxed die of old age.

At a meeting I attended in October 1994, members of the VDGIF Board of Directors, as well as some department employees, expressed concern that restocking and permit conditions were not being adequately monitored and controlled. Subsequent meetings in 1996, 1997 and 1998 did not reflect substantive improvements in these areas. At a meeting of April 2-3, 1998, I presented information from the department’s own files which indicated discrepancies in inspections, stocking reports, lack of compliance with department directives and a general disregard for the department’s own policies and procedures. Obviously, the “stringent rules” the writer referred to are mythical at best, or if they do exist, receive only lip service from those who are mandated to enforce them.

If the objective of fox hunting is, “to listen to a pack of dogs while they work a fox track,” then let the owners allow their dogs to chase foxes in the same areas unfenced so that the foxes have a reasonable chance at survival. The argument that there are insufficient open lands simply means that civilization is encroaching on the habitat of wildlife. Unfortunately, civilization has not yet changed the humans who engage in this despicable “sport.”

We are all familiar with the expression “shooting fish in a barrel” as an example of unacceptable behavior and unsportsmanlike conduct. Putting foxes in a fenced area, with no escape route, only one “safe haven” for each two foxes, and allowing them to be chased by a pack of dogs intent on catching and killing them is inhumane, unsportsmanlike and uncivilized. I find it shameful that Virginia has allowed this to continue for so many years.

Please encourage your delegates and senators to vote for HB 695 and SB 202 to put a stop to this barbaric activity.

Karl L. Santone,

Gordonsville

Contribute to After Prom Party

To the editor,

The Orange County Office on Youth and the After Prom Committee are pleased to organize the “after prom celebration” again this year. The event will be held May 12 and allows every OCHS junior and senior and their dates the opportunity to have a fun-filled evening in a safe and secure environment, free of alcohol and drugs. Each year’s party is a success because of generous donation of cash, door prizes and time.

We know the continued hard economic times have affected each and every one of us and we appreciate the support we have received from local businesses, churches and individuals in past years. We are asking, again, for your support this year as we begin to plan for this event. Your generous donations help cover the costs of the evening’s activities which include games, a money machine, bingo, contests, food, dancing and more.

If you would like to make a monetary donation, please make checks payable to Orange County and mark “After Prom Celebration” on the memo line. Contributions can be mailed or hand-delivered to the Office on Youth at 146 Madison Road, Suite 146, Orange, VA 22960. As we have done in the past, individuals, organizations and businesses making a donation of $100 or more (either cash or comparably valued contribution) will have their name included on the event t-shirt if payment/contribution is received by April 13.

Please contact the office on youth at 672-5484 if you have any questions.

Alisha Vines

O.C. Office on Youth Director