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January 8, 1980
<br />
<br />At a regular meeting of the City Council held on January 8, 1980, there were present:
<br />
<br />Richard J. Davis, Jack P. Barnes, Ben A. Beamer,
<br />J. Robert Gray, James W. Holley, III, Edward L.
<br />City Manager, Steven Lieberman, City Attorney.
<br />
<br />Sr., E. Saunders Early, Jr.,
<br />Oast, Jr., Robert T. Williams,
<br />
<br /> Rev. John N. Ashenfelder, Pastor, Cradock Presbyterian Church, opened the meeting with
<br />prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
<br />
<br />Mayor Davis welcomed all visitors in attendance.
<br />
<br /> Motion of Mr. Gray and seconded by Mr. Beamer, minutes of the Public Hearing of December
<br />10, 1979; minutes of the regular meeting of December 11, 1979, to be approved as received,
<br />and was adopted by unanimous vote.
<br />
<br /> 80-lA Motion of Vice Mayor Holley and seconded Mr. Beamer, that Item 80-25 to be
<br />presented following Item 80-3, and was adopted by unanimous vote.
<br />
<br /> 80-2 - Charles B. Whitehurst, Vice Chairman of-the Clean Community Commission, presented
<br />to Council "National Award 1979" received by the Portsmouth Clean Community Commission. Mayor
<br />Davis on behalf of the Council, expressed appreciation to Chairman David A~ Corey, and Vice
<br />Chairmen Whitehurst and Shirley Winters, and the Committee on receiving this award.
<br />
<br /> 80-3 Miss Margaret N. Hohmann, Senior of Churchland High School, Winner of the "Voice
<br />of Democracy" Award in the local High Schools, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars,
<br />was presented by Mr. Frank Cadlaon. Miss Hohmann made the following presentation:
<br />
<br />"My Role in America's Future
<br />
<br /> It happens or has happened to every one of us. We get so busy coping with
<br />of each day that we never stop to wonder where we'll be or what we'll be doing
<br />ten, twenty, or fifty years. Then one day we must wake up, pause for a moment,
<br />sort of future for ourselves.
<br />
<br />the problems
<br />in the next
<br />and plot some
<br />
<br /> This experience happened to me one afternoon while I was tackling my h~mework from that
<br />day. The furthest thing from my mind at that moment was my role in America's future. However
<br />as I sat crosslegged amidst a pile of English compositions, encyclopedias, pens, and erasers,
<br />I noticed an intruder into my sheltered senior year. I had just opened the mail, scanned the
<br />brochures from several colleges I had never heard of, but had yet to throw them out.
<br />
<br /> This nonchalance, this apathy concerning these brochures was dangerous, I realized. In
<br />just a few months I would be expected to choose what I would be doing for the next five years,
<br />which would affect the rest of my life.
<br />
<br />Before I started to panic, I stopped for a moment to consider my choices.
<br />
<br /> First of all, I could go to college,. Almost half of all American 18 year olds attend
<br />a college or university today, and that figure is increasing annually, despite rising tuition
<br />and living costs. College graduates have an edge over high school graduates on the job market
<br />and also have a chance to improve their tastes in art, literature, and music. Secondly, I
<br />could choose to serve in the Armed Forces. The Armed Forces employ citizens from all backgrou
<br />and these persons take advantage of the steady job and technical training offered by the Armed
<br />Forces. Thousands of Americans take advantage of this opportunity. Combined, the Armed Force
<br />are excellent training grounds for technical careers or can be rewarding careers in themselves
<br />
<br /> The most amazing quality about my possible choices of careers is the degree of selection.
<br />When my mother was my age, realistically she had four choices to become a housewife, teacher
<br />secretary, or nurse. Now these as well as a multitude of other fields are open to women.
<br />
<br /> College, the Armed Forces, the Police Academy, the Firefighters these are but a few
<br />choices. Just think - I could be a pilot, a designer, a business executive, a politician, a
<br />lawyer, a scientist, a stock broker, or just about anything~ But this is perhaps what is so
<br />good about America. The key word here is opportunity.
<br />
<br /> As I reach for these opportunities for advancement, I shall remember to be grateful to
<br />those who have made my many opportunities possible - those fighters for civil rights and refor
<br />who struggled with legislatures to assure our freedoms; those pioneers in many fields who have
<br />developed our resources and who have helped create the highest standard of livihg in the worl
<br />and especially those men and women who have given their lives defending these freedoms.
<br />
<br /> I also shall remember that I have been more fortunate than many Americans I can walk,
<br />I am healthy, I can communicate. I can reap the benefits of a good education and a good famil'
<br />It is sad that these benefits are not available to everyone. But certainly it is the least I
<br />can do to help those less fortunate. Alan Paton once said, "To stand up for the freedom of
<br />others is one of the marks of those who are free, just as to fail to do so is one of the marks
<br />of those who are ready to be enslaved." By helping the sick, the poor, the abused, and the
<br />handicapped, then I will be truly free. Of course, some will ask, "How can you be free in
<br />an America with difficulties like a climbing crime rate, with widespread unemployment, and wit
<br />the two forces of wasteful production and a clean environment str~ggling against one another?
<br />These are the same persons who throw up their hands in dismay after reading the newspaper. My
<br />answer is simple. Through my contribution I hope to help effect a change for the better. If
<br />others will try to do the same, then our task will be much easier.
<br />
<br /> So my role in America's future is to take hold of each opportunity, to take advantage of
<br />it, and then to repay my country, through loyalty, dedication, hard work, and service."
<br />
<br />.ds,
<br />
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