Child’s death tragically real

The Charlottesville Daily Progress
Published: June 5, 2008

Our hearts go out to the family and friends of “ZZ” Booth, the 11-year-old boy who was shot to death in his home in Charlottesville.

A suspect is in custody. Police have said the killing might have resulted from a botched robbery.

Aziz Damar Booth was known as a popular child, “quiet, but outgoing,” said a neighbor. Educators called him an enthusiastic learner. He had just completed his “moving on” ceremony in preparation for going to middle school next fall.

Senseless violence is always tragic, but all the more so when the victim is a child.

“Any man’s death diminishes me,” John Donne said. The killing of a child horrifies us as individuals, diminishes us as a community and can serve as evidence of the damage to community that has already occurred. It has become all too difficult to protect ourselves and guard the children in our neighborhoods.

But such observations seem too sterile for this situation, too pale to express the depth of loss. ZZ’s death might prompt us to consider wider societal problems, where a child can be shot to death inside his own home, but it is not as a symbol that he is mourned.

It is the reality that is so painful. His death is not just a loss to “the” community, but rather to a specific community — a neighborhood where he was liked, a school where he was appreciated, a family where he was loved. His death is tragically, agonizingly real.

A little boy was killed in his home. And we in this community share that sorrow.

Time to move forward

Charlottesville City Council this week decided to endorse a plan to build a new dam and pipeline for the Ragged Mountain Reservoir — while also calling for a continued study of the dredging option for the Rivanna Reservoir. The Albemarle Board of Supervisors also supports a review of dredging.

Now, there’s a mixed message that could be construed as mixed.

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority had picked improving Ragged Mountain over a proposal to dredge the Rivanna Reservoir as its favored solution to long-term water needs for Charlottesville-Albemarle.

But a vocal group of citizen critics launched a grass-roots effort to change that decision. Dredging, they say, is more economical and a better all-around solution.

Now, on the one hand, it’s reasonable to keep dredging on the table as a supplement — if economically feasible — to the Ragged Mountain plan. Area growth may well necessitate a wide variety of solutions.

But risk exists that critics may view the continued study of dredging as a signal that councilors and supervisors are ambiguous about Ragged Mountain.

At some point decisions must be made — and accepted. Charlottesville-Albemarle needs to move forward with water solutions, not look back over its shoulder.

Along with Council and the Board of Supervisors, state and federal agencies have endorsed the Ragged Mountain plan. It’s time to pursue that project.