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SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2006
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Photo ID law to get first test
Georgia’s controversial Voter ID law will get its
first test in the primary elections later this
month and, regardless of the effectiveness of
the law, critics will not be mollified.
The need for a Voter ID law exists. Anyone going
to the polls to vote should be able to provide photo
identification.
People do not
seem to object
when required to
show a photo ID
to cash checks,
purchase alco
holic beverages,
use credit cards
and many other
purposes. But,
for some reason,
many people com-
plain if they are
going to be required to have a photo ID to vote.
It is an inconsistency that we find hard to compre
hend.
Driver’s licenses are used in most instances for iden
tification. Many people do not have driver’s licenses.
The state has taken care of that. Anyone needing
a photo identification card can receive one free of
charge.
The most ridiculous argument against photo ID
cards is that this is a form of poll tax. It isn’t. Poll
taxes were charged decades ago for a person to vote.
The poll tax was outlawed and discontinued a long,
long time ago.
Claiming that requiring a photo ID to vote is a poll
tax is just a red herring from people who have another
agenda.
Voting is important in our country. Leaving loop
holes at the polling places that make it possible for
people to vote without proving who they are does not
make sense.
Secretary of State Cathy Cox, who opposes the voter
ID law says that thousands of people will be unable to
vote in the primaries because they do not have photo
IDs. If so, it is their fault. Early this year the state
sent a bus around the state offering free photo identi
fication cards and the response was pathetic.
Many who would not go to the effort to ask for a free
photo ID probably will cry foul when they are turned
away at the polls on election day.
Opponents are in a good position to attack this law
as unworkable, unfair and discriminatory. Already
black leaders are claiming that the law discriminates
against their race.
The law haa been approved by the civil rights divi
sion of the Justice Department. It is being challenged
in federal court.
If the law had been discriminatory against blacks
the liberals in the civil rights division of the Justice
Department would have struck it down.
We hope that it survives the challenges that are sure
to come. It is a good, sensible law.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Lack of new tax concern
I have seen very little in local papers concerning the
new tax assessments in Houston County. If your property
values increased by up to 75 percent as some of ours did,
a 1/2 mill decrease which the county commissioners and
school board seems to be proud of is nothing. If I’m not
mistaken the County Commissioners increased the mill
age rate by 1/2 mill last year. Taxpayers look at your last
year’s tax bills and compare it to the ones you receive
this fall. Don’t get upset. You will see an increase. Mark
my word.
You, the Houston County taxpayers have until Monday
to file an appeal. Go to www.houstoncountyga.com and
click on Tax Assessor (map guide). Put in your last
name or address to see the value placed on different
property. And of particular importance to south Houston
Countians is you will find land similar to yours having
the same value placed on your land even though you may
live on a dirt road, may not have access to county water
or fire hydrants and your tract may have low land or little
road frontage. All these factors should affect the land
values. Remember most of the new tax assessments were
probably done on a computer in an airconditioned office.
Don’t wait until next December to complain. It will be
too late and rest assured your tax bills are going up.
I read with interest the story in the paper about how
Twiggs County received a grant and applied for a no
interest loan to provide decent drinking water to the
taxpayers and fire hydrants for fire protection. We have
the same drinking water problems in Houston County.
Twiggs County’s Commission Chairman brags about the
four-laneing of State Highway 96 by 2010. It’s costing
Houston County taxpayers sl9 million of local SPLOST
funds to get this done just from highway 41 to Bonaire.
We are probably the only county along State Highway
96 having to pay with local tax dollars. And now the
Houston County Commissioners want to use local tax
dollars to buy radios for the State Patrol. This is a state
expense. Wow, how great it is to have all these powerful
local politicians in Atlanta.
Oh how I wish we still had some good independent
investigative reporters. Thank you Macon Telegraph
for keeping Bibb Countians informed about the new tax
assessments.
Tom Thornton, Kathleen
Claiming that
requiring a photo ID to
vote is a poll tax Is Just
a red herring from
people who have
another agenda.
High taxes is a relative term
Taxes are high in
Houston County, some
say.
By our standards they are
high, perhaps.
But when you look about
a hundred miles north of
here you can learn what high
taxes really are.
The Atlanta Journal-
Constitution reported last
Sunday that taxes on a
1,500 square foot home in
the Poncy-Highlands part of
Atlanta is more than SB,OOO.
Think we could stomach
that?
We have received our
assessment notices and
enough homes have been
increased in value for tax
purposes enough that the tax
assessors are busy hearing
the complaints.
In reality, we are fortu
nate that our city and county
officials (as well as board of
education) are not as waste
ful or money hungry as some
people accuse them of being.
I realize that, in the eyes of
some people, it is blasphemy
to say anything good about
the way elected officials
spend our tax money, but,
in m opinion, they have kept
the lid on better than most
urban areas where there is
growth.
I don’t like to pay taxes.
But I know that I must to
help pay for services that we
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Life lessons from the playing field
By RANDY HICKS
President of Georgia
Family Council
National Fatherhood
Initiative recently
pointed out the valu
able role sports can play in
the relationships between
fathers and their children.
It got me thinking: what are
some of the lessons that my
love of sports has added to
my life, and how can I use
sports to add value to the
lives of my sons and daugh
ters?
Our children need to
understand that there is
value in winning the right
way, honestly, through hard
work and teamwork.
And they can also learn a
great deal from losing, even
though they played by the
rules. These lessons will
apply as they go further in
sports, in their academic
careers and in their future
professions.
Playing for team is bet
ter than playing for self.
The story is told of a col
lege running back who used
to brag about his ability, as
though he was good enough
to succeed without the rest
of the team. In practice one
day, coaches told the offen
sive line to stop blocking for
a few plays. On each ensuing
play, the running back was
immediately hammered for
a loss. The “star” learned
his lesson and never failed to
give credit to his linemen for
his success.
The sacrifice bunt in base
ball is a great illustration of
what a mature adult does
- gives up his own glory so
his teammate can advance.
In real life, the responsible
adult pursues the common
good in family, workplace
and community above his
own personal interests.
Winning at all costs is
too costly.
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevarisl9@cox.net
expect and demand.
Being a senior citizen, I
hear the complaints of some
older people who do not
believe that it is right to tax
them to pay to send other
people’s children to school.
I am not in that group. I
remember that someone
paid taxes to send my son to
school.
The group of people who
really feel the hurt when it
comes to the cost of educa
tion are parents who send
their children to private
schools. They pay the same
taxes as parents with chil
dren in public schools and
then must pay tuition at pri
vate schools, too.
I have not heard any of
them complain and, if they
did, I’m sure the answer
would be that they always
can send their children to the
public schools.
Sometimes it may seem
An unhealthy obsession
with winning and achieving
personal glory can actually
cause harm, to the individual
and to the team. For exam
ple, the career numbers and
reputations of professional
baseball placers like Barry
Bonds and Rafael Palmeiro
have likely been permanent
ly tainted by alleged steroid
use.
Through sports, our chil
dren can learn that winning
through illegitimate means
is not winning at all; though
you may appear victorious,
both your Conscience and
reputation may suffer big
time losses.
Success ill life requires
that we learn to live with
the disappointing deci
sions of others. Everyone
who has watched or played
a sport has been frustrated
by bad calls against them
or their tedm. In sports,
as a competitor, you have
to forget about the bad call
and move oh or you fail to
focus on the task at hand.
In addition, most of us who
have played competitive
sports have had to live with
a coaching decision that rel
egated us to a role we did
not prefer or, worse, to the
bench. This is life. We don’t
always get what we want.
In the workplace, someone
might get a promotion that
we thought we deserved. A
boss may say something that
feels demeaning or needless
ly critical, the point is, the
only thing we typically have
control over is our response
to the bad tall or decision.
The athlete has to move on
and continue to play the
game and contribute to the
team effort.
We would do well to teach
our children not to get caught
up in the momentary frus
tration or disappointment of
someone else’s actions, but
WufwsT ''9HB
that the tax structure is
unfair,
A few counties have adopt
ed a policy of freezing the
value of homes for tax pur
poses at the price paid by the
occupant until the occupant
sells.
Then the valuation for tax
purposes will become the
new sale price. This has not
been tested in court and may
not hold up.
Such a policy is being
suggested by Commisioner
Jay Walker for Houston
County. We have not heard
from other commissioners.
While present homeowners
might like to have the value
of their homes frozen for tax
purposes, I wonder if in the
long run it would turn out to
be popular.
Some homes may be on
the tax books at their actual
value, but I suspect that most
would sell for more. If actual
to focus on their responsibil
ity and their needed contri
bution from this point for
ward.
Success doesn’t always
come easily.
Becoming proficient at
anything, whether shoot
ing a free throw or writing
a book report or making a
sales presentation, requires
perseverance, practice and
hard work. Shooting an extra
100 free throws after prac
tice can pay off in the game.
Practicing how to speak well
publicly, either for a class
or a workplace presentation
can payoff in better grades
or higher sales numbers.
The life lessons that can
be learned from sports are
more numerous than I could
lay out in this column. You
probably can come up with
many yourself. But one
other potential benefit war
rants attention here: it’s
academic.
Are you concerned about
your child’s academic per
formance or interests? Look
for ways to use your child’s
interests in sports to stir
educational achievement.
When I was young, sports
stirred my interest in his
tory and geography, and, to
a lesser degree, math.
The first biography I ever
read was From Ghetto to
Glory by Bob Gibson, the Hall
of Fame pitcher who played
for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Through that book I learned
about race relations in the
1950 s and 60s, and about
Gibson’s (and other African
American players’) struggle
to overcome racism.
Along those same lines,
through sports I learned
about Jackie Robinson, the
Cairo, Georgia native and
first African-American to
play major league baseball,
and Branch Rickey, the
Dodger general manager
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
sales prices when houses are
sold become the norm for tax
purposes there could be a
backlash.
Meanwhile, we may or may
not like the amount we will
be paying in property taxes
this year, but we’re better off
than residents of larger cities
and their suburbs. Take the
time to compare and you will
agree.
* * *
John Rosemond wrote
something recently that is
worth repeating: “If you want
peace, don’t have a child, get
a dog.”
* * *
Summer’s almost gone.
School starts in only a
month.
* * *
Two incidents the past
weekend make you wonder
about people. A boat crashed
into a pontoon boat at Lake
Sinclair, killing one man.
Despite cries for help, the
person operating the boat
that was at fault sped away
into the night.
Elsewhere, a boy took a
teenage girl to ride on an
ATV They crashed. He took
the injured girl back to a
home where he had picked
her up and left her. When she
was discovered she was near
death and she died. How can
any human act in such inhu
mane ways?
who signed him. In reading
about Robinson and Rickey,
I learned about the charac
ter, vision and perseverance
needed to bring about sig
nificant change.
I learned where to place
World War II and the Korean
War on a timeline because I
wanted to know why Ted
Williams missed so many
baseball seasons in the prime
of his career. (Answer: He
fought in both those wars.)
I also learned a fair amount
about geography from sports
-1 wanted to know where St.
Louis was, where Minnesota
was, where Washington, DC
was. I wanted to know why
there were teams called the
Senators (they played in the
nation’s capitol), Dodgers
(residents of Brooklyn were
known for dodging trolleys),
Twins (they played in the
Twin Cities) and Lakers
(they originally played in
Minnesota, the land of 1,000
lakes).
Look for the teachable
moments, but don’t become
a lecturer. Sports is one of
the great, fun things in life.
Whether watching a game
with your child, or return
ing home from an event in
which he or she participat
ed, look for a way to impart
wisdom and encouragement.
But make sure your son or
daughter enjoys the experi
ence as a bonding time with
you. You don’t want them
to recall the worst part of
their sports career as “the
20-minutes in the car with
dad after the game.”
Georgia Family Council
is a non-profit organization
that works to strengthen and
defend the family in Georgia
by impacting communities,
shaping laws and influenc
ing culture. For more infor
mation, go to www.georgia
family.org (770) 242-0001,
gregg@gafam.org.