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FRIDAY, JULY 28, 2006 4A Mousimt IDaU\j .IJmmtal OPINION Daniel F. Evans Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans Managing Editor Editor Emeritus Let them play... here Why, we wonder, did baseball players for the Middle Georgia Baseball League have to go to Macon and Peach County to play their seasons? Why, considering the fact the vast major ity of them grew up here in our youth leagues, played in our middle schools, playUd in our high schools - some of them still doing so - couldn’t they find a home here? Not only that, but we treated them like outsiders. According to their league president, they went to local high schools and asked - with the intent of pay ing -- to use their fields. No. They went to the recreation department. No, again their presi dent said. It’s embar rassing to know the only open arms they could find were in Macon and Peach County. We tend to bring up every now and then how Macon didn’t take care of their Braves and thus they left town, but we’re appar ently just as bad - worse, considering as has already been mentioned that these are/were our people. And. it’s not like they aren’t/weren’t good stewards. As already mentioned, they Were willing to pay. They were will ing tc> water the field. They were willing to rake the infield and/or do whatever was asked of them. At the Bibb County Sports Complex where they did play, they fixed a dent in the roof of one of the dugouts. They replaced the “reserved” seat placards - all voluntarily. They gave the teams - there and at Peach County bats and balls. They held a tournament - eventu ally they did find a place here to play ... at a “middle school” - had two sponsors and offered to give all the sponsorship dollars to the high school that would let them play. No takers. Well, of course baseball is not football is it? So OK, let’s talk football. What about the International City Warriors? On their roster are nine players that graduated from Warner Robins High School, three Northside alumni and four from Perry. And, there may be more. Those are just some of the ones that have a high school designation next to their name. They claim the city as their own - hence the name - and once again we were all “gung-ho” when they were children on up to teen-agers running up and down the field at McConnell-Talbert Stadium but what kind of kindheartedness do we show them today? Their home games are in Macon. Up until Wednesday, their practice field was in Perry. Not anymore. They were run off. Today, they practice in a field near the galleria but even that is in jeopardy. We seem to have plenty of money for strip mails. We have no trouble finding room for gas stations and fast-food joints and on and on. Maybe it’s time we put building that sports complex higher up the priority list. It’s no longer about our pocketbooks. It’s our integrity that’s at stake. Let them play ... here. It's embarrassing to know the only open arms they could find were in Macon and Peach County. We tend to bring up every now and then how Macon didn't take care of their Braves and thus they left town, but we're apparently just as bad - worse, considering as has already been mentioned that these are/were our people. Thoughts on local restaurant inspecfluns Do you believe that our Houston County restaurants are less healthy than those in Bibb? No, neither do I. Still, if you look at the “Restaurant Inspections” by Houston County Environmental Health and Bibb County Environmental Health, you might logically conclude that folks are better off eating in Bibb than Houston. Let’s look at the reports for the week of July 5-11, for an example. There were 59 reported inspections in Bibb and 34 reported inspections in Houston. In other words, 63 percent of the inspections were in Bibb and 37 per cent were in Houston. O.K. Nothing startling, so far. But, what if I told you that 25 restau rants in Bibb rated 100 percent while only two restaurants in Houston rated 100 percent? Put another way: 42 per cent of the restaurants in Bibb rated 100 percent while only 6 percent of the eateries in Houston were perfect. Seven times as many “perfect” res taurants in Bibb! Pretty dramatic, I would say. The lowest score for a restaurant in Bibb was 82 percent. Houston’s lowest was 64 percent. The lowest five scores in Bibb were 82, 83, 87, 87, and 89. Houston’s were 64, 65, 78, 80 and 83. Houston had four scores lower than Bibb County’s second lowest. What’s going on here? It’s also interesting to me as to what kind of institution gets the “100’s” in the respective counties. It seems to me that generally in Houston, the “100’s” go to the quasi public type institutions - school lunch- TeuiELL Results indicate elections going to the dogs The state primary elections are history with the exception of a few runoffs and that means we get a brief respite from all the mud-slinging political ads on televi sion. Now it’s back to screaming car dealers and commercials about medical problems that shouldn’t be mentioned in a family newspaper. Better enjoy it while you can. You know that the political strategists are loading up their slop buckets and get ting ready for the November general election. For whatever reason, only about 20 percent of us voted in the primaries. That is a shameful statistic. I was in Iraq when people got their first chance to vote in a democratic election. Some walked 20 miles for the privilege. We won’t even get our lazy rumps off the couch. In the Republican primary for gover nor, incumbent Gov. Sonny Perdue eas ily dispatched Ray Mcßerry, the choice of the flaggers. Flaggers are high-fiving each other over the 50,000 votes their guy received. I hate to burst their bub ble, but Sheila the Family Wonderdog could get 50,000 votes without miss ing her daily 22-hour nap. Perdue got 370,000 votes, or 88 percent, which qualifies in my book as a rout. Flaggers have been telling me for several years that 79 percent of Georgians have said they want a chance to vote on a state flag referendum that includes the Confederate battle flag. Maybe so, but the flag issue wasn’t a blip in the primary and won’t be in the November general election either. Meanwhile, back in the 21st cen- OPINION rooms, hospitals, golf clubs, etc. As to the week I analyzed, Houston’s two perfect scores went to a golf club snack bar and a catering service. On the other hand, Bibb’s go to “main-line” restaurants. Week of July 5-11 in Bibb, perfect scores went to Arby’s, Back Porch Too, Buffalo’s Case, Burger King, Chen’s Wok, Chick-Fil-A Mobile, Church’s Fried Chicken, Dairy Queen, Domino’s Pizza, El Sombrero, Marco Italian Restaurant, Nu-Way Weiners, Quizno’s Subs, Starbucks, Uncle Chan, Yo Yo’s Refreshment Odyssy, etc., etc. HH Then, there is the “Key To Type of Major Discrepancies Found”. What does this mean? What has always dis turbed me the most was the restau rants being “written-up” for “employee hygiene matters”. Is it tuberculosis or failure to wear a hair net or not wash ing or what? Well, I guess it could be one of these. Also, I’ve been told that, at least in Houston County, it could be “no paper towels in the restroom”. Is this true? I don’t know. And what about “storage of cleaning products/ toxic materials”? This is what I was told: it could be Windex on the counter, tury, Perdue will face Lt. Gov. Mark (The Big Guy) Taylor in the general election. Perdue says he will run on his record, which includes spaying a couple of dogs and giving an elephant a physical. Taylor has chosen not to run on his record because he didn’t do anything worth talking about while lieutenant governor. Perhaps a good campaign strategy for Taylor would be to charge Perdue with animal cruelty because of the poor dogs that lost their manhood, their self-respect and some other stuff I’m not going to mention at the hands of the governor. (Note to' Taylor’s campaign team: I’m giving you this idea free of charge.) Replacing Taylor as lieutenant governor will be either Gainesville Republican State Sen. Casey Cagle or the Democrats’ Jim Martin of Atlanta, a former state commissioner of Human Resources, or former State Sen. Greg Hecht of Jonesboro. Martin and Hecht are in a runoff, if anybody besides their closest relatives care. Cagle beat slick as-.oil Ralph Reed, who happened to be passing through Georgia on his way to the White House. Reed was the choice of the Christian Coalition, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, and a bunch of ftp* Larry Walker Columnist lwalker@whgb-law.com | t Dick Yarbrough Columnist yarb24oo@bellsouth.net HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL sat there by someone cleaning the win dows - even if there was no food on the counter. Could this be true? My Grandmother Walker prepared the big meal for the middle of the day. It was for the family and sometimes for the “hands” working in the fields. It was what was called by most southerners, “dinner”. After everyone got their fill, Grandma spread a white cloth over the remains and this is what was eaten by the family for supper - and after the cows were milked and the mules were fed. Everyone “washed up” (just their hands and face) and toweled off on the same cloth that had been used at dinner and probably for several days prior. There was lard in the peas and fat on the ham and cold biscuits, and Grandma would have surely been writ ten up for “temperature control of foods ...” by Houston County’s inspec tor. Maybe, she would have gotten lucky and drawn Bibb’s inspector. Bibb’s would probably have given Grandma an 85. Houston’s a 67. Such is life - not always fair. My initial question was whether you believed Houston County’s restaurants were less safe than Bibb’s. After think ing about it, I have concluded that Houston’s lower scores probably means Houston’s restaurants are safer. Simply put, we’ve got a “tough” inspector here in our county. Or, per haps Bibb’s is lenient. Either way, I believe our restaurants are just as clean and run just as well as Bibb’s - maybe cleaner and run bet ter. Think about it. I believe you will agree. Republican fat cats. He just wasn’t the choice of the vot ers. Reed claimed to be an anti-gam bling advocate at the same time he was helping disgraced Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff protect the gambling interests of some Indian tribes. I guess he thought we were too dumb to notice the irony of that. In Georgia’s 4th Congressional District, Ambassador to Outer Space Cynthia McKinney is in a runoff with an earthling named Hank Johnson, a former DeKalb County commissioner. Currently stumping the district for the ambassador is media publicity hound Cindy Sheehan, as well as Darth Vader and E.T., the Extra Terrestrial - none of whom are qualified to vote in the district. Needless to say, I have a great interest in the outcome of this race. The ambassador is worth a minimum of four columns a year - six, if she slaps a police officer. The primary results have been a bit unsettling for me. If I lose Ray Mcßerry, Ralph Reed and our Ambassador to Outer Space as regular column fodder, this would leave me with only President Peanut and his unsolicited and self important pronouncements, bleeding heart liberals who think George Bush is responsible for all the world’s ills, including psoriasis, and people who talk too loud on their cell phones in the checkout line at the grocery store. If that happens, I just may be forced to spay dogs for a living. You can reach Dick Yarbrough at yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139 or Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.