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♦ SATURDAY, AUGUST 5, 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
We'll just have to wait
Fishermen looking forward to wet
ting hooks in the new Flat Creek
Fishing Area will just have to hold
their horses and wait a while.
Biologist Steve Schlelger says that the
wait may be a long one unless “we get a
hurricane” to fill the lake.
The 106 acre man-made lake bed prob
ably will not be filled with water for at
least two years.
State officials expected normal rain to
fill the lake in much less time. But the
drought we have been experiencing also
is a reason it will be a long time before
the lake is ready for stocking.
A creek,
which was
supposed to
help fill the
lake, has
dried up as a
result of the
drought, so
plans have
been sabo
taged.
The Department of Natural Resources
plans to begin stocking the lake with fish
once it is approximately one-third filled.
Maybe we will get a hurricane or the
effects of one this fall. If so, fish will be
jumping in the lake sooner than expect
ed.
Mayor gives his opinion
English is now the official language
of the City of Perry. Why not?
Ours has been an English-speak
ing country since its inception.
The City of Perry expects anyone doing
business with the city to speak and use
the official language English.
It sounds good. And in the ideal world it
could and would work that way.
But reality tells us the there are thou
sands of people in Houston County who
speak little, if any, English. They cannot
do business with the City of Perry or
anyone in the English language.
That is why so many businesses are
hiring bi-lingual employees. That is why
governments must have some employees
who can deal with these people in a lan
guage they understand.
We deplore the fact that it has come to
this point in our country. But it has. And
we have to be realists.
Everyone who comes to this country to
work should learn the preferred language
of the country and, hopefully, eventually
they will.
For the present we have to find a way to
communicate with them.
WORTH REPEATING
“Of the six men who have done most to make America
the wonder and the joy she is to all of us, not one could be
the citizen of a government so constituted; for Washington
and Franklin and Jefferson, certainly the three mightiest
leaders in our early history, were heretics in their day,
Deists, as men called them; and Garrison and Lincoln
and Sumner, certainly the three mightiest in these later
times, would all be disfranchised by the proposed amend
ment. Lincoln could not have taken the oath of office had
such a clause been in the Constitution.”
John White Chadwick, 1840-1904
Unitarian Minister
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Monday through Friday.
A creek, which wes
supposed to help (HI the
lake, has dried up as a
result of the drought,
so plans have been
sabotaged.
Jewell finally gets chance to shine
Considering how many problems
political candidates say they
will solve if elected it is hard to
believe we have any problems left.
With school in session, parents are
facing the challenge of getting their
children out of the summertime habit
of sleeping late. It isn’t easy.
Many parents are concerned because
of the trouble their children can get
into through use of the Internet. There
are vultures out there in large numbers
just waiting to snare boys and girls for
many unsavory reasons, including sex
ual abuse. Some parents are unaware
that there are programs that make it
possible to block out sites they do not
want their children to visit. However,
there is the reality that children at a
fairly young age are much more com
puter literate than their parents and
can figure ways to get around efforts to
control what they see.
I feel for the high school coach in
Rockdale County where a football
player died during practice. The bad
thing is that this is the'second time
this coach has lost a player this way.
He hasn’t been accused of causing the
deaths, but you have to know how bad
he feels.
While we suffer from the overbear
ing heat wave and ask, “Have you ever
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Stars, bars do not always define a leader
A lot has been made lately of the
Air Force first saying it was
going to do away with two star
generals who run depots - like Robins
AFB - and then deciding it wouldn’t.
The school of thought in the end
result locally seems to be: “Hallelujah!
The base has been saved!”
“What could have possessed the lead
ership on Capitol Hill or wherever into
this crazy way of thinking, anyway?”
Hmm, let me see. Maybe Loring Air
Force Base, Maine (now closed) for
starters.
The year was 1991. The deadline
set by United Nations Resolution 678
for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait had
come and gone.
Our unit - along, as you know, with
many others - was ordered to deploy.
We mobilized all of our B-52 bombers
and KC-135 tankers and off we - actu
ally “they”, I was left at home; more on
that in a second - went.
Leading the charge was Terry Burke,
our wing commander and full-bird
“colonel.” Not "general."
He led the unit into battle, bombing
mission after bombing mission, refuel-
OPINION
seen it this hot?” we need to remember
that temperatures were just as high or
higher only two summers ago. We tend
to forget.
It has been pointed out to me that a
citizen of the United States does not
have a constitutional right to vote,
which I knew. However, there have
been laws passed by congress to pro
tect the voting rights of various seg
ments of the population and, of course,
there is the 14th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. It is a gray area,
where scholars, as well as charlatans,
like to engage in debate. However, any
attempt by poll workers to deprive
anyone (especially a protected group)
of the right to vote would bring down
the full power and fury of the federal
government.
I’m glad that Gov. Sonny Perdue
honored Richard Jewell, the security
guard who discovered the bomb and
issued a warning that saved lives at
the Olympics 10 years ago. Jewell, who
should have been honored as a hero,
was victimized by the press and for at
least two weeks was accused of being
the bomber. He was harassed beyond
ing mission after refueling mission,
and when he returned, he returned
with “everybody” he left with. Not one
loss - minus a plane.
If you just could have seen the wel
coming home. I didn’t think the grate
ful family and military members left
behind would ever stop cheering and
clapping for him.
Also of note: Back home and in
charge of the public affairs office while
they were gone was me - a senior
enlisted noncommissioned officer. And
lest you think I didn’t have any respon
sibilities, think again. I orchestrated
that welcome home. I was responsible
for dozens of media queries, morale
videos and on and on - my PA officer
and I laughed later about the fact
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
. • v'. .
Don
Moncrief
Columnist
Managing Editor
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
belief. He had to hire an expensive
attorney to clear his name. Eventually
he was exonerated and, several years
later, the real bomber was captured.
However, Jewell suffered a terrible
fate, his life was shattered, and he is
remembered by most people as the
bomber. Recognizing Jewell’s heroism
at this late date can only partially
atone for what he has gone through.
Sonny did the right thing.
I hear that members of the Houston
County Planning and Zoning Board
are not happy that the county commis
sioners approved construction of a cell
phone tower after they recommended
twice that it be denied. Board members
were upset when they learned that
the person wishing to erect the tower
had put up SIO,OOO to persuade some
homeowners to withdraw their objec
tions, which influenced their decision.
You have to wonder if, in the future,
opponents of any zoning application
will have a price tag that will persuade
them to drop their opposition.
Motorists are going to have to get
used to slowing down in school zones
again and it may take some doing.
Some people just can’t wait to get to
the next traffic light, where they can
wait a couple of minutes for it to turn
green.
Speeding on our crowded streets may
save a few seconds, not much more, but
the time saved certainly is not worth
the risk of hitting a student crossing
the street.
she ate lobster and sun-bathed while
deployed while I had nothing but snow
and -30 degree or less temperatures for
comfort.
We, Burke, the “colonel”, and I must
have done pretty good. The wing was
given the Outstanding Unit Award
and I was selected NCO of the Year for
Strategic Air Command.
Is there a point to this? Yes, it is:
Leadership comes from within. (And
note: I’m not calling myself a great
leader. The fact is there were thou
sands who could have done a much
better job than I.)
It is not defined by what you wear
on your shoulder or your sleeve. I’ve
known lots of airmen with stripes on
their shoulder who could run circles
around officers any day in regard to
things accomplished.
I’ve known lots of colonels whose
wisdom far exceeds those with a star
on their shoulder.
“Yay,” the people cry out. “the base
has been saved.”
From where I sit as long as they
chose a "true" leader, it was never in
any danger.