Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5,2006
Huusimi .Ijuurtutl
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Recognition well deserved
Time is running out for our nation
and us locally to pay tribute to the
dwindling number of World War II
veterans.
It is reported that these men that Tom
Brokaw called “the greatest generation” are
dying at the rate of more than 1,000 a day.
A memorial in their honor opened recent
ly in Washington in time for some of them
to visit it and remember the sacrifices they
made in the last war that this country has
won.
Now the Museum of Aviation in Warner
Robins has broken ground on a new hangar
that will be full of World War II exhibits,
including the
Flying Tigers,
the 507th D-
Day para
troopers, then
483rd Bomb
Group and
the Tuskegee
Airmen.
It will be a
fitting tribute
in this com
munity that
identifies so
closely with
the military,
a community
where many veterans of World War II have
elected to live out the Final days of their
lives.
Memorials to other wars were built and
dedicated through the years while, for some
reason, little was done to preserve the
memory and to honor the bravery of those
who did so much to preserve freedom in the
world.
Now as the years run out on surviving vet
erans of World War II the survivors will see
that their nation has not forgotten them.
Tax bills coming soon
It won’t be long before we receive the
dreaded property tax bills from Houston
County, Warner Robins, Centerville and
Perry.
The tax digest was approved some time ago.
The various governmental bodies -including
the board of education - have figured out
the millage they need to cover the budgets
they have adopted.
Now the bills can be printed and mailed
out.
There will be some unhappy recipients of
the tax bills. Revaluation this year brought
an overall increase for the entire county
and, to some extent, the taxing authorities
have adjusted millage rates to take this into
consideration.
The value of most property went up. Some
went down. Tax assessors had the job of
complying with state law, which requires
that property be appraised at “fair market
value.”
Regardless of how we feel about our tax
bills we can take comfort in the fact that our
taxes are less than comparable suburban
counties in Georgia.
Letter to the Editor
Why I support Collins
When I am asked why I support Mac Collins, I usually
find myself falling back on the obvious about how I have
known Mac for many years, trust his values and generally
just like him as a person. I hear from some people that
they like Jim Marshall and think he is doing a “fair” job.
The light bulb came on when I realized this election is not
about who you like better. It goes much deeper for many
reasons ... and I wanted to share my thoughts.
Mac has run a business for over 40 years and that means
a lot to me. If you have never faced a Friday morning
wondering if you would be able to make payroll, or spent
time groveling in front of a banker asking for a loan, then
in my opinion you have no business being in Washington
setting tax policies or voting for legislation that affects
my business. Jim’s overall voting record hovers around
50 percent on issues critical to business while
See LETTER, page fA
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Memorials to other
wars were built and
dedicated through the
years while, tor some
reason, little was
done to preserve the
memory and to honor
the bravery ol those
who did so much to
preserve freedom in
the world.
Promotion is not always a good thing
Whether students who fail a
grade in school should be held
back or promoted, anyway, is
a topic that is getting a pretty good
workout these days.
Students who fail can go to summer
school and “make up the grade”, as we
used to call it, by passing the subject or
subjects that were failed.
Otherwise, they might or might not
be promoted.
There is a gimmick that can be used
handily and, in my opinion, defeat the
purpose of making sure a student is
ready for promotion. Parents can step
in and persuade school officials that
their child should be promoted and
school officials can come to the same
conclusion.
However, many students are being
required to repeat grades and it usu
ally is in their best interest.
An argument against holding a fail
ing student back is that they will not
be with others their age and this stig
ma results in many students dropping
out of school.
In my opinion, you are doing a stu
dent an injustice if he or she is not
capable of handling lessons in a higher
grade. Failure in reading, which is a
major reason to hold students back,
will make it impossible to keep up with
other students.
Being able to read fluently and at
grade level is absolutely essential for
students to progress as they should.
I would rather see a boy or girl a
year older than others in their class
fully capable of keeping up than seeing
them struggling and falling behind day
111 \ - iit'ir ~ I I *
-n "H- »h
Yesterday's 'stupid' is today's 'CBD'
Women, more often than men,
are labeled by society, mostly
by men, as compulsive shop
pers.
Stanford University (whose mascot
is a tree) says phooey. Men are just as
compulsive and spend-hearty as their
female counterparts, says a study by
the university recently published in
the American Journal of Psychiatry.
According to the study, researchers
polled over 2,500 adults via telephone
and questioned respondents on their
spending habits. What they found was
that about six percent of women and
men qualified as “compulsive buyers.”
“Compulsive buying leads to seri
ous psychological, financial, and family
problems, including depression, over
whelming debt, and the breakup of
relationships,” said Dr. Lorrin Koran
in a Stanford University (whose mas
cot is a tree) press release on the topic.
“People don’t realize the extent of the
damage it does to the sufferer.” Or the
payer, which he didn’t mention.
The research found that l-in-20 peo
ple suffer from this “disorder.”
“Sufferers often rack up thousands
of dollars in debt and lie to loved ones
about their shopping,” said an ABC
News report on “compulsive buying
disorder (CBD).”
OPINION
“My split personality? ...It all started
with the new forest management plan..."
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
after day.
We live in a strange world where real
ity often takes the back seat to political
correctness. We are willing to fool our
selves into believing that all children
can learn at the same pace and that
family backgrounds are not important.
Family structure matters. Culture mat
ters. Can you expect children from bro
ken homes with one parent to receive
the same support and encouragement
as those from stable two-parent fami
lies? It doesn’t happen often.
From what I have observed the past
few years much is expected of children
once they enter school. They usually
have home wofk from the beginning
and, even in the first grade, there are
books to read every night.
Unless there is someone to work with
them - help them - they are doomed
from the beginning to be laggards.
The support and encouragement
that children receive definitely con
tribute to their achievements at school.
Some parents - sometimes single with
several children - just do not have the
time, patience, or whatever, to provide
the home environment necessary for
their children to keep up.
Some students require more matu-
Len
Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
CBD is a new disorder that doctors
are just now diagnosing. Doctors used
to call people who “rack up thousands
of dollars in debt and lie to loved ones
about their shopping” by the scientific
term, “stupid.”
My take on this new “disorder”:
First of all, it seems like every misbe
havior now has a acronymic disorder
attached to it. And, oddly enough, they
all end with D.
There’s DBD (Disruptive Behavior
Disorder), ADHD, formerly ADD
(Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder), IED (Intermittent Explosive
Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant
Disorder), and RAD (Reactive
Attachment Disorder), among others.
Coming soon are BSKD (Bratty, Spoiled
Kid Disorder), ALD (Adult Loser
Disorder), PWDSWD (Politician Who’s
Done Something Wrong Disorder),
IDKSWI4D (I Didn’t Know She Was
- r
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
rity, after which they seem to sail
through school.
I did not enter the first grade (we
did not have pre-K or kindergarten)
until I was almost 7. I always have felt
that this was fortunate, because school
never seemed difficult to me. If I had
to struggle in the first grade I probably
would have struggled every grade.
Some parents deliberately hold their
children back a year before entering
them in school to give them a hand up.
It makes sense in many instances.
As the arguments for and against
making students repeat a grade because
they cannot pass the required tests go
on it will be, in my opinion, the smart
parents who do not insist on pushing
their children ahead when they are not
prepared.
If a student is a continual laggard
in the early grades he or she suffers
much more than being told to repeat
a grade.
Many things go into the equation. It
really is not why some students can
not qualify for promotion. Rather it
is where they qualify and what is best
for them - promoting them when they
really are not ready or requiring them
to repeat a grade for their own benefit.
We learned only this week that Gov.
Sonny Perdue wants “graduation
coaches” in every middle school in
Georgia to help students advance
toward graduation. Some students
need that kind of help because it is not
available at home.
Social promotions may make parents
feel good. They are not in the best
interest of children.
14 Disorder), and ISTSBIDSTDD (I
Shot The Sheriff, but I Didn’t Shoot
The Deputy Disorder).
Basically, any misbehavior you can
think of, they’re going to come up
with a disorder to explain it, and some
expensive pills to heal it.
I’m also wary of the research itself,
which was conducted by Stanford
University (whose mascot is a tree).
For instance, what exactly did men
say they bought compulsively? It makes
a big difference.
See, there’s a marked contrast on
going on a thousand-dollar shopping
binge and buying a bunch of dresses,
blouses, shoes, curtains, ceramic vases,
etc., versus purchasing one hunting
club membership.
Or buying one set of really nice golf
clubs.
Or a boat. Or a motorcycle. You may
be spending thousands of dollars, but
they aren’t really “shopping binges.”
They’re “investments.”
Until Stanford University (whose
mascot is a tree, mind you) can show
me exactly what women and men
bought on these “compulsive buying
disorder” excursions - receipts and
such -1 remain unconvinced.
To quote Stanford University (whose
mascot is... well, you know): Phooey!