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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!