Newspaper Page Text
♦ SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2006
4A
Houston flatly
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Grant approval a tough
decision
The Warner Robins mayor and coun
cil have an interesting decision to
make.
The Department of Homeland
Security is offering to give a $1 mil
lion-plus grant to the fire department.
This should be a no-brainer. Or should it
be?
Strings are attached. Maybe the strings
could be dealt with if it did not commit the
city to a substantial increase in salaries and
other expenses down the road.
This grant, like most of this kind that come
from state and
federal gov
ernments, cre
ates positions
in, usually,
police and fire
departments.
It is hard to
tell the federal
agency mak
ing the offer
that you do
not want it.
Actually, you
do want it but
sometimes you
cannot afford
it.
Take the
present offer
from Homeland Security. It will help create
10 new positions in the Warner Robins Fire
Department. Fire Chief Robert Singletary
says that this will make it possible to run an
extra engine “if we want.”
Down the road federal money will decrease.
The grant will pay up to 90 percent of sala
ries and benefits for the first year. It will go
down to 80 percent the second year. Then
50 percent the third year and 30 percent
the fourth year. Then the city will pay
everything. The grant will have created 10
positions that it would be hard to eliminate.
The question the mayor and city council
must answer is: “Do we need these 10 addi
tional firefighters and will it make economic
sense to accept this offer?”
Sometimes cities and counties will need
additional firefighters or law enforcement
officers and do not believe they can afford
them at the present time. A grant can get
them started and by the time grant money
runs out the city or county can afford to
pick up the full tab. A need could have been
filled with the federal government provid
ing seed money.
Something that only a few citizens realize
when they hear about federal grants for fire
departments and law enforcement is that,
for elected officials a decision on whether
to accept the grants, will depend on what it
will cost down the road.
Nothing, apparently, is free and especially
in instances like this.
Only the Warner Robins mayor and coun
cil are in a position to say if the offer from
Homeland Security is good for the city.
Letter to the Edttor
Miscarriage of justice
In the recent conviction of the "favorite" teen babysit
ter, according to the laws of our government we're sup
posed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a shadow
of a doubt. However, this is not the case in Houston
County. I must say I am perplexed over the outcome of
this recent case. As a 50-year resident, I have never wit
nessed a more blatant case of injuries in my life. I don't
know which was worse, the way the case was handled by
our overzealous and arrogant young Asstistant District
Attorney Jason Ashford or his lackadaisical investigator
Sgt. Keel Broom.
In either case, both of these men obviously are out to
make a name for themselves because neither of them
were remotely interested in the truth. I have to say the
thing that grieves me most about the antics used in secur
ing this conviction, is the fact that it comes at such a high
price; the life and future of a beautiful young girl. This
young girl's life has been destroyed because an 8-year-old
boy threatened his babysitter because his father was
See LETTER, page HA
Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
This grant, like most
of this kind that come
from state and federal
governments,
creates positions in,
usually, police and Are
departments. It is
hard to tell the federal
agency making the offer
that you do not want it.
Actually, you do want it
but sometimes you can
not afford it.
The world is a strange measuring 'stick 1
Students returned to school last
Monday after the Thanksgiving
holidays. For some reason I awoke
that morning with the tune of a song I
had not heard for many years running
around in my head and it would not
go away.
Here are the words that go with the
tune:
“School days, school days, dear old
Golden Rule days,
“Reading and writing and ‘rithme
tic,
“Taught to the tune of a hickoiy
stick”
These opening words of the song tell
the story of school days when 1 was
growing up.
And the reference to the “hickory
stick” was not a lot of hyperbole.
School teachers used the hickory
stick, or a substitute, when it was
deserved and parents did not revolt
and demand that teachers be fired for
doing so.
My father told me on the first day of
my first year in school: “If you get into
trouble at school and get a whipping
you can look forward to one a lot worse
when you get home.”
It was that simple.
Discipline really was no problem in
schools in those days so long ago.
Teachers did not devote their time
to keeping some sort of order in class
rooms, because there was no disorder.
And parents did not want to sue
teachers and school officials if their
beloved sons or daughters were disci
plined if they deserved it.
I guess that tune came back to me as
a reminder of how much things have
changed in the many years that have
gone by.
The days of corporal punishment
WWCMATOHaOTCIMTC iC
More conversation with Sanders
Two significant developments
came out of Carl Sanders’ race for
governor in 1970 against Jimmy
Carter. First, unlike Carter, Sanders
refused to compromise his principles in
order to get elected. Second, once the
election was over, the former governor
decided to leave the political arena and
devote himself to building his law prac
tice. Today, Troutman-Sanders, which
he serves as chairman emeritus, is
one of the 100 largest law firms in the
United States, with over 650 attorneys.
Carl Sanders has done well.
At our lunch, Gov. Sanders was
reluctant to get into the details of his
defeat by Carter, saying simply, “The
thought process I went through in
every campaign I ever ran was to focus
my energy on talking about educa
tion and things that were needed in
my district or in the state. I always
assumed that if I worked hard enough,
my opponent would not be able to beat
me using race, but Jimmy Carter effec
tively used the issue to drive a wedge
between the races.”
The dirty tricks he endured included
a picture widely circulated in South
Georgia showing Sanders, a part owner
of the Atlanta Hawks professional bas
ketball team at the time, celebrating
a victory with his arms around Joe
Caldwell, a black player.
Carter and his apologists have long
denied any culpability, but veteran
political columnist Bill Shipp told me he
saw Bill Pope, Carter’s press secretary,
hand out leaflets with the photograph
at a Ku Klux Klan rally. Dot Wood, a
good friend and former vice president
OPINION
are gone, perhaps for good reason. It
worked when I was young. It could not
work today.
The last Houston County teacher I
remember administering punishment
with his “board of education” was Joe
Musselwhite. He was assistant prin
cipal of Warner Robins High School
and later principal of Warner Robins
Junior High. He probably was one of
the most admired, respected and loved
people ever to teach in the local school
system.
Many base employees and leaders in
the business and professional commu
nity today look back and enjoy telling
of their experiences with Joe’s “board
of education”, which he administered
appropriately and wisely.
School days, school days ... it’s done
differently today.
■ ■■
In Chicago a group that was includ
ing a Nativity scene in “holiday” deco
rations has been ordered to leave it
out because it “offends” some religious
groups.
How stupid. Why can’t people of all
faiths practice their religions in their own
way without someone being “offended”?
Mind your own business and there is
no problem at all.
of Gerald Rafshoon Advertising, which
handled Carter’s media, confirms the
story and said she saw boxes of the
leaflets in the office. Mysterious leaf
lets also criticized Sanders for attend
ing the funeral of Martin Luther King
Jr. Carter made a point to say that
he did not attend. (Aside: Remember
Carter’s sanctimonious performance at
Coretta Scott King’s funeral?)
Carter, by the way, got only 5 percent
of the black vote in the campaign.
During the campaign, Carter also
criticized Sanders for his support of
then-President Lyndon Johnson. “I did
support LBJ,” Sanders says, “because
he had given Lockheed one of the larg
est orders ever for C-5 airplanes and a
lot of money for rural development in
Georgia, and I wasn’t going to turn my
back on him after what he had done for
the people of Georgia.”
Author Jim Cooke in his biography
of Carl Sanders says that Sanders
underestimated Jimmy Carter and
thought people would see through
Carter’s facade of portraying himself
as a George Wallace-styled redneck. He
refused his staffs recommendations
to fight back until it was too late, and
Jimmy Carter was elected governor. Of
...
Foy
Evans
Columnist
toyevansl9@cox net
3 y
Dick
Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
■ ■■
I was fascinated by the action of
a Republican student club at Boston
University that announced they were
creating a $250 scholarship for white
students only.
It caused quite a stir and, naturally,
accusations of racism.
The students said they did it purely
to call attention to the absurdity of
race based scholarships of any kind
and to stir up discussions.
I doubt that there was any intelli
gent discussion of the issue at Boston
College, but it did accomplish its goal
of putting a spotlight on an abominable
practice of using race as a basis for
awarding scholarships.
Of course, you only have to look at
the federal government to see how
important race is in hiring and promo
tions, though those in charge will swear
it does not happen ... wink, wink.
■ ■■
There’s talk in Atlanta that the
Republicans in the legislature, with
encouragement from Gov. Sonny
Perdue, would like to influence Georgia
Supreme Court decisions by adding two
more conservative justices to the court.
It’s called “packing the court”.
This was tried many years ago with
the United States Supreme Court.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s
attempt to make the court more lib
eral failed, primarily as a result of a
fight led by Georgia’s Senator Walter
F. George.
It will be interesting to see if an
effort to “pack the court” in Georgia
gets wings and if it is successful.
course, once elected, Carter changed
his tune, severely disappointing the
arch-segregationists who has support
ed him. If you want to judge Jimmy
Carter’s gubernatorial campaign for
yourself, be prepared to wait. It seems
that the papers from that campaign
reside at the Carter Center and have
not yet been “processed.” Call me
naive, but I don’t think he and his
apologists are anxious for you to see
them. I can understand why. His image
is bad enough. Why make it worse?
Carter’s hypocrisy evidently knows
no bounds. After a dinner for former
governors at the Governor’s Mansion,
Carter told the news media that he
owed so much to Carl Sanders for mak
ing Georgia such a progressive state
and how much that image helped him
in his presidential campaign. Pondering
that comment, Sanders just shakes his
head and smiles.
I asked Carl Sanders how he would
like to be remembered by future gen
erations. He thought for a moment and
said, “I would like to be remembered
for playing the game of politics fair and
square, for having made a contribution
to my state and for leaving Georgia
better than I found it.” I couldn’t have
said it better. His leadership pulled
Georgia through one of the most dif
ficult periods in our history, and he left
the state much better than he found it.
Most importantly, he did it with integ
rity. The man is a class act.
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or
Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.