Newspaper Page Text
♦ FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 2007
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B, Evans
Vice President
Group Marketing
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Eyes on the dome
It’s time to keep our eyes on the gold
dome.
Houston’s native son, Gov. Sonny
Perdue, is starting his second term with a
Republican Lt. Gov., Casey Cagle, who has
been given back the power stripped from
former Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Democrat
who survived the historic 2002 Republican
takeover. With Republicans firmly in con
trol of both the House and the Senate, the
Georgia General Assembly is starting its
2007 session, and there’s work to be done.
Perdue has pledged to keep Georgia fis
cally conservative but still progressive.
We wish him
well in his
endeavors on
behalf of the
state, and hope
to see Georgia
move forward
in a number of
areas.
While we
would not
argue that
funding is the
sole answer
to Georgia’s
lagging SAT
scores, we
believe that
solid fund
ing for public
education at
all levels is
paramount,
and that local
control should
still be a guiding principle. Our schools
have a sufficient challenge meeting federal
No Child Left Behind standards without
having legislative tinkering with curricu
lum issues. Our teachers need to be paid
good wages, and our retired teachers need
to continue to receive the benefits they
were promised.
At the beginning of his first term, Perdue
was fond of saying that a state budget
should be handled like a family budget,
with care given to those most in need. We
hope to see better funding and administra
tive oversight for human services across the
board, particularly in the areas of caring for
children in state custody, meeting the needs
of the mentally disabled and old people in
need of support and care. Rearranging sys
tems, centralizing services that should be
locally accessible, and outsourcing record
keeping will not accomplish this goal.
As for the General Assembly, in the inter
est of conservative values, we hope that
they establish solid priorities early and
keep their attention on the serious issues
before us. Georgia, for all the growth in
some areas, still has large areas in need
of job-producing industries. Transportation
remains an important key to the state’s
economic progress. The environment con
tinues to need vigilant protection. There’s
work to be done. We wish the governor, the
new lieutemant governor, the state senators
and representatives well, and look forward
to keeping up with the accomplishments of
Houston County’s delegation.
Letter to the Edttor
A big thanks to Walker
Just a few words of thanks from Mayor Donald Walker
and the City of Warner Robins along with the Houston
County Certified Literate Community Program for the
Houston Daily Journal’s reporting our recent $20,000
Verizon Foundation grant presentation to Middle Georgia
Technical College. We are also well aware of and apprecia
tive for the Journal’s long standing interest in education
at every level, an example of which was Thursday's timely
editorial headed “Rezoning: A Challenge” dealing with
the often volatile topic of growth and new schools. Noting
there is a perennial “tight-rope” stretched between the
two issues, our hometown newspaper certainly walked
it well portraying the different perspectives with style
and grace. Again thanks for the good job and service to
Houston County you do day in and day out.
Skip Holmes, coordinator, Houston County CLCP
Audrey Evans
Vice President
Marketing!Advertising
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
While we would not
argue that funding is
the sole answer to
Georgia's lagging SAT
scores, we believe that
solid funding for public
education at all levels
is paramount, and that
local control should still
be a guiding principle.
Our schools have a
sufficient challenge
meeting federal No Child
Left Behind standards
without having legis
lative tinkering with
curriculum issues.
Let us now praise Herman Ragin
u T et Us Now Praise Famous
| Men” by James Agee with
_L_Jphotographs by Walker
Evans about Alabama in the middle of
the depression, the summer of 1936,
with title taken from Ecclesiastis, spe
cifically “Let us praise famous men
and our fathers that begat us,” gives
inspiration for my title and my efforts
to do justice to my subject.
He was born in 1928 to good folks,
James and Lillian Toomer Ragin, and
in the house now designated on city
records as 1345 Willie Frank Ragin
Drive, the street named in honor of his
civil rights working uncle. He was one
of seven children, including a now PhD
working for our government in Africa,
four teachers, a Marine and a social
worker. Humble beginnings - probably
not dissimilar to rural Alabama in
1936 - and outstanding outcomes.
He graduated from the segregated
Houston County Training School - 11
grades - in 1945 and later from Johnson
C. Smith University, Charlotte, North
Carolina. He taught four years in
Lumberton, North Carolina serving
at the same time as the head football
coach and the head basketball coach.
In 1953 he returned to Houston County
Training School, hired by Principal
A.D. Redmond, and was given the job
of coaching the basketball team and
starting a football program. Certainly,
he was the first football coach in Perry
and possibly in the county. Written
records are non-existent. However, his
basketball teams, under his leadership
for 16 years, won about 70% of their
games and his football teams, which he
also coached for 16 years, and playing
an eight games a year schedule, aver
aged losing only one a year. Included
was a state runner-up trophy for the
Houston County Indians.
In 1949, he married Gloria Mason
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To my grandsons: Some advice for the year ahead
To Brian and Thomas Yarbrough,
Zachary and Nicholas Wansley
In case you are counting, this
makes the eighth straight year I have
written you with a little grandfatherly
advice at the beginning of the New
Year. You might be interested to know
that this is far and away the most pop
ular column of the year with readers.
Many share it with their children
and grandchildren, and in some cases,
file the column away for future use.
I have never asked you what you do
with the advice. Maybe it is best I not
know.
When I began this correspondence
with you, none of you were yet in
your teens. Now, two of you are in col
lege. Over the past eight years, you
have given up ten-speed bikes and
Rollerblades for iPods and MySpace
and text messaging. Me? I am still
trying to figure out how to answer my
cell phone (if that’s what you call that
gizmo these days). Some things never
change.
When I was your age I thought I was
bulletproof. You probably feel the same
way today.
Well, I wasn’t, and you aren’t either.
I promise that the day is going to come
when you will realize you can’t handle
all that life throws at you. That is
when you will discover a Higher Power.
The more we learn about the universe,
the more it becomes apparent that this
stuff just didn’t happen by accident.
I know your dads are science teach
ers, but take it from me: There is a
God. Believe in God. Then find a wor-
OPINION
Ragin, and this strong and still endur
ing union produced three sons, Herman,
Keith and Wayne.
After Houston County High, he
became the principal at Kings Chapel
Elementary, where he served for 15
years. Next, he was a valued and steady
employee at Proctor and Gamble for
15 years. He also served as a direc
tor of Crossroads Bank, later Security
Bank (and continues as an Emeritus
Director) as well as presently serving
as a Director on the Com South Board.
And so you have Herman Ragin’s
most impressive resume. But, as out
standing as it is, a recitation of people
and places and times and dates and
accomplishments does not do justice to
this extraordinary man. Let us learn
more by listening to his own words.
■ 1. What is the greatest change you
have seen in your lifetime? “Economics.
More people with money. Everyone has
a car. When I was a child, we were poor
people, but I did not know it.”
■ 2. Outside your family, who has
had the biggest influence on your life?
“Mr. A. D. Redmond, the principal who
hired me when I returned to Perry. He
always went beyond the call of duty
and did so much for our school.”
■ 3. What is the greatest invention
in your lifetime? “Remote controls and
cell phones!”
■ 4. What is the greatest challenge
facing our country? “Keeping jobs in
GfcOWIUGTHe ECONOMY
ship setting in which you feel comfort
able. That will be the right place for
you.
I am sure there are days you must
wonder if anything you are having to
learn in high school and college will
amount to a hill of beans when you
finally enter the workplace.
That is the wrong question to ask.
The better question is: What kind
of work habits are you developing in
school today?
Whatever you are doing now, you will
do on the job. If you slough off home
work, you will slough off work assign
ments. If you give your schoolwork
extra attention and effort in order to
earn better grades, you will give your
job that same kind of attention and
effort.
No matter what your profession,
you will find your career much more
rewarding in every respect if you give
it your best. The place to learn that is
in the classroom.
Your grandmother has often told you
that every choice you make good or
bad has a resulting consequence.
That is something people seem to have
a hard lime understanding these days.
Em* M
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Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-lawcom
... .
Dick
Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
America and the growing gap between
the haves and have nots.”
■ 5. What is America’s greatest
opportunity? “To be a leader in the
world and bring the people of the world
together.”
■ 6. Name the person you admire
most, living or dead. “My parents.
They instilled in us a desire to achieve.
The older I get, the more they knew.”
■ 7. Greatest advice you were given?
“By my father. A real man will take
care of himself and his family.”
■ 8. Greatest American? “All of our
Presidents. I especially like President
Carter. Also, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Sr. Many of our leaders, today, are
opportunists. I don’t believe Dr. King
was that way.”
Herman Ragin is an active member
of the St. James C.M.E. Church hav
ing been a member “all his life”. He
presently serves as a Chairman of the
Board of Stewards.
And so you have it. Information on
Herman Ragin. And still, it is not suf
ficient to tell you about his man. You
have to see him walk and hear him
talk, in his quiet and thoughtful way,
and watch bim interact with others
and hear his logic and good common
sense to really know this man.
Let us praise Herman Ragin as his
joins the names of Perdue, Tucker,
Arthur, St. John, Staples and others
properly placed on our public buildings
and property naming those who went
beyond the call of duty and were the
‘best of the best’.
He has class. He is a gentleman. It
is fitting and proper that the Houston
County School Board name the Perry
Elementary School for him. It brings
honor to the institution and to the
man.
Good job, Herman Ragin. Houston
County is proud of you.
If you make a bad choice, don’t try to
rationalize your way out of it. That
is dishonest and dangerous. Accept
the consequences of your actions, and
then don’t do it again. How do you
know whether something is right or
wrong? Listen to your gut. If some
thing doesn’t feel right, chances are
good that it isn’t.
You have heard this before, but I will
say it again. Love your country. There
is nothing wrong with being patriotic.
I have traveled the globe, and I can tell
you that there is no greater place on
earth than the United States.
I know we have warts, but I am still
waiting for someone to tell me a better
place to live. The great thing about our
country is that we have the power to
make it better, if we will get involved.
Don’t forget that.
You guys are a fortunate bunch. You
come from good homes. Your parents
love you, and your four grandparents
think you hung the moon. You enjoy
good health, have bright minds and
face a future as good as you choose
to make it. Find something you enjoy
doing, and make that your life’s work.
Life is too short to be unhappy.
I leave you with one last piece of
advice: Whenever you get behind the
wheel of a car, drive as though your
life depends on it because it does.
Please be careful.
Love, Pa
You can reach Dick Yarbrough at
yarb24oo(wbellsouth.net, P.O. Box
725373, Atlanta, Georgia 31139, or
Web site: www.dickyarbrough.com.