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♦ SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2007
4A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor ind Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
A wake-up call for
old-schoolers
Many of us can remember as young children
sitting in hard metal chairs as the Sunday
School teacher taught us the Word. No frills.
No spills. No bells. No whistles. Just him or her,
the Bible and lesson, and us - one-on-one so to
speak. Later, we would sit in church and listen
to the preacher. Or at least attempt to listen to
the preacher - for a bit, anyway. Exchanging the
softness of a cushioned pew often provided just
enough comfort for a nap.
Hey, we were young. We squirmed. We fidg
eted. We got our ears thumped but we have to
say overall the message was received. We came
to meet the Lord. Today, from what we’ve seen
- meaning there may still be some churches that
aspire to the “traditionalist” method out there
- it’s a party for our children in comparison.
Only “party” is a bit of a strong word. There
is a plan. There is a “big picture” - the same big
picture as always, and that is to teach children
about Christ.
But children today when they attend Sunday
School - and many of our churches have
Children’s Church where the younger ones
leave for a Sunday School-type environment fol
lowing the singing - do so differently than us.
They have cookies and Kool-aid - we were
allowed sometimes to get up and get water.
They have games. They make crafts. They draw.
They color and so on and so forth.
Once again. It isn’t done helter-skelter. It’s
structured and done so with religious themes.
And the children still typically hear - or learn
- a Bible story.
But, it doesn’t sit well with many of those -
many of us - who grew up on metal chairs, and
if you attend church enough, you’ll hear that.
But, on the other hand, there is considerable
debate as to: What do we know? There are
numerous examples in the Bible where the per
son in the Bible had to be “creative” to get his
or her message across.
Think of David and Goliath. If David had used
traditional methods - we assume a sword or
spear - would he have been able to slay Goliath?
And Jesus himself didn’t exactly come into or
leave the world by traditional methods as we
know them.
So, here’s to all the Sunday School and
Children’s Church teachers everywhere. You
keep doing what you’re doing, and we thank
you for it.
Perhaps those of us from the older generation
just sat on those metal chairs too long. Our
butts have yet to wake up.
Letters to the editor
: t
Progressive taxation fairest system
The Republican Party no longer has a monopoly on fam
ily values nor is it as much fun for their members to attack
former President Bill Clinton.
Of course we in Georgia have our own Newt Gingrich
whose track record on fidelity is nothing to brag
See SYSTEM, page $A
Alternatives to trashy toys
I would like to make a suggestion to all the parents
and grandparents who are concerned about the recall of
toys and other imports from China, although I wouldn’t
hesitate to include a few other countries in a boycott which
See TOYS, page
HOW TO SUBMIT:
Letters should not exceed 350 words and must include
the writer’s name, address and telephone number (the
last two not printed). The newspaper reserves the right to
edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation,
taste and brevity. We cannot guarantee that a letter will be
printed on a specific date. There are three ways to submit a
letter to the editor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com,
mail it to The Houston Home Journal at 1210 Washington
St., Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at the same location
between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Poy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Nothing much to write about
It’s been one of those weeks that I
sometimes have: I can’t think of
a good single subject about which
to write, so I will just give you bits and
pieces of several. Here goes.
■ How about the opening football
weekend? Georgia, Georgia Tech, Perry
High School, and Westfield were all
winners. It’s been a long time since that
has happened. In particular, congratu
lations to the Perry Panthers. What
was the score? Perry 30, Hawkinsville
9! I’m going from memory, but I’d
wager that’s the largest margin of vic
tory, ever, by Perry over Hawkinsville.
Could it be that the Panther devotees,
are in for an exciting season - perhaps,
even some championships?
■ While on the subject of sports,
what about the Warner Robins Little
League team? I have never seen Middle
Georgia as united as it was in pull
ing for these young men. Two things
greatly impressed me, beyond their
obvious skills: 1) their sportsmanship;
and, 2) their mental knowledge of the
game. I never saw them make a men
tal error. They always threw to the
right base, backed-up the right man,
etc. Congratulations to these World
Champions and their coach!
■ Interesting announcement from
what I assume is, once again, the
Houston Home Journal. This vener
able paper is going to a twice weekly
publication with particular emphasis
on local folks and happenings. I believe
this is a great move that will be well
received. Way to go, Danny and Julie,
we’re with you!
■ Buddy Roper brought me some old
ar says \
,0-year ) ( See, I thought it X
,t... J ( had been lon 9 er )
Is reform plan the right move?
Speaker Glenn Richardson’s
plan to “reform” the Georgia
tax code is becoming the topic
of conversation .among many of my
friends.
At first blush, the idea of eliminat
ing property taxes completely gets a
thumbs up. But, as my friends, who are
retired military or civil service employ
ees, talk about it among themselves,
they begin to have questions that need
to be answered.
Nobody likes property taxes. But
property taxes support local govern
ments and local school systems. A
statewide sales tax on everything,
including services, to pay for all gov
ernment services, on all levels, in the
state of Georgia looks like a blessing.
However, the Richardson plan,
though still to be completely fleshed
out, is not receiving universal support.
Georgia’s city officials, through their
statewide organization, have gone on
record opposing it. Georgia’s county
commissioners are taking a “wait and
see” position.
My friends say that they see big
landowners and other big property
owners as receiving a windfall at their
expense.
The local elected officials with whom
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
"How about the
opening footbal
weekend? Georgia,
Georgia Tech, Perry High
School, and Westfield
were all winners. It's
been a long time sines
that has happened."
Houston Home Journals (1976, which
doesn’t seem that ‘old’ to me!) that he
got from ‘Miss’ Maggie Ruth Dorsett’s
house. Lots of interesting information
in the Bicentennial Edition dated July
1, 1976. ‘Miss’ Ruby Hodges had an
article about the Home Journal being
106 years old in 1976. Wouldn’t that
make it 137 years old, now? This edi
tion also had a History of the City of
Perry from 1824 to 1970. Examples of
the ‘history’: Perry was incorporated in
1824; the Methodist Church was orga
nized in 1826; streets were formally
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
I have talked express the fear that if
all taxes go to the state capitol and
then are disbursed back to the cities
and counties and school boards there
could be real problems. They don’t like
the idea of going to Atlanta with hat in
hand to ask for money to provide local
services that their constituents are
demanding.
“I would look silly if I had to tell
my constituents that I bad to ask the
legislature for money to fix potholes in
streets or improve police or fire protec
tion,” one city official told me. “My
constituents expect me tc respond to
their needs immediately, not wait until
I can justify to someone in Atlanta that
the money is needed.”
The legislature does not convene
for another four months. Speaker
Richardson has been making public
appearances explaining what he has in
■ f,'- -.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
laid-off in 1846; the first street lights,
11 kerosene lamps, were installed in
1889, the same year that Perry Loan
and Savings Bank (now the Bank of
Perry) was established; Penn-Dixie
Cement Corp. (Now Cemex) began
operation in 1925; and, in 1969 the
Perry-Houston County Hospital had
its opening. Lots of interesting infor
mation and articles in this edition.
Thanks, Buddy. I enjoyed looking at
these old papers.
■ On a more serious note, Perry lost
four of its best citizens, recently, in a
span of just a few days: Jim McCown,
an interesting man with many accom
plishments, left us, unexpectedly.
Connette Gayle, one of Perry’s great
ambassadors, passed away. B. Cullen
Talton died, and Charles Nelson also
passed away. Charles and Cullen
had big and long-time Perry fami
lies. Cullen’s was a grave-side service,
which was the most-attended of this
kind I have ever seen. To me, this large
crowd was a tribute to Cullen’s being
nice to everyone and never speaking
ill of his fellow-man. Jim, Connette,
Cullen, and Charles, Perry will greatly
miss all of you.
■ Congratulations to Eddie Wiggins
for having a bridge named for him.
More importantly, thanks to Eddie for
all he has done for Houston County
and for so long. Truly, Eddie is one of
Houston’s most outstanding citizens.
■ Congratulations to Bobby Glover
for his 20 years of service as a Perry
City Councilman. Bobby, who is
truly a “man of the people,” recently
See WALKER, page 6A
mind. There is plenty of time for him
to win support for his overhaul of the
state’s tax structure and Rep. Larry
O’Neal of Warner Robins is one of the
legislators with the job of developing
an acceptable plan.
I like the idea of waiting to pass judg
ment. It is premature to take a position
on something about which so little is
known.
It upsets me when I read about
American soldiers and Marines being
prosecuted because they killed civilians
in Iraq.
We send these young men into a hos
tile country, where enemies dress as
civilians and hide among women and
children, awaiting an opportunity to
gun down Americans.
Telling the Americans to wait and
shoot only after being shot at is invit
ing them to commit suicide. Many
instances already have been recorded
where soldiers and Marines have done
just that. They have learned that to
survive they must fire when they sus
pect they are subject to attack by
enemies.
Seeing some of these brave men
charged with murder because
See EVANS, page 6A