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u ()f ic tou r <(/// tna/'c a (/;//('/ c/t( </ 4A SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2007 Daniel F. Evans President Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Foy S. Evans Vice President Editor Emeritus Don Moncrief Managing Editor Panther pride It was good to see Perry High School hon ored as champions on Monday. The school led Division 3A in improving student SAT scores, and the trophy was delivered by Governor Sonny Perdue and state Superintendent of Schools Kathy Cox. It was an occasion of celebration with cheer leaders and band music, and the Governor noted that while he has enjoyed athletic com petiton since boyhood, the real purpose of an education is still to learn, to succeed academi cally, and to reach for a bright future. We’re proud of PHS Principal Albritton, his talented team of educator and all of the stu dents who worked to meet the governor’s challenge. SAT scores remain the key to college admissions and are a very good measure of student’s basic fund of knowledge and abil ity. They don’t tell the whole story, but a good score is a good indicator of future success. We’d like to see more pep rallies for this kind of championship. The gift of life If you don’t think you can make a crucial difference in the life of another person, think again, There are times of great emergency when blood is needed, and this can happen to any of us, but very few of those of us who can give, do. Excuses range from, “I don’t have time,” to ‘l’m afraid of needles.’ Fortunately the American Red Cross has always been able to find some people who will take the time and get over their fear of what is really just of moment of discomfort. It’s the stranger who will receive that blood - espe cially in times of medical crisis and natural disasters, who really knows what a precious gift it s. Think about it. The next blood drive in Perry is at Crossroads United Methodist Church, Monday from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. You’ll be in very good company if you show up, and your gift could be the gift of life. Letters to the editor Perdue praised for tax stand Bravo for our Gov. Sonny Perdue not publicly agree ing with the abolition of property and ad valorem taxes as advocated by Macon Rep. Alan Peake, R. Ga., a wealthy local restaurateur. This would be part of a Ponzi scheme that would create a myriad of sales taxes mainly paid by most of us. Our local school systems would be weakened financially and aca demically as Atlanta and its bureaucrats would distribute all the funding to counties. Our Republican legislature has hired as a consultant for tax reform an elderly former academic, Mr. Laffer, whose main goal is the elimination of taxes on our wealthiest citi zens and their transfer to the rest of us! Fairness is not in his vocabulary. A constitutional amendment to achieve all this should be voted down in November of 2008. Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins We’ll pay dearly for Hilary’s plan Here we go again - a “different” healthcare plan from Hilary Clinton. I hear that she wants to “mandate” that every American purchase a healthcare plan. Of course, some of us will have to pay a lot more than others, as usual. And we’ll have to pay for the people who continue to have children that they can’t afford. Supposedly, she thinks we should be forced to purchase her plan the same way that we are “mandated” to have automobile insurance. I can’t believe anyone thinks See PAY, page 6A HOW TO SUBMIT: There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to 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. It doesn't cost nuthin' to be nice This is for me, a “cut and tape it” article. But it’s so good, I wanted you to have the oppor tunity to read it. It was sent to me by my friend, Tom Wommack, who is also a good friend of Danny Carpenter’s. Unfortunately, I don’t know who wrote it. I would like to give attribu tion. It’s a little long, but I urge you to take the time to read it. You’ll be glad you did. At a Touch Down Club meet ing many years before his death, Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant told the following story: I had just been named the new head coach at Alabama and was off in my old car down in South Alabama recruit ing a prospect who was supposed to have been a pretty good player and I was havin’ trouble finding the place. Getting hungry I spied an old cinder block building with a small sign out front that simply said “Restaurant. ” I pull up, go in and every head in the place turns to stare at me. Seems I’m “What do you need?" I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today? He says, “You probably won’t like it here, today we’re having chitlins, collared greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I’ll bet you don’t even know what chitlins (small intestines of hogs prepared as food in the deep South) are, do you?" We're not overbuilt yet, other thoughts One person, one vote. One per son, one opinion. So here are a few more personal opinions on a variety of subjects: ■ People keep saying that North Houston County is about “built out”, meaning there is little room for more subdivisions. Guess again. Take the time to ride around Houston County north of Perry and you might be amazed how much open land there really is. Room for thousands of homes. We’re not overbuilt yet. ■ Last time I looked the national approval rating for members of the United States Congress was 11 percent. About right, in my opinion. Democrats want to turn our country into a socialist state. Republicans are wimps and won’t fight back. However, here is something hard to reconcile. Despite congress’ 11 percent approval rating, most members get reelected with ease. We don’t approve of congress’ abysmal performance, but # we believe that our congressman is an exception. The same is true across the country. So we cannot look forward to any thing better from congress, because congressmen all over the country please VlSlis Walker S' Columnist i ' lwalker@whgb-law.com mmSMS the only white fella in the place. But the food smelled good so I skip a table and go up to a cement bar and sit. A big ole man in a tee shirt and cap comes over and says, “What do you need?” I told him I needed lunch and what did they have today? He says, “You probably won’t like it here, today we’fe having chitlins, collared greens and black eyed peas with cornbread. I’ll bet you don’t even know what chitlins (small intestines of hogs prepared as food in the deep South) are, do you?” I looked him square in the eye and said, “I’m from Arkansas, I’ve probably eaten a mile of them. Sounds like I’m in the right place. ” They all smiled as “I'm sure glad mowing season is over! I was getting tired of all that yard work!" iffy jp foyevansl9@cox.net HHI. _ the people they represent and will con tinue to adopt the laws that govern us. Woe unto us! ■ Parents with children in Houston County’s public schools do not know how lucky they are. A look at many other school districts in Georgia (Bibb, Clayton, Henry, DeKalb, Fulton, for example) see controversy over school board decisions and even outright public disapproval of superintendents, board members and teachers. Some seem in disarray, while harmo ny and concentration on the job at hand prevail here. However, this does not mean that 1 give up on my belief that phonics should be taught in the early grades throughout the entire school system. Unfortunately, I have learned while talking with several teachers that they HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL he left to serve me up a big plate. When he comes back he says, “You ain’t from around here then?” I explain I’m the new football coach up in Tuscaloosa at the University and I’m here to find whatever that boy’s name was and he says, yeah I’ve heard of him, he’s supposed to be pretty good. And he gives me directions to the school so I can meet him and his coach. As I’m paying up to leave, I remem ber my manners and leave a tip, not too big to be flashy, but a good one and he told me lunch was on him, but I told him for a lunch that good, I felt I should pay. The big man asked me if I had a photograph or something he could hang up to show I’d been there. I was so new that I didn’t have any yet. It really wasn’t that big a thing back then to be asked for, but I took a napkin and wrote his name and address on it and told him I’d get him one. I met the kid I was lookin’ for later that afternoon and I don’t remember his name, but do remember I didn’t think much of him when I met him. I had wasted a day, or so I thought. When I got back to Tuscaloosa late that night, I took that napkin from my shirt pocket and put it under my keys so I wouldn’t forget it. Back then I was excited that anybody would want a picture of me. The next day we found a picture and I wrote on it, “Thanks for the best lunch I’ve ever had. ” Now let’s go a whole buncha years down the road. Now we have black players at Alabama and I’m back down in that part of the country scouting an offensive lineman we sure needed. Y’all remember, (and I forget the name, but it’s not important to the story), well anyway, he’s got two friends going See WALKER, page 6A never have been exposed to phonics and they can’t teach what they have not been taught. ■ Several times this year cities in Texas have received 8 to 10 inches of rain in one day. Floods have followed. Have you ever wondered how we could cope with that much rain in 24 hours? Would we be paralyzed with flooding? Or could your neighborhood deal with the runoff? It is something to think about, because the same storms that hit Texas head this way. So far they have lost their punch before they get here. Someday, conceivably, we could be recipients of some of those downpours. ■ A school in North Carolina has banned flying the American flag because they aren’t able to fly flags of other countries. One country - the USA. One flag - Old Glory. No flag of another country. Simple enough. A shame school officials there do not understand this. ■ The new service road that will be built between Watson Blvd. and Russell Parkway parallel to Interstate 75 will bring to fruition a dream that Mayor Donald Walker has had for almost a decade. Once open, it should spur a new kind of industrial development. See EVANS, page $A