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♦ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2007 4A Daniel F. Evans President Editor and Publisher Julie B. Evans Vice President Georgia moves forward It was announced this past week that Georgia now ranks second in the nation as a place to do business. According to the announcement, made by Gov. Sonny Perdue’s office - and probably else where as others rush to take credit - Georgia also ranked third in a survey of corporate site seekers across the country. That, particular cat egory, according to Perdue’s office, makes up 50 percent of the site selection’s total score. The group reportedly based its scores on fac tors such as availability of desired work-force skills, efficiency of the permitting/regulatory pro cess and land/building prices and supply. The other 50 percent of the annual business climate rankings was determined by states’ per formances in the company’s new plant database, which tracks new and expanded business facil ity activity. It should also be noted that Georgia, once again according to Perdue’s office, has never ranked lower than 10 (2000 and 2001) in the national poll, and has been among the top four for the last four years. In a separate study, it was also reported that Georgia was ranked number 12 in the nation by the Small Business Survival Index for its entrepreneurship climate in the Small Business Survival Index. That represented an increase of 13 spots from where it was in 2006. The Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council also reportedly noted that the rate of job creation during the period was 70 percent faster in the top 25 states in the index versus the bottom 26. The population growth of the top 25 states is also double the rate of the bottom 26. Wow! This - all of this - is obviously great news for Georgia. This represents a lot of hard work by a lot of people - from the governor on down to the small businessman or business woman. We salute all of you and hope you will continue - with the added caveat/hope you will strive to also keep who we are intact - with your tireless efforts. We anticipate by the time the next report comes out it will be as we as already know: The only place for Georgia is at the top of the list. Letters to the editor Centerville issue a ‘stealth’ item Many people moved to Centerville in recent years because of an age exemption in city taxes. We the seniors of Centerville deserve and should have been noti fied in advance that a referendum would be on the ballot for the Nov. 6 election to reduce this exemption. It is a stealth presentation. To reduce this exemption to $25,000 of assessed value is bushwhacking many elderly - the least able to pay. I plead with Centerville voters to understand what is hap pening. Vote “NO” on this initiative. If Centerville mayor and council wish the effective tax on elders raised they should have informed the seniors of Centerville of their intentions. Why not grandfather in those seniors who are already living in Centerville? Alicia Callahan, Centerville ‘Fair Tax’ is anything but The so-called “Fair Tax” is being promoted locally to Republicans as a financial panacea for our finan cially bankrupt nation. This is a misnomer if ever and a good example of “Voodo Economics" that has never been adopted by a nation anywhere. If it sounds too good to be true, then it usually is. This Ponzi scheme would fail to raise adequate taxes to fund modern America and our president has refused to endorse it. This scheme would bankrupt Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. U.S.Rep.Jim Marshall, D.GA., is against the Fair Tax. So is our GOP candidate, Rick Goddard, willing to lose the support of thousands of Middle Georgians on See LETTER i, page $A 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. 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. Foy S. Evans Editor Emeritus Don Moncrief Managing Editor BELIEF .>aggagiejjji i si* > * * !Po * * mm. Sm SB Hi mm. Mm fmTWm, M mm • & 1 Halloween a bit of a mixed bag Election participation light again; address-telephone anomalies I keep thinking about Halloween night. The doorbell rang and rang and rang. Clearly, we are not gong to run out of children soon. I enjoyed sitting by the door and greeting them. Some were cute. Some were shy. Some were dressed in fright ening garb. Some wore outfits that demanded a lot of imagination. Some said, “Trick or treat.” Most reflected the new America that is so easy to dislike. They came to the door, held out bags, confident that they deserved something just for showing up, accept ed their “treats” and moved on without saying a word. Occasionally, one of the youngsters said, “Thank you” and it made you proud that their parents had taught them those two words. I realized that some of the children were not from the area where I live and I asked them where their homes were. Some had been hauled in from as far away as 10 miles to collect the loot available in a relatively new neighbor hood of nice homes. Disgusting was the appearance of numerous boys and girls who were in their late teens and acted as if the Halloween trick or treat was for them, too. They should have been ashamed of themselves, but were aggressive and almost insolent in the way they acted. I do not recall one of the older boys and girls wasting time speaking a single word. They just stuck out their Jjlvx Ox. "No wonder they agreed... there's not enough water left for them to fight over!" Urn, we need to talk... about... you know Parents and their teenagers see things differently. I know what you’re think ing. It’s something along the lines of “Duh.” But in the particular instance that I’m going to bring to your atten tion, I think you’ll be pleased that you and your teens may be at odds. How would you answer the following question: “Who most influences your teenager’s decisions about sex?” If you’re like most parents, you’d say their friends. Now, who do teen agers themselves say most influences their decisions about sex? Surprise! The answer is not the media, MTV or peers. Teens themselves say that it’s ... parents. That’s right. According to an annu al survey conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, teens look to their parents more than they do any other potential source of information regarding sex. More importantly, 87 percent of teens say it would be easier for them to postpone sexual activity and avoid teen preg nancy if they were able to have more open, honest conversations with their parents. Put more simply, that’s essentially nine out of 10 teenagers who are look ing for their parents to help them navigate the issues and challenges related to their sexuality. Chances are, if you’re a parent of a teen or pre-teen, that’s your child. The problem is that 37 percent of Y)//r von e can make a ci/ffc j rence Foy Evans Columnist foyevansl9@cox.net sacks for the loot that they obviously believed they deserved. Overall, though, it was an interest ing evening in which I got to share the excitement and joy of small children without venturing out into the night. Halloween still is for children and it was good seeing attentive parents standing in the background making sure their offspring was safe. ■■■ Elections were held yesterday and, as usual, there is an outcry demeaning the fact so few people exercised the right to vote. It does not bother me that the turn out at the polls is light. It means that candidates who were elected and important decisions were made by people with an interest in their gov ernment. In my opinion, often many of the people who vote have no idea what they are voting on or the issues involved. I would rather that a small number of informed voters make the decisions at the polls. This kind of thinking is contrary to Randy Hicks Columnist Georgia Family Council teens say they haven’t had a single such conversation with their parents. That is due in large part to the fact that nine out of 10 parents of teens who believe they should talk to their kids about sex say they often don’t know what to say, how to say it, or when to start. You probably know where I’m headed with this. No one has a greater impact on the decisions children will make about sex than parents - I’m remind ing myself, a father of five children, even as I remind you. It’s for this rea son we need to take the time to listen and talk to our kids about the subject that occupies so much of their think ing, conversation and the entertain ment choices. So, where do we parents start? First, recognize that regardless of what you feel are your shortcomings or your past failings, you are qualified as a parent to speak on the subject of sex. In some ways, your personal failings may give you more credibility with your kids. After thinking through this issue for HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL the popular belief that better govern ment comes from larger numbers vot ing. I just see it differently. Candidates who were elected and decisions that were made yesterday are what we deserve. It is probably better than we would have if several times as many people went to the polls. A popular comment goes like this: “If you didn’t vote you have no right to complain.” Maybe not, but complain ing is not as dangerous as uninformed voters swayed by emotions or promises of something for nothing. Where do you live? I have heard people complain because where they live, their mail address and telephone number are at different locations. One family with which I am famil iar lives in Peach County, receives its mail at a Periy address and has a Fort Valley telephone number. Families in Hayneville live in Houston County and have a Hawkinsville address. Houston Lake Country Club is “in Kathleen.” Hundreds of families live in Warner Robins and have a Centerville or Perry telephone number. This anomaly has gone on for years but is becoming more pronounced as more and more subdivisions pop up between Warner Robins and Perry. It is confusing but there is no way to coordinate mail routes, telephone ter ritories and city limits. So we just have to live with it. years and culling through many pub lications on the topic, I would like to offer the following suggestions. Be positive Let them know that the desires, impulses and curiosity they have are quite natural. Children need to know that sex is a good thing; if they view sex in and of itself as an inherently bad thing, they’re more likely to have a difficult time viewing marital sex with the appropriate sense of respect and wonder. Also - please don’t miss this - be positive about your child’s ability to abstain until marriage. If you’re nega tive and cynical in your expectations, they will sense this and reduce their own expectations. Be clear about what your expectations are. Be honest Sex is good, yes, but the preponder ance of evidence tells us that sex out side of marriage can be terribly risky, often destructive. It may help to share with your children that you remember the desires of adolescence. And they need to know about the real and shat tering results many kids experience from pre-marital sexual activity in the form of sexually transmitted diseases, out-of-wedlock pregnancies, emotional pain, and so on. Be inquisitive Ask frank questions about your kids’ views on sex - and even about their activities. “What do you think is See HICKS, page 6A