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BELIEF
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♦ SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2007
4A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Be it resolved
A week ago the U.S. Senate passed a reso
lution naming next week “National Veteran’s
Awareness Week.”
The resolution acknowledged something both
sad and significant, which is that many young
people are not as aware of the sacrifices of the
Armed Forces as they once were, despite the
hundreds and thousands who have given their
lives, and the countless others who have served
with valor.
One reason they are not so aware, according
to the resolution, is the advent of the all-volun
teer Armed Forces, which has resulted in a sharp
decline in the number of individuals and families
who have had any personal connection with the
Armed Forces.
For older generations who had family members
and former schoolmates fighting in far off lands,
this disconnection is hard to understand. Those
who turn out for Veterans Day commemorations
and Memorial Day observances are remember
ing those they knew - and often those, they lost,
and the crowds are often mostly older people.
We can all do our part in making the younger
generation aware of’a history of valor, courage
and sacrifice. We can and should make sure that
young people understand the reasons for setting
aside days to remember those who have fallen
in battle, those who fought and returned to serve
their communities in other ways, and those who
are fighting now.
How can this be done?
With words. We need to talk to our children
and grandchildren at a personal level, to be sure
that they understand something of the past and
something of what’s still to come, and that they
are never indifferent to the courage and sacrifice
of others.
Those growing up now need to be especially
aware of the country’s sacred obligation to those
who have been seriously injured in recent con
flicts. They don’t need our pity. They need for
See RESOLVED, page
Letters to the editor
Repaving project ‘pitiful’
I have seen a lot of road projects in Houston County over
the last 25 years, but the recent repaving of Lake Joy
Road from Hwy. 96 to Hwy. 127 is pitiful.
The contractor widened the road by a foot on each side
and never bothered to clean up all of the dirt, rocks and
asphalt that was left on the shoulder. Then, after the road
was repaved, they dumped more dirt on the shoulder, on
peoples driveways and the side streets, making more of a
mess. Many of these already had manicured lawns right up
to the road edge. They are now destroyed.
This extra dirt, asphalt chunks and debris will also cause
runoff problems when it rains and will probably damage the
county and homeowners mowers when they cut the grass.
The widening of the intersection of Lake Joy Rd., and
Langston Rd., was also part of the project. It is STILL
incomplete and no one is working on it. The road surface
through the intersection is very uneven and bouncy. Even
the asphalt surfaces don’t match - A real third rate job.
See LETTERi, page
Disappointed in voter turnout; taxes
Well I guess I can only say I am disappointed in the
voters of Warner Robins yet again. Macon had a
voter revolt this year that I truly enjoyed watching. Why is
it we in Warner Robins and Houston County find it so hard
to vote for persons who will represent US rather than rep
resent themselves? Any candidate that thinks we should
vote ourselves a tax increase like a SPLOST will never get
my vote.
It is time we send a message to county commissioners
and the City Councils that enough is enough. I just received
my property tax bill and saw a nice note on the bottom
left that says “My tax savings were $237.21 ” - due to the
SPLOST I assume. Now how pan that be when based on
what my SPLOST taxes are for food, gasoline and other
purchases? Remember a SPLOST IS a tax.
See LETTERi, 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
Community that no longer exists
With some reluctance, I
share portions of the email
that I received from Pete
Donaldson with you. I am reluctant
because it has to do with the self
inflicted death of Janice’s brother, Jeff,
and because I’ve written of this before.
And, yet, I feel that Pete’s words are so
profound and open that they deserve
to be printed. If you read what Pete
wrote, I believe you will agree.
Albany, Oct. 30.
Larry:
Sometimes I get so caught
up in the “urgency” of the
day that I forget to take time
to reflect. Thank you for shar
ing your thoughts about Jeff. You
gave me pause to remember that
there are things more important
than “being right” or prevailing
in every conflict.
Jeff and I had only a handful of
conversations, but each was more
than the typical “jailhouse inter
view.” I sensed that he sometimes
just wanted to talk. He loved his
family and worried that he would
not see his mother again. When we
worked out the arrangement to go
to Bridges of Hope, he said that
before he went he wanted to see
his mother “one last time.” I wish
I had understood what he really
meant.
The tragedy is that we discard
the Jeff Knightons of this world.
We deny them the chance to over-
yi
Interesting week holds some twists, turns
It has been an interesting week,
with some twists and turns:
■ Residents of Centerville
voted to continue giving a 100 percent
property tax exemption to homeowners
70 and older. Mayor “Bubba” Edwards
asked voters to change the exemption
to $25,000 to raise more taxes the city
needs.
I have heard people ask the question,
“Doesn’t Centerville have money to
burn, considering all the business that
are opening there?” I am surprised
how many people actually believe that
all the commercial development in the
Centerville area is actually in that
small city. To the contrary.
■ Most of the commercial develop
ment going on is in Warner Robins.
Here is why: Centerville’s city lim
its are confined to the area on the
north side of Watson Blvd. between
Vinson Parkway and Margie Drive.
This includes Lowe’s, but not Home
Depot. It includes Wal-Mart, Warner
Robins Supply and Galleria Mall. All of
the businesses east of Vinson Parkway
and on the west side of Margie Drive
and beyond, as well as everything on
the south side of Watson Blvd., are in
Warner Robins and pay taxes there.
■ Actually, Centerville is more a bed
room community than a commercial
one.
■ Centerville residents voted approv
al of sale of alcohol by the drink on
Sundays. There are only two restau
rants that can benefit at present. Look
Larry
Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
come their pasts. There are rea
sons we do that . . . some of them
are good reasons and some are not.
We lump misdirection together
with evil and “just to he safe” we
call all of it evil: a pity because of
the lives we throw away, believing
we do not have the time or energy
to look beyond our own problems.
We are wrong, of course.
There are countless examples
of broken people who were mend
ed and produced so much more
because of the experience.
I think you said you knew my
grandfather. He raised me from
my early teenage years when my
parents sent me to him in Tifton
to get me away from some truly
bad influences in Dallas, Texas,
where we lived in the early 60s.
My grandfather taught me the
values of community . . . values
that have largely been lost in our
“urgent world.” One of the great
est of those values was that the
community knew us, knew our
“people,” and knew our histories.
They knew the difference when
we did something stupid, as
opposed to evil. They knew when
"Remember, son...every veteran is a hero!"
"Who said all the news is
bad? Scientists this week
said that being 25 pounds
overweight is good."
for more to open.
■ Will Warner Robins respond by
approving sale of alcohol at restau
rants on Sundays, too? Surely Mayor
Donald Walker is not going to let all
that potential revenue leave his city.
■ Gov. Sonny Perdue does not like
Speaker Glenn Richardson’s plan to
replace property taxes with a sales tax
and he has gone on the offensive to
keep the present system of taxation by
declaring that it is not broken, so why
try to fix it?
■ The second richest American -
Warren Buffett - is worth billions of
dollars. He is going around saying that
Americans with any more than a mod
est income do not pay enough income
Up v
jSsi :
1 i
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Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
we had a problem and they knew
if we were THE problem. They
knew when to call our families
and when to call the law.
Jeff-Knighton had problems . . .
many of them . . . but he was not
THE problem. Sadly, we no longer
make that distinction. The “com
munity” that cared about him did
not know how to help him. How
could they? They were too scat
tered and they were too confront
ed with their own urgencies.
The definition of “community”
has changed drastically since I
had the privilege of living with my
granddad. The community that
you and I knew as young men no
longer exists.
We have substituted “authority”
for “responsibility,” and we look
to government to do what commu
nity once did.
So, Jeff was locked away for
seven months ... just long enough
to rob him of hope and lead him
to the only conclusion he could
understand: there was nothing
left for him.
Of course, he was wrong. He
loved his family and 1 believe they
loved him. There is always hope
where there is love, but I suspect
his ability to see or feel hope
had been dimmed by months in
jail where circumstances told him
over and over that he was failure
itself. It is too sad to explain.
My grandfather taught me many
things; one of the most important
See WALKER, page $4
taxes. He said that he should be pay
ing more. Good. Let him write a check
to the government in the amount he
believes he underpays, but cut out
the effort to get everyone else’s taxes
raised. If he believes anyone in the
upper middle class is paying too much,
cut their taxes. Don’t raise taxes on
people struggling to get ahead and save
a few bucks.
■ California is a beautiful place, but
I can’t imagine living there. Year-round
they have natural disasters ranging
from fires, earthquakes, flooding, very
high taxes and sky high cost of living.
That’s too high a price to pay for beau
tiful scenery.
■ Alpharetta and Roswell do not like
those trucks used as mobile advertis
ing signs. These cities are imposing
SSOO fines on them, according to the
AJC.
■ The London Daily Mail has report
ed that Anthropologist Oliver Curry
has taken a look into the future. He pre
dicts that by the year 3000 the human
race will be divided into two separate
species, i.e., (1) attractive, intelligent
ruling elite and (2) an underclass of
dimwitted, ugly, goblin-like creatures.
I doubt that any of us will live long
enough to see if he is right.
■ Who said all the news is bad?
Scientists this week said that being 25
pounds overweight is good. Millions of
Americans probably already are lining
up for extra helpings of their favorite
desserts. Count me in.