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♦ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2007
6A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Proud of Panthers
How about those Perry Panthers!
You know when Perry Head Football Coach/
Athletic Director Andy Scott first took this job, two
things come to mind.
One was the fact there was one other candi
date that stood out for the job, one whose quali
fications had already included a head coaching
position/experience, one who was also from
this area - coaching in another town at the time
- and wanted to return to his roots. That person
seemed like a shoe in.
Yet the Houston County Board of Education
saw something special in Scott and went in that
direction (part of what people have said make,
and continue to make, him so special is the fact
he really believes and cares for the kids; a belief
that extends far beyond the gridiron).
Today, as much a credit to his ability/hard
work as their decision, he is making those at the
HCBOE look like geniuses.
And two is probably a big factor in why the
HCBOE went in the direction they did: Scott
beams with confidence.
From day one until now he never doubted his
ability to build a champion. If you’ve ever talked
to him on the sidelines at practice or in his office,
you can’t help but know this.
And with good cause. Look at what he’s done
in just two short years. In 2006 the team finished
7-4 overall and made it to the state playoffs. This
year they are 8-3 and just beat one of the most
tradition-rich teams in the state in LaGrange (not
to mention forever-nemesis Peach County) in the
state playoffs.
No doubt Scott would say he couldn’t have done
it without the support of both his staff and play
ers. To that end, we also need to take a moment
to salute at least the first (lacking sufficent space
to salute the second): Offensive Coordinator
Chad Alligood, a story in itself as he was one
of the masterminds who helped Northside build
the program it is today, Defensive Coordinator
Randy Roland, Coaches Kelvin McDavis, Shawn
Masters, Carl Dixon, Rod Harris, Torrey Howard,
Chris Brown and Sam Said. We salute you one
and all.
You know, Scott was once seen at the Georgia
Dome - last year or the year before - watching
teams play in the state semifinals. “We’re going
to be here,” he said definitively at the time.
True enough it’s starting to look like they will.
Letters to the editor
Perdue’s rain dance a PR stunt
When a person is elected to a public office, such as
governor, his constituents expect to be represented
in an honest and truthful manner. These traits are, per
ceived by many, not to be our governor’s strong points;
thus, he must rely on his evangelical support base to con
jure up this illusion.
Perdue’s rain prayer was nothing other than a grand
standing PR stunt unworthy of serious concern. I can only
assume he hoped this would strengthen his entrenchment
in the religious community. Or, he takes his constituents
as a bunch of fools. If it is going to rain, it will. If not all the
prayers in the world can’t change a thing.
Many years in the past, Indians did rain dances and
hoped they would bring rain. Even before that, the
See LETTER i, page yA
WR Animal Control Shelter has problems
The Animal Control Shelter in Warner Robins has
some serious problems. It needs a newer, larger,
more modern facility. It needs to solely concentrate on col
lecting and dealing with, too often, unwanted strays. Their
job is to follow the law, do the best that they can and not
get bogged down in tasks that are outside the purview of
animal control.
See LETTER 1, page 8A
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
Being thankful even in adversity
Considering the way things
have gone the past few weeks
one might assume that there
was very little to be thankful for. Far
from it.
Even in the face of a questionable
future, I have trouble counting all my
blessings and the things that I am
thankful for this year.
I have trouble understanding how
anyone with a happy and fruitful pqst
can overlook the many good things just
because of an uncertain future.
My blessings have been many. As
the saying goes, my cup runneth
over.
It was sheer luck that brought me
to Warner Robins, where I shared in
decisions that resulted in what we have
today as editor and publisher of The
Warner Robins Sun (The Daily Sun).
Giving thanks at Thanksgiving
I have five children and frequently
struggle with how to teach them
about gratitude and contentment.
Frankly, it’s something I struggle with
myself. So the Thanksgiving week car
ries with it that annual opportunity to
teach them (and remind myself) about
the things for which to be grateful.
I don’t want the week to pass with
out having communicated with my
kids that Thanksgiving is much, much
more than days off of school, lots of
good food and a few football games on
television.
It’s helpful to remember the origins
of the holiday, so here’s a brief refresh
er course on Thanksgiving.
On Sept. 6, 1620, a ship with just over
100 people on board left the shores of
England en route to America. On board
were Pilgrims - men, women and chil
dren in search of freedom from the
religious persecution they had endured
in Europe. Freedom they were willing
to travel a world away to obtain.
However, that freedom came at a
high price. Their cramped vessel sailed
for two months across the Atlantic
Ocean before reaching the shore of
their new homeland. On their ship, the
•Mayflower, passengers had to endure
wind-tossed seas and storms, scurvy
and even death before sighting land.
Once ashore, the passengers and
crew, many disease-ridden from the
voyage, set about making a new home
in a strange and unknown landscape.
Having landed at Plymouth Rock
(located in what would become known
as Massachusetts) in November, it was
not long before temperatures began to
fall. Imagine facing that cold season
having to build a colony and gath
er food with limited supplies, while
you and/or many of your fellow set
tlers battled sickness and disease. By
springtime, only half of the colonists
had survived.
The Pilgrim’s sacrifice was a high
price to pay for the freedom they
sought": thousands of miles away from
civilization, harsh untamed country,
“One voice can make a difference
Foy
Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
The people of Warner Robins honored
me by electing me their mayor for
eight years.
How could anyone not be thankful
for that?
I am thankful for the many friends
who have enriched my life. I have out
lived most of them, but I appreciate the
living and the dead for many wonder
ful reasons.
At the top of any reason to be thank-
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
dozens dying. All in support of a noble
dream. And yet the Pilgrims were
grateful.
As spring and summer rolled on the
survivors were able plant crops with
the help of local Indians and by fall,
they had an abundance of food. They
expressed that gratitude as a commu
nity and invited the Indians who had
helped them to join in their three-day
harvest feast and festival.
Fast forward to today.
I’m betting that if the Pilgrims who
celebrated on that first Thanksgiving
could see the dissatisfaction and frus
tration so often expressed at this time
of year, despite the abundance we enjoy,
they would truly be perplexed.
The Pilgrims had to struggle with
how to meet their most basic human
needs. They needed food, they needed
shelter - they needed to survive the
winter.
Here’s what I need to remind myself
of - at a minimum, our basic human
needs are being met. It’s likely that
everyone reading this column knows
where their next meal is coming from.
It’s likely that none of us are particu
larly concerned about what the tem
perature will be outside when we go to
bed tonight.
And for most of us, our assets go way
beyond food and shelter.
For example, we enjoy modern con
veniences like dishwashers and micro
waves. We drive comfortable cars. We
get to choose from among an assort
ment of clothing what to wear each
day.
And many of us will spend the holi
day with family and friends gathered
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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
"At the top of any reason
to be thankful ts family. I
treasure them al -
immediate famly and
extended. All have
enriched my life."
fill is family. I treasure them all -
immediate family and extended. All
have enriched my life.
Tomorrow we will eat more than is
good for us and I, for one, have had
more blessings than I can count. I am
thankful for every one of them.
Now is not too soon to say so.
Tomorrow could be too late.
Let us give
thanks for all we
have been given
and ask God to
continue to bless
our families and
our Nation."
- GEORGE W. BUSH
2007 Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
around us. Perhaps some more antici
pated than others, but they are with us
nonetheless.
Think about it. We have so much
more than the Pilgrims did in that fall
of 1621.
Ironically, many of the struggles we
face in this modern life are directly
related to all that we can enjoy. Our
time and money get stretched because
of an ever growing number of things
to choose from. We often face self
imposed stress, particularly related to
finances, because we buy bigger and
better whether we can afford it or not.
Of course, it’s true that many of
us face real-life problems like illness,
strained relationships and others. And
for some this time of year seems to
amplify those things even more.
But we also have so much for which
to be grateful.
I hope you’ll pardon the preachiness,
but we need to slow down, give thanks,
say thanks, and remember what we
have - not what we don’t have.
I’m not pointing fingers because I’m
in no position to do so. I am guilty of
the very attitude I’ve described.
But all of us - and especially our
children - will find life so much more
enjoyable and meaningful when we
learn the discipline of gratitude. (And
it is a discipline, by the way. It does not
come naturally.)
There’s a story to be told here -
to our children and ourselves. The
Pilgrims showed us how to be grateful
for the simple things in life and to do so
in the face of great sacrifice. They had
so little, but were grateful in spite of it
all. How can we who have so much not
also be drawn to gratitude for all that
we enjoy?
Georgia Family Council is a non-prof
it organization that works to strength
en and defend the family in Georgia by
equipping marriage advocates, shaping
laws, preparing the next generation and
influencing culture. For more informa
tion, go to www.georgiafamily.org, 770-
242-0001, stephen@gafam.org.