Newspaper Page Text
BELIEF
6A
♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2008
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Letters to the editor
Road improvements still being ignored
Still waiting ... Several weeks ago I submitted a letter
about the poor quality of work done on the resurfac
ing of Lake Joy Rd. I also mentioned that the job was left
incomplete - especially the intersection of Lake Joy Road
and Sandefur Road.
Now several weeks after I wrote that letter, still NOTHING
has been done to the road. We are still waiting.
The intersection has new traffic lights hanging like orna
ments at Christmas without any electricity. The new multi
lane intersection has many barrels on the shoulder of the
road looking like orange trees, but still no striping for the
new lanes. Which makes the intersection very dangerous
because drivers aren't sure where the lanes are. And the
road surface is so uneven and bumpy that it causes your
car bounce on the new road, especially the southbound
lanes.
And on that sdme note, along with the incomplete work in
the intersection, the striping on the Lake Joy Rd shoulder
(fog line) has not been done. One can only assume that the
County Commissioners haven’t learned their lesson about
how to let and enforce road contracts.
You would think that the Houston Lake Rd fiasco would
have made them more determined to do it right. But appar
ently they are still letting contractors do the job piecemeal.
Work a week here, then go to another job elsewhere
for several weeks. Even though the buck stops at the
commissioner’s office, the actual job oversight is with the
Roads and Bridges Department. I suppose it will take a
major lawsuit from someone who has been injured in the
unmarked intersection or runs off the road in bad weather
because they can’t see the road edge. I guess it doesn’t
really matter to the powers that be. Our tax dollars would
be used to pay off any legal action. There are many road
projects going on in the county at any given time.
Since most of them seem to have this random work
schedule with the contractors, maybe the commissioners
should require that one job be completed before they move
on to the next. Lake Joy Road is just one example of a very
poor road building policy being used by our county. Maybe
we need new people on the county commission office who
are more interested in working for the citizens than making
money off of real estate or developments.
- James Adams, Perry
Bush placing faith in wrong group
As we witness our neighbors’ homes going into foreclo
sure and abandonment we should remember that the
former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan,
could have taken effective measures to lessen, if not pre
vent, the current credit mess.
But, he wrongly believed that the financial lenders and
their institutions would do what is best for our nation. But,
these lenders were often selfish and greedy and suckered
those less fortunate into unwise mortgages.
Mr. Bush still believes in the lenders who created this
financial mess and refuses to help those with subprime
mortgages. He cares more about his tax breaks for our rich
- not our poor. Shame on him!
- Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins
It’s now or never for Oaky Woods
My mother was a child during WWII. She remembers
the depression well. She has set out to save the
planet one recycled toilet paper roll at a time. She’s only
recently stopped saving milk gallon jugs. She drives me
crazy but she’s right.
Let me say that again tor clarification. She’s right. I’m not
a liberal. I have a tendency to put them in the same cat
egory as Yankees and people who went to the other high
school but on this point they are right. We should be better
stewards of our planet.
My great grandmother came to visit from west Texas
several years ago. She was dumbstruck by the trees. Trees
are what I’m interested in saving, forests full of them.
About a year ago I was out in Oaky Woods with a friend.
We were coming back from a search for river access.
We are kayakers. We were driving slowly enjoying the
day when we came up on a large bird eating road-kill. It
stood about two and half to three feet off the ground, with
blue-grey feathers and had a sleek head, like a hawk. We
watched it for a few minutes before it flew away. The wing
span was awesome. (I asked a ranger. He said, “No, it was
not an eagle”. I disagree.)
On another day I was out there with my parents for a
short hike when we came upon the biggest bear I have ever
seen in the wild. He easily stood eight feet off the ground
on his hind legs. Since we were in a car when he did this,
See LETTER, page jA
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
Let me tell their story
She was a nurse, caring for oth
ers for more than 38 years.
He served in World War II
and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
He was also an avid train model enthu
siast.
She was a Sunday School teacher for
49 years.
He was a farmer, and it was said that
the only place he could be happy was
in the field with his hands stuck deep
inside the cool, brown earth.
She was a homemaker, who it was
penned, “felt that the most important
work she would ever do would be with
in the walls of her home.”
Who were they? 50 words or less ...
or better put: Chances are you never
knew.
Let me start from the beginning.
There is a part of my job I absolutely
hate. It’s editing - condensing is an
appropriate word in most cases - the
obituaries.
There are a couple of reasons I say
that. First, I hate death. I fear death.
And - most of you with a little age on
you know this - that fear gets stronger
with each passing year (sometimes
“day”). Further, I hate seeing people
die. And when I receive an obit, more
times than none I can’t help but try to
n [ remind him it was \
Would Regean vote for Ron Paul
On Christmas Day, I glanced
at the memorabilia from my
years in politics. The photos
and notes from Newt Gingrich. Candid
shots of me with the likes of Jimmy
Carter and of the brilliant mastermind
of his presidential victory, Hamilton
Jordan. Next were shots of me posing
with Bill Clinton and then with both
President Bushes.
And oh yes, here was a young U.S.
Senate aide Matt Towery with one
Ronald Reagan.
Everyone knows there are plenty of
people with photos of themselves with
politicians. And there are loads of peo
ple who were close to Reagan. Many of
them have both the credentials and the
motives - especially the motives - to
refute what I am about to write. »
Certainly my friends who still con
sider themselves respected experts and
D.C. insiders would never dare write
what follows. They would be cast off
into the outer circles of the political
establishment.
Personally, I couldn’t care less. So
here goes.
Reagan was once an lowan. He once
broadcast University of lowa football
games, and he later was “discovered”
by Hollywood when living in Des
Moines.
It is my personal belief that if Reagan
were alive and living in lowa today, and
he had to choose among the Republican
presidential candidates, that he would
likely choose the man the GOP estab
lishment and national media have writ
ten off - Congressman Ron Paul.
To begin with, there is little doubt
that for at least foreign policy, Reagan
was basically a non-interventionist. He
bragged about the fact that the United
States did not occupy foreign eoun-
Don
Moncrief
Managing Editor
donm@evansnewspapers.com
"Give them a chance to
see their story in print.
Give them the comfort in
knowing their life counted
far more than 50 words
or less."
think of that person’s life.
I grieve. I can’t grieve like the fam
ily. I would never claim that. Not even
close. But I do feel for them. And I feel
for the person who has gone on.
And that leads me to reason number
two. It’s Houston Home Journal policy
that the first 50 words in an obituary
are free. After that, there is a charge.
(Note: If you’ll look around, you’ll see
Matt
Towery
Columnist
Morris News Service
tries.
He stressed in virtually every speech
about the “Evil Empire” of the Soviet
Union that they must be brought
down, but not by use of force or war.
When provoked by Libya’s Muammar
al-Qaddafi, the Osama bin Laden of the
1980 s, Reagan used strategic bomb
ing next to the quarters in which
al-Qaddafi was sleeping to bring the
brash “terrorist” to his knees.
Even the vicious murder of more
than 200 troops in Lebanon did not pro
voke invasion or war. Instead, Reagan
removed U.S. presence there in order
to cool down an ultra-hot situation.
Oh yes, we did invade Grenada. More
a military exercise than a true battle.
As for domestic policy, again Reagan’s
philosophy seems closer to that of
Paul’s than any other Republican can
didate today.
Reagan constantly railed against big
government. In speech after speech,
he emphasized the need to adhere to
the Constitution, and to respect the
powers of the individual states. Sound
familiar?
As for some of Dr. Paul’s more far
fetched positions, they may be “out
there,” but it wasn’t hard for me to
find quotes from Reagan that reflected
nearly the same sentiments. For exam
ple, Paul’s concerns about a monetary
system based on something closer and
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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
that others don’t offer ANY words
free.)
It’s not my policy nor is it in my area
to establish that policy. I simply am
charged to carry it out.
The problem is more times than
none families will opt for the 50 words
free.
Am I accusing them of being cheap.
Oh, heck no! Typically I’ve noted
they’re paying for a full obit - just not
here.
Oh, so, this is all about trying to
get more money out of them, right?
WRONG!
I am writing this solely to ask one
thing of our readers - one thing of
you: Give me the opportunity to tell
their story on these pages - somewhere
OTHER than the section of 3A entitled
“Obituaries”.
Give me the chance to put them on
the front page where they belong. Let
the world know how special they were.
(Note: It is my belief that EVERYONE
is special and has a special story.) Give
them a chance to see their story in
print. Give them the comfort in know
ing their life counted far more than 50
words or less.
That’s all I ask. Call me at 987-1823,
Ext. 231.
closer to worthless paper was similarly
expressed by Reagan as early as 1964
when he stumped for Barry Goldwater
for president.
In a speech that year, Reagan
expressed concerns about America los
ing its monetary independence. And,
eerily, he alluded to fears about foreign
nations owning American currency.
As I try to remind my friends who
were around in 1980, Reagan was con
sidered by the mainstream Republican
establishment to be as kooky as many
label Paul as being.
Gerald Ford in 1980 was quoted in
Time Magazine as saying that Reagan
was “unelectable.” It is no wonder that
when Reagan challenged Ford some
four years earlier for the GOP nomina
tion, Paul was one of only a handful
of sitting congressmen who supported
Reagan’s effort.
What Paul lacks is Reagan’s movie
star looks, and the credibility that
comes with having been governor of
California. Even without those attri
butes, Paul has managed to become
the first Republican candidate I’ve
seen since 1980 who can draw huge
crowds so devoted to their candidate
that they seem almost cult-like in their
zeal. Believe it or not, that’s what we
thought of the Reagan crowds that
gathered early in his bid for president
in 1980.
The fact is that Reagan tamed both
his rhetoric and the implementation of
his agenda to meet the realities of the
presidency. My guess is that, were Ron
Paul to have such a chance, he would
inevitably do the same.
I still believe that between the
Republican Party’s longing to appear
“mainstream” and the national
See TOWERY, page jA