Newspaper Page Text
♦ WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2008
4A
Daniel F. Evans
President
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Foy S. Evans
Vice President Editor Emeritus
Nicole Crofutt
General Manager
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Trash proposal gets dumped
The County Commissioners failed to approve
an action during their first meeting of the new
year that left us confused as to why.
The proposal was to set up a standard for
trash pickup, a standard that would make things
fair - or at least fairer for ALL. The problem(s) it
was explained by director of operations Tommy
Stalnaker was the county has “no limitations” on
trash pickup - like some other counties do, he
added.
“We’re having people buying houses," Stalnaker
explained, “building houses, and (owning) pecan
orchards. And then when we have these storms
and all there may be a two-and-a-half-ton truck
on one stop to pick up one bundle of yard waste.
And in some cases we’re finding that a contractor,
actual commercial tree people, are going in and
cutting trees and moving limbs, and then piling
them up by the roadway and then leaving them
for the collections department to come around.”
“The massive amounts it is taking at some loca
tions, one two-and-a-half ton truck is making two
or three trips in front of those people’s house ...
What the contractor is saying that at most gov
ernmental agencies they have a limited amount.
They’re saying let us have a limited amount to
six cans, three cans side by side, to the volume
of waste we can manage. If they need to put out
more waste next week, that’s fine.
“Going back, the large piles - and I have seen
it the whole length of the lot - actually there’s no
way the truck can handle that amount, because
if you pick up a truckload, you’ve then got to go
to the landfill and then have to come back. He
maybe can get that one house on that day, but
then the rest of his route is shot.”
In other words, if YOUR house was the next on
his route, and you had trash out by the curb for
pickup, well, you might as well get comfortable.
This didn’t make any sense to us. Why wouldn’t
you approve a standard that would make things
fairer for all in the county - and in fact, they noted
that in a lot of cases it was BUSINESSES which
were pushing things to the extreme. And even
then, Stalnaker and the contractor - one of its
reps in attendance to help lobby - weren’t say
ing businesses would be ignored. If they had an
oversized quantity, it would just be spaced out
so the collections person(s) could stay on their
route and serve EVERYBODY’S needs, not just
one entity’s. And further it was noted that if the
business and/or person wanted to pay a little
extra - work out a separate agreement with the
contractor - that was allowed, too.
Baffling. Just as baffling was the fact that dur
ing the whole presentation there didn’t appear
to be a whole lot of dissention among the com
missioners. It sounded to be a “common-sense”
approach and their body language appeared to
agree. There wasn’t a whole' lot of discussion
- nobody playing the devil’s advocate (nobody
brought up any flaws, let alone any major ones)
See TRASH, page $A
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Aircraft facility could use a little ‘Grace’
Once upon a time there was a Military Aircraft Repair
Facility in this area. Several thousand people from
all around traveled to and fro to work there. They liked their
jobs and they did good work. Every now and then some
inspection team would take a look at the facility’s proce
dures and processes and usually found them to be better
than satisfactory.
Military and civilian members of the workforce didn’t
much care who was in charge, got the most accolades,
were presented more medals, had their pictures or names
in the papers the most, ad infinitum. Everybody had a job
to do and they did it.
But the organizational structure was unlike that of the mil
itary and thus confused some of the top ranking military. So
they set about changing it to conform to their peculiar likes.
When this hare-brained idea was fully accepted another
was forthcoming-create a company concept. Duplication
of efforts most likely prevailed and the right hand didn’t
See LETTER, page fA
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for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity.
Standing firm with oun kids
That’s what I’m talking about!
Here we are in January and
we may have already found a
candidate for mother of the year.
Jane Hambleton of Fort Dodge, lowa,
made national headlines recently after
she placed an ad in the Des Moines
Register classifieds that read as fol
lows:
OLDS 1999 Intrigue
Totally uncool parents who obviously
don’t love teenage son, selling his car.
Only driven for 3 weeks before snoopy
mom who needs to get a life found
booze under front seat. $3,700/offer.
Call meanest mom on the planet.
Apparently she and her husband
purchased a car for their 18-year-old
son at Thanksgiving and laid down
two simple rules: No alcohol and keep
the car locked. Once she found a bottle
under the front seat, there was no
debate - the car was history. Thus she
decided on a creative and public way to
teach her son a lesson.
Now, most people know that an
approach like this won’t always work.
It’s important to remember that in
most cases we should avoid embarrass
ing our kids when we discipline them
because the thing that will stand out
more to them is the embarrassment,
not the lesson. In fact, in the absence
of a close, loving relationship with a
child, this tactic is very likely to back
fire and cause greater rebellion.
But what stands out here, with this
mother taking out a tongue-in-cheek
ad, is her iron-clad commitment to
doing what’s best for her son. This
mom saw that this was an issue with
potentially enormous consequences.
There wasn’t time to sit around and
wait until he had gotten the message.
She stood her ground for her son’s
well-being and the well-being of oth
ers. This “meanest mom on the planet”
also knew what her son’s response
' 1m rim
Without time together, marriages cen come opart
QUESTION: You have said that
the natural progression of a mar
riage is to become more distant
rather than more intimate. Why is
that true?
DR. DOBSON: The natural tendency
of everything in the universe is to move
from order to disorder. If you buy a new
car, it will steadily deteriorate from the
day you drive it home. Your body is
slowly aging and dying. Your house has
to be repainted and repaired every few
summers. A business that is not man
aged carefully will unravel and collapse.
A brick that is placed on a vacant lot
and left there long enough will eventu
ally turn to dust. Indeed, even the sun
and all the stars are slowly burning
themselves out. We are, in a manner
of speaking, in a dying universe where
everything that is not specifically being
protected and upgraded is in a down
ward spiral.
The principle which governs this drift
from order to disorder might be called
“the law of disintegration.” (Engineers
and scientists sometimes call it the law
of “entropy.”) The only way to postpone
or temporarily combat its influence is
to invest creative energy and intel
ligent design into that which is to be
preserved.
Not so surprisingly, human relation
ships also conform to the principle of
disintegration. The natural tendency
is for husbands and wives to drift away
from each other unless they work at
staying together. To provide another
analogy, it is as though they were sitting
in separate rowboats on a choppy lake.
EDITORIAL
Randy
Hicks
Columnist
Georgia Family Council
would be, and she was prepared to
weather it.
This is a great story because it shows
a parent who is willing to put it on
the line and follow through - who
recognized an opportunity to teach a
lesson and took advantage of it. People
appreciate parents who are willing to
follow through with the consequences
they have laid out. It’s a stark contrast
to the parents we’ve all seen who seem
more interested in coddling their little
one than getting him to stop running
wild in the restaurant, or the parent
who gives in to a tantrum and hands
a new toy to their child to get him to
be quiet.
We parents must be willing to draw
some lines in the sand and stand firm
when they are crossed. After all, we
place limits on our kids because cer
tain behaviors have consequences. We
want to help them make good choices
and avoid making bad ones, especially
those with the potential to reach far
into their lives.
Being a good parent also means
knowing which hill to die on. I once
had a lady tell me how frustrated she
would get with her adolescent son
because he wore his ball cap sideways.
Such behavior was “a sign of rebellion”
and “something we don’t allow in our
house,” she said. I couldn’t help but
wonder if by making such a big deal
about the way her son wore his cap,
how seriously he would take her when
she had a really big issue to deal with
Dr. lames
Dobson
Focus on the Family
vww.family.org
If they don’t paddle vigorously to stay
in the same neighborhood, one will drift
to the north of the lake and the other to
the south. That is exactly what happens
when marital partners get tpo busy or
distracted to maintain their love. If they
don’t take the time for romantic activi
ties and experiences that draw them
together, something precious begins to
slip away. It doesn’t have to be that way,
of course, but the currents of life will
separate them unless efforts are made
to remain together.
I wish every newly married couple
knew about the law of disintegration
and would actively protect their rela
tionship from it.
QUESTION: Some educators have
said we should eliminate report
cards and academic marks. Do you
think this is a good idea ?
DOBSON: No, I believe academic
marks are valuable for students in the
third grade or higher. They reinforce
and reward the child who has achieved
in school and as a nudge to the young
ster who hasn’t. It is important, though,
that grades be used propeyly. They have
the power to create or to destroy moti
vation.
M-l'
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
like substance abuse, cheating or the
aforementioned drinking and driving.
As the father of five children ages 12
and under I understand the challenges
we face as parents. It’s not always easy
to stand for what is good and stick
to it, but doing so can avoid years of
manipulation by our kids and frustra
tion for we as parents.
A friend told me a story he had heard
about a boy who had found a way
to manipulate his mother into doing
whatever he wanted. For years, he
had threatened to remove his clothing
- in public - if she didn’t give in to his
demands. Whether toys or candy or
other desired prize, the boy promised
he would take off his clothes unless
mom bought him what he requested.
And it worked. Until he was 12, when
he went to the dentist.
When the boy was asked by the
dentist tp “get up in the chair so I can
look at your teeth,” the boy refused.
He didn’t want to have his check up.
When the dentist persisted and told
the boy to get up in the chair, the boy
threatened to take his clothes off if the
dentist made him comply.
“I don’t care about that, if that’s
what you want to do, but I need to
check your teeth, so let’s go,” the den
tist said. The boy disrobed, waiting for
the dentist to stop, to cave, to give in,
as his mother had done so often - every
time. But the kid had met his match.
Now naked, the boy no longer had a
tool with which to threaten the den
tist. He climbed into the chair, and sat
quietly and cooperatively for the dental
exam. “OK, you can go now,” the den
tist said to the boy.
The kid looked around for his clothes,
but the dentist said, “I had my assis
tant take them for me. You can send
your mother back for them later. But
you’re not going to get them today.”
See HICKS, page §A
Through the elementary years, I’ve
always felt that a child’s grades should
be based on what he does with what he
has. In other words, I think we should
grade according to ability. A slow child
should be able to succeed in school just
as certainly as a gifted one. If he strug
gles to achieve, he should somehow be
rewarded - even if his work falls short
of an absolute standard. By the same
token, gifted children should not be
given A’s just because they are smart
enough to excel without working.
Again, the primary purpose in grading
in the elementary school years should
be to reward academic effort.
However, as the student goes into
high school, the purpose of grading
shifts. Those who take college prepa
ratory courses must be graded on an
absolute standard. An “A” in chemistry
or calculus is accepted by college admis
sion boards as a symbol of excellence,
and secondary teachers must preserve
that meaning. Students with lesser aca
demic skill shouldn’t take those difficult
courses.
To repeat, marks for children can be
the teacher’s most important motiva
tional tool, provided they are used cor
rectly. Therefore, the recommendation
that schools eliminate grading is a move
away from discipline in the classroom.
Dr. Dobson is founder and chairman
of the board of the nonprofit organiza
tion Focus on the Family, Colorado
Springs, CO 80995 (www.family.org).
Questions and answers are excerpted
from Solid Answers and Bringing Up
Boys, both published by Tyndale House.