Newspaper Page Text
4A
in f Viewpoint
Ours ...
Now Saudi Arabia isn't
such a faraway place
For a lot of wives, mothers, girlfriends- and yes, some
fathers, husbands and boyfriends, the Middle East moved
about a million miles closer to home last weekend.
Some of them have probably realized the same emotions
felt by several generations of their families before them who
sent loved ones off to war. If you haven't experienced the
feeling, you can't describe it, so we won't try.
When the 421st Quartermaster Company left Fort Valley
Saturday, the crisis in the Middle East was no longer some
sterile clip on the NBC Nightly News. The reality has now set
in. Those faces are not strangers. Now the soldiers have
names.
We would like to be able to tell you just who among your
friends and neighbors was in the group leaving, but the Army
says even the list of names is classified. However, we intend
to try to compile our own list of service personnel from Peach
County serving in the Middle East.
to call us with names of our friends and
relatives who have been called up. We will publish a list and
update it periodically.
Meanwhile, suffice it to say that our support and prayers
go with the 421st as they set out to do their part for their coun
try.
ML
Folks who worked on
voting system
to be commended
At the November Fort Valley City Council meeting,
Councilman Ernest Anderson presented a resolution calling
for a local referendum to change the city's method of electing
the council and Utilities Commission.
The resolution was adopted and the city will ask State
Rep. Robert Ray and State Senator George Hooks to introduce
local legislation calling for the referendum.
The plan, on which the city voters will eventually decide,
calls for the city to be divided into two wards, East and West.
Two council members will be elected from each ward and two
at-large. A similar plan will elect five members of the
Utilities Commission. Ward lines will be drawn based on the
1990 Census, in order to create two wards of equal population
density.
The plan will need two approvals, one from the voters and
one from the Justice Department.
A committee of local citizens worked on the plan for the
better part of three years. Claybon Edwards, Robert Church,
the late George Luce, James Lewis, Ernest Anderson, Jack
Hunnicutt and Clinton Dixon are to be commended for their
efforts.
We feel this is a solid, equitable plan, and that the commit¬
tee prepared it with the best interests of the entire city at heart.
Nice work, folks.
ML
And while we're at it • • •
While we're on the subject of changing our method of
election in the city of Fort Valley, there is one more matter that
we feel needs to be addressed, the election of the mayor.
Currently, the mayor is elected by a plurality vote. That is,
no matter the number of candidates in the race, he who gets
the most votes wins.
As it stands now, majority rule isn't practiced in Fort
Valley when it comes to electing the mayor. There is no.
runoff. Thus, the last time we had a city election, the mayor
went in with less than 40% of the vote. Flip that number over,
and over 60% of the voters who went to the polls voted for
someone else.
Now, that's not an indictment of Mayor Peterson. He did
n't write the rules, he just played by them. Besides, he certain
ly may have received the mandate of the voters in a runoff.
We just wish that opportunity had been there.
While we're trying to make ourselves a better election sys¬
tem for the city, why not address the biggest injustice in the
one currently in place. Let's add a clause to the plan that says
the mayor, as well as all posts on City COuncil and Utility
Commission, must be elected by majority, with runoffs held
when necessary.
ML
(, dtie ICeaiier-dribunt'
THE OFFICIAL LEGAL ORGAN OF PEACH
COUNTY, THE CITY OF FORT VALLEY AND
s THE CITY OF BYRON SINCE 1888.
D 0. BOX 1060
FORT VALLEY, GA 31030
825-2432
Mike Lovvorn Editor and General Manager
Hallie Rigdon News Editor
Sandra Goodwin Bookkeeping, Office Manager
Susan Plummer Advertising Manager
David Griswold Advertising Representative
Donald Cornwell Pressman
Eric Ze liars Photo/Darkroom Tech.
Stacey Shy Head Typesetting
Dawn Middlebrooks Typesetting Asst.
The Leader-Tribune (USPS No. 307740) it published weekly at 109 Anderson
Avenue, Fort Valley, GA 31030. Subscription ratss: $15.90 per year In Peach County,
$21 20 per year elsewhere in Georgia, $26.00 per year out-of-state. Second-class
postage paid at Fort Valley, GA. POSTMASTER shoudl send address changes to The
Leader-Tribune, P.O. Box 1060, Fort Valley, CA il030.
Th*> Leader-Tribune Wednesday, November 28, 1990
0 -> <9
0
& &
W. o a 0
Y$i ip Q f*
<9 m €
tQ ©
9
- &
& rd
Nov. 22, 1963: Where were
when the shots out?
Everyone has certain days in their lives that
remain in memory forever. For those of us who
were here, Friday, November 22, 1963 is surely
one of those days.
On that day, about six seconds in Dallas
altered the course of history, when President John
Kennedy was gunned down in Dealey Plaza,
supposedly by Lee Harvey Oswald.
The memory is
still quite clear. I
was in the fifth
grade, My
teacher, Mrs.
Lowe, came into m
the room from the
office, walked to
the front, folded
her hands in front
of her and
announced,"
C |ass -1 must sadly
re P° rt t0 y° u that n
our president has
been shot." Mike
Barely fifteen
minutes p a5s edj
and xhQ i->UUVUm,
loudspeake r Editor
crackled. Our
principal, Mr, Thompson, confirmed the worst.
"President John F. Kennedy is dead. Vice
President Lyndon Johnson is being sworn at this
moment."
Mr. Thompson went on to explain that Texas
Gov. John Connolly and a Dallas policeman had
also been shot.
After that, memories become a blur of
newsreel footage, as a nation sat glued to their
televisions. Some now-famous pictures are still
clear: the blood-stained pink suit of Jackie
Kennedy, the Secret Service agent crouched on
the back of the limousine, little John-Johris salute,
the riderless horse with the boots backward in the
Media should not be
manipulative political force
Watching the news lately I have been very torn
sbout how I feel about "freedom of the press" and
the First Amendment rights of so-called journal
is ts. Whos running this country anyway?
With all the press people in Saudi Arabia hyping
the dangers and fear of imminent shooting; and
the other press corps that hopskotches around
Europe with Secretary ---
of State Baker making
sounds of peace and
negotiations - all of Wffl
which sounding like the
last word from God
Himself, you can
merely sit in your andpj den
or livingroom
wonder who is telling -u
you the truth. Or if any * m
of them are telling the I
truth - or if they even j I
know it.
What is going on now
“ro rutile Rigdon,
press. mockery They of are situation making N ewS Editor
a a
that cou'd devastate the planet and change the
way we live forever Perhaps they do know that
much and that is why they appear so full of
themselves as they report "from the front."
Propaganda and media can be manipulated by
both sides - any time, anywhere. It appears that
the media is trying to do a little manipulation itself,
Were there reporters scrambling to interview
Hitier or Rommel during World War II? As I recall
history - and my memory is not perfect - it seems
that American correspondents covered American
actions, clearing their work through the American
command. Now we even have Barbara Walters
and O.J. Simpson in Saudi Arabia!
It must be driving our intelligence services abso
l-jtely crazy to have these journalists traveling all
stirrups.
Then there was Sunday. My family was just
finishing a big Sunday dinner and the TV was on
in the den. Most everyone was still at the table,
but my Uncle Edwin walked into the living room in
time to see Jack Ruby pull the trigger on Oswald.
With Oswald silenced, the speculation began
that may never end. Certainly the Warren
Commission, the biggest snow job in the history of
our nation, did nothing to explain what happened
that day in Dallas.
Did Oswald fire the fatal shots? Did he fire
some of them and a second gunman fire the
others from the infamous "grassy knoll"?
Was Jack Ruby part of it?
If it was a conspiracy, who was behind it?
Some said Moscow, others Cuba, still others
Lyndon Johnson.
Later on, another Kennedy would fall in
California, and Dr. King in Memphis. The
similarities were amazing.
Three public figures, all young, all charismatic,
all politically ahead of their time., all boat-rockers
who stuck out in the crowd and who were not
satisfied with the status quo.
In all three, investigations ensued that
seemed more intent on proving that one lone,
crazy assassin shot each of them rather than get
at the actual truth. In all three cases, the one
gunman answer has been shoved down our
throats tor neariy a quarter-century. In all three,
intnguing questions go unanswered.
It s almost as if there are still people in power
who do not want the truth told about any of them.
Were King and the Kennedys all swallowed by
a huge right-wing political machine that saw them
as a threat?
Who knows?
Who wants to know?
Twenty-seven years after the first shot was
fired, it's an insult to the intelligence and integrity
of this nation that we don't get some answers....
over the place with all their camera crews and
satellite dishes being hauled in and out of the
country. It wouldn't surprise me a bit if the Saudis
themselves put a stop to it.
What botners me the most is that the reporters
appear - and the word appear is chosen carefully -
to be so self-serving - or perhaps ratings-serving -
or sponsor-serving. The reports are so emotionally
based. There is none of the cool, clear Edward R.
Murrow type journalism in the deserts of Saudi
Arabia, nor Jordan, Kuwait or anywhere else.
The anchorperson for the newscast sits behind
a desk "tossing it" out to the field for a "live” report
and then sits by while some second or third team
member of the reporting crew babbles on about
conditions for the troops or the latest rumors of
war. They even went so far as to say that Sadam
Hussein’s .as, -cal. up- o. reserves would raKe
every man in the country to fulfill, thus bringing the
country to a total stand-still. Hussein is not that
stupid. He's a Beddouin who has played the
waiting game all his natural life and a champion at
manipulation. He's back at the palace smiling as
Americans are led to believe that all the men in
Saudi Arabia are carrying guns while women run
the country. Women can’t even drive in Saudi
Arabia for heaven's sake!
it brought to mind a program on PBS when all
the living former presidential press secretaries got
together to discuss truth in reporting. They all
admitted having blatantly lied to protect the White
House, or "put a better spin" on a story. All of them
were former broadcast journalists before taking
the job and knew how to play the game from both
sides of the fence - an added advantage,
Electronics and communications are wonderful
things. They need to be respected for the power of
force they have. But they do not need to be used
to improve ratings, manipulate the American
people or foreign governments. That appears to
be overstepping the boundaries of the First
Amendment aihd the rights of the people.
Yours ...
Support those in
Saudi Arabia
Editor
Saudi Arabia was once a far
away place. Now as I hear names
like Stan, Zeke, Jim and Tracey
the Middle East crisis has hit home.
I know there are many more Peach
Countians that have already left or
are preparing to do so in the next
few days.
I have tried to think of a way
of let these service people and their
families know how much we appre¬
ciate them going to protect us.
With the help of Leader Tri¬
bune Editor Mike Lovvom, I would
like to see a list of our service peo
pie an their addresses in this paper,
that would give us all an opportu¬
nity to put them in our hearts and
minds and to start sending them
cards.
If you have a loved one in the
Middle East, please mail me their
name and address. Due to the de
tailed addresses, I prefer not to take
the information on the phone. I
will need YOUR help to get Peach
County’s concern flowing to Saudi.
Ann Lanter
407 College Street
Fort Valley, Georgia 31030
Editors Note:
We will be glad to provide a
list of local people serving in Saudi
Arabia-Send us the names or send
them to Mrs. Lanter for routing to
us.
ML
JTVQP C’APS ^
wishes to thank
3.11 IOF SllpDOrt
„ . „ . of Fori ,, Valley „ and
Wc like 10 ^ u,i s op
portunlty to express our apprccia
tion to our friends, acquaintances
and all the wonderful people who
supported the training of the Sal
vadoran Central American Peace
Scholars (CAPS) while at Fort Val¬
ley State College. It has been a
great experience for us as well as
our scholars.
Without your support and in¬
volvement, this program could not
have been a success. We look for¬
ward to continued cooperation in fu¬
ture projects.
Sincerely,
The FVSC CAPS Staff
FVMS thanks all
_ Indian FOOd
IOF
Festival
Dear Editor,
I am writing this article on be¬
half of all eighth graders at Fort
Valley Middle School. We would
like 10 thank all the people who
participated in our "Indian Food
Fest ‘ va l" It was a fun day for ev
cryone 3,1(1 also a uni( l ue learnin S
expe ^ 1< ^'
W '££ . , f ,
came
John Worth, and archaeologist
working on his PhD, came and
helped barbeque different Indian
foods. Mr. Tommy Rackley and
Pastor Todd Jenkins also helped us
b y barbequeing too. Mrs. Jones,
Mrs - Da mpier, Mrs. Thomas, Mrs.
1 Mrs. Fineran, Mrs. Rack
ley and Mrs. Humble helped prepare
dish 5 s * > Y e th f nk
SnE 8 Q °I ^ rt intereSting . t “ l
We certainly need to say a spe
cial "Thank You" to Mr. Duke, Mr.
Sheets, and Mr. Cheek for making
a* 1 possible. This day kicked off
an exciting study on Mr. Duke’s
life long passion-'Tndians!" We are
glad that all of these wonderful
people care enough about us to do
that for us. the students at FVMS
arP f nrtimalfl h!Tin . Ts grow^n
people as these F E b
ourknowledge
Shannon Hutto *