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A touch of patriotism, Indian
The war in the Middle East has brought out much flag waving and
profound acts of patriotism. It has caused all of us to reflect about
war and the sacrifices
With these thoughts as a back¬
drop, I decided that it was a good
time to examine how the South¬
eastern Indians viewed such
things.
The best evidence which I could
find to demonstrate the patriotic
spirit of the Southeastern Indians
comes from the writings of James
Adair. He was in effect an on-the
scene" and “front line" reporter of
the early 1700s. He lived among
the Southeastern Indians for many
years. He learned their ways and
knew how they thought. Maxwell Duke
Adair recorded what he saw in
his memoirs. They were later Indian Footprints
published as General Observa¬
tions of the North American
Indian.The following is a paraphrased summary of part of his work. I
have left his terminology and style of writing in tact as much as
possible to convey the ambience and flair of the 1700s.
"Through the whole continent, and in the remotest woods, are
traces of their ancient warlike disposition. We frequently met with
great mounds of earth having a strong fort around them. These they
used as security against an enemy. They called these old fortresses
Legislature reaches half way mark;
hundreds of bill await consideration
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Rep. Robert Ray
Last Wednesday the General
Assembly passed the halfway mark
of the 1991 session. After the 21st
day, all legislation that has not
been acted on will be put on the
calender by the rules committee,
The committee will decide which
bills will be brought to the house
floor for a vote. There are literally
hundreds of bills ready to come be
fore the whole House for a vote,
but only 20 to 30 can be handled a
day.
On Tuesday, the House over¬
whelmingly approved a measure to
grant tax breaks to farmers, tree
growers, homeowners under pres
sure from developers, and owners of
nature spots. Lawmakers made two
concessions to local govemmerts,
made edge by the possibility of
large shifts in their tax rolls. The
House agreed: To tighten the defini¬
tion of "residential transitional" so
that only those homeowners who
had seen their tax bills rise due to
development in their vicinity would
qualify, not any homeowner in an
area where zoning is changing,
Once property qualifies for tax
break, only the assessment, not the
total tax bill, would be frozen for a
decade.
The legislation carries through
on a constitutional amendment ap
proved by Georgia voters in
November. The House vote was
139 to 24. The bill removes timber
from the tax rolls until it is har
vested, and provides for agricultural,
residential transitional and
"environmentally sensitive" land to
be taxed at less than fair
value. Property owners would have
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to sign a 10-year covenant and, if
the land were sold for a shopping
mall, condominiums or other unap¬
proved use, would have to pay
twice the taxes they avoided.
After supporters tossed much
of it's political baggage overboard,
House Bill 280 passed the House
145 to 25. The bill still would turn
traditional utility rate-making on its
head by forcing the Public Service
Commission to approve power
plants before they are built. The
bill would require Georgia Power
Company to file with the PSC an¬
nual 20-year projections of future
energy needs, including conserva¬
tion alternatives and new plant pro¬
posals. It also would mandate that
the PSC approve the need for the
costs of new power plants, guaran
teeing that those costs would be re¬
covered later through rates.
The House gutted, amended,
and then killed a measure aimed at
increasing punishment of those
who commit crimes against others
because of their race, religion, gen
der or sexual preference. The House
then voted to change the "hate
crimes bill" further by striking the
reference to sexual preference. Then
the lower chamber defeated the bill,
103 and 64. Bill Randall (D-Ma
con), chairman of the Special Judi
ciary Committee that handled the
legislation, said its defeat was due
to the House's reluctance to tackle
the issue of homosexuality.
A bill which would outlaw
loud music coming from motor ve
hides was reconsidered. It makes it
a misdemeanor charge to operate or
occupy a vehicle with a stereo, ra
dio or other sound-making device
plainly audible from at least 100
feet. Misdemeanors are punishable
by up to a $1,000 fine and one year
in jail,
In response to the fatal shoot
i ng at Perimeter Mall last year by a
former mental patient, the House
approved legislation Tuesday that
would require those found innocent
of crimes by reason of insanity to
be supervised by the state once they
are discharged from hospitals. The
same bill would give the Depart¬
ment of Human Resources broader
powers to determine who should
and should not be released.
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"Nanne Yah" which meant "the mounts of God."
Indians are all equal except by gains through superior virtue,
speech making skills, and war. They esteem themselves by the fact
that they are bound to live and die in defence of their country.
Each warrior holds his honor, and the love of his country, in so
high esteem that he prefers it to life. He will suffer the most exquisite
tortures rather than to denounce it.
There is no such thing among the Indians as desertion in war.
They do not fight for hire. Instead, they fight for wreaths of white
swan feathers (a symbol of peace and purity).
They confer rewards based upon merit. These rewards and
recognition are the only true motives for which they war. It is from
such motivation that they warm their hearts with a strong and
permanent love for their country."
Sort of sounds like our good soldiers in the Middle East, doesn't
it?
Tidbit of Trivia:
American Indians have always been associated with being skillful
warriors who were willing to take up a cause and fight for it. This is
true even for modern day wars.
Although not well publicized, the Southeastern Indians were
deeply involved in the first modern war - the War Between the
States. They fought valiantly on the side of the Confederacy. (And,
in similar fashion, were later punished like all other Southerners
after the war was lost.)
One western tribe of Indians, the Navajo, became well known for
their unique participation in World War II. Because their language
was so unusual, the Navajo were used as radio operators. The
Japanese were never able to "break the code of the Navajo!
★** Copyrighted Material All Rights Reserved by the Author ***
-
A weaker open container bill
passed the House Regulated Bever
ages Committee after languishing
in the House for six straight years,
a bill banning open alcohol con
tainers in cars, but it was weakened
considerably. The original measure
prohibited passengers from holding
opened containers and made the of
fense a misdemeanor, punishable by
as much as a year in prison and a
$1,000 fine. The version passed
unanimously by the Committee
limited the bill to drivers and set a
maximum fine of $25, similar to a
Senate version passed earlier.
The bill was "a step in the
right direction," said Nona C.
Gibbs, president of the Fulton
County chapter of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving, but she also said it
was largely unenforceable because
drivers could pass their drinks to a
passenger. Also, the panel supports
tougher penalties for underage
drinkers. Underage drinkers who use
fake IDs to buy alcohol would be
subject to fines of $250 to $750
and as many as 250 hours of com¬
munity service work under a bill
passed out of the House Regulated
Beverages Committee. Currently,
the offense is a misdemeanor pun¬
ishable by a $300 fine and 30 days
in prison.
State Representative Bobby
Lawson, D-Gainesville, has intro¬
duced an ethics bill that would limit
the amount of money candidates for
public office in Georgia could spend
on elections. The measure has been
assigned to the House Governmen¬
tal Affairs Committee. It would
mandate the following per candidate
limit on campaign expenditures:
governor's race, $1 million;
statewide elected office, $500,000;
state senator, $20,000; state repre¬
sentative, $10,000; and other public
offices, $10,000.
It was indeed a pleasure last
Monday to have Rev. John Talley,
Pastor of the First Baptist Church
in Fort Valley, to serve as Chaplin
of the day. House members were
very much inspired with his mes¬
sage.
We continue to pray for our
troops in Saudi Arabia and their
families left behind. We are very
encouraged with the news Friday
that an end to the war may be in
sight.
If you have specific legislative
issues that you are interested in,
please do not hesitate to let me
know your views. My address in
Atlanta is, Legislative Office Build
ing, #18 Capitol Square, Suite 601,
Atlanta, Georgia 30334, and my
telephone number is 404-656-0254,
or you can reach me at night at
404-681-1816.
Kelli Kennedy joins Kappa Alpha
chapter of Kappa Delta at FSU
Kelli Kennedy, daughter of Mr.
and Mrs. Van Kennedy of Fort Val
ley, Georgia, has been initiated into
Kappa Delta Sorority at Florida
State University.
Citron
Eye Clinic
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Glaucoma Treatment
Laser Therapy
Radial Keratotomy
All Surgeries To Be Performed
At Peach County Hospital
701 North Camellia Blvd.
Call For An Appointment
1 - 800 - 282-3884
f I
The Leader-Tribune Wednesday, February 20,1991
i B A Y R R Peach Poster ©
HAPPENINGS (Byron 956-2200) (Thomas 825-8540)
SPOTLIGHT ON: PINOCCHIO PUPPETS AT THE
PETTIGREW CENTER
A special presentation of Pinocchio will be held at the Pettigrew
Center at Fort Valley State College on Saturday, March 2. Staged by
the Atlanta Center for the Puppetry Arts, this children's classic is
jointly sponsored by the Peach Public Libraries and the Pettigrew
Center. You won't want to miss this memorable production that
includes clowns and juggling. Two shows are scheduled that Saturday,
the first at 2 p.m. and the second performance at 7:30 p.m. All seats
are reserved with tickets $3 for adults and $2 for students and senior
citizens. Admission is free with a coupon or ten Piggly Wiggly labels.
For further information, call 825-6468 or 1-800-537-6118.
This is Black History Month and Thursday marks the anniversary of
the death of Malcolm X. Bom Malcolm Little, he was a leader in the
black Muslim nation before starting the Organization of Afro
American Unity. He became a central figure in the movement for and
expression of black self-determination before his assassination at a
rally in Harlem on February 21.1965.
Several new paintings have been added to the exhibit now on display
at the Thomas Public Library. Make a point to come by and enjoy the
oils and charcoal sketches of Fort Valley artist Mr. Willie Askins. The
collection of 14 original works will be on view through the month.
If you would like to listen to a good bode, the library has two new
additions to the audio tape collection that might be of interest. Clive
Cussler's Dragon offers a new tale of adventure. From the ocean
depths to the Arctic Circle, daredevil explorer and master spy Dirk
Pitts is the U.S.'s secret weapon in the war on terrorism. Stardust is a
new detective novel by Robert Parker and narrated by Burt Reynolds.
This mystery involves Hollywood starlet Jill Joyce who must hire
Spenser to be her bodyguard against a secret admirer. Choose these or
one of the other 90 fiction and non-fiction books-on-tape available at
the library.
***** NEW BOOKS*****
Adult: Battleground: The continuing Saga of the Corps by W.E.B.
Griffin continues the tale of the U.S. Marines, following the
adventures of Charles Galloway, Lt. Joe Howard, Jack Stecker and
others as they battle their way across the Pacific.
Children: That's What I Thought by Alice Schertle; a young girl
wonders what would happen in a series of outlandish situations, and
her parents provide imaginative and reassuring answers.
Miss Kennedy is a freshman
majoring in sports medicine. She is
a graduate of Peach County High
School where she was active in
Golden Girls drill team.
Page 5A
The Kappa Alpha Chapter of
Kappa Delta at Florida State Uni
versity was founded in 1857. It was
the first sorority organized on this
campus.