Newspaper Page Text
PAGE
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WEDNESDAY, October 9, 2002
has a to tell
There were many times
years ago I asked myself every
week, why I had chosen a
career in the newspaper
industry. When I first entered
the field, the job of a reporter
and others in the field was
portrayed as being
“glamorous”.
Glamour never really
caught my attention, so that
aspect never crossed my mind.
After being encouraged bv a
ninth grade teacher, I signed
up for the school newspaper
and immediately I was hooked.
Putting words together into
a story was fascinating.
Learning about story lines and
different writing styles was
fascinating. Starting with a
blank page and developing it
into a newspaper page with
scissors, cement glue and an
exacto knife, was even more
fascinating. Having already
been hooked on photography,
becoming a journalist just
seemed the right thing to do.
Once I saw the total finished
product of the first Patriot
Pages I was responsible for as
page editor, the ink must have
jumped off the page and into
my bloodstream.
My how things have
changed. We still use scissors
and exacto knifes but not
cement due. 99°f of our page
layout is done in front of the
computer screen, in a process
known as pagination (layout
and design of pages).
Forget what you see on the
tv screen. Working at a
Allow our leaders to deal with Saddam
One of America’s top
leaders during the days of
Desert Storm once said, "Great
leaders never tell people how
to do their jobs. Great leaders
tell people what to do and
establish a framework within
which it must be done. Then
they let people on the front
lines, who know best, figure
out how to get it done."
Saddam Hussein has never
been an easy person to deal
with. He was a threat to the
free world ten years ago, he is
a threat to the free world
today, and he will be a threat
to the free world in the future
if he is not dealt with
Somewhere, somehow.
someone has to draw a line in
the sand and see that Hussein
. abides By it.
President George Bush.
' acting on the advice of his top
advisors, I am sure, is saying
that Saddam has to be dealt
with. He either has to abide by
strict United Nation sanctions
or he must be removed from
power.
President Bush has gone a
step further by asking
Congress to approve military
action against Iraq if Saddam
refuses to abide by the UN
sanctions. If military action is
The Meeting Place
Peach County Commission - - every second
Tuesday of month, 1st floor annex, Public Meeting
Room, Peach County Courthouse. 6 p m.
Fort Valley City Council - -every third Thursday of
month, courtroom at City Hall, 6:30 p m
Board of Education - -every first Thursday of
month in board office, Vineville, 5:00 p.m.
Byron City Council - - every second Monday of
month at old school, 6:00 p.m
Utility Commission - - every second Monday of
month, courtroom at City Hall, 6:00 p m
Hospital Authority -- - every fourth Thursday of
month in hospital conference room 9:00 am
*f PC Water A Sewer Authority- third Monday of
month at 6 p.m. public meeting room, courthouse
annex, Fort Valley
PC Tax Assessors - first Thursday of month, 6
p.m., 1st floor annex, Courthouse, Public Meeting Rm
Development Authority of PC - third Thursday of
month, 8 a m., Troutman House. 201 Oakland Heights
Pkwy. Fort Valley.
Perspectives
Day At A time
Vicky Whitehead
newspaper is far removed from
the Hollywood version. You
never see them with ink
smudges, or being up half the
night because the computer
won’t cooperate; or getting a
call in the middle of the night
from the printer because there
are press problems. Working in
the real world of newspaper is
anything but glamorous.
Working on a weekly also is
not that lucrative, especially
when we do stories about
people getting more in
overtime than the average
income of people in the
community.
While there are still weeks
from time to time that 1 ask
myself why I continue to do
this, those' weeks are not quite
as frequent. Many weeks we
have a lot of fun. We are
investigating stories and find
out something which leads to
another story. Or we run up on
a really great story. My forte
used to be feature writing --
stories about people. With my
many responsibilities, there is
not enough time to write as
much as 1 would like. But,
when there is, those times are
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From where I sit r
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taken, rest assured that our
President will let the top
military advisors, on "the front
lines," who know best, figure
out how to get it done.
For more than a decade
Saddam has refused to comply
with UN demands to inspect
his country for nuclear,
biological and chemical
weapons. The dispute came to
a head after Bush accused
Iraq of blatantly violating UN
resolutions requiring them to
disarm.
Opinions of newspaper
columnists, Americans, and
others on how to deal with
Iraq a~‘ a dime a dozen. And
that is alright too because this
is a free country and everyone
has a right to their opinion.
Sometimes the best course of
action is somewhere in
between those opinions from
the far right and far left.
There is little doubt that
Heaber -^Tribune
The official legal organ of Peach County, the City of Byron and the City of Fort Valley
PO Box 1060, Fort Valley, GA 31030 • 825-2432
& Mater vt.lPe. Ocvroui Press Association a nd the National NcwjiMpei A a.>oci.it ion
V;v: ’ 1 “Congress shall make no law respecting an establistmnnt of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
m or of '.he press, or the right of the people peacefully to assorMe, and to
petition the Government tor a redress of grievances."
The Leader-Tribune Staff The Leader-Tribune (USPS No. 307740)
is published weekly at 109 Anderson
Vicky Whitehead Editor-In Chief Avenue, Fort Valley, GA 31030.
Judy Robinson Advertising Director Subscription rates: S21.60 per year in
Pennie Wade Office Manager Peach County, $29.15 elsewhere in
Michelle Kersey Graphic Design Georgia, $37 out-of-state.
David Walenceus Staff Reporter Periodical postage paid at Fort Valley,
Joyce Matthews Columnist GA. POSTMASTER: send address
Faye Jones Contributing Writer/Columnist changes The Leader-Tribune, PO
Billy Wade Sports Correspondent to Box
Carl Davis Circulation/Distribution 1060, Fort Valley, GA 31030.
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savored until the next time.
One of the best things about
my job is getting to meet so
many wonderful people which
otherwise might not have
crossed my path. Because of
my dad, I met many, many
politicians and therefore, a
governor coming to town
doesn’t excite me all that
much It’s big news yes, but 1
don’t have to rub elbows with
him It is the other people,
every day people which I enjoy
meeting.
Though you probably don’t
know him, Robert Williams, is
a newspaper publisher, who is
witty, makes you laugh and
taught me a lot about
newspaper. Of course, so has
Robert Tribble. IVior to either
of them, Wilton Walton, whom
you know, taught me quite a
bit and is someone 1 feel 1 can
call on for help when needed.
But, those associations are
directly related to the
newspaper industry.
There have been many over
the years, too numerous to
name that I would not have
known otherwise. Not only
community leaders, but people
there are other nations with
the capability to produce some
of the same nuclear, biological
and chemical weapons that
Iraq has. The question then
arises why all the focus on
Iraq? The answer seems to 1 m
that these other countries
don’t have a Saddam Hussein
as their leader.
The sticking point in UN
inspections at the present time
appear to be a UN demand
that they lie allowed unlimited
access to the country, including
palaces and other suspected
sites. The former inspections
agreement that Saddam
backed down on excluded his
eight palace sites, which
include 12 square miles of
facilities with thousands of
buildings.
When President Bush
began to rally support for his
position against Saddam
around the country and at the
from all walks of life, all with
stories to tell. •
No matter who you meet on
the street, each person is
unique and they have a story.
Whether or not they want it
told is a personal choice.
Sometimes staff members are
lucky enough to be able to
write those stories which you
will not read anywhere else
other than in your community
paper. Sometimes we get the
door slammed in our face on
stories. And from week to the*
next, your friends and enemies
can change based on what was
written that week Sometimes
you make a new friend,
sometimes a new enemy.
Regardless, it is a challenge
and each week is completely
different. Ways can even be
found to retell old stories with
new twists.
Newspapers keep a history
of a community - the good and
bad times -- births, deaths,
tragedies, individual and
collected accomplishments,
highlights and new industries
which bring economic
prosperity. They entertain,
they inform, they provoke
thought. They highlight people
in the community through
pictures.
It is for these reasons and
others that I work for a
community newspaper. And I
am in Peach County because it
is a wonderful community and
there are many stories out
there just waiting to bo written
about Peach County folks.
United Nations, Saddam
offered to abide by the present
inspection policy. When he
found out his "palaces" were
included in the new
inspections proposal, he
immediately backed down
again.
Ours is a peaceful, freedom
loving country, and has sent
men and women to war only
when necessary to protect our
freedom and our people. There
is little doubt that Saddam
Hussein has committed many
acts of terrorism against his
own people and his neighbor
He is a threat to peace in the
Middle East and world, and
will continue to be as long as
he is in power. It is that plain
and simple like it or not
That brings us back to the
question of what do we do?
That decision should lx* left to
the leaders of our country who
are on the "front lines" and
know far lietter than YOU and
I, or syndicated newspapei
columnists, concerning the
direction we should take. Our
President has told us what
needs to be done, he has
established a framework
within which to do it, and we
freedom loving Americans
should support his efforts.
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On the back Porch i
David Walenceus
40 and still learning
How do you top off a week of photographing the Governor
and covering everything from A to Z.
Well, no disrespect to the Governor intended but I believe
God did just that. You've heard me often speak of reflection on
my back porch, and Monday night was again no exception. I sat
in the dark summarizing my week mentally and prepared to
rest after my long day and weekend.
I rose for work Monday not feeling well after a bout with a
stomach virus Sunday. It wouldn't have taken much to talk me
out of working since I really wasn't up to par. I had written all
but one story including my column of which you are reading (tie
replacement for now. I turned 40 on Monday and really wasn't
in the best of moods being sick to boot. No matter how much you
tell yourself you’re not going to let things like this bother you, It
does!
1 had celebrated at work early with my co-workers on Friday.
Again with my family on Sunday because you've heard before
how terrible Mondays are around here. 1 continually questioned
myself all day about my validity and my accomplishments in
life. About half way through the day I was asked to cover the
birthday celebration of Dora Johnson. Dora turned 100 on
Monday. mi - ! - oat >
As i have done in the past with other people that have had
significant birthday milestones, I asked the secret of her
longevity. "Live for the Lord and not this earth". Well now, did I
feel small. I was worried on whether I had accomplished
anything in my short 40 years and Dora innocently delivered a
message we so often forget. I most too often. Dora a life long
citizen of Fort Valley, devoted mother and grandmother
remembers at 100-years-old life's real meaning. I need
reminders like everyone else that it’s not all about me.
I couldn't help but think about what she had said for the
rest of the day. 1 must admit that it did change not only the way
I felt but more importantly the way I looked at the remainder of
the day. Nothing seemed terribly wrong and I began to
appreciate things around me more. Including the kidding from
fellow employees about my age. I arrived at home to a sleepy
wife who conveyed important news of the day through
continued yawns. 1 left her to sleep as 1 typed to meet
deadlines.
With one thing different in my approach, 1 realize that it is
for God we all strive through this world. He, and Dora,
probably, think my short 40 years don't add up to much. I'm
thankful for God's reminders of what my life is supposed to be
about. 1 only hope that if I live as long as Dora that God will
allow a fraction of the treasures He has bestowed upon her.
IT’S NOT TOO EARL Y TO START THINKING
ABOUT CHRISTMAS.
Operation Empty Stocking is collecting, toys,
food and donations for those less fortunate at
Christmas. Items may be left at the PC Boys &
Girls Club and the office of The Leader-Tribune.
OUR GOAL:
The Leader-Tribune is published proudly for the
citizens of Peach County by Peach Publishing
Company, Inc. Our goal is to produce a quality,
profitable, community-oriented newspaper or
which you, our readers, can be proud. We will
reach that goal through hard work, loyalty,
teamwork and a strong dedication toward printing
the truth.
Bob Tribble, President
OUR POLICIES:.*
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