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4A Evans Newspapers, Inc. Daniel F. Evans Julie B. Evans Pnsident/Publisher Vice President Audrey Evans Vice President Connie Irwin Business Manager Renee Goggins ..... Production Manager Victor Kulkosky ..... News Editor * Katie Jones. Contributing Writer Nathan Mathis _____ Advertising Manager Lee Posey... ..Circulation Manager AM. Dorsey Sports Correspondent Faye Jones. Contributing Writer Danny GlUeland... Staff Photographer OUR POLICIES: Signed tetters to the editor weteotped with a daytime phone number. We do edit grammar, spelling and punctuation when necessary. Libelous, slanderous or profane letters will not be published. • Liability for errors in advertising will not exceed the space occupied by the error. • We reserve the right to edit all submitted materials. The Leader-Tribune, a periodical, Postage pad at Fort Valley, USPS '(307740) mailed at Fort Valley, Ga. is published weekly for S21.60 per year by Evans Newspapers, Inc. 109 Anderson Avenue, Fort Valley, Ga. (478) 825-2432 Fax (478) 825-4130. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: 109 Anderson Avenue, Fort Valley, Ga. 31030 Member of The Georgia Press Association The National Newspaper Association HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS We encourage readers to submit letters to the editor. Letters should not exceed 3p0 words and must include the writer's name, address and telephone number. All letters printed in The Leader Tribune will appear with the writer's name and hometown - we do not publish anonymous letters. The newspaper reserves the right to edit or reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation, taste and brevity. Letter writers are asked to submit no more than two letters per person per month. We cannot guarantee that a letter will be printed on a specific date. The Leader Tribune prefers that letters be typed. Letters to the editor are published in the order they are received as space permits. There are three ways to submit a letter to the editor: E-mail it to ltr.sws@evansnewspapers.com, mail it to The Leader Tribune at 109 Anderson Ave, Fort Valley, GA 31030, or drop if off at 109 Anderson Ave in Fort Valley- between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday Jlutvuj tic SciitdX fo Wilton's Request Will be Honored To the Editor: A heartfelt thanks to those who remembered my birthday. Another thanks to those who read-my column, and respond ed with kind and encouraging comments. And yes, Wilton, there will be more stories of Blue Bird. Frank Posey County Calling AU Peach Vietnam Veterans Dear Vietnam Veterans of Peach County: We need your participation to start a Vietnam Veterans organization in Peach County! As Vietnam Veterans, we are excited about pursuing a long time dream of ours - to form a Vietnam Veterans service organization for the men and women in Peach County, The purpose of the organi zation is to provide a means of support for the proud men and women of Peach County who have served our country, Our goal is to provide support and assistance for all Peach County civilian veterans and their families in any way that we can. As a member, Vietnam Veterans of Peach County, GA will assist you in obtaining your deserved veteran benefits as well as housing assistance (if homeless), PTSD and sub stance abuse counseling and treatment, and many other ser vices. It is our desire that every man or woman who has served our country is able to hold a respectable and meaningful place in society; most impor¬ tantly, in their home, church and community. We Want Your Opinion! Send in Your Good or Bad! Let know us // Jt hunt is (a) evansn e u >sp i ipers.com ♦ APRIL 8.2009 Isaac Master Builder It’s always a pleasure to see more recognition come to Fort Valley State’s Cooperative Developmental Energy Program. CDEP’s founder and director, Dr. Isaac J. Crumbly, recently received a Golden Torch Award from the National Society of Black Engineers. This particular torch was the society’s“Lifetime Achievement in Academia Award,” and the nomination came from Ike’s own students (see story on the front page). I did my first story about CDEP as a journalism student at Fort Valley State. Over 10 years ago, I was already 100 percent behind what CDEP was (and is) doing: providing the educating, training, mentoring and support to help minorities and women enter the engineer¬ ing field (most CDEP alumni have gone into the energy busi¬ ness, aerospace, and earth sci- Data from the American Community Survey for 2005- 2007 reveals the following facts about civilian veterans in Peach County. With of a population of 25,672, Peach County as 2,267 civilian veterans. 87.4 percent are male and 12.6 percent are female. 42 percent are ages 35-54 years and 28.5 percent of us are ages 55-64. 74.9 percent are white and 24.3 percent bare black. So you see, we have a diverse population of veterans in Peach County; therefore, we have the power to help posi¬ tively change Peach County. Data from the 2000 Census tells that there are several folks that are foreign war veterans in Peach County. 15.8 percent are Persian Gulf War veterans, 36.8 percent of us are Vietnam veterans, 13.6 percent served in the Korean War and 12 percent served in World War II. These are definitely statistics we are proud to have accomplished for our country, Organizational meetings will be held every Thursday at 6 pm. at the Burger King in Fort Valley. Please come and bring any Vietnam Veterans who reside in Peach County with you. We hope you will come and join us in forming this orga nization in the Peach County community. If you have ques tions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Arthur “Candyman” Gibson (478) 925-0410, or Jimmy Yancey (478) 825-3876. I look forward to meeting and serving you. Sincerely, Arthur “Candyman” Gibson, Founder Jimmy Yancey, Founder Vietnam Veterans of Peach County, GA ences, and some have gone into the medical technology busi¬ ness). This does three main things: gives minorities and women high-paying, high-status jobs; proves they can succeed in those fields; and provides those industries with highly qualified employees. But Crumbly doesn’t couch CDEP’s mission in civil rights terms. For him, CDEP’s mission is patriotic, a matter of national security and the future of America as a great nation. Quite simply, America needs scientists and engineers, espe¬ cially home-grown ones. Dr. Crumbly simply does the math: add up blacks, Hispanics and women, and you get about 80 to 85 percent of the population, yet the vast majority of engi¬ neers is still white and male. Together, they make up a little over a third of non-academic positions in science and engi¬ neering (with women taking up 31 percent), according to the National Science Foundation. As a nation, we’re drawing from too small a pool. Also according the NSF, 25 percent of S&E (science and engineering) workers in this country in 2003 were foreign born, but the percentage of foreign-born people in S&E rose to 40 percent for those with doctoral degrees. About half of S&E doctorate holders in post¬ doctoral positions in the U.S. may have earned their Ph.D. in Q 7*1 t <r f t /state © *, Economy /tff 0 tf,* Vv^timuius. \ STATE Vs 4 Mi X BILLS ■7'* x N S, - •■XX \e-\S « »* | FRANK POSEY Tribune Columnist The month of March slipped by without any acknowledge¬ ment on my part of a most important event. March is designated Women’s History Month. To me, doling out only one month to recognize the accomplishments of the fairer sex is akin to slinging a single glass of water across the Sahara Desert. There haven’t been enough days since the begin¬ ning of time to honor women’s contributions. For starters, there would be no human race without them. The mothers of the human race deserve more gratitude than we’re capable of extending. When God extracted one of Adam’s ribs to create Eve, He delivered something much more exciting than barbecue. The oft-used expression “woe man” is completely understandable. No other creation on Earth maintains the ability to tanta¬ lize, excite, fulfill and frustrate. God’s creation of Adam’s help¬ mate not only made arrange¬ ments for the continuation of One For The Ladies the species, but also opened the door to the magic phenomenon called love. Downtrodden, abused and exploited in a male-dominated environment, they’ve managed to rise to admirable heights in every category of human endeavor. Every woman I’ve ever seen manages somehow to display a beauty and queen liness apparent to the obser¬ vant eye. Simply stated, life without them wouldn’t be worth a tinker’s damn. Our mother is the first woman in our lives. She nurtures us with love, warmth and food. primates of the world, with man the dominant species, of ' mothering. years these years of growth, mothers are Central figures who ensure and entry into the next of our lives. My mother was a sturdy, type lady. She acquired traits through necessity not by choice. She would’ve a life with more rewards less work more acceptable enjoyable. She accepted lot in life with a smile and indomitable attitude, refus¬ to let the rigors of work poverty drag her down into Always smiling, always sick or well, she was unrecognized heroine. No of gratitude would her contributions to her She was not only the woman of my life, but the a foreign country. So, we’re already import¬ ing a lot of scientists, engi¬ neers and S&E researchers. Again according to the NSF, the number of S&E degrees awarded in other countries is on the rise. The number of first college degrees awarded in S&E fields more than tripled in China and South Korea in 20 years. Obviously, not all those scientists and engineers are coming here. Many are building their own countries. And "building" is just the right word. Dr. Crumbly has an interesting take on education. He considers education to be part of the national infrastruc¬ ture. We’re used to thinking of “infrastructure” as the basic stuff that holds a society togeth¬ er and allows it to function: roads, bridges, water and sewer, communications, electricity and so on. But how do we get all that stuff in the first place? We need educated people to design, build, maintain, finance, manage and improve it. More than the “wire and glue,” a nation needs scientists and engineers to renew the economy. The Internet was originally created by scientists and engineers, for scientists and engineers; today the national and global economies can’t do without it. Just read the head¬ lines: the U.S. auto industry is up against the ropes; it needs sci¬ entists and engineers to design, biological and spiritual link to life itself. The next woman in my life was not a single individual, but a group. These women with dif¬ ferent names and personalities have coalesced in my memory as an entity of love and wisdom. Mrs. Ruth Jones, a resident of the Jamestown Home in Fort Valley, is representative of the teachers of Reynolds High School. I praise you with love for your contributions to my life and hundreds of others. I can say with absolute cer¬ tainty, if my clay had been of better quality, you would’ve been able to shape a better vessel. I now better understand the obstacles you faced, trying to lure a country boy’s mind away from shotgun shells and fishing poles long enough to instill a little knowledge. The efforts of all my schoolteachers, living fend dead, reside in my memory with love and honor. I had a few girlfriends along the way, but none who affected me like my wife of almost 47 years. From our first meeting, she was the reincarnation of Eve. Not only did I become conscious of my missing rib, but of other physical things. Visions of her danced across my sleeping eyes and filled my daily thoughts. Thank God we had a short courtship. If a longer courtship had ensued, I probably would’ve been killed in an accident. After 47 years, Phoebie has THE LEADER TRIBUNE test and build new vehicles. Alternative energy, and better use of existing energy sources, is vital for our economy, envi¬ ronment and national security - scientists and engineers will lead the way. Better agriculture and food, better medicine - the geeks shall inherit the earth, or at least save it. Don’t forget national defense - like it or not, w t gotta have it. Need I say whom we need to make that better? The Soviet Union launched Sputnik in 1957. A stunned America went hog wild on edu¬ cation, science and technology. By 1969, we’d landed a man on the moon and left the Soviets, and the rest of the world, in the S&E dust. It really does matter who “gets there” first. We’re facing a Sputnik moment right now. Looking at this big picture, Isaac Crumbly can’t stand it when politicians lump education together with assorted “social programs,” that spend too much to do too little. He has it right: education is infrastructure, and with it we build bridges, not to nowhere, but to the future. And right here in Fort Valley, Dr. Isaac J. Crumbly, master builder, is forging the nuts and bolts of that shining bridge. This year. The Golden Torch, next year, The Presidential Medal of Freedom? Cast it in the form of a bridge. finally subdued (whipped would be a better word) me into a pretty good husband. Not perfect by any means, but almost tolerable. She’s living proof that a loving, patient wife is a blessing to mankind, especially this man. Like the song says, “Thanks for the good times/You’ve brought me so much sunshine.” Phoebie, I love you, woman! When I married Phoebie, I luckily acquired another mother. The late Mary Joiner was unre¬ lated to my mother in blood and looks. But, she possessed many of my birth mother’s traits, visible and admirable. She was hardworking and tireless in her efforts to care for her family. From day one, I was accepted and loved by my mother-in-law. Her only fault she ever exhibited was a mean streak she developed when she embarked on a house cleaning mission. Only our family members can remember and appreciate this comment. Mary, my memory will always reconstruct your contributions to my life with love and honor. The ladies of my life, from my mother to my youngest great-granddaughter, have all written a chapter in my book of hearts. The roles they’ve played across the stage of my life have all been worthwhile, meaning¬ ful and irreplaceable. They are the very core of life itself. Only God could’ve taken an unsightly rib and transformed it into such a creature of beauty and love called woman....