Newspaper Page Text
Opinion
Wednesday, February 27, 1985
Rape and castration
The Supreme Court of South
Carolina has disallowed a
judge’s sentence which
gave three men convicted
of rape a choice between prison
terms and castration. It is good
that the sentence will not be al
lowed to stand.
The Supreme Court ruled unani
mously that castration is a form of
cruel and unusual punishment,
and thus prohibited by the Consti
tution of the United States. There
can be little doubt mutilation as a
means of exacting justice is not
acceptable under the laws upon
which this nation was founded.
The immediate emotional re
sponse to particularly cruel
crimes is a demand for vengeance.
We often expect our legal system
to sit upon a foundation built of the
biblical admonition of “an eye for
an eye.”
But vengeance and justice are
An essential part
in fight for freedom
It often is the nature of economic
news that important developments
aren’t identified until after the fact.
Only since 1985 began, for example,
has it been statistically possible to
describe the performance of the
U.S. economy during all of 1984.
What a year it was.
The gross national product in
creased 6.8 percent. The 1984 in
crease in the GNP, which
measures the market value of
goods and services produced in the
United States, was bigger than in
any other year since 1951.
Personal income also rose 6.8
percent. It was the biggest increase
in personal income since 1973.
Inflation, as measured by in
creases in consumer prices, was 4
percent. Inflation in the three years
ending Dec. 31, 1984, was lower
than during any other three-year
period since the late 19605.
Business productivity rose 3.6
percent, the biggest gain since
1971.
Forsyth County News
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Flu bug can bite at an inconvenient time
Aaachoo!
Sniff, sniff.
Recognize the smyptoms? Flu season is
upon us. The runny nose, scratchy throat,
hacking cough, and oh, the aches and pains
that come with this virus. There is nothing
worse than having the flu and nothing you
can do about it either.
The bug hasn’t hit me yet, (knock on
wood). But I sure have asked for it. One of
my best friends has been sick with the flu for
the past three days and I have tried to play
the role of “Good Samaritan” and nurse
her back to health.
It never fails, if you are going to get sick it
will happen at the beginning of a weekend
when you have big plans. The weather will
be warm and sunny, even in February, and
everyone else will be outside washing the
car or playing tennis.
Don’t ever worry about getting sick when
the weather is too cold and too wet to get out
of the house. On those days you will be fine.
You will also be well when you have a big
test in school that you have not studied for.
No matter how hard you pray, you will not
get the flu on these days.
The flu hits when there is absolutely
not synonymous, and emotion
should not be allowed to push us
toward forms of punishment which
are contrary to the standards of
human decency we have estab
lished as a nation.
We are bound by a Constitution
which says we will not be guilty of
imposing cruel punishment upon
those convicted of crimes. The
South Carolina ruling reasonably
upholds the law of the land.
There is more here to debate
than the simple cruelty of castra
tion as an alternative to prison
time. There is also the justification
for the sentence.
By offering castration as a puni
tive option the judge has accepted
rape as a crime of sex. It is not. It
is a crime of violence. Would so
ciety really have been best served
by castrating three violent men
and then returning them to the
streets? We think not.
The 1984 performance is partic
ularly significant in view of pres
sures and strains on the American
economy in recent years. They
include disruptions in the interna
tional oil trade, double-digit infla
tion, a growing trade deficit, a
distressed farm economy, high in
terest rates, lingering unemploy
ment and a monstrous federal
budget deficit.
It is sometimes too easy to over
look the contribution of the U.S.
economy to American freedom.
Strong military defenses alone
aren’t enough to prevent a nation
from falling under foreign influ
ence. A nation that wants control of
its destiny also needs a strong
economy that is able to grow, over
come setbacks and change as con
ditions warrant.
The 1984 figures suggest that the
United States has such an econ
omy. Maintaining its strength and
vitality is an essential part of the
fight for freedom.
Laura
McCullough
| Copy Editor |
nothing to do at home. Lying on the couch
watching some middle-aged lady go berserk
because she won a new washer/dryer on a
game show is enough to make anyone sick.
And if you’re not sick in the morning you
soon will be if you watch an afternoon of
soap operas.
As luck would have it my friend was
struck with the flu on Saturday afternoon
while visiting her grandparents in Alabama.
If you’re going to get sick that is the worse
possible place it could happen.
One rule of thumb everyone should follow
is: Never let your grandmother know that
you are sick. This applies even if you feel
like death is just around the comer.
Forsyth County News
Instead of Dawn, call me Patsy
Ever been under the influence...of another
person?
I mean, actually jumping when the only
thing the other person said was to just “get
up.”
I had a friend like that. I don’t know why
or how I started following her footsteps or
when she began holding the reins around my
neck, but it seems that some people just
have that metallic personality that keeps
drawing magnetic people like me along.
Wynona Fabrose could talk me into trou
ble way before I even had time to say the
word. I think she actually lay awake at night
trying to think of ways to get me into
trouble.
She loved it.
And I was a sucker for it.
It’s almost like being a two-person bank
robbing team. She did all the dirty work but
when it was time to escape, she threw the
bag to me and I, of course, was always
caught holding it.
The first time she ever did a number on
me was in the third grade in Mrs. Jud
son’s class. None of us liked Mrs. Judson. To
us, everyday was Halloween and she always
played the witch’s role.
Well, Wynona, me and a couple of good
friends occupied the back seats in the room.
Now, how we managed that, I’ll never know.
Eddie, Hal and Danny our so-called
boyfriends occupied the seats in-between
us girls. We basically enjoyed going to
school just for the sole purpose of sitting in
the back of the room and getting away with
a lot of things that the poor souls up front
couldn’t even think about.
Well, back when religion wasn’t such a hot
issue in the classroom and we were allowed
to say the Pledge of Allegiance and recite
the Lord’s Prayer without feeling we were
going to be hauled off to jail, the time had
come one morning to stand and say the
Lord’s Prayer.
Wynona and Eddie liked to pick at each
other and it just so happened that I sat in
between these two pickers. It must’ve been
the morning after a full moon or something
because once our eyes were closed and our
heads were bowed, the action began.
Eddie pulled out a frog.
He threw it on Wynona.
Well, with me being in the middle of the
two, I couldn’t help but notice something
happening so I squinted my eyes to see the
frog sitting on Wynona’s shoulders.
In the mean time, Hal started snickering,
Carole got tickled and Montey kept poking
me. Well, me, with my everlasting laugh
Once grandmother knows that you aren’t
feeling well she will put you to bed and you
will never return to civilization.
I know from experience that my grand
mother will pile the bed with at least seven
quilts and an electric blanket heated to the
maximum. Once trapped in this sweat box
grandmother will force the victim to drink a
gallon of orange juice, two bottles of that
awful cherry cough syrup and enough as
prin and decongestant to keep the entire
world population healthy.
My grandmother will also check the vic
tims’ temperature every five minutes and
threaten to take them to the doctor’s office if
they don’t get better.
Fortunately my friend had the good sense
to hide her aches and pains from her grand
parents. All she wanted to do was go home.
That’s easier said than done when you’re in
north Alabama and a good 200 miles from
your bed.
There is no substitute for your bed when
the flu strikes. Nothing brings more comfort
than the familiar covers and your own
pillow. Just make sure you have a stack of
books and a full box of tissues by your side.
A lamp would also be nice so you can turn
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Dawn
Holcomb
Staff Writer
that cannot be muted by man nor machine,
got tickled, too. I don’t know how to snicker
so I burst into laughter right during “And
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
others....”
But Mrs. Judson didn’t forgive me at all. I
don’t know where the frog ended up. All I
know is that I was in the hall and I’U never
forget the look on my older sister’s face as
she passed by me on her way to lunch.
Well, there are several other incidences
where Wynona flicked out the bait and I
caught it, but they were not so severe as the
time when she talked me into making an
obscene phone call.
Well, not really obscene just the breath
ing kind.
And me, being the amateur that I am,
again, got caught holding the bag.
I mean, I can’t even breathe hard on the
telephone without getting caught. That’s not
too good.
But here’s how the story goes. Wynona
invited me over to spend the night. It was
late when I finally arrived at her house so
skating, going to the movies and anything
away from her house was off.
That’s when she said, “Dawn, I’ve got
something I need you to do.”
Well, sure, I thought. It couldn’t be any
thing too bad because we were stuck at
home.
Career Day a success
To The Editor:
We would like to extend a very big thank
you to all the persons who worked so hard to
make the second Senior Career Day (Jan.
17) a success.
We certainly appreciate the Cumming-
Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce for
implementing the career day. We also real
ize that without the area businesses opening
their doors by contributing their time and
expertise in their career area, that the
yaluable experience our seniors received
would not have been possible.
The monies donated by the area busi
nesses and industrial concerns resulted in
off the lights when you want to nap.
> My friend had the perfect set-up with all
the above features plus a television set in
her room arid a mother willing to run er
rands and bring her iced tea.
After a day or two in the bed one starts to
get lonesome and to long for the outdoors
and people around to talk with.
Sunday afternoon I decided to visit my
friend and cheer her up. I sat on the other
side of her bed (with all those germs) and
proceeded to fill her in on all the events she
missed during the past few days.
People with the flu talk funny and they are
constantly blowing their nose and coughing
But it was a fun afternoon anyway. I even
persuaded her to take a short walk around
the neighborhood.
The weather felt like it was April instead
of February. It was softball weather. A
great day for jogging. And a disgusting day
to someone with the flu.
That evening I went back to my friend’s
house and brought my roommate and two
other girls with me. What a great time for a
party in a roonj that should have been
quaratined.
“You want something to eat?” I asked,
“I want you to call up Rita McClosky and
just breathe into the phone,” she said.
“Is that all?” I asked innocently.
“That’s it,” she replied matter-of-factly.
Then she admitted that she had done it the
night before and Rita, whom everyone dis
liked because she got all the good boys at
school to go with her, never knew who’d
made the call.
“And all I have to do is breathe, right?” I
asked once again.
“That’s it,” she said.
‘So with trembling fingers, because I’d
never called anyone just to breathe into the
phone before, I called Rita. She answered.
I breathed.
And do you know what she said?
Rita blurts out, “Dawn, is that you?”
And what did Ido I said, “How’d you
know?”
Then I hung up.
Rita’s mother called my mother the next
day. I was just taking the first bite of a ham
sandwich when I heard my Mother say, “I
understand, Mrs. McClosky. I’m sure it will
never happen again.”
That was the hardest bite of sandwich I’ve
ever digested in my life.
And thinking that my life had come to an
end at age 12 and I’ll never be able to eat
another sandwich again, Mother, being the
fair and reasonable woman she’s always
been, said, “Mrs. McClosky called. You
won’t try that again, will you?”
“No ma’m,” I said.
Somehow Mothers figure things out before
we have to go into explanations and details
to defend ourselves.
I just can’t figure out, though, how Wy
nona never got caught.
the awarding of two scholarships which will
help two students begin to realize their
career goals.
Through the united efforts of local com
munity leaders, local businesses and indus
trial concerns and our citizens, many of our
seniors were able to gain valuable informa
tion relating to different career areas.
Thanks to everyone who helped to make
Senior Career Day 1985 a reality.
Forsyth County High
School Counselors
Janis Drum in
Alice Huber
Bonita Pruitt
offering her a bite of my supper I bought at a
fast-food hamburger joint.
Her face turned white as she buried her
head in the pillow and muffed out a “No.”
Two other friends brought a basket of;
homemade chocolate chip cookies her
favorite hoping to cheer her up. It didn’t
work. I didn’t realize just how bad my friend;
felt until I saw her turn down a chocolate*
chip cookie. '
We proceeded to turn up the television and
make ourselves at home while my friend
pulled the covers up over her head and
pretended we weren’t there. It was apparent;
that her head was throbbing and she wanted
to die whether we were in the room or not. 1
When the four of us had stayed entirely too
long, we left our friend and shook off all of
her flu germs. ;
At least I hope we shook off all of the
germs. My friend was out of work two days
with the bug and the virus was very conta-;
gious the day I visited.
She very bluntly told me the other day,"
“Laura, if you get the flu, don’t come crying'
to me.” I
Aaachoo!
Oh me, pass the asprin please.
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