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-FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS—SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1985
NORMAN BAGGS
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Published Sundays and Wednesdays by Forsyth County News Company. Second
class postage paid at post office in Cumming, Ga. Subscription rate for Forsyth
and adjacent counties, $15.60 per year, other Georgia counties and out of state
subscriptions are $20.80 per year. Advertising rates and deadlines available upon
request. Postmaster: Send address changes to Forsyth County News/P.O Box
210, Cumming, Ga. 30130.
Opinion
Public discussion needed
on day care center operation
The Forsyth County Day Care
Center provides an important
service for many of the county’s
working families. Without the cen
ter, gainfully employed parents
might be forced to drop out of the
labor force.
The center gets most of its
money from federal funds, but
there must be a local agency re
sponsible for overseeing its opera
tion.
And therein lies the problem.
In the past, the governing board
for the center has been comprised
of private citizens who have
served in an administrative capac
ity on a volunteer basis. Recently,
however, problems with other day
care facilities across the nation
have caused insurance rates to
skyrocket, and the personal liabil
ity which these private citizens
would have to assume if they con
tinue to govern the child care
facility makes future service im
practical.
Special interests harmful to youth
Editor:
Mr. Young’s letter in Sunday’s paper
concerning today’s youth is right on target.
Youth is and always has been a stage in
people’s lives. Derogatory influences have
probably always existed, but too much
credence is given to opinions of special
interest groups and übiquitous habit of
unquestioning acceptance of situations as
Appreciates local ambulance service
Editor:
In this day, with life so hectic and every
one so busy with their own lives, it is such a
rare thing to see professional people willing
to show kindness, patience and a will
ingness to be of service that I thought the
people of Forsyth County would be inter
ested in knowing of such a business. I am
referring to Med 1 Ambulance Service.
My mother has been ill and in a convales
Cancer Society appreciates support
Editor:
It has been said that our greatest re
source is our people. Couple that fact with
an opportunity to serve others and the end
result is a wonderful success story.
The Forsyth County unit of the American
Cancer Society has come to depend upon
such a winning combination to achieve its
programs. On Sept. 24 this organization
hosted an old-time circus to raise funds. As
a result, SI,BOO was raised for the 1986
Crusade Drive. This would not have been
possible without the community’s support.
It is with a deep appreciation and a sense
x
( TEN PACES, TURN, \
ANDGDMMENp 1
Forsvth CountvNews
J J
(Established 1908)
Forsyth County News
107 Dahlonega Street
Cumming, Georgia 30130
Telephone BB7-3126
USPS 205-540
Letters
HARRIET HOUSTON
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
So the directors are looking for a
public entity to take on the respon
sibly of operating the center and
to absorb liability for its operation.
Thus far they have appronched
the county government for help,
only to find a cold shoulder. They
have also turned to Ninth District
Opportunity Inc., a service agency
with experience operating publicly
funded day care facilities.
So far there has been no resolu
tion of the problem.
If a governing body for the cen
ter is not found, the day care
facility will likely be closed. That
would be a shame.
It seems reasonable for the
county commission to at least dis
cuss the possibility of operating
the facilty at a public forum where
citizen’s comments could be
heard. Considering the lack of
public discussion we wonder how
the commissioners know whether
there is support for keeping the
day care center open.
factual when documentation is lacking.
Newspapers must be cautious in choice of
causes they espouse, and individuals must
be prepared to document controversial
statements.
Among the dangers to our community
and our country is the tyranny of special
interest groups.
Opal M. Daroall
cent home, so we have an ambulance take
her for tests and anywhere else she might
need to go. Med 1 and their staff have
shown, through attitude and helpfulness,
the kind of caring that makes illness and
hardships a little more bearable.
I want to publicly say “thank you” to
Med 1 and their staff and wish them contin
ued success.
Egbert Sexton
of privilege to say “thank you” to the
following: Corn Printing, Mark Heard,
A.C. Smith, Mega Print, Robert Otwell,
Cumming Printing Supply, Mayor Ford
Gravitt, Jim Grogan, Joyce Jordan,
WHNE, Parsons, Forsyth County News,
Forsyth Forum, Bank South, Forsyth
County Bank, The People’s Bank, Van
Leßlanc (circus chairman) and special
thanks to all the people who purchased
tickets.
The Forsyth County Unit
of the American Cancer Society
"SEE, If is STARTED ALREADY... EMPIV LHIANTi BOTTLES, ROTTEN ZUCCHINI, OLD A CRUSfS-
Columbus thought it was tough then
Tomorrow is the day set aside for
honoring the man history has come to
accept as the discoverer of North Amer
ica.
Whether it was Columbus or the Vi
kings who hit land first, the Indians were
here to greet them, and since we don’t
have a national Indians’ Day anything
else is a celebration of a Johnny-come
lately anyway.
In retrospect, it is rather amazing what
the famed Italian explorer accomplished
on setting out from Europe to discover
new worlds and boldly go where no man
had gone before.
The fact that the greatest country in the
world ended up named for someone else
and all Christopher has to show for his
effort is a city in Ohio proves that history
sometimes deals off the bottom of the
deck.
As amazing as his accomplishments
were, however, they were nothing com
pared to what would be required to pull
off a similar feat today, especially if he
were setting off from the shores of the
United States in search of new lands.
First would be the problem of financ
ing. Old Christopher just struck up a little
deal with the royalty of Spain to pay for
his trip.
If he were around to try the same today,
the FBI would be investigating charges of
influence peddling, the CIA would be
looking for espionage, the House and
Senate would be debating whether to tack
on funding for research on three lessed
Frantic female fraught with feline fear
With all due respect to the Forsyth County
Humane Society, let me make this perfectly
clear. I cannot stand cats.
I will buddy-up to any mutt you point my
way except a finicky, slobbering house
dog prone to shed hair on the carpet, chew
the furniture and beg for food at the table.
Just keep the cats away from me.
Cats have claws large ones and they
know how to dig into the skin of unsuspecting
people. They are usually spoiled rotten and
must eat the same food as everyone else,
cats make my eyes itch and water, and being
around them makes me sneeze continuously.
I know all about cats. I grew up with one in
the house. We never got along and he knew
it. Every chance the varment got he would
sneak upstairs and crawl into my bed. I
would sneeze for a month after that little
episode.
Last weekend was a cat-haters nightmare.
I spent the night at my sister’s house while
my brother-in-law was out of town. Shortly
after they married last year they decided
they wanted to have a little one around the
house. So they got a kitten.
It was cute at first. A ball of fur which fit in
the palm of your hand. Then the thing grew
up and now it is a spoiled monster with the
personality of Garfield.
We were enjoying a nice Friday evening,
my sister and I, good conversation and a late
dinner when Midnight the flying cat pounced
on the kitchen table almost poking a paw into
my steamed broccoli.
The state is being smart with its money
It’s good to hear that Gov. Joe Frank
Harris is considering a proposal to use $l6O
million of Georgia’s largest surplus ever to
reduce state debt.
Pieces of the $260 million surplus are being
sought by 45 state government departments,
whose requests amount to more than two
dollars for every surplus dollar available.
Without doubt, there are many “worthy”
causes for which state legislators could
spend the surplus money, but the need for
debt reduction is well illustrated by the
ridiculous mess our federal government has
worked itself into.
Right now, our federal government’s
credit limit is $l.B trillion. That’s $1 billion
multiplied by 1,800.
If you’re used to working with millions of
dollars (most people probably are), then
you’ll first have to multiply $1 million by 1,-
000 to get $1 billion, and then multiply that $1
billion by 1,800.
How could our federal “leaders,” the
people we trusted with our tax dollars, allow
something like this to happen? The answer is
poor money management.
And, despite the magnitude of this error, it
seems federal officials still haven’t learned
their lesson.
As you may know, some of these “leaders”
have been talking about an increase in the
credit limit from $l.B trillion to $2 trillion.
In light of this troubling news, it’s encour-
Norman
Baggs
[Pubisher and Iditor j
laboratory rats to the Columbus Project,
and the press would be claiming there
were more dirty deals than in a Vegas
casino.
If, after years of wrangling with the
courts, the politicians and the media, the
Columnbus Project got off the ground,
there would be the minor problem of
finding sailors for the trip.
The labor unions would be in arms.
None of their card carrying members
would be setting off on such a trip without
guaranteed 25-hour work weeks, two
months of vacation a year, time-and-a
half for working in the crow’s nest and
additional insurance benefits to cover the
possibility of scurvy.
If he ever managed to get a crew
together, Columbus would still have to
appease OSHA, which would require sani
tation crews to meet the ships at certain
points to keep them clean, seat belts on
the hammocks in the sleeping quarters,
entertainment to keep the men from
being bored and ear plugs to keep the salt
water spray from causing infection.
By the time the unions and the govern
Laura
McCullough
Managing Editor
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I said, not
bothering the least to hide my disgust.
It seemed like a normal ordeal to my
sister. She just picked the kitten up and put
him on the floor, throwing some of his toys
around to spark his interest. What cat is
going to play with a ball of aluminum foil
when there’s the scent of steak in the air?
That cat hated me, I know. Well, the
feeling was mutual.
We retired to the den, my sister and I.
There was a lot to catch up on. We were in
the midst of some deep, juicy gossip when
Midnight the flying cat pounced on my
sister’s head, digging claws past her brown
curls.
I gasped. Belinda just calmly plucked him
off her scalp, swatted his rear and went on
with the conversation as if nothing ever
happened.
Then that nasty little beast started using
the couch legs for a scratching post. This
certainly grabbed my sister’s attention. She
spanked him again and showed him his own
r
Chvck
Thompson
News Editor
aging to see that by law, Georgia must have
a balanced budget.
It’s also good to see that our governor is
considering a reduction in state debt.
Government can’t be everything to every
one, and for too long, federal tax dollars
OUR DOLLARS have been spent when
they should have been directed at reducing
debt.
Examples of this can be found in the old
CETA (Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act) program, which did the follow
ing with YOUR money:
• Funded “The Leaping Lesbian Follies”
at a cost of $41,000;
• Paid a Communist activist in Atlanta
SSOO to “organize for demonstration and
confrontation;”
• Provided $640,000 in 1980 and 1981 to the
Gay and Lesbian Community Services Cen
ter in Los Angeles to “provide education
w I
1
ment were appeased, Columbus’ three
ships would have grown to a full flotilla,
but even then it couldn’t set sail until
satisfying the inspectors required to
maintain the quality of the environment.
At the very least an expedition of such
magnitude would require floating septic
tanks.
Before delegating authority to his sub
ordinates Columbus would have to make
sure he complied with all the equal em
ployment and affirmative action laws,
meaning his second in command would
probably have to have more blood lines
than the pups of a mixed-breed town dog.
And there would have to be handicapped
access to the main sail.
If Columbus ever got his voyage on the
open sea and discovered a new piece of
land, the Soviets would accuse the United
States of attempting to colonize a free
country, while the U.S. Defense Depart
ment would likely confiscate the informa
tion from the explorer and turn the place
into a housing base for MX missiles.
Columbus, meanwhile, would be re
duced to appearing on the Carson show to
plug the ghost-written book of his ex
ploits, and in his old age would likely have
to depend on the genorosity of charitable
singers gathered together in Sailor’s Aid
concerts.
If he had known then what we know
now, Columbus would probably have
sailed off into the horizon, cast anchor for
a month, and returned home swearing the
world was flat.
expensive, store-bought scratching post.
This cat has more accessories than a 16-
year-old girl.
Midnight didn’t like that at all and took a
flying leap at my sister’s hand trying to nip a
finger or two. Belinda laughed. I began to
fear for my life. That cat hated me, I know
he did.
Several times during the evening this
spoiled pet came pouncing across without
any warning. He poked his furry, little head
into my iced tea. We glared at each other. I
didn’t dare do more for the fear that he
would use my face as his next scratching
post.
The flying cat has other attention-getting
tricks. He climbs on top of the refrigerator
and knocks off all of the magnets while
hanging upside down. He jumps into the
dryer when the clothes are warm and fluffy.
He hides in open suitcases and rummages
through kitchen cabinets. And he sleeps
wherever he wants usually right between
my sister and brother-in-law.
I was careful to lock my door that night
hoping he was too young to pick the lock.
He’ll learn that trick later I’m sure.
My sister seems to take these antics as
part of “motherhood” if you will. Sort of the
“terrible two’s stage” of a kitten.
I couldn’t believe my ears when she said,
“Midnight is preparing us to be parents one
day.”
I’ve got some news for her. I will under no
circumstances become her babysitter.
about gay lifestyles and gay people’s prob
lems;”
• Provided funding for county employees
in Bath County, Virginia “to attend dance
classes;”
• Paid 14 homosexuals in 1981 to stage
“Lavender Horizons,” a production of the
Seattle Gay, Youth Summer Theater Pro
ject;
• Paid nine women $145 per week to attend
ballet school in Montgomery County,
Maryland; and
• Gave $2.5 million to Jesse Jackson’s
PUSH program in 1980 and 1981.
In addition to the above, a female CETA
worker in Chicago reported she was paid for
“playing checkers” with other employees.
Would you trust your hard-earned dollars
to your local banker if he had this kind of
reputation for managing money?
If not, you’d take your money somewhere
else.
Unfortunately, we can’t take our money to
a better place when it comes to federal
taxes. They must be paid.
But, through our votes, we do have a say
about the people who manage the revenues
from those taxes.
When Americans take full advantage of
their voting power and show federal officials
that they mean business, then we’ll either
have better money management, or new
managers.