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OpEd
LETTERS from 16A
their departments rather than try to
manage each department, as I am
not sure the Board has the capability
to manage their own responsibili
ties.
Al Greene
Cumming
Respect should be
paid to citizens
Dear Editor,
I am writing in regards, to the
commissioners meeting on Jan. 26,
1998. I sat for three hours, waiting
for the public hearing, on the smok
ing ordinance, not just for myself,
but for the citizens of Forsyth
County.
As I stated, I’m not against peo
ple smoking, and as a quadriplegic I
for one, believe in choice. People
have the right to choose what they
want to do.
Commissioner Bowen was out
of line and very rude to treat me the
way he did. We do not need to
spend more money on a structure or
fix a room up for employees to go
smoke. After all, we are already
over our budget. Isn’t that why we
have a freeze on hiring new employ
ees?
Which incidentally some
employees are working overtime,
costing the county more money any
way.
I feel if we gave Commissioner
Bowen an inch, he will take a mile.
He needs to quit walking out of
meetings, smoking, rude remarks
and quit trying to make stupid jokes.
It’s time someone puts him in
his place. Not only does he need to
show the citizens of this county
some respect, but he needs to
respect this county.
We are always getting a black
eye in the media and hit behavior
and cocky attitude doesn’t help. I
may be putting my life at risk, but I
would like to refresh his'jmemory
about a phone call he to me
on January ‘97. He called, told me
never to humiliate him at a Meeting
by speaking publicly at any Agendas
without him knowing first. He had
been upset because I told then they
looked like a skit on Saturday flight
Live and it was printed it the
Forsyth County News. V
I can’t wait till the next eleclion,
I’m gonna do everything to cam
paign against him. \
Linda Stinson Worley
Cununiig
Responsibility for
file Hoss’ misplaced
Dear Editor,
Rachel Iverson, attorney to our
County Board of Commissioners, ,
apparently left her meeting with
Sheriff Hendrix and carelessly
failed to take her own file, resulting
in her Associate at the law firm of
Morris, Manning & Martin,
Jefferson D. Kirby Ill’s letter shift
ing wrongdoing to the Sheriff but
omitting any fault by Ms. Iverson.
For Ms. Iverson’s own apparent
part in being negligent of her
responsibility, both her firm and Ms.
Iverson should be discharged.
Jewel Palmer
Cumming
Lapse of judgment
... send you packing
' Dear Editor,
* lam writing in regards to the
legal battle between the Sheriff’s
Office and the Board of
Commissioners. It is in my opinion
that the Board of Commissioners
are over stepping their authority as
well as attempting to delegate to
themselves additional powers of
authority that were never intended
to be any part of their duties. It has
been my experience with the Board
of Commissioners that they have
been unable to handle the responsi
bilities they already have been
given. It is clearly a conflict of
interest for the Board of
Commissioners to attempt to man
age the Sheriff’s Office, employees
and/or budget. First, what experi
ence does any member of the Board
have in law enforcement, the man
agement thereof, or what would be
needed to determine such a budget?
Second, since the Sheriff’s Office is
the authority that would have to
investigate any alleged impropri
,elies of the Board of
Commissioners, to allow the Board
to dictate budgets, pay increase or
the lack thereof would be unques
tionably allowing the fox to guard
the hen house.
Finally, as to the allegations
made by Ms. Iverson and the law
firm that she is associated with, that
the sheriff or Mr. McCrimmon took
and copied documents from a file
belonging to her without her per
mission or knowledge is simply an
attempt to place accountability else
where, exculpating herself from the
predicament she created.
Considering that there were ... more
attending said meeting and the file
was abandoned, it would only be
natural to open the file to determine
who the rightful owner was, but to
say that anyone would have to know
and understand that it belonged to
one particular individual is prepos
terous. If Sheriff Henderson and Mr.
McCrimmon were planning any
such sinister activity they certainly
would have not returned the file to
the person who was so forgetful as
to leave such sensitive information
behind.
Furthermore, Ms. Iverson lost
any expectation of privacy when she
left the file in an office other than
her own office. One would surmise
that personal and/or confidential
data as that purported here, conceiv
able should have been kept and
transported perhaps in a locked
briefcase. Most persons that com
mitted such lapse of good judgment
would be looking for new employ
ment on Jan. 6, instead of being
hailed as a victim.
Sharon Miller
Cumming
Do you think you
can trust Clinton?
Dear Editor,
Various positions on the matter
regarding Bill Clinton and the
young intern Miss Lewinsky have
been expressed in the media this
week.
The first position would hold
that the Republicans, the media and
Kenneth Starr should leave him
alone.
The second sector feels imme
diate resignation is in order.
The third sector are the apathet
ic, who couldn’t care less about any
of it.
It is that third group that really
needs to be PAYING ATTENTION
to all of this now.
The real issue here is not
whether the president’s actions are
his own business. Both conserva
tives and liberals will agree that
what any president does behind
closed doors is not something that
has a dramatic impact on his ability
to make a business decision on
I behalf of bur country.
The real issue is something more
important. It is something every
American has to answer for his or
her self. It is about trust. Can you
tipst Bill Clinton? Do you believe
h< is telling the truth? Is trust some
thing we should expect in a presi
dent?
The President of the United
Stales SHOULD be held to a higher
standard of character than the aver
age American. However, this man
has teen under controversy since he
becafie a national figure in 1992.
You 4an go down the list...Genifer
Flowers, Whitewater, White House
TravellOffice, Illegal FBI investiga
tions, yince Foster, Ron Brown,
Paula Jones, and now Monica
The problem I have with all of
this is threefold. It is not that Bill
Clinton jlegedly had an affair that
makes hitn look ridiculous. It is
not the fait that the girl was only a
couple of years older than his
daughter, it is the thought of the
LYING. Ii seems as if he either
doesn’t think it matters, or he
doesn’t carey it does.
The second part of the problem
is that he allowed himself to be put
into a positioi where he could have
possibly beet blackmailed. This
compromises the security of every
American, anq makes him derelict
in his duties as president.
Lastly, if adultery is considered
“adequate groinds” for the dis
charge of an Air Force Pilot, it
should be “adequate grounds”
grounds for impeachment of her
commander in chits.
Anna McManus
\ Suwanee
The land of myths is paved with reality
There is a myth that we all seem
to believe from time to time, two
myths actually. The first myth is
that we can be happy all the time
and the second is that we can rear
perfect happy children. Only with
maturity do we realize that with our
very best efforts and determination,
neither is possible or probable.
There is a vital truth, however, that
is often overlooked, no one can
become a complete person without
some unhappiness.
“Yes, I know Mom, be careful!”
he yells as the door slams. And the
return comment as he goes on his
way to work or different activities
is: “behave yourself and don’t get
into any trouble.” We believe if we
offer these proverbs of wise council
to our children each and every time
they leave home we can assure their
safe return with no major problems.
But as we all know, trouble comes
unexpected, careful is not always
adequate, and a safe return is not
always assured.
We as normally intelligent
Pope seeks new day for Cuban citizens
Once again, Pope John Paul II
demonstrated in his visit to Cuba
that he is the Man of the Century—
the person more responsible than
any other for the collapse of
Communism.
“He has instituted the dynamic
of freedom that is irreversible. The
power that was let loose during
those days was of conscience and
religious truth,” said George
Weigel, a Catholic leader of the
Ethics & Public Policy Center in
Washington.
With Fidel Castro sitting in the
front rows the Pope preached a ser
mon in Havan’s Plaza of the
Revolution where only Communist
atheism has been heard for 39
years. The Pope said, “A modern
state cannot make atheism or reli
gion one of its political ordi
nances.”
“The state, while distancing
itself from all extremes of fanatics
or secularism should encourage a
harmonious social climate and a
suitable legislation that enables
every person and every religious
confession to live their faith freely,
to express that faith in the context
of public life, and to count on ade
quate resources and opportunities
to spiritual, moral and civil benefits
to bear on the life of the nation.”
There is no way
Cuba can go back
to what it was
before last week.
The crowd interrupted with
cheers and shouts of “Liberty!
Liberty!”
The Pope quoted Jose Mimi,
the father of Cuban freedom, with
words that are unknown to this
generation of Cubans: “Every peo
ple needs to be religious. An irreli
gious people will die because noth
ing in it encourages virtue.”
Sustained and spirited applause
erupted anytime he mentioned
ideas central to his homily: justice,
truth, hope and liberation.
Castro’s response was utterly
deferential, like the little devout
altar boy he once was. At the end
of the Mass, when people were
encouraged to “pass the peace,” he
shook hands warmly with the car
dinals and bishops around him. He
wore a business suit, which is
almost unprecedented. And he
allowed a huge picture of Jesus to
be erected on the Square.
The Pope demanded conces
sions in advance of the trip. For the
first time since 1959, last
Christmas was a holiday. Some 29
priests and 30 nuns were allowed
to emigrate to Cuba. Most of the
870 priests serving the island’s 11
million people in 1959 were forced
to flee by Castro, leaving only 250
overworked priests there now.
Ground was broken for a new sem
inary. Further, Castro allowed each
Mass to be aired on national TV,
and not just regionally.
Why did Castro invite a man
who inspired the destruction of the
Iron Curtain? He gambled that the
Pope would support his condemna
tion of the U.S. trade embargo of
Cuba — and was gratified to hear
John Paul say, “The Cuban peo
ple...cannot be denied the contacts
with other peoples necessary for
human beings acquire habits that
are hard to break. Parents begin to
believe we have all the answers to
all the questions for our child’s hap
piness and well being. We worry
our children and ourselves to death
trying desperately to control their
destiny, prevent them from making
mistakes, and assuring that they will
perform according to our expecta
tions, and be happy.
“Is there gas in the car?”, a
question of great significance in a
household with teenagers even if
you filled the tank on your way
home. Intelligent parents know that
gas disappears more rapidly when a
teenager drives the car. Mom asks
as Dad scowls, “do you have
enough money,” knowing all along
that the child is waiting for the per
fect timing to ask for necessary
funding.
Most children do not hesitate to
ask for funding for one purpose or
another, gas money, clothes, videos,
CDs, and any number of items nec
essary for their happiness. But, hap-
economic, social and cultural
development, especially when the
imposed isolation strikes the popu
lation indiscriminately, making it
ever more difficult for the weakest
to enjoy the bare essentials of
decent living, such things as edu
cation.”
He also criticized the
International Monetary Fund for
placing “unbearable burdens on
less favored countries...We thus
see a small number of counties
growing exceedingly rich at the
cost of the increasing impoverish
ment of a great number of coun
tries.”
Those remarks in a land where
average Cubans can afford to eat
chicken only once in three months,
touched the hearts of the attending
U.S. Catholic hierarchy. Cardinal
James Hickey of Washington said
the embargo began at a time when
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, February 1, —
piness does not always follow the
acquiring of these items and our
purse or pocket book is not away to
assure their happiness. Money does
not purchase happiness when
“nobody likes me” or when a dream
is shattered by a poor grade, or a
decision causes lifetime complica
tions.
The weather is freezing and we
remind young adults to wear a coat;
have you brushed your teeth and do
you have to go to the bathroom is
asked even when children are old
enough to know when they need to
go and their teeth need cleaning.
We ask of grown children, “have
you got enough money, did you pay
the phone bill, and have you paid
the rent?” Always needing the
assurance of happiness and well
being.
We spout platitudes and instruc
tions: “you can be anything you
want to be, or anything you want
bad enough is possible,” but we fail
to add, if you study hard, make all
the right moves, the scholarships
the U.S. feared war due to the
Cuban missile crisis. But that
threat is gone. Cardinal Anthony
Bevilacqua of Philadelphia added
there is no moral justification for
the U.S. embargo because of its
harmful effects on the poor. “I
don’t see any political reason for it
either.”
U.S. officials said they would
consider lifting the embargo “if the
Cuban government undertakes fun
damental, systemic change toward
democracy and respect for human
rights.” Privately, the Pope asked
Castro to release 600 political pris
oners. Some will be released soon.
Perhaps the Pope’s greatest
impact will be among Cuban
youth, 100,000 of whom he met
with urging them to avoid sexual
immorality or placing hope in
political structures. “Return to
your Cuban and Christian roots”
4^'
J
W V Julianne
Boling
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are available, luck and the economy ■;
holds out, and/or if the boss likes
you, anything is possible.
Would it not be wonderful if we
knew all the right moves for happi
ness for the people we love? Would f
it not be great if we could always- r
remember that there are no guaran
tees of happiness, no assuratiCe|
that all will go well with our lives
and the lives of our children and
grandchildren? We all live as it we£
have tomorrow, tomorrow, jinifs
tomorrow. Perhaps we should (tarn
to live so that our days would n|t be »
spent in a distracting fog but in Ibv
ing people and knowing who they 9
are. If we learn this, happiness iand
well-being won’t be a myth! >
I *
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■Hr M ’ ke
LfIBMF McManus
' A
and start building a “new .
society...in which you can be, the
principal agents of your own hfeto- -
ry.”
“Dear young people, whether »•
you are believers or not, accept #*£
call to be virtuous...bold in*the J*
truth, courageous in freedom, con- <
stant in responsibility, generates in ’■»
love.”
Father Richard John Neuhaus,,.
editor of “First Things,” concludes:
“there is no way Cuba can go back
to what it was before last week.”
PAGE 17A