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The Forsyth County News
Opinion
This is a page of opinions ours, yours and others.
Signed columns and cartoons are the opinions of the
writers and artists and may not reflect our views.
Residents of Mideast,
U.S. very much alike
As soon as you step off the
plane, you know you are in a
very strange place. You are in
the Mideast.
Men stand around in white
robes with white or checkered
head scarves held in place by
black ropes. Women wear
black robes and black veils.
The street signs not only
aren't in English, but they
aren't even in English lettering
so you couldn't pronounce
them if you tried.
And no matter where you
go, you see the desert. Which
goes on and on and on.
The noise can be amazing.
Even when someone is not
playing a radio (and someone
always is playing a radio),
people seem to be chattering
or shouting or waving their
hands.
You think they are really
arguing and will soon start hit
ting each other. But they are
just talking and will often
break into laughter and hug
one another.
Men not only kiss each
other's cheeks when they
meet, but often walk through
the streets holding hands
And people in the Mideast
don't like to line up like
Americans or British people
do when waiting to buy an air
line ticket or to get into a soc
cer game.
People in the Mideast like
to crowd around. They always
seem to be "invading your
space" or "in your face.'
This is strange to us. but
not to them.
When we get sick, even if
we don't have something
catching, we stay alone in our
rooms. Even in the hospital,
we aren't allowed many visi
tors.
But in the Mideast, hospi
tal rooms are often crowded
with visitors and family mem
bers, who talk and laugh and
shout and play their radios.
Every thing they do over
there seems so strange. But in
order to understand different
people, you have to under
stand their culture and history.
In American culture and
history, we often admire
rugged individuals like Daniel
Boone or the pioneer families
who lived all alone on the
Great Plains.
But in Mideastern culture
and history, the family, the
unit, the tribe is admired.
Survival in the desert was
almost impossible all by your
self. You needed family mem-
On your payroll
CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, H. Ford Gravitt
PO. Box 3177, Cumming. GA 30028: (770) 887-4342
Mayor Pro-Tern, Lewis Ledbetter
205 Mountain Brook Dr.. Cumming, GA 30040: (770) 887-3019
Ralph Perry
1420 Pilgrim Rd., Cumming. GA 30040: (770) 887-7474
Quincy Holton
103 Hickory Ridge Dr., Cumming. GA 30040: (770) 887-5279
Rupert Sexton
705 Pine Lake Dr., Cumming, GA 30040: (770) 887-4332
John Pugh
10813th St., Cumming, GA 30040; (770) 887-3342
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
Charles Laughinghouse, Post 1
3550 Rosewicke Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-7937; office, (770) 886-2810
David "AJ." Pritchett, Post 2
4840 Chesterfield Court, Suwanee. GA 30024
(404) 392-6983; office, (770) 886-2809
John A. “Jack" Conway, Post 3
6130 Polo Club Dr., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 886-9226; (770) 886-2807
March Kreager, Post 4
9610 Kings Rd., Gainesville, GA 30506
office, (770) 886-2806
Eddie Taylor, Post 5
4195 Morningside Dr., Cumming, GA 30041
(770)886-2802
Roger
Simon
bers and friends just to keep
alive.
And so different people
grow up in different ways.
Sometimes cultures do
mix, of course. In Saudi
Arabia. I saw Frye Boots for
sale and Calvin Klein jeans.
People drove Toyotas and
drank Pepsi. And you could
also buy Black and Decker
power tools made in
Baltimore.
And when 1 went to a soc
cer game in Riyadh, the capi
tal city of Saudi Arabia, the
stadium was very modern and
had artificial turf and a huge
electronic scoreboard.
Syria was play ing Iraq that
day (they call it football), and
the people in the stands were
going crazy every time a goal
was scored. They had brought
their own instruments with
them into the stands, and
throughout the game they beat
drums and clanged symbols
together and tooted on flutes.
So it was both strange and
familiar.
They liked sports just like
we liked sports. And while the
cymbals and the flutes seemed
kind of strange to have at a
game. I wondered what they
would make of the San Diego
chicken.
As 1 continued to travel
throughout the Mideast. 1 was
invited into homes wherever I
went: in Saudi Arabia, in
Lebanon, in Egypt, in Israel
and a Palestinian home on the
Israeli-occupied West Bank.
What I saw were families
living their daily lives. Small
children chasing each other
through the kitchen, while
their mothers told them to
play more quietly. Older chil
dren listening to tapes.
Fathers reading the
evening newspapers. Teen
agers doing their homework
and wondering why anybody
ever invented algebra.
And after a while, 1 learned
that sometimes the strangest
thing about different, people is
how thev aren't that stranee at
all.
Roger Simon is a national
ly syndicated columnist. He
can he e-mailed at Write-
Roger@aol.com.
1111 l f
FsENTO ws A 9OTW TORY
Technical colleges need to expand, improve
By Sen. Dan Moody
For the Forsyth County News
Georgia’s growth in
recent years has been the
subject of national headlines.
More and more people across
the country choose to live in
our great state. Last year.
Georgia was second in the
nation in job creation and
Atlanta
was the
No. 1 met
ro area in
the nation
for creating
jobs.
To fill
those in
creasing
numbers of
jobs our
ecnn o m v
BU- |
•S <
*
• > ■
Moody
CL UIIU 111 \
requires a strong, skilled
workforce. Businesses and
companies coming to
Georgia depend on our tech
nical professionals to keep
our economy strong.
Georgia needs a highly
skilled workforce to compete
in the 21st century. Who are
the people who fill those
jobs.’ The men and women
with career and technical
training. There are many
bright young men and
women who are excited
about furthering their educa-
NATJQNAL LEGISLATORS
rar ——~i < U.S. Sen. Zell Miller
r Ito Russell Senate Office Building. Room C-3
. Washington. DC. 20510
' , jl (202) 224-3643: Fax: (202) 228-2090
U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss >
1019 L6ngworth House Office Building | I
Washington, DC. 20515 & ' n
(202) 224-3521 |
_< U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, 10th District
2437 Rayburn House Office Building,
■ Washington. DC. 20515
’ 1 Gainesville: RO. Box 1015, Gainesville, GA 30503
I -1 Gainesville, (770) 535-2592; Washington: (202) 225-
| 5211; Fax: (202) 225-8272
U.S. Rep. John Linder, 7th District >
1727 Longworth House Office Building,
Washington. DC. 20515-1011 L .
Washington: (202) 225-4272; Fax: (202) 225-4696 | I
STATE LEGISLATORS |L. j
< Sen. David Shafer, 48th District
1 09 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
I ..'(404)651-7738
j Sen. Casey Cagle, 49th District >
421 State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334 H
□ Telephone: (404) 656-6578; (fax) (404) 1 O
651 -6768 [I 'J|
< Sen. Dan Moody, 27th District
(770) 495-3127;
Office (404) 463-8055
66
I believe in what technical education
does for students - and for what it
stands for. It is an equal chance for
men and women across the state to
pursue their interests and become an
integral part of Georgia's workforce
and economy.
tion in Georgia but know that
a traditional college is not
for them. Many of these stu
dents will choose Technical
Education—a vital part of
the future of hundreds of
Georgians each year.
We are a country founded
on the principles of hard
work—and we have always
respected and had an appre
ciation for the working per
son. There is a dignity to
this workforce that must con
tinue to be recognized
because our society relies so
heavily upon them. We
depend on someone with a
technical education every
day.
A technical education is
one of the best choices a stu
dent can make. In fact, many
jobs today that do not require
a four-year degree pay more
than many jobs that require a
four-year degree! The choic
es are vast for those choos-
FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Thur»d»y, March 4, 2004
66
ing the tech-ed route: elec
tricians. specialized health of
manufacturing technicians,
information technology.
These are the jobs that keep
our economy and society
functioning every day and
the demand increases every
day for those people skilled
in these areas.
Last year, almost 9.000
Georgia high school students
participated in one or more
collaborative programs with
technical colleges. These
young men and women are
getting a head start on their
careers while they are still in
high school! They recognize
that the opportunities for real
jobs that technical education
provides.
We need to improve and
expand our technical col
leges statewide. We need to
ensure the continuation of
the HOPE program. In 2002
alone. 76 percent of gradu-
Sen. Renee Unterman, 45th District >
(770)466-1507;
Office (404)463-1368 J W
< Rep. Tom Knox, 14th District
Legislative Office Building. Room 504 re
* • 18 Capitol Square. Atlanta, GA 30334
k (404) 656-0188. or (770) 887-0400. law office
"Rep. Jan Jones, 38th District >
412 Legislative Office Building, it'
Atlanta GA 30334 I F
(404)656-0137 JgMjj
—< Rep. Jack Murphy, 14th District
Legislative office Building,
• I Room 612, Atlanta GA 30334
. ;i (404) 656-0325: (770) 781 -9319, home
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Ann Crow
96 Barker Rd., Cumming, GA 30040
(770) 887-9640; acrow.@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Paul Kreager
9810 Kings Rd.. Gainesville, GA 30506 : ‘’
(770) 889-9971; pkreager@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Nancy Roche
7840 Chestnut Hill Rd., Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 889-0229; nroche@forsyth.kl2.ga.us
Rebecca K. Dowell
2030 Commonwealth Place, Cumming, GA 30041
(770) 844-0830; rdowell@forayth.kl2.ga.us
Chairman Jeffrey Stephens
PO. Box 169, Cumming, GA 30028
(770) 889-1470; jstephens@forayth.kl2.ga.us
ates from our technical col
lege programs received the
HOPE Grant. It has been
invaluable for students who
need training.
In addition to those stu
dents who attend tech
schools right out of high
school, many college gradu
ates go on to work toward a
technical education—either
to enhance what they have
already received as an under
grad—or to give them a
hands-on skill, such as being
a physical therapy assistant.
Technical education provides
a path for those adults who
decide later in life that it is
time to pursue their dreams.
1 believe in what
Technical Education does for
students—and for what it
stands for. It is an equal
chance for men and women
across the state to pursue
their interests and become an
integral part of Georgia's
workforce and economy.
Georgia's citizens who
choose technical education
will play a vital role in grow
ing our economy and secur
ing Georgia’s future.
Sen. Dan Moody repre
sents the 27th Senate District
which includes parts of
Cherokee, Forsyth, and
Fulton counties.
PAGE 9A