Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 4-A
—Page of Opinion
Christmas Shop Perry
Perry merchants joined together
last Friday morning at the Holiday
Inn to plan the “Christmas Shop
Perry” promotion which is now
underway.
The annual promotion, which is
purchased by The Bank of Perry, is
being spearheaded this year by the
Perry Area Chamber of Com
merce. Bank officials felt the
chamber could and should take
over the promotion and we believe
that was a good decision.
Merchants all over the com
munity are simply asking shoppers
Pace Heads D. A. \s
Congratulations to Houston
Superior Court District Attorney
Stephen Pace on being recently
elected president of the Georgia
District Attorney’s Association.
While we’re at it, we want to also
Remember The Veterans
Monday was Veteran’s Day and
we should all pause at some time
during this week and give thanks to
ail those men and women who have
proudly served this country at all
those times when they were asked
We're Number One
Agriculturally speaking, the
state of Georgia ranks first in the
nation in the production of peanuts,
pecans, yellow pine, broilers
(chicken), and lima beans.
It is first in the number of
community food processing cen
ters and first in forest acreage
under continuous fire protection.
Get It In The Mail
Every year people expecting
packages in the mail for Christmas
complain that its usually after New
Year before they get them.
When the problem is followed
up, the general finding is that the
packages were mailed too late to
make it to the destination in time
for Christmas.
Now is the time to take that fact
into consideration.
The U.S. Postal Service is giving
its customers early notice. If the
packages are mailed on the
assigned dates, they will get to the
proper destination on time.
If they are not, someone will end
up with a late Christmas.
According to our local postal
officials, if you want someone to
get a package in time for Christ
mas, and (hey live in this state, you
have to mail it by Dec. 19.
If the package is going out of
state, you should send it no later
than Dec. 12.
The dates might seem
unreasonable to some, but when
you consider the bulk of Christmas
package mailing which goes on
Bureaucracy Is Threat
As inflation continues to peck
away at the incomes not to
mention the savings of those who
were brought up to think that a
penny saved is a penny earned
more and more Americans are
beginning to wonder where it will
all end. We hear a lot about the 1980
presidential election, and yet we
begin to wonder if any person can
control the direction of this country
today.
The bureaucracy that
nameless, faceless mass of people
who formulate so many of our
nation’s policies, and help spend so
much of our money has such a
control of our destiny that many
begin to wonder where it will all
end.
Dr. Fred Davison, president of
the University of Georgia, said last
week that the university is now
having to spend upward to five
million dollars annually to comply
with bureaucratic regulations. This
is money that could be spent to
upgrade staff, or that could be kept
by the taxpayer whose annual tax
dollar helps support the institutions
of higher learning.
to shop at home this Christmas.
Our merchants have gone all out to
provide shoppers with a wide range
of merchandise at competitive
prices. And when you shop at
home, think of all the gasoline you
save at a buck a gallon.
Our merchants really want your
business. Let’s all Christmas Shop
Perry this season. Money spent in
our community helps all of us.
Money spent at stores in Macon or
Atlanta doesn’t do a thing for
Perry. Let’s help Perry for a
change. Christmas shop at home.
congratulate Pace for his recent
actions to "beef up” the in
vestigative end of his department.
In these times of rising crimes, we
must insist on our court system to
deal swiftly and justly with the
criminals apprehended by the law.
to make the sacrifice. Many have
paid the supreme sacrifice.
We are thankful for and ap
preciative of all our veterans. We
take great pride in honoring them
this week. They certainly deserve
it.
The world’s largest pimento
plant and the largest peanut butter
plant are located in Georgia.
Georgia is first in the world in
production of naval stores.
It ranks second in the production
of fresh market peaches.
And Houston farms and farmers
are right at the top.
during the holidays, they become
more reasonable.
In addition, the traditional
Christmas greeting cards also
have to be mailed at a specific
time to get to the destination before
the holiday is over.
According to postal officials
greeting cards mailed out of the
state should get to the post office
by Dec. 17. Those being mailed in
the state should go by Dec. 22. If
not, the cards may not get to the
destination on time.
We are not saying the post office
is faultless in late deliveries, or
that if you meet the deadlines your
package will get there on time.
What we are saying is the chance
of the packages getting waylaid
decreases when the deadlines are
met.
Locally, Postmaster Pete Kane
is asking the cooperation of postal
customers in meeting
those deadlines. His objective is to
ensure that everyone has a good
Christmas and no one has to wait
on the late delivery of packages.
We consider that reasonable.
The University is just one of
many thousands of institutions
being sapped by federal guidelines
and programs. Quite often
businesses and institutions begin to
feel as if they are playing a game
with no rules. There are so many
guidelines, so much red tape that
no one is certain just what it all
means. We read this week where
some companies in this country
now spend a third of their income to
comply with federal regulations.
And we wonder why inflation has
gotten out of control!
President Carter said that he was
going to streamline government.
So far he hasn’t been able to do it.
Would-be-president Ted Kennedy
proposes a lot of new spending
programs, including a huge
program for health care. This
scares us. A whole new
bureaucracy. There are lots of
other would-be candidates, but
right now no one seems to have any
clear idea of what any one of them
would do to control the
bureaucratic mess.
Until someone does, inflation is
going to continue to gallop.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1979
Ml ift AI/V/1 /¥ im i .
. SHORT ON AMMO , u
1 (Tfri *«rVTiK
' |
Sy-N\ Hw I
«- »
County £&nes vL^H 1
wL m. W
BY JOEL FERGUSON jP% y
Dr. Skelton Responds To Problems
One fellow in state government
who really impresses me is
Georgia Human Resources
Commissioner W. Douglas Skelton,
M.D. Dr. Skelton impresses me
because he appears to be a
knowledgeable and articulate man
in the fields of health care and
welfare administration.
And when things go wrong, Dr.
Skelton doesn’t fool around. This
fact was vividly illustrated last
June 29, when a routine audit
disclosed that $20,879 was missing
from the local branch of the
Department of Family and
Children Services.
Dr. Skelton immediately sent in
more auditors to help the ones
already here, and dispatched Ken
Jasnau, Department of Family and
Children Services district director,
to take personal charge of the in
vestigation.
As a result of the audit, two
former employees of the local
welfare agency were subsequently
indicted by a Houston County
grand jury on charges of con
verting agency funds to their own
use. District Attorney Stephen
Pace said last Thursday that his
office will dispose of these cases
next month.
But that is only one example of
Dr. Skelton’s efficiency in handling
the Department of Human
Resources. His vast knowledge of
medicine and health care is
another example, and he shared
some of this knowledge with staff
workers and volunteers for area
Health Systems Agencies during a
recent meeting at Jekyll Island.
Speaking on health issues for the
1980’s, Dr. Skelton opened his
discussion by pointing out that a
number of developments occurred
during the 1970’s that will have an
impact on health care. He said
these developments included an
explosion of technological
developments, extensive con
struction of health care facilities,
the training of increasingly larger
numbers of health professionals,
increased access to health care
through Medicare or Medicaid or
private insurance or special health
program funding from the state or
federal government, and public
demand and public expectation
soared.
On the other hand, Dr. Skelton
said that despite major
technological advances, the
leading causes of death are the
same as a decade ago.
“In the late 1960’s there was a
problem of physician shortage and
mal-distribution of existing
physicians,’’ Dr. Skelton told the
health group. “Efforts to increase
the number of medical students
have been successful. In fact, so
successful that some seers predict
a surplus of M.D.’s in the 1980’s.
Will competition finally resolve the
lack of physicians in many of our
rural areas? Will it reduce
charges? By the way, it hasn’t
worked that way in areas saturated
with physicians. Fees haven’t
changed but larger numbers of
medical procedures are performed
on the population. Do physicians
create their own demand, or is the
need for services much greater
than anticipated?”
At one point in his talk, Dr.
Skelton confronted the problem of
fees and inflation when he said, “I
believe all of us should recognize
that the greatest health and social
problem of today is inflation, which
penalizes all citizens, but most
particularly the poor, the disabled,
the elderly and the disad
vantaged.”
Dr. Skelton told the group there
is a growing awareness in the adult
population that life-style factors
are of tremendous importance in
the maintenance of health. He said
the awareness is evidenced by a
reduction in smoking, by increased
interest in sports which improve a
person’s physical fitness, e.g.,
jogging, swimming, handball, by
increased weight consciousness
and concerns about dietary
balance.
“Despite these positive oc
currences, unwanted pregnancy,
veneral disease, drug and alcohol
abuse remain major problems,
particularly for our teenagers,”
Dr. Skelton said. “Smoking con
tinues to increase among teenage
girls, and elected officials and
public health leaders in many
instances stutter and stammer as
they try to explain that price
supports to farmers growing
tobacco is not inconsistent with a
public policy effort to discourage
smoking. It may not be, but can you
explain it?”
Dr. Skelton outlined the following
among expected developments in
the 1980’s: Community wellness
centers offering supervised
exercises, health screening, weight
and smoking control programs,
increased awareness of nutrition
requirements, comprehensive
school physical fitness and health
education programs, major efforts
to eliminate cigarette smoking,
increased preventative and early
detection and treatment efforts
with children, intense debate on
environmental protection stan
dards, increased emphasis on the
health care needs of the aged, and
recognition and response to racial
differences in mobribity and
mortality figures. L
/ ■
§* f
OUT ON A
BRANCH
Better Get Upset Soon
The American Workers Communist Party has
been protest marching in Greensboro, North
Carolina and the fanatics in Iran are holding
American citizens hostage.
I agree it is a time when all should stay calm to
protect the lives of the hostages in Iran, but I
wonder just how long we can afford to stay calm
in this country when violent crime is rising at a
frightening rate, anti-American groups are
protesting and shouting their hatred of America
and atheist groups are filling suits against the
U.S. Government for allowing prayer in the
schools.
What’s going wrong in America? Sure, this is
still the greatest country in the World with the
most freedom for its people. But there is trouble,
brother, in River City.
I have been to three different functions in
recent months at which The Star Spangled
Banner was played, I was appalled to see a few
people not even bother to stand. And I will never
forget a ballgame when three young men sat in
the upper stands and made the obscene one
finger gesture while the National Anthem was
playing.
Maybe it is time to get upset about some of the
things going on in this country and in foreign
countries that depend on this Nation for their
very survival. It might just be time for the
housewife on Tucker Road, the businessman on
Carroll Street and the guy down the block to get
mad when they read about murder, rape, armed
robbery and anti-Americanism.
None of us can look to Washington for the
reassurance we so badly need. The people in the
towns like Perry all across this Nation are going
to have to make the decision that they have had
enough of crime and the weak-kneed posture
of America. To make that decision means to cast
ballots for people who are offering more than lip
service, on the local, state, and national level. It
means speaking out through letters to members
of all governing bodies who represent you and
letters to newspapers expressing your opinion on
the present trend of things.
Somebody better get upset soon.
Good Fish-Wrapper
I went to the City Seafood Market last Friday
to purchase some fish and noticed right off they
were using old Home Journals as the proverbial
fish-wrappers.
When I inquired about this interesting
development, owner Bill Spillers told me it was
nothing personal, but that the HHJ makes a
better fish-wrapper than The Macon Telegraph
or even The Atlanta Journal. It seems the higher
quality newsprint we use is much more ab
sorbent.
The Houston Home Journal
OFFICIAL ORGAN CITY OF PERRY
AND HOUSTON COUNTY, GEORGIA, SINCE 1170
1010CARROLLST., P.O. DRAWER M, PERRY, GA , 31049
PHONE (911) 987-1023 OR NIGHTS (912) 987-1890
BOBBY BRANCH PHILBYRD
Editor Publisher General Manager
TONY BLAKLEY JOEL FERGUSON
Advertising Mgr. News Editor
, TERRY WOOD
§ Features, Photographer
JUNE VOGT
Bookkeeper, Proofing
DONNADENNARD
Composition, Circulation
FRANK RUSSO
Photographer
S iSumn llnbiiuiiou EMILY MONTGOMERY
grimes Society News, Class. Ads