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k-THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1991
4A
Perry viewpoint
—
The Houston Home Journal
OFFICIAL ORGAN, CITY OF PERRY AND HOUSTON
COUNTY, GEORGIA, SINCE 1870
PUBUSHED EACH WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY MORNING
807 CARROLL ST., P.O. DRAWER M, PERRY, GA. 31069
TELEPHONE: (912) 987-1823
The Houston Home Journal (USPS 252-780) is published biweekly for $lB
per year by the Houston Home Journal, Inc., 807 Carroll St, Perry, Ga.
31069. Second Class Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POStMASTER: Send
address change to The Houston Home Journal, P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga.
31069:
ROY H. PARK, President & Chairman ol the Board, Park Newspapers
JAMES B. KERCE
Editor & General Manager
JAN HAMPTON TERESA HAWK
Managing Editor Advertising Manager
Keep electing school chief
A bill pending before the state legislature which would
mandate appointing school superintendents is one which
lawmakers should approach cautiously.
Under current law, Georgia counties have the option of
allowing their school boards to select the policy maker
who heads their school system, or of electing a school
chief.
But, in the case of an appointed school chief, voters will
give up the right to elect a superintendent.
Gov. Zell Miller's proposal would bring drastic change
to our present system.
Under the terms of a bill he has had introduced into the
current legislature, Miller is calling for taking away our
right to have a direct say so in picking the person who will
oversee educating our children. Instead, the governor
would have an elected school board pick a superintendent.
We oppose that plan for two reasons.
First, voters should have a direct say in selecting the
people who control a part of their life.
And second, by allowing a school board to select a su
perintendent, we in Georgia could easily get into a "good
'ol boy" political system in our schools in which the su
perintendent is picked because they are a pawn of the
board.
Gov. Miller is, in part, backing the proposal in an effort
to allow school boards to go outside the county to find the
best, most qualified school chief. In some cases, this idea
may have merit —especially in rural counties which attract
few qualified educators and administrators.
Perhaps an appointed school superintendent would be
best in those cases.
But, Houston County has no need to go outside to find
qualified school executives. Because this county is a
Georgia "hot growth area," it attracts the best and brightest
talent in both the private, public and military sectors.
Dr. Harold Chapman, our current school superintendent
is an example. Waiting in the wings to serve the public in
the top school position are numerous top-flight educators.
For that reason, we suggest the current system of chos
ing a Superintendent of Houston County Schools should
remain as it is presently.
Voters should be allowed to continue electing the most
qualified person to fill this important post.
Larger post office needed
Perry needs a larger U.S. Postal Service office with
much more space for patrons to park. That fact is well
known by everyone here—from top community leaders to
ordinary citizens who use the present facility on Carroll
Street every day.
But, based on the results of a meeting late last week
between local citizens and postal officials, don't look for a
new post office anytime soon. During that meeting, out of
town postal service officials told the gathering of local
officials and community leaders Perry may not necessarily
need a larger facility. Instead, they indicated that the city
should solve traffic congestion problems around the
building by providing additional parking. That statement
caused one city councilman to point out that more parking
would create a bigger backlog of customers in a facility
already too small.
Postal officials further pointed out that Perry was not
scheduled to get a new post office until 1995—nearly five
years from now. And, because the service's list of
upgrades is reviewed annually, that date could be
postponed, because Perry is vying with 35,000 other
stations needing attention.
Despite the fact our post office is handling about nine
million pieces of mail yearly and faces an additional load as
Northrop comes on line, it appears an expanded facility is
not planned for the near future.
For a growing community in a booming county, that's a
shame.
What do you think?
Write a letter to the editor
P. 0. Drawer M, Perry, Georgia 31069
—
SADDAM’S ULTIMATE WEAPON
Perry traffic compares with Atlanta's
We often hear about the traffic
congestion in Atlanta, usually fol-.
lowed by an "I'd never want to live
there." But if traffic is your reason
for not wanting to live in Atlanta,
consider this.
Last weekend I went to that par
ticular city. Why is not important.
But I drove through Atlanta and on
Sunday afternoon, I left. I drove
across the north end of the city on
Interstate 285, then straight through
town on Interstate 75, and all the
way to Perry.
It was not until I reached Mc-
Donough that I ran into traffic
problems. From McDonough to
Perry, the road was a mess. The
only respite was a brief section of
Monroe County. All three lanes of
the Interstate were jammed, and just
north of the Houston County line,
where it becomes two lanes, it was
horrendous.
I knew then what I would write
about this week, but I did not know
how much attention I would give
it. At the point I pulled off of the
Interstate and onto Sam Nunn Blvd.
Between Interstate 75 and Harvey’s I
saw at least three near accidents
(one of which I would have been in)
Later that evening, I attempted to
make a left hand turn onto Court
ney Hodges Blvd- not from Creek-
Developing a 'news’ eye view for life
As a journalist, one eventually
develops a unique perspective on
life. The job in some respects de
mands it.
As a journalist, one has the op
portunity to bear witness to some
of a community's greatest moments
and to record the event for prosper
ity. Journalists also bear witness to
some of a communities greatest
sorrows and must also record these
for prosperity.
Some of the events are less than
earth shattering. Most of what is
seen and recorded has little impact
on overall socio-economic or polit
ical patterns. Very little has more
than a passing interest to those
other than area residents.
However, all are events are im
portant. It’s important to the family
and friends of a child who has won
her class spelling bee, for instance.
It's important to a particular busi
nesses that a new service or a new
product product, previously un
available, now can be obtained lo
cally. Most of all it is important to
area residents.
The job of a hometown netyspa-
* wBBPf ?
\ \ i
Alan Willis
HHJ staff writer
wood Drive where it is both diffi
cult and illegal, but from further
down near the Econo-Lodge.
I say I tried to make the left turn
because, after a line of cars piled up
behind me, I conceded defeat I matte
a right turn, went down the road and
turned around.
While I understand that the De
partment of Transportation is look
ing at both Sam Nunn and Court
ney Hodges, it has become clear
that these streets, at least, present a
major traffic problem. Part of the
problem, especially on Sam Nunn,
is truck traffic off the Interstate.
The truck traffic is, I think ev
eryone will agree, vital to the eco
Mike Prindpato
HHJ Staff Writer
per is to chronologically record the
day to day changes of the society it
represents.
Some of the changes benefit so
ciety. Some of the changes do not.
Some detract from the quality of
life cherished by society.
None-the-less all societal changes
must be reported as fairly and as
accurately as humanly possible.
It is not the duty of any news or
ganization to base decisions of
content on it’s effect. In some re
nomic well being of the stores, gas
stations, and restaurants that make
Sam Nunn their home. However
with current traffic patterns, trucks
can dangerously limit vision. The
time has come for traffic lights on
Sam Nunn. I doubt many who have
travelled the road would disagree.
Perry has actively sought indus
try and developed a stable and ex
panding economy [which, in the
time of recession, is quit an
achievement]. With it has come
traffic problems. Today it is
primarily Sam Nunn and Courtney
Hodges, tomorrow it may be
Macon Road, Tucker Road, or, with
Northrop opened, Thompson Road.
The problems will have to be
dealt with, and, to the chagrin of
many Perry residents, the way to
deal with them are traffic lights. It
is better simply to plan on traffic
problems, because once the reces
sion is over and Perry's economy
goes from stable and expanding to
outright booming, traffic will in
crease greatly.
Atlanta has struggled to keep up
with increasing traffic, now it
seems to be Perry's turn. Although
I am well aware that Perry is not
now, nor will it ever be, Atlanta,
traffic is a problem that used to be
[and still is] Atlanta's which now
we can share in even here in Perry.
gard, it is irresponsible to do so.
In basing content decisions upon
impact to the few, a news
organization disregards the needs of
the whole. It removes societal
rights to decide what is best or
worst for the community.
In this regard, a hometown paper
is much like a community watch
dog. Many ask, what gives you the
right to stand in judgement? What
gives .you the right to decide what
is important and what is not? These
are vital pertinent questions. I agree
that the tendency for abuse within a
free press system is great. Yet the
alternatives are much less attractive.
The greatest advantage of our pre
sent free press system lies in the
fact that few will dominate the
arena for any great length of time.
The system itself tends to cleanse
itself. The good journalist survives
to become better. Those less ade
quate wither and fade away.
Society determines which indi
viduals will take which path. As a
representative of the public, any
news organization functions within
Please see PRINCIPATO, page 5A
Journal
Jim Kerce
HHJ Editor
Small creatures
provide lesson
on nature ways
One of the most delightful and
i interesting displays of nature
unfolds in my back yard daily as
natures small creatures come to feed
I on the grain we put out to help
them survive winter.
I Not only are the antics of a vari
ety of birds and numerous squirrels
amusing as they gobble up the
mixed feed scattered on the ground,
these tiny fowl and mammals are an
amusing study in different breeds
getting along as they squabble and
fight among themselves for the
choicest grains.
Watching them hop, walk or
scamper about in search of their
favorite seed, I often think these
creatures are a lot like the different
personalities I run across in the
newspaper business.
Each seem to have a predictable
personality. Some are outright
mean, others seem aggressive, but
are like a loud-mouth person who
only sounds aggressive. Still others
are so tiny and quick they easily
stay out of the bullies way, or are
so big and confident that they
simply ignore what's going on
around them and just concentrate on
eating.
Early Sunday morning these
creatures played their typical rolls
after I put out three or four pounds
of mixed bird seed and refilled their
water bowl.
First the squirrels showed up. Six
of them. They love the sunflower
seeds, but cannot get along well
enough to enjoy breakfast together.
Within two minutes these furry lit
• tie creatures are fighting among
themselves over the best spot to
eat. (It seems spreading the feed
over a 10 by 10-foot area isn't
enough—they seem to think the
other guy has a better spot.)
Soon only a couple of squirrels
are eating at any one time. The rest
are chasing each other up and down
small nearby trees as they vie for
the "best spot” to eat.
A band of four to seven cardinals
and a horde of very small birds
show up next—no doubt drawn by
the commotion created by the
squirrels.
The bright red males and their
brownish-red female counterparts
hop around with an air of bravado
and bluster. After a few seconds of
pecking at the grain, they too get
busy fighting among themselves
over the food, or trying to run off
the little "tourist" birds who are
feeding. (For lack of a better term, I
call them tourists, because these
tiny, quick black, gray and brown
birds only show up in winter.)
The cocky cardinals spend most
of their time fighting among them
selves, or trying to chase off 25 or
30 little tourist birds. But, those
little bitty birds are so quick they
| are usually back to feeding before
f the big red birds can end their aerial
acrobatics. In their greed, the
cardinals never seem to eat their
share of grain.
Next, blue jays show up. True to
their reputation, the blue, gray and
black birds quickly display their
nasty attitude toward other wildlife.
One hops over and pecks a
squirrel on the head and runs it up a
tree. Another scatters the cardinals.
Little migratory birds flit from spot
to spot to keep out of a jay's
aggressive reach.
In the mist of this feeding confu
sion and fighting the "confident"
birds show up. A pair of thrashers,
two different woodpeckers and a
tiny brown wren.
Nobody else bothers them. Not
the blustery cardinals, aggressive
jays nor the squirrels. These three
types just "hunker down" and eat—
at the choice spots. They com
pletely ignore the commotion
around them.
The wren is a quarter the size of a
jay. The thrashers and woodpeckers
are about the size of a cardinal or
jay. Yet the aggressive birds and
chasing squirrels give them a wide
Please see KERCE, pagesA -
k I