Newspaper Page Text
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''THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1993
Review , from 8A
will notify some developers to par
ticipate along with those participat
ing all along."
The commission has been work
ing on a plan to re-zone the area for
the last three months in response to
Northsidc Limited's request there be
smaller lot sizes for development.
Residents surrounding the land
voiced opposition to smaller lot
sizes, as they feel their property
value will decline. The commission
is trying to find a compromise for
both parties, Bccland said.
In other business:
• The commission approved the
Agriccntcr's placement of a new
sign at the corner of W.F. Ragin
Drive and Sam Nunn Boulevard.
• The commission approved a
sign be placed at 203 Courtney
Hodges Boulevard by Beckham
Brothers BP station.
Win,
from 1A
project."
Vest chose to use the rain forest
as the theme of her project and
posed the question "How does the
destruction of the rain forest affect
ecosystems?'"
She said, "I decided to do my
project on the rain forest because
I've always been interested in it. It's
so beautiful. I hate to sec it lost,
and most people don't know about
it."
Her friends helped her to decide
on the rain forest as her project, as
they told her it sounded like a sub
ject she knew a lot about and cared
about.
Barrett decided to construct a
project on the Impressionism period
because his last year's French
teacher encouraged him to study art.
He said he worked hard three days,
and winning "makes it worth it,"
although he's surprised he won.
Tarpley said Vest's and Barrett's
visual displays were "eye catching."
She said she knew their projects
would be good. "Those two particu
lar students were very interested in
their topic, and they asked a lot of
questions. They wanted their pro
jects to be perfect."
Tarpley said the two have a good
chance to win the regional competi
tion, depending on the number of
entries.
Rotary,
from 7A
ging and other touching when it's
unwanted, she said.
There arc also some "gray areas"
concerning sexual harassment.
Richardson said jokes and quotes or
signs on walls can be classified as
sexual harassment.
Not only women are sexually
harassed; men are sometimes sexu
ally harassed, she said. It's impor
tant to report the crime when it
happens, which usually stops the
harassment. She said employers
need to be informed, tuned in, non
judgmcntal, swift and be sure the
behavior slops. She encouraged
Rotarians to implement policies at
their work place to prevent sexual
harassment.
Guest , from 4A
elude four key elements: spending
limits, dramatic reductions in indi
vidual and PAC contributions, sig
nificant public resources, and a ban
on soft money contributions.
The key challenge is to drive spe
cial interest money out of politics
and replace it with untainted alterna
tive resources. These could include
direct grants, matching payments
for small contributions, and free TV
and mailings. Funds for these activ
ities should come from repealing
the tax deduction for lobbying ex
penses. If public resources make up
the vast majority of a candidate's
campaign treasury, the link between
elected officials and their special in
terest contributors can be broken.
The last Congress passed a
modest campaign finance bill that
included spending limits, PAC
restrictions and a limited amount of
public resources. That bill was
vetoed by President Bush. During
the campaign. President Clinton
vowed to support "even stronger"
legislation.
President Clinton's "even
stronger” legislation should make
dramatic reductions in the amount
of money that PACs and individu
als can contribute, and inject a lot
more public resources into cam
paigns. A system that lowered con
tribution limits for PACs and indi
viduals by 75 percent, and required
that the vast majority of campaign
money come from matching funds
and free TV, would create a much
more level playing field for chal
lengers, and severely restrict special
interest influence.
But the path to a clean Congress
is strewn with major obstacles.
First, the wealthy contributors who
• The commission approved a re
quest by William and Denise
Williford to open a bed and break
fast inn at 802 Washington St.
William Williford said they will try
to open this summer.
Kmart,
from 1A
center will be a consolidation of all
three parts."
Barfield said he can't give a
completion date, but said, "The
second week of February we plan to
move full-steamed ahead as far as
construction is concerned."
Callers,
from 4A
this program," he said.
The plan is the same as the one
reported last week by Perry Fire
Chief Gary Hamlin, except now the
Perry Police Department is being
used for the fund raising. Simons
and Hamlin welcome any questions
concerning the matter.
Safety,
from 5A
sidcring a hand-me-down or die pur
chase of a second-hand scat."
Parents also should have a work
ing understanding about which type
of scat (infant, toddlcr/convcrlible,
or booster scat) is appropriate for
each stage in a child's development.
They also should be aware of cur
rent "trends" in the area of trans
porting low-weight and premature
infants, and using a child safety seat
in a vehicle equipped with an auto
matic belt system and/or a passen
ger-side air bag.
NHTSA operates the Auto Safety
Hotline that answers consumers'
questions concerning child safety
scats, and has current information
on which car seals have been re
called. Parents or others who have
questions can call toll-free at 800-
424-9393.
All 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico and the ter
ritories have laws requiring the use
of child safety scaLs for infants and
young children. Violators of these
laws can face fines, points on their
driving record or worse. Almost
1,800 children, age four and under,
were saved from 1982 through
1991, as a result of child restraint
use and many others did not receive
injury because they were correctly
placed in a child safely seat.
Hamilton,
from 4A
(of course), how will this money be
spent to help these children? Will it
be saved for a college fund, rationed
out to help pay their living
expenses? What gain will the
mothers get?
I just think the whole thing is
unwarranted. Hardage doesn't de
serve it. Hill's kids don't deserve it
and I don't think a judge should
have to rule on a case that officials
agreed a long time ago did not ex
ist.
use their money to get access and
influence are not about to give up
their buying power easily. And the
extremely high re-election rate for
incumbcnts-ovcr 90 percent for the
last 10 years-makes many of them
unwilling to vote to create more
competitive races.
In 1977, President Carter delayed
his campaign finance reform pro
posal for six months, giving the
special interest groups time to mo
bilize ad defeat the effort.
Hopefully, President Clinton will
learn from that experience and make
campaign finance reform a lop
priority in his first 100 days.
With the new Administration
coming into power, expectations
are high that our elected officials
will end the much ballyhoocd grid
lock and enact major reforms. But
on issues ranging from health care
to environmental protection to
deficit reduction, the prospects for
major reform remain dim until we
break the strangle hold that special
interest groups have on many
members of Congress.
President Clinton campaigned on
the need for a "revolution in gov
ernment.” It's time for him to lead
that revolution by immediately pre
senting Congress with a compre
hensive campaign finance reform
package tougher than the one vetoed
last year.
Alison Heaphy is the Campaign
Director for U.S. PIRG, a non
profit, non-partisan consumer and
environmental advocacy group.
Susan E. Whitney is the presi
dent of the League of Women
Voters of Georgia.
Spend, from 1A—
Robins. Peggie Williams, the ex
ecutive vice president of the Perry
Area Chamber of Commerce, will
oversee the information about
Perry.
The tour is "an opportunity to
wine them and dine them and let
them see the things we have to of
fer," said Dick Ulm, executive di
rector of the authority.
"We can show them the best of
Houston County and discuss quality
of life issues and how we can ac
commodate their expansion needs."
Members of the authority ap
proved the $5,000 expenditure with
the tentative agreement that other
city and county agencies would con
tribute to match the more than
SIO.OOO needed for Houston
County's participation.
In other action, Ulm briefed
authority members on the
Houston/Bibb County proposal to
acquire a Department of Defense re
gional pay center.
According to Ulm, he plans to
travel to Atlanta today with County
Commission Chairman J. Sherrill
Stafford and authority Chairman
Walt Whiting to meet with
Governor Zell Miller about the
proposal.
"Basically, everyone who has
been involved with the project are
meeting to confirm what the state
will do and what we will do," Ulm
said.
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Ulm said Miller has confirmed
that the state will finance the cost
of constructing a pay center in ei
ther Houston or Bibb County if the
federal government selects either
county for one of 20 regional pay
centers.
In the final proposal submitted to
the federal government last month,
Houston County could house a
4,000-employee facility and Bibb
County could house a 7,000-em
ployee facility.
Ulm said if the Houston site is
selected, the state government
would fund the $167 million cost
for the facility.
Hears, from ia—
ment from 515 to 479.
Superintendent Tony Hinnant said
the purpose of the hearing was to
gather public input on the proposed
rezoning.
"I can assure you that the proposed
zoning is simply that - proposed,"
Hinnant said.
"We have come up with what we
think are very adequate school
zones, but the board will go back
and study them before we make a
final decision," he said.
Board Chairman Zell Blackmon
said the board had a commitment to
look at where people arc moving in
the county and how it will affect
- Sludge, from 1A
we go through an elaborate process
with public discussions and evalu
ate every aspect."
The sludge coordinator for the
Georgia Environmental Protection
Division, Mike Stephens, explained
the EPD guidelines for sludge ap
plication. He said sludge dumping
plans must include soil and topo
graphic maps, soil samples, site de
scription, sludge analysis, calcu
lated loading rates, management
practices and a proof of agreement
with the site owner. He said the
public also has to be notified about
the proposed sludge dumping.
Some sludge opposers said there
the the growth of county schools.
"Nothing is more important to our
county's parents than their children
and nothing is more important to
us," Blackmon said.
While board members listened to
re-zoning questions, they also ad
dressed the concerns of parents who
did not want their children attending
an elementary school close to a
high school. The new school is less
than 500 yards away from Houston
County High School, opened in
August 1991, and will be in close
proximity to the new facility
Middle Georgia Tech plans to build
in the next few years.
needs to be changes in the method
of notifying the public because they
were never notified about the sludge
being dumped in South Houston
County.
Stephens said EPA 503, legisla
tion that regulates sludge, needs to
be passed to "enforce guidelines as
regulations."
The Houston County
Commission will have to decide
what sludge, if any, can be dumped
in Houston County if House Bill
228 passes the Georgia General
Assembly, which resumes Feb. 1.
"If it means that we have to build
a six-foot fence around the school
to keep older kids out, we will,"
Hinnant said. "We will take every
step necessary to ensure the safety
of the children who attend that
school."
Claims ,
from 1A
"I’m in the business of making
money. I wouldn't have taken the
case if it didn’t."
When asked if he intends to
name the City of Perry in a lawsuit
he said, "You never know what the
future might hold."