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> THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1993
Perry viewpoint
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The Houston Home Journal
OFFICIAL ORGAN, CITY OF PERRY AND HOUSTON
COUNTY, GEORGIA, SINCE 1870
PUBLISHED 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 semi weekly 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 o) the Board, Park Newspapers
JAMES B. KERCE
Editor & General Manager
BRIGETTE HAMILTON TERESA HAWK
Managing Editor Advertising Manager
About pardons
Controversy has arisen over President Bush's pardon of
six executive officials involved in arms deals with Iraq.
Independent prosecutor Lawrence Walsh called Bush's
pardon misconduct. This is overkill, resulting from anger.
The president has the unquestioned right to pardon,
which is to forgive because of special circumstances.
One can disagree on whether the pardons were war
ranted but not on the right of the president to do what he
did. There could be no misconduct, perhaps bad judge
ment.
The controversy focuses attention on the independent
prosecutor. Walsh is accountable to no one, has millions to
spend, has hired 30 lawyers to go after whomever he
pleases, and spends most of his time in Oklahoma, letting
young zealots make a name for themselves, and headlines.
This loose cannon arrangement invites excesses and abuse
of power.
T he American people, polls show, don't care too much
whether arms went to Iraq years ago when they should not
have. They care, of course, whether laws were violated.
The years of threat from Walsh and his team of
prosecutors have certainly tormented those accused
enough to help deter similar action in the future.
A bigger question is whether the American people want
a system in which an independent lawyer, elected to no
public office, should wield power superior to any branch
of government, be accountable to no one, with millions of
taxpayer dollars to spend as he pleases-free to hound and
prosecute outgoing presidents.
This is an ugly, partisan precedent. All presidents make
mistakes, in judgement and policy. Are they then to be
subjected to the ambitions and self-seeking acclaim of an
unelected group of lawyers created by the opposition?
No impartial good can come of such a partisan process;
Congress should do what investigating is necessary, as
has in the past. Ands members of Congress are account
able to the people.
A different opinion on
Westminster Schools
Dear Editor:
1 enjoy reading all the news from Perry. When you are
way up here in the "big city" a dose of the local antics are
always welcome. I don't get the Saturday paper until
Tuesday and the Wednesday paper comes the following
Monday, but old news is still new when it gets to me.
T he issue of Westminster Schools in Atlanta has been
quite a hot topic on television and radio talk shows. The
Reverend Jim Shipley is quite correct that private institu
tions are voluntary. They may do as they wish or deem
necessary in the education of their children. It is odd to me
that a Christian school, with a staff of all Christian teach
ers. would deny the right of the greatest teacher in the
world to teach there. You see, Jesus was a Jew, and would
not be welcome to teach there if he were with us today in
body.
Your interpretation about the First Amendment is an
interesting one. You state most adamantly that the state's
duty is to protect this philosophy. "Congress shall make no
law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of
grievances."
The idea behind the amendment was not freedom of re
ligion. It is freedom from religion, The state's duty is not to
protect religion but to make certain that no one's rights are
abided in whichever religion they choose or which one they
do not choose.
Good luck to Westminster Schools. Perhaps in the future
they will not be so harsh to judge all of humanity based
only upon whether they are Christians, and to you
Reverend Shipley, I wish the same.
Faithful reader,
Selecia E. Jones
War Crimes
Perry cleans up after 1983 ice storm
10 years ago
Jan. 27, 1983
Electricity was restored to Perry
and South Houston County, but
residents and street workers were
still cleaning up the mess of pine
branches from last week’s ice
storm.
Power failures were common
Thursday and Friday as ice-laden
pine limbs fell on lines. Bobby
Trussed, manager of engineering at
the Flint EMC's Reynolds office,
said about 20,000 Houston
Countians w'erc without power
some time over the weekend.
* * *
The 16 year warden of the
Houston County Correctional
Institute stepped down and commis
sioners appointed an interim warden
to replace him.
Allen Stone, 66, rejected the
board's offer to retain him at his
$31,000 annual salary after the
board rejected his offer to retain him
at a $6,000 yearly salary with re
duced w'ork hours.
The commissioners named Deputy
Warden Ray W. Whcclus interim
warden.
* * *
Sixteen young ladies from Perry
High School were getting ready to
compete in the Miss Perry Panther
Pageant Feb. 3. The contestants
would compete in talent and formal
wear areas. The pageant was pro
duced each year by the school's
Thesbian group.
15 years ago
Jan. 26, 1978
The slate Department of
Transportation rejected a City of
Perry suggestion to install turn
signals at the traffic light at the in
tersection of Carroll and
Washington streets. Instead, DOT
engineer Ken Reeves told the city
the state would provide "Do Not
Enter" signs if the city would han
dle installation.
* * *
» ■ ■ ■
Now is the time for Congress to clean up their act
With all the hoopla, inaugural ac
tivities and Cabinet appointments
behind him, it's time for President
Clinton to sift through his many
campaign promises and decide
which issues to put on the
congressional table first. No issue
is more central to his call for
fundamental change than campaign
finance reform.
The problems with our current
campaign finance system-skyrock
eting campaign costs and excessive
Remember L
when? I
News items from past issues
License Ices were changed last
Thursday night by Perry City
Council for several types of busi
nesses. A new category was added
for "insulators" and its fee was set
for S3O a year.
Stores which served only foods to
go had an established fee of SI S a
year, a S2O reduction from the pre
vious fee.
Barber and beauty shops had a S3O
a year fee to cover the first chair.
Additional chairs cost Sls each per
year.
Drug store fees were altered drasti
cally, with the basic yearly license
lee being SBO to cover up to five
employees.
* * *
A large group of Houston County
farmers and their wives left Perry
on a chartered bus and drove straight
through to Washington D.C. to
lake part in the massive farmers
rally in the nation's capitol.
While there, farmers met with
Senators Herman Talmadge and
Sam Nunn and Congressman Jack
Brinkley. They also confronted
other national leaders with the
farmers' plight.
25 years ago
Jan. 25, 1968
Elko farmer Durward Dayc, 44,
was indicted by the Houston
County Superior Court grand jury
on a charge of murdering his wife
Aug. 8, 1966, at their home.
Daye was arrested and charged in
a warrant soon after the death of his
wife and had been free on 55,000
bond since that time.
The indictment charged Daye
with pushing her down an attic
stairway and causing wounds that
Guest |
column I
dependence on special interest con
tributors-are well-known and get
ting worse. Spending by House
incumbents has doubled since 1982,
and Senators now raise an average
led to her death. Dave told officers
his wife hit her head on a beam in
the attic but sheriffs officers intro
duced into evidence an old quilt and
a pipe wrench which they testified
had blood on them.
* * *
Perry's population had grown by
1,200 in the past seven years ac
cording to estimates made by the
Georgia Department of Public
Health.
Perry had 7,200 residents as com
pared with 6,039 counted in the
1960 census.
Houston County had 48,000 resi
dents as compared with 39,000 in
1960 estimators said.
* * *
A Thursday basketball game was
scheduled between Perry High's Jr.
Civitan Club and the school's Key
Club.
Following that game the Senior
Civitan Club of Perry was
scheduled to play the Perry Kiwanis
Club.
Tickets were 23 cents for children
and 50 cents for adults. The games
were sponsored by the two high
school clubs.
50 years ago
Jan. 28, 1943
John W. Blood worth of Perry,
state senator of the 23rd Georgia
District, had been appointed to 17
committees of the state senate.
* * *
The Perry Federal Savings and
Loan Association held its annual
stockholders meeting and election
of officers Jan. 20. Officers re
elected were S.A. Nunn, president;
F.M. Culler, vice president; F.M.
Houser secretary and treasurer.
* * *
Houston County teachers were
called to meet at the Perry school
Monday by county school
Superintendent F.M. Green for the
purpose of discussing the problems
confronting the schools in war
time.
of nearly 5i2,000 each week for the
six years they arc in office.
According to the recent spending
figures for the 1992 elections
released by the federal elections
Commission (FEC), House incum
bents in Georgia spent $4,308,469
compared to only $937,478 by their
challengers. Competitive races are
extremely rare, and wealthy individ
uals and political action committees
(PACs) have undue access to, and
influence over, our elected officials.
f The Houston Home f
Journal
SBrigette L
Hamilton!
Managing
Our world is
changing for
the worst
It's a dangerous world out there
today. Crime, drug abuse, disease,
the environment and many other
factors will put each and every one
of us our graves, some of us sooner
than others.
And according to some experts it
is only going to get worse.
I'm no medical expert and I can't
remember all the specific medical
jargon used, but I read an article re
cently that was depressing, to say
the least.
This article explained that some
time in the next century, which
could be sooner or later, no one is
sure, there would be four major
viruses causing large proportions of
human fatalities. Os course no one
knows what these are yet, except
AIDS, so we won’t know how to
treat them or when they will begin
or how they arc spread. Even when
people do begin dying from these
mysterious ailments, medical
professionals will not know the
cause of death right away.
Also, an interesting aspect of this
article was the fact that these new
killers will be produced in large part
because of the drastic changes
occurring in our environment, such
as soil changes caused by toxins
being stored in and on the earth
(sludge?), air emissions killing the
ozone and the effects of the ozone’s
decrease (Medusa wants to burn
hazardous waste) and other
environmental problems we
probably haven’t even discovered
yet.
This is just one fraction of the
problems we will have to deal with
in the future. Os course the changes
in the environment will not help
slow down the different cancers ci
ther.
Even though there arc no miracle
cures for cancer or AIDS, just think
how long we’ve worked on trying
to find cures, testing preventative
measures anti treatments etc. Also,
think how much more needs to be
done. Now, our kids and their kids
will be faced with fighting at least
one or two more mystery killers in
their lifetime, plus having to deal
with AIDS, cancer, heart disease,
etc.
Then there is the environment to
look at. What kind of world will we
leave behind? Even though some
people arc more earth-conscious
than they used to be (my mother for
one, she keeps Styrofoam because
she knows they’ll find some use for
it one day), what about the effects
we haven’t seen from the damage
that has already been done? It’s a
scary thought.
I know that I will encourage my
child to go into some sphere of en
vironmental study whether it be en
vironmental journalism, law or an
other related area because we’ll need
all the help we can get.
•Now that I’ve gotten that off my
chest, 1 have to comment about the
lawsuit tiled against Perry Police
Olticcr John Hardagc by the chil
dren of Anthony Hill (i.e. their
mothers).
Why not let it go? The GBI
lound no wrong doing and the DA
reviewed that report and agreed no
criminal charges should be brought
against the officer.
Also, I can’t sec using these chil
dren to bring a lawsuit against
Hardagc. First of all, no amount of
money will bring their father back.
Unfortunately, nothing will bring
their father back.
And another thing, how do these
attorneys hired plan to get $8 mil
lion Irom a police officer? It seems
pretty impossible to me.
II any money is received for the
"children”, minus the attorneys’ cut
Please see HAMILTON, page 12A
With new leadership in die White
House and more than 120 new
members ot Congress who cam
paigned on the need for change, we
have an historic opportunity to
clean up Congress and rid
Washington of the corrupting influ
ence of special interest money. But
action must occur quickly, and the
change must be more than cos
metic.
comprehensive reform must in-
Please see GUEST, page 12A