Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

page 4A Wednesday, February 23,1994 “Houston Time*-Journal Viewpoints Our Opinions Could cause a shake-up Gov. Zell Miller is pushing for welfare reform in Georgia. Some of his proposals could lead to some real interesting developments. For example, adult recipients would have to wait 20 hours of community service a month. Not difficult But what about the real stinger? Women receiving welfare payments and living with an unrelated male would find their money cut off. How about that? From what we have been told, this could really shake things up, because allegedly there are thousands of such cases in our state...some, we are told, in Houston County. With welfare mothers receiving payments, food stamps and a place to live, it is some gravy train when an unrelated male moves in, often with income from a good job. Makes for a cozy situation with a lot of disposable income to spend. Now foreigners get into act Now the International Olympics Committee is getting into the flay concerning the Georgia State flag. Because of pressure from some African countries as well as state senator Ralph David Abernathy the issue continues to haunt the IOC officials. Abernathy says, "It's offensive to people, and I don't think they will accept..any kind of compromise unleSs the flag is changed." Some African nations and athletes are threatening to stay home if the flag is not changed. (See what Gov. Zell Miller caused when he popped off on the subject a year ago.) Seems to us the Georgia flag is our business. If some countries and athletes don't like it and threaten not to participate in the 1996 Olympics they should be encouraged to do just that It’s our flag. Georgians should resolve the issue, if there is one. Threats from foreigners of any race, color, creed or national origin should not be the factor that determines whether to retain the present Georgia state flag or change it. Unfortunately, the battle lines on this issue are clearly drawn now. Gov. Zell Miller, who saw his chance for reelection threatened after he demanded that the flag be changed, has backed off. The issue still could cost him reelection. It is a hot potato in Georgia. Outsiders only fan the flames. It will take a cooling off period for any reasonable discussion of the subject. About those gun swaps Have you swapped your gun for a movie ticket, a ticket to a Hawks game or a night with Madonna yet? Seems like a lot of cities around the country are trying to get people to turn in guns in return for something of value. Some people are responding. A few hundred out of several million in New York City. A few hundred in Atlanta. A few hundred here and there. But are the criminals who use guns as their tools in trade turning in theirs? We doubt it • * ’• »* ” » * * * v i * j t r t "• . * - , * These gun swaps are good publicity, but we doubt they will have any noticeable effect on crime. 'ZfauotoK 7toHe4rfoun4uil 0 2Vetco*He& £dcfo%. To: Editor Houston Times-Joumal P.O. Drawer M Perry, Ga. 31069 Houston Times-Joumal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069 Phone: (912) 987-1823 Member Georgia Press Association-National Newspaper Association C nuxLt no lo—i an eoto££i&km«nt. m. ojc-« ixuA<. a*t til«. aA> t&«/ psieOAf peapEe p«o.t«<iE.Eip to oAA«mE£a, cm<i to- pctilcao b/ ev /tedae*, Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Our Goal The Houston Times-Journal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Houston Publications Inc., Perry Ga. Our goal is to produce quality, profitable, community-oriented newspapers that you, our readers, are proud of. We will reach that goal through hard work, teamwork, loyalty, and a strong dedication towards printing the truth. Bob Tribble President Our Staff Brigette Loudermilk Editor and General Manager Eddie Byrd Advertiaing Director New*: Brenda Thompson, Pauline Lewis, Bill Overton Advertising. Teresa M. Gailan Clattified Advertising: Melanie Bullington Bookkeeping: Judy Hubert Circulation: Donnie Forehand Our Policies •Signed Letters to the editor welcomed. Please limit to 300 words and include address and phone number. •Liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied by the error. •We cannot be responsible for return of pictures or material unless stamped return addressed envelope is included. The Houston Times-Journal (USPS 000471) is published semi-weekly for SIB.OO per year by Houston Publications, Inc., 807 Carroll Street, Perry, Ga. 31069. Second Class Postage paid at Perry, Ga.,POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Houston Times-Journal, P.O. Drawer M.PerryGa. 31069 Daniel F. Evans Vice-President Julie B. Evans Treasurer The weirdos on daytime television dont appeal to me I HAD surgery a few weeks ago and found myself pinned down at home for a week. For the first few days my eyes wouldn't focus well enough to read. And you can only sleep so much. All that was left to do for many hours was watch television. You don't have to be able to focus your eyes to do that. It was a revelation. Nighttime television is bad enough. Daytime is something else. There is Donahue, Oprah, Sally Jessy, Mon tel, Geraldo, on and on adsnauseum. You wonder where they get all those people who appear on these programs. They must come out from under a rock. They have no modesty. They have no shame. They’ll say anything. Most of them obviously don't have both oars in the water. There's the mother who is sleeping with her daughter's boy friend. And there's the daughter THE p&MuT MM, M. MW With this edition, a change is taking place in Perry I guess most everyone knows by now, since you've seen the front page and haven't received two Perry newspapers today, that this is the "birth" of your new community newspaper, the Houston Times- Journal. With anything, change is inevitable, and to many I've spoken with, this is a welcome change. "Perry doesn't need two newspa pers" has been said to me many times. Being locally owned is another positive aspect of this merger and one that's been a long time coming. Personally, I am excited about the changes. Not only will I have more responsibility in my new po sition and Editor and General Manager, but I am also now af forded the opportunity to work with Your Opinion Dear Editor, Medusa Cement Company's Mike McKay stated in his Feb. 12th letter that their "track record speaks for itself." I asked EPA Region 111 in Pennsylvania for information on Medusa's Wampum, Pennsylvania plant. Medusa bums hazardous waste in three cement kilns in Wampum and they want to do the same thing with their kiln at Clinchfield. EPA informed me that Medusa had violated the Boiler and Industrial Furnace (BIF) rule multiple times during the period of August 1991 to March 1992. The Wampum plant exceeded the authorized dust metal concentration limits for arsenic, cadmium and lead in all three kilns. Medusa failed to reduce the feed rate to the kilns of these toxic metals once the concentration limits had been exceeded and Medusa failed to conduct daily monitoring of the concentration. Of the 13 complaints charged against Medusa, the EPA ranked sleeping with her stepfather. And the wife whose husband leaves her for another man. Also the wife whose husband likes to dress like a woman. There's the child molester who tells all and lets the audience shout obscenities at him for an hour. The wives whose husbands beat them and they go back for more and more and more. You name deviance from the normal and you find them on these shows telling all about it. Always there is sex. Every kind. Every weirdo with his or her version. Sex and violence and child abuse. Deviants all. You wonder, after trying to watch one of these programs, if you are normal. There are so many of them. Where, oh where, did they cane from? What kind of people are they? Are they doing it for money? Or fa the attention? If YOU think the people who appear on the program are weird, don't overlook the audiences. They're a bunch of weirdos, too. several people I consider to be the best in die business. Be sure and read the front page story on the staff members. We've merged the staffs and feel the final product will ensure the best news being gathered. Each is dedicated to producing the best newspaper for its readers. Right now, we are still working on combining the best of both worlds. Of course there is not enough time or space to print ev erything from both papers, so dur ing the next few weeks you will see some changes until we find what we feel best suits us. Of course we still want to cover all aspects of the community: the schools, city and county govern ments, civic organizations, church news, businesses, tourism, the They all are amateur psychologists. They know the answer to everything. They listen to the deviants and then know exactly what the answer to their problems are. Obviously they have been hand picked. You wonder how they find so many people who are such experts on so many subjects...at least they believe they are experts. Such smart people. They'll let you know in a hurry they know all the answers. Of course, Oprah and Donahue and the rest aren't shrinking violets either. They are authorities on every weird kind of behavior...they know how to solve all human problems. Such is the vast wasteland of daytime television (excluding, of course, the soaps which are so popular with many women. The soaps would have for X-rated movies a few years ago. Now they are family fare.) Why did I watch this Agricenter and features on you, your family, neighbors and friends. Our office is located on Carroll Street in the old Home Journal of fice and our phone number, mailing address and fax number remains the same. Let me say now that I consider it a great honor to be able to be a part of this change, a new era in the newspaper business in Perry. I was once told that a newspaper is the history book, so to speak, of a community. If the story is wrong, then history is changed because when looking to the past, the first place a person checks is with the local newspaper. Our goal is to save the commu nity with the best newspaper possi ble. We want to serve you and pro vide you an accurate record of the the potential for harm as either moderate or major. For all of the complaints the extent of the deviation was ranked as major. The total civil penalties assessed against Medusa exceeded $3.3 million. I also contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources which is responsible for enforcing the state air pollution control act. During the period from the 4th quarter of 1988 to the 2nd quarter of 1992, there was only one quarter that Medusa did not violate the act and oav n fine. Yes Mr. McKay, Medusa's record of repeatedly violating the rules which are established to protect the public health and the environment clearly speaks for itself. I predict more of the same in Houston County if Medusa is permitted to bum hazardous waste. Dale A. Clinbeard. garbage? Well, die eye's wouldn't focus. Reading was out of the question fa several days. But I did learn to sleep more than I ever thought possible. You can take only so much of this kind of stuff before giving up. I know they are designed to appeal to women. Maybe that's why I wasn't turned on by them. Apparently a la of people do look at them, because I read recently that Oprah earns more than $l6O million a year. Somebody must be listening. As fa me, I was glad when my eyes focused and permitted me to read, read, read! | Loudermilkl history of Perry. I hope we can produce a newspaper you will be proud of. I hope I can fulfill the promise I've made to you today by accepting the position that will help Danny and Julie Evans and Bob Tribble lead this newspaper into a new era for Perry. I look forward to being a part of this change and hope you do too.