Newspaper Page Text
page 4A
- Wednesday, March 2,1994 " Houston Times-Journal
Viewpoints
Our Opinions
English Should Be Official
There has been an effort to get the Georgia legislature to designate
English as the state's official language.
It should be.
It should be the official language of the United States, too. Otherwise
we are encouraging the use of many different languages and segregation of
people in the United States by language.
Fix' decades the federal government has fought to eliminate segregation
by race. If segregation by race is bad, so is segregation by language.
The Georgia senate passed a bill designating English Georgia’s official
language. It probably will be defeated in the House.
If anyone doubts that dividing people by languages is bad they need only
look to Europe and other parts of the world where people are killing each
other because of their lack of unity and the barriers put up by lack of a
single language.
The unique thing about the United States as it grew from several colonies
only 200-odd years ago has been the fact that it has been a melting poL
People have come here from all over the world, bringing different cultures
and languages. And they have become part of the country where all can be
accepted by becoming Americans and adopting this country's language.
In recent years there have been many races, many cultures with many
languages who have begun to refuse to become Americanized. They want
to share the benefits and the bounties that the United States provide, but
they want to remain different, too. They are becoming hyphenated
Americans...people who say they are Americans but want to add the
country from which they came, too.
In our opinion you are either an American or you are not You can’t be a
100 percent American and be hyphenated.
Regrettably we have seen polarization of races and cultures and language
in recent years, and it does not bode well for our country.
Polarization could lead to much disruption in the wonderful country we
have been handed by our forefathers and as a result it could disintegrate.
One language for all of us makes sense. We hope our leaders in Atlanta
and Washington make sure of this and do not succumb to pressure groups
just for the votes that are available.
Beware Those Potato
Launchers
Television has given us a new and dangerous weapon, which, in the
hands of the wrong persons, could prove deadly.
An episode of the TV show "Picket Fences" featured a "potato launcher",
which was used by a teenager to cause a wreck after shooting a car.
Naturally, anything so unworthy of duplication caught on immediately.
Now potato launchers are showing up in Middle Georgia and around the
country.
They are bazooka-like devices which use hair spray for gunpowder and
can fire projectiles-usually potatoes-with enough force to break a piece of
plywood 50 feet away. The barrel of the potato launcher is PVC pipe
which, after being used several times, can become weak enough to
explode.
An enterprising resident of Fayette County began manufacturing potato
launchers and selling them for between S3O and S4O. Under pressure, he
supposedly has given up this pursuit.
For the benefit of anyone who might come into possession of a potato
launcher, it might be pointed out that anyone possessing one could be
charged with possession of an explosive device. There could be other
charges for damage to property and assault
Just one note: Law enforcement officials tell us that the potato launchers
are so powerful they could kill someone. Enough said.
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Editor
Houston Times-Journal
P.O. Drawer M
Perry, GA, 31069
Houston Times-Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069
Phone: (912) 987-1823
Member Georgia Press Association-National Newspaper Association
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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
Advertising Director
News: Brenda Thompson, Pauline Lewis, Bill Overton
Advertising:Teresa M. Gailan
Classified 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
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Send address changes to the Houston Times-Journal, P.O. Drawer
M.PerryGa. 31069
Daniel F. Evans
Vice-President
Julie B. Evans
Treasurer
Don't Expect Legislators To Pass Term Limits
MEMBERS of the Georgia
legislature have been receiving
some scathing criticism lately
because they won't approve term
limits for themselves.
This legislation has been bottled
up in committee for a long time
and it is doubtful it will see the
light of day for a long time to
come...if ever.
Why?
Isn't this what the people
want. ..overwhelmingly?
Of course, it is.
But that has nothing to do with it.
If the legislative leaders let term
limits become law in our state all
of them would be on the outside
looking in because they are the
ones with the longest tenure in
office.
Does it make sense, really, to
expect them to vote themselves out
of office?
Look at it this way: If you held a
job for 12 years and liked the job
would you do something to get
yourself fired? Of course not.
After all, the members of the
legislature are human. They
obviously like what they are doing
or they would not seek reelection
every two years. To expect them to
pass a law that would send them
home and strip them of their power
would be expecting too much...of
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Crime Is On The Rise Everywhere-Even Perry
Yes, it's an issue on everyone's
mind-CRIME.
From the big city to the small
town, crime has become a focal
point for citizens and law enforce
ment officials; and, unfortunately,
Perry is no different
With the front page of the news
papers) I've worked on in Perry be
ing filled with more and more news
of violence, shootings and the like,
I asked our local police captain this
week what our local department
will do in the face of this increase
in violent crimes.
Your Opinion
Gallaspie Urges Readers
To Support Senate Bill 674
Dear Editor:
For the past 18 years of my life, I have been confined to a
wheel chair. My life changed from what people called a
promising athlete and a football scholarship hopeful to
something far less the night of my high school prom.
I was just like a lot of boys my age—carefree, happy and s
thinking I had the world by the tail. That night I made the
biggest mistake of my life. I thought I was being cool. I was
drinking and by the tune I left for the prom, I was drunk.
I lost control of my car and smashed into a ditch. My back
was broken and so were just about all my hopes and dreams.
Why did I drink and drive? Why did I play Russian roulette
them or even ourselves.
So we can talk term limits all we
like...for the legislature and for
congress...but don't hold your
breath until it happens.
SUPPORT for a constitutional
amendment requiring the congress
to adopt a balanced budget is
gaining support.
Sensible people are seeing
runaway deficit spending and see a
balanced budget requirement as the
way to head off national
bankruptcy.
As someone pointed out recently,
congress has the ability now to
adopt a balanced budget Why do
we need a constitutional
amendment?
Well, the truth is that congress is
not going to balance the budget
voluntarily...ever!
There are many things
congressmen have on their minds
but the foremost is getting
reelected. They know the best way
to assure reelection is to spend,
spend, spend in ways that will
make the folks back home believe
they are indispensable.
In other words, pork barrel
politics reigns supreme.
A constitutional amendment
requiring a balanced budget would
ruin the country. Hogwash. It
First, let me start off by saying
he, as well as the chief, is con
cerned.
I can think of five shooting sto
ries I've written in about the past
month. Only one has resulted in a
fatality, but the thing that shocks
me is that teenagers, children, are
being arrested as the gunmen.
T hat's where the local police de
partment, and thankfully, the
school board agrees that prevention
should begr 1
Weapons ai;d Violence Education
(W.A.VE.) is probably something
Houston Times-Journal
Saturday, February 26,1994 - Page 4A
won’t. It might require higher taxes
to keep going as we are n0w...0r
belt tightening to live within
incrane available.
From what we have seen in recent
elections, the overwhelming
majority of the poeple want belt
tightening and they want a balanced
budget And they want hundreds of
wasteful, unneeded programs
eliminated and others run efficiently
and economically.
The odds are against either,
unfortunately.
COUNTY commission chairman
Sherrill Stafford has let it be known
he will seek reelection. Since the
qualifying fee for elective office is
based on a percentage of the salary,
the question arises whether the
qualifying fee for full time
commission chairman will be based
on the salary called for when the
job was created or the salary
Stafford is now drawing after annual
raises. There is a difference of
several thousand dollars.
EAGLE EYES: Some oldtimers
in Perry noticed something familiar
about the name across the front
page of this newspaper. Readers
familiar with the old Houston
Home Journal of some 20 years or
you've read about in the local
newspaper before. I think it is a
great idea.
Teaching children in a way simi
lar to the D.A.R.E. program (which
has seen great success) that death is
final, that guns are real and that vi
olence begets trouble, imprison
ment, death and a life going
nowhere is something I feel our
teenagers need to face.
There are other solutions, too.
Our local police chief has come up
with some good ideas to better in
tegrate our police force with the
with alcohol and my car?
I've asked myself those questions more times than you can
imagine. Over the years I have come up with at least one
answer. It wasn t that I thought the rules did not apply to me
u f b f ir, g “d I just believed that it was no
big deal. I felt, like so many of my friends, that if I was
beduu? by thC pollCe ’ 1 d get m y hand slapped and that would
From my perspective in this wheel chair, I can tell you with
certainty that if there was a law in Georgia that said as a teen, I
would lose my driver s license for a period of time for a DUI
hav J er ) e 1? to get my attention. I knew,
even then, that my dnver s license was my freedom and losing
MX m ° nths ’ woul d he unacceptable to me and any
I say this to urge your readers to call their state
representatives and demand passage of Senate Bill 674 which,
fmm^?V WIU do jhosc things which would have prevented me
from drinking and driving when I was a teenager. I would not
wish my fate on anyone else and this proposed law does just
Please see LETTERS, page 'IOA
so ago noticed that the type looked
just like that used by the Home
Journal then. Great effort was
taken when placing the name
Houston Times Journal across the
front of this newspaper to bring
back the exact type style that
oldtimers remember and identify
with a newspaper most of them
grew up reading.
CUT OFF MONEY: They have
decided not to fly the Georgia flag
at the Atlanta-Fulton County
Stadium in the future. It's their
decision to make in Atlanta. One
legislative spokesman says this is
an insult to the state and money
being received by Atlanta's stadium
authority should...and may...be cut
off. A recent survey showed that
most Georgians like the present
flag and, clearly, it is an insult to
the state for the Atlanta group to
refuse to fly the Georgia flag. But
in Atlanta you can expect anything.
|Loudermilki
* I |
community and help curb the vio
lence and drug dealing on our
streets. When City Council receives
Please see EDITOR, page 10A