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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. *74e *7 interimfawuiat 'tyuci *detten *7* ~7&e £di&vi. ‘Please rfcCcOtew, *76em: 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 Co aXo££ moSuA-l uv EoW' a/v c &La££\&sim*s\X. X a. biJLin-c^■ ti\«. CJt «/UUA«. an. tK*- Ap««xX, an. tX« pnnAA* an IXa. IXa. people. p«ic< aX to- aAAemii£e* a/vd to- p<i <ixxin tX «. @ a4«/m*n«fvt» |a/i a. t«dncc 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 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 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 TMf V£*Hvr~ 1 "\'y\ hzr£ to "you're all uiJd£r. ....'y ...... ARMSTr ' 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