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Viewpoints | Our Opinions | Heroes needed: No experience required If someone were to ask "What is a here? ” most people would probably reply that a hero is one who is recognized for outstanding courage, brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is usually considered a role model or ideal person. The title of hero is often given to someone who saves another person's life, often at great personal risk. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes, all races and religions, and from all backgrounds and levels of education. A great number of unheralded heroes live in our area. While they have not experienced great personal risk or sacrifice, their spirit of heroism is evident. This is because they have done something to help save a life or to improve the quality of another person. What noble deeds do these heroes perform? They give blood! In fact, this summer, all blood donors could be considered Super Heroes. During the summer months, there is usually a severe drop in the number of people who donate blood at American Red Cross blood drives. Vacations, school closings, and more active lifestyles of summer are frequently cited as reasons for the decline in the number of people who volunteer to give blood. Yet, every day in the United States, one out of every 10 hospitals needs blood--one patient every 12 seconds. The overwhelming majority would die without it. Their need can only be met by healthy volunteer blood donors. When most people think of the need for blood, they generally think of emergencies, but for thousands of Americans, it's a way of life. For example, people who suffer from sickle cell anemia, cancer, heart disease, leukemia, and other major illesses need blood transfusions to survive. For these people, every donor is a hero. Most healthy people age 17 or older, who weigh at least 110 pounds are able to give blood. And you can give blood every 56 days. So how about it? Want to be a hero this summer? It's free. It's easy. It'll make you feel good. It may even save a life. Maybe someone you know. In support of Lightle Dear Editor: Ive known Bill Lightle for quite some time. He comes from a working class background and has worked his way up to a graduate degree and teaching position in American History. Bill is the kind of man that remembers where he came from and the people he grew up with. Bill has always been a leader-in athletics in his earlier days when he was an all-around athlete; in education where he works on issues related to improving education; and now as a candidate for Congress where he listens to the people and works to represent them faithfully. Lightle's idea of adopting an 800 number for the entire Bth district is an example of his desire to keep in touch with the people. Why should a constituent have to place a toll call to be heard? An 800 number is a good step to providing citizen access and better representation. Bill Lightle is a man who is level-headed, caring, and enthusiastic. He would make a great representative in Congress. Sincerely, Roger Marietta, Albany Deadlines For Submitting New Articles and Photographs 5 pm Monday for Wednesday Edition 5 pm Thursday For Saturday Edition “*■' " ' ™ Houston Times-Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069 Phone: (912) 987-1823 Member Georgia Press Association-National Newspaper Association mni ** MU tub j'""' (yif on* afwAjjATuy tIL. p.npf.. to/ aruiv to. pwXiXw/v tk«. @ m. np ...a. Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment ot the United States Constitution. Our Goal The Houston Times-Journal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Houston Publications lnc.,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 Daniel F. Evans Julie B. Evans Mitch Tribble President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Our Staff Brigette Loudermilk Editor and General Manager Eddie Byrd Advertising Director News: Brenda Thompson, Pauline Lewis Sports: Veto Roley Advertising Jimmy Simpson Composition: Stacey Shy Classified Advertising: Melanie Bullington Bookkeeping: Judy Hubert Circulat'on: 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. 155N.1075-1874 Should we change the players this election year? Maybe Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington based public policy research institute, wrote a column recently about big government and whether or not the American taxpayer was getting his money's worth. In the column Feulner compared the way business operates to the way governments operate, which provoked some thoughts of my own. Businesses will make refunds on their merchandise or services if the product doesn't work properly, yet the taxpayers never get "refunds" on government programs that don't work. All we do is continue to pay more taxes in an effort to fix that failed government program that we didn't need in the first place. The average American family with children, paid only two percent of its annual income in federal taxes in 1950. Today, that same family pays almost 25 percent of what Am. / y Perry Scrapbook Forrest Johnson and his mother admired all the trophies he was awarded at Perry High's Spring banquet in 1990. Johnson won no less than seven awards, including the Houston Home Journal's Top Male Athlete award. Johnson also received a University of Georaia full track scholarship. Memorial Day ceremonies are not the only way to honor heroes They said goodbye to their mothers and fathers, sisters aid brothers, and went off to war. They hugged their children tight, and kissed their spouses or sweethearts one last lime with a sense of the great longing that was to come. They left the towns and cities and farms where they had been bom and raised. They left schools and jobs, hopes and dreams, careers and callings. And they went off to war. They said they’d return. And everyone hoped and worked and prayed for that day. But they enver came home again. The remains of many were relumed to rest beneath the green grass of a thousand cemeteries in a thousand cities and towns across this great land. Some were buried where they fell, far from home. Thousands more fill the sprawling military cemeteries overseas. And the great oceans have swallowed the crews of a vast armada. The fate of untold numbers is known but to God. Each Memorial Day we honor the memory of those men and women who went off to war, never to return. Our nation owes its very existence to those who answered the call of duty. Thomas Jefferson said: "The ground of liberty must be gained by inches." Yes, by inches, and by the lives of those who fought for liberty’s hallowed ground. More than 6,000 patriots died in battle during the American Revolution. Who will honor their sacrifice if not those of us who are blessed to call America our home? The Civil War, which tore this nation apart, has since bound us together with the strength of a common history that we might not otherwise have had. We lost 500,000-North and South-in that war. In World War 1, 116,000 lost Houston Times-Journal they earn to the federal government, and by the time you add state and local taxes, the percentage jumps to 38 percent. And that figure will increase thanks to the 1993 tax increase passed by the Clinton Administration. Let's look for a minute at two areas of our federal government's spending that has increased tremendously over the years. During 1994 the Department of Education will spend $30.3 billion, and the Department of Justice will spend $10.2 billion. Any of us laymen know that even after these huge expenditures school achievement scores will not go up, nor will the crime rates go down. Should business increase their spending in targeted areas at the levels these two departments have over the years, without doubt you would see positive improvements in those areas. their lives in service to America. Who will cherish their memory and mourn their loss if not all Americans who love this country? World War II saw 400,000 U.S. servicemen and women lose their lives. Then came Korea, Vietnam, and more recently, Desert Storm. And we must not forget those who have died in our latest peacekeeping missions. In all, more than one-million Americans have died in war since our country was founded. Who will remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion to the cause of justice, freedom and democracy if not those who live under the protections of these great principles? All Americans--"We The People"-must remember what they fought for. We the people must cherish their memory and honor their sacrifice. Memorial Day ceremonies are not the only way to honor our fallen heroes. Whenever we show respect for the American Flag, we honor our war dead. Whenever we vote, we confirm the democracy they died for. Whenever we exercise our freedoms of speech and to peaceably assemble, we honor their sacrifice. Whenever we gather in places of worship, we are blessed by this greatest of freedoms which they fought to protect. As national commander of The American Legion, I’m proud to say that throughout our organization's 75-year history, we've never forgotten our fallen comrades. Each Memorial Day, in cities and towns large and small across the United States, my fellow Legionnaires gather at cemeteries and town halls, at churches and in parks, to pay tribute to those who did not return. And overseas. The American Legion provides the 16,000 flags that decorate the graves of our fallen troops and allies each Memorial - Saturday, May 28,1994 "Houston Times Journal Page 4A Our federal government is noted for continuing to dump our tax dollars at highly increased levels into programs that simple have not worked, or programs that we once needed but have long run their course. Three decades and five trillion dollars later our government demands more money for a war on poverty that has been recognized even by most liberals as a failure. And then we have these wonderful, much needed pork barrel government programs such as the International Coffee Organization that will spend $947,000 this year and the Junior Duck Stamp Program that will spend SIOO,OOO. Small dollars when considering the overall federal budget, yes, but these are only two of hundreds of pork barrel expenditures, and the only way to remove them from the scene is to give the president line item veto power. A bit risky at Day. To the young people who may read this column, I want you to know that those we honor on Memorial Day did not die because they loved war. They did not. They loved the peace and freedom that is our American heritage. As General Douglas MacArthur said: "The soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." Thus, America's war veterans and our fallen comrades bequeath this heritage to our children and future generations: A free and just country unlike any other in world history. Soon, their young hands will steer the course that America will take into the 21st century. No doubt they too will face troubled times and crisis from within and without. No doubt there will be wars and rumors of wars. But America will remain strong if our young people step into the future girded with the knowledge of our country's proud history. On Memorial Day with grateful hearts we honor those who selflessly gave all they had to give. They died for their country, for their friends and families, and for you and me. Let us thank God for America. Let us thank God for those patriots who went off to war. And let us never forget those who did not return. Bruce Thiesen is national commander of the 3.1 million-member American Legion, the nation's largest veteran's organization Bob I J Tribble I present, but worth taking the chance on. We Americans have been shackled with high taxes for so long now we really don't expect to get our money's worth. Sometimes we don't expect government to even run efficiently because we have seen it take two employees to do what one should be able to do. If we get bad service or merchandise from a business, usually things will be made right. The only way to even start towards making things right in the government is to change the players. Remember, this is an election year. BVeto L Roley I Staff Writer I Remember our freedom Memorial Day Each time I say the Pledge of Allegiance, 1 have trouble. You see, I don't really pledge my allegiance to flag. Don't get me wrong, I think the flag is a beautiful piece of bunting. I feel a lot of pride as the American flag is raised, and the Star Spangled Banner is played. But, I don't pledge my allegiance to the flag. Almost 400 years ago, a group of Englishmen left their native country, bound for a land that they had only heard about, bound for a land filled with little but freedom, freedom to live the way that they chose, freedom to worship the way that they chose. After a long, hard journey, these people made windfall at Plymouth Rock. And, although St. Augustine, Fla., was founded roughly 40 years prior their land ing, they set up the first truly "American" colony. Freedom, sweet freedom. America was founded on the con cept that its citizenry should be free. The Declaration of Independence reeks of this freedom. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights ... That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." That freedom was carried over to the Constitution, written just over a decade later. The Constitution is a marvelous document of checks and balances on government, giving the ruled the chance to be free. And, yes, our history is abun dant with examples where we did not live up to the ideals of freedom. Our nation waged a war of genocide against the native people it found here, taking their land, and, our na tion built much of its early wealth on the slave labor of others, and many other examples I could point out. But these are the aberrations. Our nation was built on freedom, and the Constitution enshrines that freedom into the supreme law of the land. That is why I have trouble say ing the Pledge of Allegiance. It's not the flag that makes our country special, it's the freedom. Other na tions have beautiful flags and great traditions; but few have our love and respect of freedom. I pledge allegiance to the Constitution of the United States of America, and to the nation which it builds and forms from free citizens; one nation, under God, with liberty and justice to all. I think on this Memorial Day, we need to remember that people have died for the freedom that is given to us by the Cbnstitution. The price of freedom is the blood of patriots. Well over 1,000,000 sol diers have died defending the Constitution. The flag is beautiful, and the flag brings great emotions; but, other nations have flags. Other sol diers have died defending pretty pieces of bunting. Please see ROLEY, page 8A