Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Viewpoints Your Opinion Judge Cook is thankful for hospitality of court, county Dear Editor: From June 13th to June 21st, the Houston County Courthouse in Perry, Ga., was the setting for a murder trial which, due to a change of venue, had to be moved from Newton County-where the crime had been committed-to Houston County. I and my staff, all became temporary residents of Perry for the duration of this trial. We would like to thank the people of Houston County and your public officials for their hospitality and sincere concern for our comfort in your community during our stay. In particular, we would like to thank the Superior Court judges and their staffs for allowing us to use their offices and courtroom, the Clerk of Superior Court and her staff for their assistance in the jury selection process, and the District Attorney and his staff for use of their resources and facilities. Special recognition is due to the Houston County Sheriffs Office and its officers for the tight courtroom security they provided and for their transportation and housing of the defendant and several state witnesses who were incarcerated on other charges. We also greatly appreciated the friendly courtroom bailiffs who looked after our every need. Our utmost respect, however, must go to the citizens of Houston County who comprised the jury pool from which the trial jury of twelve plus two alternates who were chosen. Of those individuals, we extend our deepest and sincere thanks to those fourteen individuals who struggled with this case for seven days and six nights while sequestered away from their jobs and families at the New Perry Hotel. They were asked to make the greatest sacrifice of all and served their judicial system (and fellow Georgians) well. In closing, allow me on behalf of the citizens of Newton County to extend an invitation to all of the people we met along the way to visit our community so that the hospitality we were shown might be properly returned and rewarded. Sincerely, Alan A. Cook, District Attorney Alcovy Judicial Circuit Reader says she has found answers in ‘our kindest city’ Dear Editor, Could this be the answer? I just read in the July Reader’s Digest Page 53 about “Our Kindest City”. Twice in half a century, surveys acclaimed Rochester, N.Y. as the most caring city in America. In May 1990, my husband and I (both in our late seventies) were traveling from South Jersey to Brantford, Ontario and decided to spend the night in Rochester. We stopped at a Red Carpet Inn and were told there were no available rooms in the whole city-they had been booked up in advance because several events in the city the same weekend, the girl in the office phoned to a town about 40 miles west and located a motel with one vacancy and she made a reservation for us. Another girl in the office said she was just leaving and was going that way for us to follow her and she would take us to that motel! What a blessing for two tired senior citizens. “In 1831 Rev. Charles G. Finney held revival meetings in Rochester and roughly one-tenth of the city’s population was converted to Jesus Christ, and the impact on the life of Rochester was profound. The moral atmosphere of the city was greatly changed”-from the book by Peter Marshall/David Manuel authors of 'The Light and The Glory’ page 314. Could this be the reason 163 years later that Rochester, N.Y. is “Our Kindest City”? I believe this is the answer! When a person really accepts Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he gets a new want-to and shows in the way he lives. Sincerely, Esther B. Milby, Perry Houston Times-Joumal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069 Phone: (912) 987-1823 Member Georgia Press Association National Newspaper Association - ejuJOL mo&j*, n<a> rvaAfuaxAiry aru <vt> iiuar pi**, <W <W t£«r |VMA4| tW fMAC4ai^ta><U4vrvif( l ayvcL ta-p4 1 f4,14n/\>t&»9Q*l«/WTVfvt<^a*ia>/i«<4rt« l #>a^yM,«-3a/vo*A« 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 Daniel F. Evans Julie B. Evans Mitch Tribble President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Our Staff Brigette Loudermllk 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 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. ISSN:IO7S-1874 With these laws, it’s no wonder children run wild SOMETIMES you read something in the daily newspapers that makes you wonder what has happened to our world. For example: Last week in Cherokee County a young boy was putting on a show at a grocery store. Hitting his sister, being loud and abusive to customers, shouting at his mother. Really acting up. His mother slapped him across the face and told him that the way he was acting was not the way children should act. When the mother left the store with her children she was met by police who arrested her and put her in handcuffs. Some store employee had reported her for child abuse. The mother was charged with felonious child abuse and is out of jail on bail. What goes on in our state? Perhaps the mother should have whacked the boy somewhere else on his body. But a mother being arrested and charged with a crime that can carry up to five years in prison is ridiculous. According to news reports a law passed by the legislature a few years ago puts parents on the defensive when disciplining their children. Give them the kind of punishment they need and deserve and you can THE PEANUT GAUERY © /Htvrua ' in- JIF YOU DON'TX BEHAVE, I'MGOWA V spakk vou.^^y,— c=p !/ / TOUCH ME AND \\A| /1 nIM / I'Ll SLAP CHILD \Jj|HU, > / ABUSE CHARGES ON \ l|i|!|/|| you so fast iru ■I YOttß HEAP The real story of the Declaration of Independence In July 1776, John Adams wrote a letter to his wife Abigail in Massachusetts. He wanted her to know about an important vote that he’d just cast in Philadelphia as a member of the Continental Congress. The subject of his letter was the passage that day of something that would be called the Declaration of Independence. Adams wrote his wife that a single day in July 1776 would be honored-in his words-”as the most memorable in the history of America.” that’s a remarkable prediction to make about a nation that didn’t even exist. Other predictions that Adams wrote to his wife about that special day in July 1776 were right on target, too: “It will be celebrated by succeeding generations as a great anniversary festival. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parades, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations...from one end of the continent to the other...from this time forward...forever more.” John Adams got only one major detail wrong in his amazing prediction-he had the wrong date. He wrote his wife that he could foresee those parades and fireworks Voice Your Opinion ... Write a Letter to the Editor! All opinions published are not necessarily those of this newspaper, therefore all letters must be signed. Houston Times-Journal have your children taken away from you and you can be sent to prison. Some law! Perhaps the grand jury which will be asked to indict the mother in Cherokee County will have sensible, old fashioned men and women on it and they will say “no way". With such laws, no wonder children feel free to do as they please and defy their parents at will. * * * I LIKE a cartoon I saw last Sunday. The lady was telling her husband, “I wish the president would resign and let Bill run the country.” * * * ACCORDING to the Macon newspaper one-fourth of the families in Bibb County are p00r... Gosh, I can remember when 90 percent of the people were poor and this was before welfare, food stamps, television, radio, air conditioning, all of which are considered essentials...l can’t recall anyone complaining or blaming the government or their neighbors. It was a way of life and people struggled the best way they could to survive...lt was called the Great Depression... And it developed some strong, aggressive, right-thinking happening every year on July 2. That’s because it was on July 2, 1776, that the Continental Congress, meeting in a secret session, actually voted on the Declaration of Independence. However, we celebrate the Fourth of July as opposed to July 2 for two reasons. Most legal documents take effect when they are signed, which in this instance was July Fourth. More importantly, that was the day the delegates came out of their secret session and shared that incredible document with the entire world. The Declaration of Independence established a social contract that specified the proper relationship between government and the people. In this country, the people count. What’s important is the involvement of the people in managing their own affairs, not governmental bodies making decisions in secret. But, even the best elected representatives can forget that government is the servant of the people. Many of the 3.1 million members of The American Legion believe our own government needs to be reminded-right now-about how that relationship is supposed to work, the issue is the protection of the American flag. Page 4A - Wednesday, June 29,1994 “Houston Time&Journal men and women who were the people who fought and won World War II for us. * * * A NEW wrinkle in crime fighting? President Clinton has been quoted as wanting a law that would permit using racial quotas as a defense for committing a crime. In other words, a minority defendant in court could claim that a disproportionate number of criminals who are a member of his or her minority has been sentenced to prison than majorities have. Using the rationale, the courts would have to make sure that they sent to prison only the proper number of criminals in each minority-black, oriental, hispanic, etc.-and if not enough whites committed crimes and went to prison it would be prejudicial to send one of the minorities to prison. Quotas have been imposed in schools. Quotas are being imposed in many businesses under EEOC. Why not criminal conviction quotas too? “Sorry, your honor, you can’t send me to prison for killing that store clerk because my quota has been used up this month,” could be a good defense. Just five years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag is a form of political expression protected under the First Amendment’s free speech clause. That decision outraged millions of Americans who see the flag as a sacred symbol of our country, our values, and of the brave sacrifices made by our men and women in wartime. So, we went to our elected representatives in Congress to make our case. Congress passed a federal law outlawing desecration of the flag and eight months later the Supreme Court declared that new law unconstitutional. A subsequent attempt to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the flag failed narrowly. Ever since, we’ve been working throughout The American Legion at what we call the “quiet revolution.” And so far, 44 state legislatures representing more than 90 percent of the American population-have formally passed resolutions asking Congress to amend the Constitution to allow the states and the federal government to enact laws to protect the flag from physical desecration. Our “quiet revolution” is becoming louder. In the months ahead, we will ask for your support and your voice. You will be asked Commentator Paul Harvey said last week that there are enough votes in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the president’s quota agenda for crime, but so far there are not enough votes in the Senate. It will be interesting to see how THE NEWS report said that President Clinton has “quite simply fallen in love with Africa.” So he has pinpointed 17 “trouble spots” on the African continent where he will send more of our money than ever before...lt will be millions of dollars, of course, each year...l just have trouble understanding our leaders-president and members of congress-who keep finding new ways and new places to send money when every dollar of it is being borrowed and added to a national debt that soon will pass $4 trillion. It just sounds almost like treason. L Theisen I to join the Citizen’s Flag Alliance, a broad-based coalition of Americans from every part of the country who want to see the flag protected. “Old Glory” is precious to me. So is the idea that government should be answerable to the people. We’re hearing more these days about the search for values in America. If we need to find values, we can start with the values laid down 218 years ago in the Declaration of Independence: “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 among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted...” That’s still the best statement of who we are as people, what we hold dear, and what we will fight to preserve.