Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

• Wednesday, August 3,1994, m Houston Tkna a-Journal Page 4A Viewpoints Houston Times-Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069 Phone: (912) 987-1823 Th* Houston Tlmoo-Jourral (USPS 000471) It published tomi-wookly for 118.00 por yotr by Houoton Publlcttiono. Inc., 107 Carroll Strati, Parry, Ga. HOOO.Sacond Claaa Poatago paid al Parry, Ga.,POSTMASTER: Sand addraaa changaa to tha Houston P.O. Drawar M.ParryGa. 31060. ISSN:IO7S-1574 Bob Tribble Daniel F. Evans Julie B. Evans Mitch Tribble President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Jim Kerce Editor and General Manager Eddie Byrd Advertising Manager News: Jimmy Simpson, Pauline Lewis Sports: Veto Roley Composition: Melanie Bullington Classified Advertising: Melanie Bullington Bookkeeping: Judy Morrow Circulation: Donnie Forehand Your opinion Reader shocked at books Dear Editor: Several weeks ago, I made a disturbing discovery at the Perry Library. While walking past the reading tables in the adult section, I saw a tabloid sized newspaper entitled “Southern Voice” at an unoccupied table. Being interested in things Southern, it naturally caught my interest and upon closer investigation I discovered what it really was: a homosexual newspaper! Not knowing whether it belonged to the library or to a patron who left it, I left the library rather stunned, deciding to investigate further when I had more time. Well, after additional investigation I discovered it belonged to the library, with a place in the magazine and tabloid rack in the adult section. In a reply to a letter I subsequently wrote to the library, I was told by the library that this “gay “ paper was a gift donation and that the Houston County Boards “policy is that it is the parents’ place to censor what their child reads and not the public Library”. Since then, I have discovered another homosexual publication in the magazine and tabloid rack: “The Advocate”, a magazine. And sitting nearly in the adult section near the rack was a boy 10 years old or maybe a little older, reading a magazine. He may just have easily picked up “The Advocate” or “Southern Voice”. I hope you will publish this letter in order for parents to be informed and have the opportunity to investigate and do their own censoring. Placing this poison in the adult section can not prevent it from falling into children’s hands. I ran upon one of these degenerate rags by accident and so can an impressionable child. I have enjoyed our library in the four years I’ve lived in this area. It’s been an asset to the community. But risking the exposing of innocent young minds to the godless propaganda of perhaps the most evil social movement in America today is irresponsibility on the library’s part And if Bible believing parents who love their children sit idly by and do nothing, this cancer can become firmly entrenched in this area and cause great harm. Sincerely, Phillip Bonine Glad to have editor return Dear Editor: On behalf of the Perry Kiwanis Club, I want you to know we are happy to learn that you will be Editor of the local Times-Journal. We missed you and are glad you made this decision to return to Perry. You bring a lot of savy and experience to this community. Your paper is a very important part of our lives and enriches the town of Perry. We appreciate the fact that you have continued your Kiwanis membership. Please attend if your busy schedule allows you to do so. We like your staying in touch and appreciate so much the coverage your paper gives to Kiwanis events and participations. Pauline Lewis and Veto Roley have been very responsive, also Brigette and Brenda. Finally, I think your decision to publish only one paper each week is a very wise move. It makes much more sense for your staff to scramble and meet one deadline with a well put together, expanded paper than to do this twice a week. You may want to consider a special second edition in a week that some highly unusual event occurs, e.g. the 1994 Flood or some similar newsworthy evenL That should come up only rarely. We wish you continuing success and hope to see you at Kiwanis meetings. Sincerely, Deryle T. Whipple, MD Nation’s morals are falling Dear Editor: The morals of our nation are falling fast. We have already witnessed many, ma'iy situations that prove that God is not pleased with our falling away from His love. It is certainly wrong to kill babies before they are bom. This is murder of the first degree, and yet killing babies has been made legal. This is a great sin in the sight of God. It is a sin to uphold homosexuality. Our President endorsed homosexuality to gain favor with them to get their votes. The Bible teaches us to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. So many of our citizens act as if there is no such thing as the Sabbath Day. God is long suffering but this does not mean forever. Dear people, let me ask once again, that we mend our ways and try to please our Lord. He has all power in Heaven and earth and he can bless us or punish us. His blessings are far better, which do you want? I am legally blind, and I am writing this using a magnifying glass. My grandson, David, types it for me. Sincerely, Geo. R. Hunt 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. Our Goal The Houston Times-Journal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston and adjoining counties by Hou»ton 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. Member Georgia Press Association-National Newspaper Association "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redree of grievances." Your right to road thia newspaper la protected by tha Flrat Amendment of the Uni lad Stalaa Constitution Good to see great minds at work After returning to the wort: place in Perry, it’s amazing how things change after just a few years. On the streets, one can hear everything from politics, to romance, to who got arrested. Just name it, someone you know has been involved in some way or another. But there’s also a different side to this city. It’s amazing how many graduates return to Perry to make a name for themselves. I can’t possible name them all, but all of you know who you are. When I was in high school (I won’t reveal the year because I’m getting on up in age somewhat), I always said, “I’ll never live in Cordele again.” But if the opportunity presented itself several years down the road, I’d probably go back in a minute. Not that there’s nothing wrong with Perry, but like the old saying goes, “There’s no place like home.” Did you think of mom’s cooking as just “ordinary stuff.” You know, complaining that you were having beef roast again instead of hamburgers or hotdogs? -=TUE PEAJUT<SiU.LERY I’D LIKE^N ( TO APPLY &R ) STREET TALK: Recently, Legislature discussed the possibility of extending the school year to make it mandatory for students to attend year-round. We asked people on the street, “Do you think Houston County students would benefit, or do you feel students’ schedules are already demanding enough?” / HP *W mm David Lester “I don’t think students would benefit. They need a break. School is tiresome and worrisome.” Tim Knight “They need some kind of break. They’d probably lose some intensity. I’m in school, and it gets tough.” Houston Times-Journal BS J imm y L Simpson I What could we have possibly been thinking? A substitute for mom’s food is like a Cadillac in place of a volkswagon. Nothing against the wife (just in case she gets ahold of this), but returning home also offers some of the finest cuisine that this world could offer. My mom usually calls once a week to see how the family is doing. I always anticipate that question, “What are ya’ll going to be doing Sunday?” “Nothing, mom,” I reply. “Well, we’re going out of town...” My mouth drops open. I just knew that she was going to invite us to lunch. What a letdown! After a long pause, I suddenly /f|jl# M', fjm 4 * W 4 * ’ * *’ ~ r / ifaj Roger Schrott -I think they would benefit. (The year-round proposal) would keep them out of trouble and off the streets. J. Wienand “Yes, I think they would benefit. It would keep them off the streets. It would do them good.” respond so as not to make her think that we were expecting an invitation. You know that line... “Well, we were probably going to go off anyways. Yeah, right. And Elvis just delivered the lady’s baby across the street... That brings me to my true confession. I am practicing to be the world’s greatest cook. That’s right, C-O-O-K. A trip to the local bookstore helped me tremendously. Peggy Boswell, who purchased the store a few months back, is truly my inspiration. If anyone has faith in me, Peggy does. She’ll call me once in a while and say, “Jim Bob (that’s my other name), I’ve got this great new book in. It’s low fat and I think you would love it.” I don’t know if I’m a wannebee, or just a pretender, but I try my best to act like the last recipe I used was one that President Clinton requested at the White House. After all, why waste the time to cook it, if you can just picture it and then run out to get a burger... v_ aslph Teresa Hawk "No. I know my kids need a summer break. They probably wouldn’t make as good of grades.” Jeffery Bloom "No. I think everybody needs a vacation. Most people get (a vacation), so why shouldn’t students...” ■ Veto L Roley I Staff Writer I —iii i Him i I Thoughts on a Pensecola sidewalk A man comes out of a building. He sees another person holding a gun on someone. There is no doubt that there will be a murder in just fractions of a second. The man coming out of the building has a gun. The only way that he can save the man who is about to be shot is to kill the shooter. A shout of warning will not suffice, a warning shot would be useless, pleading with the shooter would fall on deaf ears, in juring the shooter would only result in the shooter's taking renewed aim and killing the man he was intend ing to shoot. The only way the man exiting the building can stop the murder is to kill the shooter. The question is simple. The question is not a question of legal ity, but a question of ethics. Does the man exiting the building have the obligation to kill the shooter? It's 1939. You are in Berlin. You, who are blond and blue eyed and of obvious Aryan descent, are watching a procession going down the railroad station. Nazi soldiers are herding a group of families to a ramshackle railway car. The families have on their lapel a bright yellow Star of David. Tension rises from the ground like heat waves on a hot day. There is also the aroma in the air of smug certainty, of racial superiority. Al ready, there are those of your coun trymen gathering around, yelling insults at the helpless families. You know where they are going. A group of your friends are in the nascent resistance movement. You know that these families’ lives are now measured in hours and days in stead of years and decades. You know because you have been asked to join the group, to possibly give up your life to pro tect others, to possibly take life so that others might live. What do vou do? It's a Friday afternoon. You are standing in front of an office of death. For days you have watched two people go into this office, while only one came out alive. The man responsible for the butchery drives up, parking his car. Beside him is his body guard. In the back seat is his wife. You have the chance to end the genocide in the office. It's in your hands. What are you going to do? Please do not get me wrong at this point. As much as I am against abortion, considering the act to be the taking of human life, as much as I deplore the what Dr. John Brit ton did for a living, what Paul Hill did in Pensecola was an atrocity on the level of what Britton did in Pensecola. Yet, I think that we need to come at this from Hill's perspec tive. For it is from this perspective that we can gain some understand ing of what the issues are in the abortion debate. Hill looked at abortion as being murder. He saw the clinics as being similar to the gas chambers oper ated by the Germans during World War 11. And, so he acted. To me abortion comes down to whether man is no more than an an imal, or if he is, as we state in the Declaration of Independence, a spe cial product of a Creator. If man is no more than what Stephen Gould and others like are saying, then anything goes, since we are no more than intelligent an imals. But if there is a Creator, and if man is created in His image, then men is special, and abortion is the destruction of this special life. The case of Hill, however, dif fers from the first two cases. In the first two cases, violence might have been the only way to stop the genocide. Hill had other choices. We, in America, live in a democracy, a nation of laws. If you do not like the law, work to change it. Since we still have the right to protest, to vote, to assemble, to print, etc., there were other options available to Hill to change the law. "'Justice is mine,’ says the Lord, 'I will repay.'" (Romans 12:19, NEB) If nothing else, Hill should have waited for the God he pro fessed belief in to act.