Houston times-journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1994-1999, March 15, 1995, Image 4

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Newspaper Page TextViewpoints | Our Views | Frustrated sheriff, frustrated people During a speech Monday to members of the Perry Rotary Club, long-time Houston County Sheriff Cullen Talton expressed his frustration with a system which seems to release prisoners faster than Talton and his fellow law enforce ment officers can bring them in. Likely, Talton was somewhat preaching to the choir, for he is like many law-abiding Americans in that respect. Like Talton, these Americans are disappointed with a legal sys tem which allows those found guilty to serve seemingly brief sentences and return to the streets to commit more crimes. He, like most Americans, is also unhappy with the high rate of recidivism the habitu al relapse into crime in this country. Unfortunately, it would seem, the country is headed for worse times. The crime rate doesn’t seem to be going down, at least in any real measure, and the amount of illegal drug activ ity continues to climb. That same day, daily newspapers printed a story about increasing use of heroin in America, and how these new addicts were destined to become thieves to support their expensive habits. There is no easy solution to the problem. Much of the problem can be placed squarely at the feet of parents who do not make a concert ed effort to raise their children with moral val ues and with some semblance of respect for authority. As long as some parents, teachers, ministers and elected officials continue to set bad examples, children will follow their lead. At the same time, as long as Americans con tinue to sit in front of televisions each night which spew forth a venom of violence, sex and fast money, young people will copy what they see and quickly become regular clients of Sheriff Talton and his overcrowded jail. We appreciate Talton’s frustration. It is one shared by many. A change may take place when enough of us have had enough to begin to force a return to a more moral climate in this country. Until then, we won’t be able to build prisons fast enough to keep the criminals behind bars. Funding problem on the agenda Representatives of the various governing bodies in Houston County are scheduled to meet Thursday in an effort to resolve the fund ing problem for the Houston County Library System. While these elected officials have been wait ing to get to the negotiating table, Centerville Mayor Matt Keene has proposed a funding package which at least gives negotiators some thing to discuss. His suggestion would place more of the burden on the county government since 93,000-plus persons are residents of the county while smaller numbers are residents of Centerville, Perry and Warner Robins. His funding formula may not be perfect, but it does give the four governments a beginning point different from the current formula has the Warner Robins City Council members in an uproar over double taxation. We urge the negotiators to move quickly to resolve this matter. It’s time for the budget writers at the various governments to be putting together their plans for fiscal year 1995-96, which for most of them begins July 1. Members of the county library board are also ready to do their work, as their budget should be reviewed for adoption at the April 20 meeting. We also hope the meeting will be the begin ning point for continued negotiations concern ing other matters both funding and regula tions within the county. Many members of these bodies have spoken about arriving at common building code regulations for years, but there seems to be little progress toward that end. It’s time to quit talking about wanting to do something and start talking with each other toward a resolution of the matter. Houston Times-Journal P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll Street • Perry, Ga. 31069 (912) 987-1823* (912) 988-1181 (fax) Bob Tribble President Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager Sherri Wengler Advertising Manager News: Larry Hitchcock, Pauline Lewis; Sports: Phil Clark; Composition: Lynn Wright, Sue Sapp; Classified Advertising: Melanie Bullington; Circulation: Eric Zellars; Bookkeeping: Judy Morrow Pfcpfow*—„ About that Hospital Authority colu I read with interest Dr. Carl Beard’s Letter to the Editor taking exception to my column that criticized Hal Cotton’s way of running the Houston County Hospital Authority meetings. Then I went back and reread my column. I did not write anything that ques tioned Cotton’s long service at Robins Air Force Base. That service has absolutely nothing to do with his tenure as Authority chairman. As to Beard’s remark that I have been here only three months after moving from Tennessee, it doesn’t take more than one, or two, meetings for a journal ist to recognize when a board, or its chairman, is trying to keep the public from finding out how a public agency spends its money. Dr. Beard asked how could the budget “THE PEANUT GALLLH.'T~~Z /WE DON'T HAVE TO) WORRY ABOUT THE SCHOOL BULLY ANY MORE. CONGRESS fIS EATING OUR (K _ you Fire department uses paid, volunteer workers The Perry Fire Department is manned by 10 full-time and 12 volunteer fire fighters. As Chief of the Perry Fire Department, it is my responsibility to see that the city of Perry has well trained and equipped men and apparatus to respond to just about any given type of incident which may be encountered in our city. Our main objective is to provide fire defense for our community along with enforcement of fire codes for structures, which has a great impact on the severity of fire damage to a structure during a fire. Fire codes are written in such a manner as to prevent and/or hinder the spread of fire and smoke, thereby making the structure safer. The Perry Fire Department also pro vides fire safety education to its citizens. Simply stated, teaching you how not to have a fire in the first place but, if you do have a fire, what to do. The department has a very good edu cation program currently in the local Letter to the Editor GOP members get thanks from newly-named chairman Editor: This is a letter of gratitude to the participants in the Houston County Republican Convention which was held March 11. As the newly elected chairman of the Executive Committee and County Committee, I extend my appreciation to those who supported me, as well as to those who supported my opponent. There were many hours of work logged by fellow Republicans who actively participated in the campaign process. The electoral turn out was a demonstration that the Republican party is on the move in Houston County! It also demonstrated that we Republicans care deeply about our community, as well as, the direction of our state and nation al government. I extend my hand to all Republicans in Houston County. We are Republicans because we share the values expressed in the state and national party platforms. Please free to contact me by telephone at 953-2908 or by fax at 953-1715. I encourage persons who are in the unorganized precincts of Elberta, Recreation and Pearl Stephens to contact me for infor mation regarding organizing your precinct. I also encourage all precinct chairmen to contact me to discuss increasing your Wednesday, March 15,1995 Page 4A Our Policies Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page under the label of Our Opinions reflect the position of the Houston Times-Joumal. Signed columns and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this newspaper) reflect the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of this newspaper. Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit letters to 300 words and include address and a telephone number for verification purposes. No let ters will be published without verification. Letters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga., 31069, or brought to the newspaper office at 807 Carroll St., Perry. Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied by the error. We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is included. Our Goal TheJtouston Times-Joumal is published proudly for the citizens of Houston Larry Hitchcock M News Editor ** t>~ be given to the media when it was not completed. Cotton made the statement at the January meeting that the budget would be given to Authority members two weeks before the February meeting. I personally asked Mary Jane Kinnas, the director of marketing for the hospital complex and official spokeswoman for the group, for a copy of the budget when it was made available to the board. She called back and told me a copy would be Gary Hamlin Perry Fire Chief schools. Kindergarten through fourth grade students are targeted. Business organizations and civic groups are often given programs relating to fire safety and other matters. The Perry Fire Department also pro vides emergency medical response. Should a medical emergency arise and require an ambulance, fire personnel also respond to support the ambulance service. Fire personnel are trained and equipped to provide a certain level of medical service until the ambulance ranks or any other concern. I look forward to serving you for the next two years. I am excited about the opportunity we now have to effectively influ ence our county, state and nation. The influence I will promote is a return to the conservative moral values of individual responsibility, honesty, integrity, fis cal responsibility and respect of li% from the womb to the tomb. Pam Bohannon Warner Robins About our letters The Houston Times-Joumal encourages letters to the editor from our readers concerning issues of local importance. Form letters generally receive little consideration. Letters from writers outside our normal circulation area but written about local con cerns are considered for publication. Letters should be limed to 300 words and sent to the news paper at P.O. Drawer M, Perry, 31069, brought to the paper office at 807 Carroll St., or faxed to (912) 988-1181. All letters are subject to verification and to rejection due to libelous state ments. Houston rum-Journal M in the press packet at the next board meeting, the night the budget was voted on by the Authority. Dr. Beard is totally wrong in his inter pretation that the Sunshine Law was written to protect public institutions. Dr. Beard, the Sunshine Law was written to protect the public’s right to know and to have access to government agencies and legislative bodies. The only statement Dr. Beard made that I agree with is when he wrote, “The ‘loopholes’ you refer to are not ‘loop holes,’ but law.” Yes, the exceptions are the law. I made no mention of quality control or the purchase of the Sears property in my column. Dr. Beard used those two examples of the closed meetings Cotton has held. The law exempts discussions of arrives. A number of personnel are also trained to instruct CPR and first aid courses. The department as a whole trains the general public, including business employees, in these life saving courses. I am proud of our department and the job that they do and are capable of doing. The Perry Fire Department is constantly striving to improve in all areas as time and budget restraints allow. I, along with the department personnel, are ready and willing to help our citizens in any way possible. If any one has questions or concerns about our department or the services we provide, please do not hesitate to contact the Perry Fire Department on our non emergency line at 987-6524. (Gary Hamlin is chief of the Perry Fire Department. This column is pre pared each week by department heads from the city of Perry. To ask questions, send them to the Times-Joumal.) 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 this goal through hard work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the truth. Member of Georgia Press Association and 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 of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Your right to read this newspaper is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Houston Times-Journal (USPS 000471) is published weekly for $18.90 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, Perry, Ga. 31069. ISSN: 1075-1874. mn, part II land acquisition from the open meetings part of the Sunshine Law. I have no prob- ; lem with the executive session on the Sears purchase. But discussions of quality control problems at the hospitals are something new. The public has a right to know if either Houston Medical Center or Perry Hospital is having “quality control” prob lems that could lead to less-than-perfect medical care. Kinnas says the discussions were covered under another law that exempts “peer reviews” from disclosure. Dr. Beard’s letter also cast an ominous warning that future meetings won’t be any more open than in the past. It looks like it’s going to take a chal lenge by some news organization to set tle the issue unless Barbara Calhoun is more enlightened. Bob Tribble From Where 1 Sit We must balance the federal budget There was a letter to the editor in a newspaper recently which basically said it was wrong for this country to worry about operating on a balanced budget. The letter pointed out some areas of. spending which would have to be cut should our country have a balanced bud get, and the impact those cuts would have in these areas. Very frankly, it is hard for me to understand how we as a nation have stayed afloat for all these years without a balanced federal budget. Sooner or later, all the deficit spending will catch up with us. Maybe I relate the way the federal government is run too closely with the way we have to run our newspaper, and the way you other business folks have to run your businesses. Or even the way you homemakers have to control your household expenses. Common sense is that you cannot spend more than you take in for too long at a time or you might experience that thing called bankruptcy. Most of us know by now that the U.S. House passed the balanced budget amendment recently by a 300-132 vote margin, well above the two-thirds major ity for approval. When the amendment got to the Senate, it failed to pass by one vote, the true count being 66-34. Sen. Bob Dole switched from a “yes” to “no” to make the official vote 65-35 in a pro cedural move that will allow him to bring up the amendment for another vote later. Only 14 of the Senate’s 47 Democrats supported the amendment, yet all but one Republican was a supporter. Talk is that, come next year, Republicans will make this a major campaign issue. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, R-N.Y., said the amendment vote was “the most important issue since Congress’ vote for going to war in World War 11. And this is a war, we are going to war for the American people.” Democrats who opposed the amend ment did so mainly because they were afraid Social Security benefits would be jeopardized in the process to balance the budget. A New York Times-CBS poll showed 79 percent of Americans in favor of a balanced budget, but only 32 percent in favor if Social Security benefits were reduced in the process. I can full well understand that Social Security has been paid by millions of us for years and we are entitled to the full benefits we were promised, and not see our retirement money going into some social program or whatever.. Bottom line is that we need and can have a balanced budget without messing with Social Security. That program should be left alone and none of the funds tampered with. Republicans have vowed that Social Security will not be touched in order to balance the budget, (See TRIBBLE, Page SA)