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Viewpoints
Good news
Faculty and administrators of Perry
Middle School were among the many faces
in the crowd April 28 at the Georgia World
Congress Center in Atlanta.
They were there to celebrate the formal
presentation to the school of the Georgia
School of Excellence award, one of 25 such
awards presented that evening.
The presentation brings formal recogni
tion to work which faculty and administra
tors, coupled with parents and friends of the
school, accomplished during recent years.
The paperwork which was completed by
administrators and others documented the
projects which represent excellence in edu
cation.
The nomination and selection of Perry
Middle School as a Georgia School of
Excellence underlines the fact that buildings
and grounds do not make education, that
educators make education. That when a suc
cessful administration and faculty work with
students, parents and the community, that
excellent educational opportunities are
offered, no matter the shape or condition of
the bricks and mortar.
Perry Middle, a repeat performer as a
school of excellence, continues a strong tra
dition of honorees among Houston County
public schools. Almost every school in the
county has earned this honor during recent
years.
Bobby Pennington and staff, take a bow
for your hard work. You’ve earned the spot
light, enjoy it for a few moments as you
reflect on your efforts to make education in
this community good.
We also offer praise to the community for
supporting this school, and for helping make
possible some of the financial and physical
resources necessary to capture such an
honor.
As usual, Perryans have rallied to a good
cause and made it happen.
Good for all
State and local officials were on hand
April 29 to break ground for the Houston
County Probation Detention Center.
This facility, which should be open by
about this time two years from now, will pro
vide bed space for 192 low-security inmates
in a dormitory-style facility near the intersec
tion of Kings Chapel Road with the Perry
Parkway.
This facility will house low-risk male
detainees from the state corrections system.
These men are typically first offenders, or are
low-risk offenders, many of them incarcerat
ed for breaking probation or similar offenses.
They will typically remain at the center
less than one year. Most of them will serve
60-120 days. They will be seen frequently in
the community because all detainees are
expected to be on work details of some sort.
Some of these men will provide labor for
such activities as roadside trash pickup,
municipal painting and maintenance, and the
like.
While these men are prisoners in the sense
that they are held behind bars, they are
deemed by the state to be much lower risks to
themselves and the community than some of
the prisoners who were held at the Houston
County Correctional Institute which will
close within days.
The 30,000-square-foot facility, valued at
$ 1.6 million, will provide jobs for about 60
security and non-security personnel.
This facility is a plus for Houston County.
The detention center will become the 14th
such facility in the state, and is here largely
because of the work of the Houston County
legislative delegation at bringing the center
to the community.
This facility will not only be new, and will
meet all fire and safety codes at the time of
construction, but it will house people who
will be making a contribution to the commu
nity during their stay. That seems to be a
marked improvement over the former HCCI.
Houston Times -Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry, Ga. 31069
(912) 987-1823 • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
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Bob TVibble President
Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager
John Smalley Advertising Sales
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My ‘report’ on Bobby Penningtons final field trip
Asa reporter, I feel compelled to
give our readers the true story of
Bobby Pennington’s final field trip as
principal of Perry Middle School.
Asa participant in the event, I
report the events somewhat tongue in
cheek, and I will attempt not to embell
ish too much on the facts. (Ha, Ha)
The trip was billed as a trip to
Atlanta Monday night for the presenta
tion of the Georgia School of
Excellence award to Perry Middle
School.
What it really was, was an adven
ture —and here are some of the
details. Some details I will retain for
the inevitable hearing which is likely
to come of this matter.
The chartered bus was to leave
Perry Middle School about 4 p.m. for
Atlanta, to reach the Georgia World
Congress Center by 6 p.m. The bus left
on time, and all seemed well. I sat in a
seat near Pennington, the long-time
principal of PMS, and Skip Dawkins, a
member of the Houston County Board
of Education and a long-time friend.
All seemed well until we reached
the outskirts of Atlanta. The bus driver
suddenly abandoned Interstate 75
north for 1-285 west. We went west to
1-85, turned north by the airport, and
rejoined 1-75 a few miles later.
The peanut
sS Let's see... "'N
f do I have everything for
\ good round of golf? )
|f °Bag, clubs, shoes^glove
Reeling in the power of the IRS
April 15 is always a trying day for
me, as I ani sure it is for many of you.
We pay taxes all year long and then
when the deadline time comes it
always seems there are more taxes due.
It makes me question the old saying
that we live in a free country, for when
we look at these tax dollars going to
support it, the cost of living in this
great nation is anything but free.
We must be optimists about taxes
though. Those of us who have the
blessed privilege of paying 40 percent
of our incomes in federal and state
taxes should be thankful for the 60 per
cent Uncle Sam let us keep.
Yes, we should be optimists like the
guy who jumped out of the window of
a 10-story building. As he sailed past
the fourth floor someone inside heard
him yell, “So far so good!”
With that said, it does please me to
see some of our lawmakers introducing
legislation that will (or should) make
the Internal Revenue Service come
down off their totem pole just a bit.
A bill introduced by Sen. Paul
Coverdell, R.-Ga., will make it a crime
for IRS agents to “file snoop.”
According to the IRS more than 1,500
cases of browsing were reported during
1994-95, but only 23 resulted in firings.
This portion of the bill has the support
of IRS Commissioner Margaret Milner.
Coverdell’s bill also requires that all
audits be justified and prohibits random
audits and re-auditing a return unless
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Page 4A
Wed., April 30,1997
approved by a court in the course of a
criminal investigation. It also will limit
the IRS to three years from the time a
return is filed to conduct an audit.
Other provisions of the Coverdell
bill would
V Criminalize the actions of IRS
agents who abuse their authority by
disregarding procedures established
for collecting taxes.
V That IRS agents can be held per
sonally liable and accountable for their
actions. Presently, they cannot be.
V Would extend the period during
which citizens can pay their tax with
out penalty.
\ Grant a federal court authority to
dismiss a case of controversy involving
the IRS if it is shown that a similar case
already has been decided within the
court’s jurisdiction.
V Requires court approval of any
asset seizure and/or levy.
V Prevents interest from accruing on
the penalty added to a tax owed, and
requires that interest charged by the
Jj
Johnson
Editor
On to the World Congress Center.
While sitting in the audience, I was
thrilled with the beautiful sound the
Shiloh Middle School Jazz Band pro
vided. According to Dawkins, some
members of the Houston County Board
of Education have interest in establish
ing a magnet school which would
focus on fine arts and either math of
science.
The dinner was great. I didn’t ruin
my new tie, and the food was low fat
enough to be appreciated by all of us at
the table.
Soon the awards were presented,
and Bobby Pennington, in the final few
days of his principalship, received the
trophy for his faculty, students and
supporters.
And then the fun began in emest.
Our bus driver had apparently received
some bad information. He had been
told the party was to be over before
9:30 p.m. but his instructions said for
him to return to the Congress Center
Bob
Tribble
President, Houston
Publications
Houston Times-Journal
about 11:30 to retrieve his passengers.
Whatever, it was almost 10:45 p.m.
when the bus driver rolled the orange
coach into sight. Several of the men in
the group had been sent out in scouting
parties in pairs to search parking lots
near the WCC, the Georgia Dome and
the Omni. We found no signs of the
bus.
Fortunately, the faculty members of
Perry Middle School are used to
change and flexible schedules, for they
work with adolescents who are facing
one way at the start of a moment, and
are completely turned around-by the
end of the minute.
One or more of the faculty members
engaged in an impromptu demonstra
tion of “The Charleston” and some
other rather interesting moves.
Pennington kept his cool through all
of this. The faculty members did, too,
laughing and making the best of a situ
ation over which they had no control.
About 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, the dri
ver slowed the vehicle and came to a
stop at the top of the exit ramp at 43A,
Thompson Road.
After waiting for a vehicle to go by,
he let off the brakes, prepared to
engage the clutch —and nothing hap
pened. Oh the bus quivered with the
power being released, the engine
IRS be the same as it pays.
V Gives the taxpayer 60 days to pay
a tax resulting from honest mathemati
cal and clerical errors before penalties
or interest are added.
The vast majority of Americans feel
a moral obligation to pay all taxes due
our governments. We do not relate to
the man who wrote to the IRS, saying,
“I haven’t been able to sleep for the
past few weeks since I mailed in my
tax form. Therefore I’m sending you
$5,000 more in taxes. If I can’t sleep
after I send this, then I’ll send you the
other $5,000 I owe you.”
Unfortunately, there are some out
there who will do most anything to
keep from paying their taxes. The IRS
must have strong laws and authority to
deal with those who conceal and hide
monies and refuse to pay their just
taxes. The net result of folks who don’t
pay causes those who do to pay more.
But, also unfortunately, some IRS
agents, and some present laws, do put
a heavy burden and stress on honest
Americans who pay their taxes. Those
who want to pay every penny they
owe, but certainly not a cent more than
the code calls for.
Yes, it pleases me to see an effort by
our lawmakers that should bring the
IRS down off their totem pole just a
bit, putting them and the American tax
payer on a more level playing field.
(Bob Tribble is president of
Houston Publications.)
I Bk
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revved up, but the coach stayed put.
Dawkins, experienced in the opera
tion of vehicles with air brakes said
moisture had accumulated in the brake
line forcing the brakes to lock. The dri
ver had no tools suitable for solving
the problem.
Out came the portable phones.
Several spouses were called to come
rescue the faculty.
And they began to rag Pennington.
After all, this was likely his final field
trip since he retires June 30 after 30
years in education, the last 22 at Perry
Middle School.
He took all the guff goodnaturedly,
and smiled back at his teachers. They
casually demonstrated to me how
much they like him and like working
with him through their kidding and
their smiles.
At last, some blurry-eyed spouses
arrived and teachers began io depart
the bus and grab rides back to the mid
dle school to get their cars.
The final field trip was at an end,
with brakes busted and locked, a few
miles from home. The once shiny
orange bus was now covered with
spray from from passing vehicles, the
tires wet with residue from showers.
(See TRIP, Page SA)
Saxby
Chambliss
Republican in U.S.
Congress
Fight for Medicare
The Medicare trustees recently
released their yearly report on the
health of Medicare, our health insur
ance program for senior citizens. As
anticipated, the Medicare system is in
ill health and in need of serious treat
ment.
According to the bipartisan Board
of Trustees, which includes four
members of the President’s Cabinet,
the Medicare program is continuing
its slide toward bankruptcy. The
report reveals that the Part A Trust
Fund, which pays for seniors’ hospital
care, will be exhausted in only four
years.
In fact, the report shows Medicare
will lose another $lB billion in 1998
alone. Folks, that translates to loses of
about S4O million per day. The report
also projects the Medicare problem
will add SIBO billion to the deficit
from 1998-2002, if nothing is done.
The ailing health of Medicare has
not been a secret in recent years.
During 1995, for the first time in its
history, Medicare started spending
more than it took in through payroll
taxes.
Congress has been working for
more than two years to keep Medicare
functioning and to prevent millions of
seniors from losing their hospital cov
erage.
Unfortunately, election -year poli
tics prevented the White House from
working with Congress on a solution.
Hopefully this year’s report, and the
grave situation facing Medicare, will
allow the Clinton Administration to
put aside politics and work with
Congress to save this vital program.
During the previous Congress, we
were able to pass the Medicare
Preservation Act, which would have
allowed benefits to increase and out
of-pocket costs to decrease by provid
ing seniors with a choice of plans.
The legislation also increase
medicare spending per recipient by an
average of seven percent a year
through 2002, and did not call for any
increase in Part B premiums and
deductibles. Unfortunately, that plan
was vetoed by the President.
Our goal in Congress is to again
pass common-sense reforms which
will strengthen and protect the
Medicare Trust Fund well into the
next century.
I am confident Congress will also
pass a plan which simplifies the com
plicated billing and paperwork;
aggressively fights waste, fraud and
(See CHAMBLISS, Page SA)