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Viewpoints
Our
Views
Treading water
As contractors have discovered
many times before, building on
the level land between Perry and
Warner Robins is relatively easy.
Easy, that is. until rains begin Then
building along those virtually level lots
becomes a quagmire of runoff w ater with
now here to go
The Houston County Board of Education
is certainly no stranger to dealing with
runoft That board wrestled with problems
after Houston County High School opened
along Ga five years ago.
Now. apparently, water coming from the
construction of a new Perry Middle School
lacing the Perry Parkway is leading to
problems for residents of the Cheshire area
Those residents say since construction
began, rain runoff has created massive
drainage problems in the subdivision which
is bounded by U S 41 North. Perry
Parkway and the Perry Country Club
Members of the Houston County Board
of Education have said they believe the city
of Perry has some responsibility to help
w ith the matter. The city countered by hav
ing a study done to confirm what residents
could tell already there is a water prob
lem in Cheshire.
Apparently the matter is now between
the two boards to resolve. As the winter
rams continue. Cheshire residents tread
water and hope for some action soon We
can t blame them.
We encourage the city and the school
board to work together to resolve this prob
lem before more building permits are
issued in the Cheshire area. More, we hope
the problem is resolved before the parking
lot at the new middle school is completed
and water begins skidding across asphalt at
a greater rate, headed south toward
Cheshire
As the community continues to develop,
it becomes increasingly important for city
and county regulations to deal with runoff
problems Waiting for the next rainstorm to
resolve guilt does nothing for residents
who are having their yards ruined by the
runoff.
A taxing issue
Editor: •
The two parly system in Georgia is beginning to
work Now the Democrats are. at least, throwing
the taxpayers a tew crumbs from the pic
My math may not be entirely correct but by
Using thC
figures in
the paper
I see no
real sav
ings to
t h e
Houston
Letters to
the Editor
P.O. Drawer M
Perrv, Ga. 31069
Count) taxpayers
Single taxpayer earning sl2.o<>o -late savings
$72.00.
Couple with two children earning 518.4(H) state
savings SIoH.OO.
Houston County officials arc proposing one per
cent sales tax increase. It this passes (if not proper
ty taxes will increase) and these same taxpayers
spend the entire amount in Houston County, these
are the figures I come up with
Single taxpayer earning 512.0(H): after one per
cent sales tax increase 5120.00
Couple with two children earning 518.4(H): after
I percent sales tax increase 5184 (H)
Stole scrvmgj Houston County increase Loss to taxpayer
$72 00 $120.00 —548.00
$l6B 00 $lB4 00 —516.00
This does not include your property tax being
increased by re-cx aluation which has occurred for
the past tew sears nor the possibility of paying city
property tax il Warner Robins Mayor Donald
Walker decides to take your property into the city.
Maybe- it more Republicans are elected we. the
taxpayers, could get a piece of the pie in lieu of just
the crumbs
Thomas A. Thornton
Kathleen
Houston Times -Journal
I*o Drawer M • HO7 Carroll Si • Pony. (ia HUM
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Despite words, plan is for bigger government
Last year President Clinton stood
before Congress and proclaimed ' the
era of big government is oxer
Unfortunately in his yearly Slate ol the
Union address lasi week the president
shifted gears m announcing dozens ol
new. hig government programs
In listening to ihe president s address.
1 kept asking my sell what sense u makes
proposing lo take more choices and
resources from American lamilies and
give them to the lederal government
In my lime visiting with constituents
in Georgia s Bth Distnct I have yet to be
approached by someone asking me lo
sponsor legislation creating more gov
ernment control and inlcrtcrencc in our
lives it is my conclusion that Americans
don't want bigger government:
Americans want belter government
And giving Americans and
Georgians better government is what
the upcoming session ol Congress is
all about
Giving Americans a belter govern
~~The Peanut Gallery i
I Why are you ) VOU * S 0“ ** me "
WHY ARC YOU eROWS U p pf
RRTttfe? wants to be just
uke the President.
Niagara Falls bigger than imagined
Though I had seen Niagara f alls on
television and in movies. I was not
prepared for what I encountered
Everything was bigger than I had
imagined, and there were far more
people than 1 expected, and the day
was far more beautilul than I had ever
anticipated
On both the American and
Canadian side, the governments have
done a very nice job of blending the
need to handle large quantities ot peo
ple with the need to keep things natur
al Once in the park, it's hard to
believe that the (alls are sandwiched
between two large cities
We approached the tails from the
upstream side the park is beautiful,
stretched out beside the river I loved
the rapids leading to the tails
My wife and I are whilewater
enthusiasts, and I couldn't help look
ing at the boiling water and analyzing
the route we d take to avoid hanging
up on the rocks. I wanted to put on a
life vest and jump into a raft or canoe
or just body surf
Downstream, though, the tails were
big
in the noise when viewing them
from above on the American side.
in the grandeur of width and
height when viewed from the
Canadian side, and
especially in the unbelievable
power experienced from the Maid of
the Mist" boat ride downstream ot the
falls.
Leaving from a dock a sate distance
downstream from the falls, the boat
slowly motors past American halls and
Bridal Veil halls, the two sets ot tails
which lie w ithin the United States bor
der
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger lypc on this page
under the lahel Our Views relied Ihe position ol the Houston
Times-Journal Signed columns and letters on this page land
elsewhere in this newspaper* relied ihe opinions ol the writ
ers and not necessarily those ol this ncwspapci
Signed letters 10 the edilor are welcomed Please limn let
lets lo MX) words and include addresses and a telephone
number lor verification purposes Letters are not published
without verilicalion I .diets should be sent lo Pt) Drawer
M Perry, (ia.. HUM* or brought lo die newspaper ollice at
HO7 Carroll Si Perry
t )oi liability 1 01 an error will not exceed Ihe cost ol spiRC
Wed., Feh. 4. IWH
PAGE 4A
Saxby
Chambliss
U S Rep R Ga
ment begins with preserving Social
Security so future senior citizens can
count on the same retirement security
allorded to their parents I was encour
aged lo hear the president join
Congress in calling lor the need to
address the future ol Social Security
and agree (hat a long-term plan to keep
the program solvent is a top priority
I caution the use ol a potential bud
gel surplus dollars lor any thing until a
long-range plan for retiring our nation
al dehi is in place
Another issue on everyone’s minds
is the impending showdown with our
familiar toe in the Middle Last Iraq
All agree that the need to neutralize
...and He saw
it was good
Dennis Hooper,
Columnist
The power ot these tails is evident
as the water explodes against the rock
rubble at the base
In contrast. Horseshoe halls has no
visible rocks at it base The sheer drop
propels the water deep into the huge
pool below
What a thrill as the boat moved
closer and closer to Horseshoe halls
Not only were the wind and mist over
whelming. the turbulence beneath us
in the water was delightful (remember,
we are whilewater enthusiasts i
We held a position in that turbu
lence tor about a minute it seemed
that the engines were running wide
open. fighting against the current
which wanted to drive us downstream
I wanted that moment to last and last
as I looked around at the beauty I
could see through the rising mist iand
the falling "rain" you get a little wet
on this boat ride’ l
The water droplets ot mist are
excellent prisms We were able to see
and photograph rainbows from
several vantage points.
Though it's an overworked word,
the whole experience was awesome.
And I was astounded to learn later that
the water we saw is only half of the
volume that used to flow here The
Canadian and American governments
now siphon oil about halt the available
water to use in hydroelectric power
generation Niagara balls is the largest
occupied by ihe error
We cannot be responsible lor the return ol pictures or sub
milled materials unless a stamped return address envelope is
included
Our Goal
Ihe Houston Times Journal is published proudly lor the
cili/ens ol Houston and ud)oining counties by Houston
Publications Inc Perry, (ia Oui goal is 10 produce qualilv
profitable, community oriented newspapers that sou our
readers, are proud ol We will reach this goal Ihiough hard
work teamwork, loyally and a strong dedication toward
printing ihe tiuth
Meinhci ol (icorgia I’ress Association and National
n
Iraq s ability lo make weapons ot mass
destruction is priority one. but some in
Washington need reminding that words
must he supported by action It is action,
and action alone, that make rogue
nations like Iraq understand that the
United Slates will never he intimidated
Additionally, as third-world mad
men and terrorists like Hussein seek lo
develop weapons ol mass destruction,
the United Stales should not sii idly by
and tail to deploy a missile defense
system protecting our citizens and hor
derv I personally challenge the presi
dent to reconsider his opposition to
deploying a missile defense system to
defend America from attack by mis
siles carrying nuclear chemical or bio
logical warheads
Home Health Care Update
While not receiving much ma|or
media attention, an issue has arisen
impacting many seniors in Georgia's
Bth District who lace the prospect ol
losing their home health benefit tor
single source ot hydroelectric power
in the world
As the sun was setting, my wile and
I ended our day sitting on the outside
deck ot a small restaurant in Ontario,
up the hill from the Canadian tails
How enjoyable it was to ponder the
Creator ot this majestic sight as we
watched the end-of-day shadow creep
up the falls
Just before dark, when we walked
back across the bridge to the American
side ot the river, we paused to give
thanks tor the pleasure God has pro
vided in the beauty ot His creation
(Dennis Hooper is a management
(onsulhint with Weserhaeusei Co
Durinn recent travels, he was
initialled h\ the \ anets and beauts of
Clod's i realton oar earth Hooper
webomes comments and questions
C \inlat t him through this new spaper
or directly, via email at
dhooper2C a juno.com i
Letters welcome
The Houston Times-Journal wel
comes letters to the editor trom our
readers First priority in printing letters
is given to letters from local writers or
about local concerns Letters which
are obviously a part ot a public rela
tions or publicity campaign receive lit
tle priority
All letters are subject to verification
and to editing tor grammatical errors
Letters can be sent to the Times-
Journal at PO Drawer M Perry. Ga..
310ftV. or brought to the paper office
in downtown Perry at KO7 Carroll St
letters may be sent via entail to jjed
it(a hom.net or faxed to
H-1181
All letters must be signed
□
Houston Times-Journal
blood drawing in early February
Known as the ‘ venipuncture provi
sion of lasi year's Balanced Budget
Act. ihis clause was inserted due to
widespread claims ol waste, baud and
abuse in the home health sector and
will soon become law With the provi
sion set lor enactment. I have been
Hooded with phone calls, taxes, and
letters from constituents in rural
Georgia where fewer hospitals exist,
who depend on home health care
in working toward a solution that
continues Medicare home health bene
fits tor those who need it. while pro
tccting taxpayers from waste and
abuse. I met lasi week with the head of
the Medicare panel in Congress After
meeting with House Ways and Means
Health Subcommittee Chairman
William Thomas. R.-Calil . I am confi
dent that the concerns ol my con
stituents will be taken into account
when Congress prepares an equitable
solution to this problem
Bob
Tribble
President
The sex scandal
The whole thing makes me sick It
really makes me sick What I am talk
ing about is the this sexual mess sur
rounding Bill Clinton It makes me
sick whether he is innocent or guilty
First it was Genmfer Flowers, then
Paula Jones and now Monica
Ixwinsky and no telling how many
others sandwiched in between I'm
sick and tired ot it and feel that the
majority ot Americans are Ux>
Regardless ot whether Bill Clinton
is innocent or guilty of the sexual rela
tionship or sexual harassment charges,
the image ot this great country, which
is the leader ot the tree world, has
been damaged The effectiveness of
the office of the President has been
put into limbo
Just days alter Clinton gave his
deposition in the Paula Jones suit,
along comes the bombshell tealuring
an alleged taped conversation in
which Monica Lewinsky told her
friend that she had performed sexual
acts on Clinton numerous times She
also claims in the tapes that the
President had been seeing at least tour
other women, three ot whom worked
at the White House, and that she was
angry about it
Clinton has emphatically denied
having a sexual relationship with the
young intern, and she also has denied
that the relationship was sexual in an
affidavit in the Paula Jones case
But those who have allegedly heard
the tapes say Lewinsky describes in
detail and affair with Clinton and
alleges that he and Vernon Jordan
urged her to deny it under oath Then
they helped her find a new lawyer and
a new job
Presently. Lewinsky’s attorney.
William Cnnsburg. is making efforts
to gain immunity for his client so that
her testimony cannot be used against
her
We are dying to tell the story, but
we cannot We are frozen in place
until my client gets total immunity.
Ginsburg said
It President Clinton is innocent of
these charges, then someone needs to
burn lor the spreading of rumors that
have so severely handicapped this
country and undoubtedly brought
much pain to him and his tamily
It Clinton is guilty of these charges,
he should immediately resign his
office as the most powerful man in the
world and it he refuses to do that, he
should be impeached
As sickening as this whole mess
itself is. some folks cling to the idea
that the President’s private life
belongs to him and it really doesn’t
matter w hat he does
Agreed, his private life with his
tamily should belong to him. but not
his private life with any chick who
might come along After all. the man
is President of this, our country
i Boh Tribble is president of
Houston Publications Inc. I
Newspaper Association
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