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Viewpoints
Our
Views
Time to vote
When we consider how desperately the people
of some nations want to live in a democracy, and
how hard won our own democracy was, it is sad to
note how lightly we take the right to vote.
The vote in this country was won by stages.
Whatever our schoolbooks taught us years ago,
equality was a long time coming. Minorities and
women of all colors have fought for the right to
vote in this century, and many arc still living who
remember those struggles.
Even so. in this country -and in this county -
some of us take that sacred right of citizenship far
too lightly, and it's a safe bet that the majority of
Houston County’s registered voters won’t be at
the polls bn Tuesday, July 21.
That's a pity, because there are some important
decisions to be made.
In the first place, there arc three non-partisan
county contests that will be decided in this elec
tion. Two seats on the Houston County Board of
Education will be filled, and one unexpircd term
on the County Commission will also be filled.
What’s more important than our schools and
the future of our county?
In the second place, the quality of the candi
dates on the ballot in the November General
Election depends entirely on the choices made by
voters this Tuesday.
However you vote, DO vote. Not to do so is to
take very lightly a privilege won for us by men
and women willing to make any sacrifice just to
earn that right for us.
Welcome!
One of the many good things about having the
Georgia National Fairgrounds here in Perry is that
so many nice people come to visit.
We are proud to have the 80th Convention of
the Georgia Dept, of the American Legion arriving
this weekend, and we have been glad to see so
many of the Family Campers here again.
These visitors bring business to the community,
but they also enrich our experience and brighten
our days We hope they enjoy their time here and
that they’ll come back again.
Ricky
Wheeler
County Extension
Ailing Plants
Several Tfouston County favorite plants are
having problems now. Some problems are serious,
while others are not. How do you know what your
problem is and how to solve it? The Houston
County Extension office is your resource for unbi
ased research-based information from the
University of Georgia. Call or come by our office
in Perry or Warner Robins, or read our articles in
the paper. We even have a tape library that you can
access by phone. Let us know how we can help.
Many Houston County azaleas have a condition
called leaf fall. The leaves become thick and dis
torted and may curl up The galls may turn pow
dery while or black as they gel older.
This disease is caused by a fungus that also
attacks camellia and blueberry. It looks worse than
it is. Generally, the fungus does not affect plant
health Pick the leaves off and throw them away.
The disease is worse early in the season and we
seldom see it again until next spring.
Unless almost all the leaves are affected, the
disease will not hurt the plant. It is not feasible to
try to control the disease by spraying. Once you
see the disease, it is too late to spray.
Flowering cherries are beginning to have prob
lems. Individual limbs or the entire tree is dying.
This is a serious problem.
Sudden tree death often indicates a root or stem
problem. Look at the stem carefully to see if it has
been hit by u lawnmower, weed eater or other
things. Damaged bark provides an entry point for
rots. Once the rots are in the tree it is too late.
Also examine stems for pinholes caused by
beetles. Beetles usually attack weakened trees.
You cannot kill beetles once they are in the trees.
Protect young trees by spraying them with
Lindane.
Flowering cherries are prone to canker disease.
These fungi kill individual branches.
Unfortunately there is little you can do except
prune out dead limbs.
One plant disease expert in Athens suggested a
method that may slow one particular canker dis
ease. called bot canker, on Yoshino cherries. We
See WHEELER, Page 5
Houston Times-Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry, Ga. 31069
email jjedit @hom.net
(912)987-1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Bob Tribble President
Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager
Sherri Wengler Advertising Director
News: Emily Johnstone. Pauline Lewis, Joan Dorset!;
News and Composition Charlotte Perkins; Sports and
Classified Ads: Chad Lewis; Circulation and Photography:
Eric Zellars; Bookkeeping: Paula Zimmerman
I JM
m\
Those RVers really love the camping way of life
The Georgia National Fairgrounds
and Agricenler has been a beehive of
activity with the the Family Campers
and RVers making the facility their
home for a week.
This group is enjoying the facility
and town while holding their 38th
Annual Campvention at the Agricenter.
This friendly bunch of folks have been
sighted all over Perry, shopping and
touring the area.
I was fortunate enough, along with
Chris Kinnas and Jenny Andrew, to be
asked to judge one of the group's con
tests Tuesday. We found ourselves
faced with the task of choosing the best
scrapbooks from a number of chapters
nationwide.
It was a lot of fun and educational,
too, as we browsed through the books
that were obviously put together with
much love and thought.
Pictures of members' outings, trips.
PfAA/ur GAUfRy 1
( )
Her err?
Southern Utah: In the shadow of Dead Horse Point
Nowhere else have Donna and I seen
anything like the overwhelming, stark,
implausible beauty of the rugged land
scape of southern Utah. Several
months ago, I wrote about our visit in
majestic Zion National Park. We were
privileged several years ago to spend a
day hiking in the astounding hoodoos
of Bryce Canyon. And two years ago,
we celebrated our anniversary with a
five day rafting trip down the
Colorado River.
On that adventure, we put the rafts in
near Moab, Utah. Near the end of the
first day on the river, the guide point
ed at the cliffs above us and said “Up
there is Dead Horse Point. Some wild
horses were rounded up and corralled
on the end of mesa. Somebody forgot
about them, and they died of thirst,
unable to get to water.” It didn’t have
any significance to us at the time. But
on this trip, we spent several days
exploring that finger of land. It was
enjoyable to look down on the
Colorado River and to have our line of
sight be the same as two years ago,
only the viewpoint be from the other
end!
The trails around Dead Horse Point
reminded me of the cowboy movies
and television shows I enjoyed as a
youth. Those exciting dramas stimu
lated me to want to see "the west” in
real life—after half a lifetime. I am
having that opportunity! As we hiked,
I could imagine outlaws hiding behind
those rocks, and I wondered if a horse
could keep its footing on this rough
trail. I imagined that Hopalong
Cassidy or the Lone Ranger or Gene
Autry or Roy Rogers or Wild Bill
Hickock or Lash Larue or the Cisco
Kid might come to my aid if I found
myself in danger. I could imagine a
shootout among the rocks, arroyos,
and overhangs that populate this
rugged countryside!
We moved to Arches National Park,
a terrific area! Our first hike was
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page
under the label Our Views 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 writ
ers and not necessarily those of this newspaper.
Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please limit let
ters to 300 words and include addresses and a telephone
number for verification purposes. Letters are not 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
Page 4A
Wed., July 15,1998
Emily
Johnstone
and honors told the story of how much
these people love the camping way of
life.
John and Delores Derrick and John
McKenzie, along with many others,
were gracious hosts during the morn
ing.
Also, I was glad to sec a regular to
RV rallies at the Agricenter, Irwin
Hirschfield, stop in the office for a visit
a few days ago.
He is truly a remarkable man. He
and his wife, Naomi, are serious RV
...and He saw
it was good
Dennis Hooper,
Columnist
I imagined that
Hopalong Cassidy
or the Lone Ranger
or Gene Autry or
Roy Rogers or
Wild Bill Hickock
or Lash Larue or
the Cisco Kid
might come to my
aid if I found
myself in danger.
great. It was to “Sand Arch”, adver
tised as a fun place for kids (because
the abundant red sand is so enticing).
It sure was a great place for THIS
kid —not the sand but the surrounding
rocks! It was my first experience
among the many "fins” throughout
Arches park, and I really enjoyed
climbing!
The fins of Estrada sandstone were
formed when the land was pushed up
and faults developed in the rock—
similar to the way a scab on your
knuckle splits open when you bend
your finger. For many years, water
seeped down into the cracks during
winter days and froze during the night,
widening the crack and breaking off
chunks of rock. Windblown sand,
additional water erosion, and gravity
continued to do their work.
Sometimes softer rock would fall
occupied by the error.
We cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or sub
mitted materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is
included.
Our Goal
The Houston Times-Joumal 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 this goal through hard
work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong dedication toward
printing the truth.
Member of Georgia Press Association and National
travelers, having traveled the roads of
countries such as France and Israel.
Hirschfield has a number of sugges
tions for overseas RV travelers includ
ing health care tips, shopping and secu
rity.
Anyone who would like to write to
Hirschfield, an energetic 72-year old
cancer survivor whose motto is "Don't
let your dreams get replaced by
regrets!" can do so at the following
address: 251 N. Ventura Ave. #66.
Ventura, Calif. 93001.
And, to the Hirschfields: Safe travel
ing and I look forward to your next visit
to Perry.
Another FC&RVer, Steven Lay,
who, incidentally, is a copy editor for
the 15th largest newspaper in the
United States, The Star Ledger of
Newark, N.J., came in to say “hello"
and check out Perry’s local newspaper.
JSt
Houston rimes -Journal
away from beneath harder rock, result
ing in the arches for which this area is
famous. Though there are about a
dozen easily accessible arches in the
park, geologists have catalogued over
2(X)0 arches here!
We finished our first day of hiking
on a trail that started in a very mun
dane way. but finished up fantastical
ly! “Delicate Arch” is the state sym
bol of Utah —a characterization of it is
on Utah license plates. The trail start
ed off flat on a gravel walkway, then
changed to a long gradual upward
slope of “slickrock" (that's what they
call the hard caprock that doesn't eas
ily erode). As we neared the vicinity
of the arch, the terrain became much
more complex and interesting—and
challenging!.
Donna and I went exploring in sepa
rate ways, and we wound up
approaching the arch very differently.
Donna's approach came up behind a
huge fin of sandstone, so she couldn't
see the arch until she rounded the cor
ner and there it was! My approach
was along a narrow ledge with a
steeply sloped dropoff between the
arch and me —it was a little scary, but
I made it with no problem.
The arch is delicate not only in its
formation, but also in its location. The
foundation rock drops off steeply both
in front of the arch and behind it. and
the ridge it sits on slopes gently off to
one side. No other rock is within
about fifty feet, so the arch is perched
there precariously, all by itself. It
looks out of place, as if some giant
hand placed it awkwardly in a spot
where it shouldn’t be!
Hiking in Arches National Park was
so much fun. and the formations were
so unusual, that I must tell you more
about it. Check here next week to see
what other fascinations God designed
when He created what is now known
as Arches National Park!
You almost were put to work, it
being our deadline day, Steven!
There has also been activity across
the street at the Houston County
Couthouse recently.
Anew smoking area has been con
structed outside and the flagpole has
been moved to another location.
The smoking area includes a bench
and picnic-type wooden structure that
is beautiful and. we know, a welcome
addition to courthouse employees and
jurors who smoke.
The new location for the flagpole
may cause me some problems, though,
being in the center of the walkway to
the front door. I hope that on one of my
numerous trips to the building I don t
become lost in daydreaming and walk
into the flagpole!
Bob
Tribble
Times-
Journal President
Taxpayers victory
It’s been a long time coming and is
way overdue but finally Congress is just
before giving the U.S. Citizens some
relief when dealing with those some
times bullish Internal Revenue folks.
Fed up with complaints of lousy ser
vice and mismanagement at the IRS. the
House has passed a broad overhaul of
the nation's tax collector to strengthen
oversight and boost taxpayers rights in
collection disputes.
The overwhelming 402-8 vote by the
House completes work on a compro
mise with the Senate to make the biggest
changes since 1952 at the IRS The
agency has more direct contact with cit
izens than any other branch of govern
ment
House Ways and Means Chairman
Bill Archer of Texas said. “It s about
putting the taxpayer first and the IRS
second It s been the other way around
for entirely too long.”
Senate passage of the IRS measure is
expected after the July 4th recess.
President Clinton says he will sign
the measure which only 7 Democrats
and one Republican voted against.
Complaints about the IRS from citi
zens were so numerous that they
brought about the broad consensus in
Congress to revamp the agency. The
vote culminated a two year eflort to
bring the tax collector under control.
It has been reported that the IRS
spent $3.3 billion on a failed computer
modernization, prompting Congress to
cut the agency's funding and create a
bipartisan panel to investigate and rec
ommend solutions to the agency’s man
agement problems
House Speaker Newt Gingrich said.
"While a trip to the IRS will still be less
popular than a trip to the dentist, the bill
will finally offer some relief.
After the Senate Finance COmmittee
hearings last fall, the scope and cost of
the bill grew as lawmakers moved to
beef up taxpayers rights At the hear
ings, IRS employees and taxpayers
described harassment in tax collections
and hostile workers who did little to
solve legitimate taxpayer complaints.
The Senate .responded by making
some tax penalties less painful For
example, if the agency waits more than
18 months to notify a taxpayer that they
owe additional taxes, the bill will sus
pend interest and penalties.
This is expected to save taxpayers
over $230 million per year. Those who
fall under tough scrutiny of the IRS
know how crushing those outrageous
penalties and interest can be.
Another major provision of the bill
shifts the burden of proof in civil tax
court cases from the taxpayers to the
IRS. so long as taxpayers keep proper
records and meet other requirements. In
the past the IRS has operated on the the
ory that “you owe it unless you can
prove otherwise."
Without a doubt, this new tax legis
lation is a victory for the American peo
pie even though it has been a long lime
coming and is way overdue.
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