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Viewpoints
Our
Views
What is next?
The problems attached to building a post
office in this community are unbelievable.
Since the first meeting of local officials in
the old city hall during 1990 to the present,
nine years have gone past. The present post
office, which was described then as very
inadequate, remains in service.
Now, word comes that the financial insti
tution which owns the property (by default)
at 1400 Macon Road, will put it up for auc
tion within two weeks.
We can’t blame them. After all, that com
pany is a half-continent away. They have no
desire to own property in this community.
Many community leaders tried unsuccess
fully several years ago to get the postal sys
tem to look at the former BiLo/Piggly
Wiggly location in the shopping center
adjacent to the property at 1400 Macon
Road which the postal system finds so desir
able. The site could be modified quickly and
made into a very serviceable post office for a
minimal investment. Likely that simply
makes too good sense.
Soon, the post office will start over again
on yet another plan for Perry’s mailhandlers.
Wonder what it will be this time?
Defending America
One defense issue of particular interest lately is
the need for the United States to deploy a national
missile defense system. The United States faces a
very real and dangerous threat from a ballistic mis-
sile attack £• ■
from belliger- 33XDV
ent countries #
such as Iraq, ChambllSS
Libya and
North Korea. u.S. Representative
In this
regard, it
vital that our
country implement a national missile defense sys
tem to protect and defend our nation. We cannot
afford to be fired upon without an appropriate sys
tem in place to protect our citizens.
In the face of a demonstrative threat, I believe it
is critical all Americans be made aware of this seri
ous issue. Unfortunately, sometimes these issues are
not taken so seriously, and as a member of the
House Armed Services Committee and chair of
the Congressional Air Power Caucus, this greatly
concerns me.
Last week, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
editorialized that a ballistic missile defense system
is “simply not warranted” and described the entire
program as a foolish pipe dream. The people of
Georgia must not be misinformed about this treat
we currently face.
We should protect America against the capabil
ities which potential adversaries may use against us,
not the unpredictable actions of rogue nations.
While the Clinton administration claimed in 1995
that rogue nations such as Libya, Iraq and North
Korea were 15 years away from obtaining the
sophisticated missile technology to pose a signifi
cant threat to the United States, recent actions
have proven otherwise.
Last July, Iran tested a Shahab-3 missile capable
of striking American allies such as Israel, Saudi
Arabia and Turkey, as well as U.S. forces in the
Middle East and Persian Gulf.
Last year, United States intelligence analysts
were caught by total surprise when North Korea
fired a ballistic missile over Japan, demonstrating a
real capacity to directly threaten the people of
mainland United States.
The threat from ballistic missiles is clear and
present. It was eight years ago last month that a
crude Iraqi SCUD missile destroyed an American
military barracks in Dharhan, Saudi Arabia, killing
28 American soldiers. After eight years, we still do
not have a missile defense system in place to
counter these kinds of threats.
The Georgia congressional delegation is a
strong delegation working together effectively to
address the interests of all Georgians. We represent
numerous policy issues on committees from Armed
Services to Agriculture to Education and Ways and
Means. We have always been committed to using
our influence on these various committees to
ensure Georgia’s interests are addressed and we will
continue to do that in the 106th Congress.
If you would like to contact my office with any
concerns, call 800-234-4208.
(Saxby Chambliss is the U.S. Representative for
Houston County.)
Houston Times-Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. • Perry, Ga. 31069
email timesjrn@hom.net
(912) 987-1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Bob Tribble President
Jj Johnson Editor and General Manager
Ellen T. Green Advertising Director
Lifestyles: Pauline Lewis, Joan Dor sen; News and
Composition: Charlone Perkins; Sports: Phil Clark and Alline
Kent; News and Classified Ads: Stacie Vu; News and
Circulation: Rob Mead; Bookkeeping: Paula Zimmerman
H
K.
Screening calls and how to get a good response
Telephones are a big business today.
We have office phones, home phones,
car phones, cell phones to carry around
in our pockets, and many other types
of phones. Telephones are totally nec
essary, but sometimes we want to get
fur away from those critters as we can
because of the nature of some calls.
Up until a couple of years ago, 1
would have our receptionist ask who
was calling before passing the call on
to me. The main reason mis was done
is that during my almost 35 years of
being an editor and publisher, 1 picked
up mat phone on many an occasion
only to be blessed out by someone who
was unhappy with a news story we had
printed, or mad because of a story they
thought we should have printed.
I can go a little further, telling you
that some have threatened our lives if
we printed a story. Some have wanted
to meet us at a certain location so they
could give us a good butt whipping,
and so on. Many times folks have
called during these past years and
cursed us with words some of you
might not have ever heard.
Usually when you get on the phone
TV f Pe/wt/T GalurV,
After au the ..tfs good to get back
MESS 70 THe PEOPLE S
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Scams, spams, slams
Editor,
I don not know if this was a scam or
a slamming. The other day, a woman
called, claiming to be from Bell South’s
Notification Office. She told me there
was going to be a change on my bill,
that I needed to be aware of.
I asked what type of change. She
said all the access fees would be
removed, saving me up to 125 per
month. I told her that sounded good.
She also told me there was going to be
a “slamming protection,” that all she
needed was my birthdate.
I told her I already had my account
protected with a code. She asked for
my code to verify the information. As
soon as I got off the phone, I called
Bell South. They had no idea about
this, and claimed it was not them.
About five minutes later, a man
called and said he was from the verifi
cation office. He told me the call was
being recorded for protection. Before
we nung up, he told me thanks for
changing to telecommunication or
some sort of company.
I told him I was with AT&T and
would not be changing. He said I had
already changed.
I told him, no, that I did not. I was
with AT&T and staying with them.
I hung up. About five minutes later,
the same woman called back and said I
misunderstood her, and she needed my
access code to verify my account. I told
her no and did not call back.
Mark A. Silver
R-4, Cochran
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page
under the label Our Views reflect the position of the
Houston Times-Journal. 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 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
Wed., March 10,1999
Page 4A
Bob
Tribble
Times-
Journal President
with an irritated person with a big
complaint, they will not tell you who
they are. They know who they are
speaking with, but many of them will
not give you the pleasure and privilege
of knowing who you are speaking
with, or rather listening to.
Therefore, after being abused many
a time over the telephone by someone
who knew me, but I didn’t know who
they were, I set the policy of asking
who was calling before I took the call.
This practice worked pretty well
over the years, although I knew I was
given false names on occasion. Then,
there were those who simply refused to
say who was calling, ana most of the
time I would simply refuse to talk to
them.
Now, don’t you lady folks take
offense to what I am about to say, but
Letters to
the Editor
P.O. Drawer M
Perry, Ga. 31069
(EDITOR’S NOTE: All tele
phone customers should be very care
ful of anything they say or information
they give concerning their telephone
access codes and accounts to persons
calling. Reliable telephone companies
such as Bell and Alltel indicate their
employees never ask for such informa
tion.)
Feed the Pig for Meals on
Wheels
Editor:
Meals on Wheels would like to give
the public an up-date about our
newest fond-raiser “Feed the Pig for
Meals on Wheels.” So far this project
has raised more than S3OO. Thank you
Warner Robins and Perry for your
support.
Locations for Pigs in Warner
Robins are: Ladies Workout Express,
Medicine Shoppe, Griffin Tax Service,
Golden Key Realty and Saunders
Locksmiths, Robins Air Force Base
(19th Aircraft), and Northrop. In
Perry: Hamby Automotive. Keep
Feeding the Pigs.
Thank you,
occupied by the error.
Wfe cannot be responsible for the return of pictures or submit
ted materials unless a stamped, return address envelope is included.
Our Goal
The Houston Times-Journal 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
I had rather take a whipping with a
hickory stick than to be blessed out by
a woman. I’m certainly not too good
for that if I did something to deserve
it, but I guess it was the way I was
raised.
Let me explain further. I have
always been taught to respect the
opposite gender. My parents taught
me that ladies and older folks were
very special people and you were to
treat them with total respect. No curs
ing around them, no outburst of anger,
always show your best side.
Pray tell me how one is to accom
plish the belief of what has been
instilled in him when you have a
female on the other end of the phone
line calling you everything in the book.
Therefore, I had rather take a whip
ping with a hickory stick.
Frankly, I could handle the irritable
men folks much better. If they insisted
on “meeting me behind the barn”,
there was a time in my life when I
would readily oblige them. Not so any
more.
Since moving up to the Corporate
Office over two years ago, I decided to
and the phones
/
A good day
Editor:
Having attended the Grandparents
Day at Westfield School March 5, I
must say it is remarkable as to how
much patience and hard work the staff
and other volunteers must have put
into the great performance these chil
dren, K4-4th grade, exhibited.
It was just beautiful. When the
young gifts from heaven sang as a
groups “You are my sunshine” and
“This little light of mine” tears had to
come into your eyes for they are the
sunshine of our lives and the light of
our hearts.
Thanks to all of you who had a
hand in making'the program such a
success and especially Mr. Foster
Rhodes, who was a superb master of
ceremonies.
Tom Thornton
Kathleen
How to write us
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comes letters to the editor from our
readers.
Letters should be brief, to the
point, and about issues of local impor
tance.
Send them to the newspaper at P.O.
Drawer M, Perry, Ga. 31069, or bring
them to the newspaper office at 807
Carroll St. Fax letters to (912) 988-
11891 or email to timesjrn@hom.net.
Houston Tlmes-Joumal
Donna and Hank James
/
Newspaper Association.
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ing the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the right of
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stop having our receptionist ask who
was calling me. Now, I simply pick up
the phone not knowing who is on the
other end.
This has worked well for the most
part, but somehow it seems that every
broker in the good ole U.S.A. has
found me, and I don’t understand why
because I have not owned a piece of
stock in years except our own newspa
per stock. Best way I have found to get
rid of the brokers is to tell them that
you recently went bankrupt. Another
way is to tell then you have more
money than you could ever spend and
that you don’t want to make any more
to have to pay taxes on. You can hear
them gasping as you hang up the
phone because they knew you were
ribbing.
Thought for the day. When people
use their phones a lot sometimes they
get a busy signal, sometimes they have
to wait to talk with who they are call
ing and sometimes you get put on
hold. We never get a busy signal, have
to wait or get put on hold when we call
God.
Paul
Coverdell
U.S. Senate
Downsizing
must end
Saddam Hussein is determined to
continue threatening the United
States, its allies and its interests in the
Middle East. As the situation in Iraq
has taught us, the Cold War may be
over, but the United States still
requires a strong and ready military to
protect its interests around the world.
Unfortunately, America’s service
men and women are forced to meet
more obligations with fewer resources
as the recent Clinton-backed military
downsizing continues. Consider the
following:
When President Clinton took
office, the Pentagon’s budget totaled
almost S3OO bilnon. By 1997, that
number had fallen by 25 percent in
real economic terms, at a time when
federal spending in other areas grew
by roughly 16 percent.
The experts best tell the story: Air
Force Chief of State Gen. Michael
Ryan recently told Congress the Air
Force was short 700 pilots in 1998
a shortfall which could reach 2,000 by
the year 2002. Marine Corps
Commandant Gen. Charles Krulak
asserted recently that lack of funding
as “prohibited us from timely replace
ment of our aging equipment and
infrastructure. Much of our equip
ment is aged beyond its projected ser
vice life.”
As this trent toward downsizing
worsens, however, the threats to
America’s security grow more and
more conspicuous. IN the past year,
Saddam Hussein blocked arms
inspections; the political situation in
Russia continued destabilizing and
North Korea tested a ballistic missile
which could be capable of reaching
the United States.
Army operations have increased
three-fold since the Berlin Wall fell.
Congress has pressured the
Administration to allocate more
resources for the military and, last year
approved an additional $9 billion for
the armed forces during 1999.
Most of this increase will be
required to purchase badly needed
spare parts for the military, increase
maintenance funding, improve train
ing, prepare the Department of
Defense’s computers for the year
2000, and continue development of
ballistic missile defense.
The recent Senate passage of the
Soldiers’ Bill of Rights moves us a step
closer to fulfilling the Republican-led
Congress’ vision for a strong and ready
national defense and proper rewards
for the dedication of our service men
and women.
(Coverdell is a Republican senator
from Georgia.)
K - <r.