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Viewpoints
Our
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After Floyd
Dear Editor:
Hurricane Floyd may not have caused
much direct weather concern to Houston
Countians but it did result in a monu
mental effort and opportunity for all to
see how we
can respond
to a large
scale disas
ter. The lead
ership of our
county and
city execu
tives. the
coordination
of all efforts
by our 1
HEMA, law
to the
Editor
p.o.
Drawn- M
Parry, 6a.
enforcement, and fire department person
nel. and the many hours of hands-on care
by hundreds of volunteer care givers
resulted in thousands of coastal evacuees
obtaining shelter, nourishment, and a
warm welcome here.
There will be many letters written and
appreciation justifiably acknowledged
over the next weeks. To attempt to recog
nize every agency and individual volun
teer would be difficult since there were so
many.
The roles of the staffs of the nursing
homes and rehab centers, the nursing,
clerical, and administrative staffs of both
the hospitals, the Red Cross personnel,
the police from all three cities and sher
iffs officers, the Air Force personnel, the
various city and the Houston County Fire
Departments, and the nursing and cleri
cal staffs of the Health Department and
District Health Office, all under the coor
dination of Jimmy Williams of HEMA,
were very visible throughout the entire
effort.
Not as visible but Just as real were the
long hours of the nursing home person
nel, school employees, recreation depart
ment staff, and private physicians who
assisted.
Many medical needs were met; many
medical disasters were averted. Emer
gency Rooms were busy and dialysis facil
ities were full. Many extra meals were
prepared. Much sleep was lost.
Much was learned, a lot was given, and
much will be different "next time." But,
most of all, we learned again that we have
a lot of folks here who really care and give
of themselves unselfishly. We can all be
proud of that.
A particular acknowledgment is due for
Diane Banister, RN., Carole Stevens,
Jason Smith, and their staff from Hous
ton County Health Department for their
organizational leadership and bedside
care of our visitors and for seeing that
there were no epidemic disease out
breaks. Thank you to everyone!
For the Houston County Board of
Health.
David. N. Harvey, MD. Chairman
Some Savannah thanks
To whom it may concern:
Recently my family and I had to evacu
ate Savannah due to Hurricane Floyd.
With the sudden onslaught of evacuees
searching for available lodging, we found
ourselves virtually stranded.
On a wing and a prayer (and also my
last hope of finding lodging after driving
in excess of 12 hours) I stopped in at the
Periy Welcome Center. I had pretty much
given up on trying to find a hotel room
since it was late Wednesday morning.
I asked the very helpful receptionist if
she knew if anything was available in
their area. 1 was in luck! Just minutes
before she had received a telephone call
from Dolly who manages The Hamptons
apartments. There were completely fur
nished executive apartments for rent for
folks like us.
Never before had 1 received such a
warm and open welcome from a virtual
stranger. Of course we dashed over after a
brief phone conversation and were so
pleased to find that not only were the
apartments brand new, the cost per night
was absolutely unbelievable.
My kids and 1 rented a great one bed
room apartment for two nights for less
See LETTERS, Page 5A
Houston Ham Journal
P.O Drawer M • 807 Carroll Si. • Perry, Ga. 31069
email homeJrn@hom.net
(912) 987 1823 (voice) • (912) 988-1181 (fax)
Bob Tribble President
JJ Johnson Editor and General Manager
Ellen T. Green Advertising Director
Phil Clark Sports
Joan Dorset! Lifestyles
Torey Jolley News and Classified
Alllne Kent Sports
Pauline Lewis Lifestyles
Rob Mead News and Circulation
Charlotte Perkins News and Composition
Paula Zimmerman : Bookkeeping
C 7\
Life in the world of hi-tech communications
Communication. It seemed so
simple. It once consisted of a let
ter, a phone call, or a personal
visit. Not anymore. With the
addition of fax machines, com
puters with internet service for
E-mail, pagers, and cell phones,
communication has taken on a
life of its own.
I have a pager, access to (not
one, but two) fax machines, e
mail, and telephone numbers
(yes, plural). I can be reached
almost anywhere I go.
I do not have a cell phone. I am
so thankful for that. I know they
can be useful. I can imagine
using one if I was stranded some
where, or if some such emergency
occurred. In fact, my husband
and I have discussed getting one
for just that kind of tiling.
I am just not sure I would be
interested in using one to chat
The Peanut GauirV
I'M DEPENDING ON YOU.
AND YOU CAN TAKE THAT
to tm
LOMTI6I POUTICUM
©Atmi '99 rayloons@hom.nct
Midnight in the garden of loudmouth mayors
Don’t get me wrong. I love
Savannah.
It’s a beautiful city full of live
oaks, Spanish moss, fine his
torical buildings and great
seafood restaurants.
They just happen to have a
mayor down there right now
who shoots off his mouth with
out knowing what he’s talking
about and criticizes the very
people he should be thanking.
Here's the story in a nutshell.
Savannah had to be evacuated
because of the possibility that Hur
ricane Floyd was going to hit there.
Many of Savannah s evac
uees wound up in Perry. Some
were staying in local motels,
but more than 3,000 wound up
at the Georgia Agricenter in a
temporary shelter arrange
ment.
Among those were a few folks
who had been let out of jail to
flee the hurricane. They were
angry about the long bus trip
they’d had to take and the
accommodations they had at
the end of their trip. So they
raised all kinds of cane, rocked
the buses when they didn’t
leave soon enough, and tried to
take “souvenirs” home with
them from the Agricenter.
Perry’s police department,
which had not been notified
Savannah was sending people
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on
this page under the label Our Views reflect the posi
tion of the Houston Home Journal. Signed columns
and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this news
paper) reflect the opinions of the writers and not nec
essarily those of this newspaper
Signed letters to the editor are welcomed. Please
limit letters 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
Page 4A
Wed., Sept. 22. 1999
Torey
Jolley
Home
Journal
Staff
on for the sake of catching up
with friends on the latest tidbit
of news. What could 1 have to
say that could not wait until I
got home or to the office? Take
the dinner out of the oven? Did
you start the laundry? Perhaps
tiy to be the right caller for a
radio contest?
How long does it take to go
from “I’ll only use it for emergen
cies” to endless chatting?
Charlotte
Perkins
Home
Journal
Staff
straight out of jail to be housed
in open quarters with law-abid
ing people, handled all this
extra work exactly as they
should with firmness and
with professional restraint.
So, guess what happened
when these folks got back to
Savannah?
After they threw a few bottles
at the Salvation Army, they
complained to their mayor
about the treatment they had
received in Perry.
Now, a reasonable public
official might have made a few
phone calls, looked into the sit
uation, and apologized to the
City of Perry for the nuisance
caused by a few Savannah mal
contents.
Mayor Floyd Adams didn’t do
the reasonable thing. Instead
he did something that deserves
to be added to “Midnight in the
Garden of Good and Evil," just
of space occupied by the error
We cannot be responsible lor the return of pictures or
submitted materials unless a stamped, return address
envelope is included.
Our Goal
The Houston Home 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.
Icyalty and a strong dedication toward printing the
truth.
Member of Georgia Press Assqciation and Nation
al Newspaper Association.
I am not condemning cell
phones. I know they have their
uses, but I often see people talk
ing on them while driving. I have
been nearly run off the road
numerous times because some
one was talking on the phone.
Besides being unnerved, I was
curious. What could have been
so important that they had to be
on the phone while driving? Per
haps, they were surgeons who
were delayed on their way to a
life-saving operation and forced
to give instructions on how to
keep the patient alive until they
reached the hospital? I’d hate to
think 1 was nearly a statistic
because someone needed a tee
off time or an appointment to get
their nails redone.
In addition, people forget to
turn off their phones (and, often,
their pagers) during church.
P§£
for the pure ironic idiocy of it.
He apologized to the people of
Savannah for the treatment
they received in Perry and told
the media down there that
Perry’s Chief of Polic e. George
Potter, had “overreacted,"
apparently believing that the
Perry police had set dogs on the
people oi Savannah and used
tear gas and marc, in short, he
believed a bunch of lies
Here's what I wonder. I won
der where the Mayor of Savan
nah was at about 11 p.m. last
Wednesday night, and what he
was doing. I happen to know
what Chief of Police George Pot
ter was doing, because a Red
Cross volunteer told me.
He was pushing a shopping
cart around Wal Mart buying
50 blankets. 50 pillows. 100
towels and 100 washcloths.
He did that because the Perry
volunteers who were taking
care of 140 disabled people
from Savannah at the Rozar
Park recreation center had told
him they still needed more
blankets and towels.
George Potter didn't fool
around. He- went out and solved
the problem then and there.
I limself.
Maybe the Mayor of Savan
nah would consider that an
"over reaction," too.
Houston Home Journal
"Congress shall make no law respecting an estab
lishmenl 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 news
paper is protected by the First Amendment to the
United States Constitution.
The Houston Home Journal (USPS 000471) is
published weekly for $21.40 per year (including
sales tax) by Houston Publications Inc., 807 Car
roll St., Perry, Ga.. 31069. Periodicals Class
Postage paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER : Send
address changes to the Houston Home Journal.
P.O. Drawer M, Perry, Ga. 311069. ISSN: 1075-1874.
movies, and meetings. They for
get their right to keep in touch
often violates others' rights to
not be disturbed.
I guess I just do not want to
be totally accessible all the time.
I enjoy having some peace and
quiet (and at my home, peace
and quiet are at a premium). I
believe the world is small
enough. Too much “keeping in
touch”: isn’t great. It is smother
ing. What I would like is a nice
long letter (not e-mail). I would
read it slowly, savoring the
words, while enjoying a cup of
steamy hot herbal tea.
I think 1 will break out the sta
tionary I have and pen a long let
ter to someone I love. It will be a
nice surprise for them— some
thing in their mailboxes besides
bills and junk. And maybe one
day. I’ll get a letter too.
Bob
Tribble
Home
Journal
President
Might be time to
return to the draft
"Be all that you can be" has
been a popular jingle used by
the US Army as a slogan to
attract new enlistments for the
past 18 years. Now, officials
are considering whether or not
it is the right slogan for today’s
18 to 24 year olds.
With a new century
approaching, the largest Amer
ican military branch is looking
for ways to fill its depleted
ranks. Th enlistment goal of
74,500 new recruits for 1999 is
expected to fall at least 7,000
short in the worst recruiting
year since 1979.
Not that slogans necessarily
make advertising effective,
Advertising Age Magazine
ranked "Be all that you can be”
the number two jingle of the
century, behind McDonald’s
"You deserve a break today."
Roland Rust, professor of
advertising at Vanderbilt Uni
versity, said the Army slogan
rivals Nike’s “Just Do It" for
staying power. However, he
added “You have to ask
whether Generation X is wanti
ng to be all it can be."
The Army plans to spend at
least $92 million on an ad
campaign next year in an effort
to enlist 80,000 new soldiers. If
this number is enlisted, the
cost per new soldier for adver
tising will be $l.lBO each.
Other new approaches will
be sending younger soldiers to
work in recruiting offices and
giving new recruits leave after
basic training to talk with their
friends back home about their
Army experience.
While the Army may keep
their famous slogan "Be all you
can be," future ads may appeal
to the patriotic spirit of our
young people, as well as the
opportunity for self improve
ment.
Let's talk for a minute about
patriotic spirit. Without a
doubt, serving in the military
will make one more patriotic.
That is one reason the draft
made sense to me. Those of
able body and mind should
have no problem giving two
years of their life to serve this
country. Many people have
given much more than that.
I feel the draft gave the Army
a better pool of soldiers. You
got the farm lads, the big city
guys, the doctors, lawyers.
See TRIBBLE. Page 5A
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