Newspaper Page Text
Viewpoints
Our
Views
Another rating
On the front page of this
issue, readers can find
yet another story about
the ranking of schools in Georgia.
This particular ranking is based
on how recent high school gradu
ates do at technical schools in
terms of taking remedial courses.
A few weeks ago, the result of
rankings based solely on the per
centage of students passing the
Georgia High School Graduation
Test made news.
After a review by Houston
County School Superintendent
Charles Holloway, it appears like
ly there will be some action taken
against Houston County High
School personnel for dabbling in
the process relating to taking the
graduation test.
Apparently someone at Houston
County High told some marginal
students they could not take the
test during the spring testing
period. This may have helped
drive up the scores at HCHS. In
any event, when the scores were
released earlier this year, Hous
ton County earned its way into
the top 50 in Georgia.
This scene simply confirms
what some have suspected for
years that at some schools,
the test score is most important.
At HCHS, a higher test score
results in greater prestige for the
school. In other communities, a
higher test score average pulls
pressure from faculty and admin
istrators. The release of this
information to media,outlets
aX&Wfrlne state* makes ”the per
centage of seniors passing the
test that much more important.
Meanwhile, the latest test fig
ures released seem to be a good
indication of the work going on at
Georgia high schools. Simply, can
students going to vocational-tech
nical schools pass basic require
ments. Some schools scored as
high as 100 percent of their
recent graduates in tech schools
passing without remedial class.
Almost the same number of
schools stood out at the other
end of the spectrum they didn’t
have a single graduate who did
not need academic help to pass
basic classes.
The pecking order in Houston
County reflected some different
test results. Warner Robins was
the top finisher in the county,
and 104 overall. Houston County
finished second in the county and
at slot 107 among the state
watchers.
Northside was third, tied for
149, and Perry High was fourth,
tied with several schools for 218.
Elberta finished among the last
grouping. A lone graduate of
Roberta in technical school
required remedial work.
This test, along with those tests
which give results of graduates
during their freshman year in col
lege are important not just for
rankings, but as a direct measur
ing tool of what is really taking
place at that school. Here a good
results means faculty members
are doing their best to provide
their students with enhanced
learning experiences.
Houston Hone Journal
P.O. Drawer M • 807 Carroll St.
Perry. Ga. 31069
email home|rn@hom.net
(912) 987-1823 (voice)
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Bub Tribble..... ?T. President
Jj Johnson ...Editor and General Manager
Ellen T. Green Advertising Director
Phil Clark , Sports
Joan Dorset! Lifestyles
LaNorrfs Fleming News
Alllne Kent Sports
«•'«i.i.ii
Pauline Lewis ..Lifestyles
Rob Mead News and Circulation
Charlotte Perkins ..News and Composition
Andy Stuckey Classified
Susan R. Thomas Hookkeeping
Our Policies
Unsigned editorials appearing in larger
type on this page under tin* label Out Views
reflect the position ol the Houston Home
Journal. Signed columns and letters on
this page (and elsewhere in ibis newspaper)
reflect the opinions of (he writers and not
necessarily tnose of this newspaper
Signed letters to the i-diioi an- wel
Rocker challenges First Amendment standards
My sister-jn- law walked
through the door, looked at
me, and said. “Have you heard
about the doth Rocker stuff
yet?"
1 told her no. I hadn’t. She
threw the pages of the Atlanta
Constitution at me and I read,
with shock, what Atlanta
Brave Rocker said during an
interview for a Sports Illustrat
ed story.
Later, when 1 returned
home. I grabbed mv copy of
Sports Illustrated and read the
lengthy article. Yes. Rocker
did, if lie was quoted correctly,
say all ol the things which have
been attributed to him in the
past week.
Rocker comes across as a
brash, angry young man who
calls out for a lightening rod to
stabilize him.
Public opinion seems split
about the young Braves pitch
er and what to do. In his con
versation. Rocker took swipes
at almost everyone in the
country. He shared opinions
about the large number of now
living in the country who don’t
Speak English as their first
language
Some believe Major League
Baseball should take action.
Others think the Braves will
act quickly to settle the matter.
Some observers believe Rocker
may well be through as a major
league pitcher.
1 have two major problems
Bob
Tribble
Home*
Journal
President
A prayer for
your future
The Millennium is upon us
and we will soon know if all the
computer glitches have been
solved, if we will have electricity,
heat, water, food, and so forth. I
have always felt the persons
who made the computers are
much “bigger" than the eomput
ers, and God is certainly “big
ger" than both, so why should
we worry.
The following prayer is mak
ing its rounds around (he email
circuit. If makes for good read
ing. The prayer covers many of
the concerns some folks face
right now. and serves as a
reminder to let God take care of
things. Tiie author is unknown.
May you get a ('lean bill of
health from vour dentist, your
cardiologist, your gastroenterol
ogist, your urologist, your proc
tologist. vour podiatrist, your
psychiatrist, vour gynecologist,
your plumber, and the IRS.
May your hair, your teeth,
your face lift, your abs, and
your stocks not fall; and may
your blood pressure, your
trigliceridcs. vour cholesterol,
your white blood count, and
your mortgage interest not rise.
May you find your way to
travel from anywhere to any
where during rush hour in less
than an hour, and when you get
there, may you find a parking
spac e.
May Friday evening. Dec. 31,
find you seated around the din
ner table, together with your
beloved family and cherished
friends, ushering in the new
year ahead. You will find the
Page 4A
with the Rocker scene. First, I
find his language choices and
the attitudes they represent to
be totally unacceptable. I have
offended some guests in my
home with my unhappiness
when they used the “N” word.
So on the one hand. I'd like
to take Rocker to the woodshed
and help him understand
some of the facts of life.
The other hand, however is
where the hangup is. Although
Rocker was interviewed for a
story in Sports Illustrated, he
did not speak for Major League
Baseball or the Atlanta Braves.
He spoke for himself . He spoke
using the First Amendment
rights guaranteed him in the
United States Constitution.
There are problems with
rights. Once a college professor
described to me the limits of
my rights they end some
where between my nose and
the next person's nose. If I
don’t abuse my rights, I won’t
make these other observers
unhappy.
I am a strong supporter of
!
mk ' J»
food better, (he environment
quieter, the cost much cheaper,
and the pleasure much more
fulfilling than anything else you
might ordinarily do that night.
May you wake up Jan. 1. find
ing that the world has not come
to an end, the lights work, the
water faucets flow, and the sky
has not fallen. Let alone when
you sign on, your computer is
up and running and nothing is
missing!!
May you go to the bank on
Monday morning. Jan. 3 and
find your account is in order,
your money is still there, and
any mistakes are in your favor.
May you ponder on Jan. 4
how this ultramodern civiliza
tion of ours managed to get
traumatized bv a possible slip of
a blip on a chip made out of
sand.
corned. Please limit letters to 300 words
and include addresses and a telephone
number for verification purposes Letters
are not published without verification. Let
ters should be sent to P.O. Drawer M,
Perry. Ga.. 31069 or brought to the news
paper office at 807 Carroll St.. Perry.
Our liability for an error will not exceed
the cost of space occupied by the error.
We cannot Ire responsible for the return of
pictures or submitted materials unless a
stamped, return address envelope Is Included
Ouir Goal
Ihe Houston Home Journal is pub
Wed., Dec. 29. 1999
JJ
Johnson
Home
Journal
Editor
TH£ PiAA/t/T ~
Y2.K f <%•) f f
PATCH* XXX 1
( JJ He was stex
BUT OTHERS
♦GLOBAL
s3oo+ billion)* / Vx
our First Amendment. Why?
Well, I’ve spent more than 25
years in the newspaper busi
ness. The work we perform
here, from the front page to
this column and the many
other opinion pieces in this
paper, are possible simply
because of the First Amend
ment.
Should for some reason the
Rockers of this world become
suppressed with their First
Amendment rights, what might
happen to the Houston Home
Journal should someone dis
agree with an opinion
expressed here?
Freedom of speech makes
for some very strange bedfel
lows sometimes. In order to
protect my own feelings about
free speech and opinions, I
have to support the right of
people such as Larry Flint to
produce their smut and legal
sex information. I must sup
port the presence of “The Cafe"
at exit 45.
No. I don’t agree with the
products, but I must support
the right of these purveyors of
smut to produce. Who is to say
the Home Journal doesn’t
offend some people, too. With
out the First Amendment, they
could close us down and put
several people out of a job.
With that in mind, I Find
what Rocker said repulsive. I
cannot imagine what got into
the just-turned-25 year old
wHP : -W
May we relax about the future
and realize that we still have a
long, long time until we pass, by
which time the computer may
be long since obsolete and so
may we.
May God give you the
strength to go through a year of
presidential campaigning, and
may some of the promises made
be kept. May you believe at least
half of what the candidates pro
pose, and may those elected ful
fill at least half of what they
promise, and the miracle of
reduced taxes and balanced
budgets happen.
May you be awe struck by
God’ s sense of humor as you
wrestle with the possibility that
a professional wrestler could
become president of the United
States.
May what you see in the mir
lished proudly for the citizens of Houston
and adjoining counties by Houston Publi
cations Inc.. Peny, Ga. Our goal Is to pro
duce quality, profitable, community-orient
ed newspapers that you. our readers, are
proud of. We will reach this goal through
nard work, teamwork, loyalty and a strong
dedication toward printing the truth.
Member of Georgia Press Association
and National Newspaper Association.
"Congress shall make no law respecting
;hi establishment 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.
Houston Home Journal
young man who attended First
Presbyterian Day and played in
Perry against Westfield ath
letes.
This is the same Rocker
who’s parents provided hous
ing for two other Macon Braves
a couple of summers ago when
John Rocker played for the
Macon Braves. One of those
summer house guests was an
African-American.
What will happen? The argu
ment about the right and
wrong of Rocker's remarks
may continue for some time,
but don’t expect him to get a
warm welcome to my house. 1
hope he chooses to temper his
opinions with some human
kindness and gets help with
his anger.
Don’t look for a warm wel
come for Rocker, either, when
spring training camp opens.
During his interview. Rocker
slammed Latin Americans.
Both of the Braves' catchers
are of such lineage.
Most of all. I hope he eontin
ues to have opportunities to
speak the way he did. As long
as he can speak in such fash
ion. the family and community
newspaper industry will
remain alive and healthy.
Maybe, with some help, he
can control his rage and begin
to find the good in humanity.
That would be a joyous
moment for all of us.
ror delight you. and whal others
see in you delight them.
May someone love you
ertough to forgive your faults, be
blind to your blemishes, and tell
the world about your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to
make their sales calls until you
finish dinner, and may your
checkbook and your budget bal
ance, and may they include gen
erous amounts of charity.
May you remember to say “I
Love You” at least once a day to
your spouse, your child, your
parents, your friends, yourself.
May we live as God intended,
in a world of peace, and with
awareness of His love in every
sunset, every flower’s unfolding
petals, every baby’s smile, every
lover’s kiss, and every wonder
ful, astonishing, miraculous,
best of our hearts. Amen.
and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances." Your right to read
this newspaper is protected by the First
Amendment to the United State's Constitu
tion.
The Houston Home Journal (USPS
000471) la published weekly ter $21.40
per year (including sales tax) by Houston
Publications Inc., 807 Carroll St., Perry.
Ga., 31069. Periodicals Class Postage
paid at Perry, Ga. POSTMASTER : Send
address changes to the Houston Home
Journal. RO. Drawer M, Perry, Ga.
31069. ISSN: 1075-1874