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Viewpoints Writers offer thanks for program support, one seeks more results Editor: On behalf of the students and staff of the Perry Taekwondo Stu dio. 1 wish to thank you for your newspaper's coverage of the 1999 Perry Regional Championships on Dec. 4. This event drew over 500 competitors and judges from all over the Southeast. Please convey my thanks to Ms. Perkins and Ms. Green for their diligence in printing the articles, let ores, and advertisements for our tournament. I'hanks again for your support. David Feldman Perry Taekwondo Great support Editor: Christmas 1999: 450 boxes of food and 390 sacks of toys for 1150 residents. And you made it happen with your generous gift to the PAL Food i id Toy Drive. We thank YOU for caring! It’s an old. old saying but we imply could not have accom- Our Views * iood choice Members of the Perry Area Cham ber of Commerce made one of their best choices ever for the Seabie Hick son award this year when they named Earl Cheek recipient. Cheek, a long-time agriculture instructor at Perry High, has received so many awards and honors for his work, we wonder if he has room for one more. This one, however, he j 7 has certainly earned with his efforts on behalf of both Perry High and the greater Perry community. The Hickson award Ilk Jm < HiF.K is given each year to someone who < Ncinplifies the legend Hickson left >1 someone who has a servant atti tude toward the community. Earl Cheek embodies that attitude. He has served, he continues to serve, he will serve in the future. He is com mitted to making Perry the best it can be. He has focused on education all these years as the way to improve 1 he community. As a result, many Perryans have iiol only excelled at high school sub jects, tliey have* bettered themselves with higher education paid for, in part, by scholarships which Cheek has helped set up and direct. During his remarks to the Chamber Jan. 10. cheek promised to continue to work in this effort. He also challenged his friends to support similar projects. Earl Cheek is an example of a com munity servant. Thanks, sir, for all von do to make our community bet ter Big smile, big thanks Several persons attending the Perry Area C hamber of Commerce banquet Jan. 10 kidded outgoing chairman Stove Rodgers about the huge smile he was wearing. Ile said it was because he was leaving the office to Doug Bar net I. Likely he is glad to get some' of his private lile back and time to work on his business. Rodgers has done a good job as chairman and we thank him for the hours he put in to do the job well. Houston Home Journal I O Drawer M • 807 Carroll St. Perry. Ga. 31069 email homejrn®hom.net 1912) 987 1823 (voice) 1912) 988 1181 (lax) Doli I rlbblr President l| Johnson Editor and General Manager Ellen I Green Advertising Director Phil Clark Sports Joan Din sett Lifestyles LnNoiris Firming News Alline Konl Sports Letters to the Editor P.O. Drawer IV! Perry, Ga. plished the drive without your sup port! The PAL Committee Perry Discouraged alumni Editor: As a proud Perry High School Alumni, I am extremely disap pointed in the dismal football pro gram over the recent years. I think the educators at the school has taken an one-dimensional approach to education. There is nothing that can com pare to the “education" that 1 received on the track and field 7\ RODGERS Pauline Lewis Lifestyles Rob Mead News and Circulation Charlotte Perkins.. News and Composition Andy Stuckey Classified Susan R Thomas Bookkeeping Our Policies Unsigned editorials appearing in larger type on this page under the label Our Views reilect the |K>sition of the Houston Home Journal. Signed columns and letters on this page (and elsewhere in this newspaper) retted the opinions of the writers and not necessarily those of this newspaper Signed letters to the editor are wel 7\ ~The Peanut Gallery Are you My *<C**D~o PSyCHOLOG/CAL EUALUAT/OU Team? \ RfGtcr! $/ / VeswtvA / /W v> te //ctQ- p%r Despite Rockers idea , NYC is a good place John Rocker. Enough already. I think the Braves' pitcher has created sufficient punishment for himself - now and for years to come. For one thing, he has to face his teammates, and for another, he's going to face a lot of boos from here on out, if he manages to stay in the game. Still, it’s time for the media to let the subject rest, for crying out loud. 1 love baseball, and I’m a Braves fan. but I sure don't look to ball players for moral and social guidance, and I don’t think that the racist and sexist carryings-on of a 25-year-old pitcher constitute earth-shaking news. • •• New York City - Just as a side issue, and speaking as an old lady who's been there, I think it’s very sad when a young per son is so limited and provincial that he can go to New York City and NOT find things to like. I spent about 15 years of my life living about 12 miles from that spectacular city, and I'd be happy to go back for a visit any time. Sure there are problems, but there's so much, much more outstanding museums and one of the world’s great, dazzling, skylines - not to mention every imaginable kind of restaurant and shop...and Broadway... and Page 4 Wed., Jan. 12. 2000 under the direction of Coach Ron nie Royston, and his staff. 1 had the honor of playing for one of the few winning programs at Perry High School. The lessons that I learned on the field as a “winner" under Coach Royston program has played a direct role on my success as an Officer in the United States Army serving abroad protecting the interest of our Great Nation. As a High School athlete, I understood what it took to achieve success, in our fast paced society. Coach Royston used athletics as means to teach us about leader ship, discipline, resilience, service and scholarship. Once you under stand what it takes to achieve suc cess, you have a reference point to gauge all of your future successes and failures. I think it is embarrassing for Perry High School to have the only unsuccessful program in the coun ty. in the terms of wins and schol ar athletes produced. The same players we defeated in middle school and in our little leagues Charlotte Perkins Home Journal Staff Lincoln Center, and I could go on and on. All kinds of people, too. which is one reason it s •> fascinating. • •• Take that test I hope that many of you smart retirees are going to take the Census employment tests that are being given this week This is a good way to make some money and help your community at the same time. We have a news story and listings in our calendar of events (At the Crossroads, page 1) about these tests. • •• Tip of the week - We seem to be having the legendary "Janu ary Thaw" without having had much weather cold enough to thaw out of. Only those of us who get up early have seen the frost, and had to get it off our windshields. 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 (o the news paper office at 807 Carroll St.. Perry. Our liability for an error will not exceed the cost of space occupied bv the error We cannot Ire responsible for the return ol pictures or submitted materials unless a stamped, return address envek>|x- is included Our Goal The Houston Home Journal is pub enter into high school prog ams that turn them into state con tenders and college level athletes. What set those programs apart from Perry is simple - a commit ment to winning. Pern’ High can live up to its rep utation as a school of champions if tire administration takes the same commitment to excellence on the filed that it takes in the classroom. By taking our athletic programs for granted, we are denying many of the potential scholar athletes the opportunity to earn a free educa tion and open new doors to a tech nological societ y of which a college education is the key. Our community deserves a pro gram with a commitment to win ning. whose coaches promotes its players, and molds them into pro ductive citizens ( pt Rayfus J. Gary Cpt. Rayfus J. Gary is a 1990 graduate qj Perry High School, and a 1994 graduate oj Florida A and M University. He is currently serving in the U.S. Army as a Company If you don't enjoy that task, here's a lip. Pour a bottle of rub bing alcohol into an ordinary plastic spray container, and just spray some on your frosty wind shield It works like magic, clearing the frost away. O! course, it also leaves your cat smelling like cheap whiskey, but that will wear off before you get to work • •• Horses! Hie Georgia Horse Council will have its second big Horse f ail at the Agricenter this coming weekend. Note that we have a special section of the paper on that event. Any kind of horse show is likely to attract a big crowd around here, and this one is likely to bring in as many as 5.000. according to its plan ners. See you there. • •• Congratulations to Earl Cheek who was the 2000 recipi ent of the Seabic Hickson Award at Mondav night's Chamber of Commerce Banquet, and also got the best laugh of the evening bv commenting on Perry's many beautiful women and ugly men. • •• Congratulations also to Doug Barnet I. the new chairman of the board ol the Chamber, and to Steve Rodgers, who has com pleted his year as chairman. lished proudly tor the citizens ol Houston and adjoining counties bv Houston Publi cations Inc Perry. Ga Om goal is to pro duce quality, prolitahle. community-orient ed newspapers that you out readers are proud ol We will reach this goal through hard work, teamwork, loyally and a strong dedication toward printing the truth Member ol Georgia Press Association and National Newspaper Association “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ol religion or prohibiting the tree exert is< iherenl or abridging the freedom ol speech i■>l t ! o press or oil he right ol tie people pi a< > abh to assemble Houston Home Journal commander for a Communications company in Southwest Asia. (EDITOR S RESPONSE: I can not speak for the years prior to 1989, since that was my first year covering Perry High foot ball. (I have heard this question debated many times since. Ron nie Royston arrived at Perry High during a period which pro duced an unusually large number of quality athletes at one time. As a result, all of the male ath letic programs were in an upswing such as the baseball team which won the state title a couple of years later. (Since then, two coaches, John Stephens and George Collins, have worked with the high school students of southern Houston County to produce a winning football team. There have been some successful sea sons, and some less memorable. (Note that during this time, many of the Panther programs. See LETTERS, Page 8 Bab Tribble Home Journal President: Public has the right to know Last fall a member of Geor gia's larger daily newspapers participated in a statewide sur vey in an effort to determine to what extent government agen cies were complying with the states Open Records Act. Seven ty-five reporters from these newspapers visited three hnn dred and sixteen governmental agencies from sheriffs depart ments to school boards across the state. State law mandates that law r enforcement agencies release incident reports to anyone who ask. However, the statewide sur vey showed that only 50 percent of sheriffs offices and 63 percent of police departments complied with the law. Some surveyors were ques tioned about who they were, why they wanted to see the reports, where they worked, were sent from one office to another and even subjected to background checks. Not very impressive findings, especially from the sheriff's departments. On the other side of the spec trum. Georgia cities fared much better in the survey, which showed they made public records available 93 percent of the time. Their score put them well ahead ol the sheriffs departments, police depart ment’s, and school boards when complying with the sunshine laws. More cities are taking big ger steps to ensure that public records are public , and that is good. Some local school officials across the state seem to be unclear about what information can be released, and are wary of giving it to strangers, the survey revealed. For instance, only 20 of 43 local school districts across the state- allowed super intendents' contracts to be examined. Of the- 23 that refused, some said they had three days to produce the docu ment. others said the superin tendent would have to approve the release and some were unsure whether the contract was a public- document. One superintendent said he would not release any informa tion on a teac her in his system who had been disciplined lor See TRIBBLE. Page 8 and to petition the Government lor a redress of grievances Your right to read this newspaper is protet led by the First Amendment to the United Stales Consign tion The Houston Home Journal (USPS 000471) is published weekly for $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. P.O. Drawer M. Perry. Ga 31069. ISSN: 1075 1874 I M ; fk 7_