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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2003
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Zone Changes Can Be Helpful
Few things upset parents more than having
school zones changed, resulting in their chil
dren not attending the schools they expected
them to based on where they purchased
homes.
In a community such as ours this upsetting
event has been inevitable for many families.
Some schools, naturally, are more desirable,
in the opinion of parents, than others. They
go to great effort and expense to locate with
in certain school zones. To learn later that
rezoning will send their children to other
schools is upsetting.
Another rezoning is coming next school
year. From what has been revealed, it appears
that the school board is on the right track.
Presently the high schools do not have feed
er systems upon which parents can rely.
Parents see their children who attend junior
high schools separated from some of their
friends as they go to separate high schools.
This can be upsetting to students as well as
parents.
If the school board is able to create districts
that can last for years, students will attend
junior and high school with the same friends
and acquaintances. People planning to pur
chase homes will know up front where their
children will attend school. It is an assurance
they deserve.
Several public hearings will be held by a
special committee to hear from the public on
rezoning of schools. Parents should take
advantage of these meetings so that when a
recommendation is made to the school board
in December it will reflect, as well as possible,
the will of the people.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Pearsall's letter
finds him lacking
Editor:
Some time ago, Jim
Pearsall said he was going
from “austere” to “aloof.”
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Warner Robins - between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday J f L>
through Friday. fy ' \
Defense bill benefits all of Georgias citizens
Georgia, with its long tra
dition of valuable contribu
tions to a strong national
defense, is home to 13 mili
tary installations, a large
veteran population, and crit
ically important defense
industries. It is no surprise
that federal defense spend
ing is intensely important to
Georgians.
The combined civilian and
military payroll of the bases
in Georgia pumps more than
$10.4 billion annually into
Georgia’s economy. This cre
ates jobs and opportunities
for all. That impact will be
increased thanks to a meas
ure passed by Congress to
fund the Department of
Defense which provides mil
itary personnel a much
needed pay raise of 4.15 per
cent, as well as an increase
in the basic allowance for
housing to reduce average
out-of-pocket expenses from
7.5 percent to 3.5 percent.
Another $79 million is pro-
Rex Gambill
Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
After reading his remarks
in your paper of Oct. 4-6,
2003, it’s obvious he has not
attained “austereness” or
“aloofness.”
R.C. Householder
Warner Robins
JV T
Saxby Chambliss
U.S. Senator
R-Georgia
vided for increases in family
separation allowances and
combat pay.
There is another side of
military spending. This is
the purchase of the equip
ment we need to fight wars -
the tanks, bullets, planes
and ships that every modern
military requires. Military
hardware is expensive; there
is no doubt about it. But the
cost and complexity of
Not-so-random thoughts on the news
SOME FACTS, some opin
ions and some observations
for the week ... Alan Jackson
has all those hit albums but it
seems he still can’t afford
jeans without holes in the
knees ... I don’t believe I ever
have known anyone who can
juggle so many jobs at one
time like County
Commissioner Tom
McMichael does ... I, for one,
am happy to see that the fed
eral government has desig
nated Warner Robins as a
Metropolitan Statistical Area
of its own. For all of the 54
years I have lived here,
Macon has had a paternalistic
attitude toward us and it is
nice that Uncle Sam recog
nizes that we are not part of
Macon and Macon is not part
of us ... I still like them as
neighbors, though, for I have
many fond memories of living
and working in Macon and
still have many friends there
... In his speech at the unveil
ing of the mule and tenant
farmer statue last week, for
mer President Jimmy Carter
eloquently spoke of his
upbringing in Sumter
County. If you haven’t read
his book “An Hour Before
Daylight” you should ... If
you missed it, the general in
charge of coalition forces in
Iraq said last week that he
expects the United States to
'Where did all
Don’t believe the he - you
will not be happy when you
get that shiny new car. You
will not find contentment
with the promotion you spent
a lifetime trying to attain. You
will not sleep better when you
buy that dream house.
Most intelligent people
know deep in their hearts
that chasing endless material
wealth is a dead-end road that
leaves souls as vacant as a bar
parking lot on a Sunday
morning. But still we chase
the ghost of worldly things.
I know there are some
absolutes in this life - things I
know to be true. If you live
just trying to get through the
day, believing that tomorrow,
or the next day, or the next
week will be better, life will
pass you by faster than a
motorist zooming by a tooth
less hitchhiker on 1-75.
One day you will be sitting
on a rubber couch in a retire
ment home, watching “Wheel
of Fortune,” and maybe you
will be wearing a diaper,
maybe you won’t, and maybe
you’ll be sucking your dinner
through a straw, maybe you
won’t, and you will scratch
your thinning, gray hair and
mutter to no one in particular,
“Where did all the days go?”
Learn to live in the
moment. One of my favorite
quotes is, “Life is what hap
pens while you’re making
other plans.” This very
moment is all we have. Don’t
assume tomorrow has been
granted to you.
I am absolutely convinced
that the best chance of living
life to the fullest is rooted in
your attitude. You cannot go
through life thinking that you
are a helpless and powerless
victim. Do you know someone
who complains all the time?
weapons mean there is an
economic upside to their
purchase. Since newer
weapons are so technologi
cally advanced, defense
industries hire engineers
and skilled workers to make
them. Suppliers for the
manufacturers generate fur
ther high quality jobs. As
the manufacturing base
grows, the growing concen
tration of talent and skill
begins to attract non
defense companies looking
for infrastructure and a high
caliber workforce for facto
ries or research centers.
This can lead to an increas
ingly diversified economic
base.
This is why the
Department of Defense
Appropriations Act, 2004
contains much good news
for Georgia.
The bill includes funding
which will help workers in
Georgia’s increasingly
important aviation industry.
|l|
™ •HP
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevans 19@cox.net
have troops in that country
for many, many years. It
makes sense. After all, we
have had troops in Europe for
60 years and we have had
troops in South Korea for 50
years. Once we go in we sel
dom leave ... A high school in
Norcross, Georgia, plans to
pay students S2OO a year to
attend classes. Absenteeism is
a problem. The principal also
is calling on local businesses
to contribute TV sets, CD
players and other items to
give to students for attending
classes. What next? ... Maybe
some school in Georgia can
emulate Philadelphia, where
plans are under way to pay
every student who completes
high school $3,000 ... Don’t
~Hp # **»■
j| Wm
lilll
Steve Tesseniar
Columnist
writeronstorm@aol.com
I’m talking about someone
who has a pity party for one
self 24/7 and believes that
happiness is directly tied to
someone or something else
out of his control. The only
glimmer of hope that the life
time victim gets is when he or
she is successful in pulling
someone else down into the
murky waters of misery and
helplessness.
•tivtu..
The bill provides $375 mil
lion for six C-130Js which
are the workhorse of mili
tary transport; $91.6 million
for the C-5 Avionics
Modernization Program
which modernizes the
heavy-lift C-5 Galaxy air
craft necessary to move
troops and equipment
worldwide; and $3.65 billion
for 22 F/A-22 fighter air
craft. These fighters prom
ise air superiority for
American in the dangerous
decades to come. All of these
aircraft are built in part or
whole in Marietta.
Other expenditures in avi
ation include $3 million for
the Aging Aircraft program
at the Warner Robins Air
Logistics Center; $2.1 billion
for 11 C-17 cargo aircraft
partially manufactured in
Macon; and S9B million for
two C-37 aircraft built by
Gulfstream in Savannah.
One each of the C-375,
which are military versions
we have truancy laws? Why
not enforce them? ... One way
to cut down on the cost of
HOPE scholarships is for col
leges to stop holding remedial
classes to teach freshmen
how to read and write. It
doesn’t seem to me that any
one with an honest B average
should be unable to read and
write. Anyone who shows up
without this ability should be
sent back to their high
schools to learn to read and
write. It just isn’t a college’s
job ... A suggestion has been
made that a tax of $1 a gallon
be added to gasoline prices to
(1) raise money to pay for
rebuilding Iraq and (2) reduce
the dependence on foreign oil
to punish Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait for their duplicity in
dealing with us. A good idea
that just won’t fly ...
Economic cycles come and go
and presidents get credit
when things are good and
blame when they are bad. But
presidents cannot control eco
nomic cycles. The first
President Bush was victim of
a faltering economy. It looks
like the economy will be
booming when his son seeks
re-election next year. The
recession was not George W’s
fault and he won’t be respon
sible for the recovery ... I feel
sorry for the many Reservists
and National Guard person
the days go?'
Yes, life is hard, and some
times, even cruel, but with
persistence, patience and
prayer, mistakes and obsta
cles can be conquered.
I also believe in the healing
power of forgiveness.
Everyone has been wronged
and life can be unfair some
times. Get over it before you
are pushing up daisies from
six feet under.
Bitterness can blacken your
soul and harden your heart.
When you let hatred monopo
lize your thoughts, you’re the
one who ultimately loses.
Sometimes we all need to
step away, out of the daily
grind. When I need to cleanse
my soul, I always find my way
to the Gulf coast - my favorite
place to escape.
And when the sun slips into
a mirrored sea, I quietly give
my problems to the sighing
waves washing over my feet.
The Good Lord promised that
He would bury our burdens
in the depths of the ocean if
of Gulfstream business jets,
will go to the Navy and the
Army respectively. Other
aviation-related expendi
tures include $89.6 million
for nine additional
Blackhawk helicopters
which use fuel tanks manu
factured by Engineering
Fabrics in Rockmart and
$3.5 million for JSTARS
engines.
The bill also provides $35
million for school districts
impacted by the children of
military personnel, and $8.5
million to help build the
National Infantry Museum
at Ft. Benning in Columbus.
This museum will celebrate
the role of the infantry and
generate jobs and tourism in
Western Georgia.
Finally, Congress has also
allocated $930 million to
convert two Trident
Ballistic Missile Submarines
to Guided Missile
Submarines, one of which
will call Kings Bay Naval
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
nel whose lives have been put
on hold by the Iraq conflict.
They volunteered, I know, but
I doubt that many of them
imagined that their civilian
fives would be so disrupted
for so long ... Regular Army
and Marine Corps recruiting,
incidentally, is more than
meeting expectations
Watson Boulevard and
Russell Parkway definitely
will be resurfaced. The work
will be done by a different
contractor than the one that
resurfaced all the other
streets in Warner Robins ... I
asked WR Councilman Grady
Clements how Councilman
Matt Stone is doing. He said,
“He’s a nice young man. He
just has to learn there are six
of us, not just one.” ... On the
other hand, there is just one
mayor, which is something
Homer J. Walker pointed out
to me many years ago ...
Something that every person
serving in public office will
tell you: No matter how much
candidates believe they know
about an office they really
have no idea what it is all
about until they actually
begin serving ... I find it
interesting how perspective of
candidates can change once
they get elected and have to
make decisions.
we will only release them.
Finally, parents, stop your
hurried existence long
enough to hit the rewind but
ton. Can you remember the
miraculous day your child
was born? Remember how
deliriously happy you were?
Can you recall holding your
baby in your arms for the first
time and truly believing that
your child’s heartbeat was
your own? Slow down. That
newborn baby will be a man
sooner than you can imagine.
And one day you will be sit
ting in your favorite rocking
chair, and maybe you will be
alone and maybe you won’t.
And maybe you will still have
your real teeth and maybe
you won’t. And you will
scratch your thinning, gray
hair and mutter to no one in
particular, “Where did all the
days go?”
Steve Tesseniar is principal
of Russell Elementary School.
His column appears every
Thursday.
Base in southeast Georgia
its home. Though the con
version work will not be
done in Georgia, the basing
of the submarine at Kings
Bay will add personnel and
missions to the facility.
Basing the submarine at
King’s Bay will strengthen
Georgia in the upcoming
and final round of base clo
sures. The Base
Realignment and Closure
Commission (BRAC) sub
mits its recommendations in
2005, and the key considera
tion is an installation’s mili
tary value and relevancy to
national security.
A strong military defends
us from enemy threats. A
strong economy helps our
state and our nation. This
public law helps us build a
strong defense as well as a
strong local economy, and
that is a benefit for all
Georgians.
Saxby Chambliss is one of
Georgia’s U.S. senators.