Newspaper Page Text
4A
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2004
UpSfSafrM
OPINIO N
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Seniors Are Given Break
The United States Supreme Court has denied
that enforcement of the law protecting older
workers actually is reverse discrimination.
Some younger workers sued because they said
that seniors were being given preferential
treatment by their employers. The younger
workers said that it was reverse discrimination,
since there is a law that prevents age discrimi
nation where older workers are concerned.
The Supreme Court shot down that argu
ment.
The law, the justices said, that protects sen
iors from age discrimination does not apply in
reverse.
The justices say that senior workers are vul
nerable. If they are not protected in the work
place they would face significant problems that
they could not overcome.
Actually, we believe that older workers are
very good workers. They come from a genera
tion that learned good working habits and con
sidered a job something to appreciate.
Sometimes they seem to be better qualified
than many younger workers who have suffered
from the decline in educational standards in
recent years.
The 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment
Act forbids discrimination against any worker
40 years or older. There are approximately 70
million workers who are 40 or over in the
United States.
Critics of the decision by the Supreme Court
contend that it renders younger workers help
less when it comes to job security. The argu
ment doesn’t seem to hold water.
What we now have, as a result of the court
decision, is a level playing field for workers of
all ages with the power of the United States
Supreme Court sanctioning it.
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JOB-TRAINING FOR THE UNEMPLOYED
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Threat of bio-terrorism must not be underestimated
The nurse with the hypo
dermic said the vaccine she
would inject in my bicep
included antibodies for a flu
virus originating in New
Caledonia. As she swabbed
my arm, she admitted she
couldn’t find New Caledonia
on a map, though the
Centers for Disease Control
(CDC) flyer indicated its
people “live close to animal
disease sources.” Viruses
that “jump species” often
produce epidemics. The
infamous 1970 s bug “swine
flu” probably jumped from
domestic pigs to humans.
I told the nurse New
Caledonia is an island in the
South Pacific, a French ter
ritory one long jumbo jet
ride from Paris. Oh, she said
as she took aim, her needle
jab quick, precise and
almost painless. She slapped
on a Band-Aid.
Bad bugs and big jets pres
ent a challenge. With the
advent of long-range com
mercial aviation, contagious
Rex Gambill
Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
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Austin Bay
Military Affairs
Creators Syndicate
disease can move from local
to global in days, if not
hours. The mutating
microorganism that jumps
from pig to human farmer in
New Caledonia can quickly
infect a tourist on her way
home to Marseilles. Mom
and Dad, guess what
Jacqueline brought back
from the South Seas? Two
weeks of low-grade fever.
Virulent microorganisms
The Rod of Aaron, Bonaire style
He was a mercurial little
fellow, this Aaron Welsh.
During our one brief
encounter, I found him to be
quite amiable and engaging.
And I truly wanted to know
more about him. I felt that
we would become friends.
But I do not start at the
beginning. Let me start over
and in logical sequence.
Sometime in the fall of
1998, Aaron Welsh tele
phoned me. “Who?” I said to
the receptionist. When you
have been in politics as long
as I have, you are always
wary of a call from a person
you do not know and of
whom you have never heard.
Such was the case with
Aaron Welsh. And, then,
there was his message: “I
want to make a walking
stick for you and Sen. Nunn,
and I want you to take Sen.
Nunn’s to him”. All of this
served to make me a little
suspicious. What did this
Aaron Welsh really want?
Was he trying to sell some
thing? Was he wanting a
“political favor”? Was he
some kind of a “nut”? But
there was a certain fresh
ness and enthusiasm that
came through over the line.
It's that time
It’s that time of year
again! The sunshine is
brighter, the daffodils are
blooming, the birds are
chirping. From an educa
tional standpoint, this can
only mean one thing: it’s
standardized testing time.
A lot of folks grumble
about standardized tests,
but those tests do serve a
purpose. On a state and fed
eral level, the tests are used
to determine achievement of
both individual students
and school systems. The
results can influence cur
riculum, funding, and even
policy, such as the No Child
Left Behind program. On an
individual level, parents and
teachers can use the results
to monitor the progress of a
child and discover areas
where the child needs
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are, unfortunately, also a
weapons system for 9-11
fanatics. Bubonic plague
was a Weapon of Mass
Destruction for medieval
Europe. The terrible flu
pandemic of 1918 and 1919
killed over 2 million people.
Bugs can kill en masse, and
they are much cheaper than
a nuclear device.
We’re beginning to grap
ple with the bio threat.
Ironically, it may be easier to
discuss nuclear and chemi
cal terror than the biological
variety. Nuclear and chemi
cal weapons are definitely
human products. The bio
attack strikes more secre
tively and insidiously. An
outbreak of disease may or
may not be a bio-weapon’s
evil spawn. The terror
becomes intimate. A bio
weapon delivery system
could be your next-door
neighbor, or the mosquito
that nicked you before din
ner. A chemical attack could
kill hundreds of thousands,
Larry Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgbc.com
He seemed interesting, this
Aaron Welsh. And I like
characters. So we decided on
a date and time to meet, and
we agreed that he would
come to my office in Perry. I
actually looked forward to
our meeting. I was not dis
appointed.
As I said, he was lively and
quick and seemed imbued
with life. We talked of poli
tics and trees and the Bible
and other things. And, I was
glad that he had come. And,
then, he told me that he
wanted to “measure me for
my stick”! And he did! And
he left with my promise that
Wm
Heather Ray
Education “Gum”
wordchick29@yahoo.com
improvement.
The tests and the results
are obviously important.
Luckily, there are several
things parents can do to
help their children perform
to the best of their abilities:
• Keep up with school -
and homework. A lot of
what your child is studying
right now will be covered on
the tests. Look over
returned papers and tests.
Take a moment to sit down
with your child as he or she
is doing homework. Contact
your child’s teacher to find
out what, if any, areas need
improvement.
• Surf the Web. Most of
the primary, elementary,
and middle schools in
Houston County have Web
sites with links that lead to
helpful study skills pages.
Some schools even have
links to practice CRCTs. (Be
aware, however, that these
links require a password.) If
you are unsure of your
school’s Web address, you
can find links to the schools
www.hcbe.net, the Houston
County Board of
Education’b site. Once the
but it would be a single
attack. The bio-attack could
linger for centuries, lying
dormant, then spreading
again into generations born
long after A 1 Qaeda enters
history’s ash heap.
Over a decade ago, I
attended a biotechnology
conference focused on bene
ficial research. However, two
speakers touched on the
near-taboo subject of
“designer bugs.” In theory, a
virus could be “designed”
genetically to attack a par
ticular human DNA strand,
one as unique as a single
individual. I jotted a note
about “the assassin bug.”
The script, unfortunately,
has already left sci-fi
Hollywood and entered sci
fact labs. What once
appeared alarmist - terror
ists disseminating bio-engi
neered diseases - is now rec
ognized as a multidimen
sional international security
threat.
Human lives are our first
I would visit him at his
Bonaire home “sometime
soon.” And December came,
and with it, a delivery of
Sen. Nunn’s stick and my
stick and a letter to me from
Aaron Welsh. My walking
stick, perfectly fitted for me,
was of the wild hawthorn
and had my name inscribed
thereon along with the
scales of justice. It is unusu
al and very handsome, and I
am proud of it. But I am
even prouder of the letter,
and I want to share its con
tepts with you, so here it is:
“STICK PROCESSED IN
Bonaire, GA, Co. of Houston
on Dec. 18 & 19 -1998. This
walking stick made for the
HONORABLE LARRY
WALKER.
Dear Larry. It is my pleas
ure to present to you this gift
of respect. I harvested this
stick on my property, July 4,
1992. The sapling is of the
wood wild Hawthorn, relat
ed to one called May-haw.
This stick is not intended in
any way as a crutch, but as a
thing of pride for the receiv
er as well as the giver. I pray
that you like this rod,
of year again
school’s Web site is accessed,
try clicking on “Links,”
“Technology” or
“Resources” to find the
study skills links. These
pages contain help for math,
language arts, and science,
sometimes in the form of
games that your child can
play while he or she works
on skills. One page in partic
ular, www.funbrain.com,
kept coming up on the Web
pages I surfed. It’s a neat
site - I definitely recom
mend you check it out.
You have to do a bit more
searching to access educa
tional links on the high
school sites. Sometimes the
links can be found on indi
vidual teachers’ pages or on
Media Center pages. If in
doubt, talk to your child or
contact the teachers, coun
' selors, or media center spe
cialists at your child’s school
to find out what links are
available. One site that I
stumbled on as a teacher is
www.studygs.net. This is a
wonderful site, offering test
taking and study skills, as
well as tips on writing, get
ting organized, and prepar
ing for graduation.
• Encourage your child to
read everything he can get
his hands on, from library
books to the back of cereal
boxes. The content isn’t as
important as the words your
child is absorbing. Children
who read a lot have better
vocabularies as well as
improved comprehension
and problem solving skills.
• Make sure your child
gets plenty of rest and exer
cise. Most doctors and psy
chologists will tell you that
nine to 11 hours of sleep a
concern. However, the
“madman” scenario of ter
rorists spreading small pox
may be less of an immediate
threat than an attack on
agricultural production. The
outbreak of bird flu in Asia
and now in Texas is a lesson
in the economic costs of “ag
terror.” Millions of slaugh
tered chickens represents
millions of lost dollars, and
also sows distrust in the
food supply. For terrorists at
war with civilized society,
doubt, distrust and fear are
major psychological and
political objectives.
We aren’t totally vulnera
ble. Aggressively pursuing
and destroying terrorist
cadres and the rogue states
aiding them is perhaps the
best public health program.
The World Health
Organization (WHO) and
CDC bio-sleuths run an
extensive disease monitor
ing and reporting network
designed to pinpoint poten
tial outbreaks and then pro-
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
though it is not the rod of
Aaron it was in fact
processed by Aaron, Welsh
that is, and its intent is
meant to be fulfilling.
May God guide you well.
Aaron Welsh”
Christmas 1998 was near
and came and went. Perhaps
I could visit Aaron Welsh at
his Bonaire home between
Christmas and the new year.
But the 1999 year came and
then the General Assembly
convened, and I was
extremely busy. But, true to
my promise, I would visit
Welsh after the session. And
then, I read it in the paper.
In the obituary section. It
was a short write-up, but it
told me that Aaron Welsh,
age 66, had died on Sunday,
Jan. 31, 1999. I would be
unable to keep my promise
to visit with Mr. Welsh at his
home in Bonaire.
I got a stick and so did
Sen. Nunn. But I got to visit
with Aaron Welsh, this
interesting man of which I
know so little. I know that I
got the “best end of the bar
gain,” both as to Sen. Nunn
and as to Aaron Welsh.
night will go a long way
toward a rested body and an
alert mind. Physical activity
not only promotes a healthy
body, but also builds self
confidence and, depending
on the activity, problem
solving skills. (And all that
exercise can make bedtime
much easier on you!)
Encourage your child to get
some exercise, or better yet,
join her for a game of tag.
Playing catch, biking,
Rollerblading, and even
walking around the block
are activities in which the
entire family can partici
pate.
• Be involved in your
child’s life. Of all the things
I’ve heard from administra
tors and counselors in the
past week, this is the com
ment that keeps coming up.
Your child needs to know
that you are not only aware
of what is going on with
him, but that you care about
it, and want to help him
make any improvements
that are necessary.
These are just a few sug
gestions to make the stan
dardized testing season easi
er on you and your child.
These next few weeks will
be stressful for children,
parents, and teachers alike,
but look on the bright side.
In a month or so, the tests
will be over, the azaleas will
be blooming, and summer
will be right around the cor
ner!
A former English teacher
at Perry High School,
Heather Ray is currently a
stay-at-home wife and
mom. When not changing
diapers, she’s hard at work
unraveling the mysteries of
modern education.
vide medical advice and
assistance. It does work,
especially when citizens
actively cooperate.
Quarantine is a key tool for
combating all forms of bio
terror, and was used last
year when SARS plagued
Asia. Careful inspection
helps stop the spread of agri
cultural diseases.
Vaccination programs are
a mqjor line of defense.
Vaccine preparation, howev
er, is a guessing game. Last
fall, the New Caledonia bug
was contained, but another
strain - one the vaccine I
received did not counter -
spread fever and fear. The
virulent strain killed hun
dreds globally. Still, ready
ing labs for “rapid-reaction”
research programs, stockpil
ing antiviral drugs and
budgeting money to surge
vaccine production is cash
well spent.
7b find out more about
Austin Bay, visit the
Creators Syndicate Webpage
at www.creators.com.