Newspaper Page Text
4A
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2004
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Penalize Una It Hurts
The paving contractor who is supposed to resur
face Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins has been
absent without leave far too long.
Douglas Asphalt was supposed to do the job last
winter. Then workers for the company left town and
haven’t been seen since.
The Georgia DOT, which let the contract because
Watson Boulevard is a state highway (also known as
Ga. 247 Connector), has received promises from
Douglas Asphalt, but no action.
The most recent date that the company promised
to complete the job, which was begun half a year
ago, was July 11. But nobody from Douglas Asphalt
showed up.
Meanwhile, Watson Boulevard is a messed-up
street unworthy of a progressive city.
The Georgia DOT began penalizing Douglas
Asphalt months ago with a fine of $750 a day.
Apparently paving contracts are so lucrative that a
fine of $750 is not worth being concerned about.
It appears that Douglas Asphalt will return when
they run out of work elsewhere - if ever!
The Georgia DOT should act immediately by tak
ing two steps that would get the paving company’s
attention.
1. Make the fine SIO,OOO a day until Douglas
Asphalt gets the job done. (And do not forgive the
penalty at a later date.)
2. Notify Douglas Asphalt that the company has
been removed from the list of companies eligible to
bid on state paving contracts for a specified period
of time.
These two actions should get the company’s
attention. It is apparent that a small fine accompa
nied by pleas are not getting any results.
The people of Warner Robins deserve to have this
street paved. They should not be forced to wait any
longer.
A penalty that is large enough to hurt the pocket
book of even the largest paving company seems to
be the only reasonable way to get the job done.
Anything less on the part of the Georgia DOT is
an insult to the people of Warner Robins and sur
rounding cities who use this thoroughfare to go to
work at Robins Air Force Base each day.
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Allow children to form their own identity, within reason
Already I’m getting the
catalogues about fall and
"back to school," featuring
the latest kids’ fashions, etc.
So much for the lazy hazy
days of summer. If I don’t
order now, they'll be out of
stock of the things I want
soon.
Anyway most of my cata
logues are from LL.. Bean
and Lands' End. The fash
ions in there are way better
than the nonsense one finds
at retail stores. The low
slung hip huggers and the
tiny midriff baring tops for
second graders would be
ridiculous if they weren't
indicative of how we sexual
ize even our youngest kids.
I've written about this
before, the battles with chil
dren that some parents have
dubbed "the whore wars."
But here's the other side
of that coin. I think some of
us parents panic too much
when it comes to the way
our kids dress, and we need
Rex Gambill
Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
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Betsy Hart
From the Hart
Scripps Howard News Service
to allow for a little more per
sonal taste - and not be so
afraid when our kids come
home and announce they
HAVE to have a certain item
of clothing because "that's
what all the girls are wear
ing."
When my little boy was in
the second grade, there was
another little guy in his
class whose mother had
Sections of years gone by were exciting
We have just gone through
an election. It was impor
tant. But there were none of
the fireworks that made
elections many years ago so
interesting and entertain
ing.
Here are few of the memo
ries from years gone by:
• Back in the Fifties,
when Warner Robins’ popu
lation was about 7,000, elec
tions were exciting and hard
fought. There were two
fiercely partisan political
groups that went at each
other tooth and toenail for
every office on the ballots.
• Voters took their politics
and elections seriously. City
council meetings always
were well attended. The
lobby of city hall overflowed
at every council meeting.
Sometimes the meetings
were quite fiery.
• Many more people ran
for mayor and council than
today. Candidates and their
supporters knocked on
doors to ask for votes.
Candidates believed that it
was absolutely necessary to
ask every person for their
vote. It was democracy as it
was intended to be.
• Some supporters of can
didates stayed up all night
before elections, roaming
around town trying to round
up votes. There was one
man in town who claimed
The end of my low-carb diet
I just completed a low
carb diet. For two grueling
days I avoided all of my
favorite foods - bread, pasta,
chips, French fries and fruit.
That’s right -1 only lasted
two days on this stupid diet
that doesn’t even allow you
to have cookies and milk.
I thought I could really do
this Atkins Diet thing. I
know folks that have lost 10
or 20 pounds by eating ham
burgers and steaks. It
sounded like something I
could handle.
And for 48 hours I was
eating nothing but meat and
salads. My body was crying
for the carbs, but I would
just stuff another piece of
bacon in my mouth and gut
apparently decided that her
little guy would NOT dress
like his peers. He arrived
every day in pressed khakis,
or pressed khaki shorts, a
button down shirt, a bow
tie, and often a vest. This
was a typical public school
classroom, so unfortunately
that child was generally
ostracized from the social
life of the other boys.
Now, I would love it if kids
dressed that way in the pub
lic schools. I actually think
school uniforms are a grand
idea. But that's just not the
way real life is. So, why on
earth did this child's mother
insist on torturing her child
this way? Because it's wrong
to want to fit in with one's
peers?
Look, when I go out for an
evening, say to a cocktail
party, what's the first thing
I'll ask the hostess, or anoth
er guest whom I know is
going? "What are you wear
ing?" And I will often adjust
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Foy Evans
Columnist
foye vans 19@cox.net
that he could deliver a group
of votes. He couldn’t. But he
could always count on com
peting candidates to come
through with cash just in
case he really did have some
influence.
• On the morning of elec
tions you could count on
having one or more scandal
sheets on your doorstep.
They usually were libelous.
Nobody ever took responsi
bility for them, but you
knew could guess who did it
when you saw which candi
date was being victimized. It
was all part of the game in
those days.
• Crowds gathered around
city hall from the time the
polls opened until the votes
were counted. A swig of good
corn liquor swayed quite a
few votes at the last minute.
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Steve Tesseniar
Columnist
writeronstorm@aol.com
it out.
The second day of my diet
fell on a Sunday. My mom
had made black-eyed peas
and macaroni to go along
with chicken.
I cannot explain the sad
ness of watching everyone
else eating black-eyed peas
and macaroni, while I poked
at my salad with fat-free
dressing. My sadness turned
to rage as the sun set on my
second no-carb day.
I started hearing voices -
Life is too short to give up
cookies. Pasta is my friend.
Potato chips make life bear
able. Pizza is a God-given
right. Classic Coke is essen
tial for mental health.
Suddenly, I found myself
behind the wheel of my
Jeep. I tried to fight it - hon
est, I did.
my sartorial plans accord
ingly. Let's face it -I just do
not want to show up looking
like an idiot.
When my son was in first
grade, he had a collared
green and tan striped shirt.
He was adamant he not
have to wear it to school,
though he didn't want to tel!
me why. Finally it came out:
"mom, all the kids say I look
like Steve" on the kiddie pro
gram "Blues Clues." I never
made him wear that shirt
again.
That's because our kids
don't want to look like idiots
either. To some extent recog
nizing social clues and want
ing to adhere to what our
peers are doing is a good
thing. I mean, if we really
didn't care at all what others
thought about us, we would
n't have much of a civiliza
tion.
In a host of areas, I just
don't think parents have to
see peer pressure as always
One prominent citizen liked
to stand on an orange crate
and quote his brand of dog
gerel blasting candidates
that he did not like. Election
day was as good as any cir
cus.
• The most memorable
election involved the re-elec
tion of Mayor Kemp
Harrison, who was in feder
al prison. A good man who
made the same mistake that
Martha Stewart did - not
telling the truth to federal
agents - Harrison was very
popular. When his term
expired while he was in
prison, supporters erected a
big canvas tent at the corner
of Watson Boulevard and
Davis Drive. Rallies were
held there every evening
during the election season.
Harrison was re-elected
resoundingly, but a federal
judge refused to let him
serve when he came back
home.
• The closest race for city
council was won by Tom
Hunt - a one-vote margin.
The results were challenged,
but the vote count held up.
Since then I have taken the
saying “every vote counts”
seriously.
• The most unusual cam
paign slogan I remember
was used by Clint Watson in
his campaign to become
county ordinary (now called
But by the time I arrived
at the grocery store, I had
the shakes and I was drool
ing all over myself. •
An invisible force pushed
me toward the giant shop
ping buggies and in no time
I was racing down the aisles
like a madman who had
been stranded on a desert
island for years.
I grabbed everything that
the diet said was forbidden -
apples, grapes, peanut but
ter, a loaf of bread, two
kinds of cookies, a gallon of
milk, chocolate candy and
Cokes.
I almost bought a can of
black-eyed peas to make up
for what I missed Sunday,
but decided they wouldn’t
go too well with the rest of
what I was about to inhale.
By the time I arrived at
the register, my hands were
sweaty and I had trouble
keeping the pen steady as I
wrote out the check. Surely
this must be what an addict
feels as he tries to break free
from his addiction.
Minutes later I was eating
an extra crunchy peanut
butter sandwich with salty
potato chips. On the side I
had an orchard of firm, red
grapes and an apple loaded
with more peanut butter on
top.
I washed all of this down
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an evil thing.
When it comes to my two
older kids, I'm less con
cerned about picking out
certain outfits for them, or
making sure they even dress
to my taste, than I am about
helping them understand
what they communicate by
the way they dress, and the
values they express. (I do
pick out the clothes for the
two real little ones.)
Is it appropriate for the
occasion? Is it practical? Are
they showing respect for
themselves, and respect for
others? For instance, if they
are going to Aunt Gretchen's
for a special dinner, they
cannot dress in a slovenly
way because that tells Aunt
Gretchen they don't care
about her, and so on.
But within those parame
ters, I want them to develop
their own "style," just as I
have my own style. My old
est daughter actually likes
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
probate judge). A native of
Warner Robins, Watson
went all over Houston
County telling people “I am
running for the office of
ordinary and I am the most
ordinary person you will
ever meet.” He wasn’t that
ordinary, but he was elected
to the office of ordinary and
served many terms until he
retired.
• From a newsperson’s
standpoint a memorable
incident involved the candi
date who was seeking re
election to city council. He
angrily told the news editor
that calling him “incum
bent” was an insult and
never to use that word with
his name again.
Elections just aren’t the
same anymore. People don’t
show the same interest in
their local governments,
either. Unless someone’s ox
is being gored they don’t go
to the trouble to attend
meetings.
Not as many people are
willing to run for office as
there were half a century
ago. You wonder why. Is it
lack of interest? Is it the
cost? Is it unwillingness to
subject themselves to the
kind of public scrutiny
prevalent today?
Regardless, we need more
capable people to run for
public office in our county.
with the best tasting Coke
I’ve ever had. I felt like a
convict celebrating his first
day of freedom in years.
And as the commercial
says - “But wait, that’s not
all.” I busted both kinds of
cookies out and poured the
tallest glass of cold milk the
world has ever seen.
Imagine the Cookie
Monster from “Sesame
Street.” That was me.
Crumbs flying everywhere.
A giant milk mustache.
Afterwards, I sat on the
love seat, dreamy-eyed and
content. My hands were sta
ble again.
My golden retriever quick
ly went into her vacuum
cleaner mode and inhaled all
of the food that went flying
off my plate during my
delirious intake of extreme
carbs. She seemed happier,
too.
For all of you low-carb
people out there mocking
me - you can’t hold out for
ever. I will smile and try my
best to get out of your way
the night you lose control
and are racing down the
potato chip aisle at warp
speed.
Steve Tesseniar is princi
pal of Russell Elementary
School. His column appears
every Thursday.
to dress more conservatively
than I do. I have to convince
her it's okay to wear pants to
church, for instance. This
may well change in time, but
she's definitely developing a
"look" that's all her own.
My son likes to wear knee
length cargo shorts. I'm not
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fer shorter pants. But he
likes them and that's his
style.
Certain things are "out," of
course. No Brittney
Spears/whore outfits ever,
no baggy low-slung pants on
my son, no nasty T-shirts
and so on. But hopefully, if
I'm helping them to think
about how they dress, not
just what they wear, those
battles won't be quite so fre
quent.
Betsy Hart, a frequent
commentator on CNN and
the Fox News Channel, can
be reached by e-mail at mail
tohart@aol.com.