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♦ TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2005
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans Rex Gambill
Vice President Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
The gentleman Irom Perry
For those who have watched Larry Walker’s
long career in the Georgia House of
Representatives, the way he chose to disburse his
campaign funds should come as no surprise. This
is, after all, the same Larry Walker who thanked
over 150 people by name when he said his good
byes under the gold dome last spring.
The parceling out of $102,000 to a wide array of
deserving organizations reflected the man and his
values: his longstanding commitment to educa
tion, to young people, to good works, to the bet
terment of his home town, as well as his appreci
ation of those who have been his true friends over
the years.
He could have made one big showy bequest of
the $102,000, but instead he divided the money in
a way that will mean a lot to many.
To take just a few examples - the Perry High
School FFA Chapter got $2,500. The Westfield
Schools Girls Basketball program got the same
amount.
$5,000 went to the Perry Library, which is sore
ly in need of book-buying money.
$5,000 went to the St. James C.M.E. Building
Fund, SI,OOO to the Grovania Methodist Church,
SI,OOO to Henderson Baptist Church and the
Henderson Volunteer Fire Department.
Another SI,OOO went to Genesis House, which
serves homeless men.
The Salvation Army was remembered. So was
First Love Ministries. So was the Uptown Perry
Partnership, with money for new tables for the
Saturday Farmers Market.
And the largest bequest, $25,000, will help the
Perry Rotary Club with the Big Indian Creek
Project.
There were checks for the Mercer and
University of Georgia law schools, and for Middle
Georgia Tech, too, but the bulk of the money
stayed right here.
We like to think that some of the recipients
must have been astonished when they got those
checks in the mail.
But it should really come as no surprise to any
body that the gentleman from Perry, the leg
endary legislator who worked on so many budg
ets, and brought so many good things to his con
stituents, should use those funds to benefit his
hometown one more time.
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Houston Home Journal at P.O. Box 1910, Perry, GA31069, or
drop it off at 1210 Washington St. in Perry - between 8 a.m.
and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Learn how to
volunteer tonight
Editor:
In just about the time it
will take you to read this,
one Georgia child will
become the victim of con
firmed abuse or neglect.
Once identified, these chil
dren are often immediately
removed from their homes
and placed with relatives or
in foster care. Then the
juvenile court proceedings
begin. The goal of these pro
ceedings is to find a safe,
permanent home for child
victims of abuse or neglect.
Any adult who’s ever been
associated with the court
system in any state knows
just how slowly the “wheels
of justice” can grind.
Imagine what it must be like
to be a child caught in this
maze of court hearings
where important decisions
about his or her life and
safety are made by well
meaning but over-worked
strangers. Children, even
small ones, worry about
their future. Where can they
get answers? Who presents
their wishes to the court? A
CASA volunteer. CASAs, or
Court Appointed Special
Advocates, are a group of
trained volunteers who are
appointed by the court to
look after the best interests
of a child while his or her
case is pending in Juvenile
Court.
CASAs are people just like
you who volunteer about
eight hours of their time
each month to make a differ
ence in a child’s life, one
child at a time. CASAs visit
the child and get to know
them. They review all docu
ments pertaining to the
child’s case and speak with
teachers, parents and foster
parents. The result is a one
page report of facts, obser
One vote can become a mandate
Since the presidential
election a lot has been made
of the claim that President
Bush has a “mandate.”
It depends, I guess, what
you mean by mandate.
Democrats and critics point
out that he may have been
elected by more than 3 mil
lion votes, but there still are
millions of Americans who
did not vote for him. Hence,
they reason: No mandate.
This talk about mandates
reminds me of something
Tom McMinn, who served as
Warner Robins city clerk for
30 years, reminded every
one. “All it takes is four
votes for the mayor to buy
the Taj Mahal,” he would
say. What he meant was that
once the mayor had three
council votes, plus his own,
he could run the city the
way he wanted to.
This reminds me of how
important one vote can be as
a mandate. Tom Hunt was
elected to the Warner
Robins City Council with a
one-vote margin. Once he
became a councilman he was
Toothbrush mishaps? Call the HELPLINE
I may be the only man in
America to admit that -
sometimes - I need direc
tions.
I need directions when I’m
assembling any type of chil
dren’s toy or device.
I need directions when I’m
assembling any type of
adult’s toy or device. And I
especially need directions
when I’m driving to a place
I’ve never been before and
I’ve received directions from
a woman.
But there are some things
that just don’t require direc
tions - even for me and my
fellow simpletons.
I came to this realization
recently by the one item
that usually brings about
such an epiphany - a tooth
brush.
I’m not one to give tooth
brushes, or teeth, or math,
much thought. But at some
point, my wife was appar
ently told by someone in the
dentistry field that you are
required to have a new
toothbrush for every tube of
toothpaste you purchase. We
have less oxygen going in
and out of our house than
we have toothbrushes. In
our stockings for Christmas,
Santa brought each member
of our house new tooth
brushes. The toothbrushes
now outnumber actual teeth
in our house. And I think
the toothbrushes are multi
plying. I could have sworn I
saw two of them having a
candlelight dinner in our
sink the other night, but
that may have been the
cough syrup talking.
Anyway, recently, while
visiting the bathroom, I hap
pened upon one of the
newest additions to our
toothbrush family (of the
Spider-Man variety), still
wrapped in its fancy pack
age.
Being bored in the bath
room usually leads to blood
shed (see 1994 s Chest-
Shaving Incident), but this
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
vations and recommenda
tions about proper place
ment given to the judge for
consideration prior to court.
While the CASA is an
invaluable extra set of eyes
and ears for the court, to the
child, a CASA is someone
who is on their side.
Someone who can slice
through the confusion and
help the child understand
what is happening. A CASA
is the key to the child’s
involvement in his or her
own future.
In fiscal year 2004,
Houston County CASAs
have served 81 children.
However, there are about
170 children in the system
at any one time. You are
needed! If you cannot volun
teer, your donations are wel
come.
If you wish to learn more
about CASA, there will be
an orientation held on
Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2005, at the
Foy Evans
Columnist
foye vans 19@cox .net
able to vote any way he
wanted to and it did not
matter how big a margin he
had when he won. In effect,
that single vote gave him a
mandate.
And so it goes in politics.
A politician who is defeat
ed is history. What he wants
to do or what he stands far
becomes part of the trash
pile of history.
Winning in politics is
everything.
Whether the margin is one
Len Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel .net
time, I chose to simply read
the toothbrush box.
On the box, the following
was written:
DIRECTIONS: Take
toothbrush from box, using
the exit at the top. To use
toothbrush, place toothpaste
on top of toothbrush bris
tles, not on the side. Place
toothbrush in mouth, mov
ing bristles in a side-to-side
motion against the enamel
of your teeth. Brush rigor
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County Commissioner’s
Meeting Room in the
Houston County
Courthouse, 202 Carl
Vinson Parkway, Warner
Robins. Mr. Damone Horn, a
representative from Georgia
CASA will discuss the pro
gram and volunteer oppor
tunities. Light refreshments
will be served. Seating is
limited. Reserve your space
by contacting CASA of
Houston County at (478)
396-2185. For more infor
mation, please see our Web
site at
www.geocities.com/hococasa
Terry Di Diego
executive director
CASA of Houston
County Inc.
Warner Robins
Waiter, there's a
roach my pizza
Editor:
vote or millions the result is
the same. The winner goes
on to fill the office and carry
out the duties of the office as
he sees fit.
So it is with President
Bush. He was elected. He
will be sworn in for a second
term this month. He has a
mandate, for all practical
purposes, regardless of what
his critics say.
It has been that way since
George Washington was
president. Presidents set
their agenda. Unless they
are spineless, they don’t
look back. They move for
ward to carry out their
agendas within limits
imposed on them by
Congress.
When a president’s politi
cal party controls both hous
es of Congress, it is more
likely than not that he will
be able to get most of the
things he wrnts. President
Bush already has said he
intends to spend some of the
political capital he gained by
winning re-election and has
said what changes are
ously, then rinse mouth with
water.
Repeat.
Then, at the bottom of the
directions, the following was
written:
HELPLINE: If you have
problems with this tooth
brush, or questions on how
to use it, please call our 24-
hour HELPLINE at...
It then went on to list a 1-
800 number for a
HELPLINE. Yes, a tooth
brush with its own direc
tions, and a 1-800
HELPLINE.
Now, I could understand
needing to have directions
to use a toothbrush for a 1-
year-old, or for an adult who
was raised by apes in the
jungle and has just returned
to civilization.
But, usually - and I’m
admittedly jumping to
assumptions here - 1-year
olds and ape men just
released into civilized socie
ty can’t read.
This piqued my interest.
I mean, what kind of
toothbrush emergencies can
Where has customer serv
ice gone? Earlier today, our
office ordered Personal Pan
Pizzas from the Perry Pizza
Hut. We picked them up
from the restaurant and
took them to the office to
eat. While eating, a dead,
cooked roach was noticed on
one of the pizzas.
Needless to say, every
thing was packed up and
returned to the Pizza Hut.
The cashier was told of the
situation and we requested a
refund. She responded that
they did not give refunds.
We asked to speak to the
manager. The cashier took
the pizza to show to the
manager. While waiting for
the manager, it was noted
that the Health Inspection
was an 85 - one indicator
being a roach problem. And
while waiting, a roach
meandered across the wall
next to the Coke machine.
Finally, the manager came
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
important to him.
When Congress’ two hous
es are split between the two
political parties, it can be a
different story.
Some political observer*
are quick to point out that it
really is in the best interest
of the country for Congress’
two houses to be divided
between Republicans and
Democrats because the
minority party can provide
some balance in lawmaking.
This position can be
debated, however.
Sometimes, as with the
Democrats and their
obstructionist Sen. Tom
Daschle, the result can be
deadlock, which will prevent
adoption of many bills that
really should be dealt with.
Now, as President Bush
approaches his second term,
we will have an opportunity
to observe whether he uses
his mandate wisely and
whether Congress will have
enough recalcitrant
Republicans to make it diffi
cult for him to have his way.
one have that would require
asking for assistance on a 1-
800 number?
“Yes, I’m placing the
toothpaste on the brush, but
it keeps falling off the bris
tles before I can get it to my
mouth! What am I to do?
Help! God save me from this
horror!”
Many rural communities
in Georgia don’t have 911
emergency service, yet
there’s a 24-hour hotline for
people who can’t operate a
toothbrush?
As stated, I need direc
tions to open a can of soup,
but even I don’t need direc
tions on how to operate a
toothbrush. On the times I
miss my mouth and stick
the toothbrush in my eye, I
usually just quit and try
again the next day.
Who needs directions for
that?
Len Robbins is editor and
publisher of The Clinch
County News in Homerville,
whose award-winning week
ly column appears in over a
dozen newspapers.
up to the cash register, with
out acknowledging our pres
ence, and began writing on a
piece of paper. He gave us
the piece of paper with an
800 number and told us to
contact corporate if we
wanted a refund. No apolo
gy, no acknowledgement of
wrongdoing, no refund.
The roach on the pizza
was bad enough, but when
the attitude is taken that
this is business as usual -
one begins to question how
often does this happen? A
refund or at least an apology
would go a long way with
these customers; however, it
is hard to let something like
this slide with the lack of
customer service we
received.
Dawn Dunbar
Betsy Willard
Allison Garrett
Perry