Newspaper Page Text
♦ THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2005
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
President,
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Comply Or Pay The Price
Some Georgia drivers may be in for a big surprise
when they are cited for failure to comply with a little
known law that is being strictly enforced since Jan. 1.
Last year the legislature passed a new booster seat
law. Failure to comply with the law will result in a fine
and there is no chance for a waiver for any reason.
The new law, which went into effect July 1, 2004,
requires children 5 years and under to be restrained
in a car seat or booster seat in the back seat of a vehi
cle when it is moving.
The seat, according to SAFE KIDS of Georgia,
should be appropriate for the child’s weight and
height and used according to the manufacturers’ spec
ifications.
Through December of last year a driver who was
shown to be in violation of this law were able to pres
ent proof of purchase of a seat to the court and have
the fine waived. That grace period has expired.
The law, which some parents seem to find objection
able, has widespread support. Such organizations as
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, SAFE KIDS of
Georgia, AAA, the Georgia Chapter of the American
Academy of Pediatrics and Ford Motor Company put
their support behind the bill that created this law and
now are supporting its enforcement wholeheartedly.
We are aware - as our readers are - of parents who
flout this law. They got away with it last year. They
won’t this year. Law enforcement officers are expect
ed to issue tickets to violators and the law requires
that fines be paid for violating it.
While we might question whether there should be
laws forcing adults to do things they object to, we find
ourselves supporting this law because it is designed to
protect the lives of small children who are incapable of
protecting themselves.
We encourage readers of this newspaper to get on
board, comply with this booster seat law, avoid fines
and, perhaps, save the life of one of their children.
’Don't worry I'll take over now!"
f'
He doesn't 'know' God
Editor:
I am responding to Mr.
Gadbois’ Jan. 16 letter.
Mr. Gadbois’ letters have a fla
vor for criticizing and question
ing religion, or more pointedly
Christianity. By questioning and
commenting on a belief system
that he obviously has no connec
tion to, I must surmise that he is
searching for answers. I, in no
way, have “the” answers, but
You have uuestions? I have all the answers
One of the most rewarding
parts of this job is the oppor
tunity to answer questions
from readers. It is a respon
sibility I take very seriously.
Perhaps something I say
could advance the cause of
world peace, or maybe even
turn John Kerry’s frown
upside down. You just never
know.
Now to the mailbox to see
what inquiring minds want
to know.
Dear Dick: I am a success
ful gymnastics coach at a
large state university locat
ed in Northeast Georgia. My
boss is the athletic director.
The athletic director’s boss
is the president of the uni
versity. The president’s boss
is the State Board of
Regents. The most powerful
regent on the board is my
fianc6, who is married to
another woman. Will I ever
Rex Gambill
Managing Editor
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
know about all of the questions
personally and have found my
own answers to peace through
the Lord Jesus Christ. I find it
offensive that Mr. Gadbois would
attempt to put into words his
“take” on the beliefs of those
who see God as the true creator
of the heavens and Earth, espe
cially since he makes it clear that
he does not align himself with
those beliefs. If he doesn’t
believe in God, how then can he
“know” God?
' 4 • I||!|| ,
tiiiiit Jt
111 m
Dick Yarbrough
Columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
find happiness?
Suddenly Sullen Susan
Dear Suddenly: I have
some good news for you. You
are already a lot happier
than the athletic director,
the president and the
regent’s wife.
Dear Dick: I am a flagger
looking for some informa-
All that growth creates real challenges
Is there such a thing as
population overload? Are all
the residential develop
ments now on the drawing
board going to create prob
lems that cannot be han
dled?
Will so many new homes
on the horizon result in an
overabundance of housing
which will cause some devel
opers and builders to crash
and burn?
These are legitimate ques
tions as we look at what
happened last year - almost
1,800 new homes plus an
apartment complex.
Knowledgeable people in
the industry say that some
thing like 34,000 new homes
are on the drawing board.
Of course, this does not
mean they will pop up
overnight. This is a long
range outlook. Half that
many lots are being pre
pared for sale in numerous
subdivisions throughout the
county.
There is plenty going on.
One developer told me that
he has eight subdivisions
already laid out with streets
waiting for final approval by
government agencies.
All that glitters is not cold
(or maybe global warming will not be so bad after all)
Can you believe that the
Eagles and Falcons actually
played a game in that awful
weather last weekend?
I told my husband, Rick, I
really did not think anyone
would show up to watch a
football game in the middle
of a blizzard.
If nothing else, I said, the
moms of the football players
would probably tell their
sons they just were not
allowed to play outside in
such cold weather.
Of course, Rick laughed.
And, of course, the stadium
ended up filled with specta
tors.
As I sat there watching
the game, my heart was
with the players’ mothers
who must certainly have
been worried about their
kids getting sick.
It is Rick’s opinion that
the moms were all in the
stands cheering with every
one else.
• • •
It is a constant battle at
our house during the winter
over the settings of the ther
mostat.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
I do believe that God created
all that we see, but I also believe
that He gave us a free will. If Mr.
Gadbois were to consider this
simple idea, that we have choices
for everything that we face in life
and those choices have good and
bad consequences, then he might
also see that the bad choices pro
duce bad consequences and that
we are at fault, not God, for
those results.
Aside from Mr. Gadbois’ obvi-
tion. There is a guy in the
Georgia Legislature named
Glenn Richardson. I believe
he is from Paulding County.
We flaggers don’t like him
and have made sure that he
knows. One of our Web site
postings even says that he
“may not be strong enough
mentally for the job.” Can
you tell me whatever hap
pened to him? Homer from
Homerville.
Dear Homer: My sources
tell me that Rep. Richardson
is now Speaker of the House
and has a management style
that makes Tom Murphy
look like Spongeßob
Square Pants. I understand
also that he has a long mem
ory. As soon as the House
passes a bill calling for a ref
erendum on the old state
flag, be sure and let me
know.
Dear Dick: There have
been a lot of questions
jj j
wf-. x
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevans 19@cox.net
Goodness knows how many
other developers are moving
dirt, putting in streets and
utilities as builders wait in
line to purchase building
sites from them.
One developer told me
that he no loner sells single
lots to builders. The demand
is so great that he will sell
only to builders willing to
buy in the range of 20 to 50
lots at one time.
You can be sure the
builders who stick their
necks out that way, as well
as the financial institutions
providing the money, do not
Emily Johnstone
Columnist
ejohnstone@evansnewspapers.com
Rick has his favorite chair
positioned in such a way
that he has a clear view of
the thermostat while he
watches television.
Whenever I pass by he
watches to make sure I do
not change the setting. I
suppose this makes him the
Thermostat Police.
Not one time have I been
able to turn it up without
being caught.
For someone who has
trouble seeing his clothes
recently about the media’s
integrity. Have you ever
made up stuff or alleged
things without checking
them out first? Dan from
New York City.
Dear Dan: Absolutely not.
Then again, I have never
worked for CBS.
Dear Dick: The Cobb
County School Board wants
to place stickers on science
textbooks saying that evolu
tion is just a theory. What
are your thoughts? Rev.
Elmo Gantree.
Dear Rev: That’s a
toughie, so I ran your ques
tion by God, just to be on the
safe side. God told me to tell
you that if we would worry
more about loving our
neighbors, forgiving each
other’s faults and spend
more time sitting in our
houses of worship instead of
sitting in judgment of oth
ers, stickers would be irrele
intend to sit on the building
lots very long.
For everyone to remain
solvent and show a profit
there must be a big turnover
... and fast.
It seems almost futile to
ask the question, “Where
are the people coming from
... and why?” You get many
answers. But it is a fact they
are coming to Houston
County and the pace is
accelerating.
A developer raised a ques
tion with me a few days ago
that I had not thought of
before: “How long can
Warner Robins and Perry’s
sewer treatment facilities
handle the growth?”
It is a good question.
Warner Robins, growing as
rapidly as it is, certainly
cannot continue many more
years without more sewer
treatment facilities. The last
expansion of its sewer treat
ment plant was something
like 20 years ago.
Perry’s sewer treatment
plant is undergoing an
upgrade, but it is not being
increased in capacity.
However, Perry is in much
better shape than most peo
need to be picked up off the
floor, he can certainly spot
any sleight of hand within
20 yards of that thermostat!
• • •
Have you seen the frozen
fountain in downtown Perry
during one of our cold morn
ings?
Each winter on especially
cold days we enjoy riding
past to see the long icicles.
And I have noticed the
new fountain is in place at
the triangle city park.
It is beautiful and will be
especially gorgeous when it
is operating.
That area has turned into
a showplace to be proud of,
don’t you think?
Everything about it -
down to the healthy-looking
trees - is a lovely sight.
• • •
With Groundhog Day fast
approaching, many of us are
hoping this furry animal
will not see his shadow
when he peeks out of his
underground abode.
My hubby says there is a
better way to tell when the
ous searching, the rest of his let
ter appears to be void of a point
and full of many inaccuracies. He
questions why God would allow
overpopulation and then ques
tions the more than 160,000
deaths during the tsunami. That
seems contradictory. As well,
overpopulation is more of a myth
than a fact. For instance, no one
can dispute that there is close to
6 billion individuals on this plan
et. Also, no one can dispute that
vant. He says everybody is
going to find out who is in
charge one of these days
anyway - stickers or not. By
the way, God asked me also
to pass along that He per
sonally has no problem with
women preachers and for
the rest of you to get over it.
Dear Dick: You write often
about St. Simons Island on
the Georgia coast and Big
Canoe in the North Georgia
mountains. Which place is
your favorite? Sonny from
Bonaire.
Dear Sonny: When the
sand gnats are out, it is Big
Canoe. When the bears are
out, it is St. Simons.
Dear Dick: Now that
Cynthia McKinney has won
back her seat in Congress,
will you continue to write
about her? Rappa Dappa
Doo
Dear Doo: Only if the sun
rises in the East. However,
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
pie realize. There is a sewer
treatment plant with sub
stantial capacity at the
chicken processing plant on
Ga. 247 Spur. Perry owns it.
Much of the growth that is
projected for that area will
become customers of the
Perry facility.
Already there are signs
that there will be substan
tial residential growth south
of Perry. It is coming sooner
than many realize. Sewer
treatment for homes in this
area may turn out to be a
problem. It takes at least
two years to increase capaci
ty of an old treatment plant
or build a new one.
It is possible that the
number of housing units in
Houston County will double
within the next 10 or 15
years, but it will not - can
not - happen without some
serious investments in
infrastructure and sewer
treatment facilities.
I imagine that some seri
ous meetings are going on
right now in anticipation of
the impact inevitable
growth is going to have on
our cities and county within
a few years.
weather is getting warmer,
though.
According to him, the
freckles on my face become
more numerous.
As a matter of fact, 1 have
a few that decided to join
together and form a metro
politan area.
As a young girl, I tried to
get rid of them in various
ways, including sponging
my face with lemon juice.
Nothing worked!
Now, I have a more bipar
tisan attitude toward them.
• • •
Did you know that fluori
dation of drinking water is
celebrating its 60th anniver
sary this year?
That is according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, which cites
Grand Rapids, Mich., as
being the first town to start
what is now a common prac
tice among communities.
• • •
Does anyone know where
you can find Johnny Harris
brand barbecue sauce in this
area?
there are 170,756,480 acres in
the state of Texas. You do the
math, but every single individual
on the Earth could have almost
1/3 of an acre of land and fit
within the state of Texas. That
leaves a greater majority of the
Earth’s land unaccounted for.
How could that be considered
over-population?
Kellie Day
Fort Valley
our Ambassador to Outer
Space is going to have some
stiff competition this year.
Vernon Jones, the CEO of
DeKalb County is coming on
strong. He had a rape charge
filed against him recently,
but says he isn’t worried
because he is going to follow
the example of former
President Bill Clinton.
You’ve got to love a guy who
thinks like that. And then
there is the new sheriff in
Clayton County. He fired his
deputies his first day on the
job and then posted snipers
on the roof as they left
unarmed. With so many
nutty politicians running
around unsupervised, it is a
great time to be a columnist.
You can reach Dick
Yarbrough ot
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net,
P.O. Box 725373, Atlanta,
GA 31139, or Web site:
www.dickyarbrough.com