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♦ TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 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
They Are Just Dreaming
You may not have heard it and we didn’t until
recently. Some people - obviously newcomers to
Houston County - broached the question why all
of the county, including Warner Robins, Perry
and Centerville, are not consolidated into one
political entity. In their view, it would solve many
problems.
It has been done in Columbus and Augusta and
Athens. Why not Houston County?
It won’t happen. The suggestion won’t even be
taken seriously. It has to be a pipe dream of peo
ple who don’t know our county with nothing else
to do except speculate.
There are too many vested interests in each of
the present political subdivisions for anyone to
suggest seriously that this county could become a
unified government with one set of elected and
appointed officials.
There are some things better left alone. This is
one of them.
Cooperation Is Paying Oil
Project Safe Neighborhoods is a program most
of us never have heard of.
But it is proving to be a success, according to
U.S. Attorney Max Wood.
The program began in Houston County with a
federal grant, which funded an assistant district
attorney position just to prosecute gun crimes.
After the federal money ran out, Houston County
kept the position with local money because it had
proved so successful.
The program has been so successful in Houston
County, according to Wood, that it is being
expanded into other jurisdictions.
By having a special prosecutor for gun crimes,
emphasis is being placed on seeing that criminals
are tried in the court which will hand down the
stiffest sentence.
The U.S. Attorney’s office and the assistant dis
trict attorney concentrating on gun crimes have
had great success cooperating with each other.
Federal grants through the Project Safe
Neighborhoods program also have been used to
purchase equipment and computers for training
of law enforcement officers.
Working closely with Project Safe
Neighborhoods is the Macon Regional
Crimestoppers. Crimestoppers advertisements
showing wanted criminals in the area appear reg
ularly in this newspaper as a public service.
Wood also has created a task force composed of
top federal and local law enforcement officers in
Middle Georgia. Georgia College and State
University is partnering with the task force doing
research and crime mapping.
Overall, this is a comprehensive network of law
enforcement agencies and individuals that have
had significant impact in the past few years.
In our opinion, it is a tribute to the organiza
tional skills and leadership of Max Wood that all
of this has been put together so effectively and
efficiently.
Education legislation will benefit for public schools
Earlier this year, Gov.
Perdue unveiled his three
part education legislation.
These bills will go a long
way in making a difference
in Georgia’s public schools.
This week, all three of these
bills moved forward and all
are close to becoming law.
Senate Bill 33 will allow
Georgia’s students to take
classes on-line via the
Internet. This measure will
be especially beneficial to
students in the rural areas
of the state who want to
take Advanced Placement
(AP) courses and high-level
math and science classes. All
too often, students in the far
reaches of the state, particu
larly small school systems
do not have the financial
resources to hire a teacher
to teach calculus or physics.
I am excited that all of our
students will have the
I S '>m+~
Ross Tolleson
State Senator
R-Perry
opportunity to take these
higher level courses no mat
ter where they live, and
their local school system’s
budget no longer will play a
part in the quality of educa
tion one child gets over
another.
The second part of Gov.
Reading is at heart of ail education
Reading is at the heart of
education. Can’t read -
can’t get an education. The
problem of so many children
growing up without this
essential educational tool
reached a crisis in recent
years and now emphasis is
being placed on making sure
that most children learn to
read by the third grade.
What gives? When I was
growing up we took it for
granted that everyone could
read. Every boy and girl who
started the first grade the
same time I did began learn
ing to read in the first grade
(we did not have pre-K and
Kindergarten in those days)
and all of us graduated from
high school. We all could
read and it never occurred
to us that it was such a big
deal.
• • •
Universities now must
teach remedial reading so
that high school graduates
are able to understand their
textbooks. Someone should
be proud.
• • •
My first grade class - 17
children - had one teacher,
Miss Annie Ansley. She got
us off to a good start. The
second and third grades
were combined and were
A boiled peanut fan r no matter how it's spelled
I was probably a freshman
in college, coming home
from Athens down Highway
441, when I fell prey to the
lure of savvy advertising.
Every mile or so, there
were hand-painted signs on
the side of the road, telling
us to pull over for “FRESH
PEACHES,” then “THE
BEST PEATCHES YOU
EVER TASTED,” then final
ly, “PULL OVER NOW -
YOUR ABOUT TO MISS IT
- FRESH PEECHES!”
Even though I don’t par
ticularly like peaches, I did
as the signs demanded, and
pulled up to a roadside stand
covered by more large white
signs with orange lettering,
each screaming, in various
spellings, that fresh peaches
were indeed available in the
vicinity.
Behind the counter was an
old man wearing a jvhite T
shirt that said “FREE
BREAST EXAMS” on it.
After a quick consultation,
my friend and I decided to
opt for the fresh peaches
instead of the free breast
exam, however tempting.
“Excuse me, good sir, we’d
like to get some of your
freshest peaches,” my friend
said.
“Ain’t got no peaches,” the
old man said matter-of-fact
ly-
“What? There’s a sign
every mile for the last 20
miles saying you have
peaches,” my friend
responded incredulously.
“Sorry, bub, just got some
boiled peanuts,” the old man
replied.
Thus began a love affair
with boiled peanuts from
roadside stands. We
devoured the bag of hot
boiled peanuts in about 20
minutes, then stopped for
Perdue’s education package
is a program that will bene
fit all teachers because it
will give the best and bright
est teachers the opportunity
to mentor their peers and
eventually become “academ
ic coaches.” Our best teach
ers will soon be able to work
with other educators to pass
on their outstanding teach
ing skills to their colleagues.
This will benefit the teach
ers and their students and
also will keep these terrific
mentors in the classroom.
All too often, teachers leave
their students to become
principals or assistant
superintendents. They, like
all of us in the workforce,
want to move up the career
ladder, and right now, that is
the only way to do it. With
this program in place, these
teachers can eventually
become “academic coaches,”
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Foy Evans
Columnist
foye vans 19@cox. net
taught by one teacher. One
teacher also taught the
fourth and fifth grades in
one room. Somehow, with
out counselors, teacher
aides, small classes and a lot
of money, we learned.
• • •
Big, big difference:
Parents supported teachers
wholeheartedly. No discipli
nary problems. Teachers
could - and would -
demand and get respect
from every student.
Consequently, the only real
job teachers had was to
teach children who were
there to learn.
• • •
I remember looking for-
i C- I
Len Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
another 60 miles down the
road.
Years later, stopping at
roadside stands is now an
expected Robbins road trip
staple. Boiled peanuts are
the perfect traveling com
panion - cheap, delicious
and easy to share. While we
like to purchase other items
at roadside stands as well,
watermelons are a little too
cumbersome and messy for
family driving and dining.
An added draw for road
side stands is
the gamble
involved.
Without those
pesky FDA
regulations,
you don’t
always know
what you’re
getting in
terms of food
quality. But
you’ll always
find something
interesting or
culturally sig
nificant - like
the “Dukes of
Hazzard”
action figures I
bought near
Youngstown,
Fla., or the
which will enable them to
increase their salaries by
taking on more responsibili
ty, but keep them in the
classroom training our stu
dents. This legislation also
will give all teachers, princi
pals and other certified
school personnel - at state
expense - professional liabil
ity insurance in the event
they are sued while perform
ing their regular duties. In
this day and age when insur
ance rates are rising, this is
a nice bonus for the men
and women who are educat
ing the future of Georgia.
The final part of Gov.
Perdue’s education package
will give local school systems
more flexibility and control
over their resources. Some
have complained that
because it will not force
school systems to reduce
class size, our children will
ward to going to school and
was eager to learn. My
friends were that way, too.
Our parents told us that the
way to amount to something
was to get an education.
• • •
In today’s politically cor
rect (don’t dare discipline
my child) society, there is
almost a necessity to appeal
to the lowest common
denominator or be accused
of some heinous crime
against humanity or some
segment of society that
might be offended if left
behind.
• • •
Yet, despite all the hurdles
educators must face, they do
a good job with students
willing to learn. Imagine
what they could accomplish
if their hands were not tied
behind them in many ways.
• • •
I believe students should
be segregated according to
learning abilities, willing
ness to learn, preparation to
learn and family support. It
won’t happen and that is a
major reason that our coun
try, as a whole, falls behind
most industrialized nations
in education. Other nations
are able to identify the
smartest and best students
tomato shaped like Mikhail
Gorbachev’s birthmark we
bought in Parrott, Ga., or
the “Git Outta My Truck”
wardrobe my wife wouldn’t
let me buy from that
makeshift establishment on
Highway 17.
I love roadside stand peo
ple. They deliver a wonder
ful product, wear funny T
shirts, and are consistently
congenial and glad to see
you.
But they need help. And
I’d like to offer my expertise.
See, for all their wonder
ful qualities, roadside stand
proprietors aren’t the best
of spellers. In addition to the
aforementioned creative
spellings of peaches, I’ve
often seen tomatoes as
“tomatoos”; “blueberries as
“blu-berreys”; and even
apples as “apels.”
Apparently, spelling “boiled
peanuts” is especially per
plexing. I’ve seen “boild
peanuts,” “bowled p-nuts,”
“bowld pee-nuts,” and for
those in the mood for a par
LAV
\\ €%• I
"What's the matter, pooch?
Don't you recognize Santa when you see him?"
suffer. In the perfect world,
we would have a teacher for
every three to five students,
but our world is not perfect,
and our school systems
could not afford such a luxu
ry - nor are there enough
classrooms to house these
teachers and students. Even
with the smaller class sizes
many advocate, 15-17 the
early grades and 20-23 in
the higher grades, we don’t
have the bricks and mortar
or the educators to make
reduced class sizes work
right now. With the recent
budget problems we have
had in our state, most school
systems are just now begin
ning to recover financially
from the state budget cuts
they were forced to take in
the past few years, and we
have to do what we can to
help them over this rough
period. I believe smaller
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
and move them along to
greater challenges. In this
country the smartest often
are bored waiting around
while the laggards are learn
ing. You don’t want to hurt
the feelings of those who are
slow learning, whatever the
reason.
• • •
Don’t blame the educa
tors. Blame all of us. We let
it get this way. Now we
expect government and
more money to solve the
problem. We should know
better. The real solution is
to get back to basics. Untie
teachers’ hands. Reduce
their paperwork. Get the
federal government and
bureaucrats’ unreasonable
rules and regulations as far
out of local education as pos
sible.
Demand more of students.
Some parents with problem
children must admit their
children are no perfect.
When teachers and adminis
trators crack down on mis
behaving or recalcitrant stu
dents back them to the hilt.
Don’t treat them like crimi
nals for doing their jobs. We
might be surprised at the
results.
ticularly gregarious goober
or lively legume - “bold
peanuts.”
Here’s how I can help.
Before any of you roadside
vendors take the time and
effort to paint a sign adver
tising your product, call me.
I’m no Norman Einstein,
but I do have a rarely-used
feature called “spell check”
on my computer. I’ll be glad
to check the spelling for you,
then you can confidently
place your sign by the road
side.
With proper spelling, cus
tomers like me will know
what you’re selling before
we stop. For this service, I
ask only one small favor in
return - an extra bag for my
boiled peanut shells.
Deal?
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. A proud
University of Georgia gradu
ate, Robbins and his wife
have three young children.
class size is a good thing,
however we must prioritize
our needs and wants and
put our resources where
they will be most beneficial.
The first two pieces of leg
islation await the governor’s
signature. The third bill
awaits debate in the House
of Representatives.
Whatever we can do to con
tinue to improve Georgia’s
public education system
must be our priority. Our
children depend on it.
Call or come visit when
you need me ...
Sen. Ross Tolleson repre
sents the 20th Senate
District. He may be reached
at (404) 656-0081 or rtolle
so @ leg is. state, ga. us.
Tolleson represents Bleckley,
Dodge, Houston, Johnson,
Laurens, Pulaski, Telfair
and Wilcox counties.