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- WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 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
'Dixie' Victim Of Sensitivity
Now we learn there is something else for people
who wear their sensitivities on their sleeves to be
sensitive about.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has reported
that the word “Dixie” offends so many people
that it is steadily disappearing from usage.
Many businesses in the Atlanta area have been
removing the word “Dixie” from the name of
their businesses because they are losing cus
tomers who contend the word is racist.
How about that?
As more people move into the south from other
parts of the country they are targeting particu
larly southern words or traditions, according to
the newspaper. The word Dixie “offends” many of
them who say they never will be a customer of a
business that has the word in its name.
How silly?
The offended say the word “Dixie” is a throw
back to the Civil War and slavery.
We always thought the word referred to a sec
tion of the country. We still do.
The University of Georgia long ago removed the
word “Dixie” from the name of its marching
band. Other public and private institutions are
bowing to the demand for change.
Southern traditions are being eroded and
shoved into the trash bin as more and more peo
ple impose their sensitivities on others.
She Sets An Example
Harriotte McDannald is setting an example for
all of us. She picks up debris along the road in her
neighborhood to keep it litter-free and attractive.
In a way she is fighting a losing cause, but she
is not daunted.
People will litter. When they go to a fast-food
restaurant many people prefer to throw the trash
out the window of their vehicle rather than keep
it to be placed in a trash bin.
The comment has been made, in a joking man
ner, that people who Utter should not be criti
cized, because they create jobs for other people.
Maybe so, but littering really is inexcusable.
There are litter laws, but can you recall hearing
of someone being hauled into court for this viola
tion?
In some cities in Europe residents are held
responsible for keeping their streets free of litter,
each resident being responsible to the middle of
the street.
It might work in Europe, but it won’t work
here.
All of us could take to heart Mrs. McDannald’s
efforts and do some cleaning up in our own neigh
borhoods.
Send your Letters to the Editor to:
Jhe Houston Home Journal
P,O, Box 1910 • Perry, Ga 31069 or
Email: hhj@evansnewspapeis.com
Hands, hearts uncover a beautiful place in Perry
If you have been in the
Gen. Courtney Hodges
Boulevard area near the
bridge that spans Big Indian
Creek recently, I bet you
have noticed lots of trees
waiting to be planted, along
with all the other work
going on.
Rob Tuggle, member of
two groups - the Perry
Rotary Club and Uptown
Perry Partnership - that
have big plans for the creek
area, says those trees are
another example of generos
ity from folks interested in
helping make a dream
become reality.
Two truckloads of various
trees including maple, crape
myrtles and oak, will be
going into the ground soon
thanks to Cleveland Tree
Company in Fort Valley.
This is part of the first
Emily Johnstone
Columnist
ejohnstone@evansnewspapers.com
phase of the Big Indian
Creek project which was
started a couple of years ago.
Besides having trees put
into place in the cleared area
you see near the bridge,
there are also plans for a
parking area for school
Making it 'pretty' by cutting down trees
The towering shade trees
are gone from the front yard
of the old courthouse build
ing in downtown Perry.
They’ve been cut down to
make way for landscaping
plans.
This means, of course,
that in due time, there will
be more trees just so high, in
a matched set, marching
down both sides of Carroll
Street like the trees in a
model railroad landscape.
Here comes the future.
There goes the past.
Watching the healthy
branches falling, seeing the
trunks standing there with
out branches, waiting to be
yanked away, made me feel
very old and tired and out of
tune with the world.
It’s a generational differ
ence, I think, this business
of minding or not minding
about trees getting cut
down.
I grew with the idea that it
was a mortal sin to cut down
a tree without good reason.
But then I grew up among
people whose parents and
A murder at Newsweek
By now we have all read
about the incendiary riots in
Afghanistan and throughout
the Middle East that were
sparked by a false report in'
Newsweek magazine that
United States interrogators
at the Guantanamo
Detention Facility had
flushed a copy of the Koran
down a toilet to entice
detainees to speak.
The story was authored by
famed journalist Michael
Isikoff, who was first to dis
cover the Clinton-Lewinsky
affair but refused to run the
story. He claimed not to
trust the source, but the end
result demonstrated that his
decision was based on his
personal allegiance to the
Clinton administration.
Isikoff also uncovered two
rape allegations against for
mer President Clinton, both
of which he refused to share
with the public, according to
columnist Ann Coulter.
These stories all had wit
nesses and sources that had
gone on the record with
their accusations against
President Clinton. Last
week’s story on the desecra
tion of the Koran was based
on either anonymous or
nonexistent sources. The
result was a body count
which, as of this writing,
amounted to 17 people
killed and over a hundred
more injured during rioting.
Prior to publishing this
article it should have been
clear to Isikoff that the pub
lication of such a story
would result in violence.
Newsweek ended up retract
ing the story, but took no
action against Isikoff.
Freedom of the press is one
of the pillars of American
democracy, but it is by no
means an absolute right. In
1919, the Supreme Court
determined that freedom of
speech was not absolute in
the case of Schenk v. the
United States, which cited
the act of falsely “yelling fire
buses and other vehicles,
says Tuggle.
Architect Joe Gayle has
presented conceptual plans
for this area.
All of this hard work and
dedication should end up
with walking trails, an out
door classroom and canoe
rides.
A little taming of this gor
geous area will open the
doors for everyone to be able
to enjoy and be educated
about nature.
Can’t you just imagine
walking along the trail with
the sounds of birds and the
gurgling of the creek, leav
ing behind the normal hus
tle and bustle without hav
ing to travel any further
than across town?
And, it is sure to be a hit
with tourists in our area!
An avid outdoorsman him
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Charlotte Perkins
Charlotte’s Web
cperkins@evansnewspapers.com
grandparents had cleared
trees where they had to
clear them, but kept the
trees they could keep. They
thought highly of shade and
of the sheer magnitude of
the old trees.
Those were times of leg
endary trees, trees that
formed canopies over resi
dential streets, trees that
stood as landmarks on coun
try roads, so you knew
where to turn, trees that
outlived the men who plant
.. il
William John Hagan
Columnist
William_Hagan@excite.com
in a crowded theater.”
Incendiary speech is unpro
tected speech. By writing an
article he could not substan
tiate, Isikoff showed grave
indifference to public safety;
an accomplishment that
could have justified
manslaughter charges had
this crime occurred in the
United States. Thankfully,
as of the writing, no
American lives have been
lost as a result of Isikoff s
depraved indifference to the
consequences of his actions.
“That’s what I call a vacation... not having to
worry about current events until next fall!"
self, Tuggle is excited about
being a part of this project
and sees it as an asset to
Perry.
People will see this is one
of the most beautiful places
in Perry, he says.
• • •
Having hiked up and
down the creek banks a few
years ago for photos, I know
that it is, indeed one of the
most attractive spots in
town.
A walking trail will defi
nitely make the creek acces
sible to all who wish to take
pleasure in having their
senses delight in such natu
ral splendor.
• • •
How many of you are in
great anticipation of those
fresh vegetables and other
good foods that start appear
ing about this time of year?
ed them, and their children
and grandchildren, too.
Of course I also grew up in
a world with less asphalt, a
world where the wilderness
was always trying to reclaim
the civilized land, and doing
a. pretty good job of it, too.
Black-eyed Susans and
Queen Anne’s lace popped
up along the roadsides.
Vines climbed where they
pleased. Grass (and some
times dandelions) grew
between cracks in the
cement. Tree roots pushed
sidewalks up, and had
branches full of birds’ nests.
Back then, nobody consid
ered cutting out branches to
make way for power lines or
cutting down trees because
they were in the way.
We weren’t such exterior
designers back then, or so
control-freaky.
Going “for a ride” didn’t
mean hurtling down an
interstate that looks pretty
much the same from Florida
to Ohio. It meant seeing a
varied landscape. Nobody
had thought yet of organiz
However, despite
Newsweek’s halfhearted
retraction, the anti-
American protests have con
tinued and continue to put
U.S. military personnel in
danger on a daily basis. As
the 17 death of non-
Americans occurred outside
the legal jurisdiction of the
United States, it is unlikely
that Isikoff will face any
repercussions for his mur
derous negligence: Despite
the fact that he clearly com
mitted treason as defined by
Article 3, Section 3 of the
United States Constitution
by giving aid and comfort to
the enemy.
Newsweek’s editors, who
were so concerned about the
rights of enemy combatants
held at Guantanamo Bay,
has nq interest in the lives
that Isikoffs false story
cost. However, the vast
majority of the American
people believe that life is
sacred regardless of nation
ality. The United States gov
ernment cannot at this time
bring manslaughter or mur
der charges against Isikoff
Then you will be happy to
know that the Perry
Farmers Market is set to
open next week!
On Saturday, June 4, the
market will mark its third
year of being a welcome part
of our community by debut
ing the 2005 season!
I suppose you could call it
a season opener, if you want
to use sports terminology.
Tish Mims, manager of
the Perry Downtown
Development Authority,
along with many helpers, is
putting the finishing touch
es on this event.
All who have their mouths
set for fresh tomatoes, green
beans and other delicious
stuff should pay a visit to
the Farmers Market each
Saturday from 8 a.m. until
noon.
• • •
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
ing homes by lot size or
square footage or cost.
People with $20,000 homes
didn’t get bent out of shape
if somebody wanted to build
at SIO,OOO home next door.
One downtown building
might have an awning,
while the next one didn’t.
That, of course, was before
the subdivision, before the
shopping mall, before the
matched facades and he con
cept of matched sets of
trees.
That was back before any
body would have thought of
cutting down big shade trees
to accommodate landscap
ing plans.
It will all be fixed up nice
ly, no doubt. Prissy, perfect
and professional. And the
people who wanted it that
way really won’t understand
the sick-feeling anger of
those who couldn’t believe
what they were seeing on
Monday.
So it goes. At least we’ve
always got Savannah.
because the 17 deaths he
caused occurred in
Afghanistan. This, however,
does not prevent
Afghanistan from trying
Isikoff under the harsh
Islamic Code of Law, which
still believes in an eye for an
eye.
It would seem that the
only way Isikoffs victims
will see justice is if the
United States government
makes the unprecedented
move of offering to extradite
Isikoff to Afghanistan to
face justice. The current
sovereign government of
Afghanistan has allowed the
extradition of many of its
own citizens who were mem
bers of organizations that
supported and protected
those responsible for the
murder of over 3,000
Americans on Sept. 11. The
least we can do is hand over
Michael Isikoff to face jus
tice at the hands of the fam
ilies whose loved ones he
killed.
William John Hagan is a
freelance writer who lives in
Elko. Contact him at
William_Hagan@excite.com
Tish also says the market
has a “whole new look” this
year, thanks to Larry Walker
Jr.
• • •
Tish is a very busy person!
You can see her smiling
face all over town!
Another big project for her
is the Perry Arts Center,
which is located in the for
mer Georgia National
Guard Armory.
On June 6, the Georgia
Big Band will begin practice
sessions at the Center.
Also, a Children’s Art
Camp is set for June 13
through 18.
The camp will be held
from 9 in the morning until
5 in the afternoon and is for
kids age 5 through 10.
For more information
about the camp, contact
Rebecca Delle at 213-1401.