Newspaper Page Text
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♦ TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 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
His Instincts Are On Target
Gov. Sonny Perdue’s political instincts seem to
be running on all cylinders.
Within two days he made two decisions that are
sure to endear him to the people of Georgia ... if
they will remember!
Last Wednesday, in response to flagrant exam
ples of price gouging at the gas pumps where
some stations raised the price $3 a gallon in one
day, he stepped forward and said that anyone
guilty of price gouging on gasoline will be prose
cuted.
We believe that he meant what he said and that
he will have state government officials follow up
on his threat.
Two days later - Friday - Perdue issued an
executive order that removes state taxes from
gasoline for the month of September. This 15
cents a gallon saving is expected to be passed
along to consumers, and the governor said that he
wants to hear from people who see that any gas
station operators are not doing so.
Both actions by the governor reflect his concern
for the people of this state and should be applaud
ed universally.
Political “experts” are predicting that his re
election is no “shoo-in” next year.
They may be right. The theory upon which this
claim is made is based on the fact that while most
people give him good grades for his performance
in office less than half the people know who he
really is.
The political analysts say that he upset Gov.
Roy Barnes by marshalling a strong anti-Barnes
vote, which will not exist next year.
He must, they contend, sell himself to the peo
ple of Georgia during the months between now
and the election next year.
Both of the popular actions that Gov. Perdue
took last week should help. We do not doubt that
in months to come his supporters will make sure
that this message will be spread far and wide.
It is in moments of crisis that you see the true
measure of a politician. The best politicians have
an instinct for doing the right thing at the right
time. Perdue’s actions last week showed that he
has an instinct for doing the right thing political
ly at the right time. And the right thing political
ly is the right thing ... period.
Gov. Perdue’s actions are in direct contrast with
the political instincts of President Bush, who
clearly means well and does the right thing but
seems to hesitate just long enough to garner crit
icism instead of praise when he acts.
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Does DFCS answer the phone?
Editor:
I have tried to reach Houston County
DFCS (Department of Family and Children
Services) many times on several days and
have the phone records to prove it. All I ever
get is a recording saying they are open
Monday through Friday 8 to 5. They are
closed on state holidays. If I have a child
abuse emergency, I should contact the
Sheriffs Office or 911.
It’s just a recording, so there is no need to
leave a message. The number I called was
988-7605. I got that number from the
Juvenile office in Warner Robins. Does
DFCS ever answer the phone?
Homer Boggs
Bonaire
VA not political
Editor:
It was silly to suggest in a recent
Associated Press article, ‘Troops’
Gravestones Have Pentagon Slogans,’ that
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Fear of water can traumatize people forever
As I watched people in
New Orleans wading
through high water, strug
gling to survive, I am
reminded of my mother’s
obsessive fear of water.
She lived near the banks
of the Mississippi River as a
teenager. One spring the
river overflowed, surround
ing the high ground where
she lived.
This was a hundred years
ago, so it was everyone for
hqjiself, in a way. There was
no communication. There
were no organized rescue
efforts.
As she watched the level
of the river rise hour by
hour she feared she would
be swept away by the raging
waters.
Before the river complete
ly engulfed the ground
where she stood it stopped
rising and began to recede.
This horrifying experience
affected her the rest of her
life.
She would not go near a
lake or the ocean. When she
traveled in a car and she
knew it would be necessary
to cross a river (the Flint
River, for example) she was
petrified until she crossed
the bridge.
She would not even put a
plug in a bathtub when
6HSA fumbles on 'neutral site' move
Let’s take a hike back to
the years 1993 and 1994.
In 1993, the two public
high schools in Thomasville
- Thomas County Central
and Thomasville - played in
the state championship foot
ball game. The whole town
of Thomasville, the entire
county of Thomas, huddled
around TCC’s chilly football
field and watched an emo
tional, thrilling gridiron
match that wasn’t decided
until the final second ticked.
A year later, Colquitt
County and Valdosta - rival
schools and communities
since the dawn of time -
played out the same sce
nario. Two close, familiar
rivals competing for all the
marbles on a crisp
December night.
Thomas County Central
and Thomasville high
schools are located a mile
and a half apart; Valdosta
and Colquitt County, about
30 miles.
Sadly, we’ll probably never
see that slice of Americana
again.
On Aug. 29, the Georgia
High School Association
mandated that state cham
pionship games will now be
played at “neutral” sites,
starting in 2006. The GHSA
executive committee tabled
a motion to hold all the high
school football finals in
Atlanta’s Georgia Dome,
starting in 2007. They’ll
bring that issue up again in
the spring. In 2006, the
semifinals will be played in
the Georgia Dome, but there
was no determination where
the semis will be played
after 2006.
This means no more state
title football games in tradi
tional gridiron hotbeds like
the government is inscribing “Operation
Iraqi Freedom” on the headstones of service
members for political purposes.
The Department of Veterans Affairs,
which is responsible for providing head
stones for veterans, has always inscribed
the names of wars on the headstones of vet
erans. “Operation Iraqi Freedom” is the
official name for the current conflict in Iraq.
At VA, which administers 121 national
cemeteries and issues nearly 350,000 head
stones for veterans every year, inscriptions
are requested in writing by families and
signed by their representative. The families
decide what is on their loved one’s head
stone, not the government.
No doubt, if the government refused to
inscribe “Operation Iraqi Freedom” on
those headstones, we would be charged with
trying to cover up casualties. Let’s be fair.
And let’s end silly reporting.
Scott Hogenson
Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Public Affairs
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
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Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
bathing.
The experience in her
childhood stayed with her
for her entire life. She was
emotionally scarred.
I think of the thousands of
people facing death in the
infested waters that cover
New Orleans and wonder if
any of them can completely
get over the experience. In
my opinion, they will be
scarred forever.
I feel for them. After
watching my mother fight
her fear of water for more
than 50 years I can imagine
what they will go through
the rest of their lives.
• • •
One of the sickest things I
have read about recently
,J lUJ I
Len Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
Lincolnton or Valdosta or
LaGrange or Statesboro or
Warner Robins or Folkston.
And for the communities
that have never hosted a
state title game - too bad,
your money’s going to
Atlanta.
The reasons why GHSA
made such a move? They
point to two: That one team
hosting a state champi
onship football game is
unfair to the visitor; and
that some stadiums in the
state aren’t large enough to
handle such an event.
As for the “fairness” argu
ment, let’s look at the facts.
Last year, three of the four
visitors in state champi
onship football games in
Georgia WON state champi
onship football games. In
the other state title game, in
Class A, visiting Clinch
County tied hosting
Hawkinsville. There is no
evidence that can bolster
the argument of an over
whelming, or even under
whelming, advantage. It’s
what I call “loser talk.”
As for stadiums not being
able to accommodate a state
title game - shouldn’t that
“I was excited about the gas tax being lifted until I realized
the state's been charging us for it all along!"
if
concerns a man who was
quoted as saying that he did
not believe he could make a
contribution to help the vic
tims in New Orleans
because they lived in a “red
state,” referring to how
Louisiana voted in the pres
idential election.
It never occurred to me
that human suffering could
or should be defined by how
someone votes in an elec
tion.
However, the man who
wants to save his humani
tarianism for “blue states”
only might consider the fact
that the population of New
Orleans was two-thirds
black and this city surely
voted “blue,” contrary to the
way the entire state voted.
He might feel better. The
jerk.
• • •
Robert Kennedy Jr. didn’t
do anything to improve his
stature as a statesman when
he blamed Hurricane
Katrina on President Bush
because he has not
embraced the theory of glob
al warming.
He wrote a newspaper op
ed piece with this accusation
within a couple of days after
the hurricane struck.
The blame game is in full
swing for everything
be called on an individual
basis? For instance, Valdosta
High put artificial turf in
their stadium and spent mil
lions on improvements so
their venue would be accom
modating to such an event.
It hasn’t even been a year
since GHSA issued another
mandate - requiring
increased seating capacity
for stadiums in order to host
a playoff game. Clinch
County voters passed a
SPLOST to renovate their
stadium (among other non
athletic facilities) to meet
this edict. So has
Hawkinsville and Mclntosh
County Academy in Darien
and numerous other
schools. Then, months later,
GHSA says: Nope, we don’t
care how much of your tax
payer money was spent to
honor our demands. We’re
going to require that you go
somewhere else if your team
advances to the finals. And
spend your money there.
There’s your motive -
money. It has to be. Their
other arguments make
about as much sense as a
football bat.
See, if GHSA can get the
finals in the Georgia Dome,
then they can televise the
whole shebang, and TV
money makes for heavy
pockets. And they can’t tele
vise in your puny little stadi
um if it doesn’t have facili
ties for the TV folk.
The sad, and frustrating,
part of this sordid fiasco is
that this decision by GHSA
is hurting the very people
that support the state’s ath
letic programs. When Clinch
County hosted the Class A
state championship in 2002,
our concession stand (which
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
involved in this tragedy and
will continue. Nobody,
including people risking
their lives to help the needy,
is exempt.
It seems that critics, who
want to score political
points, could have the
decency to wait until rescue
efforts are over.
• • •
It is disgusting to see and
hear members of the Black
Caucus in Congress and
some politicians of white
and black races in Georgia
and elsewhere making accu
sations that the slow pace of
the rescue operations was a
result of racism.
If my eyes did not deceive
me about 99 percent of the
people being rescued were
black and about 99 percent
of the rescuers were white.
The only racism I recog
nize is coming from the
mouths of the people who
want to stir up trouble or
capitalize politically or
financially.
They are a disgrace to our
country.
Here in Houston County
churches and social services
are opening up their facili
ties and pocketbooks to help
the refugees.
Humanitarianism is color
blind.
is split between the athletic
and band boosters) grossed
close to SB,OOO. That’s about
a third of our entire booster
budget.
The profits then went
back to the school to buy
tennis uniforms, band
equipment, etc. When you
load up Lowndes’ football
team, cheerleaders, band,
and fans, drive to and spend
the night in Atlanta, feed
them, have to pay for park
ing, etc., the wad of cash
GHSA presents to your
school for playing in the
Dome barely covers your
costs. And your boosters
don’t make a dime.
That doesn’t even include
the economic impact that
visitors staying in your
hotels, eating at your com
munity’s restaurants, etc.,
makes. Small towns need
that financial boost. Atlanta
doesn’t.
If you also think this is a
wrongheaded goof, contact
GHSA, and in particular,
your representative on the
executive committee. They
claim this is an “experi
ment,” so there’s a possibili
ty it can be changed. The
phone number for GHSA’s
office is (706) 647-7473.
Their Web site is at
www.ghsa.net.
State championship foot
ball games are a big deal in a
lot of Georgia’s communi
ties. They should be played
outdoors in front of 8,000
people crammed into a sta
dium that seatfc 3,000 - not
indoors before 3,000 people
in a cavern that holds
80,000.
And where a Coke costs
$5. That ain’t America, and
it surely ain’t Georgia.