Newspaper Page Text
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♦ THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2006
(JFf If Houston Home 4
(LUje jjmmtai
; OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Harder tests... lower scores
Harder tests can mean lower scores.
And Georgia school superintendent
Kathy Cox attributes the poor showing
of eighth graders on tests in reading and
math that are required for promotion to the high
sdhool to harder tests.
Statewide more than 30,000 students failed one of
the required subjects. They did better in reading than
tljey did in math. Statewide 23 percent failed in math
find 11 percent in reading.
•Georgia made its curriculum harder last year as a
result of Georgia’s poor comparison with the rest of
the country in
national tests.
We can take
encouragement
from the fact
that students in Q n |y t j m g W j|| fell
Houston County . .
schools scored whether the criticism is
better than the jllStified.
state average, a
though there
obviously is room
for improvement
here, too.
Because pass
ing the mandatory tests is necessary for promotion to
high school, some teachers, even schools, have been
accused of stressing of teaching for tests, rather than
on a broader level.
Only time will tell whether the criticism is justified.
Meanwhile, more than 30,000 have the option of
attending summer school and passing the tests before
school opens in August or repeating the grade next
year.
Absentee voting under way
People who want to use absentee ballots to
vote in the Democratic and Republican
Primary elections in July can do so now.
The polls are open for absentee voting.
And you no longer need an excuse for wanting to
vote absentee, as it used to be. All you have to do is
ask for an absentee ballot.
At a time when attempts are being made to make
sure that people voting at the polls are who they say
they are, absentee voting remains the best way to
cheat.
We like the Voter ID law. Anyone unwilling to iden
tify himself at the polls does not deserve to vote. And
we do not believe this is an intrusion into anyone’s
privacy.
So far no safeguards similar to the Voter ID law
have been developed for absentee voting.
The purpose of allowing absentee voting without a
valid reason for doing so allegedly is to make it easier
for more people to vote.
In our opinion, voting is a privilege and people
who want to vote should have to put some effort into
doing so. We don’t agree with the philosophy that
voting should be as easy as breathing.
If a person must make an effort to vote, at least
there is proof that the person is interested, even
though the person may not be too well informed.
For those who want to vote early, now is the time.
Absentee ballots are waiting for you.
4
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Selection ot books poor
4
‘ I cannot understand why the book collections in our
founty libraries are mediocre. I know that our county
commissioners have agreed to give each of our three
county libraries SIOO,OOO each for new materials. So
what are the guidelines that our librarians will use to
pelect new books and materials? Should the public be
involved in this selection process? Especially considering
the less than excellent condition of our current book
stock.
Especially when one considers that the Nola Brantley
branch is supposed to support the new college students
downtown opposite our city hall. Why haven’t their
hours been changed to accommodate these new college
students? What is the role of the county library board of
trustees in these matters? Are they really representing
bur citizens or just the views of their librarians? What is
going on?
i There appears to be a cloak of secrecy and apathy in
the management of our libraries, which would not be so
bad if their collections and hours were excellent. What
do the citizens of this county have to do to make their
libraries better? I have recommended publicly that the
hours of our libraries be expanded and new staff hired
f— all to make things better for all of us. The result from
the director and her staff has been a deadening silence.
Am I whistling in the wind? We all deserve answers
from our public servants. The status quo will not suffice.
Frank W. Gadbois, Warner Robins
Send your Letters to the Editor to:
The Houston Home Journal
P.O. Box 1910 • Perry, Ga 31069 or
Email: hhj@evansnewspapers.com
Feds should keep out of take out
Now the federal gov
ernment wants to
tell restaurants what
to serve and the size of
proportions they serve. The
gov says. “Make the por
tions smaller.” The trend
for years has been larger
and larger portions in res
taurants. That’s why you
see so many people depart
ing restaurants with “doggy
bags.” This is what the pub
lic wants and government
bureaucrats should shut up
and mind their own busi
ness.
* * *
In a recent column I
quoted the non-partisan
Knowledgis LLC, which
rated the influence of
Georgia’s legislative delega
tion as 50th. Several read
ers have contacted me and
asked, “How do the indi
vidual members of Congress
rate on influence?”
Here’s how Knowledgis
says Georgia’s congressional
members rank individually
on influence in Washington:
Senator Saxby Chambliss
(64). Senator Johnny
Isaakson (84).
Ranking of influence
of members of the House
are: Jack Kingston (77),
John Linder (87), Nathan
Deal (209), Sanford Bishop
(247). Tom Price (271),
John Lewis (287), Lynn
Westmoreland (296), Phil
'PtuWL
— .iiiiwy S •
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///// / f
//' ■
Penalties abound in abortion, gay rights survey
For once, I am at a loss
for words. (Listen to
the cheers. You people
really know how to hurt a
guy.) I have just read a state
ranking in which Georgia
doesn’t finish last for a
change. A coalition of gay
rights and abortion rights
activists have analyzed all
the states on 25 laws rang
ing from abortions to same
sex relationships to contra
ception.
Georgia, as you might
expect, didn’t fare too well.
But, for once, we weren’t
50th out of 50. We were
edged by South Dakota and
Ohio at the bottom of the
list, or the top depending on
how you tend to view these
things.
I don’t want to sound
defensive, but if we didn’t
have Atlanta sitting in the
state like a wart on a bull
frog, we could have beaten
South Dakota and Ohio
like a drum. Atlanta always
messes us up.
Georgia got cuffed around
pretty good by the coalition
for a lot of stuff. For one
thing, we don’t recognize
same-sex marriages. That
cost us 100 “penalty points”
right off the bat. Ouch!
Vermont, of all places, got
hit with 50 penalty points
because they only allow
civil unions. I thought that
was good, but evidently it
is not good enough for the
coalition. Word is that the
coalition was already mad
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
Gingery (325), David Scott
(364), Jim Marshall (407),
Cynthia McKinney (408)
and John Barrow (430).
Not very encouraging.
* * *
Customer service. What
happened to it? Somehow
in most businesses it got
lost somewhere along the
way. When I find a business
that acts like it wants my
business I am thrilled and I
make sure to go back, and
tell my friends about the
business, too.
* * *
When I find a business
whose employees use all the
convenient parking spaces
I get the message: They
apparently want me to go
somewhere else.
* * *
Wal-Mart started it.
Now all businesses do it.
Remember when a business
Dick Yarbrough
columnist
yarb24oo@bellsouth.net
at Vermont because some
members got caught there
in a snowstorm last August
and all they could get to
drink was maple syrup.
Neighboring
Massachusetts, on the other
hand, received no penalty
points because the state will
issue a marriage license to
anything that moves, except
sheep and goats and the state
has promised to take care of
that oversight immediately.
That got a big round of
applause from the coalition
even though it also snows in
Massachusetts in August.
Georgia was nailed with
another 100 penalty points
because we don’t have an
Equal Rights Amendment in
our state constitution.
That is so unfair. I have
been personally leading the
cause for the ERA for years,
but the Woman Who Shares
My Name says it will be a
warm day in Vermont before
she considers me her equal
and to hush up and eat my
broccoli.
You would think Georgia
at ._ j ijk
mil
had “employees.” Now they
have become “associates.”
I guess it is supposed to
be good for morale. Is it?
Better pay would do more
for morale.
* * *
If any organization sets
up “debates” between can
didates in elections this
year, please make them real
debates, not those useless
and uninformative oppor
tunities for candidates to
make their patented cam
paign talks. Even let mem
bers of the audience ask
questions. Let the public
know in advance that there
is a possibility of some real
fireworks and there prob
ably will be standing room
only.
* * *
It must be difficult and
frightening to be American
military personnel in
combat zones (Iraq, for
:
ll— m u KWBKjMBBBI
would at least get some
credit for counseling young
people to abstain from
hanky-panky until they get
married, but we got you
guessed it another 100
penalty points. The coalition
says when you tell young
people to behave themselves,
“it affects gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgendered
people by promoting a
social agenda that teaches
that sexual activity outside
the marriage is wrong and
harmful."
Hmm. I thought God
had already addressed that
issue with the Seventh
Commandment (or the
Sixth, depending on your
scorecard), but I’m not going
to push it.
The coalition seems to
be in a really cranky mood
because of South Dakota
and Ohio, and they are liable
to issue God a bunch of pen
alty points just for having
created those two places.
New York and New Mexico
both share the top spot in
the coalition’s rankings as
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
example) when people back
home, sitting in air condi
tioned splendor, can pass
judgment on their actions
under fire and even send
them to prison. When we
send our military into com
bat we should cut them
some slack for the split
second decisions they make
where their lives are at
stake. The enemy certainly
doesn't fight under Marquis
of Queensberry rules. Why
should ours?
* * *
I’m fascinated by all the
ways that some businesses
have of adding on charges
above and beyond what you
normally would expect. I
ran across an interesting
add-on today when I made
a hotel reservation. In addi
tion to the room rate there
is an additional 15.9 percent
charge for use of the hotel
facilities.
* * *
We’re all familiar with
road rage. Now some doc
tors are saying that road
rage is an illness. Nothing
like coming up with an
excuse for bad behavior,
which sometimes escalates
into something very danger
ous. This probably will be
used as a legal defense next
time someone’s road rage
results in a death.
attractive states for abor
tions and gays. New Yorkers
were ecstatic. Whenever
taxis blow their horns at jay
walkers, they get a “We’re
Number One* finger salute
in return.
Unfortunately, New
Mexico has not yet learned
of its accomplishment
because no one can find the
state.
When informed of
Georgia’s rankings,
President Peanut blamed
it on George Bush. When
told how well New Mexico
and New York had done, he
blamed that on Bush, too.
He also blamed Bush for
tsunamis, deer ticks and the
loud noise that chain saws
make.
Except for getting beat at
anything by South Dakota
and Ohio, I doubt most
Georgians are losing sleep
over our ranking by the
coalition weenies.
Boys marrying girls and
women birthing babies have
pretty much been the norm
in our state for a long time.
If the gay rights and abor
tion crowd find this kind
of behavior objectionable,
I would suggest they pack
up their penalty points
and head somewhere else
like, oh, New York or New
Mexico.
But they might want
to stay away from South
Dakota and Ohio. I under
stand it snows there in
August, too.