Newspaper Page Text
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♦ SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2006
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” OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Land swap is important
An important step in support of Robins AFB
was taken yesterday.
A land swap between the city of Warner
Robins and the state of Georgia was execut
ed by Gov. Sonny Perdue and Mayor Donald Walker.
The land swap has been in the works for a long
time, for years, in fact.
The purpose of the land swap was for the city to
acquire a 544-acre tract, a portion of which will be
used for a base support facility. The land is adjacent
to the base.
The city has owned the land it swapped to the state
since 1973, when it was acquired from the U.S. gov
ernment as surplus.
Mayor Walker pointed out that bringing the land
swap to fruition has taken a long time and it was nec
essary to clear many hurdles.
This opportunity to provide further support to the
base is a tribute to vision and persistence.
These students make us proud
Congratulations to the Warner Robins High-
Houston County High School Odyssey of
the Mind team that placed sth in the world
finals.
It is an accomplishment members of the team can
be proud of, and all of us in Houston County should
be proud of them.
Accomplishments in the academic field do not
receive the attention or recognition given to sports,
but in the overall scheme of things they are more sig
nificant and enduring.
The team was entered in the world competition in
Geometry Structure.
Their imagination and originality in their perfor
mance impressed judges.
We’re proud of their accomplishment.
Hospital efforts recognized ■
Houston Medical Center has received an
honor that reflects on the outstanding ser
vice it renders to our community.
HMC has been awarded the 2006 Insight
Award in recognition for being one of 18 hospitals in
the nation honored for excellence in operational per
formance improvement.
We always have thought highly of Houston Medical
Center since it opened as a small 50-bed Hill-Burton
Hospital more than 50 years ago. It has rendered
important life-saving services to the community as it
has grown in size and importance.
The award is just one of many ways the hospital
can be measured as it expands to serve our fast grow
ing community.
Through cost cutting and increased productivity
HMC and the entire Houston Medical Complex have
been able to keep costs to patients below that of other
hospitals, while maintaining its high quality service.
WORTH REPEATING
'let iis above all things avoid as much
as possible entangling ourselves with
their wars and politics... America has
been the sport of European wars and
politics long enough."
John Adams, Second U.S. president, April 18, 1780
HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS
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Voting act places undue limitations
The Voting Rights Act of
1965, which has ham
strung Georgia’s elect
ed officials’ efforts to carry
out their responsibilities,
expires soon, but it appears
that federal lawmakers are
going to extend it for another
25 years.
For the present, Rep. Lynn
Westmoreland of Georgia has
managed to block a sched
uled vote on renewal of the
act, but this clearly is a tem
porary measure.
Most members of Congress
will vote to renew the act,
because it does not apply to
them.
Section 5 of the act pro
vides that communities with
a history of voter discrimi
nation must submit every
change made to their election
laws and practices to the
Justice Department, which
determines whether the
change is discriminatory.
Nine states, including
Georgia, and parts of seven
others are covered under
Section 5. At the time the act
was adopted these jurisdic
tions were found to be using
poll taxes and other dis
criminatory methods to keep
blacks from voting.
Rep. Westmoreland and
other Republicans in the
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Holding on or letting go? Kids need both
Big brother has arrived.
Make that “Big
Mother” or perhaps
“Big Father.”
Arriving in Wal-Mart this
summer is a phone for kids
with a tracking device that
will allow a parent to know
where their child is, the
direction they’re heading and
the speed at which they’re
traveling.
I like it. Or ... I think I like
it.
I have kids (none of whom
drive yet) so I can certainly
imagine the peace of mind
one would derive from know
ing whether or not you’re
child is going where they said
they were going and how
quickly they’re getting there.
I mean, if I have a child
who tells me he’s going to
spend the night at a friend’s
house across town and the
GPS tracker tells me he’s in
Biloxi, Miss., well, I know
I’ve got some issues to deal
with. Right?
I actually knew a guy in
Southern California who
did this kind of thing. As
a senior in high school he
would sneak out of the house
and travel get this 270
miles to Las Vegas, driving
fast enough to reduce a four
hour drive to three.
He’d then gamble for three
hours and speed home in
time for breakfast.
As a father who is aware
that there really are
deranged types out there
who would do harm to my
young children, I like the
idea of being able to deter
mine where my child is
should he or she disappear.
But I think this topic, and
the increasing number of
“spy” tools available to par
ents, raises all sorts of ques
tions about parenting.
I would hope this raises
the most basic question
about parenting What is
parenting all about?
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
Georgia delegation point out
using the same criteria that
was used in 1965, Georgia
and two states no longer
should be covered by the act.
However, the steamroller
in Congress supported
by legislative leaders and
President Bush will not
correct this inequity. They
are more concerned with
kowtowing to a block of
potential voters than they
are interested in doing the
right thing.
The Civil Rights Act
of 1965 was supposed
to be “temporary.” Rep.
Westmoreland has pointed
out that, in his opinion,
“temporary does not mean
42 years” plus 25 more.
Georgians want the for- *
mula to reflect reality of vot
ing patterns in 2004. Georgia
would no longer be covered
Randy Hicks
Ga. Family Council
gregg@gafam.org
At the risk of oversimplify
ing something that is com
plex and difficult, parenting
comes down to two things
protecting and equipping.
All the component parts of
parenting, from communica
tion and discipline to educa
tion and transmitting values,
come down to those two
items.
You see, essentially, parent
ing is about preparing chil
dren to be responsible adults.
And being a responsible
adult entails four things:
managing your time, manag
ing your gifts and abilities,
managing your money, and
managing your relationships.
In case you didn’t realize
it, that’s a really big job.
The transformation a
person makes (or ought
to make) from infancy to
adulthood is stunningly dra
matic. When a baby is bom
he can do very little on his
own; but by the time that
baby becomes a young adult
and leaves the home, he is
expected to make for himself
the decisions you once made
for him.
Generally speaking, man
aging those things well
requires some practice under
the guidance of an adult and
a values grid through which
decisions will be made.
Practice happens as par
ents increasingly transfer
responsibility to their chil
dren.
For example, rather than
controlling all spending deci
mil-
by the act. But some other
states —Nevada, California
and Hawaii, for example—
would Ml under provisions
of the act.
But fairness is not a trade
mark of the leadership in
Congress. It is easier to stick
it to Georgians and move on.
This will satisfy Rep. John
Lewis (D) of Georgia and the
voters he represents, and
that is what it is all about.
You have to give it to mem
bers of the Georgia delega
tion minus Democrats
for making a valiant effort to
correct this inequity and take
the handcuffs off Georgia
officials, from the state level
through the cities.
They have made two
sensible suggestions:Apply
the provisions of the Civil
Rights Act of 1965 to voting
patterns in 2004 or make
•* *.
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sions, a child starts to make
some of them herself and
comes to understand why
those decisions are made.
The “why” comes down
to values. Do I value “stuff”
over people or people over
stuff? Is buying more
important than the security
brought about by saving? Am
I at all responsible for the
plight of the less fortunate?
If so, what does that tell me
about what I should do with
some of my money?
The warning for parents
is this: If you manage too
much, they manage too little.
The Herculean task of pre
paring children for adulthood
looks different from child
to child. Kids mature at dif
ferent rates and in different
areas. One child might natu
rally develop good spend
ing and saving habits while
another won’t. But the one
without good spending and
saving habits might manage
relationships and time better.
With that in mind, I offer the
following suggestions:
Let them experience
consequences: Your inten
tion is not to put your chil
dren at risk, but to teach
them to consider the results
of their actions. For example,
if it has been agreed upon
that your child will save her
money for a new bicycle,
but she spends half of her
saved money on video games,
you’re not doing her any
favors if you buy the bike
for her anyway. She needs to
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Section 5 apply to all states.
Of course, they have not
received any support for
their proposals.
Congress is in low esteem
with the American public,
deservedly so. Extending
the act 25 years to pacify a
minority of the citizens of
our country further high
lights Congress’ inability or
unwillingness to act fairly on
behalf of citizens.
1 served eight years in
city government subject
to Section 5. It is unfair. It
takes local decisions out of
the hands of local officials.
It is humiliating to have to
submit every action concern
ing voting to biased activists
in the Civil Rights Division
of the Justice Department. It
makes second-class citizens
of people in Georgia.
I hope members of our
legislative delegation will
remember the names of
members of Congress who
turned their backs when they
come looking for support of
their favorite bills.
Hopefully, some politi
cal leaders in Georgia will
find a way to challenge the
application of Section 5 to
Georgians in the courts. It
sounds unconstitutional to
me. It should apply to all.
learn there are consequences
to her actions so she will
weigh the outcomes of her
choices more carefully in the
future.
Give them opportuni
ties to earn your trust: It
takes a willingness to risk
on your part, but you have
to realize you can’t be there
for your kids the rest of their
lives. Take small steps and
gradually introduce opportu
nities for them to prove they
are responsible and mature
enough to handle the next
level of responsibility.
Communicate, com
municate, communicate:
Someone once said, “Rules
without relationship breed
rebellion.” Your kids need to
know you care, and that your
rules come out of your love
for them, not your desire to
control them and steal their
fun. How do you do this?
Spend the time getting to
know your child. Take him
to breakfast on a Saturday.
Find out what’s going on in
his life, learn his fears and
joys, and help him shape a
vision for his future.
Ultimately, parents, you’ll
need to walk the line deli
cately and attentively. If you
watch carefully, you’ll know
when to give some slack and
when to pull back in a little
rope. It’s not easy, but learn
ing the balance between too
much freedom and too little
is one of the most important
tasks you will undertake as
a parent and one with
significant impact on your
child’s future.
Georgia Family Council
is a non-profit organiza
tion that works to impact
communities, shape laws
and influence culture to
strengthen marriage and -•
the family. For more info,
visit www.georgiafamily.org,
call (770) 242-0001, or e
mail gregg@gafam.org.