Newspaper Page Text
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♦ FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2006
if Houston Home 4
(Hi\t Jmmtal
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice Presiden t
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Ybu’ve heard it before: “With great power comes
great responsibility.”
That’s something we in the newspaper busi
ness better be mindful of every single day and
it’s good medicine across the board - from parents to
office workers to those at the top of the food chain.
You can abuse power once or often and get away with
it, but it’s typically that one time your feet are held to
the fire that will bring you to your knees - and often
times innocent people who just happened to be in the
wrong place at the wrong time with you.
There are plenty of examples of that - maybe not
enough - in politics and it’s a lesson the U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers is finding out the hard way.
They are for the most part, good hardworking citizens,
just like you and us. On average, they do good things.
But, if accusations are true, someone - or more than
just one official
- somewhere
in their chain
thought they were
bigger than the
law, and wielded
that misguided
mindset accord
ingly.
Reportedly, and
despite repeated
attempts to
get them to act
responsibly, the
group misman
aged conservation
reservoirs in the
Chattahoochee
River Basin.
The end result, according to a release from Gov. Sonny
Perdue’s office, was the inadvertent release of 22.5 bil
lion gallons of water and now legal action being taken by
the state against the organization.
If there’s a lesson in all of this for us, it’s maybe that
we should take a step back and examine our own power
pyramid.
Are we administering the power we’ve been given
wisely and fairly?
If not, you may get away with it today or tomorrow or
even a month from now, but if the example above is any
indication, eventually we answer for our actions.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Impact fees, there I have said the dastardly words.
Mention them to our county commissioners and develop
ers and watch them run scared. It’s an accepted fact our
county commissioners are in agreement with the build
ers on this matter - no impact fees.
We are told that impact fees would not fund the coun
ty’s needs in the future. It would not of course fund all
of them, thus we voted for the “SPLOST” over and over
again. But it will do two things that are paramount in
the county. How many people reading this can say your
water pressure is as good as it was six month ago? We
are told there is no water shortage but not to wash your
car, or even water your yard after 4 o’clock. Wonder
why?
It will be much worse in the near future. Impact fees
would result in the capability of being able to drill sev
eral more wells and thus eliminate these two problems.
But don’t hold your breath.
Now for the other main water problem - drainage.
We are in a period of draught now but what about the
future? How many areas are now affected by run-off.
Those of you who have lived in Houston County for a
long time are already experiencing drainage problems.
My neighbors across the street whose home has been
there for over 25 years has been watching their yard
disappear a little each time it rains. How many watched
Kroger’s parking lot go under water the last heavy rain
we had?
Oh, by the way, where Kroger now sits at Watson
Blvd. and Houston Lake Rd. there was a large wetland
area that contained a large sinkhole. This sinkhole
turned into a whirlpool following a major rain and
allowed excess water to drain off. I personally witnessed
this. This does not happen any more. That area conse
quently was largely developed with no regard to drain
age.
A holding pond was built - did it do any good?
The run-off from the last big rain blocked Quail Run for
several hours. There are several more areas in the coun
ty that suffered the same fate. Has anyone seen this
happen before? It was not a major flood. In the next 10
years we will experience floods in our county which we
have never seen here. Why?
The water will have no place to go! We need a major
addition to the drainage systems in the county.
Impact fees will bring in various estimates of between
$2 to 3 million dollars or more in the near future. This
will go a long way toward solving the water problem
in our county. Don’t let our commissioners continue to
ignore this problem. By the time they retire, there will
be no way out of this situation or we could say “satura
tion."
Thus a problem to plague us for years to come.
Jack H Wilboume, 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
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
But, it accusations
are true, someone
- or more than just one
official - somewhere
in their chain thought
they were bigger than
the law, and wielded
that misguided mindset
accordingly.
Walker personality profile test
This is a test. My test.
Call it the Walker
Personality Profile
Test. Hopefully, one day, it
will be sponsored by some
great university, like the
University of Georgia, but
in the meantime, it will
have to be my test - strong
on questions and short on
answers. Here goes.
1) You have two light
bulbs in your garage ceil
ing. Both were installed at
the same time. Replacement
requires a ladder and a
screw-driver to remove
the cover. After about 500
hours, one of the bulbs
burns out. Question: When
replacing the burned-out
bulb, would you also replace
the still functioning bulb?
2) Your shower can be
adjusted so that the water
comes out sharp and
focused or softer and in
larger rivulets. How do you
adjust your shower?
3) Steaks for dinner. T-
Bones. Do you save the ten
derest part (rib-eye) for last,
or do you eat the tenderest
part first?
4) How do you install the
toilet paper on the roller?
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'Time's up! The game is on
Apparently, I have
developed quite a
reputation as a time
keeper.
At least once a year,
strangers on the street
approach me out of the
blueand ask,“Do you know
what time it is?”
Although I usually answer
“Time for you to stop mes
sin’ with me,” I’ll occasion
ally give them.some num
bers that are eerily close to
the actual time.
My expertise in look
ing down at my watch and
being able to mutter num
bers in some semblance of
chronological order was
recognized recently as I was
chosen to be the official
timekeeper at the Georgia
Press Association’s political
debates.
They could have chosen
other experts in the field
- Renaldo Quartz, Larry
Timex, Skippy Rolex - but
they chose me instead. I
doubt it had anything to
do with the fact that I vol
unteered for the laborious
task.
Anyway, I prepared for
my assignment for virtually
minutes - which, for you
non-expert timekeepers, are
sort of like seconds, only
longer.
I hand-crafted time
Larry Walker
Columnist
lwalker@whgb-law.com
So that the paper comes off
the back side or over the
top and front? Or, do you
care?
5) Dark meat chicken or
light meat chicken? Note:
A majority of Americans
prefer light, although as I
understand it, this is not
true with most of the rest of
the world.
6) Dogs or cats? When I
was a child, I thought dogs
were males and cats were
females. I recently learned
better.
7) This one is related to
number 3 above. Cereal and
banana. Do you cut up the
banana and put it in the
bowl, first, or do you put
Len Robbins
Columnist
airpub@planttel.net
cards, painstakingly print
ing “One Minute,” then
“30 Seconds,” then “10
Seconds,” and finally, my
hand wretched from over
use,
“Time’s Up!”
I then, using the latest
that the world of science
has to offer, devised my own
personal buzzer - which I
planned to use if any of the
candidates went over their
allotted time.
Rehearsed and ready,
I loaded up my gear and
headed to the debate, where
we would hear from the
Democratic candidates
for governor and lieuten
ant governor and the
Republican candidates for
lieutenant governor.
Unfortunately, I .was only
able to use my buzzer once.
In the Democratic guber
natorial debate, longshot
candidate Mac McCarley
W u '-S
the banana on top of the
cereal?
8) Panama City, Florida,
or Highlands, North
Carolina? St. Simons or
Sea Island? Idle Hour
Country Club or yard sales
on Saturday morning?
This might have to do with
money, or lack thereof.
9) Money or looks? This
might have to do with your
age and experience.
10) The Atlanta
Symphony Orchestra or
Gretchen Wilson? You can
make your choice, soon.
And what if you like both?
11) You win a contest
and are given the choice of
spending a week with Dolly
i
m
* t
ignored, or probably didn’t
notice, my time cards. He
must have thought I was
just some guy sitting on the
front row who liked to wave
index cards above his head
every few minutes. About
the time he said, “...and as
governor, I’ll raise the mini
mum wage to sl2 an hour,”
(and I heard an audible
gasp from the newspaper
publishers in attendance),
I put my buzzing device
into swift action, grabbing
my spoon and slapping it
against my coffee mug, cre
ating a resounding “ding”
across the ballroom.
As expected, my time
keeping gig went like clock
work - flawless other than
the instances where I fell
asleep or found myself actu
ally listening.
Later that evening, I
found myself deep in con
versation with someone
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Parton or Bill Gates. Who
do you choose? (or is it,
whom do you choose?)
12) You lose a contest and
are given a choice of spend
ing a week with Howard
Stern or Anna Nicole
Smith? Which one?
13) Sweet tea or unsweet?
Grits or hash browns? Beef
or pork?
14) Men, do you shower
and then shave or do you
shave and then shower?
Women can answer if you
shave your legs.
15) Your daughter gets a
swing set from ‘ole Santa.
You read the plans before
starting the assemblage or
you plunge forward and
read the plans as a last
resort.
Well, here are the ques
tions. Answer them truth
fully and a psychiatrist can
probably tell a good deal
about you and your person
ality.
AIS for me, I’d replace
both light bulbs, let the toi
let paper come over the top,
and I’d spend my week with
Dolly! Beyond that, I’m
not telling. If I did, I might
have to go off for a while.
when the need to use the
restroom expressed its
urgency. The person I was
talking to was on a roll,
though, and there was no
appropriate pause in the
conversation where I could
enter a polite “excuse me”
and run, knees buckled, to
the facilities. Searching for
a way to end my bladder’s
suffering, I found my hand
in my jacket pocket, where
my time cards had retired.
Feeling the imprint of the
“10 Seconds” card, I lifted it
from my pocket, and in per
fect form (head down, card
high), placed it in front of
my jabbering colleague. He
wrapped it up in time, and I
was on my way to relief.
That success of the use of
the time card in a casual,
non-debate, setting has led
me to carry the time cards
around with me - just in
case an emergency arises
where I need to escape a
conversation. For instance,
I feel they will be quite use
ful during football season
when my wife begins to
tell me about her plans to
redecorate the living room
while the Dawgs are playing
on TV
That scenario will call for
a quick “Time’s Up!” And
possibly “Heads Up!” as
well.