Newspaper Page Text
4A
♦ SATURDAY, JULY 1, 2006
(TTf If "Houston 3fCnmc f
( h\\t fltmxxml
OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief
Managing Editor
Limits needed on growth
Thursday, the Georgia Department of
Community Affairs presented 74 cities
with awards for their downtown develop
ment programs.
They ranged from Cordele to Valdosta to Fort
Valley to Cochran, the last one of only five to be
singled out as Better Hometowns.
“For most communities, the downtown offers
the most visible indicator of community pride, eco
nomic and social health,” said Georgia Department
of Community Affairs commissioner Mike Beatty in
bestowing the awards. “A downtown can be either
an asset or a
liability in the
effort to recruit
new residents,
new businesses
and keep those
you already
have.
“Over the
years, many of
our nation’s
downtowns have
experienced peri
ods of decline.
Some communi-
ties have allowed that decline to become disrepair.
The communities being recognized today decided to
take action and combine the energy of government,
elected and community leaders to revitalize their
downtown areas.”
Unfortunately, none in our local area made the
list. While Perry has at least made a conscious
effort to move in that direction we may yet
see them on the list in the near future and
Centerville has made that an agenda item, Warner
Robins remains an "unknown."
Most parents can remember a time when they
used to “cruise” up and down Watson Blvd. as
teenagers back when there were only two
schools and you were either from one side of town
or the other.
Now, the International City is spreading like
wildfire to the four corners of the world so to speak
or as far as its borders will allow (while at the
same time passing the torch to places like Kathleen
and Bonaire), while Watson Blvd. seems more of an
afterthought (for months the intersection between
it and Davis Dr. was nothing but potholes and
there are plenty of buildings that would qualify for
Beatty’s description of “disrepair”).
The point is: Growth is good. But at some point
we need to stop, take a breath, and think about
where we’re headed.
Roots are good provided they’re not spread too
thin.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
(In response to a letter to the editor in Wednesday’s
Houston Home Journal ) I might think this Voting
Rights Act is a good thing for the country if it pertained
to all states.
The only reason it passed 25 years ago is because
it was directed at a few southern states and had no
effect on the great majority; therefore, the esteemed
Congressmen from all those states had nothing to lose,
vote wise, and probably relished at the opportunity to
keep on punishing the south for things they, themselves
were doing.
The 21st century carpetbagger from Warner Robins
should return to whatever section of the country in
which he hatched out of since he likes the wording of
the Voting Rights Act.
Glenn Hitchcock, Centerville
HOW TO SUBMIT LETTERS
We encourage readers to submit letters to the
editor. Letters should not exceed 350 words and
must include the writer’s name, address and tele
phone number. All letters printed in The Houston
Home Journal will appear with the writer’s name
and hometown - we do not publish anonymous let
ters. The newspaper reserves the right to edit or
reject letters for reasons of grammar, punctuation,
taste and brevity. Letter writers are asked to submit
no more than one letter per person per week. We
cannot guarantee that a letter will be printed on a
specific date.
The Home Journal prefers that letters be typed.
Letters to the editor are published in the order they
are received as space permits. A Journal employee
will call to verify the author of each letter.
There are three ways to submit a letter to the edi
tor: E-mail it to hhj@evansnewspapers.com, mail
it to The Houston Home Journal at P.O. Box 1910,
Perry, GA 31069, or drop it off at 1210 Washington
St. in Perry - between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday.
Foy S. Evans
Editor Emeritus
The point is: Growth is
good. But at some point
we need to stop, take a
breath, and think about
where we're headed.
Mayor stands up to citizens
I like two things that
Mayor “Bubba” Edwards
of Centerville told
citizens at a public forum to
discuss the city’s 100 per
cent property tax exemption
for senior citizens and using
the Bible when discussing
a proposal to permit sale of
mixed drinks on Sunday.
At a previous forum,
which the mayor had to
miss, senior citizens gave
council members a hard
time and there were threats
they would be voted out of
office if they did not keep
the 100 percent exemption
for seniors 70 and over.
The mayor said he “didn’t
like what I read in the
newspaper about the tone of
the meeting.”
Then he said, “You can
vote us out of office, but I
won’t be intimidated.”
He also took on critics of
Sunday alcohol sales. He
said, “I know the Book. I
read it every day,” while
challenging critics who
pointed to the Bible at the
previous meeting as a rea
son not to allow'Sunday
sales in Centerville.
Whether you agree with
Mayor Edwards or not you
have to admire the fact he
takes charge and lets you
know where he stands.
We need more politicians
who have convictions and
stand by them regardless of
j o?ooe creators syndicate, inc |
Democracy and freedom depend upon families
I’ve always looked for
ward to the Fourth of July.
I loved it as a child for its
pageantry. As an adult,
the lure of the pageantry ,
of Independence Day cel
ebrations waned and was
replaced by a more basic
source of appreciation - it’s
a day off.
Unfortunately, I find
that (like so many people I
know) I am prone to keep
my nose to the grindstone,
as they say, and then take
my holiday celebrations off
without remembering their
significance. Oh sure, my
family puts the flag out,
attends holiday cookouts
and watches the most spec
tacular fireworks show we
can find. But most often, I
fail to reflect on the mean
ing of it all.
That’s very sad.
The reason our nation’s
ability to sustain the
meaning and importance
of Independence Day
is dependent on us. We
are most responsible for
embracing in our own
lives and transmitting
to others the virtue
and character that gave
life to the Declaration of
Independence.
Around the Fourth of
July, it helps me remember
the significance of the holi
day by revisiting great and
patriotic statements made
by our founding fathers. So
often, I can see their respect
for faith and family in their
writings. For example,
James Madison, the princi
pal author of our country’s
other great founding docu
ment, the Constitution, put
it this way:
“We have staked the
whole future of our new
nation not upon the power
of government; far from it.
We have staked the future
of all our political constitu
tions upon the capacity of
each of ourselves to govern
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
the political fallout.
* * *
If you have any doubt
that many young people are
so concerned about their
parents becoming bored in
their old age, consider this
fact: In Georgia there are
more than 165,000 children
being raised by grandpar
ents and more are on the
way
Now isn’t that thought
ful of children to go to the
trouble of having children
just for the benefit of their
parents?
* * *
If you don’t own a com
puter you are missing
something. It’s hard to
get along without one, but
they’ll drive you crazy when
things go wrong. I’m still
not convinced that they are
anything short of the Devil’s
work.
Randy Hicks
Ga. Family Council
ourselves according to the
moral principles of the Ten
Commandments.”
John Adams echoed those
sentiments, saying, “Our
Constitution is designed
only for a moral and reli
gious people. It is wholly
inadequate for any other.”
Adams also said, “Public
virtue cannot exist in a
nation without private.”
In essence, both men rec
ognized that the Founders
had done something
bold and unprecedented.
Specifically, they had cre
ated a government that
allowed for so much free
dom that the potential for
abuse even anarchy
was high. They knew that
the freedom afforded by our
form of civil government
required a people who could
govern themselves person
ally, keeping their selfish
impulses in check and culti
vating their altruistic ones.
Perhaps even more strik
ing was their understanding
of what would transpire
should the citizens of this
newly formed country fail
to exercise virtue and self
restraint. One of the stron
gest warnings came from
Benjamin Franklin.
“Only a virtuous people
are capable of freedom,”
asserted Franklin. “As
nations become corrupt
and vicious, they have more
need of masters.”
Those who can’t master
themselves, will be mas-
jfr *
'* jkJII
* * *
The Houston County
Commissioners have been
asked by District Attorney
Kelly Burke and a represen
tative of the Georgia State
Patrol to purchase 10 of the
new 800 megahertz radios.
They would be installed in
State Patrol vehicles so that
the sheriffs department and
the State Patrol can commu
nicate with each other while
in their cars.
Presently officers patrol
ling for the two law enforce
ment agencies must commu
nicate through base radios.
This can take time. Failure
to communicate in the past
has created some serious
incidents.
You would expect the state
to buy the radios. However,
the money is not available
unless the county can get
a state grant. Maybe yes,
maybe no.
Anyway it seems that
the high frequency radios.
M 9
1> i
HL v 7 IB
I w
tered by others. People who
can’t govern themselves
require the heavier hand
of law and judgment. Do
you ever wonder why we
pass more and more laws
every year in Washington,
Atlanta and other state cap
itals around the country?
I believe Franklin would
argue that it’s because
we’re having a harder time
governing ourselves.
This is illustrated in the
rearing of children. As chil
dren grow older and, hope
fully, more mature, we par
ents have fewer rules and
restraints, believing that we
have imparted the knowl
edge and virtue needed for
making sound decisions.
This is where the family
comes into play, not only
in perpetuating the prin
ciples of the Declaration of
Independence, but also in
preserving liberty and our
very form of government.
I beat this drum on occa
sion and I’ll beat it here:
The home is the incubator
for tomorrow’s citizens.
It’s worth noting that
in 1881, 55 years after the
signing of the Declaration
of Independence, a young
French aristocrat named
Alexis de Tocqueville came
to the United States to
investigate our country’s
prison system. Instead, he
wrote of American democ
racy in its infancy. One of
his observations was "...
the American derives from
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
which have eliminated
dead spots around Houston
County, would be a good
investment in better law
enforcement in our county.
* * *
Question: Do you believe
that the right of The New
York Times to print classi
fied information pertaining
to the war against terror
is a form of subversion?
Do you believe that’s how
our government goes
about fighting our enemies
should be exposed for the
enemies to see? Twice in
recent months The New
York Times and a few other
left-wing newspapers have
printed information that
has, without doubt, aided
the enemy
In my opinion, they are
wrong. National security
should supersede a newspa
per’s right to print anything
it wants to, regardless of the
consequences.
President Bush has point
ed out that what they did
has hurt the fight against
terrorism and I agree that
they must be brought to
task.
Left-wing, liberal newspa
pers, some of which we read
here, are circling the wag
ons in defense of The Times,
which is reason enough to
believe that what The Times
did was wrong.
his home that love of order
which he afterwards car
ries with him into public
affairs.”
It’s in the home children
learn to trust, live in com
munity and, most impor
tantly, sacrifice for the
betterment of the larger
community. In the case of
a child, that larger com
munity starts out being his
or her family. The values it
takes to live peacefully and
healthily in a family are
the same ones that allow
one to enter into the world
as a responsible adult and
citizen.
It’s in the home a child
learns to consider the needs
and interests of other fam
ily members; to contribute
to the order, stability and
household economy of the
family by performing house
hold chores and responsi
bilities; and to live in a com
munity (family) where her
ideas don’t always prevail
and desires can’t always be
accommodated.
You can see how what
I just described trans
lates into citizenship.
The responsible citizen
whether a soldier in the
service of his country over
seas or an employee in a
factory contributes to the
social, political and econom
ic stability of our communi
ties in much the same way
an individual contributes to
a stable home life. It takes
hard work, sacrifice, under
standing, empathy and a
host of other virtues that
are cultivated in the home.
Parents have our work
cut out for us, don’t we?
Frankly, I’m kind get
kind of tired just thinking
about it. But it’s a glorious
responsibility and privi
lege. We’re not just raising
children; we’re raising the
guardians of democracy and
liberty.