Opinions & Ideas
PAGE 4A - HOGaNSVn HERAt,D - THURSDAY, J 23, 2012
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THE HOGANSVILLE HERALD
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ROBERT E. TRIBBLE, President
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Official Legal Organ for the Cio" of Hogansville
Child Strip Searched
At a Middle School?
The Clayton County
School System is in trouble
again. Last week a middle
school student claimed in a
lawsuit he was humiliated
and traumatized when he was
brought to a vice principal's
office and forced to strip in
front of other classmates who
said he was in possession of
marijuana.
The student, then in the
seventh-grade, said he still
suffers from emotional dis-
tress because his classmates
taunted him by calling him
"Superman", the underwear
he was wearing when he was
strip-searched. The student is
suing the Clayton County
school district for unspeci-
fied punitive and compensa-
tory damages.
The student, identified in
court documents as D.H., said
officials at Eddie White
Academy initially strip-
searched three other stu-
dents on Feb. 8, 2011, after
suspecting they had marijua-
na. One of them accused D.H.
of having drugs, and he was
brought to then-vice princi-
pal Tyrus McDowell's office.
While the three class-
mates watched, D.H.'s pgck-
ets and ........ were
searched but searchers did-
n't find anything, the lawsuit
said. One of the students told
school officials he had lied
about D.H. having drugs, but
administrators continued the
search as D.H. begged to be
taken to the bathroom for
more privacy, according to
the lawsuit.
D.H. was ordered to strip
and again, no drugs were
found.
"The strip searches were
done intentionally, willfully,
wantonly, maliciously, reck-
lessly, sadistically, deliber-
ately, with callous indiffer-
ence to their consequences,"
according to the lawsuit,
which also names as defen-
dants the county's sheriff's
department and Ricky
Redding, the school's
resource officer.
THE STUDENT'S attor-
ney, Gerry Weber, said a 2009
U.S. Supreme Court ruling
found school officials could-
n't perform even a partial
strip search of a student, even
if they have probable cause.
Weber also litigated a
case nearly a decade ago in
which the federal appeals
court in Atlanta found that a
mass strip search of Clayton
County students was uncon-
stitutional because it violat-
ed their Fourth Amendment
rights, which protect against
an unreasonable search and
seLzure.
"This is like deja vu," said
Weber. "It is simply beyond
belief that students are still
being stripped naked in the
Clayton County schools."
Redding, who was also
accused in the complaint of
being involved in the search,
was fired about a month later,
the lawsuit said. McDowell
was placed on administrative
leave before subsequently
resigning.
The student's mother,
Angela Dawson, said her son
still hasn't recovered.
'This situation has broken
the very foundation of my
child's education because in
order for him to learn, he has
to believe that what schools
are trying to teach him is right
and now he questions them
after they stripped him of his
clothes and dignity," she said.
'TIis trust is broken."
I CAN'T imagine how any
adult in their right mind
would conduct a strip search
of a student in the presence
of other students as they
watch. There is not one of us,
as an adult, that would like to
be strip searched in front of
an audience.
In my opinion the vice
principal and the school
resource officer knew exact-
ly what they were doing and
had every intention of humil-
iating the student and that is
awful.
Simply put, the two men
didn't care about the student's
feelings, how it might affect
him or anything except being
able to show they were the
ultimate power and everyone
will do as told and "bow down
to the master."
Don't get me wrong, I
understand the need to do
searches if officers and the
school system feels the per-
son is in possession of drugs,
but I'm also sure that the
school resource officers and
the principal's and vice prin-
cipal's in our area willrespect
the student's right to priva-
cy in such a situation.
Sometimes however, it
takes something like this to
make us wake up and real-
ized just how blessed we are.
We have good schools in this
area, with good teachers,
principals and staff, as well
as very qualified school
resource Officers.
While our school systems
may not be perfect, other sys-
tems pale in comparison to
each of them, not just in the
quality of education our chil-
dren are receiving, but in the
respect and dedication given
to the students.
I'm thankful for the way
our local school systems are
operated. Aren't you?
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Leaders Must Put USA Back to Work
With America still facing
a sluggish economy and great
uncertainty Washington law-
makers must not slip into a
do nothing campaign mode
before the elections in
November. Instead they must
get busy working with the
business community to put
Americans back to work.
U.S. Chamber of
Commerce President Tom
Donahue says that American
business is improving but it
is doing so very slowly. Most
recent job numbers have
been positive with unemploy-
ment going down to 8.5%
which is a slight improve-
ment but there are still 23 mil-
lion Americans unemployed
or working part-time.
In order to put more
Americans back to work the
economy must grow faster
than it currently is, however
Donohue feels that the econ-
omy could slow dovn during
the first part of 2012.
He outlined the
Chamber's 2012 policy agen-
da which would expand the
economy, create jobs and
boost American's competi-
tiveness as follows: (1)
Produce American energy
and rebuild the infrastruc-
ture. (2) Expand trade, invest-
ment and tourism. (3)
Advance regulatory andlegai
reform. (4) Develop an inno-
vation agenda. (5) Control
spending and reform entitle-
ments.
Donohue saysthatthereal
roadblock to stronger eco-
nomic growth, betterjobsand
more opportunities for all
Americans is lack of leader-
ship in Washington. Wehat we
can plainly see is an urgent
need for leaders in every sec-
tor and at every level who are
dedicated to meeting the
Country's challenges, solving
problems and helping
America achieve her full
potential. Real leaders don't
ignore realities. They don't
sweep problems under the
rug. They don't point Emgers.
They don't divide us. They
seek to unite us," he said.
As we move into 2012 the
question that is yet to be
answered concerns the eco-
nomic growth that our econ-
omy will see during the year.
During 2011 the economy
grew at a rate of less tlmn 2%
according to the U.S.
Chamber. During the first
half of 2011 the growth rate
was less than 1% due to ris-
ing oil prices and other events
around the world. Then it
picked up in the second half
of the year to almost 2%.
According to figures
given by the Chamber holi-
day shopping was better in
December 2011 compared to
2010 with sales up over 3%.
Other helpful trends were the
resumption of banks' lending
to businesses and corporate
profits that plunged during
the recession expected to
improve.
Boosted in part by tax
incentives investment in
equipment and software was
one of the contributors to
GDP growth in 2011.
Investment in equipment and
software should remain solid
during 2012 and we should
get a boost from investments
in structures.
Another good trend over
the past year has been the
improvement in net exports,
caused by a weaker dollar and
a reduced demand for
imports. Export growth was
not strong in 2011because the
world economy slowed. As
consumption continues to
pickup in 2012 imports should
increase which could slow the
growth of exports.
Job creation began to
increase last September and
an average of 156,000 new
jobs was created each month
through December. The job::
growth has affected the
unemployment rate which
dropped nationwide from:
9.1% in August to 8.5% in
December. Another factor
lias bean the decline in the
labor forceparti(lpationrate.
" Our economy is current,
ly showing signs of strength
and we are guardedly opti,,:
mistic about continued pos:
tire growth this year, a U.S.
Chamber official said.
There Is a Sucker Born Every Minute
Last week I got one of
those calls asking me to warn
people about identity theft
and giving out personal infor-
mation.
Many of us in the media
get those calls periodically.
Most of us, myself included,
have written warnings about
giving out personal informa-
tion that can lead to identity
theft and having your bank
to purchase a Rolex watch
really cheap. I am not a Rolex
kind of guy. As my loving wife
would note, I am, very low-
maintenance. For those dumb
enough to order one, rest
assured the watch is not gen-
uine and after you give them
your credit or debit cardnum-
ber and the security number
"-- any other money in your
account is quickly gone.
accounts emptied. I received an email from
But peoplestill do it. iaurineJtue331-
The latest catt came from :nneeds my ht
a woman, a senior citizen in
our readership area, who fell
for a scare She lost some
money, but it could have been
much worse. Thankfully, she
has learned a lesson.
AS I WRITE THIS, four
emails dropped into my junk
folder.
JulitteKingsland 40745
sent me an email inviting me
to "be her friend" on a web-
site. I recognized the website
name, but not the woman's
name, so I passed on the invi-
tation. I suspect the person
behind this would want some
personal information and
somebody who really knows
me would send a personal
email.
Somebody else invited me
$5.6 million dollars from
southern Sudan to the United
States, and I'll get 30 percent
for helping her. She prayed
about this before contacting
me. I'm sure somebody was
praying for a mark to fall for
this scam, which is repeated
with amazing frequency. Fall
for it and you will lose money.
Vaierie Amos apologized
for me being victim of a scare.
I can register with her to be
awarded part of a $5 million
settlement set aside by the
United Nations World Bank.
The interesting part was the
scam involved my VISA card.
I don't have a VISA card.
ContactValerie, giveheryour
personal and financial infor-
mation, and your bank
account will be emptied in no
time.
These are but four exam-
ples and there are many,
on their luck, and need help.
But for others it has become
a profession, a way to gener-
ate tax-free income preying
on the generosity of others. I :
would much rather see such
a person holding a sign that
reads, "Need Work."
Some months back I was
fueling my car at a place that
sells our newspapers. I was
approached by a woman who
desperately needed money to
al information or bank
account information remem-
ber this: A sucker is born
every minute.
WHILE the internet is
ripe with opportunities to be
scammed, those chances can
be found elsewhere.
Get-rich-quick schemes
and foreign lotteries will only
separate you from your
money. If physics could real-
ly see the future, they would
win every legitimate lottery
and not need your money.
Respond to those ads and you
will lose your money.
Note the panhandlers
standing on street corners
with signs that read "Need
Money- Homeless." Granted
some might really be down
to send any money I conldloaa
her back to me.
Do I look like an easy
mark?
But she had two small
children in her Van with a
Meriwether County tag and
did look rather frantic, so I
gave her the benefit of the =
doubt. While I did not hand
over any money, I did put
enough gasoline in her va0 to
get her and the children=to
Atlanta and back. She insist -
ed that she would mail the
money back to me so I gave
her my business card.
I still haven't seen it.
Maybe she lost the card.
A sucker is born every
minute.
That's my opinion.
40 Years Ago,..
ansville Resident bk
District Delegate Past ob.,d
::: Training Center Planned .......
For Mentally Retarded
Starts Toni
Inthe
Hogansville Herald
Compd by Rot) Rkrdson
• POLITICAL STEPS - The top story in:
the Feb. 24,1972 Hogansville Heraldwas
about the youth movement in politics.:':,
"Kenneth Gordon, formerly of Hogansville;i :
announced today that he will seek a con-
gressional district delegate post to the
Democratic National Convention to be,',
held-in Miami this summer. Gordon, 24, ;.
attended Georgia Tech and Georgia Stat(L i "
University. He graduated from West:
Georgia College on political science. '-
oA GOOD PROGRAM FOR EVERY DAY
- Another front page story also involved
young folks. l.ocal Girl Scouts gathered
at the high school cafeteria to observe
their annual lhinking day' program. They
gave a brief talk on how Scouting began:
and discussed some of the things they
have accomplished this year.
• PENDING LITIGATION- Another sto)
pertained to a lawsuit. Law enforcemert
and court officials of Troup County. ma. y
,soon face a civil damage suit, according-
to attorney J.C. Wyatt Jr. Wyatt repre-
sented a teenaged boy who was arrest-
ed following the slaying of Mary Magalyne
Purdue of Hogansville.
• OTHER HEADLINES - "Mary Ann
Conway Is Bride of Terry Hanner;" 'Miss
Winkles to Become Bnde of Thomas
Norwood;" "March 3 to Be Day of Prayer;"
New GymBid Open and Exceeds
Allotment."
