Opinions & Ideas
PAGE 4 - HOGANSVIIAZ HOME NEWS -SEFr. 12, 2002
A Griwx. lublirathm
Millard B. Grimes, President
THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS
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JOHN Kt.atL
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ROB RIN
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Phone (706) 846-3188 • Fax (706) 846-2206
P O. Box 426
Hogansfille, Georgia 30230
Confusing Power
With Politics...
There are a number of
newly elected politicians in
the area, and while that is
sometimes a welcomed
change, it can also be a dan-
gerous one.
Newly elected officials
can sometimes confuse'poli-
tics with power, therefore
resulting in catastrophe.
Being new to politics, some
forget the basic rule of poli-
tics. The basic rule is simply
this, "Listen to your con-
stituents, but always do what
is in their best interest."
Often politicians forget
that what the constituents
want and what they really
need may be two different
things.
For example (purely
hypothetical), let's say we
have a newly elected county
commissioner and he is bat-
tling with a decision con-
cerning a zoning issue. Let's
say the commissioner's dis-
trict is made up of a number
of mobile home parks and the
county is considering allow-
ing only double wides that
; must have a shingle roof,
: masonry tmderskirting, front
,d back porches and heavy
! strapping for anchoring:Of
course, the mobile home
parks are going to put on pres-
sure to halt such a restrictive
ordinance. On the other hand,
the commissioner knows that
by passing this ordinance it
: will help to increase proper-
ty values throughout the
county. The commissioner
should vote in favor of the
majority.
ANOTHER PROBLEM
that can arise with a newly
elected official, is having a
personal agenda. Another
hypothetical situation will
help us analysis it. Let's say
that the county is having a
difficult time finding funds
for certain projects and. the
budget becomes so restric-
tive that it's impossible to
continue progressing. Roads
become worn, recreation
dies, so on and so forth. "i
commissioner realizes tha,
the only way to battle the
problem is to increase taxes,
but he votes against it only
because he promised he
would not vote for a tax
increase.
I'm sur$ by now, every-
one is beginning to get the
picture.
Unfortunately for us, the
general population, politi-
cians sometimes make the
popular choices. The reason
is simple, he or she wants to
be re-elected. They forget
their first priority is to do
.things that will benefit their
constituents, not themselves.
They forget they are elected
to represent us and make
decisions for us that will be
in our best interest.
OVER THE YEARS, I've-
covered a number of meet-
ings including town councils,
commissioners and school
boards. It seems that on each
and every one of these
boards, there is always at
least one person that fits the
above descriptions. After
covering such meetings for
some 25 years or so, I can hon-
estly say there is one com-
missioner that I'll never for-
get, Ross Dunn of the
Chambers County, Alabama
commission.
Dunn was a character. He
was hated by almost every-
one. In spite of the fact that
so many people disliked him,
he just kept on winning.
I know you're all wonder-
ing why he was re-elected if
he was hated by so many. That
answer is a simple one.
Dunn was one of the first
people that introduced him-
self to me when I was hired
as Managing Editor of The
Valley-Times News. He told
me he was a commissioner
and he also told me that I
would probably learn to hate
him as much as everyone else
did. He was right in some
ways, I did dislike his per-
sonality and I sometimes did-
n like the way he went about
doing things, but I still had to
respect the man.
There were three things
I learned about Dunn in cov-
ering those meetings. One, he
never lied to me. Any ques-
tion I asked, he answered and
it didn't matter if he
answered the way people
tought he should, he simply
ld you what he thought.
Two, he always voted his con-
victions. I won say I agreed
with all his votes, but you
knew where he stood, always.
And three, he genuinely
cared about the commtmity.
Ironic isn't it. The com-
missioner I've found to be the
most hated over years, was
probably one of the ones that
did the most good.
All politicians could learn
a few things from Ross.
TttE HOGAMSVILLE HOME NEWS is published weekly by the Star-Mercury
Publishing Company, a division of Grimes Publications. at I Roosev.elt Highway,
Manchester. Georgia 31816. USPS 6204M0, Subscription rates by mail: $18 in
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POSnIAS'IXR: Send address changes to E O. Box 426. Hogansville. GA 30230.
ST
Publisher and Advertising Director ............................................................... Mike Hale
As.,ciate Publisher and Editor ........................................................... John Kuykeadall
Busines's Manager ................................................................................. Jayne Gold.caon
Asistant Editor ...................................................................................... Rob Ric "hardson
StaffWriter.s .......................................................................... Bryan Geter. Billy Bryant
Assislant Adverti.ing Manager .................................................................. Laurie Lewis
Ads ertising Sales ............................................ Linda Lesr
Composing ................................................................. Dewayne FIowe. Valinda Ive
Circulation Manager .................................................................................... Judy Crews
Lcgals ...................................................................................................... Jayne Goldston
Pressroom Manager ........................................................................ Wayne Cahowski
Pressroom ........................................ David Boggs. Larry Colleges. Shannon'Atkinson
Ow]cEas
President ............ .: ............................................................................... Millard B. Grimes
Vice President .................................................................................. Charloue S. Grimes
Secretary .......................................................................................... Laura Grimes Cofer
Trmsurer. ...................................................................................... Kathy Cremes Garrett
[_gal Counsel and Asistant Secretary .............................................. James S. Grimes
9/11 Tribute Honoring Don
On this first anniversary
of the three 9-11 incidents we
should pause to consider how
grateful we should be to be
an American.
All of us seem to forget
the prices so many have paid
so that we can enjoy the free-
dom and privileges we have
today.
Our forefathers almost
two and one-half centuries
ago began paying the price
for our freedom and every
generation since that time has
answered the call to arms to
protect our freedom.
much to preserve the free-
dom you and I enjoy today.
MY FIRST relationship
with Don was some forty
years ago when he was in
charge of a railroad car
assignment with the ACL
Railroad. If Don knew I need-
ed a chip car on a certain day,
you could bet your bottom
dollar the car would be on our
siding at the appointed times.
Our good relationship with
the railroad train crew, both
his and mine, made our rela-
tionship ':jam up."
"Don Fowler
never complained
about anything
Don Fowler never com- though he has p/'FI-
THIS PAST YEAR we plained about anything
have lost a staunch soldier though he has plenty of rea- ofre4olls."
and loyal comrade with the
passing of Don Fowler.
He was a veteran of World
War II who never com-
plained, but had been through
sons. He was very devoted to
his wife who also suffered
with ill health in later years.
After Don retired from
the railroad, he worked part-
time for Hamp's Convenience
at Flint Hill.
When he decided he had
with his wife, I took his
time day shift job on
ends.
Sales people and
tomers alike were
asking about Don.
evident he liked
they liked him. He
carried a big smile
always greeted people
big smile.
MY THOUGHTS
plans about
the first anniversary of
9-11 incidents. Althou
never talked about his
riences, I have often
derecL
Our local VFW will
our friend and comrade.
you rest in
'We miss you!
Just Exactly Who Is the Real God
America is not the same
as she was before September
11, 2001. As President Bush
stated, "Today freedom was
attacked by a faceless cow-
ard." Never before has the
continental United States
seen such a vicious attack
upon her soil. As that dread-
ful day unfolded, images
never before imagined were
plastered on millions of tele-
vision sets across this great
land.
I remember sitting in my
study, the phone ringing and
on the other end my mom
semi-frantically asked, "Are
you all right?" I replied,
"Sure, why?" She proceeded
to tell me the things that were
unfolding in New York City.
Not long after that call, I went
to the house and with my vis-
Ring in,laws winched with
astonishmer the horrible
events unfold. Then it hap-
pened. I believe later on that
day some of the most horri-
ble pictures of the day. In
some middle eastern cities
there were folks celebrating
in the streets. They were
shouting, parading around
and you would think they had
just won World War III. It was
disturbing enough, to think
that men, women and chil-
dren would rejoice at e then
perceived loss of tens of thou-
sands of American lives.
According to the translators,
the object of their praise was
l'CTOd."
I pastor a church and talk
about, teach about, study
about and preach about God.
We sing praises to God, we
pray to God and we worship
God. The question that was
asked of me was, "Are they
praising the same God we
worship?" The god praised in
those middle-eastern cities
on September eleventh is not
the God we worship and adore
in our church.
IT IS NOT the God of
Christianity. As many have
now learned, the god praised
was the god of Islam, called
Allah. He is not the God of
heaven. He is not the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
He is not the God of
God.
I realize these are strong
statements, but the truth
must be declared and the con-
fusion cleared up.
The Bible states that
there is only one true God and
his name is Jehovah. God
declares his position while
Jehovah declares his person.
The Bible says in
Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O
Israel: The Lord our God is
one Lord." The word Lord is
the English translation of
Jehovah. Also the Bible says
in I Kings 18:30, "...The Lord,
he is the God; the Lord, he is
the God." There is a differ-
"The god pra/sed
in those middle-
eastern cities on
September
eleventh is not the
God we worship
and adore in our
church."
ence between Jehovah and
Allah. I do not have the time
nor the space to show why the
Bible is the true record as
opposed to the Koran, but be
it known and understood,
Jehovah God is the one true
God.
Some may be thinking,
preacher, you ought not be so
critical and hateful toward
Muslims. I am neither hate-
ful toward nor critical of any-
one, but I do have a respon-
sibility to tell the truth as the
Word of God reveals it.
I have often heard folks
say that i
people worship or the
they worship because
roads lead
In John 14:6, the Bible
"Jesus saith unto them I
the way,
No man cometh unto
father but b)
ers, there is only one way
man may find peace
God.
There is only one
with which to have
God is the God
Isaac and Jacob, the
Jehovah and the only
Jesus Christ.
MANY TIMES, I am
that I'm stubborn and
opinionated.
I agree, t9 an extent
ono I
about some,it
man3
opinions or
However, these
about God, Jesus and
to heaven are neither
opinion nor preference:
are the stated truths
Word of God.
They remain
whether we believe the# €
not. For those of you
me, "But, preacher,
you are wrong?" I
the sake of argument wi
question myself, "But
what if I am right?"
50 Years
Ago...
> Inthe
Hogans00e Herald '
• BARBECUE WELL"
An'ENDED: "Approximately 800
people attended the big
sponsored by the Sportsmen
Club last Saturday afternoon at te
dub park. rtm very modem bart
cue pit drew high praise from ma
• CHURCH OF GOD ACTIVI"
ES: "He brought me up also o.
of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay
and set my feet up on a rock, a
at
my goings
• NEW RULES: "All BoY
Scouts are urged to check witm t
Sooutmastem on ta few Star, t. s
and Eagle Ranks because tt
requirements for these high#
ranks in Scouting are to change
Jan. 1, 1953. This is not only tru?
in the West Georgia Council I
for Scouts all over America."
=NEW ON THE COW FRON/:
=The of
Tri-coun Artifr
was held at (the)
Courthouse on Saturday, Sept.
Dairy type heifer claves
shown by some of the
breeders of Mertwether
Harris Counties?
is a hybrid, the result
jack with a mere.
