Opinions & Ideas
PAGE 4 - HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS -OCT. 3, 2002
THE HOGANSVILLE HOME NEWS
USPS 620-04O
MIKZ ltm
PUBLISHF_MADvInSING DmEcaxm
JOHN KAtL
ASOCIATE Ptmlarlxm
RoB Rz
ASSISTANT EDITOR
JAm
BUStNESS MANAGER
Phone (706) 846-3188. Fax (706) 8462206
P O. Box 426
HogansviUe, Georgia 3O23O
Are Kids Suffering?
I received a phone call a
couple of weeks ago from a
good friend and a person with
great concern for children.
Johnny Wilkes, who serves as
executive director for Good
Shepeherd Therapeutic
Center, called and was very
concerned that Georgia is
"'struggling with a child wel-
t'are crisis that is begging for
help.'"
When Wilkes talks to me
about things like this, I give
a listen. If there is one thing
I know about Wilkes is that
he cares greatly about al[
children.
"Children are dying
because of a lack of
Department of Family and
Children's Services (DFACS)
intervention." he told me. "Too
many children are coming
into the system that is ill
equipped to provide the care
and nurturance the State of
Georgia promises its abused
and neglected children.
"Private, not-for-profit
agencies provide over 2,450
bed spaces for these children,
and that puts us on the front
line in the battle."
Private providers have
recently joined forces with
DFACS, the Department of
Juvenile Justice and Gov.
Barnes' Task Force for Safe
Children to develop a system
that will solve most of the
problems. The new system is
simply called "Level of Care."
Under this system, when
a child who has been abused
and neglected must enter the
foster care system, he/she
would be served in the least
restrictive setting that meets
hi:er treatment needs, and
each level would have
resources and services
mfique to each child.
WILKES PROVIDED me
with some information he had
obtained about the reform:
"It is a little known fact
amongthe citizens of the state,
but Georgia currently ranks
47th iu the nation in terms of
quality care for children in
state custody. Our children
are being neglected and
abused by the very system
that attempts to protect them,
it is a system in desperate need
of reform," one of the print
outs provided by Wdkes read.
The reform is expected to
cost Georgia about $15 mil-
lion dollars. I shuttered at the
thought of that amount of
money, but then Wilkes point-
ed out, "The cost of such a
widespread re-creation of our
residential childcare system
can seem so datmting that the
problem gets pushed aside,
again and again, it/favor of
more manageable problems."
Wilkes then pointed out this
was a 'aanageable problem."
Wilkes pointed out that
childcare reform would cost
the same as the following
projects that occur often in
Georgi
• Paving three miles of a
four-lane road;
• Building 1/3 miles of the
Northern Arc around Atlanta;
• Purchasing one used
1996 Gulfstream 200 plane
(noting the cost of anew plane
is only $2,5 million).
Considering these facts,
made childcare reformseem
less costly.
SAID THAT the
action required for the reform
were as follows:
• All state agencies and
the Governor's office must
accept the recommendations
of the Governor's own Action
Group for Safe Children,
commonly referred to as
level-of-care system.
• Full funding must be
placed in the Governor's
Budget, and approved by the
L00sl00. service
delivery depends od adequate
funding.
ACCORDING TO infor-
mation obtained from Normer
Adams, executive directm" for
the Georgia Association of
Homes and Services for
Children, surveys show that
Georgia is failing.
"The most recent review
of our child welfare system
by the United States
Department of I-IeIth and
Human Services eom'ml
Georgia is failing children at
risk of abuse and neglact.
"Many studies have
reviewed Georgia's child web
fare system, all have come to
the conclusi that without
major additimml resources,
and amges in paiey, daadrm
will continue to be nlected
and abused by the very gov-
ernment agencies charged
with their p
"Class action lawsuits
against the state, tided to force
the state to reform, are cur-
rently pending. Children are
dying, we have a crisis.
"The Governor's Action
Group for Safe Children haa
recommended a solution that
includes a systemic change.
.The private, not-for-profit
providers are convinced this
approach will improve the
protection we provide to
Geergia childr"
For more trormak
c, ontact Adams at 01840 $72-
6170 or mm, ne,@ffaarg
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STAff
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Cop.mp.xn
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Stories That We Can learn
Allow me to share two sto-
ries with you today that you
will find amusing. Both sto-
ries are supposedly true.
Maybe we can learn some-
thing from them.
The first story is about a
Charlotte, N.C. lawyer who
purchased a box of very rare
and expensive cigars, then
insured them against fire and
other things. Within a month
he had smoked his entire
stockpile of these great
cigars, and without yet hav-
ing made his first premium
payment on the policy, the
lawyer filed a claim against
the insurance company.
In his claim the lawyer
stated that the cigars were
lost'qnaseriesofsmall fires."
The insurance company
refu _.-l to pay citing the obvi-
ous reason that the man had
consumed the cigars in the
normal fashion. The lawyer
won the suit!
In delivering the ruling
the judge agreed with the
insurance company attorney
that the claim was frivolous.
He stated, nevertheless, that
the lawyer held a policy from
the company in which it had
warranted that the cigars
were insurable, and also guar-
anteed that it would insure
them against fire, without
defining what is considered
to be unacceptable fire. His
ruling was that the insurance
company pay the claim.
Rather than endure a
lengthy and costly appeal
process the insurance com-
pany accepted the ruling and
paid $15,000 to the lawyer for
his loss of the rare cigars lost
in the "fires."
After the lawyer cashed
the check the insurance com-
pany had him arrested on 24
counts of arson. With his own
insurance claim and testimo-
ny from the previous case
being used against him, the
lawyer was convicted of
intentionally burning his
insured property and was
sentenced to 24 months in jail
and a $24,000 fine.
The number of people
watching us at any one
moment is directly propor-
tional to the stupidity of our
actions. That Charlotte attor-
ney had to have had many
friends.
decided to have his
estate divided
friends, if he could
who they were,
had no relatives.
The man passed
acquaintances were
his funeral would be a'
in
day. Only two men
"As you slide woman attended the
down the banisters When the will
of your life, pray
that a//the s/teFs thereshare expectingof thet°
will be pointed in Unfortunately for
the Fight d/FetIolk" those present, the
people watching him.
ANOTHERSTORYis told
about a doctor-patient con-
versation. "You had better get
your house in order," the doc-
tor said to an elderly, wethy
patient one day.
The man had built his for-
tune through a number of
shady business deals; there-
fore, consequently he had few
ed that the man's
divided
who attended his
Those three
attended the 4
felt good
to get up at that odd
honor him. So we
remember that
the only
never fails.
As
isters of your life,
all the splinters will
ed in the right
The Challenge for All
Everyone that is a true
born again Christian, trying
to live their life in the will of
God, is no stranger to the
influences that Satan,
through this world's system,
exerts upon their life.
Those influences come
from all directions and take
on many different forms. It
matters not how old a person
may be, every child of God
feels the pressure from an
ever decaying society.
Whether we feel the procure
personally from an indlvid-
ual, publicly from a govern-
ment that has turned its back
on God, or from a communi-
ty that is going to hell in a
hand basket, the pressure to
conform to the mold of this
society is great. The stan-
dards of morality are falling,
the importance of the church
house in the life of families
is declining, and the commit-
ment to be a dedicated
Christian is quickly becom-
ing a thing of the past. While
the prostitute, the drug
addict, the alcoholic, the
homosexual, and the crack
houses are thriving, the child
of God that stands for right,
is becoming a minority.
While the child of God
feels the pressure from the
world, we can hear the chal-
lenge from the word of God
to exert pressure and let the
world feel the influence of a
church on fire for God. You
see, just as the church feels
the pressure of the world, the
world ought to feel the pres-
sure of the church.
In our schools, the ones
who push the dope, carry the
guns, make bomb threats and
disrespect autlority ought to
feel the pressure of godly
young people who stand for
what is right.
In our communities the
pushers, alcoholics, perverts
and the like ought to feel the
pressure from Christians
who have decided to take a
stand for the truths found in
the Bible. We as believers in
Christ as Savior have a chal-
lenge from the lips of our
Lord. Jesus tells his disciples
in Matthew S, "Ye are the salt
of the earth."
We all look around and can
almost see our society dete-
riorating. Many have won-
dered what can be done.
Thel, e are those who have said
to close the crack houses, get
rid of the pornography, or
close the beer joints. The
world in general will never
get any better until Jesus
comes, but one thing we know
is this, ff Christians would be
what God has told them to be,
then in our little corner of the
world, the decay can be
slowed. I base that statement
upon what Jesus said in
Matthew S. Salt does many
things, but mainly, especial-
ly in Bible days, salt was a
preservative. When
Christians are salty salt, then
the decay in our society can
be slowed.
The Bible does not com-
rnand us to be salt, but rather
Jesus states the fact that we
are salt. The question today
is, what kind of salt are we?
What kind of influence do we
have on those around us? Salt
can never be not salt, but salt
can become contaminatec It
can become so contaminated
that it loses its
as salt. Christians wi11
be the salt of the
Christians can
contaminated that
longer have any
ness to influence
munity for the glorY
The answer to
decay does not rest
government, or l
the problems.
The answer
Christians to be salty
If
ingtobe
them tobe,t ff o#
house is closed,
open elsewhere.
to
child of God.
The problem la
stated,
given, and the
and stand up for the
pies found in the
God?
May God help
salty saints and exert
sure upon
never been felt.
Inthe
Hogansville
*BIG AMF:
Hogansville Green
go for another test of
evening at
est teams in the
team that dethroned
West Point and brought
end the Pointer
ning streak
play."
and woman in the
Forces. V. Hawley
county chairman,
the above as an
the remainder of 1952..
"The beginning of a
school term has
Hogansville
opportunity to take stod¢
most asset-
and girls."
*ON PARADES:
other day we had
guinea pigs, dogs
description, pandas,
bears, cats and eve0
upped carts up
main streets."
