The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 42, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 2, 1987 Page: 4 of 30
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Opinion
THE ALBANY NEWS
THURSDAY APRIL 2 1987 ALBANY, TEXAS 76430
PAGE 4-A
The Albany News
Since 1K75
Oldest journalistic venture west oi the Brazos
Editor/Publisher DonnieA Lucas
Managing Editor Melinda L. Lucas
Staff Reporter <Si Composition Carol Lackey
Composition Marilyn Thompson
Moran Correspondent Audrey Brooks
Office Assistant Betty Law
Oflice Assistant Sunday Falkinburg
editorial
Don't forget
to vote
Saturday,
April 4!
policy
THE ALBANY NEWS
PO Box 278
Albany. Texas 76430
Second i lass imstuge pant at Alham IY\,is I to
t SI'S publication number 0124IX)
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on file Send letters to THE ALBANY NEWS.
PO Box 278. Albany TX 76430.
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within 10 days after publication
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AFFILIATIONS
DI87 MEMBER lex.is Press Ass<><i,ition
West Texas Press Association
ponderings by pat
By Pat Lidia Jones
Getting ready for a major or a minor
trip is half the fun of going The lists,
the planning, the brochures, and infor
mation, are exciting. This trip to Africa
is no exception.
We have an extra day in Nairobi, so
we thought we might go into Tanzania
to see the area where Louis and Mar .
Leakey, the famous archeologists,
found the oldest prehumanoid remains,
at least .'1.5 million years old
That sounded fine, on the surface,
but then we discovered that we needed
yellow fever and cholera shots to come
hack from Tanzania into Kenya
Our travel sources suggested yellow
fever shots at our departure rit;> I lia:
didn't sound very good to us, so we eon
suited Dr. Key. He said to get the in
noculations, which involve live virus, at
Dyess Air F orce Base.
For all that Dyess AI I) is named
after Albany's own Edwin Dves.s, and
that it is in Abilene, we have not been
there very often. Years ago, A V ' r..I I
went there to view a spectacular
Thunderhird aerial show, and once 1
went to visit one of my nephew s v. ho
was stationed at Dyess. That was a
long time ago, ( hough.
Ralph Akin is retired Air force so
we asked him to take us to Dyess
assuming he'd know how to deal with
any red tape.
Ralph volunteered to take us in hi
personal car. When we drove up to tip
entrance of Dyess, young uniformed
men snapped to attention, and
drove through with salutes in all direc
tions. Was I impressed!
We rode to the hospital clinic and
we stood in line for our shots Ralph.
A.V. and I had the only gray hair and
wrinkles 1 saw the whole time we were
on t he base.
I had mentally planned that, since I
sleep on my right side, I would have
one shot in my left arm and the other
shot in my left hip. I also reviewed
silently my medical history thai due
tors always ask for It was then thai
our place in line advanced to the door
of a large room one room
There were two desks, and two
young Air Force men. One desk was
stacked with disposable needles and
sal - of medicine. This fellow was busi
. giving sho after shot. I immediately
discarded my plan for a hip shot.
We advanced to the first desk, gave
the young man our prescription from
l i Key, and our health cards. He said
two t hings:
You can't have yellow fever and
cholera on the same day. Come back
another I ime for cholera." And over his
shoulder, he called, "Two yellow
fevers."
He could have been yelling, "Two
cheeseburgers with everything."
You have to understand one thing,
liemg art old headache sufferer, I'm
used to shots, but A. V. dreads them
with a passion. He turns green when I
thread a sew ing needle.
So I went first. "One yellow fever,
coming up! the shootist announced
cheerfully.
It was ijiiickly over, and we went to
thi Business Office where we were
charged $1 per shot. As we walked
■ i'-k to t he car, we were slightly dazed
at how ijuick and impersonal, yet pro
lessional and painless it had all been.
e are <)uick learners so a few days
later, we decided to go back over to
I H ess and get our cholera shots. There
■ is no need to bother Ralph again.
Off we went. No one snapped to at-
'erition; no one saluted. We were told
'■> make ;i ( turn and get Visitors
Passes. We meekly did as we were told.
\\ • parked, and as A. V. got out to get
• he pass, a female M. P. shouted at him;
You can't park there. Move it!"
We moved it.
f inally we were permitted inside the
base I he cholera shots were unevent-
ful Within thirty minutes, we were
back in civilian territory.
Rodney Daingerfield, the big eyed
comedian's favorite line is. "I get no
respect." Well, 1 can tell him how to get
respect.
(io t<> an\ Air Force Base with some-
one like Don Koch, or Ed Tackett, or
Ralph Akin Now thut's respect!
letter to the editor
Dear Editor:
Recently I have heard this remark
numerous times, "1 don't have any kids
in school any more so I don't guess it
matters about t he school board to me
The school board decisions and
policies impact more on the youth of
our community than any other group
Our youth are our most important
natural resource of our country. For
without our youth returning to the r
hometown, our town w it hers
These children and young adults are
the volunteers of our organizaions, our
local politicians, our teachers and our
leading citizens of tomorrow.
I his board also has the obligation to
distribute tax dollars collected by the
school district. Each person pays these
taxes whether their children are in
school or not.
So you see, w hether each of you is in
volved in the public school system or
not. you have a vested interest in the
decisions of t he AISD Board. As you go
to the polls on Saturday, don't forget to
■>u on this important election for your
• ommunity
Sincerely yours,
Jimmie Wheeler
state capital highlights
By Lyndell Williams
Texas Press Association
At a certain stage, the legislative
session resembles a passle of freight
trains hell bent on a collision course,
driven by engineers determined not to
give an inch.
Lawmakers reached that stage last
week. Why?
Overcrowded Texas prisons closed
their doors again last week for the
umpteenth time, the Texas crime rate
was reported up 15 percent, and
federal authorities stayed two death
penalties here. And all the while,
Texas faces a federal court order for
not solving a prison problem that has
lingered for years.
On top of that, the State Treasurer
warns on a weekly basis that state
checks will start bouncing in the fall
unless taxes are raised.
And still, halfway through the ses
sion the legislative leadership isn't
close to agreement on how to solve the
prison problem or fiscal deficit.
But just as the freight trains si em to
avoid collision at the last minute,
perhaps this Legislature will too, for
the leadership is proving flexible. They
just don't agree.
Other Highlights
•Amid continuing "Ponygate"
rumors. Gov. Clements denied he and
other SMI officials knew of schemes to
fi x grades or hire coeds to provide sex
ual favors to football recruits.
•His I T regents nominee, Louis
Beercherl of Dallas, was approved
after he told the nominations panel he
did not secure the post by promising to
oust chairman Jess Hay.
•I". S. Surgeon General C. Everett
Koop asked the Legislature to provide
sex education in schools to warn about
AIDS.
•Land Commissioner Garry Mauro
and his predecessor Bob Armstrong
said they will go along with a U. S.
Department of Interior reeommenda
tion to add some 245,000 acres to the
Coastal Barrier Resources System.
What Adolescents Need...
COMMUNICATION with adults parents.
SUPPORT FROM IMPORTANT adults in their lives and from
peers.
TO BE TRUSTED by important adults.
GENUINE COMMITMENT from people working with them.
TO BE ENCOURAGED to be responsible
If)♦, .1.notion pru««dod t>> l#ion Aar on D«ug
task rokc K ON
DKl'Ci i\ ALCOHOL AlU'SK
t
art lawler
To be honest, I wasn't really worried
about Oral Roberts' death.
I can admit it now that the ordeal is
over. You had to figure God would
spare him. If he really went around
striking people dead every time they
made fools of themselves, the earth
would already be as bare as the moon's
surface.
I was less sure of Oral sparing
himself.
The guy's visions are matched in
height only by his ego. You start by
straightening a few limbs, evicting
some evil spirits and collect ing a fee at
the back of the tent.
Your appetite grows.
God wants you to drive a new car,
live in a castle, maybe kick in a few
bucks for the starving people who are
eating dirt in Ethiopia. In the end, you
climb into a tower you've had built for
yourself and pretend God is holding
you hostage for some big bucks.
Only the American people by plac
ing millions of greenbacks at your
disposal — can keep God from pushing
you off your own tower.
Some believe it was pure genius for
Oral to get the money from a race track
owner. It all came from helpless people
anyway, they say. People who were ad
dieted to gambling and had no choice
but to give their life savings to the
track.
Oral can now use the money to
finance yet another giant hand or
statue of himself for the ORU campus.
He can keep his hospital afloat for a
while longer — the same one Tulsa of
ficials told him wasn't needed before
the first clump of dirt had been shov
eled.
It is also $1.3 million less that little
old ladies will have to dig from their
wrinkled hankies in order to bring
Oral's ego under control.
Evangelists seem to be going from
Holy water to hot water. If the inno
cent get scooped along in the sludge, so
be it.
Jim Bakker's personal relationship
with something less than a diety and
his subsequent surrender to blackmail,
can't help. His wife, Tammy, finding
relief with a little help from her
friends, doesn't do much for the move
ment, either. The pressure of being
"on" everyday, of having to sell
religious cosmetics and listen to scan
dalous stories about Jim was bound to
take its toll.
It'll be interesting to see what Rev.
Falwell does as Jim's replacement.
He's awfully busy bringing morality
back to congress and the all too free
press. But if anybody can pull it off,
Jerry can.
To think, people said God would fade
into the heavens after His glory days of
World War II.
Seldom does a day go by when He
isn't making major decisions about
which evangelists are to be lured and
tricked, which are to be brought home,
which are entitled to re write secular
humanist documents, which teams are
to be allowed into the The Final Four.
Reminiscing about Pearl Harbor and
I) Day are luxuries that will have to
wait until a more reasonable time.
It's really none of my business, but I
think He deserves a vacation from this
pressure cooker continent.
A few days rest in some unimportant
vacation spots would be nice. Places
like Ethiopia and Afghanistan. Or
maybe He could take in the sights of
Central America, or South Africa, or
Poland.
Certainly the bombs and guns are
quieter there than the feuding
evangelists here. It'd be a chance to
kick back, get some fresh air and free
Himself of His pre occupation with this
country.
It is God who's pre occupied with us,
isn't it?
Then again, it might be too risky.
First time somebody over here figured
out he was lying on the desert in
Ethiopia, sure as shootin', that
somebody would be trying to sneak a
few lines of smut into a Blondie and
Dagwood strip.
Community Calendar
APRIL 2
APRIL 3
APRIL 4
APRIL 6
APRIL 6-7
APRIL 7
APRIL 8
APRIL 10
APRIL 16
Nutrition program meal - Youth Center, 11:30 am
Lions Club luncheon - Ft. Griffin Gen. Mdse.,
1 2 noon
Mental health clinic - Depot, 1-4:30 pm
Fandangle rehearsal - Youth Center, 8 pm
School holiday
Community Action program - Depot, 10am-3 pm
Chamber of Commerce luncheon - Ft. Griffin Gen.
Mdse., 12 noon
City, hospitaI \ school elections - County polling
places, 7 am-7 pm
Duplicate bridge club - Pioneer Bldg., 1:30 pm
Little League try-outs - Little League field, 5 pm
Nutrition program meal - Youth Center, 11:30 am
Ladies Golt Association - Golf Course, 1:30 pm
Breast screening mobile clinic - Hospital parking
lot, 9 am-12 noon
Nutrition program meal - Youth Center, 1 1:30 am
Kiwanis Club luncheon - Ft. Griffin Gen. Mdse.,
12 noon
Citv council meeting - city hall, 6 pm
School holiday
Deadline tor Easter coloring contest
Last da\ to order fish fingerlings - SCS office
Bu\er,'Seller Banquet NSES cafeteria 7 pm
I IKS I NAIIONAl R*\k
MEMBER FDIC
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Lucas, Donnie A. The Albany News (Albany, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 42, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 2, 1987, newspaper, April 2, 1987; Albany, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth401054/m1/4/?q=%22~1~1~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting The Old Jail Art Center.