The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 23, 1987 Page: 2 of 22
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PAGE TWO - THE CHEROKEEAN OF RUSK. ILXAS - 1 HURSÜAY. APRIL ¿i. 1987
Opinion/ Editorial
I grew up with the knowledge of
two basic principles of life: 1) that
every person is a free moral agent
with the right to his own choices,
and 2) that every person must ac-
cept the responsibility and con-
sequences generated by his choices.
My outlook on life, my perspec-
tive of social and political issues, is
an outgrowth of these facts of life.
Now, a lot of folks love to claim
the right of free choice. Most of us
really don't like being told what to
do...we want to make up our own
minds. This independent nature
surfaces at an early age, long
before we're really qualified to
make reasonable and mature
decisions. The struggle of a young
person to break away from restric-
tions that hinder his "freedom of
choice" causes uproar in many
families.
There probably would be a lot less
crowing about "freedom of choice"
if folks gave proper weight to the
responsibility that freedom induces
and if parents and society would
return to a policy of allowing folks
to bear the consequences of their
choices. Some cases in point:
* Johnny wants to make his own
choices ab"«'i friends, curfew,
dropping out of school, alcohol and
drugs, junk food, the color of his
bedroom, etc. That's fine. How
much of the tab does he want to pick
up? Does he want to be independent
enough to provide for his own
upkeep, live on the wages he can
earn without an education, accept
the risks of indulging in alcohol and
drugs (including bailing himself out
of jail); in short, can he be indepen-
dent of his parents' support in these
areas? It was always clear to me
while growing up that the day I
E. B.
Musick
Jr.
M
0,-'^
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following
was contributed by Lion George
Dodd in the absence of Lion Elma
Mustek.
Latest driving maneuver to be
classified by traffic engineers is the
O-turn It was invented by the lady
who made a U-turn and then
changed her mind.
Lion Ike Daniel did a good job of
leading the Lions in singing with
Lioness Patsy Kinchen at the piano.
The list of officers and directors
for the coming year was read and
then voted on. We are looking for a
good year under the leadership of
Lion Charles Horton as president.
The two new directors elected were
Lion David Petty and Lion
Dewayne King.
A work detail was scheduled for
Saturday, April 18 at 8 a.m. to pick
up trash on Hwy. 84 West. The Lions
are responsible for two miles of
highway near the Texas State
Railroad. Also the Lions were
reminded that it is only a month
before the Little League play starts
and six weeks before the swimming
pool opens and there is a lot of work
to be done before then.
The program chairman for the
month of April is Lion Lester
Hughes and he had another good
one for us. Lion Lester introduced
Mrs. Mary Buchanan, president of
the Cherokee Civic Theatre as our
Sandy Allen
This Side of the Fence
could not live by the rules of our
home, I was free to seek my own
food and shelter. Taking orders was
in exchange for the "freebies." My
parents were pretty strict, but I
thought it was a pretty good deal!
Now, after many years of earning
my own living, I kn u it was a good
deal.
* A person who breaks the law
takes a risk. He is exercising his
free will in breaking the speed
limit, driving while intoxicated,
burglarizing and thieving,
assaulting, raping, killing... Social
law declares a responsibility to its
members to protect their lives and
to preserve their property, so the
criminal must face the consequen-
ces of his abuse, right?
No, in our sympathy for the
criminal, we have heapied abuses
upon the victim by allowing undue
leniency. We are violating a basic
principle of life: that each person
should give account for his own ac-
tions. The result is that people no
longer take their decisions
seriously. So what if I get mad and
kill someone? The consequences, a
short period in Texas' TDC hotel
(with amenities)...might be worth
it. So what if I disable myself with
alcohol or drugs. Society (or my
parents) will pick up the tab to
rehabilitate me. Employers will not
be allowed to discriminate against
me.
What I advocate is not cruelty to
those who have made mistakes
(wrong choices). What I do ad-
vocate, and what many others in
our society are calling for, is a
return to justice—making the bur-
den of consequences consistent with
the offense so that folks will give
more thought to the choices they
make.
The main fault with our penal
system is that inmates—those who
have been found guilty of abusing
their rights—continue to be allowed
freedom of choice (i.e., the ongoing
suit of inmates vs Texas prisons'.
One of the major premises of
justice is that if a person abuses his
rights, then he loses those rights A
criminal is not entitled to the same
freedoms he enjoyed before his
crime.
To shortcut consequences is to
create a society of reckless people.
Those who are allowed to circum-
vent justice will never be
disciplined individuals. We have not
done a favor, either for our children
or for convicted felons, when we
allow them to avoid their respon-
sibilities, including restitution to
those they have wronged.
Lots of folks like to quote the
Bible in defense of leniency. Jesus
did say "neither do 1 condemn
thee," but He didn't stop there. He
added. "Go and sin no more." That
second chance carried with it the
obligation to do better the second
time around. Finally, the Bible
teaches we all will be judged for our
thoughts, words and deeds. Today
He is our Savior, tomorrow, our
Judge. We can choose the path of
right living, or not, but we will be
required to face the consequences
of our choice.
Summarily, discipline in life is
essential for order. The highest
form of discipline—and the least
restrictive—is SELF-discipline. By
learning to discipline ourselves, we
avoid external corrections—by our
parents, teachers, employers, en-
forcers of the law and society itself
The most rewarding life of all is to
be a responsible person.
From-me Lton's Den
speaker. She carried us back
through the years and down
memory lane to the early days of
the Cherokee Civic Theatre. She
recalled that Lion Paul Cox was the
first president and praised him for
his effort in getting the theatre
organized. She also praised Mrs.
Zula Pearson for her contributions
through the years. So many people
have been a part of the theatre over
the past 15 years that space will not
allow room to name them all.
The last play was the 40th produc-
tion since "Barefoot in the Park" in
1972. The theatre has enjoyed
growth through the years and now
has 200 members.
Are all these actors and ac-
tresses? No! Some of the most
dedicated members have never
been on stage before an audience. It
takes a lot of different people to do
so many different jobs ... building
sets, selling tickets, building main-
tenance and lighting ... just to name
a few.
The summer theatre with studen-
ts from Stephen F. Austin Univer-
sity has added a lot of enjoyment to
Rusk and the surrounding area.
It was good to go back and
remember the past days but it is
going to be better to look forward to
the many great productions that we
will have in the future. Thank you,
Mary, for a good program
Traveller: "How far is it to the
next town?"
Farmer: "Two miles as the crow
flies "
Traveller: "How far is it if the
crow has to walk and roll a flat
tire?"
See You Thursday at the Southern
Motor Inn.
Kissin' Kuzzins
Carolyn Ericson
1614 Red bud street
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
If your family moved to Ten-
nessee very early, you will be
delighted to learn of a new book
published by Genealogical
Publishing Company. Since the
early census records have been
destroyed, proof of these early
residents have been gleaned from
other records such as wills, deeds,
court minutes, marriage records,
military records and miscellaneous
other records.
Book
Nook
Singletary Memorial Library
By PEGGY MC ARTHUR
NEW BOOKS INCLUDE:
••I Never Know What To
Say" by Nina Herrmann Don-
nelley often suggestions on
ways to help family and friends
cope with tragedy. When do
you talk? What do you say?
"Oh, Baby, I Love It!" is the
autobiography of Tim McCar-
ver. He gives his opinions and
thoughts on 21 years in
baseball.
"Aegypt" by John Crowley Is
a new novel with former
teacher Pierce Moflett asking
"does the world heve a secret
history encoded in myth and
legend reflected In the win-
dings of our brains?"
"Texasville" by Larry Mc-
Murty. The oil-drilling town of
Thalia goes from boom-town to
back-water town with the
collapse of oil prices.
"The Summer of the
Osprey" by Elisabeth Ogilvie.
A rich stranger buys property
on Maine's Bennett's Island.
Prom the minute his boat
drops anchor In the harbor, he
is disliked.
"The Ladles of Mlssaloaghi"
by Colleen McCullough. The
story of three young ladies
living in a small town in the
Blue Mountains of Sydney,
Australia before the Pirst
World War.
Richard Carlton Fulcher has
reconstructed the "first" census of
Tennessee in his book 177IM7M
Census of the Cumberland Set-
tlements (Davidson, Sumner and
Tennessee Counties. > This area was
originally part of North Carolina
As these counties were subdivided,
and new counties formed, the early
settlers were caught up in changing
jurisdictions You may find records
of your early Tennessee ancestors
in several counties-and he never
moved from his original home
place The counties changed and
suddenly he was living m a different
county!
This volume is divided into three
sections-one each for Davidson.
Sumner, and Tennessee counties.
This gives the place where the early
inhabitants actually settled. The
work contains 253 pages, cloth bin-
ding, with a detailed bibliography
giving sources which supplied data,
(by county)
The residents are listed in
alphabetical order in each section.
There is no index; so each section
must be consulted to see if your an-
cestor is listed, but this is not dif-
ficult todo.
Cost of this volume is S20 plus
11.25 for postage and handling. Or-
der your copy from Genealogical
Publishing Company, 1001 N.
Calvert Street, Baltimore,
Maryland 21202.
Seek information on Abigail
Childers, daughter of William
Perkins Childers of Hawkins Coun-
ty, Tennessee. Abigail was born
1000 in Tennessee, married Samuel
Warden 90 January IBS, died in
Missouri. Samuel is listed on Rev.
Soldiers plaque on Anniston,
Alabama courthouse lawn.-Sandra
Delashaw Warden, ISO E. 81th St.,
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74106
Where to educate?
The recent ruling of a Texas judge that
exonerates the 15.000 home schools in our
state is probably not the last word on the matter.
The arguments in the issue are complex. At the
core, however, is the real debate: lust whose
responsibility is it to educate the children?
Public education originated as a privilege, a
service to society. The original schools in
America were home or church schools. At some
point, parents in communities banded together
to hire full-time instructors lo educate their
children collectively. Their purpose was to
provide better qualified instructors to do the job
more efficiently. Because some parents denied
their children the opportunitv for
education (preferring their help in the field*),
compulsory attendance laws were created. The
intent was for the common good.
Unfortunately, some persons subscribe to the
theory that to attend is to be educated—-as if. in
some way. the facility itself inspires the learning.
The basis for education, however, lies in the
student-teacher relationship: one who is able to
teach matched with one who is willing to learn.
Without that combination, there is no
educating...in the school or elsewhere. We
have faced the phenomenon of the 12th-grade
illiterate—one who attended but did not learn.
Restricting home schools (or anv other
schools, for that matter) is to deny parents their
right and obligation to train their own children.
The onlv requirement that society has the right
to expect is that educational opportunitv is not
being denied.
As imperfect as it mav be. the home can
never be replaced in delivering what children
need-—whether that be affection, moral
training, social skills, or education. Manv con-
temporarv. educated parents desire more direct
input into the lives of their children, especially
in the earlv formative vears. Instead of providing
criticism, perhaps society could find a way to
enhance and undergird this diminishing at-
tribute After all children wh«ise parents lake
this special interest in their welfare are more a|>t
lo be successful and well-adjusted citi/ens—no
matter where thev learn.
-saikU alien
The Constitution.. .our way of life
GUEST EDITORIAL
Douglas A jeffres
This year we Americans will celebrate the
bicentennial of our constituí Mm. The occasion
provides us with a special opportunity to recall
what unites us as a people: what the noblest
among us have fought and died to
protect—from York town to Gettysburg, and
from the Coral Sea to the Mekong Delia: and
what others will be called on to defend similarly
in years to come.
A constitution is a way of life. Traditionally it
was something unwritten: if you wanted to
know a people's constitution, you simply looked
at how they lived. But in America—for the first
time—a constitution became "the' Con-
stitution. That it was WRITTEN symbolized its
status as fundamental law. As such it set limits to
what the government could do in a new and
significant way. And in America, where the
government is of we the people, to limit gover-
nmnent is to limit ourselves.
To say that what unites us as a people is an
acknowledgement of our own limitations, is to
say that what unites us is a common agreement
on what is politically and morally right. This
agreement was born with the pledge of
dedication to certain principles in 1776.
The principles of political and moral right, set
forth in the Declaration of Independence, are
therein held to be right by nature, or to be right
always and everywhere. Only if there is that son
of standard of justice would it be proper for us lo
have a written constitution or a fundamental
and restrictive law
What constitutes us as a pet>ple wtut so
many Americans have given (heir lues defen-
ding, and what we should commemorate not
only this vear. but each and evert year. is ek*-
tly what distinguishes us so radical^ (rom C om-
munist and Na;i tyrannies It is not simply thai
we are a democracy After all. iusi a> a tree in-
dividual can choose to become a drug merchants
or a drug addct so van a democratic maptrits
choose, unfustly , to have slaves or to enslave
themselves. No. what we irulv celebrate is thai
we were constituted lo he a people enlightened
by a knowledge of what is politically and
morally |ust.
We celebrate a living Constitution—no less
beautiful or )u*t thai i( was 2(X) years
ago—which demands thai we remain a self-
governing people We celelwale that we are a
people who can. if we arc true to the example
set by Americans who ha\e gone l*forc us in
our nation's "finest hours, honestly speak of
pledging our SAC Ktl) honor, to the support of
one another and lo the support oi our in-
stitutions and our laws
There is no more fitting nine than ours for the
reflection on our heritage which the current
Bicentennial calls lurth. Perhaps throtgh such
reflection we might clear our minds, bridge the
divisions that exist among us, and re-dedica<c
ourselves as a people aware of the nature of our
birthright which is, as Lincoln called n in
remarks it in remarks lo the 166th Ohio
Regimen in 1864, "an inestimable jewel."
LETTERS... Disagrees with screening of coaches
Dear E4il«r:
Recently. 1 learned of the first
screening technique that has ever
been used in our little league
program in Rusk, Texas regarding
the coaching staff therein
Screening, in my opinion, is a won-
derful idea and each and every
coach and umpire should be
screened. After all, If we as parents
must oav a fee for our children to be
coached in baseball, for that fee, we
expect our children to learn basic
rules, sportsmanship, and any and
all other aspects of the game of
baseball. I might also add that most
of us go into a season of baseball
with hope that "our child" will be
on a winning team. That takes
dedicated and knowledgeable
coaches and umpires.
Further, unfortunately, only
one man that I know of was
screened after expressing his
desire to coach this year. It is my
understanding that he was not
screened for his ability to coach,
nor for his efforts in teaching, not
even for his knowledge or
dedication, but instead, for the per-
sonal opinions of membsrs of the
special screening team.
Personally, 1 feel that the gsn-
tloman screened Is a loyal coach, la
beverages in as long as I have
known him < six yeers! >.
No. he is not • member of any
special clubs or organizations in
this community, nor does he attend
regularly scheduled "Wednesday
night prayer meetings " He just
works hard and spentto his evalúas
at home quietly with his family.
I think that the majority of the
parents that have dealt with the
gentleman in question, in the past,
will tell you that he was s good
coach and that they had no regrets
about their children being on his
team and that they were never
notified at any time during this (so
called) screening. I sm moot disap-
pointed in the manner that this
screening took place and in the way
one certain man was so diacreditad
and discriminated upon. I waa not
born or raised In this town, but I
truly love this town and the people
in it. Por that reaaon, I am in shock
at what has happened.
Por those of you have have read
thus far, and wonder how I can
know so much about the coach in
question, it is becauee he happens to
be my husbaod.
Harta Dosser
Rusk. Texas
The Cherokeean
(USPS 102-320)
Texas' Oldest Weekly
Newspaper, Established as the
Cherokee Sentinel,
Feb. 27, 1850
Second Qm hmqr Paid si Rusk.
Texas 75705. Pubitahad Weekly on
Thursday by I H. Whitehead Eater-
prim. 018 N. Mam. Riak, Tx. Ph
(2141603-2237
dtitflatefl man, loves children, la a
very good father, husband and
wwii wry via ra i nivt not Known
the man to drink olcolralle
SéMptallMl
Cherokee County Ollperyear
Outride Cherokee County 113 per year
Oeaide Tesas 113 per year
O'SrtSü 120 par year
Til TWASMM
■ ^ áMOQAMI
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The Cherokeean. (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 139, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, April 23, 1987, newspaper, April 23, 1987; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151797/m1/2/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.