2-THE PERKINS |OURNAL r Thursday r March 271 2003
Opinion A Lion in Iraq
I by Dr. Earl Tilford
Make a note on your calendar to get out and vote on Tuesday.
We have two items on the ballot that need your attention - the
position representing Ward 1 on the Perkins City Commission,
and a municipal question regarding how our city sales tax money
can be spent.
Please take a moment to read the ballot and article on page 1. I
think you will find that the proposition is clearly not either a tax
increase or a new tax.
It is merely a change of language in the city code that will allow
some of the money Perkins receives from sales taxes to be used
lor our fire department.
This is a needed change that will help us all in the form of a better
equipped local fire department.
Vote "yes" on the proposition!
CS
Hope you noticed that two separate contests are either running
now in The Journal or will be kicking off soon.
Don't miss your chance to enter both of them! One is a Family
Activities Contest, sponsored by the Local Child Abuse Prevention
Task Force. All you have to do is jot down your favorite family
activity and drop it by The Journal or email it in.
You could win a lot of great prizes. Check out the article and the
entry form on page 7.
The other contest, which will kick off next week, is the Perkins
Main Street Egg-ceptional Puzzle promotion. All you have to do
is gather pieces to the puzzle printed in next week's Journal. The
pieces will be found at many local Main Street businesses. Once
you gather them all up, just get them turned in and you could win
one of three great prize baskets.
So get busy so you will have a chance to win.
CS
We had a pretty good time at Grand Lake last week. We had some
cool, rainy weather, but it turned out very nice on the weekend.
We enjoyed touring Har-Ber Village while we were there. Wow!
They have a huge collection of just about everything old-timey
that you can imagine, including log cabins.
We also went to a super German restaurant while we were in
Grove. It was my first trip there and it was very nice.
CS
Thanks to David Holbrook and Claudia Andrews for gathering
some of the news happenings while I was out of town.
I really appreciate it!
CS
Thanks also to Angie Miles. She took advantage of the nice
weather this weekend to work in her yard.
We hadn't been home long on Sunday before she showed up at
the house with a pickup load of monkey grass that she had thinned
out of her gardens.
I went over there last summer to take a picture of her"Yard of the
Month" and she graciouslyoffered me some of the ground cover
when she thin it out: L ..... , ........... ; ':: W ..... '"''
Thanks again; Angiet Can't wait to see your yardris year!
Writer's Note: "I was inspired by a very short piece someone I do
not know sent me over the lnternet titled, "PRIDE," which spoke
generically of 19-year-olds youngsters learning about the worst of
life and the best of life right now in lraq. Thus inspired I wrote, "A
Lion in lraq " about an imaginary Pennsylvania kid, some might
refer to him as a "slacker" but, he's our "Lion in Iraq."
He'll turn 20 later this year and he's a Marine Rifleman fighting
in Iraq. His hair's cut "high and tight" and he's muscled, weighs
about 150 pounds.
He'd get carded in a bar. In a little over six years he'll be old
enough to rent a car. Tomorrow, if the phone rings at home, his
parents pray the voice at the other end won't say, "The Secretary
of the Navy regrets to inform you..."
He grew up in a small, nearly abandoned, grey and dismal rust-
belt Pennsylvania town west of State College, home of the Penn
State Nittany Lions. He always wanted to be a Nittany Lion but
he didn't have the grades.
Some day, after he gets to Baghdad, when he's back in PA, he may
take some courses at the local community college...someday...back
in Pennsylvania.
Penn State? No way. The past four or five years he spent too many
afternoons "shootin' hoops" or putting a system into his ten-year old
Camaro. He hung out in the evenings. Studying was for geeks.
When he graduated high school...May a year ago...he got no
awards. Still, proud parents videoed his shuffle across the stage...his
friends whooped and somebody yelled his name...he grinned,
waved...spun around, did a Michael Jackson "moon walk." His
English teacher rolled her eyes, whispered to the Math teacher to
her right, "That one won't amount to much. Why do I do this?"
"Whazz up?" "Fer swizzel me nizzer' The S .... rocks or he lis-
tens to hip hop...maybe rap. Back in high school, books weren't his
thing but he knows what "get your sierra together" really means.
He was up at 0600 last Thursday getting his sierra together, but
spent much of the day donning his gas mask, putting on and taking
offhis chem/bio suit while SCUDs and El Samoud missiles passed
overhead. He longed for rack time when the cold desert night
closed around himTbut his unit moved out...headed for border..
When the sun came up he was in lraq. Outside Basra he used
a LAW (light anti-tank weapon) to light up an Iraqi armored per-
mE
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Let's face it, home decorating and improvement work doesn't rank
exlremely high on my list of favorite things to do. However, the outcome
makes it well worth the effort.
We completed our second project in as many weeks last weekend.
The first was putting down ceramic tile in our entryway with the second
being a painting project in our den. First of all, both are finished and
look great.
I'll admit I'm not the handiest of handymen. But I can swing a hammer
and roll paint on a wall. On some occasions I tend to hit a thumb or lean
into a freshly painted section of a wall. After some time to regain my
composure in both instances, it's back to work. There have been some
instances when it .seemed that Renae would have emergency medical
pe .rsonnel on standby because a simple screwdriver would inflict some
serious hurt on me. But not this time!
Coming up with what to do is another thing I'm not good at. That's
where Renae comes in, especially since she is absorbed with that home
improvement channel on television. There's usually a notepad and a
pencil close by when she's watching.
And speaking of those shows, they don't fully represent how actually
hard of work it is. It would sure be nice to be able to complete a project
in the time an episode airs.
We have some more projects in the planning stages for the coming
weeks. I'm looking forward to them with (cautious) optimism.
* :,1€ * * *
For you registered voters who live within the city limits, don't forget
to vote on Tuesday. We'll be deciding a city commissioner race plus an
ordinance that would benefit the fire department.
If approved, the ordinance will change language in the city charter
that would allow the fire department to get a portion of the one percent
Capita/Improvement sales tax that is already being collected. Chnrenfly,
other city departments are collecting a portion of the sales tax.
Fire personnel would be able to use the funds to help l'naintain quality
equipment and training. That, in turn, keeps our fire fighters safer when
responding to calls. It is NOT a tax increase.
Mark Anderson and Chuck Ottaway are seeking the Ward 1 position
that is being vacated by Rick Jarvis. There's still some time to talk to
both candidates about why they are seeking the position.
I believe the community has a lot of exciting times coming in the
future. It will take a person willing to work with the other commission-
ers, mayor, and city staff for the betterment of the community and its
residents. There shouldn't be any room for hidden agendas that would
hurt growth.
sonnel carrier. "Wooo Whoo" crowed a buddy. He
a long, "sweet."
One time...just once, a high school term paper came
a "B-" and his mother used a Pappa John's Pizza ma
it to the frig. Mostly, however, his book reviews and
drenched in red ink. Later today--or tomorrow--or next
helicopter could haul his broken body to a MASH unit
a different kind of red. So what if he can't write very
rifle jams, he can field strip it, fix it, and get it back to
dark..."hoorah." When his unit stops to rest, he can set
perimeter. If attacked, he can switch to the attack mode il
High school English grades aside, he knows the active
"Move out[ .... Incoming! .... Hit the deck! .... Cover
convey meaning!
He chows down on MREs..."meals ready to eat"...tuna
spaghetti and meatballs, chopped ham and
and a shake at McD's would be max cool right now.
four quarts of water today and every day he's on the
he'd share his canteen with a thirsty buddy.
He carries 20 clips of M-16 ammo. In a firefight, if thel
next to him cries out, "I need a clip" he'll toss one over.
This kid puts in 12-hour days...stateside. He went 36 hourV
sleep then fought his first firefight. What the Corps pays hi
year might cover the cost of tuition, room, board and bookS
State. He might have learned some neat stuff at State
the Corps taught him what he needs for today; like how
ways, field strip his rifle, use the LAW and how to stuff a I
give mouth to mouth resuscitation...and
it...to another guy...no matter how thick the
skin. He knows how to jam a needle into his arm or le
high but to administer nerve-gas antidote. He can...and
when a buddy dies.
In 1918, his great-great-grandfather fought at Cantigny
Army's Big Red One. Fighting with the Seventh Infantryi
War II, his great uncle took a Nip bullet on Kwaj
in the Nam, with the Marines up in I Corps.
He may never go to Penn State but he'll always be a
at heart. Today he's our lion in Iraq.
Dr. Earl H. Tilford, Jr., professor of history at Grove
lege, earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at the
of Alabama before joining the U.S. Air Force in
military career he served as an intelligence
to 1979, served as part of a team that completed the
of Air Force operations during the Vietnam War.
Tilford earned his Ph.D. at George Washington
taught history at the Air Force Academy. After retiring,
was an associate professor of history at Troy State
Montgomery and
military history at the
Force Air Command
College.
In 1993 he
of research at the U.S.
Strategic Studies
Carlisle, Pa., where he
on a project that looked
sible future
Tilford has
books on the Vietnam
co-edited a book on
Desert Storm.
has lectured thro
and abroad on
....... War"aml, moe
future of armed coi
is a frequent
television and radio
grams and his
been published in
around the country.
Grove City College is
60 miles north of
Pa.
You, the voter, are entitled to ask the tough questions
who to vote for and the candidates should be willing to
truthfully. I believe thatwill be done.
The polls at the Perkins Lions Den will open at 7 a.m. and c
p.m. If you' re not going to be in town on Tuesday, stop by
County Election Board office and vote by absentee ballot.
make your vote count.
We'll see you at the polls.
New city zoning to
discussed at meeting
Zoning regulations being pro-
posed for Perkins will undergo a
second public aring on Monday,
March 31, in the Fire Hall at 7
p.m.
The purpose of the public hear-
ing is to provide citizens with an
opportunity to ask questions, raise
concerns and offer suggestions for
possible changes. This public hear-
ing will be the last to be held by the
planning commission according to
its chairperson, Mel Miller.
Miller indicated that the City
Commission has already begun
the adoption process. If the public
hearings result in no changes, the
City Commission will then request
the City attorney draw up an ordi-
nance to make the proposed regu-
lations a
The zoning re
establish zoning areas
Agricultural,
mercial,
or Industrial.
a specific list of 1
requirements for
like setbacks, building
signage, parking and etc.
Zoning regulations
Miller indicated, were
guide in developing
zoning codes. Th
mission, he
adaptations to make the f
codes applicable to
munity.
