Logansport Pharos-Tribune from Logansport, Indiana • Page 6

Pharos-Tribune, Logansport, Indiana, Monday, May 29,1995 Opinion Editor NION looking for environmental Mend Long aligned with the policies of the Democratic Party, the leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People rarely has sought to work with the Republican Party. That was not the case recently, however, as the importance of a more bipartisan approach was discussed at the Gary branch's "Fight for Freedom Dinner." Environmental racism, the premise that large polluting companies seek out poor minority communities in which to locate their plants, was the topic. Simply beating up on the Republicans for not doing enough won't solve environmental problems in Gary or anywhere else in northwestern Indiana. It will take a unified effort involving NAACP local leadership and city and state leaders working together. It will take a receptive Congress, which some fear may not be environmentally friendly.

The Rev. O.C. Comer, who served as president for 12 years of the East Chicago branch of the NAACP, says environmental racism long has been an NAACP issue although it has had to compete with other pressing items for attention. Area chapters did address environmental issues such as working to clean up abandoned industrial sites. They need to take that a step further and push the GOP leaders in Congress to continue.

Gary Post-Tribune Indiana shouldn't be a dump May 12 marked the third consecutive year the U.S. Senate passed a bill limiting the importation of out-of-state trash, but this time there is strong optimism the legislation will finally become law. The bill, which was enthusiastically steered through the upper chamber by Sen. Dan Coats, was approved by a voice vote. The legislation would grant the governor of Indiana and other states the power to limit the volumes of out-of-state trash to 1993 or 1994 levels.

In 1993, Indiana took in 812,000 tons of out-of-state trash and in 1994,510,000 tons. In 1991, the state accepted 1,4 million tons, and 1.8 million in 1992. It would also give the governor the authority to determine whether the state's environmental, economic or public health needs are greater than a business that applies for a permit to open a new facility accepting out-of-state trash. Although much of the refuse Indiana received last year came from Illinois, previously Indiana was a dumping group for trash shipped from the megalopolis states of New York and New Jersey. No one is suggesting that interstate commerce or free trade be blocked.

But Hoosiers shouldn't be forced to take someone else's garbage without consent. Indiana is not the nation's dumping ground, and it shouldn't be. Muncie Star THOUGHTS IMAGES "The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right', and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." THOMAS JEFFERSON Letters for publication in Public Forum should be addressed to Public Forum, P.O. Box 210, Logansport IN 46947. Letters also may be faxed at (219) 722-5238.

Ail letters, limited to 400 words or less, must be signed and must include the writer's address and a daytime telephone number. Contributors to Public Forum can submit one letter per month. The Pharos- Tribune reserves the right to edit letters, refuse letters for publication and limit the number of letters on a particular issue. Form letters are not accepted. Guest columns will be considered for publication and must include a writer's address and daytime number.

4 HOUSE STEVE BUYER: 204A N. Main Monticello, 47960, phone (219) 583-9819; 120 E. Mulberry Room 106 Kokomo, 46901, phone (317) 454-7551; Room 326 Cannon, Washington, D.C. 20515; phone (202) 225-5037. The Monticello and Kokomo offices are open from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. weekdays. THOMAS WEATHERWAX: (District 18) Statehouse, Indianapolis, 46202; phone (800) 382-9467, (toll free during session), or (317) 232-9420; 3012 Woodland Logansport, 46947, phone (219) 753-3060. KATIE WLF: (District 7) Statehouse, Indianapolis, 46202; phone, (800) 382-9467 (toil free); Country Club Fairway, Monticello, 47960; phone (219) 583-4758. mm (District 22) Statehouse, Indianapplis, 46202; 382-9467 (toll free); 530 Robinson West Lafayette, 47906; phone (317) 232-9643.

RICH McCLfllS: (District 24) Statehouse, Indianapolis, 46202; phone, (800) 382-9841 (toll free on weekdays during session) or (317) 232-9720; 110 Ridgeview Estates, Logansport, 46947; phone, (21 9) 652-2895, CUWRE LEOCK: (District 25) Statehouse; phone, (800) 382-9842 (toll free) or (31 7) 232-8728; Rt. 1 Box 203, Fowler, 47944. MICHAEL D. SMITH: (District 16) Statehouse, Indianapolis, 46202; phone, (800) 382-9841 (toll free); P.O. Box 1 Rensselaer, 47978, BILL FRIEHD: (District 23) Statehouse, Indianapolis, 46202; phdne, (800) 382-9841 (toll free), PHAROS-lfcffiUNE Founded 1844 517 E.

Broadway, P.O. Box 210, Logansport, IN 46947 (219) 722-5000 PHAROS-TRIBUNE EDITORIAL BOARD William C. Blake, Dave Long, Dave Kitchelt Berry's Worlds by Jim Berry LIABILITY MESSAGE. Memorial Day: Pledging Lives Weren't Lost In Vain I his weekend, millions of Americans will join family and friends in traditional activities of backyard barbecues, softball games, picnics and the Indy 500. While Memorial Day marks the beginning of summer, let us not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day.

It represents the sacrifices of those brave men and women who died in defense of freedom and democracy. Memorial Day is about people those who have lived and those who have died. Fifty years ago, Americans rejoiced at the end of the second world war. But among the jubilation, our nation also paused to pray and remember those who would not be coming home the brave men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice to preserve the freedoms that we so dearly love. Throughout our history, answering this country's call to service has been a sacred obligation many have willingly accepted.

From the Civil War to our involvement in two world wars, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, Americans have known the importance of protecting our freedoms both here and. abroad. So many are now silent forever. But if we listen with our hearts, we know what they would say to us today. They would tell us: We willingly gave our lives so that you could enjoy the bene- STEVE Guest Columnist fits of liberty and freedom.

Remain vigilant, strong and decisive so that future aggressors are deterred and your children can live in peace. The determination and courage shown by countless Americans who fought and died in battle, is symbolized in a myriad of monuments and memorials, each one commemorates the deeds of untold Americans whose remains consecrate the soil throughout the world. Those who have died and those who are still missing deserve our perpetual con templationv ii! President Lincolh'fciew whence-dedicated' those hollowed grounds at Gettysburg on that cold November day in 1863. Those who died for the North or for the South fought to uphold their beliefs; they fought to protect families; and they fought for the sovereignty of their nation, giving their last full measure of devotion to their country. Those who have served their country in combat understand the unique experiences of war.

Each has seen the devastation of property and the horror of death. Each has experienced the sad- ness of the loss of a friend and knows the grief of families who have lost a husband or a wife, a son or a daughter, a father or a mother, or a brother or sister. Many share in the anguish of families who, to this day, don't know (he fate of a friend or a loved one missing in action. We all stand together as comrades in arms. History teaches us that brave Americans who willingly give their lives for freedom do so for a cause they consider infinitely more important than themselves.

None volunteered to die. Each understood the obligation and responsibility to defend liberty for future generations. Memorial Day is a national day of respect. As. honor the memory of our nation's veterans who are no longer with us, let us pledge that their- lives and their sacrifices shall not have been offered in vain, but will be remembered by us forever.

Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Monticello, is a veteran of the Persian Gulf veteran and serves on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Memorial Day: World War II Vets Deserve ATribute I the Old Testament, Genesis 6:4, says in part: "there were giants in the earth in those mighty men which were of old, men of renown." 1995 marks the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. On this Memorial Day, it's fitting that we Americans pay special tribute to the men and women who gave their lives while serving in America's armed forces during that war. Most of them were born during the Roaring 1920s.

They endured the Great Depression, learned the value of honest, hard work and took to heart the blessings of living in a free nation. When the war came, they gave up the joys of youth for the sake of their country, trading the comforts of home for the horrors of the battlefield. They left a peaceful civilian life for a dan-' gerous, uncertain future in uniform. Newspaper columnist Kathleen Krog of the Miami Herald wrote recently about her father, a World War II veteran. She said: "A photograph of my father taken in 1942 graces my desk at home.

He is wearing an Army Air Corps uniform arid looks wonderfully wholesome, in the classic way that photographs of young men in World War II uniforms look in retrospect." I'm sure everyone is familiar with the kind of picture she's talking about. What is it about those old photos? Why do the servicemen and women in them look so wholesome, so full of character, so much bigger than life? I believe it's because our World War II veterans are giants. They are the men and women who saved America and the free world from WILLIAM DETWEILER Guest Columnist. absolute, certain destruction. Ms.

Krog says in her column that she can't imagine what the world will be like some day without her father, whom she describes as her "personal hero." On this Memorial Day, I hope that Americans across this nation will pause to pay tribute not only to those who died in service, but to their friends and relatives their "personal heroes" who served in World War II. They fought and defeated the most brutal, ruthless and determined enemies the world has ever known. In some circles today it's popular to portray the free world's enemies in World War II as morally equivalent to America and her allies. It became apparent last year, for example, that the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., had become mired in such thought. The Smithsonian was planning to display, in a less than favorable light, the Enola Gay the B- 29 that dropped the first atomic bomb and helped bring the war to a swift conclusion.

As national commander of The Americpn legion, I'm proud to say that my organization took the lead in the fight to set history straight on the Enola Gay issue." The Legion's efforts contributed to the Smithsonain's decision this year to display the Enola Gay without the clutter of revisionist a twisted lie that sought to portray America as the racist aggressor and Japan as the, righteous defender of its culture and homeland. The truth is that America was the defender of peace and freedom in World War II; our war effort was completely honorable and totally moral. Reflecting on the virtues of the American man-at-arms, Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said: "He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future' generations in the principles of liberty and free- dom.

He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements." MacArthur was right, of course. The generations that have come up since World War II are the fortunate heirs to a great civilization whose fate hung in the balance just 50 years ago. We are extremely fortunate that when the time came for service, when the day called for courage and when the hour required sacrifice, a generation of Americans chosen of God or fate stepped forward to save our country and the other free nations of the world. On Memorial Day, as we remember the Americans who gave their lives so that you and I may continue to live in peace and freedom, there can be no doubt about the valor of those who rest in our nation's cemeteries at home and abroad. There are, indeed, giants on the earth.

William Detweiler is national commander of The American Legion, which is based in Indianapolis. Knowing The Needs While growing up, I was always surrounded by members of the healthcare profession. My mother is a nurse and her friends were also nurses. This acceptance of nursing was just a part of my life. As I became older and began thinking about working, I decided to follow in the footsteps of my mother.

If she was happy and satisfied with this type of work, maybe the same would be for me. When I first began working in Camelot Care Center at age 15,1 automatically became attached to a child I will never forget. He was dying with Huntington's disease. Every day, I had to watch him lose more and more of his strength. When I would leave the room, he would tell me he loved me and I returned the words with a tear in my eye.

After his death, I learned how important my job truly was for many people. I have no special healing powers, but I make the most of the one true talent God has given me, my ability to love and care. I knew I was unable to save him, but I had the power to make him comfortable through his time of pain. I wiped the tears from my eyes, knowing I had done my task and God would take care of the rest. He was only one of many children who have stolen my heart.

Their voice may be absent, but their thoughts are loud. I know when they are happy and hurt when they cry. I care for them as though they are my own and love mem each dearly. I may receive income from caring for people, but nothing rewards me more than the smile of love that shines through their eyes. Every time I enter the door of Camelot, I realize the children's dependence on me for their every need.

Simple tasks we perform daily, they are unable to complete. The quality of their life depends on me. Stacy Muir Walton.