PHOTO BY Bill FAVER RAIN MARKS THE DIFFERENCE for plants and animals on land and in the sea. Rain Makes The Difference BY BILL FAVER and the moon and the spinning of the Earth. That mo A part of the Voyager probe to Uranus several years lion spawned air currents and winds. I'he winds ago emphasized again for us the uniqueness of our moved clouds and fronts and weather came to he. Planet Earth as the only life-sustaining planet in our We don't know why other planets had no rain, or if solar system. At least, all the oth- they did, why it didn't collect in seas. Perhaps the dis ers seem to have adverse condi- tance from the sun was such that a different reaction tions for life forms similar to those happened with the escaping gases, or a quicker cooling we have on Earth. of the masses took place. Or perhaps life was brief and Scientists tell us that rain makes ceased to be years before life even began on Earth, the difference.When our sun "ex- As the life we know evolved, water has become one ploded" to hurl planet-sized mass- of the basic ingredients. We arc told the first life forms es of molten matter into orbit, the were in the seas and one day a creature crawled onto Earth and the other planets began land and started depending on oxygen from the air their processes of development, rather than from the water. Over thousands of years, probably. Our own blood is very similar to seawater, and FAVER boiling and cooling took place, many people see this as evidence of our dependence hardening t te surface and causing eruptions from the upon the sea. Water is needed by plants for growth and interior heat. development. We know most of us can live weeks As gases from the interior escaped, clouds were without food but that we quickly dehydrate and will formed overhead. These clouds moved higher in the die soon without water. That so many of us want to be sky until the cooler atmospheric conditions brought so ciose to the ocean, or to rivers and lakes, or have a condensation and a deluge of rain. swimming pool, is more evidence of the importance of !: must have rained for days and days, or perhaps water to us for years. Water shaped the land, eroding away the So next time it rains on you. think about the impor softer materials and forming the seas. Two-thirds of tance of that rain to nourishing life, cleansing the air the surface of the new planet became covered with wa- and replenishing the seas. Rain makes the difference ter. The seas were set in motion by the pull of the sun on Planet Earth. GUESl COLUMN No More Training Schools BY L.V. "VIC" HACKLEY Juvenile crime is on the increase. Political leaders have responded with talk about "getting tough." Some are calling for the construc tion of more training schools, more detention centers, for juveniles. But we've got to get smart, not just tough. We're already tough, and it hasn t solved a thing. Our training school admissions, for example, are three times the national average. Only two other states permit a per son to he tried and sentenced as an adult ai the age ot 16. It's not surprising that our first re action to a three percent-increase in violent juvenile crime is to build more training schools. As psycholo gist Abraham Maslow points out, if all you have is a hammer, then every piohicm looks like a nail. It's time to throw away the ham mer. More than 20 years ago, a re port by the North Carolina Bar Association noted that the state's training schools were little more than a "dumping ground for unfortu nate children." ITie report, "As the Twig Is Bent," said nearly 50 per cent of the children in training schools should never have been sent there. Little has changed. Instead of serving as a deterrent to crime, training schools often serve as an academy tor tuture criminals, according to the National Asso ciation of Counties. In a manual for county officials, the association notes that children who commit crimes but stay out of formal court proceedings rarely graduate to more severe crimes, while juveniles sent to training schools frequently move on to more serious offenses. Yet studies indicate training schools are still the punishment of preference for judges throughout the state. One recent study of judicial orders sending children to training schools discovered that one-third failed to show that community alter natives had been considered, as re quired by law. Ar. 'thc*! study found that less than one-third of the children were placed on probation before being sent off to training school. In some cases, emotionally dis turbed children are shunted ott to training schools which are incapable of serving their needs. Ihese have also become repositories lor Afri can-American youth, who constitute one third of the state's population, but make up 42 percent ot the juve niles in North Carolina's training schools. Of course, the most serious of fenders should Ik- isolated Ironi the rest of society. Among the 800 chil dren under 15 years old incarcerated in North Carolina's training schools, four are murderers and almost 200 others have been found guilty of rape, arson, armed assault or other serious crimes. But the remaining 600 would be better served by alter native community programs?and would be less likely to become ca reer criminals. A number of states, including Arkansas, Missouri and Massachu setts, have closed their training schools and constructed a few small, high-security units for the most vio lent. chronic offenders. These states depend on an exten sive network of community pro grams to serve the majority of those juveniles in state custody. A recent six-year study in Missouri found that only 15 percent of those dis charged from Division of Youth Services programs later end up in adult prisons. Building more training schools is a mistake. Studies show that states with high numbers of juvenile beds have high usage rates. As noted in the movie. "The Field of Dreams," "if you build them, they will come." Polls indicate that the public un derstands the need for alternatives. In a number of surveys, across the nation and in North Carolina, nearly three-fourths of those questioned say children in trouble with the law should receive treatment and reha bilitation. not punishment. It's time to review North Caro lina's fragmented juvenile justice system. Community-based alterna tives and quality early childhood programs can do more to reduce crime than building more training schools, more dumping grounds for children. We've tried tougher, now it's time to get smarter Hackley, chancellor of Fayetteville Suite university, chairs the hoard of directors of the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute, a private, nonprofit organization that devel ops policies for children. r A Wide Range Of Services ... By A Team Of Professionals. F rom allergy evaluation, to correcting sinus and sleep disorders, the medical team at Dr. Mark A. Lizak's can diagnose and treat even tne stigntest condition, as an auuli, you might be tempted to treat an allergic or sinus condit ion, as a burden you will just have to live with. But it doesn't have to be that way! A team of trained professionals, at the offices of Dr. Mark A. Lizak, has the many years of experience, the medical expertise, plus with the latest in state-of the-art equipment, we're abletoquicklypinpoint a probable cause and reason for your condition and can take proper remedial action. For example, your snoring problem, might possibly be solved by the removal of a breathing obstruction. Or a hearing loss could be ear wax build-up. A few simple tests could provide all the answers, because ... There are suma things you just don't need to live with! Mark A. Lizak, MD Hoard Certified Specialist: EAR, NOSI K THRUAI (Conveniently located in the Dot tor's Office Complex at the Brunswick Hospital, Supply, North Carolina. For Appointments Call: 754-2920 MORE LETTERS Control Mainland Stormwater First, Before Dense Development Occurs To the editor: Sunset Beach Council Member Ed Core has proposed that the town council initiate a study of how to manage stormwater runoff on the is land of Sunset Beach. He is to be congratulated for his effort to make stormwater management a real part of the proposed wastewater manage ment system. However, I believe stormwater management for the mainland should have first priority. Stormwa ter management works best when it is put in place before an area is densely developed. The most effec tive and least expensive stormwater management is to limit development to the carrying capacity of the land?the density of development that can take place without causing environmental degradation. Remediation through engineered solutions after an area has been de veloped is very expensive and only marginally successful. Since large areas of land remain undeveloped on the mainland while the island is al ready intensely developed, it makes sense to put our money where it can do the most good. Furthermore, the town's consult ing engineers recommend in the 201 Facilities Plan for the sewer system that stormwater management be put in place on the mainland before al lowing any further high density de velopment on or near Calabash Creek and the intracoastal waterway. The engineers also point out that because the island is heavily dcvel oiied with extremely small lots, and those lots are currently absorbing wastewater through septic systems, the land does not have the ability to absorb stormwater until after the is land is sewered. Mayor Barber has said that con cerns bout rapid, high-density devel opment made possible by a sewer system should be addressed by zon ing rather lhan by opposition to a sewer system. Stormwater manage ment planning is the vehicle that will tell us what zoning is appropri ate to protect the environment. I would ask our town council to give their top priority to stormwater management for the mainland where we can achieve the greatest environ mental protection for the least amount of money. Sue Wei Idle Sunset Beach Protect Animals From Antifreeze Hazard To the editor: I would like to tell everyone of a tragic story that happened. I went to work one evening recently and found a beautiful black dog I'll call "Blackie" in the parking lot. From the way he was acting, I knew he was searching for someone. Me had no collar on. so I did not know w ho he belonged to. When I left work 11 hours later. Blackie was still there searching, so I brought him home with me. I gave him a warm place to sleep and some food and water, but he kept throwing up. I felt it was because he was in a strange place and nervous. The next day I took him to the an imal hospital and the veterinarian suggested Blackie had drunk some antifreeze. I stood beside the exam ining table and Blackie laid his head on my arm. I rubbed his head and talked to him. I know that he under Stood that ! loved him nnil I cared about him. Antifreeze poisoning is not cur able unless treated within the hour; then there is little hope. Later that day, the doctor said Blackie had had two seizures and that they had to sedate him. When he started coming out of sedation, he started having seizures again, and so they sedated him again. He suggest ed the humane thing would he to put him to sleep. I agreed. Mad I not taken Blackie to iiie Uoctor. lie would iluve Citi'vViCii i>ti and died a painful and agonizing death with no one to help him or love him. I will take Blackie and I will hury him. hut I will always re member the little dog who searched for the person he loved. It your radiator runs hot. or if your hose breaks, please help save a little animal by putting dirt on the antifreeze so they can't drink it. Please take care of your animals, and don't leave harmful things around for them to get into. Christine Madison Fayetteville Write Us We welcome your letters to the editor. Letters must include your address and telephone number. (This information is for verifica tion purposes only; we will not publish your street/mailing ad dress or phone number.) Letters must be typed or written legibly. Address letters to: The Brunswick Beacon, P.O. Box 2558. Shallotte Nt 28459 Anonymous letters will not be published. E. Harvie Hill. D.D.&. MAD. Pediatric Dentistry ma providing caic lot If ?V - CilliUlCtl tlllU vuuug auu'iLji figc