Tage nkvo, Tfie ^theia
^ Local
Color
Robberv-No leads have yet been
discovered in the robbery of the
Western Auto of Black Mountain/
This robbery whitfi took place dur^^
ing daylight hoxirs/claimed a|^
proximately $1500 of goods from
this store.
S.A.D.D. Chapter Oreanized-A
new chapter of Students Against
DrunkDnving (S.A.D.D.) has been
organized at Owen High School.
Leslie Champion has been an^
nounced as President of this chai>-
ter. The organization setsforward
two goals; to adhere to the laws of
N.C.; concerning alcohol (not re
sponsible drinking for students
tmder 21, but rather; abstinence)
and to promote the: ■'contract for
life,"
Auditions- The Valley Community
Theatre will be holding auditions
for it's spring musical,"Working"
byStuds TerkeL This play, directed
by Peggie Boring musicaldirection
by Chris Slay, will show; various
aspects of working classes in the
United Stales.::::Auditions are at
Owen Auditorium, February 10-
14. Hopefuls should be be pre^
pared to perform a song of their
choice and read from the script
fresentation-"What is The Middle
East" will be the topic of a presen
tation concerning the culture, his
tory, religion etc; of theMiddleEast
region. Bob Garzaneggn will open
this presentation on February 20 at
St James Episcopal Church; There
will be a presentation followed by
an opm forum for questionsraised-
For more info, call 669-7126,
Poetry Reading-Mafia Flook. pub
lished author of Reckless Wedding.
, 3ancing With Mv Sister lane, and
Sea Room, will be presen ting a po
etry reading Feb.l6 at the Jubilee
Center in Asheville from 2-5 pJn.
Flook has also published poetic ma
terial in ^ch magazines of reprute
as The New Yorker, New Criteron,
and American Poetry Review^
Oil Idiocy
Shannon Hodgins
Assistant Editor
The fragile Persian Gulf
ecosystem is again damaged
in the spoils of war. Saddam
Hussein has opened the
pumps at the Kuwaiti Sea Is
land Terminal which regu
lates 100,000 barrels of crude
oil per day. In addition to this
horror, Hussein has unloaded
the oil of 6 Kuwaiti tankers
which were loaded with 3
million gallons of petrolum
combined. Experts state that
this oik spill is approximately
twelve times larger than the
Exxon Valdez spill. This act
is similar to Hussein's actions
in 1983, during the war be
tween Iraq and Iran, which
flooded the Gulf with 12 mil
lion barrels of crude oil.
President Bush has stated
that Hussein's action as "en
vironmental terrorism." The
repercussions of this massive
oil spill will undoubtedly
show throughout upcoming
years. Often feared for his
use of chemical weapons,
Hussein has damaged the
ecosystem, animal life, and
feeding grounds of many
species before beginning to
launch his attacks on the spe
cies of man. Analysts trying
to explain Hussein's reason
for committing such an act,
believe this to be an attempt
to block any "amphibious lib
eration" of Kuwait.
Effects of this massive oil
spill are ones which are felt
not only by animal life. This
spill could hinder the Gulf
economy, and contaminate
many of the desalination units
of many Gulf nations.
The spill will also cripple
the shrimp and fishing indus
try of this area. Animal spe
cies which are in major dan
ger are the bottle nose dol
phin, the dugong (cousin of
the manatee), the green turtle,
and the Caspian tern.
Seagrassbeds, food for many
marine life, have been con
taminated, and tar from the
spill will destroy coral reefs
and marine dwellings.
The GulfRegionishighly
vulnerable to oil spills in re
sult of it's fragile ecosystem.
The water depth of this re
gion is only 110 feet deep, yet
it will take approximately
200 years to flush out. Be
cause of the lack of vitalic
waves, oil and tar is left on
the shores. American forces
are unable to begin cleanup
until Kuwait is once again
secured.
Quotables
To be rendered blind,
first one must be
able to see.
-Unknown
Before one may fall
from grace,
there must be a ledge.
-Unknown
Night Light
(Uien Jesus prayed)
As thou has given him power
over all flesh, that he should
give eternal life to as many as
thou has given him.
And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ,
whom you have sent.
I have glorified thee on earth: I
have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do.
-Jdin 17:2-4
America's Finest
Continued from Pg.l
graphs. He came armed with
the Federalist Papers and a
copy of the American
Constitution. Here is a quote
from his presentation:
"The U.S. Constitution is a
remarkable document - and a
demanding one for those of us
who choose to make ou r career in
the military. We are required to
pledge our sacred honor to a
document that looks at the mili
tary as a necessary, but undesir
able, institution useful in
times of crisis; and to be watched
carefully at all other times."
On top of everything else,
Powell is the master politi
cian. The GOP is already
thinking about presenting
him as a Republican Presi
dential Nominee in 1996. He
is well respected in political
circles, to quote Senator John
McCain (R-Ariz):
"He is the finest military
officer this nation has produced
since World War U."
Yet Powell seems removed
from all of this, refusing to
even publicly discuss it. His
only concern is for his men in
Saudi Arabia and the Persian
Gulf. He is committed to
ensuring that our troops
achieve victory with a mini
mum loss of life. Colin Powel
is truly America's Finest
General.