—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Feb. 19, 1977 10 EDITORIAL COMMENTS i By Dieter Krieg, Editor j Protecting the best crop A Centre County dairyman once introduced his five children to me as being his “best crop.” A fellow can hardly disagree, After all, nothing we raise is anywhere near as important as our children With that in mind, it seems ap propriate to devote some space here regarding the raising of children and how they are often influenced from the outside. Specifically, the topic is children and violence on television or for that matter, adults and violence on the tube It’s about time it comes to a stop The news last week about the American Medical Association calling for a review of the matter was welcome They openly state that. “TV violence is a mental health problem and an envionmental issue If the programming a child is exposed to consists largely of vilent content, then his perceptions of the real world may be significantly distorted and his psychological development may be adversely affected " AMA president Richard Palmer believes this problem is more serious than air pollution and wants those in the TV industry and sponsoring companies to do something about it It’s a step in the right direction Palmer says “TV has been quick to raise questions of social respon sibility the American people should be concerned with the types of values and role of models the media is presenting to a vast, youthful audience whose perceptions of society and reality and whose value systems are clearly in early development ’’ What the AMA says and does on this issue is commendable Numerous other studies have pointed to the same problem But let's not let it rest there What’s needed is pressure from the RURAL ROUTE r f Serving Ine Central and Southeastern Pemsylvamo Areas grass roots level to let advertisers and broadcasters and advertisers Petitions are a good way to get the ball rolling If your Sunday School class is in need of a project, perhaps a crusade for healthier television should be on the agenda Farmers protect their corn and cattle from insects, their equipment from excess wear and rust. The “best crop” needs attention too. The least we can do is turn the set off. But better yet would be to air our feelings to those who might be in a position to bring about some con structive changes For the record, NBC television has been found to be the most violent shows, according to a study un dertaken by the National Cititzens Committee for Broadcasting. The top 10 sponsors of violent television, the NCCB survey showed, were Chevrolet, Anacm, American Motors, Kodak, Schlitz beer, Proctor and Gamble, General Foods, Burger King and Fnto Lay Sears and Schlitz have volunteered to review their sponsorships, with a goal in mind to give less support to violent programs. The companies with the best records for sponsoring the least amount of violence on telvision are Peter Paul candies, Hallmark cards, Texaco, Whirlpool, Prudential, Jean Nate cosmetics, Shopper Toys, Green Giant, Keebler and Carnation The AMA has also concluded that an 18-year old youth has viewed “15,000 hours of television before graduation from high school and witnesses 18,000 murders and countless incidents of robbery, arson, bombing, forgery, beating and smuggling ” It’s time to pull the plug on that sort of nonsense not just for children, but for anyone who respects a good healthy life pamiincj TAKE ME TO YOUR HOUSE v"-' \ \ •} i Lesson for February 20, 1977 Background Scripture: Mark 8:34-38: Luke 19:1-10. Devotional Reading: Pbilippians 3:7-14. Several years ago I arrived in the city of Jericho late in the afternoon following a long, hot, dusty drive across the Negev desert and along the Dead Sea. The familiar, low skyline of Jericho was a welcome sight to me, for Jericho is actually an oasis in the midst of the barren salt flats surrounding the Dead Sea. I remembered that somewhere in the town center there was a little shop where the man would squeeze big, juicy Jericho oranges into a tall refreshing drink. As I drove down the palm tree-shaded streets of what many regard as the world’s oldest inhabited city, it was easy for me to “see” Jesus walking along this same street and short Zacchaeus peering down from a palm tree. Zacchaeus, come down! It occurred to me that Zacchaeus probably had to climb the tree, not only because he was short in stature, but also because he wanted to avoid mixing with the crowds. It was no secret to anyone: Zacchaeus was a despised man with whom no one wanted to associate. He was, after all, a tax collector for the Roman and oc cupation government. There was no vocation more despised than his. Then too, he probably had a reputation for being a cheat as well. Yes, Zacchaeus was up a tree for more than one reason! Yet though he had been written-off by his fellow citizens of Jericho, Zac chaeus was not dead inside. Hearing of the approach of the much-heralded Nazarene prophet (and, some said, the Messiah), perhaps Zac chaeus felt a small surge of hope for himself. At least he was curious enough to want to see Jesus for himself. Perhaps as the Nazarene healed people of physical ills, he could somehow make his life whole again. But he got much more than he had bargained for. At most he had hoped for a healing glance or word or maybe a touch from the Master. Imagine his delighted surprise, then, when Jesus looked up and hailed him with: “Zac chaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today”! There in front of everyone who despised him, who looked down upon him, Jesus looked up and announced that he By Tom Armstrong I SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MAKE SUCH RASH STATEMENTS T TO RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF LIME As common as liming the soil has been in this country, we still have gardeners and farmers suffering from the lack of lime in their soils. The beginning point in any soil improvement program is to have it tested for lime requirement. When this need is satisfied, then it is time to do something else. Many lawn and garden problems are caused by the soil being too sour. Lime is needed to get the most benefit from fertilizers and from chemical weed killers. Many of the herbicides will not do a good job when the soil is sour. Therefore, we repeat that the first thing to do in trying to improve any soil is to provide the lime needed. Dollars spent for lime will make dollars spent for other items go much further. TO SOW IMPROVED RED CLOVER VARIETIES The limited supply of clover seed might make this article questionable; however, we suggest that growers of red clover at- Farm Calendar Today, Feb. 19 Seventh annual statewide sale of performance tested beef herd sires, sales pavilion, Frederick County, Md. fair grounds, nooa Monday, Feb. 21 Dairy meeting on reproductive efficiency, 7:30 p.m. at the Lan caster Farm and Home Center. Elizabethtown Area Young Farmers meeting, 7:45 p.m. at the high school. Subject: Farm machinery. would honor him by staying in his house! They all murmured The people were shocked: “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Yes, once again Jesus displayed that un predictable tendency to go to people who needed him, not those who believed they deserved him. We can imagine that there were several people in that crowd who had hoped that Jesus might spend the night with them. Perhaps they were insulted that he chose a disreputable wretch like Zacchaeus. As I sipped my orange juice in the cool of the shade of a towering palm, I smiled to myself as I put myself in Zacchaeus’ place. How excited he must have been as Jesus entered his house. Assured that God loved him despite the hostility of the community, Zacchaeus’ heart overflows in grateful commitment: he will return to anyone he has cheated four times what he took from them and he will give half of his wealth to the poor. There will be a new Zacchaeus from this day forward! Have you considered what might happen if Jesus were to come to your bouse? NOW IS THE TIME... Max Smith County Agr. Agent Telephone 394-6851 tempt to secure one of the improved varieties that have done well in research plots. We refer to varieties such as Arlington, Redland, or Kenstar. These strains of red clover have out-produced the regular varieties in test plots and will last longer; in the past most kinds of red clover will last only one year after the seeding year. Now we find the unproved strains will continue to yield for two or more years. This should be of benefit to all red clover growers. The limited seed supplies this spring might prevent wider use of these red clovers. We urge prompt attention in ordering for those interested. TO CONTROL JOHNSON GRASS This is not the month (February) to control Johnson Grass, but it is the time to be making plans for its control later this year. We feel that Johnson Grass is a real threat to much of our crop land and warrants some immediate attention. [Continued on Page 3gj Tuesday, Feb. 22 District 1 Meeting of Atlantic Breeders, Bucks, Motgomery and eastern Berks County, 12 noon, Palm Church Swine Producers’ Day at the Lancaster Farm and Home Center, 9 a.m. Schwenkfelder Atlantic Breeders Cooperative District meeting, Blue Ball Fire Hall, 7 p.m. Fulton County Dairy Day and ABC district meeting, 10 a.m., Mc- Connellsburg Fire Hall. F’FA Regional Leadership Training Conference, Blue Mountain High. Southern Blair and southern Huntingdon County ABC meeting, Central High School, Martinsburg, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 23 Estate Planning program at the Lebanon County Extension Office, Municipal Building, Lebanon, 7:30 p.m. Chester County Dairy Day, at the Stone Barn, Route 842, two miles west of Unionville, 10:30 a.m. Atlantic Breeders holds its annual District meeting that afternoon at the same place. Drumore Township Planning Commission meets, 8 p.m. at the Twp. Bldg. District 2 meeting of Atlantic Breeders, in conjunction with Chester-Delaware Dairy Day, 10:30 a.m. at the Stone Bam. Delaware State district of Atlantic Breeders meets, 7:30 p.m. Felton Fire Hall, Felton Del. Dairy, sheep and swine meeting at the Hunterdon County, N.J., Extension Center, 8 p.m. ABC District meeting. Twin Churches, Friends’ Cove, Bedford County. (Continued on Page 16]
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers