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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2001)
sheen hit. iceiver Bt was the A$ :r coming ini; his spleen ap : senior hads t his spleen: at is expecfe ifdical redsh" season that wj year of eligife e receiver Ci hng a succei; it broke rauli foot prior to Porter is expec six weeks. Bautovichsa«i e could h ildcats, wher. afety after d backup I had injur he team intact State with lineman Am linebacker Ja have kneeph doubtful for | e on Saturday tackle Mid d'ensive linen iso missed sr the Kansas Si njuries. Smitf. tr the Iowa St lahan is douh the Cyclones, no guys we a Bring uneral home was wrong or leaving corpse on porch ¥' YY < hen having to deal with the unfortunate experience of losing loved one, it is expected iat the funeral home han- ing the burial arrangements operly conducts and pro- ides its services in a profes- onal and dignified manner, lowever, for Nancy King, the treat ment she received from a Missouri funeral home was far short of her expecta tions. On returning ome from the grocery store, ing was astounded to find t had a charc -Ve are just«: e have and tn f it.” , B 1 tebody of her boyfriend, iymoveith ' H „,. i new silt ave to be maJ ^pefully givens arious commurL going as we lod obert Holder, lying in a bag nher front porch. Sadly, his lie had been iaimed by meet the irevious eek. pparently, ic reason the jneral home hose to leave lolder’s body m the porch vas because he bill for his Cremation mic6s had ill, Jones saidi ((y^en paid, y is not a fra?/i? ~ ‘ ; tail. The imefe day or ninary :ssive, rk, other sports- :e. The entitt Duld cover 251 s, he said, excites ing the si art. On the te- ot of time 1c ae.” entioned in ion or more, -me page as *“• dom. ‘‘Heisitf nis point. He6 focused andi : in there." s did come A funeral home should never operate in such an irresponsible manner, with such a malicious disregard for the deceased and inflict pain on those who already grieving. Despite those who think the home acted justifiably iiecause of an outstanding invoice, a funeral home uld never operate in such rresponsible manner, with a malicious disregard for ues, offices ami the deceased and those who ilready are grieving. While the funeral home ivas due $1,200. the thought ifplacing a dead person’s xxlyon their front porch out ifspitefor an unpaid bill is !arger sp® jj^jpg y\t n o point was (ing trying to avoid making lepayment, but rather she ieemed to be struggling to nece her life back together yearthata«*|vhiledealing with the death if her boyfriend. Moreso, because King and iolder were not married, (ing was not allowed to grant Jermission for the cremation, and thus was not responsible br making the payment. Holder’s daughter, who was lisclosest surviving relative, ilready had been contacted indmade aware of the bill. One rightfully assumes the aayment was going to be made at some point in the near future. When a funeral home places such an importance on an unpaid bill by electing to leave the body of a loved one on their front porch, they have clearly circumvented ethical boundaries. At all times, it is impera tive that the services funeral homes provide be performed respectfully, regardless of how or when the bill for their serv ices will be paid. Under normal procedure and to coincide with state law, the funeral home should contact the county coroner if a relative does not claim the deceased’s body. Yet, in King’s case contact was never attempted. The State Board of Embalmer and Funeral Directors that licenses funer al homes in Missouri has since said that should the accusa tions prove true, the funeral home could face a penalty rang ing from a disciplinary letter to revo cation of its license. The direc- 1 •' ll f, tor for the funeral home in question, Gary Peterman, has declined to discuss the allegations “out of respect to Mr. Holder.” Where was that respect when the funeral home’s employ ees were placing his body next to the daily newspaper? Thankfully, however, not all funeral homes operate with the same business driven, maxi- mize-profit mentality. Jim Miller, an employee for a neighboring funeral home, realized that the respect for an individual goes far beyond the status of a pending bill, and picked up the body from the porch. “I’m not worried about the money,” Miller said. “We’ll cover the expenses, I just want to make this thing right.” Hopefully, it will not be long before the board con venes and revokes the license of this shameful funeral home. In a civilized society, there is no room for businesses who operate with a lack of courtesy and thoughtfulness. J.J. Trevino is a senior journalism major. RUBEN DELUNA • THE BATTALION Page 9 dead Family should pay expenses for cremation of corpse I f a month’s electric bill goes unpaid, not one of the house’s occupants really is surprised when the power shuts off. When 74- year-old Robert L. Holder’s family decid ed not to pay his crema tion expens es on time, it should have come as no surprise when Holder popped up, post mortem, on the front porch of his Cross Timbers, Mo., home. Whatever the reason may be, people feel that because of woeful situations, things should be handed to them for free. Nancy King, Holder’s live-in girlfriend, certainly was one of these people. Playing her “little old lady” routine for all it was worth, it seems she was ulti mately trying to weasel out of paying her late boyfriend’s funeral and cremation costs. But little old ladies can be deadbeats, too, and Hathaway Peterman Funeral home did the right thing by leaving Holder on his front steps like the morn ing paper. Hathaway Peterman still was faced with a $1,200 problem, and human corpses do not dis pose of themselves. Still, the initial reaction is to feel sorry for a dead old man, especially one who is a World War II veteran from a hospital. But no one feels sorry for a crook, which is the role King and the other mem bers of Holder’s family played by trying to steal a cremation from a funeral home, which is a legitimate business. A cremation is a costly affair, and anyone who works in a crematorium knows that their profession only is slight ly more enviable than that of a garbage man. When Holder’s relatives avoided the funeral home’s bill, they knew it was a crime and that there would be consequences. King claims that, because she was not Holder’s legal wife and cannot grant a cre mation, his daughter in Oklahoma should cover the costs. Holder’s daughter thinks that, as a live-in girl friend, the responsibility should be King’s. But if they love this man as much as they insist, it would not matter who paid the sum. In today’s politically cor rect society, everyone is a vic tim, especially little old ladies with dead people on their front porches. Instead of crim inal charges being filed against King and the estranged family, it is Hathaway Peterman Funeral Home, who is facing discipli nary action. Apparently the fine print on a Missouri state law says that if a body is not claimed by a relative, the funeral home should con tact the county coro ner. So now, the State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, which licenses all of Missouri’s funeral homes, is breathing down Hathaway Peterman Director Gary Peterman’s neck. Pat Handly, presumably the state board’s head embalmer, is looking into the matter. He says that Hathaway Peterman can face punishment ranging from a strongly worded letter to revocation of its license, in spite of all Peterman’s protes tations that they “just let this issue drop.” Holder has since been taken care of by Reser Funeral Home in nearby Warsaw, Mo., but it is still a travesty when such a cut-and-dry issue as payment for services rendered is complicated by miserly rel atives. At least now all of Missouri knows that if they let grandpa’s funeral expenses go unpaid, he might just drop by for one last visit. George Deutsch is a junior journalism major. But little old ladies can he deadbeats too, and Hathaway Peterman Funeral home did the right thing by leaving Holder on his front steps like the morning paper. iss f )2 Moral relativism is shortsighted In response to Charlton Wimberly's Oct. 19 column: EE Senior br the 2002 >ook. Goby hy at 1410 ext to Copy Redmond ng Center) :3. M-F9- L:30-4p.m. AND d.tomu.e&i I have worked for Reuters News Pictures for more than five years as a contract photojournalist, and I must protest Mr. Wimberly’s ill- informed assessment of Reuters’ policy regarding labeling certain groups "terrorists." Blaming the Reuters policy on so-called moral relativism is a shortsighted view of the issue. A reason for the policy is not one of political correctness but one of safety. In my five years with the company, I have covered many controversial stories where the media became targets of violence stemming from resentment of prior coverage. Reuters employs journalists in all corners of the world - a network of coverage larger than the ubiquitous Associated Press. Reuters journal ists constantly are in positions of danger, be it in Chechnya, Rwanda, or Pakistan and Afghanistan. By using such lan guage as “terrorist" or “mad men," a news agency can create added peril for its personnel in the area of concern. The official stance of Reuters is that “we do not characterize the subjects of news stories but instead report their actions, identi ty and background so that readers can make their own decisions based on the facts.” Reuters does not tell readers what to think, instead the company demands that readers think for themselves — a skill called upon so infre quently by most news outlets as to have atrophied for most of the public. While I am as ardent a patriot as the president himself, as a journalist, I must suggest we rel egate name-calling to the opinion page and AM radio. Brian Dear Class of 2002 MAIL CALL Yell leaders were new at one time, too In response to Kelln Zimmer’s Oct. 23 column: If this University intends to contin ue to be recognized for its tradition and its diversity, then it must look to the student body for support. According to Kelln Zimmer, the creation of such a group is send ing this University down a path that “could lead to the loss of the very traditions that help define the Aggie experience.” I feel very much differently. It is true that this school has been built upon tradition, and I fully feel that each and every one of those traditions have earned their place here and need to be preserved. However, at the same time, if you think back to when the tradition of yell leaders was first established, chances are there was quite a bit of opposition regarding the new “spirit direc tors,” just as there is now for the Rightin’ Texas Aggie Competitive Cheer Squad. Back then, having Yell Leaders was new to everyone and made no promises of becom ing a famous tradition to anyone. The students of Texas A&M are being offered a unique opportu nity; the chance to begin a new tradition. Every one of the tradi tions at Texas A&M had to begin somewhere. What’s to say that something new and different, such as a cheering squad, will not become as famous a tradi tion as anything else? Another concern is that non- Aggies will be given the wrong impression, thinking that this squad is the sole spirit represen tation for the University. If there is as much confidence in the tra dition of the Yell Leaders as is voiced, then it need not be a concern. This University is famous for many things, of which the yell leaders are one. It is said that, as Aggies, we never “hiss” another Aggie. Deep down, all this oppo sition to the new squad is just another form of “hissing" our cheerleading Aggies. It is time that the 12th Man rec ognize that we are one student body that adheres to the desires of all students, and that by creating the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Competitive Cheer Squad, we are not destroying old traditions, but rather building new ones. Stephen M. Bahr H Class of 200 CARTOON OF THE DAY C>