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PAGE 6A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. MAY 20. 2004
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Letters to the Editor
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Letter to the Editor,
In 1994 when the tornadoes hit
the Long Swamp Community, Chip
Pearson, owner of Paramount Con
struction Company, sent four men
and two machines over to help us
dig out for two weeks at his own
expense.
Now he is running for state sen
ate. Now is our chance to help pay
him back. He will be speaking here
this Thursday at the Republican
meeting.
E.D. “Josh” Fitts
Dear Editor:
I have recently returned from a
trip to Washington, D.C. where I
found myself among an estimated
500,000 protesters - mostly Pro-
Choice and John Kerry supporters.
Keep in mind I had planned this
trip sometime in advance, and I had
no idea that this group would be in
D .C. at the same time as I.
The various speakers on the
platform were extremely critical of
the Pro-Life people and the Bush
Administration. My own beliefs
and convictions were being assault
ed, and I could not believe how
extreme the speakers were. I felt
like the proverbial fish out of water.
Even though I disagreed with
their message, and the large num
ber of people made it almost
impossible to get around, it was
always in the back of my mind
what was happening before me.
This group was exercising their
freedom to assemble and protest - a
right that we have in this great
nation that is not enjoyed by a large
part of the world.
Let us not forget that our free
dom and our basic rights are being
protected by the brave men and
women of our armed forces serving
in distant lands around the world
and here on the home front as well.
As I tried to make my way to the
White House, I had to walk several
blocks up 15th Street as the normal
routes were blocked, and I
approached what I had hoped
would be the front entrance on
Pennsylvania Avenue. I was sur
prised and could not believe how
far away visitors were being kept
from the historic edifice and
grounds. At first I thought this was
a result of increased security meas
ures due to the cowardly attacks of
September 11.
However, a National Parks
employee at the White House Visi
tor Center later told me the grounds
were closed because of work being
undertaken around President’s Park
and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The work will eventually
remove the unsightly, temporary
barricades set up during the Clinton
years and will greatly enhance the
beauty of the area while establish
ing better security.
While I was taking photos of the
White House I met a married cou
ple named William and Susan in
Lafayette Park. They were very
nice, and from my perspective,
both appeared to be your average,
middle-class citizen. However, as I
discovered from talking with them,
the couple was homeless.
William had recently lost his job
and subsequently lost their home.
One of the shelters and a church in
the area had been assisting them
through this difficult time as
William continued to look for
employment.
As you know, there are many
other “Williams” and “Susans” out
in the world. Any one of us could
be in this couple’s shoes walking
the streets of Washington, D.C. or
any other community’s streets.
Those of us who have a home are
blessed by God not to be homeless,
not to be without food and water,
and not to be without clothing.
Likewise we are blessed to have
family and friends to help us get
through the daily trials of this life.
This encounter served as another
reminder to me of the many bless
ings I have received from God.
Finally, both as a nation and as
individuals, let us never forget the
men and women who have deserv-
ingly been named “The Greatest
Generation.” Our heroes are being
recognized and honored as the
World War II Memorial is set to be
formally dedicated on Saturday,
May 29, 2004.
The memorial stands on the
Mali’s central axis between the
Lincoln and Washington Memorials
at 17th Street. Additional informa
tion may be obtained by visiting:
www.wwiimemorial .com.
Sincerely,
B. A. Brooks
Dear Editor:
The prison pictures from Iraq
have caused a stir at every level of
American life. The elected leaders
that I have heard comment about
them have said that the bad behav
ior of a few guards does not reflect
the values of our country. I think
they are totally out of touch with a
very sizable portion of the general
population that thinks that showing
naked men being humiliated is real
ly just a harmless prank. To me the
scary part is that aberrant sexual
behavior is an accepted and encour
aged central behavior.
In between the television discus
sions by the news media talking
heads with members of congress,
the channel I was watching had
several ads on showing male sex
“enhancers,” pills for both men and
women to have sex and ads for sit
coms that contain one reference
after another to fornication and
homosexual comedy. MTV shows
hour after hour of women as
whores. When you go by the maga
zine racks in the stores all you see
is the hint of naked bodies and arti
cles about how to have more sex, as
if we need coaching in this matter.
All our movies are filled with
things of the flesh. Sex sells, and
America’s corporations spend bil
lions selling it so they can make
money. The media sells to the worst
devils of our nature.
What we are seeing is not the
actions of a few guards out of con
trol in a distant land. What we are
seeing in terrible pictures is what
we have become as a people. Sexu
al perversion is acceptable main
stream activity. Marriage after
marriage is being destroyed by
adultery. Ask your teenager about
what really goes on now in school
where aggressive boys and girls
treat others like playthings. We
have universities offering sex as
recruitment perks. Many young
women dress so as to be naked in
public. Read about the evil done to
children every day in our own com
munity. Go look at the increasing
number of convicted sexual offend
ers posted in our own courthouse.
Our elected leaders and judges
have allowed these things to come
to pass in the name of free speech.
We have moved the boundary of
acceptable behavior so far out, that
anything goes and now we see the
depths to which our society has
sunk. And yet we deny the obvious.
A very sizable portion of our gener
al population accepts, encourages
and believes that no sexual act is of
lasting harm and that all the
appetites of the flesh should be fed.
Indeed we have heard within the
last several years that it was OK for
the president of the United States to
lie under oath about sexual affairs
he had while on duty in the White
House. “Everybody lies about sex.”
We are on a trend line of self-
destruction. The pictures from Iraq
show mainstream America.
Gary Pichon
Dear Editor:
Did you know that May is
Native American Month for the
State of Georgia?
Did you know this is also the
month that the Trail of Tears started
back in the 1800s that the Cherokee
people who resided in this county
now know as Pickens County --
The First Mountain City -- were
removed by force from their homes
and their land was put up on what
is now known as the Land Lottery?
Did you know that there are sev
eral Native American festivals
going on in this state this month to
celebrate Native Americans?
Yet I find no mention in papers
or television on the subject of
Native Americans.
Yet I find that Pickens County
pretty much tries to ignore the fact
that (Cherokees) Native Americans
even lived here. Yet I find that
when people want to contribute to
this county, historically there is no
support from the county or the
county government. We have peo
ple who want to show the history of
this county and yet are denied to
paint, teach, have lectures, basical
ly state yes there are Cherokees and
other Native American people who
live in this Pickens County.
There are artists who want to
paint a beautiful mural on the side
of a building but are given (Oh we
don’t know if this should be done)
attitude and the run-around, and yet
these artists were approached to do
this mural by the same people who
now don’t know if this should hap
pen. This mural does tell the history
of the county and as well as the
present and possible future. And
still this county seems to want to
stop the advancement into the 21st
century. Sorry we are already there.
We have here historical landmarks
dated back to the 1700s and 1800s,
yet they are allowed to be burned,
torn down or sold to developers for
the all mighty dollar. No historical
markers but one for the Federal
Road and this seems to have disap
peared. It is like the people and the
county want to forget the history of
this county and the truths that it
holds.
So my question is this: Do we
just keep Pickens County beautiful?
Or do we have paintings/murals
and historical markers stating this?
The beauty is in our history too!
Thank you,
Monika Ponton Arrington
Dear Editor:
I am a business owner and a vot
ing citizen of Pickens County and
have lived in this area my whole
life, so I feel that I may be a fairly
good representation of the voters of
this area. I feel that a person run
ning for sheriff of this county
should, at the very least during a
campaign, be friendly to people
that he wants to vote for them. I try
to keep an open mind and look at
all the candidates during their cam
paigns to make a knowledgeable
decision at voting time.
The other day I was in the Pizza
Hut for lunch and recognized one
of the candidates running for sher
iff, Mr. Brian Millsap, because his
wife had come into my place of
business and handed out a flyer
with his picture trying to get me to
vote for him. While he was leaving
the restaurant, I was returning to
my table and we happened to look
right at each other, I smiled and
nodded and he returned my greet
ing with a scowl and looked at me
like I was something from below
his feet. I may not have been in my
Sunday best and may not have
looked like he believes a voter and
citizen should look like, but there
are many people here in this county
who do not always look like others
think they should and they vote too.
Is a person who makes a judgment
on a person by how they look or
someone who cannot even return a
smile and nod to a citizen of this
county, when running for an elected
position, the person Pickens county
needs for a sheriff???
Jean Puett
Dear Editor:
Have you noticed the amount of
skid marks on Highway 515 south
bound at the new traffic light for
our new hospital?
From what I hear there have
already been one or more serious
traffic accidents at that intersection.
It is surprising that there are not
several accidents a day there.
I travel that road daily and it is
Therapeutic
Riding
What does therapeutic riding,
bluegrass music and a picnic in
the country have in common? It’s
a raise awareness/get-to-know-
you in Pickens County first, “A
Therapeutic Riding Program for
Persons with Mental or Physical
disabilities,” opening soon. Come
out Saturday, May 22 from 4-7
p.m., 12 Stones Farm on 576
Bunch Ct. off 136 W Conn, in
Talking Rock.
Tot-em Down Boys, bluegrass
band, and bring-your-own-picnic
(no booze) will set the stage for
this day, introducing “Angels on
Horseback” Therapeutic Riding
program; a North American Rid
ing for the Handicapped Associa
tion Center member.
Angels On Horseback Therapeutic Riding Program - May 22,
4:00 - 7:00. Bring your own picnic. Bluegrass music.
frightening to approach it on the
southbound lanes in the company
of a bunch of cars and trucks. The
speed limit there is 55 MPH and
few drivers observe the posted
limit. Although you can see traffic
waiting to exit the hospital, which
will change the light, it seems that
most of the traffic does not connect
that with the light changing soon.
Hence the skid marks.
Even the abandoned Jasper City
Police car does little to slow the
vehicles. I think that the majority of
the traffic has become used to the
car sitting there un-manned. I
would bet that at least 90 percent —
of that traffic are people that go that
way daily and they have figured out
the bluff, so it’s pedal to the metal.
Perhaps some of the drivers are dis
tracted watching the police car and
don’t notice the light or it changing.
I would think that two things
should be obvious to the DOT and
law enforcement. One, we need
radar there on a consistent basis.
Two, surely the Georgia DOT has
some type of animated or electri
fied warning sign that the light is
changing as you approach the inter
section and could erect it before
some of us get killed by poor engi
neering.
Another thought, with the devel
opment started in that general area
and planned in the future, how
about we change the speed limit to
45? After all, Jasper is growing and
that area is going to become quite
busy. I even think there should be a
traffic light at 515 and Philadelphia
Road.
Jared Thomas
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