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THURSDAY. JANUARY 8. 2015 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 5A
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Letters to the Editor
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Dear Editor:
Re: “Getting away with tor
ture,” Sheldon Rickman
• Sleep deprivation, sensory
deprivation, solitary confinement
and water boarding.
vs
• Exploding, burning, crush
ing people (twin towers) and be
heading and mutilating bodies
(Islamic Jihadists).
You make the decision! War is
hell but it is necessary to obtain
information on future attacks on
our people, here and abroad!
There is no pleasure in it.
Remember that these people
were the ones who planned the
attack on the USA. They are not
citizens and are ineligible for
“...redress in court...”
What would you do?
Robert A. Reitz
Dear Editor:
CASA staff would like to
take this opportunity to say
Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year! As always we are
very grateful to you running our
articles and giving us the oppor
tunity to reach as many people as
possible in our community.
Since February 2014, each train
ing class has increased in size,
and that I attribute to the news
paper articles you are posting for
us. Thank you.
Mary L. Crank, Advocacy Co
ordinator
CASA of the Appalachian Ju
dicial Circuit
Dear Editor:
I appreciate the schools get
ting new computers BUT Win
dows 7 is an old operating
system [New school technology
brings campuses up-to-speed,
Dec. 25 edition]. In a very short
time the systems all will have to
be updated to Windows 8 at tax
payers expense. Someone sold
the school board a bunch of out
dated computers. Hope they got
a real good deal.
Also [in regard, Lessons
Learned in 2014, Jan. 1 edition],
the “Voters” learned a good les
son in 2014: Pass the SPLOST
and your property tax will not go
up HA HA that was a good
one. Never trust local politicians.
The more they have the more
they spend....
Richard Marsh
Dear Editor:
Two Weeks ago an article ap
peared about Democrats needing
to re-organize. This week, a letter
to the editor was questioning if
Democrats could reorganize im
plying they could not even or
ganize well enough to clean up
the litter on the side of the road.
The letter writer was complain
ing about a stretch of road
adopted by the Democratic Com
mittee in the Keep Pickens Beau
tiful program because there was
litter on the side of the road. You
know what the irony is? It shows
some people act the same way
about local politics as they do na
tional politics. They complain
because Democrats do not clean
up the mess Republicans create
fast enough.
Over 80% of the people who
live in Pickens are Republicans,
hence, they are the people doing
the littering, then complain De
mocrats do not clean it up fast
enough. They do not even see the
irony as to what they are com
plaining about and how it points
directly at Republicans and their
lack of involvement in Keep
Pickens Beautiful. You want De
mocrats to clean up the mess Re
publicans make faster? Maybe if
Democrats did not have to spend
so much time educating people
about the birthplace of our presi
dent, for instance, and people ed
ucated themselves beyond an (R)
in front of a name, you would see
a lot more get accomplished.
Even though the majority of
the population claims to be Re
publican and the results of the
last election indicate this, there
appears to be no road adopted by
the Republican Party of Pickens
County. If they have, according
to the KPB website, they haven’t
picked up any trash. Democrats
have (even though we are a clear
minority of the population). The
letter writer questioned Demo
cratic leadership because they
didn’t pick up Republicans litter
fast enough? When will the letter
writer complain about the Re
publican Party not adopting a
road to pick up litter? When Hell
freezes over?
Simply more of the same. It’s
something in the water appar
ently, or is it kool-aid?
Charles O. Hendrix Jr.
Dear Editor:
Christmas Day, another sense
less death. A precious two year
old that will never know his
mother. Nieces and nephews out
for a fun day of shopping were
witness to their aunt being shot
in the head and will never view
Christmas the same way again.
A beautiful young mother will
not be here to raise her son. A
whole family whose lives have
been altered forever, and it didn’t
have to happen.
Veronica Rutledge’s father-in-
law said he was angry that her
death has become a talking point
for both sides in the gun rights
debate. He stated the whole fam
ily were gun enthusiasts and
never left home without caring a
gun. Why shouldn’t it be a topic
for discussion? Every day some
one is shot because of willful stu
pidity. Earlier in the year a, 9
year old girl was given access to
a powerful weapon and shot a
gun instructor in the head. In
Helen, Ga., a man shot and killed
a tourist as he pulled a gun from
his pocket. These are just a few.
Tomorrow or the next day the
media will again be reporting on
another needless death. The pow
erful NRA Lobby has been in
credibly successful at shutting
down any meaningful discussion
on common sense gun laws. One
of their popular sayings is, “Guns
don’t kill people, people do.”
Why anyone finds it neces
sary to carry a loaded gun every
where they go is beyond me. If
gun enthusiast are so afraid they
will be attacked at any moment,
even in a Walmart, I am surprised
they have the courage to walk
out their front door.
Years from now when this lit
tle boy is old enough to start ask
ing his father questions about his
mother’s death, his father can an
swer with, “No son, that gun did
n’t kill your mother, you did!”
Sheri Freeh
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Between the Bookends ByEmmalngle, Pickens Co. Librarian
Festival of Trees
Winner of the 2014 Festival
of Trees, with the most votes for
favorite tree, goes to Keep Pick
ens Beautiful and Harmony Ele
mentary School. The title of their
tree was, A Renewable Christ
mas Tree, in which the students
make ornaments from recycled
materials. Congratulations! We
will order a book of their choice
to be placed in the library for
everyone to check out.
Runners-up are Master Gar
dener’s of Pickens County, A
Natural Christmas and Jasper El
ementary PTO, Tiger Pride.
Other participants included:
American Legion Post 149; Boys
& Girls Club of North GA;
Friends of Pickens Library;
Good Samaritan Health & Well
ness Center; Jasper Lions Club;
KnowsPickens.com; Library
Yamers; Marble Valley Friends;
Mountain City Girls Scouts;
North GA Home school Band &
Choir; Pickens County 4-H;
Pickens County Schools Trans
portation Dept.; Pickens Ferst
Foundation for Childhood Liter
acy; Pickens County Library
Board of Trustees; Pickens
County Retired Educators Asso
ciation; Pickens Teen Advisory
Board; Sonshine Manor Personal
Care Home; and Wildwood
Christian Academy.
Festival of Trees is a celebra
tion of community support from
our local civic groups, busi
nesses and organizations. We
would like to thank all who par
ticipated this year in our annual
event
Library Yarners
Come join the weekly cro
chet/knitting/yarn-enthusiast
meetings, Tuesday, January 13,
at 10 a.m. and/or 5 p.m. The Li
brary Yamers is led by a former
library staff-member (you may
attend either or both meetings).
All fiber-artists are welcome (re
gardless of skill level)!
Story Time
The youngest folks are in
vited to join Miss Brooke for
Lapsit Story Time on Wednes
day, January 14, at 10:30 a.m.
Lapsit Story Time is designed for
children ages 1-3. Family Story
Time is also on the 14th at 3 p.m.
The theme is A is Awesome.
Story Time includes a craft proj
ect. All ages are invited. For
more information please contact
the Pickens County Library at
706-692-5411.
Dear Editor:
The Other Voices column ti
tled “Moving to Ugly” does not
make any sense.
1. The assertion that Common
Core is about Federal control of
education misrepresents the
facts. Common Core is focused
on Math and English minimum
standards. It does not dictate
how teachers or school districts
implement the standards. Busi
ness supports Common Core be
cause a student graduating from
high school in Georgia or Penn
sylvania will have a common
core of knowledge and skill.
2. Mr. Jennings assets that as
a nation we believe in local and
state control, not federal. I am a
pragmatist, Mr. Jennings. The
local and state control, as you so
clearly articulate in your article,
has not overcome the U.S. failure
in education. Perhaps we need to
try something else.
3. The article focuses on the
need for competition and free
markets in education. The prem
ise is that the invisible hand of
competition will eliminate the
bad schools. Susie completes a
year in the 4th grade of a not so
good school. Her parents decide
to move Susie to a better school.
She now enters the 5th grade at a
disadvantage to the other stu
dents because of skills unlearned
in the bad school. We need to
focus on making all schools bet
ter and not identify the bad
schools by having students spend
a year of substandard learning.
4. Parents are the critical fac
tor to good education. I wit
nessed the improvement of a
young student from failing every
subject to passing every course
with A’s and B’s. The child
stayed in the same school and
had the same teacher, but moved
from his parent’s home to an
other home during the school
year. There is no substitute for
actively engaged parents who
create a learning environment in
their home. If the parents read,
the children will read. If the par
ents encourage learning activi
ties, their children will discover
the world.
5. We need students that will
behave in school and are eager to
learn. This starts in the home
and with the parents.
6. We need great teachers and
facilities.
7. Our students need to spend
time learning. Education studies
prove study time increases learn
ing. Hard work pays off!
Our children suffer the conse
quences of adults focusing on
simple solutions. Let’s be prag
matic and not chase some ideo
logical nonsense.
John Freeh
Letters Welcomed
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ual. Letters UNDER 400
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given where the author can be
reached to verify information.
Opinions expressed in letters
and signed columns are those of
the author and do not necessar
ily represent the views held by
the Progress.
Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc.
announces new store to open in Jasper
Hibbett Sporting Goods,
Inc. (“Hibbett”), the national
sporting goods retailer based in
Birmingham, Al„ is pleased to
announce the execution of a
lease for a new store in Jasper.
Hibbett Sports plans to open
the new location this spring at
Jasper Commons. The store an
ticipates employing eight full
and part-time team members.
Currently Hibbett has 97 loca
tions in the state of Georgia
alone.
Hibbett is a fast-growing
operator of over 982 full-line
sporting goods stores in small
to mid-sized markets, predom
inantly in the Southeast, Mid-
Atlantic and Midwest.
Hibbett Sports stores offer a
large selection of quality
branded athletic equipment,
footwear and apparel, with a
focus on knowledgeable,
friendly customer service and
providing customers with in
formation they can’t always get
at other stores selling sporting
goods. Hibbett Sports has a
long history of focusing on the
needs of local teams and
leagues, with a variety of serv
ices to meet the needs of
coaches and players alike.
Hibbett is the only sporting
goods chain committed to serv
ing small and mid-size mar
kets. This strategy has proved
to be a successful one for Hib
bett as the company continues
to expand its number of stores
across the U.S.
Cannabidiol trials begin at
Georgia Regents University
Two clinical trials aimed at
treating children with medica
tion-resistant epilepsy with
cannabidiol have been approved
at Georgia Regents University.
The first - a two-person compas
sionate use protocol that received
authorization from both the Drug
Enforcement Agency and the
U.S. Food and Drug Administra
tion - began recently at Chil
dren’s Hospital of Georgia. The
second will allow for an ex
panded 50-person trial, initiated
at GRU with planned expansion
to Savannah and Atlanta.
The state, along with GW
Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:
GWPH), and officials at GRU
have been working together
since May to begin a study with
GW’s investigational cannabid
iol (CBD) product Epidiolex®,
which has promising data for dif
ficult to treat childhood epilep
sies.
Georgia Governor Nathan
Deal announced in April his sup
port for clinical research that
would investigate the use of
CBD, a non-psychoactive com
ponent of the cannabis plant, and
develop rigorous data that will
inform and expand the scientific
community’s understanding of
potential treatments.
“No one with a heart could
hear the stories of these children
and their parents and not want to
exhaust every possibility to pro
vide them with the treatment
they need to combat this debili
tating condition,” said Gov.
Nathan Deal. “I believe this ini
tiative can have a meaningful
and positive impact on the health
of suffering children. Georgians
have expressed overwhelming
support for these endeavors, and
I’m committed to finding solu
tions for these brave families.”
GW Pharmaceuticals is a
world leader in the development
of prescription cannabinoid med
icines, and conducts scientific re
search in accordance with U.S.
federal law with permission from
the FDA and DEA. The FDA has
already authorized physician-
sponsored Investigational New
Drug programs with Epidiolex at
20 sites around the U.S involving
over 400 children. In parallel,
GW is progressing a company-
sponsored formal development
program for Epidiolex that is fo
cused on the treatment of two
rare and severe forms of child
hood epilepsy, Dravet syndrome
and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
“We are pleased to be partner
ing with the State of Georgia and
Georgia Regents University in
response to the significant unmet
needs of children with treatment-
resistant epilepsies by providing
physicians with access to our
medicine Epidiolex,” said Dr.
Geoffrey Guy, chairman of GW
Pharmaceuticals. “In parallel
with this GRU program, GW is
advancing a formal clinical trial
program with the FDA and has
commenced placebo-controlled
clinical trials designed to gain
approval for Epidiolex as a pre
scription medicine.”
“As the state’s public aca
demic medical center, we should
be on the leading edge in the
treatment of these disorders,”
said GRU President Dr. Ricardo
Azziz. “Georgia’s children
should not have to go elsewhere.
We have a responsibility to bring
the medicine of tomorrow to pa
tient care today. We are excited
to partner with GW Pharmaceu
ticals to study investigational
cannabidiol and potentially
change the lives of children with
medication-resistant epilepsies.”
Forest Glen Apartments
504 Indian Forest Rd.
Jasper, GA 30143
706-692-5355
TDD
1-800-255-0056
2 Bedroom Apartments
$300 Deposit
$99 Move In Special
Please call for details
Office Hours
Mon - Fri
! 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
I FOREST GLEN IS AN EQUAL 1 ■ I
W v OPPORTUNITY PROVIDER IffHlf
OPPORTUNITY
WARNING
If you are considering purchasing a home in the North Georgia
Mountains, DO NOT buy one in Pickens County.
The County does not provide discounts (unless impoverished),
or exemptions on property taxes for their senior homeowners. So, picket
Pickens County. Buy a home in a County that values its senior citizens.
Pickens Seniors for Change
charlotte 1184@ wind stream, net
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