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Page 4 — Wednesday, January 7, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours “The General Assembly is convening? ... Doesn't the State have enough problems already?" Bill Shipp A BATTLE TO GET EVEN The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett The holidays are behind us now, and the new year stretches ahead, full of promise and possibility. At the top of my list of “wants” for our community for 2009 are: job opportunities for our citizens, completion of the Savannah River Parkway through Jenkins County and Millen, and at least a “start” on the TE-grant renovation of Cotton Avenue. There are certainly other community needs, but 1 think these are obtainable in 2009. Our chamber of commerce and development authority, along with county and city officials, are working diligently to bring jobs to our community, ft is not an easy task, however, given the state of the economy. The competition is stiff among communities, and our lead ers need our support and encouragement. Completion of the Savannah River Parkway will be another asset to our community. Hopefully, some of those passing through on the highway will stop and visit, providing an economic boost to the local economy. There is also the possibility that some new businesses may locate on U.S. Highway 25 once the construction is completed. Planned renovations to Cotton Avenue will enhance the appear ance of our front street, making it more appealing to those who might be interested in opening a business here. It will also give existing businesses a nicer surrounding in which to operate. I look forward to seeing what 2009 brings. Our poll question on the website last week was “Which of the fol lowing New Year’s resolutions are you most likely to make?” Responses, as of Monday morning, were as follows: Lose weight - 8; Stop smoking - 4; Exercise more - 6; and Spend more time with family-5. To participate in this week’s poll, go to http:// www.themillennews.com. Happy birthday this week to: Charlotte Becton, Beverly Joiner, Sheryl Dudley, Tammy Cranshaw, Ken Delay, Justin Chance, Drew Dudley, Matt Turner, Ray Garvin, Jeremy Dailey, Dudley Boynton, Tracy Edenfield, Sandra Sherrod, Valerie Sharkey, Brien Linder, Ethelene Young and Sydney Hooks. Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Shackelford, Mr. and Mrs. Glynn Bassett and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Oliver. Military Active Duty List: E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Lorce, RAP Molesworth, United Kingdom; Lance Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, Twenty Nine Palms, CA; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2 nd Class Erie B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burras, U.S. Air Force, Barksdale AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Bat talion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Com bat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expedi tionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Ah' Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and SPC Charles “C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Camp Adder, Iraq. Letters policy Letters to the editor of The Millen News are welcomed and en couraged. These are pages of opinions, yours and ours. The unsigned editorials generally appealing on the left side of the editorial page represent the opinion of the newspaper and not that of any one person on our staff. Personal columns represent the opin ions of the writers whose names appear on them and arc not to be considered the opinion of this newspaper, its management or own ers. Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s read ers. The Millen News reserves the right to edit any and all portions of a letter. Unsigned letters will not be published. Letters must include the signature, address and phone number of the writer to allow our staff to authenticate its origin. Letters should be limited to 400 words. The deadline for letters is Friday at 5 p.m. You can email letters to themillennews@yahoo.com. As 2009 dawns, the next cycle of Georgia politics is coming into view. We already have seen coverage of the budding race for governor, with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Insurance Com missioner John Oxendine preparing to run for the Republican nomination. Other GOPers considering an entry include Secretary of State Karen Handel and Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. On the Democratic side, coverage to date has focused on whether ex-Gov. Roy Barnes will mount a comeback attempt. Retired adjutant general David Poythress looks like he’s pre pared to go for the state’s top job whether Barnes jumps in or not. However, the 2010 contest with the most potential for fire works has so far received little attention. The primary for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor features (for now) Senate President Pro Tern Eric Johnson of Savannah and Sen. David Shafer of Gwinnett County. Johnson and Shafer have been on opposite sides of most intra-GOP fights in the state Senate. The two don’t hit it off personally either. While campaigns infused with personal bitterness may not do much for the Georgia political system, they provide great enter tainment value. Besides, the joust for lieutenant governor is of ten a prelude to bigger things. Since 1967, seven governors - three of them lieutenant governors - have come from the ranks of legislative leaders. In 2006, Ralph Reed, a dynamic Republi can figure with a national profile, saw his career as a Georgia politician destroyed, perhaps forever, in his quest for lieutenant governor. During the 2006 campaign for lieutenant governor, Johnson, like most of Georgia’s Republican establishment, was quick to jump on the Reed bandwagon. Johnson figured he might as well get an early start with Reed, who appeared at first to be a shoo- in for the post. Reed, an adviser to President George W. Bush, also looked likely to eventually move on up to governor. At the height of pundit talk of a permanent national Republi can majority, the only real question was whether (or maybe how soon) Ralph would be changing his address to 1600 Pennsylva nia Ave. Shafer, who had lost to Reed when Reed was elected chair man of the state Republican Party in 2000, was one of the few willing to plant his flag with Cagle’s then-long-shot bid for lieu tenant governor. Shafer’s gamble paid off when Reed’s associa tion with tainted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, as well as allegations of other less-than-ethical transgressions, made na tional headlines during the campaign. The cloud around Reed helped Cagle coast to victory. Then Cagle expeditiously dispatched hapless Democrat Jim Martin in the general election. Of course, Johnson, who had committed to Reed too early, lost his place in Georgia’s Republican power lineup. Now Johnson has launched a bid to regain his supremacy in the Senate by becoming lieutenant governor. You may expect his campaign to be sparked by his anger over the indignities he believes he has suffered throughout the four years of Cagle’s term. Shafer has his own baggage. He was Guy Millner’s right-hand man during Millner’s not-quite-successful attempt to become Georgia’s first modern-era Republican governor in the 1990s. Shafer was Oxendine’s top aide in the state Insurance Depart ment and lost a race for secretary of state in 1996. His race for lieutenant governor will be fueled by his ambition to reach the highest levels of state government and elbow Johnson out of the way once and for all. Expect both Republicans to go bare-knuckles in this battle. Johnson may have unexploited weaknesses that Shafer can ex pose, in a manner similar (if less spectacular) to the drumbeat that took Reed down in 2006. Johnson’s dealings as an architect and real estate developer, and his alleged use of his position in the Senate to benefit those enterprises, have never been fully examined by a hard-charging opponent. Johnson also was close to disgraced former U.S. Attorney Rick Thompson. Before Thompson was removed from office for vio lating the public trust, Johnson bragged to a Republican state convention about his ability to get Democrats prosecuted. Now that Democrats are taking charge of the U.S. Justice De partment, don’t be surprised to see the scandal around Thomp son resurrected at an inopportune time for candidate Johnson. Johnson has enjoyed a position of relative power as the top Republican in the Senate, but endured little scrutiny from a Capi tol press corps that has dwindled in number and initiative over the last several years. Now that he is a candidate for statewide office, Johnson may well emerge as a better candidate for a little old-style investigative journalism. You can reach Bill Shipp at P.O. Box 2520, Kennesaw, GA 30156, e-mail: shippl@bellsouth.net, or Web address: bill shipp online, com. Chartered 1903 The Millen News is published weekly by Chalker Publishing Company, 601 E. 6th St., Waynesboro, Ga. The Millen News 856 East Cotton Ave. • Millen, Ga. 30442 Phone: (478) 982-5460 • FAX: (478) 982-1785 Periodical postage paid at Millen, Georgia. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: The Millen News P.O. Box 909 Millen, GA 30442 USPS No. 349-660 Walter Harrison Frank M. Edenfield Editor 1946-1985 Editor/Emeritus 1985-1998 Roy F. Chalker Jr. Bonnie K. Taylor. Deborah Bennett Lavonna Drawdy Melodye Williams Publisher General Manager Editor Advertising Composition Office Assistant Subscription Rates (Includes tax): In Jenkins County $23.00 Elsewhere in Georgia $26.00 Outside of Georgia $29.50 Kullen llb-H-Slute Sdtiw A ''Walk Ins Welcomi Welcome s$ u,s Owner/Sly list 47B.5SS.1475 Mon,, Tue. r Thu, & Fri. 9-6 Li3tF3 n Hintntr .; 115 N. Masonic St. Wed, 9-12 Sat, B:30-12 ^ ^ie jb:-n jest Millen, Georgia 30442 HAWK & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Victor C. Hawk Melissa Detchemendy Need Help? Call: 478-982-4226 (day) or 706-294-4447 (night) American Trial Lawyers Association Southern Trial Lawyers Association Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Office located in The Millen News Building 856 E. Cotton Ave., Millen, GA The Millen News Deadlines FRIDAY AT NOON: Wedding Announcements Engagement Announcements Anniversary Announcements Birth Announcements School News Columns Memoriams and Thank You’s FRIDAYS PM: Chatter Box Items, Letters to the Editor, General News Items. MONDAY-10 AM: Datebook Items, Church News & Obituaries MONDAY-11 AM: Classified & Legal Ads MONDAY-NOON: Retail Display Ads