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Page 4 — Wednesday, January 28, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett This is the last reminder to pick up your Magic of Christmas photographs. We will soon have to dispose of those left here due to limitations on storage space. So, come by and get your photographs as soon as possible. I was delighted to learn that Lance Coiporal Adam Lanier, son of Marshall and Elaine Lanier, had the opportunity to par ticipate in the Inaugural Parade for President Barrack Obama last week. Adam is a member of the 8th & I Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., and 81members of his unit participated in the parade. I’m sure it was an unforgettable experience for him. The poll question on our website last week was, “How con fident are you that President Barrack Obama will fulfill his campaign promises?” Responses, as of Monday morning were, “Very confident - 9; Moderately confident - 7; Slightly confident - 6; and Not confident at all - 22. To participate in this week’s poll, go to http:// www.themillennews.com. Happy birthday this week to: Denise Wells, Kneisha New ton, Kimberly Simmons, Mary Burke, Elizabeth Daniel, Gladys Parrish, Lee Fulcher, Hester Oglesby, Scottie Larisey, Gail Lewis, Don Perkins and Margaret Clifton. Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Jody Bowers. Military Active Duty List: Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Marines, 8 th & I Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Force, RAF 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 Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, 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 Com mander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Austra lia; 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 Engineer ing Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18thMEDCOM, 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 Coip, 2nd Marine Expeditionary 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. Air 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 encouraged. These are pages of opinions, yours and ours. The unsigned editorials generally appearing 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 opinions of the writers whose names appear on them and are not to be considered the opinion of this newspaper, its manage ment or owners. Letters to the editor voice the opinions of the newspaper’s readers. 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 lim ited to 400 words. The deadline for letters is Friday at 5 p.m. You can email let ters to themillennews@yahoo.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 "...Looks like this is going to be a long winter!" Jon Burns LEGISLATIVE UPDATE On Jan. 12 the 150th legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly was gaveled open as members of the House of Repre sentatives and members of the Senate were sworn in for our legis lative duties. This process repeats itself every two years following the elections, and the winners of the 180 districts in the House and 56 districts in the Senate are seated to serve their district and state. The first week is mainly an organizational week for the General Assembly as few bills are debated. It is used to elect the leadership of the House of Representatives and assign the membership to the many standing committees. It is also used to develop strategies for tackling our biggest problems, mainly this year, a $2 billion short fall in the Fiscal Year 2009 budget. Also last week, the Governor unveiled highlights in his Amended Fiscal Year 2009 and his Fiscal Year 2010 budget recommenda tions. The General Assembly reviews two budgets a year. The first is the review of the FY 2009 budget which begins July 1 every year. In January, we begin to review that budget to see if we are short funding for mandatory programs like education and healthcare. The second budget, or what we call the “big budget,” is used to set spending policy to fund the state government for the upcoming fiscal year The Governor each year introduces his mid year corrections and his policy and program funding for the next year. The General Assembly is tasked with reviewing the budget and making changes where we see fit. It is part of the oversight responsibility that the citizens have to insure that the Governor is doing the right thing. Some of the highlights unveiled in the Governor’s State of the State speech included the requisite budget issues, as well as, sev eral key initiatives that the Governor wants to launch. Most nota bly of his various proposals was a decision to overhaul the Depart ment of Human Resources. DHR is Georgia’s human service agency whose mission is to strengthen Georgia families by providing ser vices through about 80 programs that ensure their health and wel fare. Unfortunately, this department, by far the biggest in the state, has grown into a bureaucracy unto itself. DHR encompasses pro grams that help Georgians who suffer mental retardation, mental health problems, assistance to the poor and senior services. Many of these programs are very much needed, but the level of bureau cracy has made them unwieldy and limited their ability to “best” serve those that need the help. One bill was debated and that was House Resolution 1022. The resolution ratifies the comprehensive state water management plan that was adopted by the State Water Council. It overwhelmingly passed 131-37. After completing the first five days of this year’s session, the House and Senate broke for a week to begin budget hearings in front of joint meeting of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Most state agency directors will testify before the Joint Appropriations healings to discuss their agencies and their priorities. In addition, it allows for your elected representation to ask questions regarding various programs and to ascertain their viability. Contact me at jon.burns@house.ga.gov or at 404-656-5105. I appreciate your input on these important issues. JB Powell GOVERNOR PROPOSES SPENDING CUTS, TAX INCREASES The 2009 session of the Georgia General Assembly got under way Jan. 12 as lawmakers returned to Atlanta knowing that our No. 1 challenge is to balance the new state budget in the tough est economic conditions we have faced in any of our lifetimes. On the third day of the session, Gov. Perdue laid out budget pro posals that indicate Georgians are in for more tough times in the months ahead. The governor has responded to a $2.2 billion revenue shortfall in the current fiscal year with a 10 percent cut in state spending between now and June 30, followed by a “slimmed-down,” $20.2 billion annual budget for fiscal year 2010. The proposals feature significant reductions in state services, $1.2 billion in new state borrowing, use of more than one third of the state’s reserve fund and higher taxes for many Georgians. Under the governor’s plan, teachers and other state employees would go without a pay increase. Also, funding for school nurses and supplements to teachers who receive national board certifi cation would be eliminated. Basic state funding for public schools would be cut by $185.8 million this year and $197 million in FY 2010, shifting those costs to local property taxpayers and bringing the eight-year to tal of education tax shifts under this administration to more than $2 billion. Property owners would suffer a further tax increase if legislators approve the governor’s plan to eliminate $428 mil lion in tax relief grants to local governments. The governor is also proposing a new 1.6 percent provider tax on hospitals and HMOs to help fund Medicaid reimbursements - a tax that would inevitably be borne by patients. Other proposed cuts in the governor’s budget include $176 million for basic instruction funding at Georgia’s colleges and universities, the closing of four state prisons and the elimination of funding for state golf courses and eight state swimming pools at Georgia parks. The proposed bond package - 20 percent higher than the $1 billion in annual added debt in recent years - is mostly for con struction of new schools, college buildings and other facilities. The governor also wants to spend $50 million this year and $408 million next year from the state’s reserve fund, which currently amounts to $1.2 billion. Appropriations Committee members will begin consideration of the proposal during budget hearings Jan. 21-23. Otherwise, lawmakers are in official recess until Jan. 26. The first week of the new session was devoted largely to or ganizational matters and the introduction of the first legislative proposals to be considered by various committees before they are debated by the full Senate. I have been appointed to serve as secretary of the Senate Science & Technology Committee and also as a member of the Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Inter state Cooperation, Natural Resources & Environment (ex-offi cio) and State Institutions & Property committees. Some of the - See Powell, page 5 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. 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