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Page 4 — Wednesday, February 4, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett B-r-r-r! It’s cold. How cold is it? These little jokes seem to sum it up pretty good. “It is so cold that hitchhikers are holding up pictures of thumbs; roosters are rushing into Kentucky Fried Chicken begging to use the pressure cooker; and when I dialed 9-1-1, a recorded message said to phone back in the spring.” “It’s so cold grandpa’s teeth are chattering in the glass; politicians have their hands in their own pockets; Richard Simmons is wearing pants; and the polar bears are buying fur coats.” And if that’s not cold enough, "I didn’t clean my house, just defrosted it; you need defrosters just to have a good cry; and the cosmetics counter in department stores are selling cream for goose bumps.” Monday was Groundhog Day, and the little varmint saw his shadow, so that means that we are in for six more weeks of winter. B-r-r-r! We received word today from The Augusta Chronicle that mail subscriptions will once again be available in our area. This is great news for those of us accustomed to getting our newspapers by mail. Happy birthday this week to: Eddie Sherrod, Kathy Weathersby, Glynn Bassett Sr., Jennifer Fleming, Alexandria Lane, Nan Bowers, Thurman Kent, Kyler Pierce Cook, Megan Frye, Marty Thompson, Brett Burke, Hank Joyner, Jeremy Dailey, Tyler Troisi, Blais Chance, Rhett Smith, Bob Dwelle, Burdell Frison, Carol Frison and Patricia Mincey. Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Dwelle, Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Small and Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Edenfield. 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 Commander, Richmond Royal Aus tralian 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 Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat 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. Ma rine Corp, 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 Letter to the Editor Dear Editor, As you know if you ever watch the news, the Fed (slang for The Federal Reserve Bank) is attempting a major power grab these days. The financial crisis is causing people to go crazy. Does anyone out there know anything about the Fed eral Reserve? It has been around since the first Roosevelt admin istration, and I doubt that any one in Jenkins County really knows very much about it. I could ask you to do some re search and give you links to sites that explain it, but I think that very few would actually look and try to understand. I’ll just pass this on to you and you can all accept it as truth—after all, if I told you, it must be true! The FED (Federal Reserve Bank) is not accountable to any one. It was created to be the Cen tral Bank of America, but that name was not palatable to people before the advent of TV. Before TV, people read and had a more comprehensive understanding of written language (that is a sad commentary on modem society.) Anyway, the Federal Reserve was set up to be the owners of all the property in the U.S.A. People are wondering why there is not help for the people suffering from mortgage fore closures and high interest rates. The answer is simple and obvi ous. The Fed owns them. They have no interest in helping you keep your property. Now they are talking about buying what they call “toxic assets” off the books of banks so that they can start lending again. So, who will own your property? The Fed and the IMF will own all of that prop erty in the United States of America. Is there hope? Will there be "Change We Can Believe In”? Don’t count your chicks before they hatch! The Fed is printing money without backing and seeking to buy up property. The corporations are seeking more tax cuts. The financial markets are asking for more money. A meager tax cut of three percent in payroll taxes equals $3 on each $100 you earn—what are you going to do with that? Three percent on billion-dollar compa nies that adds up to millions of dollars, and a poor person just can’t compete with that. Well, I have reached the 400- word limit. Think about this, the TV tells us that the money has evaporated! Is that possible? Or did someone take the money and run? Wayne Salter Suburbs of Perkins Jon Burns LEGISLATIVE UPDATE During this week of the legislative session, several bills were on the agenda. Although the session has just begun, we, as legis lators, are already in full swing deciding on numerous important pieces of legislation. Governor Sonny Perdue gave his State of the State address two weeks ago and included his budget recom mendations for the amended 2009 budget and the 2010 fiscal year budget. Two major tax bills were on the calendar for debate on Friday, only one of which was voted upon. The House passed HB 143 on Friday, the Homeowners Tax Relief Grant legislation (HTRG), and it has been sent to the Senate for consideration. Next week, members of the House of Representatives will vote on HR1 which will decide the fate of Property Reassessment Caps. In this current budget climate, what we are dealing with is the same thing every individual family in Georgia has to deal with. Our income is down and some tough choices and decisions have to be made. When times get tough, we have to cut back. Families all across Georgia are making some similar decisions that we as lawmakers are facing with our budget. In this climate, with such a severe economic downtown, we have to look at our options concerning the budget and cut back on nonessential and some essential items. It is a challenging and sometimes heart wrenching task. With a $2.2 billion budget deficit, the Governor had tough choices to make in his proposal. The issue is revenue. By using some of the money in the Revenue Shortfall Reserve (RSR), also known as Georgia’s rainy day fund, the Governor is hoping to get through the difficult economic times Georgians are facing. In the Governor’s recommended 2009 Amended Budget, $187 mil lion was used from the Midyear Adjustment Reserve and $50 million from the RSR. For the 2010 budget, $408 million was included from the reserve. The Governor’s proposal is the recommendations for the budget. We are in the process of budget hearings to determine our version of the budget, as is the Senate. Using the Governor’s revenue estimate, set at around $19.2 billion for the rest of 2009 and $20.2 billion for fiscal year 2010, the members of the House will decide how we believe the money in the budget should be spent. The House and Senate will then come to an agreement on a budget proposal to be voted on by both chambers. The Governor’s proposal would eliminate the Homeowner’s Property Tax Relief Grants, essentially saving the state $428 million. The problem that arises is that if it is not funded, this amount is placed onto the property owners in Georgia, another bill for $200-300. With many families facing dire economic times, this could become a burden on families in our communities. The legislature promised this money last year and the House plans on fulfilling the promise they made to property owners. The mem bers of the House are struggling with the idea of how to fund the grant this year and on Friday we passed HB 143 by a 117-55 margin. This Homeowners Tax Relief Grant legislation commits us to pay for the grant covering the 2009 budget and sets the rules for how the grant program will be administered in the future. This program is intended to be a mechanism to send back surplus funds to homeowners and the legislation we passed out lines how and when these grants will be distributed and will also make it easier for local governments to plan their budgets. On a lighter note, my fellow members of the state House and I put aside our personal college football loyalties and recognized Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson, the ACC Coach of the Year, and Jonathan Dwyer, the ACC Player of the Year. Every good col lege football fan should be able to put pride aside and congratu late someone on a job well done - even if they are a rival. Over the next 30 legislative days we will make the tough deci sions necessary to pass a balanced budget. I hope that we will also be able to improve education, create a statewide trauma net work, and expand our transportation infrastructure. These are the issues that I believe to be the most important for Georgia and its future. But I want to know what you think. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at my Capitol office. I look forward to hearing from you soon. My email address is jon.bums@house.ga.gov and my office number is 404-656-5116. Huge After Christmas Sale ALL • Sale does not include items already on sale, Zeiss or Swarovski optics • All sales final on sales items • All sales will last throughout the month Open: Tuesday - Friday 9 am - 6 pm/ Saturday 9 am - 3 pm Toll Free: (866) 564-2012 E-mail: gwo@alltel.net 120 N. Main Street • Sylvania, GA 30467 R&tf tjrun (little rtji 8 yettu! ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Monday and Friday at 7 p.m. at the Wimberly House at 521 S. Liberty St., Waynesboro. These meetings are open and anyone can attend. AA already has... Step Study: Tuesdays (Open Meetings) - 8:00 p.m. Thursdays (Closed Meetings) 8:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church Hwy. 24 South Waynesboro ALANON Open Meeting-Monday - 8 p.m. at Wimberly House 521 S. Liberty St., Waynesboro