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Page 4 — Wednesday, March 4, 2009, The Millen News
Opinions, yours and ours
The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett
I have received word that the American Red Cross (ARC) is
promoting a Heroes campaign in Jenkins County to raise aware
ness and funds for local disasters. Glenn Campbell, ARC action
team coordinator for Jenkins County, is also Hero Captain for
this area.
The ARC of Augusta serves an 11-county area. It is not a gov
ernment agency and receives no funding from federal or state
governments. It relies on the generosity of local communities.
All funds raised for the Heroes campaign will be used for local
disaster relief. The campaign runs through the end of March,
which is Red Cross Month.
For more information or to make a contribution, call (706)724-
8481 or mail the donations to: ARC of Augusta, 1322 Ellis Street,
Augusta, GA 30901. Donations may also be made at the local
participating businesses: BI-LO, Popeye’s, Subway, Boykin’s,
Thompson’s Comer, Huddle House and Panda Express.
Our poll question on the website last week was, “Would you
support the establishment of a national sales tax as opposed to
the current federal income tax?”
Responses, as of Monday morning, were as follows: Yes - 27;
No -8; Undecided - 6; and Don’t care - 0.
To participate in this week’s poll, go to http://
www.themillennews.com.
Happy birthday this week to: Cad Davis, Bryce Joyner, Tyson
Bennett, Phil Cowart, Libby Williams, Denise R. Bragg, Kim
Landing, Keri Williams, Charles Brannen, Farris Markovcic,
Rudolph Hydrick, Grady Joiner Jr., Edward Wilson, J.D. Cain,
Pat Miller, Danny R. Becton, Bonnie Becton, Wayne Skinner
and Eric Williams.
Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. George
Larisey and Mr. and Mrs. Sidney London.
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 Cal
vary 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 Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st
Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Divi
sion, 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. 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 noon. You can email letters
to themillennews@yahoo.com.
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Deborah Bennett Editor
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SPORTS AND STEROIDS
There was an editorial cartoon in a recent issue of USA Today
I considered both pointed and profound.
It was a drawing of a very large baseball player that covered
the entire space, holding his bat, with the name Hank Aaron.
Down in the lower right comer were four very small figures of
baseball players with the names of Clemens, McGwire, Bonds
and A-Rod. One is speaking: “Why is it we use the steroids and
he gets bigger and bigger?”
As anyone with even a modicum of interest knows, the world
of sports has been battered by drag use across a large spectrum
of athletics, professional and “amateur,” and across a long range
of ages, male and female. So much so that some are asking if
there is any level playing field left.
I hope there is! But it is so frustrating when athletes betray
their sport. The reasons are multiple and varied, beginning with
money. As I’ve mentioned before, far too many salaries are basi
cally obscene. Hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of dol
lars to "play ball!” And a quarter of a BILLION to Alex Rodriguez!
I was taken to task for being negative about that contract when it
was signed and told that if he filled the seats of the ball park, he
was worth it. Maybe!
When fans were leaving baseball in droves following the strike
of the mid-90s, it was the home run chase of Sosa and McGwire
that brought them back. Now we know!
In today’s climate, how do we know that what we are watch
ing, cheering, supporting is real?
Hey, don’t get me wrong. I had my list of favorite athletes
caught up in the drag revelations in track, distance running, and
cycling. A runner Joyce and I had breakfast with following a
marathon in Jamaica has just had his records stripped from the
books. Others we know even in the Masters (over 40) ranks have
served or are serving suspensions.
But we continue to take part in and follow the world of athletic
competition, although older and maybe a bit wiser, if also a bit
more cynical. We’ll watch every track meet we can, every cy
cling event (even as riders are pulled out for testing positive),
every road race, every football game, etc.
Won’t you?
The Camellia Garden Club meets
The Camellia Garden Club recently enjoyed a most informa
tive program on Magnolia Springs State Park, given by Connie
Fitch.
Fitch’s biography proves that she is a very busy person. She
has been at Magnolia Springs State Park more than 30 years. She
is married to Charles "Chuck” Fitch and has three boys.
Although most club members have lived near Magnolia Springs
State Park many years, she told them many interesting things
they did not know. For example, the spring is made of limestone,
which is a very soft stone and very fragile. No construction is
allowed within a one-mile radius of the spring because vibra
tions within a mile could cause it to cave in.
When the water table drops, the natural cavities cave in and
create lime sinks. These are large, deep pits about 15 to 20 feet
deep in the earth’s surface. Magnolia Springs has about 10; only
three are in areas the public can see.
Camp Lawton, an historic sight, was the largest prison in the
world in 1864. It was built to replace Andersonville in southwest
Georgia. It only lasted 113 days, due to Sherman winning The
Battle of Atlanta and proceeding with his victory march to Sa
vannah.
There is a history museum located beside the park office, and
Connie Fitch of Magnolia Springs State Park recently
presented an informative program to the Camellia Garden
Club. (Photo contributed)
it is open upon request, at no charge.
Magnolia Springs was also the sight of a CCC Camp. During
the depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, president at the time,
came up with a brilliant idea to create jobs for men.
Also, the WPA helped make Magnolia Springs a public recre
ation area. It was established as a state park in 1938.
There are five cottages, plus two more becoming available, to
rent. There are two pioneer camping areas for $25 per night. A
group camp, which sleeps 92 people, is available for churches
and other groups to hold summer camp or other activities, for
$500 per night.
“Get Out, Get Dirty, Get Fit!” is the Georgia state parks’ new
motto. In an attempt to get children and adults outside and ac
tive, a variety of fun, family-based activities are offered at Mag
nolia Springs State Park.
Doris Rabitsch, club president, opened the business meeting.
She set several garden council dates and presented several let
ters of thanks for projects the club has participated in.
The Millen News
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