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Page 4 — Wednesday, March 11,2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett Changes are taking place at The Millen News. Beginning this week, I will be at the front desk. I wish Melodye Williams, our office manager, only the best as she moves on to what I know will be bigger and better things. I will miss her terribly, not only as a co-worker but also as a wonderful friend. That friendship will re main despite the fact that we will no longer see each other every day. The Millen News will continue to provide community news cov erage. But because I will be confined to the office more, the man ner in which we do that will change somewhat. Beginning this week, the office will be closed every day from noon-1 p.m. for lunch. We have a “drop box” on the door, and I encourage you to use it during this time. Telephone calls during the lunch hour will be forwarded to The True Citizen. We ask the public to bear with us as we adapt to the current economic climate of this community and the nation as a whole. The Millen News has been serving the citizens of this community since 1903, and we look forward to many more years of doing the same. I received information this week that all Social Security recipi ents will receive a $250 check in May as part of President Barack Obama’s stimulus package. Those receiving Social Security should receive a letter in April informing them of the matter. The full article appeal's elsewhere in this issue. Happy birthday this week to: Dina Keller, Rick Pickett, Ralph Chance, Gloria Hawes, Jacob Oglesby, Wayne Skinner, Tori Becton, Mary Alice Becton, Johnny Oglesby Jr., George Hall, Rose Small, Embree Jenkins, Brittania Cosby, Cad Davis, Phil Rhodes, Bonnie Becton, Caleb Golden, Jody Lynn Wilson and Freddie Gillis. Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Norman Clifton, Mr. and Mrs. Darrel Clifton and Mr. and Mrs. Dale Wiggins. Military Active Duty List: Lance Cpl. Adam Lanier, U.S. Ma rines, 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 Austra lian 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 De stroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engi neering 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; Jef frey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/E-Division, A- Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine 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 noon. You can email letters 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 Editor 1946-1985 Frank M. Edenfield Editor 1985-1998 Roy F. Chalker Jr Publisher Bonnie K. Taylor General Manager Deborah Bennett Editor Lavonna Drawdy Advertising Composition Subscription Rates (Includes tax): In Jenkins County $23.00 Elsewhere in Georgia $26.00 Outside of Georgia $29.50 Jon Burns LEGISLATIVE UPDATE As the sixth week (24 th legislative day) of Georgia’s legislative ses sion wraps up, many necessary items on the agenda were accomplished. The Georgia House passed out the mid-year budget, which was a sigh of relief for some. Overall, the bills that were passed covered a wide variety of issues. The budget is always the number one item on the agenda for the legislative session. The supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal year beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30 th , 2009 was passed out of the House by 168 to 5. The $18.9 billion midyear budget in cludes funding for the operation of State government, its departments, boards, bureaus, commissions, institutions and other agencies. With the aid of federal money (around $ 145 million), we were able to avoid some of the difficult cuts; however, we still had to cut back. Given the challenges and constraints of these economic times, the budget we passed was very reasonable. We tried to keep from hurting those that are most vulnerable in our society. As I have mentioned in previous reports, the economic situation we are in makes detailing the budget for the state of Georgia a very difficult task. We had to make approxi mately $2.6 billion in cuts, and it was not an easy choice. We realize that we are in hard times right now and we tried to restore funding that was necessary for the people. For instance, we funded the Homeowner’s Tax Relief Grants and other various programs, such as the Meals on Wheels, which many of our senior citizens rely on. Education is a priority, and in the budget we tried to restore some of the funding for education. We realize how essential our local school systems are and how budget cuts can have drastic effects on our communities. Now, we will have to focus our attention to the next fiscal year which begins July 1 st . Energy needs have been an increasing concern in Georgia for the Library News By Sharon Blank Bring the little ones in on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and they’ll be able to listen to fun stories and do a special craft in our magical story time! Wear green!! Funky Hat Day is Friday, March 13. Let us see your craziest hat. Spring will arrive Friday, March 20. Why not get your garden going with one of our great gardening and landscaping books? Now, on to the books! GEORGIA’S LAND OF THE GOLDEN ISLES by Burnette Vanstory. If you’re interested in the history of Georgia, and Georgia’s coastal islands in particular, you’ll want to read this classic of Georgia history. From Oglethorpe and the Indians to the Gullahs and the elite of America, she carries you through the history of the Gold Coast, island by island. THERE IS NO ME WITHOUT YOU: ONE WOMAN’S OD YSSEY TO RESCUE AFRICA'S CHILDREN by Melissa Fay Greene. Haregewoin Teferra was a grief-stricken widow and re cluse when a priest showed up on her doorstep and left her with first one, then a second orphaned child. Soon, children of all ages were being brought to her by dying parents and families too poor to support another mouth to feed, and she was learning firsthand about the depth of the AIDS pandemic that is leaving millions of African children orphaned. Links to the following sites and more can be found at www.sjrls.org or on our blog at sjrls.blogspot.com Rosie: A Legend on the Home Front Transcript of a round table talk with the author of the book, “Our Mothers’ War,” and two women “home front” veterans of World War II: one a tack welder on PT boats at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the other an African American clerk for the seg regated boilermakers’ union serving the San Francisco Bay Area’s Kaiser shipyards. Accompanied by a slide show. From the fall 2007 issue of Common Ground, a National Park Service publi cation. NAACP 100 Years 100 Films, 1909-2009 “The Purpose of the NAACP Top 100 Films of the Century (1909-2009) is to identify the top 100 multicultural film projects that have had the greatest influence on people of color, prima rily African Americans, and American popular culture.” Browse films using the scrolling timeline and then slide the rating bar last several years. According to the 2006 State Energy Strategy re port, Georgia’s demand for electricity grew 61 percent from 1990 - 2004 and will sustain an annual growth rate of three percent over the next several years. Nuclear energy has operated safely and securely in Georgia since 1975 and currendy provides more than 20 percent of the state’s electricity. Nuclear power is a safe, clean and affordable source of base load electricity that produces zero emissions. For these reasons, the House passed a bill this week that will ad dress how to finance the construction of two additional nuclear reac tors at Plant Vogtle in Burke County. This bill, Senate Bill 31, will lower the overall cost of the project which will lead to lower rate charges for consumers. The average increase will be around $ 1.30 on each customer’s power bill. Failure to pass SB 31 would have cost Georgians an additional $300 million in interest alone. By paying a slight increase in cost now we will ultimately lower our costs in the future. It will allow Georgia Power to raise customer rates in incre ments over seven years, instead of raising rates at the time of con struction, which would have been around 12.4%. This bill will pro vide Georgia’s citizens with low cost and clean energy and in return will reduce the state’s reliance on coal and natural gas. We are fortu nate to have companies that are willing to invest in Georgia. Since this bill has been passed by the House and Senate, it will now go to Governor Perdue. The decisions made at the State Capitol affect all Georgians, espe cially in the tough times we are all facing. For this reason I want to hear from you, I was elected to represent you, and welcome your entails and phone calls. If you have any questions or concerns, please con tact me at my Capitol office at 404-656-5116 or jon. burns @ house, ga. gov. for each film. Requires free registration to rate films. From the NAACP. Well, that’s all for now - see you at the library! Modern Woodmen ^ ▼ SM FRATERNAL FINANCIAL Touching lives. Securing futures.® depends on where you're sitting TODAY. There's still time to make IRA contributions for the 2008 tax year. April 15th.Tax deadline. Can you really afford to wait to save for your retirement? You're probably wondering if Social Security or a 401 (k) will cover your retirement needs. That's exactly why you need to look at opening or adding to an IRA today. An IRA can help you take the right steps toward financial security and your retirement goals. Saving today means a better retirement tomorrow. Now that's smart money, no matter where you sit. Contact your Modern Woodmen representative to find out how an IRA can work for you. Linda Bragg, FIC 121 Terri Dr. Millen, GA 30442 478-982-1824 706-871-0914 Linda.F.Bragg@mwarep.org