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Page 4 — Wednesday, April 22, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett My “late” words of thanks to whomever was responsible for repairing the pothole under the red light at the intersection of Winthrope Avenue and U.S. Highway 25. It was just about impossible to miss it if you were making a left turn off Winthrope. I noticed immediately and am sure that others have also. If you’re planning a yard sale for any time soon, you might want to wait and do it Saturday, May 2, in conjunction with a city-wide event sponsored by Millen Better Hometown. Par ticipants are being asked to pay a $5 registration fee to cover costs of promoting and advertising the city-wide yard sale lo cally and in adjacent counties. For more information, you can contact the chamber office at 982-5595. This Saturday has been designated as “Cleanup Day” in Millen and Jenkins County. Millen Better Hometown is spon soring the activity. Local residents are encouraged to join the effort by picking up trash and bringing it to the Jenkins County Courthouse at noon for disposal. Just a reminder, the cost of mailing a letter will go up to 44 cents on May 11. You might want to stock up on some “For ever” stamps for 42 cents each now. The stamps can still be used after May 11. Happy birthday this week to: Kristen McLamb, Jetson Groover, Don Godbee, Anna Joiner Allen, Watson Rocker, Chris Landing and Cheryl Adams. Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Mat thew Goodwin, Mr. and Mrs. Dwayne Herrington and Mr. and Mrs. Horace Weathersby III. 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 Detach ment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Rich mond, 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 Hos pital, 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 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 "Kinda gives you a sense of being part of history, doesn't it?" Library News By Sharon Blank Have you ever seen a real African dance? Join us Saturday, May 2, at 11 am and learn how to do it yourself! Ramatu Afegbua-Sabbat, founder of Atlanta’s Manga African Dance and member of the Nigerian royal family, will be teach ing West African Dance here at the library in a special one-day limited engagement. Spaces are limited, so come in and sign up soon! Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day, and we will be celebrating it in our storytime at 4 p.m. Wednesday! Bring your kids to en joy a great story and a fun and eco-friendly craft! What are we doing for our next storytime Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m.? You’ll have to come and see! We’re gearing up to Be Creative this summer! We’ll be kick ing off the Vacation Reading Program on June 2 at 2 p.m. with a Wild West storyteller who’s the rootin’est, tootin’est cowpoke on either side of the Mississippi, so make sure to bring the kids on by. What else is coming this summer? That’s a secret - but I can tell you that kids will be creative and teens and tweens will get to express themselves, so keep your eyes open for more news! Are you between 11 and 18 years old? Do you have a photo you’ve taken that you’re proud of? Enter it into our Youth Photo Contest before June 1! Want to know more? Call Sharon at (912) 564-7526 or come to the library and ask! Now, on to the books! A SINGLE THREAD by Marie Bostwick. The moment Evelyn Dixon set foot in New Bern, CT she realized that this was the town where she could make her dream of opening a quilt shop become reality. Once she does, she meets Abigail Burgess and her niece Liza, who are at odds following Liza’s mother’s death, and Margot Matthew, victim of corporate downsizing. Can their shared love of stitchery bind them together in the face of the unexpected? This site and more can be found at www.sjrls.org or on our blog at sjrls.blogspot.com Tweenbots Take a cardboard robot with a little flag asking people to help the robots find their way to their destination. Set it loose in the wilds of New York City, and be amazed at what happens when tough New Yorkers meet a lost and helpless cardboard creation. Well, that’s all for now - see you at the library! School systems have until May 15 to offer teacher contracts Gov. Sonny Perdue recently signed House Bill 455 into law. The law gives school systems across the state an extra month to offer teacher contracts for next school year. Many systems are facing tight financial constraints because of the economic down turn, and the extra month will provide additional time to deter mine the number of teachers needed for the upcoming year. School districts now have until May 15, rather than April 15, to extend contracts and teachers have until June 1, rather than May 1, to accept their contracts. The law also extends the sunset on the Master Teacher pro gram, and ends the additional supplement to teachers who have leadership degrees that are not in leadership positions. Current teachers with these degrees will continue receiving the supple ment. Teachers currently enrolled in a leadership degree pro gram must receive the degree by July 1, 2010, to receive the supplement until they begin a leadership position. For more information on this legislation, please visit www.legis.state.ga.us. VISIT US ON THE WORLDWIDE WEB Alt WWW.THEMILLENNEWS.COM Letter to the Editor— Dear Editor: I was in Millen for Easter and wanted to let you know that the improvements Paula Herrington at the chamber. Mayor King Rocker and the team have been implement ing in hopes of attracting business to Millen are notice able. I immediately missed several old buildings and houses that have finally been removed. Mama, Tiffany and I went down to the new Mexican restaurant (excellent food) and downtown looks better than it has since the 1960’s. In these difficult times I just wanted to send some posi tive comments and good wishes! I have high hopes for Millen’s future. Best regards, Melanie Gay Zavitz Sugar Hill We Can Make It Happen NOW! If you own or have equity in your home, land, mobile home of car, you can get $1,000, $2,000 or more at Millen Loan and Finance Corporation. Call or come by and discuss your money needs with erg today. Monday through Friday 8:30 a-m.-5:30 p.m, Closed Saturday MILLEN LOAN and FINANCE CORP. 128 N. Gray Street -Millen 982-5644 The Millen News Deadlines THURSDAY AT NOON: Wedding Announcements Engagement Announcements Anniversary Announcements Birth Announcements School News Columns Memoriams and Thank You’s General News Items FRIDAY AT NOON: Chatter Box Items, Letters to the Editor, Datebook and Church News Items OBITUARIES Accepted until press time MONDAY-11 AM: Classified & Legal Ads MONDAY-NOON: Retail Display Ads