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Page 4 — Wednesday, May 27, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett On Monday of this week, our nation celebrated Memorial Day. Lo cally, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hosted a dedication pro gram for the Memorial Monument the organization recently placed on the lawn of the Jenkins County Courthouse. Another nice way to remember those who lost their lives in service to our country is to support the ones who are presently serving in our military. Charlie Troop, 108 th Calvary Division, 4 th Platoon, has been deployed to Afghanistan for a year. Donations are being sought for the troops. Items needed include: letters or cards from “home” magazines, books, cookies, candy, baby wipes, crackers, ramen noodles, DVD’s, lotions, hand sanitizers, winter socks-black or green, gum, canned foods with pop-tops, pens, note pads, envelopes, stamps, puzzle books, canned cheese, hot chocolate packs, tea bags, plastic cutlery, paper plates, plastic cups, shampoo, conditioner, chapstick, sun screen, Skin-so-Soft, beef jerky, Vienna sausages, toothpaste, tooth brushes, dental floss and blan kets or quilts. Donations may be brought to Helen Boone in The Millen News build ing at 856 Cotton Avenue. The poll question on our website last week was, "Trustees of the Social Security program said this week that Social Security will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, and the trust fund will be depleted by 2037. How worried are you about this news?” Responses, as of Friday, May 22, were as follows: Very Concemed- 15; Moderately Concerned - 3; Slightly Concerned - 1; and No Con cerned - 3. A reader comment on the matter was, “I am concerned because I have grown children that would be affected by this.” To participate in this week’s poll, go to http:// www.themillennews.com. Happy birthday this week to: Tracy Herrington, Monica Weathersby, Ashley Williams, David Clifton, Quinnie Lane, Leslie Rowland, Jonathan Gay, Daniel McMillan, Cecelia Bragg Howell and Jon Weathersby. Military Active Duty List: Ronnie Perryman, Charlie Troop, 108 th Calvary Division, 4 th Platoon, Afghanistan; 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 King dom; Lance Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, Twenty Nine Palms, CA; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, haq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2 nd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Air man Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Ah' Force, Barksdale AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt Donald Slade Burke, 735thAir Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Rich mond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt Gilbert C. Sheppard HI, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Of ficer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Ha waii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy De stroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; 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; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kaufffnan, MM3 59/E-Division, A-Gang, Nor folk, 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. Letter to the Editor We have heard several testi monials that this truly “made a difference in their lives and in future decisions that they will make.” With grateful hearts, Sumer Holloway ’09 Prom Chair, JCHS Ruth Hearn Counselor, JCHS Jim Hite Dear Editor, As most of you know, a mock car crash took place at Jenkins County High School (JCHS) on Thursday, April 16. The purpose of this activity was to ensure the safety of our students on Prom night. The success of this event was a direct result of some very helpful individuals from this community. The mock accident would not have occurred without these in dividuals who took time out of their busy schedules to organize the events that took place on the day of the crash, at no cost to our school or county! Bob Fields, Dwayne Herrington, Henry Young, Robert Oglesby and staff are greatly appreciated by our school and commended for their contribution to JCHS and the community of Millen. Slade Holloway was responsible for bringing and staging the cars for the mock accident also. We thank each of you for the powerful impact you made on the lives of our students and faculty! 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 A SALUTE TO THE JROTC OF JCHS Last week’s Millen News presented a summary of the results in national competition by the Eagle Color Guard (third) and Drill Team (4 th ) along with pictures of the presentation of the many awards won by JROTC members. And what a JROTC we have at Jenkins County High School (JCHS)! Not only is there Color Guard and Drill Team, there is also a program within the JROTC called the Raiders, a team competi tion that includes Cross Country rescue (carrying a stretcher over a mile-long hilly, muddy, and wet obstacle course) and a rope bridge competition in which a team must cross water 60-100’ wide on a rope bridge the team itself installs. There are two- and five-mile team runs. In Raider competition, the Eagles finished fourth in Georgia, eighth in the nation. These competitions require a tremendous amount of dedica tion and most of all discipline. As is true in all competitions, it is the training and preparation that leads to final success. There are no short cuts. There is classroom work, there is outside work. There are study, drills, and marching. There is the demand of proper dress. There is the demand that grades be kept up in order to remain in the program. Yet Jenkins County JROTC is one of the NATION’S best. Re The Satellite Man SATELLITE TV - SATELLITE INTERNET - HOME SECURITY (478) 982-4499 DIRECTV Call NOW! Get DirecTV's BEST OFFER PLUS NASCAR HotPass FREE *i!l rei tfrt KciPwe", Compliments of DIRECTV ihillh aiitvisi&h * &zlt 72et<zil& attd Aatedt 476.583,1475 Mon., Tue.. Thu. & Fri. 9-6 430 Perkins Road Wed, 9-12 Sat, 8:30-12 ; ,>: r request. Perkins, Georgia 30822 member, this unit from a Class A school competes against schools with as many as 4000 students, maybe larger, from across the country. In Georgia, the Eagles were in front of schools up to class AAAAA. The Color Guard presents the colors at the Millen Milers and More-hosted Georgia Cross Country championship held in No vember at Magnolia Springs. And as Joyce and I follow her sons’ football teams across the state on fall Fridays and watch other schools’ Color Guards present the colors, not one does it as well as our own JCHS JROTC. It is obvious that such a fantastic program is not possible with out leadership. This is a relatively new program and its success is due to the leadership of Command Sergeant Major Hayward Thompson and Colonel Ken Wade. All of us who take pride in our young people, who take pride in their accomplishments, owe a debt of gratitude to the leadership of Sergeant Thompson and Colonel Wade. May I say on behalf of all of us: We salute you! 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