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Page 4 — Wednesday, June 10, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett “Kudos” to all involved in last Saturday’s Anthrax Exer cise. The activity was a huge success, thanks to extensive planning of the sponsors, the Jenkins County Health Depart ment and East Central Health District, and tremendous sup port from the public. The Millen News is a recent recipient of the third place award in the “Education Coverage” category of the Georgia Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest. The award was presented during the organization’s annual meeting which was held this past weekend. The poll question on our website last week was, “How do you feel about having to have a ticket to attend commence ment exercises at Jenkins County High School Friday, May 29?” Responses, as of Monday morning, were as follows: Good Idea - 17; Bad Idea - 12; Don’t Understand - 4; and Don’t Care - 3. To participate in this week’s poll, go to http:// www.themillennews.com. Happy birthday this week to: Otis Becton, Allyson Will iams, Trevor Weathersby, Susan D. Godbee, Gayla Landing, Bryan Weatherford, Brian Richards, Rew Herrmann, Chuck Richardson, Ray Boynton, Bryce Cranshaw, Sarah Jenkins and Vincent Troisi. Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. David Gay. 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 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; Senior Airman 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 Com mander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Aus tralia; 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, Nor folk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette De stroyer; 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 Ex peditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Rob ert 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 Frank M. Edenfield Editor 1946-1985 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 Jim Hite CONTROVERSY BREWS OVER FOOTBALL UNIVERSITY An interesting news article came to my attention some time ago that may be worth a comment. We’re all aware of the various summer camps available to youngsters, from church to art to athletics. But here’s a twist. An honor student at Woodward Academy in Atlanta works out daily to pursue his dream of playing football for Florida. He has a personal trainer, attends football camps throughout the summer, and has played in a national all-star football game in which he made a catch witnessed on the Internet by thou sands. He is 14 years old. Thousands of like youngsters are being cultivated by a com pany called Football University (FBU), the organizer of the U.S. Army High School All-American game broadcast on NBC. FBU holds an underclassman all-star game the same week end. FBU was in Henry County earlier this month searching for the nation’s top sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade talents. The cost for the three days: $549. From Henry County, a few will be invited to a select camp in Orlando next month. From there, a select few will be in vited to participate in the all-star game in San Antonio. Controversial? You bet! Northview Football Coach Jim Showfety calls this “utterly preposterous. It’s ridiculous.” He says the kids are too young, adding that it will cause conflict between high school coaches and scouts as is now so evident in AAU basketball. From the private coaches’ point of view, Oscar Dillard charges $50 per session and $250 for three-day football camps, adding that such programs will help get a child noticed by recruiters. He adds: “Why would you put your child’s future solely in the hands of his high school coach?” Obviously, high school coaches bristle at this attitude, see ing such programs as FBU undercutting theirs as happens in AAU. Youngsters become spoiled, think they are above coach and teammates —All this with parental support! Speaking of parents, what about kids not chosen to advance? If parents put out so much money and their child is left off the roster for the next step, what happens? Pick your own scenario. I’m well aware my attitude is colored by experiences as athlete and coach in a different time. When I retired from high school coaching, changes had already come, especially AAU basketball. I saw the controversy up close: I was Geor gia AAU President in the mid-1980s. Didn’t like it then. Still don’t. HAWK & ASSOCIATES, RC. Victor C. Hawk Melissa Detchemendy Need Help? Call: 478-982-4226 (day) or 706-294-4447 (night) American Trial Lawyers Association Southern Trial Lawyers Association Georgia Trial Lawyers Association Office located in The Millen News Building 856 E. Cotton Ave., Millen, GA FOR SALE TO HIGHEST BIDDER The building known as the Dr. Abreu Building and the land behind, will be sold oy sealed bid by the Jenkins County Hospital Authority. The building may be inspected by contacting the administrative office at Jenlcins County Hospital. The bids will be opened at the Jenkins County Hospital Authority meeting on June 15th, 2009. A minimum bid of $85,000.00 will be required. Mail bids to Jenkins County Hospital Authority, 931E. Winthrope Ave, Millen, GA. 30442. Mark on outside of envelope, "BID ON ABREU BLDG" Jenkins County Board of Commissioners Single Economy Denture $195 Augusta Dental Center p.c J. Michael Scott DMD Locally Owned • We accept Cash, Visa, MC, Discover, AmEx, GA Medicaid Simple Extraction $35. 00 Dentures - Full Economy Set Surgical Extraction $75. 00 Starting at $350.°° Partials Starting @ $395. 00 Porcelain Crowns Full Mouth X-Ray $495.°° $35.°° IMMEDIATE DENTURES • Teeth Extracted • Dentures or Partials immediately • You never go without your teeth ' All Surgery & Extractions done in our office Open Mon-Fri 7:30 AM No Appointment Necessary 12th & Greene St. Downtown Augusta (across from Greyhound) Fees Valid Thru 2/28/09 706-721-4288 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