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Page 4 — Wednesday, July 15, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett I have received some information from Jim Hite that may be of interest to local citizens. According to Jim, "The cyclist who won the sprint here in Millen in the Tour de Georgia, Tyler Farrar, came in second place Sunday in the second day of the Tour de France. It’s his first Tour de France, and it was the first long race of the Tour from Monaco to Brignoles. He rides for Garmin Slipstream.” Who knows? Millen may one day lay claim to the fact that a famous Mr. Farrar came through our community once - like our claim that Charles Lindberg once flew over the city. For those of you who would like to write or send a card to Ronnie Perryman, the son of Helen Boone who was recently wounded in Afghanistan, his address is as follows: Ronnie Perryman, Kunar PMT COP Fiaz, PRI Asadabad, APO AE 09354. The Jenkins County Development Authority recently assumed the responsibility of operating the Bo Ginn Aquarium at Magno lia Springs State Park. Individuals and businesses that have made donations toward the expense of operating the facility are: J. C. Douglas, Jeff Brantley, Ed Fuller, Steve Burke, Robert Jenkins Jr., Mabel C. Jenkins, Paula Herrington, King Rocker, Bobby Dwelle, Dob son Gay Jr., Buddy Harvill, Jerry Henry, Randy Hill, Kellwood Industries, Superior Alarm and Dr. Bill Acton. Happy birthday this week to: Thomas Pope, Morgan Pickett, Brad Boynton, Mitchell ThompOson, Bridget Motes, Dale Reeves, Hunter Hall, David Gay, Cindy McBride, Amee Joiner, Cindy Brown, Rick Lineberry and Geneva Murray. Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Andy Dudley and Mr. and Mrs. Brien Linder. Military Active Duty List: PV2 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army, 59 th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; 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, Baharia, Iraq; 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 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 Of ficer 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 Battal- ion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, 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 Expeditionary 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., Mis sion 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 the Editor Letters to Dear Editor: Jenkins County observed an other successful Patriotic Cel ebration on Saturday night, July 3 rd . Thankfully, rain was not a threat this year, and Jenkins County citizens came out in record numbers to visit, eat, listen to the music and see the spectacular fireworks show. The community always comes together to make this event possible. Clay Boulineau and his staff took care of nu merous details necessary to stage a public event; Wade Parker and the Lions Club pro vided the flags for decoration; the Jenkins County Recreation Department permitted us to use the facilities. Our local elected officials Jim Hite contributed to the program: Mayor King Rocker and county commission board member Pam Dwight. Other local citi zens were generous with their time and talent: Colonel Wade and JROTC presented the col ors; Leroy Clayton and Will Gay performed patriotic music. Joe Sasser provided the sound system and served as DJ and master of ceremonies for the evening. The fireworks are always the big attraction. The financial contributors who made the show possible were Millen Loan and Finance; Thompson’s Corner; Planters EMC; James L. Alfriend, Foresters; Parker Engineering; Jenkins County Farm Bureau; The Dairy Queen; Linder Pharmacy; The Millen News', W. R. Toole En gineers, Inc.; Georgia Power; Team Insurance; Dr. Kyle Gay; R. H. Reeves, Attorney; Bobby Dwelle; Jenkins County Pro bate Office; Christy Bandy; Seth Benson; Millen City Council; and the Jenkins County Commissioners. The support and cooperation from everyone was outstand ing. Art Johnson Millen Better Hometown Dear Editor: If you have been on Cotton Avenue lately, you couldn’t help but notice all the construc tion. It seems like a lot of roads are torn up in Millen right now. Unemployment rates continue to be high; the economy struggles to improve; busi nesses have closed. Yet, the construction is happening in the midst of it. I, for one, am excited. This will be my sixth Christmas at The Charm Barn, and I am looking forward to it. Many economists say, “Now is the time to expand.” I am taking them at their word. Things may look dim, but I choose to look on the bright side. Soon, we will have new sidewalks, green space and lamp posts. My hope is that there will also be new and renewed interest in our special hometown. Sincerely, Terri Reeves IGNORANT CITIZENS By Jim Hite A very interesting column came to my attention over the Fourth of July weekend entitled “Ignorant citizens.” A group of Arizona high school students were recently sur veyed on their knowledge of U.S. history and civics by the Phoe nix-based Goldwater Institute. The survey found that only 3.5 percent of the students could answer enough questions correctly to pass the test given to immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship. Only 25 percent identified Thomas Jefferson as the author of the Declaration of Independence, while the vast majority had no idea of who is in charge of the executive branch, what is the supreme law of the land, or how many justices are on the Supreme Court. Last year a survey found about half of 17-year-olds knew noth ing about Joseph McCarthy, a Senator in the 1950s whose ac tions coined a new term in our nation’s lexicon: McCarthyism. In 2006, a national assessment test given to twelfth graders found one-third lacked basic knowledge about civics. I wonder how adults would fare on the same sort of question ing. In our now confrontational approach to different ideas, so many speak without knowledge, spouting well-worn cliches that shed Commercial Cleaning After Construction Churches - Janitorial Q & C MULTI-SERVICES Reuben Cooper 706-231-5247 706-796-9906 no light, but show only ignorance and prejudice and lack of thought. The column closed with a suggestion that the 100-question citizenship test be made part of the curriculum and passage of the test a graduation requirement. Could we add to that a suggestion that it be a requirement for anyone who is allowed on talk radio? Postscript: On the Fourth of July, two brothers who are serv ing in the U.S. Army in Iraq and have aced the citizenship test, Victor and Miguel Mendoza, spoke the oath of allegiance in Baghdad and became U.S. citizens. They were among some 6,000 aspiring Americans who became citizens in the days surround ing the Fourth in ceremonies from Sacramento to Camp Lejeune to Baghdad. These new citizens include some 500 members of our Armed Forces from among the 65,000 immigrants serving in our military, one-third of them legal residents but not yet citi zens. The words “support and defend” have special meaning for the Mendozas as they are on duty fighting for their adopted na tion, Miguel in his second tour. How many of us could, like them, pledge our allegiance if we had had to earn our citizenship rather than having it handed to us with our birth certificates? IB HOME AUCTION 140 GEORGIA HOMES „ including Several mThis Area Ml DS0N& Marshall JULY 21st -26th OPEN HOUSE: SATURDAY & SUNDAY JULY 18th & 19th 1:00 to 3:00 PM 2.5% TO BUYER AGENTS! Get All The Details At F ^1 F 1 EE 866-508-4872 GeorqiaHouseAuction.com $2,500 certified funds down payment per property. 5% Buyers Premium Added. 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