Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Page 4 — Wednesday, August 5, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett As most of you know, I became a "grandma” twice earlier this year. Jaylee is now almost seven months old, and Ty just turned four months old. The two of them are more precious than words can describe, and I am enjoying life as “Nana.” I have discovered, however, that things have changed a bit over the years. Bottles are a lot more complicated. Just putting them together re quires written instructions! Diapers now "inflate” when they become wet, so there is no guessing if the baby needs to be changed. If the diaper is suddenly bigger than they are, it's time. And baby wipes are what you use to get the job done, not a wet washcloth. When you’re through, they go in a “diaper genie” not just a plain diaper pail. Most baby swings no longer swing from front-to-back but from side-to-side, and baby monitors are required equipment for the nursery. A "pack and play” serves as a crib and a play pen, and it is portable. Diaper bags no longer look like book bags, but come in all sorts of designer colors, sizes and shapes. Pacifiers come in an assortment of rainbow colors so that you can color-coordinate them to the baby’s outfit. Burpies” are what you use when they spit up, not a cloth diaper, and all baby toys claim to serve some sort of "educational” purpose. (Their value seems to be lost on my two grandchildren, however. Jaylee prefers a piece of paper to crumple, and Ty likes just watching every one else.) Some things, however, have not changed. Grandchildren will always be capable of stealing their grandparents' hearts. Yes, I now understand what my mother-in-law meant when she told me that she could "eat them with a spoon.” The poll question on our website last week was, “Forty years has passed since man first landed on the moon. Would you like to see NASA pursue a manned flight to Mars?” Responses, as of Monday morning, were as follows: Yes - 14; No - 23; and Undecided - 2. To participate in this week's poll go to: http:// www.themillennews.com. Happy birthday to: CJ. Jones, Melvin Siebert, George Robert Dudley Jr., Jeanette Becton, Karen Lane, Cody Burch, Chris Cranshaw, Jessica Herrmann, Jessica Murray, Donna Chance, Roger Black, Colin Chance, Evie Wiggins, Jeanette Becton, Joyce Thompson, Don Burke and Rosa Hill. Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Mannie Manuel. 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, Washing ton, 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, Rich mond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 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 Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Bat- talion-Augusta, Persian Gulf; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Com bat 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; 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. “Our kids haven't even started back to school, and already we have homework!" Recreation department holds baseball camp The Jenkins County Recreation Department held a baseball camp June 29-July 2 with Tyrone Mingle as instructor. He played with the Anaheim Angels in 2004 and is a graduate of Screven County High School where he lettered in base ball, football and basketball. Fifteen participants worked on basic fundamentals and the men tal aspect of the game. The boys held a Homerun Derby as well as practice games. On July 21, each participant was honored with a certificate of par ticipation for the successful completion of the camp. Special awards were also given at this time as follows: Most Improved - Christian Waters; Best Homerun Hitter - John Martinson; Best Hit ter - Ashton Solomon; Best De fense - Bo Pierce; Best Effort - Garrison Underwood and Biyce Joyner; Sportsmanship - Jermery Gay; Best Catcher - John Martinson; Best Pitcher - Cannon Griffin; Best All-Around - Cad Davis and Ja’Quan McClain; Hustle Award - Chase Thompson; Camper of the Week - Gavin Underwood; and Eagle Awards - Jermery Gay, Jacob Oglesby, Case Burke and Wilkes Black. Participants in the baseball camp were, from left, first row: Jermery Gay, Bo Pierce, Jacob Oglesby, Christian Waters, and Case Burke; second row: John Martinson, Bo Pierce, Jacob Ogelsby, Ashton Solmon, Chase Thompson, Cannon Griffin, Garrison Underwood and Ja’Quan McClain; and back row: Instructor Tyrone Mingle, Bryce Joyner, Cad Davis and Assistant Instructor Aaron Tanner. Not pictured: Wilkes Black (Photo contributed) Local students graduate Georgia Southern More than 20,000 family and friends were in attendance as Georgia Southern Univer sity presented degrees to one of its largest-ever graduating class at Spring Commence ment May 9. Local students receiving their diplomas were: Brittany Thomas, bachelor of science in Biology majoring in Biol ogy; Haley Lindsey, master of education majoring in Coun selor Education; Geoffrey- James Daniel, bachelor of sci ence in Kinesiology majoring in Exercise Science; Charles Gay, bachelor of business ad ministration majoring in Fi nance/Financial Services; Donovan Sharkey, bachelor of general studies majoring in General Studies; Joseph Sasser, bachelor of science in Information Technology ma joring in Information Technol ogy/Telecommunications and Network Administration; and Stephanie Swinson, bachelor of business administration majoring in Marketing/Fi nance Merchandising. 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 Herrington retires After 28 years of service in the Dietary Depart ment at Jenkins County Hospi tal, Sarah Herrington recently retired. A reception in her honor was held last week at the hospital. (Staff photo by Deborah Bennett) 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