Newspaper Page Text
Page 4 — Wednesday, October 7, 2009, The Millen News
Opinions, yours and ours
The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett
The new voice you hear answering the telephone at the news office
is that of Melissa Grier. We welcomed her to our staff Oct. 1 through
the Experience Works program.
Melissa is a recent graduate of Swainsboro Technical College with
a diploma in Business Office Technology, and she holds a Microsoft
Office Specialist certificate. She will be working the front desk which
means that I will be able to get out and about again covering the news.
Welcome, Melissa!
Those attending the Oct. 1 town meeting received some encourag
ing news from local leaders with the announcements that Doctor’s
Hospice of Georgia, Inc. has signed a Letter of Intent to locate a hos
pice hospital here and that the Corrections Corporation of America
was bidding on the location of a 1,000 bed facility in Jenkins County.
With so many of our citizens out of work, this was hopeful news. I
look forward to hearing more about both projects.
A public meeting has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at
the new school gymnasium to discuss the “prospect” of the location
of the prison in Jenkins County. This is a veiy important meeting, and
everyone is encouraged to attend.
The annual Fair-on-the-Square was another success stoiy. Atten
dance was good, and all reports indicate that it was a day of fim-filled
activities. Kudos to all involved.
Happy birthday this week to: Howard Siebert, Shirley Herrmann,
Kim Garvin, Johnny Thomas, Harold Moore, Jay Bowers, Shirline
Dudley, Jody Bowers, Gail Bassett, Nancy Blanchard, Caroline
McTeer, Kristby W. Wallace, Johnny Becton Jr. and Daniel Smith.
Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Jones,
Mr. and Mrs. Bobby James, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Cook, Mr. and Mrs.
Dana Edenfield and Mr. and Mrs. Midge Chance.
Military Active Duty List: PV2 Brianna Joiner, U.S. Army Na
tional Guard, Ft. Leonardwood, MO; PV2 Jeremy Johnson, U.S.
Army, 59 th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Ronnie
Perryman, Charlie Troop, 108 th Calvary Division, 4 th Platoon, Af
ghanistan; 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, OsanAFB,
Korea; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1 st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas;
Capt. Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detach
ment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond,
Australia; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard LH, 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 Divi
sion, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18thMEDCOM, 121 General Hospi
tal, 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, Per
sian 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 “CJ.” 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
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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):
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“Don't think of it as an increase in allowance, Dad.
Think of it as doing your part to stimulate the economy!"
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor:
I am someone who has never
written a letter to the editor but
have the following thoughts to
be weighing heavy on my heart
and decided that it was time. Last
year, during spring break, my
family and I went to San Fran
cisco, Cal. for a vacation. We got
one of those wonderful deals in
which you could stay in a very
nice hotel, cheap air fare, etc. San
Francisco and the surrounding
area was absolutely beautiful but
not one time did my family go
out our hotel, eat a meal, or sight
seeing that we did not also see
homeless people. They were ev
erywhere, sleeping in the comers
of building entrances, digging
out of trash cans and begging for
money. I found my thoughts
traveling back to a place called
Millen, Ga. where I work at least
190 days out of the year. Like a
ton of bricks it hit me that
Jenkins County may be one of
the poorest counties in these
United States and in the state of
Georgia, and yet, I don’t see the
homeless like I saw them in San
Francisco and other areas that I
visit. I am always amazed that
even though we as a community
are in financial crisis, those that
are able never fail to take care of
those who are in need.
Jim Hite
As a counselor at the elemen
tary school I deal with kids ev
ery day and their families who
don’t even have the "necessities”
of life. However, I never worry
for very long because all I have
to do is put the word out there
for a need and someone always
steps up to the plate. One time
in my adult life there was an ex
treme need at my house. I had a
terminally ill little boy, along
with three other wonderful chil
dren who needed care. Had it not
been for the kindness and gen
erosity of the folks in Millen, as
well as Sylvania, my family
would have lost everything.
Folks in Millen have always
taken care of their own. So, we
can take pride in being a part of
this community and can hold our
head up high. Even in the worst
of times, this community rallies
together and pulls together. I am
so proud to be a part!
KimAlsup
Millen
Dear Editor,
The town hall meeting on Oc
tober first drew a large crowd.
We all came to what was touted
as ‘workforce development’ but
actually turned out to be a straw
poll for the building of a prison
in Jenkins County. That was
dishonest and deceptive. Those
of us who oppose the building
of a prison (private, state or fed
eral) in Jenkins County were left
out of the vote and therefore your
vote is flawed from the start.
The representative from Cor
rections Corporation of America
(CCA) stated that their prison
would be an economic boost for
this county. Wow, that sounds
good. Before we jump into this
nice warm bath let’s ask a few
questions about what’s in the tub.
First, who will be responsible
for providing water and sewage
for the facility? If it is our respon
sibility then how much will it
cost? Where will we get the
money?
Second, who will feed all
those people? Will they have
their own kitchen? Will they buy
their supplies locally?
Third, where will the inmates
come from? Will they be from
metropolitan areas? If so, which
metro areas? What will be the
racial make up, and what impact
will that racial make up have on
our local race relations?
Fourth, what concessions are
being made by our local govern
ment to entice CCA? If there arc
concessions, then how will those
concessions affect the taxpayers?
Fifth, what are the require
ments for employment with
CCA? What percentage of local
citizens will qualify for employ
ment as opposed to those who
will come from other areas and
take their spending money some
where else?
Sixth, what will be the impact
on our local law enforcement
departments? If a prisoner es
capes, will we have to hunt them
down?
Seventh, will we have to pro
vide public defenders for in
mates who commit crimes while
incarcerated in this prison?
Eighth, what impact will the
prison population have on local
contractors? Will prisoners be
put to work on jobs that are be
ing done by local citizens? Jobs
like carpentry, plumbing, electri
cal and painting for public works
and non-profit organizations?
Ninth, what will the environ
mental impact of all the trash and
sewage generated by the prison?
Will the river be polluted?
Tenth and last, how will the
prison affect our taxes? Will
rental prices rise and property
values escalate causing all of us
to pay higher taxes?
Wayne Salter
Suburbs of Perkins
WORKING TOGETHER SOLVES PROBLEMS
While the economy of our country has been a source of personal
hardship for millions of citizens, a report from the Corporation for
National and Community Service, the agency which oversees
AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and other service programs, says that
millions are increasing their generosity, if not in money, then in time.
The Giving USA Foundation recently reported a decline in chari
table giving for the first time since 1987. But more and more Ameri
cans are donating their time to others based on Census Bureau fig
ures. That number was estimated to be 61.8 million in 2008, up 2
percent from the previous year. And while over one-fourth of Ameri
cans continued to donate their time, young adults (16-24) increased
in number by 5.7 percent.
The largest area of increase was the 31 percent increase of people
who worked with neighbors to solve local problems from food banks
to suicide prevention.
The highest rate of volunteering, again according to the report, is
found in the states of Utah (43.5 percent) and Nebraska (38.9 per
cent).
With the media seemingly filled to the brim with reports of con
troversy and stubborn refusal to cooperate to solve some real basic
problems in our country, this information is a breath of fresh air. It
shows that millions are looking for ways to solve what problems
they can. They may be able to do little about the big picture, but they
look around locally and then act.
We know we’re going through a rough patch right here in Jenkins
County. Of course, there have always been problems of one kind or
another here as in all communities. However, with all that’s hap
pened here over the past few years, it now seems absolutely over
whelming.
Yet there are hundreds of our own citizens who continue to vol
unteer their time to helping their fellow-citizens and to improving
what they can of the quality of life here in our home county. And
from what I read and see, there arc dozens more joining them.
The point of all this?
A public "thank you” to those who, over the years, have given
and continue to give their time on behalf of others, and to those who
have recently joined this volunteering community.
Finally, realize that the needs are legion.
Come join!
The Millen News
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