Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Page 4 — Wednesday, November 25, 2009, The Millen News Opinions, yours and ours The Chatter Box By Deborah Bennett The Millen News office will be closed Thursday and Friday this week for the Thanksgiving holidays. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with family and friends, counting our blessings and eating good food. Of course, it is always nice to count your blessings eveiy day. I wish all a safe and happy holiday! I found the following ‘Thanksgiving Weather Forecast" ’ and thought you might enjoy it. In the pre-Thanksgiving rash, we have received an early weather report from our in-house weather reporters. This is one you should be sure to email your Mom. Turkeys will thaw in the morning, then warm in the oven to an afternoon high near 190F. The kitchen will turn hot and humid, and if you bother the cook, be ready for a severe squall or cold shoulder. During the late afternoon and evening, the cold front of a knife will slice through the turkey, causing an accumulation of one to two inches on plates. Mashed potatoes will drift across one side while cranberry sauce creates slippery spots on the other. Please pass the gravy. A weight watch and indigestion warning have been issued for the entire area, with increased stuffiness around the beltway. During the evening, the turkey will diminish and taper off to leftovers, dropping to a low of 34F in the refrigerator. Looking ahead to Friday and Saturday, high pressure to eat sand wiches will be established. Flurries of leftovers can be expected both days with a 50 percent chance of scattered soup late in the day. We expect a warming Lend where soup develops. By early next week, eating pressure will be low as the only wish left will be the bone. Happy birthday this week to: Donnie Saxon, Rhonda Godbee, Ri chard Lockhart Jr., John Kenneth Bragg, Sally Kirkland, Victor Sweat, Faye Black and Roy Cheney Sr. Celebrating an anniversary this week are Mr. and Mrs. Phil Cowart. Military Active Duty List: PV2 Brianna Joiner, U.S. Army Na tional Guard, Ft. Benning, GA; 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 EricB. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Osan AFB, 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 HI, 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, 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 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. 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 $33.00 Outside of Georgia $39.00 Letters to the Editor Dear Editor: I am honored that Correction Corporation of American’s (CCA) spokeswoman Louis Grant thinks our tiny organization, the Private Corrections Institute (PCI), might exert a powerful influence in the Millen community (Letters, Nov. 4, 2009). In fact, CCA with $1.5 billion in annual revenues uses its power to drown out a great deal of factual public discourse regarding then operations. PCI’s single purpose is to edu cate the public on the issues aris ing from for-profit corrections. CCA’s only purpose is to profit off the imprisonment of human be ings. We think they’re doing that in a way that endangers their em ployees, the public and inmates and detainees. CCA would have the public be lieve that it’s the answer to all Jenkins County’s economic woes. A substantial body of long term, peer-reviewed, university and think tank research has demon strated the opposite is the case. The presence of then prisons typically represents drains on community resources and promotes economic stagnation. CCA claims to offer “well-pay ing, stable” jobs. If aperson is will ing to work under dangerous con ditions for fast-food wages with expensive benefits, and is comfort able with 50+ percent annual turn over rates, an unstable job might be waiting for them. Ms. Grant resorts to calling PCI names because she knows that the facts are on not on CCA’s side. If CCA wants Millen residents to believe it is so wonderful, the cor poration should publicly release turnover rates for all then facili ties, details of all the lawsuits against them and the number of escapes from and details of the violent incidents at their prisons and detention centers. With accurate information the public can actually make an in formed decision versus one driven by false promises, economic des peration and job uncertainties. Ms. Grant is well aware that anytime any CCA representative wants to publicly debate this is sue in Millen or elsewhere, PCI will be eager to oblige. For more information go to our webpage: www.privateci.org Sincerely Ken Kopczynski Tallahassee, Fla. Dear Editor: Over the past several weeks I have had the privilege of watch ing the Jenkins County High School One Act play perform “The Devil and Daniel Webster”. Everyone should be extremely proud of these high school stu dents and the excellent way they represented themselves, their school, their families and their community. They were once again Region 3A champions and State competitors but more than that they were a representation of all the positive, caring, committed qualities we all want to see in our young people. The time and effort they put forth to learn lines and rehearse is admirable. I give a standing ovation to each of them and then director and look forward to future one act plays which I know will be as well-pro duced, well-acted, and well-re ceived as ever. Encore, encore! Connie Fields Millen, Ga. Barrow votes to extend stimulus benefits Congressman John Barrow re cently voted to extend unemploy ment benefits, the homebuyer’s tax credit and tax relief for mili tary families and businesses. The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act will provide immediate assistance, ex tending relief to millions of work ers, families and businesses na tionwide. It will provide stability to American families hit hairiest by the recession. “Folks who have lost, or are on the verge of losing their unem ployment benefits need help right away,” said Barrow. The families who receive these benefits will be putting money right back into our local economy - buying grocer ies, filling their cars with gas and making then mortgage payments. This is good for families and good for the economy.” The extension is fully paid for and will provide immediate, ef fective stimulus to the local economy. The Congressional Budget Office has cited unem ployment benefits as one of the most cost-effective forms of eco nomic stimulus. Every dollar spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.63 in new demand, according to chief economist Mark Zandi. The legislation will provide families in all states with 14 weeks of additional benefits and six more weeks to the 27 states, including Georgia, with the highest unem ployment rates - where it is most difficult for workers to find em ployment. Workers in these high unemployment states who have exhausted or will soon exhaust then benefits will be eligible for a total of 20 additional weeks of emergency unemployment com pensation. The bill includes an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyers tax credit through April 30, 2010, and provides a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current residence for five years or more. It also helps military families struggling to make mortgage pay ments by making those payments tax exempt. To breathe life back into Ameri- can businesses suffering from huge losses, this bill allows U.S. companies to carry back losses incurred in either 2008 or 2009 'How o^ciiafy ceitifioatai. 'pcwtfieri ifoeti loved otteo a If 2 boon ecMioft pn &25 ot <i*t Aottn acotia*! $SO. 611 Cotton Avenue 478-494-5895 against income earned in any of help now. This extension will pro- the five prior years. vide relief to millions of unem- “We are working to turn this ployed Americans as they struggle economy around, but folks need to find work,” said Rep. Barrow. Georgia Wilderness Outfitters THE SOUTHEAST’S SPORTSMAN HEADQUARTERS We Now Have ARCHERY Equipment GET READY FOR DEER SEASON 40% OFF ON ALL ON TIME FEEDERS GUNS & SCOPES ON SALE NOW fe t i Wilderness On i tier 3 Open: Tuesday - Friday 9 am - 6 pm / Saturday 9 am - 3 pm Toll Free: (866) 564-2012 E-mail: gwo@windstream.net 120 N. Main Street • Sylvania, GA 30467 FRANK’S REA MARKET Auction Barn License #AU-C002788 Hi! We’re having an AUCTION! PLEASE PLAN TO JOIN US SAT., NOV. 28TH @ 6 PM 432 PERKINS ROAD - MILLEN,GA NOT SO NEW STUFF Call 478-494-0681 for more Info. ^Auctioneer: Marion Griffin GAL#3290 S 10% Buyer’s Premium