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WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2008 THE BANKS COUNTY NEWS PACE 5A Letters to the Editor Life’s little mysteries Comments on Rylee incident Dear Editor: I have read the comments in the paper regarding the Lori Rylee inci dent. What people don't see is that all who are making a big deal out of the situation in the papers are the ones who did not have their kids involved. The issue isn’t only that there might have been urine in the foun tain, but that Lori Rylee allegedly made a great error in judgment that day by forcing children against their will to drink from a fountain, then told them it had been urinated in it, then finally told them it had been cleaned. Then, she sent them back to their classes and told them, “Do not talk about this to anyone!” I ask you, if your child had been involved, would you like it if some one with authority took them and forced them to do something, led them to believe they had just drank from a nasty fountain, and then said, “Don’t tell anyone!” The comments suggested the kids fabricated the story, yet no one has denied that it actually happened. The teachers were telling the children afterwards, “It was just Mountain Dew.” It happened and there was the implication of urine for it to be important enough to pull 100 children out of class for more than 30 minutes (even those testing) to do this. Again, the issue isn’t that Lori Rylee hasn’t got the credentials or that she hasn’t done a good job for 13 years. It is the deci sion she made that exposed them to mental abuse and other issues. What happened that day cannot be changed, but it needs to be handled to make sure it won’t happen again to another child. Totally Disgusted, Helen Banks Responds to columns, letter Dear Editor: The opinions page of the last week’s The Banks County News was quite stimulating. Jana A. Mitcham reminded us how women struggled hard to get the vote, a shocking demand in the 1920s but now accept ed as normal. Chris Bridges reminded us of our rights to privacy and civil liberties, under attack since George Bush took office and persuaded Congess that Iraqis bombed the World Trade Center when it was really Saudis and Egyptians. The real surprise was the letter that blamed Democrats for our oil crisis. The writer said we could fix that problem by still more drilling so we could put more greenhouse gases in our air so we could experience more storms and drought. I thought of that old saying, when you're stuck in a hole the first thing to do is stop digging. In this case the conclusion is to stop drilling. In order to save our beautiful coast, the beaches, the shrimp nurseries and all that goes with it, we must avoid oil spills. Besides, wind turbines and solar panels produce electricity and leave no pollution behind. Sincerely, Adele Kushner Alto BanksnewsTODAY comments... continued from page 4A Is this for personal gratification of Cowboy Hart and his ten-gallon hat to show how much he rode rough shod over the good people of Banks County and that he will continue to do so until Milton Dalton takes over? Again, I would like to say that I am thankful that we will have a new chairman of commissioners for Banks County who has shown in the past that he is willing to work with the people and for the people and his personal gratification will not come from a pumped up ego but rather from knowing at the end of the day he has done what is right for the citizens of Banks County.” • •• “We have a donut shop in Banks County? Since 1996, Mr. Chapman has been the sheriff and now, since the opponent was not elected, every one has a problem with Mr. Chapman being the sheriff. How funny is that? I’m curious to know did the oppo nent think he was Buford Pusser? I also think it’s funny when the citizens of Banks County don’t think they have to assume responsibility for their stupid actions but put it off on the sheriff. “Nephew Johnny” has a drug problem and “cooking” him self up a little something while his kids are in the house. But the minute Sheriff Chapman comes and arrests him, all the family gets ticked and are ready for a new sheriff. Sheriff Chapman has always had “an open door policy,” so all of you with these wonderful ideas for changes need to run right on over there and tell him. If everyone liked the sheriff, my guess would be he wasn’t doing his job.” Banks County DFACS report given BY SHARON HOGAN Banks County Department of Family and Children Services Director Kenny Jarvis presented the monthly report to the board members at the monthly meeting on Wednesday. The report for June 2008 shows 1,830 active cases. There are 593 food stamp cases, 34 TANF cases, 698 family Medicaid cases, 514 adult MAO cases and 16 childcare cases. During the month of June Banks County DFACS received 55 applications for food stamps, nine TANF applications, 63 family Medicaid applications, 11 applica tions for childcare and 27 ABD applications. Banks County DFACS received 23 child protective services refer rals during the month of June with all 23 cases being accepted. Ten of these cases were accepted for investigation and 13 were accepted as diversions. The county has 17 on-going child protective services cases. Banks County has 12 chil dren in legal custody as of June compared to 17 one year ago. The county has five foster homes and one adoptive home. Three homes are currently under study. There are two children available for adoption in Banks County for June 2008. Banks County DFACS requested a total of $4,058 in coun ty funds for the month of June. Jarvis reported that 97.02 percent of the budget has been spent as of June 2008. To The Citizens of Banks County I sincerely thank you for your support and the vote given me to continue to serve as Sheriff. I am truly honored for this privilege. I look forward to continuing to serve you with the same commitment to this office and to you that I have given in the past. My door is always open to you. Thank you again for this great honor and privilige. CHARLES CHAPMAN SHERIFF Paid for by Charles Chapman A s a lifelong animal lover and owner, I continue to be amazed at the person alities and abilities of the creatures that share our home and our lives. The word “pet” just doesn’t do them justice, at least not around our house - they’re much more than that. Over the weekend we were get ting some wiring done in our house and during the process, a hole was opened up in our half-bath. My husband Charles had opened the hole a few days before the work was to be done, and we were all trying to be careful to keep the door closed to that room, knowing that any new crevice would represent an irresistible adventure to any self- respecting kitty. Everything went fine, the work was finished and all that was left was to close up the hole, when Charles walked away and forgot to close the door. I found the door standing open and began looking for cats, soon discovering that both our fulltime indoor cats, “George” and his sidekick “Felix” (better known as Possum) were MIA. We began looking under furniture, in closets, under beds, etc. Since George is deaf, there was no point in calling him, but we eventually found him, sound asleep under a bed. But Possum was nowhere to be found. Possum has his own issues - found as a tiny, nearly bald, feral margie richards kitten, he had a num ber of health problems to overcome and his sur vival was very iffy until he was about five months old. Between his baldness (his nose is still bald) and his strange corkscrew tail, he looked like some cross between a cat and a possum, hence the nickname. Because he was wild the first few months of his life, he still spooks easily (visitors who come to our home almost never get a glimpse of him) and so the idea of him being in a hole in the wall was an uncomfortable thought. We still thought that he could be just hiding out in one of his many secretive niches, so we decided to wait until he appeared or we heard him call out. In the meantime we closed the bathroom door to prevent any more missing felines. I was sitting in the living room a little later when I heard a loud “meow” from our bedroom. It was not Possum, but George who was calling (since he is deaf, his calls are extremely loud and plaintive). I found him in my dressing room, frantically climbing around on the table, knocking stuff everywhere. Then he climbed into the bath tub, which is on the other side of the hole and began clawing and calling even louder. Between his calls, from somewhere in the wall near the tub, I heard little Possum’s much quieter answering “mew.” I was amazed that George, though he can’t hear a thing, had appar ently woke up from his nap and somehow knew his companion was in distress. And not only that, he knew where to go try to help him. Well, to make a long story short, after I tempted Possum with his favorite food - chicken grilled Fancy Feast - and called to him for a while, Charles finally opened up another part of a wall and managed to coax him out. The two pals were reunited, though both were a little frazzled for the rest of the day. I am still amazed that George knew, some how, that his companion was in trouble. It just goes to show that we don’t know even a portion of the mysteries of this world, or of the creatures that live here with us. Anyone who’s had a pet that they love can attest to that. It just proves to me even more that we should respect all life. I knew that before a little deaf cat came into my life, he just reinforced it. Margie Richards is a reporter The Madison County Journal, a sister publication of The Banks County News. E-mail comments about this column to margie@mainstreetnews. com. Maysville DDA prepares city website BY JUSTIN POOLE The Maysville Downtown Development Authority is taking the reins in making plans for the city. After only a few meetings, the DDA has already started to take stock and look at things that can be done to improve the city. First on the agenda is a new city website that the DDA is going to pay for and have local web designer, Pat Outcalt, design that will serve as the new official website address for the city. According to DDA chairman, Melody Stancil, Outcalt has said that making links to existing web sites and linking to businesses in the city should not be a problem. The site will be hosted by Windstream Communications and will provide 30 mailboxes for the city to use. The estimated time before the new site will be up is six weeks. OTHER BUSINESS Also during the meeting Monday night, the DDA took the following action: •accepted the resignation of Ward 3 member, Catherine Daniels, who resigned due to scheduling conflicts. The city council will appoint a new member to fulfill the remainder of Daniels’ term. •finalized a schedule for when each member will attend a training session. •heard an update on the status of a Yahoo group created by member Chuck Floyd for DDA members to easily share information about meet ings and training. •discussed specifically inviting the mayor and members of the public to discuss areas of the city and how best to improve them for the benefit of the community. •discussed taking charge of some community activity events and pos sibilities for future events. YOUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE! You choose the term that’s right for you. BANK"' 0 ”' 1 "— Declare Your Independence Whether it’s home, business ownership, or early retirement, your American dream can be a reality with the right bank partnership. We are a true community bank committed to service and your success. Achieve financial independence with our special CD rate, and “you choose” terms. 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