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CONTACT US AT P.O. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603, LETTERS@FLAGPOLE.COM
OR VIA THE “TALK BACK TO US” LINK AT FLAGPOLE.COM
DULY NOTED
I think Mr. McCommons owes his readers
an apology for his failure to even mention the
recent decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals
ordering the Athens-Clarke County government
to open the Jennifer Stone murder files. A for
mer UGA student, she was murdered and sexu
ally assaulted on Apr. 23, 1992. It should also
be noted that while Pete did found the former
Athens Observer, he was not the owner during the
period when Elton Manzione wrote and the own
ers published a series of excellent investigative
articles on this subject during the 1995-1996
period. Copies of these articles are on microfilm
at the UGA Library and
in a vertical file at the
Heritage Room in the
Athens public library.
Mr. Manzione, an out
standing journalism
graduate from UGA and
former colleague of
Pete McCommons, even
won a national award
for investigative journalism for his work on the
former school Superintendent Ballentine affair
also involving lawyer Tolley, who was president
of the school board at the time, when his wife
also worked there.
Shame on you Pete for your failure to mention
this most vital piece of news in Athens, and the
failure of the government to comply with this
court order.
Winfield J. Abbe
From Flagpole.com
PURCHASE FOR FLAGPOLES
Hello.... Am Derreck and will like to make
some purchase from u, Well my purchase is re
garding for Aluminum Flagpoles. So i will like to
know if u carry 20-25 ft 30-35 ft 40-80 ft Advice
back with the size u carry on this instock. And
could u advice back with the price range. Kindly
advice back as soon as u can and i will be wait-
ting forward to hear from u asap. Thanks. Cole.
Derreck Cole
Email
ENQUIRY
Hello This is Felix Copson do you carry Flag
pole in siz$ 4o feet 150 gram? can you email me
with the prices of that then i will let you know
the quantity i need to Order i am ordering this to
my Orphanage home pis do email me with your
phone number and let me know if you accept
Visa card or mastercard or cashiers check as form
payment. Thank you.
Felix Copson
Email
DELIVERY REQUEST
Sir, what is the cost to deliver one 24' flag
pole with 6' flag to Indianapolis, IN? And what is
the lead time? The flagpole will be installed at a
building roof, concrete roof. I hope to hear from
you early next week.
Danny Beh
Email
STAFF ACCORDINGLY
When you have sold X amount of tickets
for a concert, don't you staff accordingly? One
would think so, but not the people in charge of
concerts at the Grand Hall at the Classic Center.
There is nothing like spending 35 bucks for a
musician you are real excited about seeing and
spending 75 percent of the night in a beer cage/
4 FLAGP0LE.C0M • APRIL 18,2007
line with three poor bartenders trying their hard
est to keep up with the demand. Please correct
this. Classic Center, before you go down as the
worst venue ever! Just staff for the amount of
tickets sold. With all the other great venues in
town, you must keep up.
Scott Seale
Athens
JAMES DOBSON
I must object to the letter to the editor writ
ten to the Athens Banner-Herald on Wednesday,
Apr. 4, titled "Column unfairly attacked Christian
leader Dobson." James Dobson does not "teach
pastors and families to
understand homosexu
ality." Dobson believes
that homosexuality is
"curable." If he thinks
that homosexuality
is a condition or a
disorder that requires
a cure, it should be
immediately evident
that he does not understand homosexuality, and
therefore cannot teach others to understand it.
For being the "most genuine, sincere and
compassionate Christian leader of our times,"
Dobson holds some controversial opinions. For
example, he advocates tax credits for private
religious schools. A strong proponent of patriar
chal society, Dobson insists that women should
not work outside the home, and he is critical of
efforts to increase female leadership in both the
family and the government. He denies the possi
bility of global warming, and he frequently urges
his followers to ignore environmental concerns in
favor of more important issues, such as spanking
their children and voting Republican.
And, of course, there is his radical political
activism, hinging on his influence in the evan
gelical community. In accordance with his words
and his actions, we should label James Dobson
what he is: a radical sectarian cleric with a hard
core conservative agenda as long as your arm.
His obsessions affect his followers in ways that
are,Jn my opinion, unhealthy and unpatriotic,
advocating sectarian loyalty over values such as
community and solidarity.
Michael Uhall
Athens
RENTS UP
I'm reading through the classifieds here in
town and I am growing bewildered at the price
of rent. If you think much about it, this is your
poverty problem: Profiteering "landlords" are
double-stacking rent prices for absurdly crappy
places. And, this cycle will continue, and prices
will only increase. It's a bitch, and nothing is go
ing to change the fact that some crackpot entre
preneurs are going to keep this city on the cusp
of progress, but never actually there. I would
expound this point, but it is elementary, my dear.
Daniel L. Breault
• Athens
HEALTHCARE BROKEN
Question: When does four ounces of Motrin
(Ibuprofen) cost $84? Answer: In an emergency
situation when your 15-month-old toddler most
needs it
Last Saturday morning, we brought our
daughter (Rocio) to Athens Regional Medical
Center with a temperature of 105. This was the
first time our baby had become seriously sick. We
were panic-stricken. We waited for what seemed
like forever before the nurses could find time
to do the initial work of taking blood. During
the four hours we waited for results and advice,
our daughter's temperature dropped to accept
able level and Rocio was busy "rearranging" the
waiting room's decor, magazines and toys and
generally causing the chaos at which she is so
accomplished.
The illness turned out to be a simple 24-hour
virus. By that afternoon, all was well, until we
got the bill of $1171 plus doctor's charges. We
had no idea 10 minutes of a physician's time and
simple in-house blood tests could cost more than
two weeks of most people's after-tax wages.
The problem is, once you are in the hospital
doors and have signed the "I will pay anything
you can imagine to bill me for" document, you
are stuck. So what does one do? It was either
bringing our daughter in to get reasonable help
or endanger her life. I guess the point is that we
do not have a recognizable health care system
and every one of us-is being hurt by this. Forty-
five million people cannot pay for what we are
told is the best healthcare system in the world.
Sorry, but it does little good if you cannot afford
to get in the door.
Our objective was to safeguard our daughter's
health. I do not know that there was another
recourse for us to have taken. Unfortunately,
when entering into the healthcare system, one
becomes powerless and at the mercy and vagaries
of the hospital. You do not know what they are
charging or why. In short, you are obliged to
act in faith that they have your best interests in
mind regardless or whether that be true or not.
Our experience has left us feeling we've been
taken advantage of and cheated by an institution
that we generally see as a safe haven and a place
we count on to be cared for.
I have contacted the Georgia Department of
Regulatory Services, the department that licenses
hospitals. They say they regulate the quality of
health care but not the cost. I wonder how these
two points can be separated. Next, I contacted
the Georgia Department of Consumer affairs. They
told me that this issue was not in their job de
scription. So where does that leave us? I think,
in short, we are stuck. If I cannot pay or choose
not to pay, the hospital will send a collection
agency after me and ruin my credit, regardless of
what is a reasonable fee for their services. I am
held prisoner here, like anyone who gets sick in
this country.
I do not have a simple solution other than
starting by recognizing that our healthcare
system is broken. It is not a problem that one
frustrated father can solve. I do not know why
medical care is so much more expensive than it
was just a few years ago. Could it be the admin
istration and legal costs? Neither of which help
my little daughter in the least. Unfortunately, we
all get sick and something needs to be done and
hard decisions need to be taken by our elected
officials. In a recent poll, health care was the
number one concern of Americans and it is not
going to resolve itself. But maybe we can start
by holding our politicians responsible to quit
their squabbling and act by representing our con
cerns and return to some common-sense basics.
My daughter is back up and running around. I
will pay my bill because I fear the consequences
of not paying. My health insurance will negotiate
some of this bill, but I will end up paying more
this month to them than they are saving me. I
am sending this letter off to all the local news
papers, state and federal politicians, the local
hospitals and friends. Do as you may with these
thoughts, but do something.
Gene Palusky
Email
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