The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

The Millen News will be closed Thursday and Friday this week for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am thankful for the few days off. I am also thankful that I have a job to come back to on Monday. Many in our community are not so fortunate.

It is easy to give thanks for our blessings. Expressing thankfulness in times of trial or trouble, however, is more difficult. I hope that we all will realize that despite the hard times that have fallen upon Jenkins County, most of us still have a lot for which to be thankful - life, health, family and friends - to name a few.

Giving thanks is easy when we recognize that it is a "choice" we must consciously make, rather than an "emotion" based upon the outcome of some situation or circumstance. So, let's count our blessings and be thankful this holiday season and all through the coming year. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

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Parental Warning! The film "The Golden Compass", based upon a children's book written by Philip Pullman, is set for release Dec. 7. You may want to do a little research before deciding whether or not to allow your children to see this one. There has been a lot of controversy concerning its religious implications with some theologians deeming it as having an "anti-Christ agenda."

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Happy birthday to: Bill Knight Sr., Larry Johnson, Elene Bragg, Chase Wilkerson, Larry Adams, C.J. Waters, Christen Hooks, Larry Johnson, Sherry Smith, Rhonda Godbee, Roy Owens and Jacob Burke.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries this week are: Mr. and Mrs. Matt Wallace, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Landing, Mr. and Mrs. Phil Cowart and Mr. and Mrs. Don Burke.

Military Active Duty List: PV2 Ashley Clifton, U.S. Army, Yongsan, Korea; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, 2nd Marine Division, F.A.S.T. Company, Bahrain, Persian Gulf; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Ali Al Salem AFB, Kuwait; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, Camp Taji, Iraq; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; SPC Grade E4 Arthur Lamont Milton Jr., HHC 1-36 Infantry Support, Friedberg, Germany; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 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; LCPL Dwain "Cade" Lee, 1st Marine Division Combat Service Support Group II Security Element, ArRamadi, Iraq; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion-Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat 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.