Opinions, yours and ours
The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

The Christmas season officially gets underway locally this Friday night with the Memorial Tree lighting and Christmas in Millen on Cotton Avenue. Santa will be on hand to greet local children and numerous other activities are planned.

I have been asked to spread the word that dogs, skateboards and bicycles will not be allowed at the event. For the safety of everyone, please abide by this request from the sponsors.

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I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta last week for the Georgia School Boards Association "Beacon" awards program. It has been many years since I have been in the big city, and I must admit the traffic was as intimidating as recalled. Fortunately, I was not driving. My sister Judy Joyner volunteered to drive. She obviously has nerves of steel! I have been told that you get used to it after awhile, but don't think I would ever become accustomed to the sudden lane switches, honking horns, bumper-to-bumper vehicles and traffic standstills. I enjoyed the trip, but it was great to get back on the open road of the Interstate and see the city fading away in the rear view mirror. I prefer the "green acres" of Jenkins County to the high-rise buildings of Atlanta.

Traffic on the other side of the highway was at a standstill for miles as we headed home. I hope those folks packed their suppers and sleeping bags!

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Happy birthday this week to: Tommy Myers, Jean Skinner, Wanda Rhodes, Fab Black, Justin McBride, Jessica Haley Godbee, Gilda Rackley, Anna Renee Godbee and Alex Johnson.

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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.