The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

An open house for the new Jenkins County High School gymnasium was held Sunday afternoon with those in attendance touring the facility. I was very impressed with what I saw.

If you have ever attended a basketball game at the present gym, you are aware of how crowded and uncomfortable the bleachers can become. The new facility features stadium-style individual seats with ample room for getting in and out of them. There is also a stage area that can be utilized when conducting other school programs and activities.

The new facility, funded through a voter-approved one-cent Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST), is a great addition to the local high school, complementing the complete renovation of the facility, including classrooms, that took place in 2004 through a $1.4 million IDEA/Technology grant.

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Happy birthday to: Quinn Weaver, Kyler Pierce Cook, Megan Frye, Marty Thompson, Brett Burke, Hank Joyner, Jeremy Dailey, Tyler Troisi, Bob Dwelle, Blais Chance, Rhett Smith, Burdell Frison, Carol Frison, Patricia Mincey, Tim Clark, Cori Brinson, Ray Roberts, Tyiese Cooper, Willie Baldwin and Demarius Baldwin.

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Military Active Duty List: Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Bahrain; 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, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Bossier AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, Camp Taji, Iraq; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; 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; 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.