Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor:

The Millen-Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce is the first place people look for when they come to our county. We provide general information about our community and numerous other services.

I know a lot of businesses are in a crunch because of the closing of so many plants. The Jenkins County Development Authority is working all the time trying to attract industry. I should know because I am the executive director of the chamber and development authority. It consumes your life. That is all you think about.

I have sent out about 50 letters to companies in the State of Georgia letting them know if they are planning to expand to please look at Jenkins County. We have a trained workforce willing and ready to go to work.

The chamber and development authority has also helped the people with job losses by contacting Cong. Jon Barrow's office, and they have been very helpful. Do you know there are about 80 ladies in Jenkins County that are going to school to further their education or to get a GED?

We cannot give up. I know most of you know about my son. Paul Herrington. At the age of eight, they said that he would not live a year. My husband and I would not give up. Now he is 26 years old. Without the grace of God this would not be possible, and believe me it has been a fight to keep him living. That is the way I look at Jenkins County. We can't give up.

Yes, we have industry prospects for Jenkins County, but we have to make excuses to them for the trash on the side of the roads and building that are falling down. We should not have to do this! The city and county could hire people to cleanup, but can you imagine what our taxes would be? They can not do it by themselves. It is going to take all of us.

I hear all the time from people who live in Jenkins County that they don't know why people want to come and live here. Yet, every person who comes in my office, and most of the time move here, say that Millen and Jenkins County is a good place to live. Think about what you say about your hometown. People are listening. This is ours, and we need to take care of it as if it was our child. That is the only way we are going to be successful.

I challenge you to be part of any group that is working to make Millen and Jenkins County a better place to live and work.

Sincerely,

Paula Herrington

Executive Director

Millen/Jenkins County

Chamber of Commerce

Jenkins County Development

Authority

Dear Editor,

Everyone has an opinion and this is mine.

When I heard that Mrs. Mable Jenkins had the chairman position, I said, "Good, now we have someone who'll make a difference and try."

She's smart, with a good mind for business. She's strong and I believe in her, but she can't fix our problems alone. One mule can't pull a heavily overloaded wagon. It takes a strong and powerful team.

First, everyone in the county should be involved and have their say - all citizens. The county should be able to vote on things, or at least be polled.

Town Hall meetings should be publicized well in advance, and held at a time when everyone can show up. Put it in the newspaper two weeks in advance on the front page, and print flyers and put them all around town. If need be, put it on television. In other words, try to get everybody involved and have a debate. Find out who is trying, and who isn't. Get ideas from everybody, and then come up with a plan. Use our big, fine new gym to hold the meeting, and make use of our tax dollars.

This county is at a standstill, or on the verge of heading backward. What this county and citizens have to do is face reality and the true facts. The government is our biggest problem!

The U.S. Government has got this country in the fix it's in. We get so much contaminated staff, and viruses or diseases, from foreign countries. It's time for the citizens to take our county back. There are a lot of changes that need to be made, that never will be.

We can't control our nation, but we can control our county. I say make this a wet county, and keep our tax dollars here. The more ways we can find to generate money in this county, the better.

We need to find businesses that will always be around. Racing has been around since the first cars were built, and computers are here to stay. I think it's time we took a different avenue. We need to focus on getting a NHRA sanctioned half-mile drag strip with supporting industries, and we need to try to get some computer-related industry to locate here. This whole county could go wireless broadband for a few thousand dollars.

Remember, everyone has an opinion and freedom of speech - so do you!

Old car restoration is big, and so is racing.

Billy Amerson Perkins Community

Dear Editor:

Recently I had the opportunity of hearing the Jenkins County Elementary School (JCES) fifth grade chorus perform and had intended on writing the Jenkins County Board of Education (BOE) to praise their performance and thank them for offering music to the students. They were such a well organized and behaved group of children who all seemed to be enjoying the performance as much as the audience. My regret is that before I could write, I heard the news that the school system would be discontinuing the music program in the schools next year. How could they?

My original thoughts on the subject were, how wonderful it would be if music and art were offered in all three schools, and then maybe one day our community would have the privilege of attending a high school musical on the beautiful gym stage. I guess this is a pipe dream if our board doesn't start thinking outside the box and do some creative planning. One teacher may be able to serve more than one school, thereby giving our students a more well-rounded education. It's not that I have anything against sports, because they are important also, but art and music programs certainly reach more children than team sports.

Board members, I urge you to go back to the drawing board and figure out how you can reinstate the positions you recently cut. Maybe you could cut a program that only affects a chosen few. What is Power School anyway, and how many hits a week does it get?

A concerned citizen,

Jane Johnson