Dear Editor,

The following letter is not directed at any local employees, past or present, of Regions Bank in Millen.

I recently noticed a new roof being put on Regions Bank in Millen. Being an employee of Rocker Supply led me to ask the owner, King Rocker, if he was supplying the shingles for the new roof. He said no and that he had not been asked to submit a bid for the roof job either.

I think this is an incredible and inexcusable neglect of a local business; not to mention the fact that this business owner has been a life-long customer of this bank, with both business and personal accounts at Regions.

Now, if Regions should have any problems with their newly installed shingles, say a leak develops, I'm sure they'll want immediate service from the "local" folks then and maybe purchase a whole gallon of roofing tar to fix the leak.

What has happened with corporate America? The big banks want you to think of them as your "local hometown bank". "Bank locally," they say.

Regions response to this will probably be that "We have contracts with certain businesses to do all of our _________ work." You fill in the blank. If Regions is going to spend money, they can spend it where they please, but stay with the people who borrow money from them and deposit their money in CDs with them.

And back to Regions huge new roof. The shingles that were purchased for their roof are the same shingles that Rocker Supply sells locally. And the quote that Rocker Supply could have given would have easily been competitive considering the volume of the job. And could possibly have been the lowest bid, saving the bank money.

Additionally, had this money been spent here, it would have "turned over" benefiting other local businesses or individuals to some degree.

It's a shame that a large bank like Regions who wants you to bank locally doesn't spend a dime in Jenkins County where we are still #1 in the state in unemployment and where just two weeks ago our "last" manufacturing facility closed its doors for good. What a wonderful time for one of our "local" banks not to spend their money "locally."

With the $3.5 billion that Regions received in their "stimulus package", I think they could have afforded to give the small local business owners a micro piece of their government stimulus handout pie.

After this letter to the editor is published in The Millen News I will send a copy to Dowd Ritter, Regions CEO. His response, if any, should be enlightening and maybe even interesting. Stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Mike Reese

Millen

Dear Editor:

RE: Jim Hite's column Sept. 29.

I and many others have concerns about the health care reforms currently being proposed. In Mr. Hite's column, he tries to trivialize our concerns with sarcasm. Mr. Hite said, "To be consistent, one who believes that government should stay out of health care must refuse Medicare". We do not have the option of refusing Medicare. If you work, you are required to pay the Medicare Tax. Except for the past four years, I was self-employed. As a self-employed person, I paid 100% of my Medicare Tax and provided for my own health insurance.

Soon I will be eligible for Medicare and now, here comes a proposal for everybody to have health insurance. Those who are unable to pay for their insurance will receive subsidies from the U. S. Treasury, funded in part with $500 billion taken from Medicare. Will those of us who have paid the Medicare Tax and are now eligible for Medicare, receive $500 billion less in health care to fund other people's health insurance?

Just as we have no options in the payment of the Medicare Tax, in the future we may not have options about the health care we receive or do not receive.

Sincerely, Roger A. Black

Millen