I always enjoy hearing from former Jenkins County and Millen residents who stay in touch through The Millen News, and I was especially glad to hear from Slade Burke.

Slade is the son of Lynn Burke and the late Herbert Burke. Many of you will recall that Lynn was a longtime employee of The Millen News. And I remember well the days when Slade and brother Chad “played” at the newspaper office after their mom picked them up from school.

Time flies, and Slade is now a young man with a varied military career. As indicated by his Letter to the Editor appearing in this issue, Slade still considers Millen his home. I hope you will take the time to read his letter to the editor.

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For your information - when you subscribe to The Millen News by mail, you can also get a free Internet subscription. You must, however, request set up for the Internet subscription by calling 706-554-2111, extension 214.

Not everyone wants an Internet subscription, so when you renew your mail subscription, you must request that we renew your Internet subscription also, if you have one. Otherwise it will expire and you will not able to sign on to our website.

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I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy Fourth of July. Don’t forget that the Patriotic Celebration is scheduled for Saturday, July 3, at the Jenkins County Recreation Department. The fireworks display is always spectacular!

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Happy birthday this week to: Kenton Jenkins, Martha L. Phillips, Rick McNeely, Melodye Williams, Ronnie Fleming, Myrt Wilson, Daphne Wiggins, Logan Marie Reid, H.G. Wiggins, Ivey McMillan, Judy Taylor, Brook Bowers, Sarah Johnson, Jim Waters and Ed Wilson.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Thomas, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Landing, Mr. and Mrs. David Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Fleming, Mr. and Mrs. John Troisi Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. John Troisi III.

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Military Active Duty List: PFC E3 Jeremy Johnson, U.S. Army, 59th Quartermaster Company, Ft. Carson, Colorado; Cpl. Adam T. Lanier, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Bt. 6th Marine Regiment, Weapons Co., Scout Sniper Platoon, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; E-4 Sr. Airman Roy Davis, U.S. Air Force, RAF Molesworth, United Kingdom; Cpl. Patrick Barnette, U.S. Marines, 29 Palms, California; Sgt. Adam Demshar, 44th Signal Battalion, Baghdad, Iraq; Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA; E5 Petty Officer 2nd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Naples, Italy; Senior Airman Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Osan AFB, Korea; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, 735th Air Mobility Squadron Detachment 1 Commander, Richmond Royal Australian AFB, Richmond, Australia; 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; Chief Petty 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, 25th Infantry Division, Schafield Barracks, Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii; 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. Baghdad, 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; and SPC Charles “C.J.” Amerson, U.S. Army, Louisiana.