2A The Madison Enterprise-Recorder www. greenepublishing. co View points & Opinions Friday, August 8, 2008 I[ WAotto Tn TeR Vrmitnr I Letters to the Editor are typed word for word, i W I Jacob Bembry 'comma for comma, as sent to this newspaper. . JomTHANKS TO MCSD! r .....n AI~ 1 11- ....I~ ....-" .. ..'eeel l e .. Patriots My father, Bobby Bembry, was released from the VA Hospital in Gainesville on Tuesday and has begun an- other 20 days of intensive physical therapy at Madison Nursing Center. This time around, he will have Isaac Newman as his lead therapist as he does his rehab work. Isaac was his home therapist the last time Daddy broke his hip and Isaac did a great job. As I was walking down the hall to Daddy's room the other day, I saw a number of familiar faces. Not only did I recognize the nurses and staff from last time, I also recognized faces of many of the residents. Sitting in the hall was Bernard Wilson. In the room next to my father, I saw Louise Rogers (known to many as "Dorothy Rogers"). Visiting her was Delia Thomas. These people and my daddy and millions upon millions of others like them helped build America into the great land that it is. " .Someone made a statement at a meeting the other day that anyone who opposes the petition to legalize liquor in Madison County is opposing an American way of life by not allowing it on the ballot and letting people vote on it. I disagree with that statement because I know that my Daddy opposes the petition. That is his preroga- tive and his First Amendment right as an American. That is, essentially, a vote that he has already cast. Although Bernard Wilson is frail and feeble now, I bet that he would oppose the petition. He was one of the leaders who helped keep Madison County dry 30 years earlier. Bernard Wilson served his country with distinction ash rear tail gunner during World War II. He is a patri- ot. My father is a patriot, also. Although he never saw a battle while he was in the service between the Korean and Vietnam Wars, he did serve in the United States Air Force AND in the 101st Airborne Division in the U.S. Army While in the Air Force, working as a firefighter, he helped make sure that a very special airplane landed safely at Luke Air.Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. The plane, which had to do a belly landing, landed on foam on the runway that was put out by my daddy and his fel- low firefighters. Th e planebore the Commander in Chief of all the Armed Services, President Dwight Eisenhower. There are a number of heroes and patriots around Madison County who have their own opinions on issues. Among these great men are Pete Studstill, George Willis, .Oliver Bradley.1,.The list could go on forever! Their opin- ion and their right to protest a petition is just as impor- tant as any ballot they could cast in a voting booth. Any- one who says that it isn't is sadly mistaken. May God bless the people who made and continue to weave the fabric of the American cloth! 'bcahe f ison ntrtprtse-Recorbtr 1 P.O. Box 772 Madison, FL 32341 1695 S SR 53 Madison, FL 32340 (850) 973-4141 Fax: (850) 973-4121 greenepub@greenepublishing.com http://www.greenepublishing.com Publisher Emerald Greene Kinsley Editor Jacob Bembry Pmrduction M anger S. Lisa Greene StaffW writer Michael Curtis and Tvrra Meserve G raphicD designers Heather Bowen and Stephen Bochina Typesetter/ Subscip tion Bryant Thigpen and Cheltsie Kinsley Advertising Sales R epesentatives Mary Ellen Greene, Dorothy McKinney, and Jeanette Dunn W ebsiteD designer: Bryant Thigpen C assified and LegalA ds Debra Lewis and Lisa Greene Deadline for classified is Monday at 3:00 p.m. Deadline for Legal Advertisement is Wednesday at 5pm. There will be a $3.00 charge for Affidavits. C irculation D epartm ent Sheree Miller and Bobbi Light Subscip tion R ates: In County $30 Out-of-County $38 (State & local ta\es included) On August 3, 2008 we were home watching TV un- aware that a very dangerous man had been seen in the woods located behind our homes. One of the Madison County investigators came by to. let us know what was going on. Then about thirty minutes later the Sheriff came by and gave us more information aAd to ask if it was ok to set up their command post next door. So we would like to thank all of the Madison County Sheriffs department for a job well done. It is nice to know they were concerned for our well being and keep- ing us informed of what was going on around us. Thanks again, Cindy Hutto, Shawn & Eleice Braswell Greenville, FL RUBY GRAY cont from page 1A financially. "Just the other day after the funeral we were all sit- ting around in the living room, when it started to rain, and immediately we all had to run and grab pots, pans, buckets, etc. to put under the leaks. "If we were not there the house would have been ru- ined from all the rainfall that was coming in. I wanted to submit my Grandmother's house into this contest be- cause I feel like this would really be a great help to her, and our entire family." Rowe Roofing contacted Anderson Monday evening, August 4, and advised her that her story about her grandmother was one of the finalists in the contest. An- derson and her family very quickly became ecstatic and wanted to get the word out to the community that effec- tive Wednesday, August 6 at 8 a.m., Floridians can begin voting for the person that they wish to win the new roof. And voting continues for one week. Anderson asks county residents to vote for her grandmother, Ruby Gary, who needs the assistance so very badly. To vote for Ruby Gray, go to roweroofing.coln and click on "I need a new roof icon at the top of the page; then click under video for information, and follow the directions to register and vote. School Board cont from page 1A tions accepted attractive offers from other schools in the. region. Of course all wished them well, appreciating that good people will receive offers to move up in their chosen profession. Still, there was an immediate need to make things whole again before the new school year ar-, rived. : During the Madison County School Board meeting of August 5 this process concluded with the board's ap- proval of the last two recommendations. The four new. appointments'are as follow: Clifford Cooks, Principal Greenville Elementary; Elizabeth Hodges, Principal Ex- cel School; Valerie King and Ronnie Williams, Vice-Prin- cipal Central School. In other business, there was additional discussion regarding retirement options and a few visitors ex- pressed concerns about facility upkeep and staffing. But in the end, there was a consensus that the priority of continued progress was in good hands and that each school has the administration to see it through. Michael Curtis can be reached at michael@greenepublishihg.comr. SBy Tyrra B Meserve Home Sweet Home For those of you who read my column last week, well this is my conclusion. After considerable thought I feel that my culture shock issues may not of been just from moving from the North to the South. I actually moved from a city in the north to a rural country home in the south. So I have, in my mind put myself in the City of Madison. I agree that if we settled in the city, it might not of been such a change for me. Although a lot of the same issues I wrote about last week would still be pre- sent regardless of where we moved in Madison County. We travel quite a bit within Florida, and nearby states like Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. We have also made numerous trips up and down the eastern coast as we still have family and friends in New York state. In our travels we have passed through many small towns and counties, on roads off the beatenpath, inter- states and major highways. I admit I sometimes enjoy walking down the main streets of small towns and shop- ping in small shops. It is interesting and relaxing. It takes you back in time in a sense. I also enjoy finding my way back to unspoiled nature at it's best along river- banks and lakes. Although we can't stop the future or progress, we must keep up. Everyone knows the economy is definite- ly going downhill, and it may be down for some time. With the proper organization and priorities considered, there must be some way to make things better for Madi- son County. Answers and solutions are hard to come by, yet everyone has suggestions and complaints, including myself. In the small town areas I wrote about previously, there were also larger department stores, mills, and fac- tories on the outskirts which kept many residents eco- nomically stable. This helped to make it possible for them to afford to pay higher property and other taxes. This, in turn, helped keep the small town businesses, the beautiful parks, playgrounds, schools and roads. It also made it possible to pay teachers, clinic doctors, park su- pervisors, and maintenance personnel to keep the coun- ty ahead of the times, while keeping the small home- town feeling, history, and family businesses available to the residents and tourists alike. In Madison County, in order to'improve our schools, hospitals, roads, and small business survival ratesas well as have less crime, drugs, domestic bus'4 'hldl abuse and neglectit all seems that the bottom line is the lack of money It all takes more money which no one seems to have any extra of within this county So the an- swer may lie in bringing in more major influences such as Wal-Mart, restaurants, factories, or companies with a large employee market. Yet keeping in consideration the pollution and ground water contamination and all other environmental issues at the same time. Then with more people within the county earning a good wage, the taxes can somewhat be increased because residents in the County would be making more money to put back into the county and improve their.way of life. Alright, some may think I'm wrong, and others may think I'm right. With that being said, I can still say I am happy here. I feel blessed 'that I have a good job which I enjoy doing, granted it's not perfect, and I've done my share of com- plaining over the years. In the last 18 years, since I moved to Madison Coun- ty, I have seen a lot of progress. Several businesses have come and some have gone. I've noticed a lot of new homes and buildings go up and come down. Therefore I feel this county is on an upward trend in a way. The pop- ulation has also increased considerably so I assume that is why it is so hard to keep up. Because of where we live, there is no reason to move, we just get into the car and travel to where our needs a a are met. So I'll sit back and get the best of both worlds, yet only have to live in one. See You Next Week!! "What is your fondest memory?" Jeanine Waters "When the whole family gets together for holidays." Jim Norris "Whenever I meet a beautiful woman." Sandra McFarland "Me, my mother, my father and my two sis- ters would all get togeth- er to go vote. It was a family tradition, each time one of us turned 18, we would go down and vote together." Johnny Lloyd "When I first started working here at Winn Dixie after being unem- ployed for two years. I've been here over 10 years now." Martha Waters "Family reunions; but there's not one in partic- ular, just all reunions." Ted Ensminger "Back in 1999, when my son was seven years old, we attempted to climb a mountain in North Carolina. ~-I] -Since 1865- "Telling it like it is with honesty and integrity" Tbe fTlattso. Gnterprsce-Recorber Madison Recorder established 1865, New Enterprise established 1901, Consolidated June 25, 1908 Published weekly by Greene Publishing, Inc., 1695 S: SR 53, Madison, FL 32340. Periodicals postage. PAID at Madison Post Of- fice 32340. Publication No. 177.400. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Madison En- terprise-Recorder, P.O. Drawer 772, Madison, FL 32341-0772. 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