What is your Mayor doing about the job situation in Fitzgerald? It is time for him to stop sitting around and start doing something about it!!!

Barb - I agree with you on the golf carts. More and more are running up and down the roads. One ran a stop sign at Lee Street last week and I had to slam on brakes to avoid hitting it broad side!!! On top of that, there were kids hanging out on the back of it (3 in there). Someone is going to be seriously hurt if the drivers of them don't be a little more careful and adhere to the rules of the road!!

Dear Editor, I want to praise Dorminey Mem. Hospital's ER Staff - ALL of them - and the rest of the hospital's personnel. Recently I took a homeless, indigent person I picked up who wanted to come to Fitzgerald because he had heard good things about the community and was hoping to find some farm work. But he was injured sleeping under a tree and seemed ill. After inquiring at the Community Bank they recommended the ER Room's Indigent Care program. They took this man in and treated him as if he were wealthy. He was constantly telling them as the performed various tests, "I can't pay you for this. I have no money." From the doctor on down they all assured him their concern was his survival. They persuaded him to stay until he got better and told him if he had waited another day he would not have survived. It would take a full page to list what they have been doing for him, including asking him what he would really like to eat and preparing a special sandwich. Thanks, also, to the good people from the Church of the Nazarene who are preparing to assist him after he is dismissed from the hospital. God is good as He works through His good people. With gratitude, Ken from Hiawassee, GA

i am writing this about the letter that was wrote about mr olivares.everything he is charged with is not all true.when mr olivares was pulled over yes he did leave the scene, but that was because he does not understand english. i know for a fact that he did not try to hit any officer. i am mr olivares boss man. Jed Clark from 911 called me and ask me would i carry him to the jail and i said yes. when we arrived there we met with the state patrolmen that had stoped him. they both told me and my wife that he was charged with no licence and leaving the scene. there are some lies being told on this man. this is a good man and he works harder than most people in this town. i feel that there are false charges being put on this man and if false charges will be allowed to be put on him than what about every other person in this town. if they did not have somebody at the jail that speaks spanish how could they even read his rights to him. if they want to catch somebody they need to spend more time trying to catch drug dealers and thieves. and why dont they have road blocks on the rich side of town. they must think they don't drink and drive or drive without insurance. i am so tiried of leaving my house and getting in road blocks. it seems they just want to catch the mexicans .i think they just like the money. yours truly, allen purvis...

Dear Whom It May Concern: I too, have had many confrontations with the (Ben Hill County Schools) transportation dept both this year and last concerning the poorly designed bus routes. With crime increasing due to the failing economy, and the teen pregnancy rate at an all time high, you would think the school system would attempt to ensure that each child is safely dropped off at a predetermined location of the parent's choice. Unfortunately, Ben Hill County Schools' transportation personnel believe that children can safely walk nearly a mile in freezing rain or extreme heat just so the school system can save a dollar. A personal issue I have with (Transportation Director) Angi Dopson is that she exaggerates the number of children who ride the bus to Little Lambs. She has been invited to the center on several occasions to verify attendance but she has not done so. Therefore, I'm assuming that it is easier for her to justify her actions based on her predetermined lies than it would to come see what is really going on. There are many parents, centers, and clubs who have had issues with the way the transportation dept is operated, not just me. I also believe that it should not matter if the children are dropped off at a center or each child's home as long as they get there safely. It is none of Dopson's business if a center or club agrees with the parent to have their child bused to such a place. According to child development specialist, children learn more when exposed to learning environments, so why is Dopson doing everything she can to deter parents from these organizations. Dopson has stated that Little Lambs has 30 elementary children and 20 Pre-k that ride bus 0112 to the center. She has stated that due to this number of children, the elementary students would be bused to a location approximately 1/2 mile from the center. One problem with this is that the area she wants to drop off the children at is in a high crime neighborhood. Also she thinks she can dictate what rules the center should follow. Once and for all, all centers follow the rules and regs of Bright from the Start, not Angie Dopson. No we do not have to leave a group of children to go sit and wait for a bus to show up 1/2 a mile away. Especially when a bus comes directly in front of the center that has ample room to sit the children who are actually enrolled in the afterschool program of Little Lambs. I am curious how Dopson and others came up with their figure of 50 school age children attending Little Lambs, especially since the entire school age enrollment does not consist of 50 children. This furthers my claim of Dopson's preposterous nonsense that she cannot factually back. I know how many get off the bus daily. Until she can show me where these other children are, she really should mind here own business and just do her job to ensure the safety of each child. That is the main objective isn't it? Surely saving a dollar is not more important than the life of any child who rides the bus regardless of whether they attend Little Lambs or any other organization. It definitely is not more important to me.

The break-in occurred in Fitzgerald on July 15. Police investigated, but since the house was empty, they had no way of telling what was missing. The family came on the July 21. They went to the pawn shop and recognized some of the grandmother's stuff. If the stuff wasn't in the house, how could police recognize it? If they had no list of items missing, how could they have found it? They reported that to police, who made one arrest that day and a second one the next day. The AJC did an irresponsible job of reporting just to make a little star our of the 12 year-old girl. Cute story, just not the whole story.