Drive safely
My name is C. Q. One night just a few weeks ago I was out for an evening walk near my home on Northwood Drive in Centre. I am always leery of the vehicles that speed through my residential neighborhood, often at double the posted speed limit. But this time I was caught by surprise. It seemed the car came from nowhere. The next thing I knew I was thrown several yards off the street into the wooded lot behind my house. The pain was excruciating! I lay in that spot, my pelvis shattered. Imaging my plight as I laid there thinking this was the end.

I could see my family in the distance searching for me. I knew they must be worried sick. Hours, then days went by! I reached out and covered myself with leaves during the freezing nights. If it had not rained I might easily have died from thirst. Finally I rallied enough strength to drag myself through the woods and across the yard. When my family saw me they ran to my aid, carrying me into the house. Oh, what a sight I was, bloodied, broken, covered in mire, dehydrated and next to starvation. But they were there for me and slowly they nursed me back to health.

Now, such a short time later, I am well on my way to recovery. Though I will be crippled for life, I am not bitter. I don't hold any animosity. Really, my story is no big deal -- many people could care less since I'm just an old house cat. My family just hopes that mine will be a cautionary tale, that my story might give some people cause for thought. Next time the victim might not have paws and claws. Might your driving habits one day such anguish cause?

C.Q. “Comquat” Orndorf
Centre


Work for better govt.
Concerned Alabama voters who want a means of improving our state government by seeing REAL reform and accountability measures put on the ballot should contact their state representative, as well as the members of the House Constitution and Elections (C&E) Committee, NOW and tell them to work immediately to get HB423 approved by the committee, sent to the floor for open debate, approved by the full membership, and sent to the Senate.

Our legislature hasn't yet passed such legislation, and it still isn't likely to in spite of all the rhetoric we hear.

Many legislators will resist passing HB423 unless they feel that their positions as office holders will be threatened in the 2010 election cycle if they don't comply with our wishes, It's up to Alabama voters to make them comply and give us a way to have a government we can respect and take pride in. It will require a groundswell of voters demanding that this bill be passed to get it passed. If we want a better government, we have to actively work for it.

Don Seibold
Wetumpka

Feb. 18, 2008

Conserve in Cedar Bluff
All of us are aware of the current situation the water industry is experiencing these days. It's not uncommon to turn on the news and hear a story about the ongoing water wars between Georgia, Alabama and Florida. There are few water suppliers in the Southeast that have not been impacted by the current drought.

Another factor of this shortage is the rapid residential and industrial growth that the Southeast has enjoyed over the past few years. We have all been made aware that the water we have been taking for granted for so long isn't abundant anymore. Some are only seeing minor problems, due to the cooler months we are experiencing. But with summer and high demand a few months away, we find ourselves facing a potentially critical situation which will take everyone working together to prevent reaching a point where there isn't enough water to meet basic needs.

We are asking all our customers to conserve water in order to lessen the demands that we are placing on our very limited sources. We have in place a Water Conservation Plan, including different phases of water restrictions depending on the severity of demand we are experiencing. We are not assured that rains will come in sufficient amounts to replenish the water table and recharge the aquifers that supply us. We know it will take months of above-average rainfall to replace the water the drought has taken away.

If these conditions persist, we will be forced to enact higher levels of use restrictions. We want to assure you that we are doing everything we can to prevent any disruptions in your water supply. Our crews are always on the lookout for leaks which steal reserves. If you notice leaks please call 256-779-6359 or 256-779-7285. We need your help to protect our stored water and keep our losses to a minimum. Now more than ever, every drop counts.

Another way of helping us is to make sure that you are maintaining your own water system. We often get calls about high water bills. These are usually due to a situation in the customer's home or workplace involving leaks in service lines, faucets, and a common area for water loss -- the bathroom toilet. You can determine the location of a leak by isolating sections of line and watching the flow indicator on the water meter, or by using a form of dye or food coloring in the tank of the commode to indicate flow past the tank. Although you are paying for this water, the wasted amounts created can go a long way toward lessening the total demands we have on our reserves if we all get involved.

Hopefully, the rains we have received will help replenish our water reserves. But it will take long periods of above-average rainfall to do much good. We assure you that we are by no means out of water, but we do feel that you deserve to be kept up-to-date on the situation so you can help conserve water and become part of the solution.

Jeff Harrell, Manager
Cedar Bluff Utility Board
& Solid Waste Authority

Feb. 11, 2008

A great man gone
On Jan. 18, the communities of the Coosa River Basin lost one of their greatest advocates and a true hero of the Coosa and Weiss Lake. Ray Kelley of Gaylesville died at age 77 after a prolonged battle with cancer. Among his greatest legacies will be his nearly 50-year battle to restore the Coosa River and Weiss Lake.

Ray was raised on the Chattooga River in Gaylesville and as a young man he saw the health of his river decline as a result of upstream pollution. What had been his fishing and hunting grounds had become a dumping ground. In a 1962 hearing to address water pollution flowing to his Alabama home, Ray told officials simply: “All we want is clean water down there, where our fish will live.”

For the next 46 years, without fail, that is what Ray fought for with a tenacity and steadfastness that became legendary among environmental regulators and activists in both Alabama and Georgia. Debby Berry, founder and president of the Smith Lake Preservation Committee, said that Ray could be like a “bulldog without a bone!” and Weiss Lake Improvement Association president Carolyn Landrem added, “When he got his teeth into something; he hung onto it.”

In the early 1990s Ray was a founding member of Alabama Water Watch and the Coosa River Basin Initiative. He later served as CRBI board president for several years, and served on both CRBI and AWW boards until his death.

In the early days of AWW, he volunteered up to 20 weekends a year, traveling around the state teaching citizens how to monitor the streams in their communities. Even during his long illness, he rarely missed AWW or CRBI board meetings.

Kelley also realized long before many that the fortunes of communities in both Alabama and Georgia would depend upon enough clean water flowing across the state line. Said fellow CRBI founder Jerry Brown: “Ray's world was bounded by the river basins- not superficial, political lines that humans have drawn on top of the creation. Ray bounded back and forth between Georgia and Alabama seamlessly.”

Thus, Ray became one of the Coosa Valley's strongest environmental advocates. He didn't get that way by studying environmental science or marching for Greenpeace. In fact, he spent his working career making electric transformers at the General Electric plant in Rome — an occupation he linked to the cancer that ultimately took his life.

Ray became an advocate because when he saw a problem, he didn't sit on his haunches and expect others to solve it. He leapt at the problem and sunk his teeth into it like the bulldog that he was.

Ray will be missed, but his legacy of a cleaner Coosa River and Weiss Lake remain and inspire all of us who care for these special places.

Joe Cook and Cheryl Garner
Coosa River Basin Initiative

Feb. 4, 2008

Thanks to so many
On November 10, I had a serious accident and was in the hospital, and then in rehabilitation, until Jan. 8. I want to thank the doctors at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. for putting me back together. Also, to the churches, family and friends who sent many prayers on my behalf, I am thankful. The visits and kindnesses are more than I can ever repay.

Last, but not least, I have to thank the people at Cherokee County Health and Rehabilitation Center, whose facilities are second-to-none. Thanks, also, to the personnel who cared for me. They not only cared for my physical needs, but with a smile and a few kind words they kept my spirits up, as well. They give a new meaning to the word "kindness."

A special thanks to my wife, Jean, and my home congregation, the Menlo Church of Christ.

W.E. "Dub" Watwood
Gaylesville

Propane problem
Last spring, my mother received a notice from Heritage Propane stating that since she had not purchased gas for an extended period, they would be removing their tank. When my mother called to inquire about the letter she had received, she was accused of buying gas from other, cheaper companies in the area. She told the man she spoke with that she wasn't buying propane from anyone, that she had gone to all-electric heating and only kept the propane as a back-up in case the power went out. But the man told my mother he was following company policy and would be removing the tank.

So, after 30 years, that tank was removed, leaving my widowed mother without a tank.

It doesn't surprise me to hear that Heritage Propane has a company policy to gauge people, because of their bad business practices. But it amazes me that state law protects businesses at the great expense of the citizens by allowing these companies to charge whatever they want and forcing people to buy because they do not own their tank. This really hits the poor and elderly.

If you talk to the people at Heritage, they simply justify their practices by claiming, "it's company policy." We don't need companies like this.

Jerry L. King, Jr.
Centre

Real change
Most presidential candidates are campaigning using the buzz word "change", a rhetorical word that could mean anything, or nothing and is boring to hear repeatedly. But the masses may be persuaded by such nonsense. If true, that's sad.

Only one candidate is campaigning for our freedom, our liberty, and for returning to and governing in accordance with the U.S. Constitution, which granted us rights both as individual citizens, and as states which joined together to create the United States of America. Our Constitution places strict limits on what our federal government can do. Those limitations, as well as individuals' and states' rights have been ignored and/or abused by our government whenever convenient for government for too many years.

I urge everyone to ignore what mainstream media and both major political parties say about him and to vote for the one candidate who may represent America's last hope, Congressman Ron Paul from Texas.

Don Seibold
Wetumpka

Jan. 28, 2008

Share the rebate
I am retired and living on Social Security. I feel I am being discriminated by the federal government because, just like when the president proposed rebates to stimulate the economy in 2001, we poor are being left out of the latest rebate.

We paid taxes and Social Security all our lives and to be left out is definitely discrimination because SS was funded by our contributions. I understand the government is going to borrow from SS to fund the rebate, which President Bush hopes will stimulate the economy.

This time, the retired citizens of the USA should share in the rebate. I also believe that the government owes us our fair share of the first rebate, plus interest. If one citizen gets money back, we should all get money back -- not just the working class and the wealthy. I believe this rebate will, again, be taken from SS, because the government is constantly "borrowing" from SS and it is going broke. I wonder why?

I realize that taxes pay government expenses and I am not against that. However, the USA is the only country in the world that pays medical bills, housing and food for illegal aliens, all while average Americans have difficulty qualifying for government assistance. It still holds true that the government is for the rich and to hell with the little man.

Our elected officials should be looking after the retired as well as the wealthy, and they should remember that we put them there and we can remove them. People on SS are not dead. We buy stuff and pay taxes, too. Today's working class citizens will be retired, someday. Just like those of us who have been forgotten by the government. If retired citizens don't get part of the rebate, then no one should get any.

Parker Ray Tinsley
Leesburg