• Board should address the issues

Noting all the great work the Valdosta School Board does for the youth of Winnersville, I am troubled about this week’s board meeting.

In that meeting the board failed to acknowledge or address the recent “Hot List” of students allegedly circulated by Principal Brett Stanton. Though some knew about this situation weeks ago, these accusations were made public in The Times on March 8. This made it impossible for anyone to get on the board’s official agenda to voice their concerns. Regardless, an over-capacity crowd attended the meeting seeking reassurance that this very serious matter was under review.

I attended hoping to hear what the board, Superintendent Cason, or Mr. Stanton himself had to say. To my surprise the matter was never acknowledged and the large crowd was effectively ignored. That omission forced some of us to ask the board to speak to the issue at the conclusion of their scheduled business. This led to the exchange of heated words, hostile posturing by some of the men in attendance that claimed to be there to “support” Mr. Stanton, along with other assorted threats and accusations. In the end, a police officer had to clear the room. It was a sad sight, to say the least.

Given this chain of events, in the future I pray that the board acknowledges such serious matters and the presence of concerned parents. I would also like to ask the board to please address the concerns raised Monday night.

Mark Patrick George

Valdosta

• Our country needs help

It appears that our politicians aren’t going to do anything until we make them. Fuel cost is now over three dollars per gallon and reports say it won’t be long before it is four, maybe even five dollars per gallon in the not so distant future. It looks like our economy is about to go bust and no one can deny it.

Right after 9/11, we should have been securing our borders, drilling more oil wells, building refineries and nuclear power plants. Had they done this, gas would probably be around a dollar a gallon right now.

I pray this letter might plant a seed in the minds of Americans everywhere. Not only have I called all my politicians, but I’ve e-mailed them and have programmed their numbers in my cell phone and I’m going to call them each and every time I fill up with gas. I hope you will do the same. Each time you fill up, call Chambliss, Isakson, Bush, any Republican, and any Democrat you can think of and tell them what it is costing you per gallon and you want something done about it. Let’s see, if everyone did this, they would receive about a half-million calls a day. Think this would get the ball rolling? I do. Simply call and say, “Do you know how much I just paid for a gallon of gas? I did not like it one bit and when are you going to do something about it?”

If nothing else, I’ll feel better knowing I did something. Please tell your friends and encourage them to do the same. If enough people will start calling each time they fill their tanks something will get done. What say you?