Speak Out

Speak Out ... 9/11 remembrance

In our opinion
08-24-2005

On Sunday, Sept. 11, at 2 p.m. we will have our annual Remembrance Ceremony at the Jacksonville Cemetery. The title of this ceremony is "We Remember." Families from all over Alabama will come to remember their loved one lost since Sept. 11, 2001. We will also remember those lost in other wars. The Sons Of The American Revolution will participate this year. They perform regularly at The American Village south of Birmingham. We will have bagpipes, the Fallen Comrade ceremony, Saber Arches, 21 Gun salute and other ceremonial events. Please take time to help us pay our respects to the 47 Alabamians who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Direct any questions to Ken Rollins (256) 831-2838. Ken Rollins Oxford Meth recovery I would like to take this opportunity to tell anyone using crystal meth that there is hope. Help is available through the farsightedness of our District Judge Gus Colvin. I have been given a second chance at life. He allowed me to enter Tri County Outreach in Oxford and I discovered dozens of other recovering meth addicts working together with the most dedicated staff I’ve ever seen are beating their addictions to meth and other drugs. The staff here knows firsthand the destruction of lives found in the wake of meth use. The program is very strict and lots of people won’t make it, but those who are serious about recovery will with the help of God and other recovering addicts. I’m thankful for judges like Gus Colvin who can see beyond the courtroom and restore mercy to a throwaway-the-key legal system. Please remember us in your prayers. We can beat crystal meth. If I can help anyone in any way please call me at 832-0634 before 11 p.m. Mark Boyanton Oxford Veterans’ benefits I’m a veteran and served with the U.S. Marines in Korea during the Korean War. I have diabetes and high blood pressure, and could be hospitalized because of complications resulting from these conditions. I called the Veterans’ Administration recently to find out what it would cost me to be treated at a VA hospital. A representative told me it would cost $900 for the first 10 days of hospitalization and that I might not even be admitted because of overcrowding. I’m on a fixed income and it is difficult for me as it is. It seems to me that if you have risked your life to serve your country, you shouldn’t have to pay anything (and might not even be admitted?)! Lawrence Patmon Piedmont

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