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Editorial
The Banks County News
January 12, 2000
Legislators need
to hear from you
Rep. Jeanette Jamieson and Sen. Eddie
Madden returned to Atlanta Monday when the 2000 General Assembly
convened. Both had already spent much time in the city preparing
for this session and were ready to begin work Monday when all
of the legislators returned.
Banks County is fortunate in having two hard-working, dedicated
politicians serving them at the state capitol. Both are open
to suggestions and need to hear from their constituents. They
will be working with other state leaders on many important issues,
including education, crime laws and tax cuts.
Our leaders need to know where we stand on these important matters.
During the coming weeks, we will run articles on what our legislators
are doing and what is going on in the General Assembly. We encourage
our readers to respond to those issues by letting our elected
representatives know their feelings.
You can contact Banks County's legislators at the following addresses:
Rep. Jeanette Jamieson
Office 417
State Capitol
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
1-(404) 656-5064
Sen. Eddie Madden
Georgia State Senate
Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, Ga. 30334
(404) 656-6030
Letters
The Banks County News
January 12, 2000
Kindergarten
leaders offer
thanks for donations
Dear Editor:
We, the kindergarten teachers at Banks County Primary School,
would like to express our extreme thankfulness to some of our
partners in education. During the Christmas season, many businesses
and individuals were gracious enough to donate supplies and gifts
to the kindergarten students for stocking stuffers. You will
never know the impact you have on children when you touch their
hearts at Christmas.
We would also like to thank Mr. Jimmy Hooper, principal at Banks
County Primary, for allowing this opportunity for the community
to reach out to our youth.
Sincerely,
Kindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals
Rita Bush and Linda Wilson
Diane Cagle and Luanne Pendley
Anna Dale and Tammy Banks
Karen Edwards and Vera Dalton
Robin Gale and Kathy Smith
Heather Nicholson and Penny Scott
Amy Pardue and Lisa Enslen
Lori Rylee and Shannon White
Dana San U and Denise Shubert
Cindy Segars and Teresa Haggard
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Column
By Angie
Gary
The Banks County News
January 12, 2000
 Not looking forward to
finding new doctors
It is pretty common to have a fear of
going to the doctor. There are many things to fear-the threat
of a needle if you need a shot and the unknown because you never
know exactly what a doctor will do.
I never had that fear when I went to see two of my doctors. I
have been going to Dr. Paul Sergent, a general practice physician,
for more than 20 years and Dr. Henry Utley, an eye doctor, for
13 years. I pretty much know their routine and they know mine.
Now all of this will change. They both made the decision to retire
in 1999 and I have to start all over again with someone new.
Someone who doesn't know me and who I don't know. Someone who
will make me a little bit nervous on those first few visits.
I'm pretty reluctant to changeespecially when it comes to
doctors.
My family started to go to Dr. Sergent for our colds and aches
and pains more than 20 years ago. We had been going to Dr. Johnny
Rogers but had to change when he retired. We loved Dr. Johnny
and were a little scared about the change.
My sister was only a few years old but she yelled, "Where
is my Dr. Johnny," the first time we had to go to another
doctor. Luckily, Dr. Sergent quickly filled that void and became
our family doctor. He knew all of us by name and was familiar
with the ailments we had.
My family was distressed to learn that Dr. Sergent and his wife,
Lois, would be retiring at the year's end. It was unexpected
and has left us feeling lost. I'm happy for them, but not looking
forward to changing doctors.
I had been going to Dr. Utley for 13 years when he retired this
past spring. Eye doctors really scare me. I don't like for my
eyes to be poked and prodded. I really don't like it when they
blow that air directly into your eyes.
Dr. Utley was gentle and kind and, best of all, he didn't blow
that air into my eyes. He had a soft, soothing voice which calmed
me as he peered directly into my eyes. From the moment he opened
the door to the waiting room and called me back to the end of
the examine as I read the eye chart on the wall, I was calm.
I even talked my sister into going to him. Too bad, she made
the move a few months before he decided to retire.
I was 19 years old when I first went to Dr. Utley after another
doctor told me I could not wear contacts any more. Dr. Utley
examined my eyes and said there was no reason why I couldn't
wear contacts. We would just keep working until we found the
correct ones.
I made numerous trips to his Athens office to change out one
pair of contacts for another one. We finally found a brand that
didn't irritate my eyes and we stuck with them. It would have
been much easier to tell me to stick with the glasses, but he
could tell how much I wanted to wear contacts and didn't give
up until we found some that would work.
Angela Gary is associate editor of The Jackson Herald and
editor of The Banks County News.
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