I am angry. I am frightened. I am a lot of other things too. The many descriptive words that are appropriate to how I feel are not acceptable for print in this newspaper.

Dear Editor: I believe a proud Martin Luther King, Jr. is looking at the ascension of Kamala Harris to be Vice President Elect of the United States.

Dear Editor: I thought that when people said “Blue Lives Matter,” that they mattered all the time. Now I see that they only matter when rogue cops are killing Black people.

Dear Editor: I've read several articles since Donald Trump threw the entire Republican Party, including his family, under the bus for his own attempt at selfish personal gain without understanding or caring about the laws of our country. Right now I'd like to throw Trump under a bus. That's …

Dear Editor: Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) and all those that helped bring GRP to this county knew what kind of impact an operation such as GRP would have on people close by it (GRP).

Dear Editor: First and foremost, the Public Service Commission of Georgia should respond to the needs of the people of Georgia. After all, this is a public service board. Our citizens deserve reasonable utility rates, decent Internet service throughout the state, and leaders who incorporate …

Dear Editor: Margie Richards seems to be a nice person and a good writer, but she has got it almost totally backwards in regards to President Trump and Joe Biden. She writes as if Biden can do no wrong, and Trump is the devil’s disciple. The reverse is closer to the truth. She ignores or jus…

“I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams,” has a new meaning for many families in a pandemic year.

Dear Editor: I appreciated Margie Richards’ column in the Dec. 17 edition of the paper.

Dear Editor: Our problems are much worse than our political differences. Our problem is sin. It is good vs. evil. You can’t be both politically and biblically correct. Liberals are the anti-God party. Evil is anything that is against the plan of God. Evil refers to both acts and character.

As I write this column on Monday, Dec. 14, the first Covid-19 vaccines are being administered to frontline healthcare workers in this country.

A phrase that once had meaning was “store bought.” Long ago, something that was bought at a store was an exception to the rule. Many things were homemade or homegrown, and “store bought” had some distinction to it. But then that changed, and something made at home was more special. And now “…

Native to Mexico, poinsettias are in the Euphorbia family and are a popular holiday plant because of their colorful bracts (leaves). You can find poinsettias around the holidays to fit into almost any decorative scheme. They range from creamy white to pink to the traditional bright red. Some…

Dear Editor: Looks like Trump’s Supreme Court saved our democracy and our country. What a relief! Now we can all, all of us, know that we are all in this together, not just in this pandemic, but also in this country, our one country, with one guiding constitution and many points of view. Our…

Dear Editor: My grandfather, the Reverend L.W. Pierce, was a Methodist minister in the first half of the 20th century.

A huge meteor landed on Indonesia — at least it appears so on my globe that I keep by my recliner. There was a planetary disaster in our living room about a year ago, and this “earth” was bruised by my clumsiness.

I used to like roller coasters when I was a lot younger, but now? No thank you. Just leave them to the younger set.

Dear Editor: In regards to the opinion of Loran Smith in the Nov. 26, 2020 edition, I feel it is refreshing to read in your paper an opinion that doesn't reek of hate, venom and untruths. This is a great country, the greatest ever, and it is good to hear somebody besides myself speak of its …

The Republican Party is at a major crossroads. And the vilification of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp related to the 2020 Presidential election shows this.

Dear Editor: Why are my electric bills so high and my Internet service so bad? Voters don't pay much attention to the Public Service Commission, but the current members of the PSC are the reason Georgians pay twice the national average for electricity. They are also responsible for the absen…

I am so thankful.

This is a time of high emotion for many of us, but I don’t want to just think emotionally. And I wish we could talk politics without emotions ruling everything.

Dear Editor: In response to the editorials written in last week's paper about the presidential election, while Trump may be out of the White House, "Trumpism" is alive and well.

Dear Editor: In response to Mike Buffington’s rant in the Nov. 12 Madison County Journal, what hate coming out of your pen. I really think you should make an appointment with a medical therapist.

Dear Editor: Thank you to Margie Richards for your Nov. 12 column, “Moving on after a divisive, hurtful election.” As she so clearly stated, "If our democracy is to survive, we have to respect the process."

In a year that has seemed so out of the ordinary, the coming holidays have many longing for old traditions. During Thanksgiving, we think about all of the things that we are thankful for and all of the things that have brought us through the past year. But how many of us think to thank the f…

Dear Editor: This weekend the Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) plant was producing more than electricity. Come to think of it GRP has been producing more than electricity ever since their started operations. In fact with the number of shut downs and startups at the plant, we assume to fix conti…

The title for this column is the same title of the first column I wrote after Trump’s election in 2016.

A pilot drops his empty, glass Coke bottle from a plane window into the inhospitable Kalahari desert where almost no one lives. A hunter-gatherer finds it and takes it back to his tribe. They make music with the glass and find multiple uses for it, but there is only one and it becomes a sour…

A Presidential election seems less a policy battle these days than a from-the-gut tribal identity statement.

Dear Editor: (To the citizens of Madison County) If you haven’t noticed Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) has found a replacement for the creosote treated cross ties they can no longer burn as fuel.

Dear Editor: Recent changes by the Madison County Board of Education regarding mask and COVID-19 procedures have become quite the uproar for the past weeks with many students, parents and teachers being divided on the subject.

Dear Editor: I am writing to you in regards to biomass energy production. In July of 2019, Georgia Renewable Power began operations in my town. Their main stack is seven tenths of a mile from my home. The dream of quiet country living has been shattered by this "beast" in my backyard.

It's time for our annual winter weather outlook. The biggest player in our winter weather is the ENSO, or El Nino Southern Oscillation Index. This is a measure of the surface water temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, especially from the International Dateline to the coast of South America.

“To every thing there is a season.” And fall is the season to soil test. Soils tests provide information on the soil’s actual nutrient status. Fall is a preferred time to take soil tests if one suspects a soil pH problem and wants to avoid the spring rush. Fall soil testing will allow you am…

There is a melancholy to this season for me, always. I think it makes me think of my own mortality and I always remember the cold November night, 40 years ago this year, that I lost my precious mother when I was only 21 years old.

Dear Editor: (To the taxpayers of Madison County). I would like to take this opportunity to clarify some statements and issues regarding the local homestead exemption initiative on the ballot Nov. 3. This exemption will give an additional $8,000 of the assessed value of any qualified propert…

Dear Editor: Unlike the primary elections in our county, the Nov. 3 general election allows each one of us to vote for the person running for a particular office, not the political party he or she is affiliated with. I daydream of the day when this is possible for all our elections in Madiso…

Dear Editor: I wrote some weeks ago about the need for non-partisan status of every county level race for office.

Dear Editor: In these volatile political times, I must immediately establish that I am not a Republican or a Democrat. I have voted for candidates from both parties over the years. I thought, and always have, that we are supposed to vote for the candidates who are best qualified and most lik…

Dear Editor: Unlike the primary elections in our county, the Nov. 3 general election allows each one of us to vote for the person running for a particular office, not the political party he or she is affiliated with. I daydream of the day when this is possible for all our elections in Madiso…

Dear Editor:

My wife and I both work, but we don’t have insurance through employers. Our family had a major medical issue last year. And so, after my wife went from working as a school employee to a private practice as a speech therapist, we sought quotes on single-family premiums. I couldn’t believe whe…

Harvesting fresh fruit from your home orchard can be a delicious way to add beauty and taste to your landscape and diet. The best time to plant fruit trees in Georgia is in the fall, according to a University of Georgia expert. “Growing fresh fruit can be rewarding and fun but can also provi…

Dear Editor: I recently watched part of the Georgia State House District 33 candidate online forum hosted by the Madison County Chamber of Commerce. Republican nominee Rob Leverett attended, but Kerry Dornell Hamm, the Democratic candidate, couldn't make it, according to the person who opene…

Dear Editor: I encourage a “Yes” vote on the two amendments and two referendums proposed on this year’s Nov. 3rd ballot.

Dear Editor: The current Republican Board of Commissioners has given us annual tax increases, a dangerously polluting industry, and a very large debt. We don't need yet another tax and spend Republican on the board.

Dear Editor: The leadership of Hartwell Rep. Alan Powell proved crucial as the Georgia House voted to take steps to improve access to healthcare for all Georgians by passing SB 321. This historic legislation removes outdated restrictions on the ability of your Nurse Practitioner (NP) to orde…

We’re at odds over so much. Masks, too.

One of the things I enjoy most about the changing seasons is observing our fellow creatures and how they adapt and change with them.

Dear Editor: In response to the article in the Oct. 8, 2020 Madison County Journal ‘’Chairman’s powers reduced,’’ the first thing that came to mind was, “What is this board covering up?”

It’s been a tough year for all of us. We need our comforts. And food has been my amigo in 2020.

Dear Editor: I write this letter to urge the citizens of Madison County to vote "Yes" for an additional local homestead exemption, in the amount of $8,000, for residents of Madison County age 70 years and older. This local referendum appears on the November 3 ballot under the heading "Specia…

Dear Editor: Requested absentee ballots for the upcoming Nov. 3 general election are being mailed, and early in-person voting starts Oct. 12. In last few weeks, I have talked to several people in Madison County who had questions about voting in the upcoming general election. Many of the ques…