Dear Editor: Does anyone else find it interesting that no comments are posted by the numerous honorable candidates for BOC seats regarding the need for a strategic plan for the county to evaluate what options exist to provide reasonably acceptable Internet service in our county while surroun…

President Trump wants to punish Twitter, but what will it mean if he really gets his way? Do people realize that the act of revenge could profoundly transform the Internet? Does he realize the implications?

Dear Editor: Madison County has escaped the violent expressions of rage and destruction over the brutal torture and murder of George Floyd and so many other Black citizens. But I’m sure it is felt here, too. When will we learn to accept one another? This was expressed by Rodney King after he…

Dear Editor: Thank you to the following churches for their generous support of our 12 McKinney-Vento graduates of the Class of 2020: Anchor Bible Church, Colbert First Baptist Church, Gordon’s Chapel United Methodist Church, Jones Chapel United Methodist Church, Meadow Baptist Church, New To…

Dear Editor: I’m hoping to help Madison Countians more fully understand why and how we must learn to live with COVID 19 until a vaccine is found, about a year. From the beginning, I felt this virus was primarily contagious via the air, like measles. It was just too easily transmitted. We kno…

Dear Editor: Did President Trump have a really good idea when he suspended payments to the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic? I think that question was best answered by science reporter Kai Kupferschmidt. “This is like suspending firefighters while they are trying to save…

If you’ve gone jogging alone before, think back on that experience. Now, imagine that a truck with two men follows you and stops in the road, blocking your path.

Warning: perhaps you don’t want to read this. If you’re in the dumps, just stay away. I’m serious. I’m just trying to sort my thoughts in an honest way. But such an effort is not exactly uplifting in this moment.

Mr. Herndon really inspired me

A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally or within a certain radius such as 50, 100, or 150 miles. The locavore movement encourages consumers to buy from farmers’ markets, local producers, or even to produce their own food. Local food production is growing tremendously. …

Normally one thinks of Easter Sunday as a peaceful, happy day to celebrate the resurrection of Christ and all that event entails.

No coronavirus or politics in this space this week. Sometimes I hit a mental wall. So, is memory lane acceptable? Get any gray in your hair and you’re there, right, strolling down those old paths of yesterday?

Dear Editor: With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the life threatening problems it has created you might think that the problems created by Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) are not that important. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that the operations at the GRP power …

After so many years of hearing that the world would face a pandemic at some point, at long last here it is. And I get the feeling that it won’t be the last.

Dear Editor: Why is the United States about to resume business as usual when it has made no preparations to do so? There are three requirements for safely ending shelter-in-place. First, we need to be able to test for the new coronavirus at 10-to-100 times the present rate. Second, we need t…

Dear Editor: In the late nineties, the Kaiser institute completed a study called the ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) study.

Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has done a couple of things recently that make a lot of sense. He sent out absentee ballot-request forms to all registered Georgia voters and moved the state primary elections from May 19 to June 9.

Dear Editor: (This is an open letter to local leaders.) Because of the COVID-19 virus, a major health concern for residents in Colbert and Carnesville has been swept to the side.

‘Seño P’ will impact so many lives wherever she goes

In times of uncertainty and trepidation, it occurred to me that we still have a glaring defect in America’s “leadership.” Each day, elected officials at various local, state, and federal levels are giving press conferences, making decisions, and providing critique of other elected officials.…

I got my first group laugh in a time of quarantine last week, but it wasn’t on purpose. My wife and I walked with our two children and cat into the pasture by our house to eat sandwiches and sit in the sun.

Dear Reader: We are living in an extraordinary time. Who could have imagined just a few weeks ago that the nation — indeed the world — would essentially grind to a halt in the face of a virus pandemic?

Dear Editor: At the moment I do not know exactly what’s in HB 545, but I do support Georgia’s farmers. Farming is hard work and a highly risky endeavor, not to mention expensive in equipment and land. We all need what they produce; it is essential. However, nearly all enterprises are restric…

Madison County High School students recently wrote letters to let the community know about teachers they feel are special. Here is the first of three installments of MCHS appreciation letters:

Over a year ago, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued by the State Properties Commission (SPC) soliciting bids for a facility to be built in Madison County, Georgia for the Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS).

This is a joint letter from 12 Georgia county leaders to Governor Brian Kemp:

I wish I could hug doctors, nurses, caretakers in nursing homes, paramedics, grocery store workers — or at least shake their hand. But that would deserve a proper punch to my nose today, wouldn’t it? That’s exactly the wrong thing to do now.

Many Americans, except those with young children, like my daughter Miranda, are experiencing a quiet and stillness in a normally loud and busy life.

Dear Editor: (An open letter to Georgia Renewable Power President Steve Dailey.) Because of the threat of COVID-19, residents in Colbert are staying at home. We feel that we are being tortured because of the constant noise from your power plant. We are acutely aware of your operations, becau…

While the COVID-19 outbreak started as an international story that felt distant to many of us, this global pandemic has clearly become an issue impacting Georgians in every corner of our state.

Dear Editor: As I sit here in my home in Colbert, sheltering in place as deemed necessary by Governor Kemp, I have come to recognize a crossroads with respect to my safety.

Dear Editor: I’m proud to be a Madison County farmer. I raise beef cattle and poultry.

Dear Editor: This is an open letter to Steve Dailey, President, Georgia Renewable Power (GRP). “I believed we were clear at the onset about the types of fuel we intended to burn.” Quote by Steve Dailey from a letter to the editor that appeared in The Madison County Journal and the Franklin C…

Seven Georgia medical associations have submitted a letter to MainStreet Newspapers pleading with citizens to take personal responsibility and practice social distancing to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Here is that letter:

Your Legislature as reported is suspended without a time certain due to the extraordinary circumstances of the Coronavirus.

Dear Editor: Change means the unknown. Humans don’t like the unknown. Think how much we benefit today from the thousands of things at one time unknown. We should not turn away from the unknown. We should not immediately embrace it either. We should look openly at it; discern its true meaning…

Dear Editor: While the test results provided by Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) for the Colbert plant appear to be going in the right direction, pollution from the anticipated emissions is staggering. We accept the determination by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division that the self-re…

Dear Editor: This is an open letter to Madison County citizens, board of commissioners (BOC) and industrial authority (IDA). Georgia Renewable Power (GRP) appears to have trouble paying its bills on time. Margie Richard’s March 5th Madison County Journal article, “Industrial authority discus…

I asked for submissions this week from people about how life feels suddenly different in these strange days.

Last week, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston announced that the Georgia General Assembly will suspend the 2020 legislative session indefinitely. The suspension is in the best interest of the health and safety of members, staff and the citizens of Georgia.

Man, what to say?

Your Legislature reconvened for its the ninth week of the session on March 9. Crossover week, as it’s called, has certainly been unprecedented with the national threat of COVID-19 (coronavirus). Your House worked on Thursday - Crossover Day, from 8 a.m. until after midnight to move legislati…

The Georgia General Assembly convened Monday, March 16 for an unprecedented special legislative session.

Dear Editor: The Georgia legislature is considering doing away with Daylight Saving Time. I have despised this twice-a-year disruption since day one. No time is saved. No energy is saved. Nothing is saved.

Dear Editor: As president of Georgia Renewable Power (GRP), I would like to let the residents of Madison County know that the company appreciates the concerns that have been raised about our biomass operation in Colbert. I believe strongly in the importance of transparency, and being a good …

When it comes to the coronavirus, we just don’t know.

Despite the wishful thinking of some there will be plenty of choices for voters when it comes to the November special election to fill the remaining term of Johnny Isakson.

Week eight of the session has officially passed and we are less than one week away from Crossover Day. I look forward to what my colleagues and I will accomplish as we approach our busiest days, and I will continue to keep you informed on legislation. We passed many important bills and resol…

The eighth week of the Georgia House of Representatives 2020 Legislative Session culminated on Friday, March 6, resulting in the passage of more than 40 bills and resolutions in the House. With “Cross Over Day” approaching, time was also devoted to preparing for this important deadline by vo…

Dear Editor: (This is an open letter to District 47 Sen. Frank Ginn.) I read with interest your opinion piece in the Feb. 20 issue of The Madison County Journal. Senate Bill 280 is definitely one that I would encourage you to support. The environment is of great concern to my family and me a…