To the Editor:
Let's talk dirty money.    
I hear the soon to be proposed landfill in Morgan County will bring in $2 million dollars a year and drop the millage rate by two. That is a little bit of pocket change, but that's all it is - pocket change! A tantalizing, but rotten stinking carrot to be dangled in front of the zoning board, commissioners and the residents.
Now let's talk serious money. let's talk about the shrinking Morgan County tax base once the landfill is in. Residents and businesses will leave. Businesses will close. Property values will plummet. Families and businesses will not move here. Tourism will dry up. They will go elsewhere for the quality of life they came to Morgan County for. Then the county has the financial issues of ground, water, air pollution and explosion risks. Yes, explosion risks posed by landfill gases. need I go on? let's face it. who wants to live, work and tour a county with a mega landfill especially one located near the interstate for the whole world to see.
Unofficially, my wild guess is that it will be about 100 years for Morgan County to financially break even if the county votes yes to the zoning and landfill.
Just remember who will be holding the real bag of money and who will be holding the rotten bag of garbage should this landfill pass.
        
Betty Buckler
Madison
Via e-mail

To the Editor:

I can not express the completely overwhelming feeling of love and support Laura Margaret and I felt from up here in Durham last Tuesday night at 7:15 p.m. when we knew that our house was surrounded by friends praying for her successful transplants. Once again, our community took a time-out from busy schedules to come together to offer prayers, encouragement, cards, banners, and even cheers to let Laura Margaret know she is not alone (at all!) in this “medical adventure.”

We felt it….the power of prayer, the power of people, and the power of neighborly love. These awesome feelings have greatly strengthened our family and will carry us through this journey until we are home to our wonderful Madison, once again.
We thank you all.

Sarah Burbach
Madison and Durham, N.C.
Via e-mail

To the Editor:
My wife and I having moved from Mobile, Ala., to live in the best city in Georgia are wondering now if we made the right decision. The history and culture of this county and city are of great value to so many people. Why would you even consider bringing a landfill to such a beautiful place? General Sherman didn’t burn it, so why would our fellow commissioners want to destroy it?
Having grown up in a small town in Alabama, I always cherished the well being we all had for one another. It seems like this is the time for that. The people of this district elected our commissioners to be our voice. Be that voice and vote no on the landfill.

Randy Carwile
Madison
Via e-mail

To the Editor:
The Magnolia Garden Club of Madison wishes to join the legions of others in our community who have voiced vehement opposition to a monstrous landfill. We further wish to remind our elected officials that not only do we donate countless hours and many resources to help keep Madison the beautiful town that it is, we are also active citizens and most importantly, we vote. We expect our representatives to be good stewards of our land and we will remember those who are not.
 
Sally Moran Hoge
President,
Magnolia Garden Club of Madison
Via e-mail

To the Editor:
Nike has just announced that Michael Vick will now be a paid "spokesperson" for the company and he will advertise the brand by wearing Nike-logoed apparel.
For those who may have forgotten -- Vick went to federal prison for dog fighting charges, a "sport" in which dogs are brutalized and tortured to condition them to fight other dogs. The contests often result in serious injury or death to the animals. There are fans who pay good money to witness the fights which are illegal throughout the United States.
What motivates Nike? -- Money.
Nike has made this move believing that it will increase profits.
Nike is a highly successful, sophisticated company that does not act casually. They have analyzed the "market" and have concluded that customers will buy more "swish" if Vick wears it. They believe his celebrity will outshine his lapses into animal cruelty.
For Nike, Vick is a perfect fit. He exemplifies their motto -- "Just do it!"
For Nike, "Wanting to" is justification enough.
By the way, Nike's market is US, you and me! Is Nike right?

Martin L. Fierman
Madison
Via e-mail

To the Editor:
Your editorial on the FairTax leaves out two critical components: 1) Prices on all goods will drop substantially as manufacturers, wholesalers, delivery companies, etc., will no longer add the cost of all of their embedded tax costs (Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, corporate, etc.) into their services, causing the costs of all goods to retailers to be substantially less than they are now. Even with the 30 percent (?) FairTax at the retail level, the prices to consumers should remain about the same. And 2) Everyone will get 100 percent of their paycheck, so even the poor and middle classes will get an instant raise, the amount of which will depend on their tax rate, and then we'll all get the prebates, which will help the poor the most.  And I think that the "rich," those 1 percent who now pay about 35 percent of all income taxes, will in fact continue to pay this percentage, as taxes will be based on consumption, and lord knows, they consume more than the rest of us.
Just saying...it is important, when talking about the FairTax, that you realize that prices will not go up by 30 percent, as the editorialist believes, but will stay constant, and all people will have 100 percent of their paycheck to spend as they see fit. And what's not fair about that?

William Bramblett
Thomasville, Ga.
Via e-mail