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By Staff
Foster families always needed
Editor:
May is designated as National Foster Care Month, a time to raise public awareness of the need for more foster families, the need to keep siblings in care together and the need to keep children in foster care in their own communities and schools. The foster care "system" is only as good as the people who choose to be a part of it.
Children in foster care feel more secure and are more likely to do better in school when they are able to stay in the same community where they are growing up. Make your own neighborhood a welcoming place for kids in foster care. Find out how you can help. The simple truth is that the more qualified foster parents there are in Morgan County, the easier it will be to keep siblings together in foster care and to ensure that children remain in their own neighborhood schools.
Fostering is often a thankless job, only getting publicity when something bad happens. In Morgan County, there are 43 approved foster homes and approximately 145 children in DHR's legal custody. Abused and neglected children are not somebody else's problem; it's our problem, the citizens of Morgan County. Pat a foster parent on the back today and thank them for doing something to make a difference in the life of a child in need.
There are countless opportunities for you to make a difference in the lives of foster children in Morgan County. New foster homes are desperately needed. The Morgan County Department of Human Resources salutes the 43 foster families in Morgan County who have chosen to open both their heart and their home to a child in need. If you know a foster parent, thank them for doing something that most of us would not consider doing, and give them the recognition that they deserve!
Cathy Bodley
Resource Development Coordinator
Morgan County DHR
No one wants landfill near them
Editor,
I have been resident of Valley View Subdivision for nine years.
My wife and I chose this neighborhood because of its isolation and the beautiful trees and bluffs. We have invested a lot of time and money into our home, thus increasing its value.
Now, it looks as though our property values, and even the ability to resale our house, is at stake for the good of Hartselle.
According to a statement made by Frank Jones, we are only 1 percent of Hartselle's population.
If Valley View has 75 households, then Hartselle has approximately 7,500 households. This would mean that each home in Valley View houses 1.6 residents, based upon a population of 12,000.
Obviously, there are more than 1.6 residents per household in Valley View. It has been inferred by the city council that we should be willing to sacrifice our homes and financial futures for the city, yet we are being asked to absorb 100 percent of the cities "yard waste."
The definition of "yard waste" seems to be somewhat confusing. The landfill has been observed to contain old tires, computers, and appliances.
Companies from out of the county have been observed dumping waste there. This is not just being used by Hartselle companies and citizens. This land has a stream going through it that leads right into Flint Creek, so care does need to be taken as to what is allowed to be dumped there.
The council wants to hear from other residents, not from Valley View, about what the land is used for. Yet, we are the ones that will have this going through our neighborhood.
The question now seems to be that, if they do leave a "buffer," how large does it need to be?
They point out that the entire city's money will be used, so therefore more of the land should be usable and residents from the entire city should have a say in how large the "buffer" is.
I ask that residents in other neighborhoods please consider how they would feel if this was their backyard.
Please contact the council members and encourage them to at least allow us the maximum "buffer" or, better yet, to move it out of the city limits altogether.
Billy Hames
Hartselle
Parents don't want uniforms either
Editor,
On May 13 our Hartselle school board members decided that the ballots cast by our citizens were not scientific and likewise are not worth acknowledging in their decision to approve the school uniform.
On Monday, May 19 they will make the final decision as to whether your children will live in a democratic society or in a socialist society where you have no choice over what is implemented in our school systems. This is a dangerous precedent that is being set in Hartselle!
This community has a strong sense of responsibility in supporting our school systems.
Being from Ohio and knowing how devastating it is to have no parental support, I strongly encourage our citizens to stop this before it happens.
Our school system ranks as one of the best in the state of Alabama. If our students can achieve this credential while wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, why are we wanting to put them in khakis and a dress shirt?
We are who we are! I love this community because it stands for everything that has disappeared in America!
They thought we would be better off without God in our school, too. Maybe we should forget about washing the outside of a person and work on washing the inside.
Our problem isn't how we dress! Our children can be taught, but if we force on them what they don't want, what are they going to force on us later that we don't want?
Parents are assuming that since the survey said parents are against uniforms (2 to 1), it is all over. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Two board members have made their decision no matter what the survey said.
The results of the parent survey were as follows:
God bless you, Hartselle.
Sabrina Kerr
Hartselle