Letters to the editor

By Staff
Donations made Caring Day a
success
Editor:
I would like to thank the residents of Hartselle for generously participating in our 10th annual Caring Day. This year, the food will be distributed among the Caring Place, the First Church of the Nazarene, Pattillo Street Church of God and the First United Methodist Church food pantries. We needed more canned food this year to be able to stock up these food pantries for Thanksgiving.
The city of Hartselle collected 11,044 cans of food! This is not an official count because we still have bins at two churches. Fifty six turkeys and two hams were donated by merchants and purchased with money donated by civic clubs, companies and churches.
A very special thank you goes to Mayor Tankersley for working with me and supporting this event. I would also like to thank Carolyn Wallace, director of Hartselle Beautification Association, for working with me to organize this event. I would also like to thank Ray Latta, manager for Hometown Grocery, for working with us to purchase the turkeys. I would also like to thank the Hartselle Enquirer for their generous donation. I also want to say a big thank you to all the residents. All of this would not be possible without your help.
I would like to thank the people that volunteered this year to make Caring Day a success. Byron Turney, Glen Hollingsworth, David Vankoughnett, Randy Breeding, Greg Mayfield, Roger Aldridge, Ronnie Travis, Dennis Nix, Wesley Massey, Heath Miller, Donna Barr, Derrick Woodall, Jeremy Griffith, Shawn Woods, Jeff Johnson, Harley Hop, Charles Russell and Hank Quattlebaum for working to make sure all canned foods were collected and taken to the Caring Place.
I would also like to thank Pastor Dave Melton, Pastor John McPeak and Pastor Robert Sparkman for working with me on this project this year. Virginia Alexander with the Caring Place worked very hard this year to be sure the counting, sorting and distribution went smoothly. I would also like to thank all the banks in Hartselle for participating again. All the schools came through for us again this year. They were very creative in coming up with competitions for the students to really push the drive.
Again, thank you to everyone who participated to make our 10th annual Caring Day such a huge success. All of your efforts will make sure the families and individuals in Hartselle have a meal for Thanksgiving.
Susan Seibert
City of Hartselle
Department of Development
Interstate not best school location
Editor:
I graduated from Morgan County High School many years ago and although I don’t live in Hartselle, as Grandpa Jones said, “It’s the hometown of my heart.”
I read in the newspaper that Hartselle has access to a $20 million tax free loan that is to be used, with the addition of another $25 million, to build a new high school.
There is no doubt there is a need for a new high school to relieve overcrowding at the junior high which I know from personal observation is vastly overcrowded. But what can Hartselle actually afford? And, more than that, after building a new high school, what can the city maintain?
The land for the school is already there, preliminary drawings have been made and all that was needed was money. Now, it looks like the money might be available and all of the sudden it is not the right location. We want to go even further out and buy more land in a place that’s more accessible than the original location. Bethel Road can be made more accessible for far less money than land on Cain Road could be.
Even though Bethel Road may not be the best location in the city, it’s what you have to work with so make the best of it.
Millions of dollars is still a lot of money and it all starts with one dollar. Every dollar of all those millions must be put to the highest and best use, every dollar. You are to use that money to build an institution of higher learning, that’s all. Not to entice commerce, not to increase the tax base, not to be able to sell the southeast corner of Highway 36 and Interstate 65.
Hartselle has a good school system. Try to make it better and that will bring more people to Hartselle than anything else. An outstanding school system and good youth program is all Hartselle has to offer newcomers to this area - use it.
Please don’t use your high school as the anchor store in a shopping mall.
Bill Smith,
Decatur
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