Category: Sowell

Fayetteville First United Methodist Church (FFUMC) will host a night of candlelight to include a candlelight dinner and silent auction along with an annual candlelight concert on Sunday, Dec. 22. The concert is free to the community, and the dinner and auction proceeds benefit two local mission projects.

Although the deadline for tickets to the dinner has passed, one can still attend the auction and concert.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/12-17-2013/ffumc-will-host-candlelight-dinner-auction-concert-sun

“The first 50 years are the hardest,” jokes Herbert (Herb) L. Steely on the occasion of his 64th wedding anniversary with the former Betty Jean Roberts. “I also was gone … a lot!” On this note, she laughs too.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/12-17-2013/steelys-celebrate-64th-anniversary

There are always plenty of issues present in Fayette County, from political to economic to lifestyle. And there is much to talk about in Fayette and the variable components wrapped up in its future.

Yet there is a missing component, in fact a significant component, which seems to always fly below the radar. This component is one of the issues being addressed in the ongoing Fayette Visioning Initiative.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/ben-nelms/12-17-2013/fayette%E2%80%99s-missing-puzzle-piece

One of the things I love about this time of year is that it truly does seem to bring out the best in others.

Despite a stagnant economy, or perhaps because of it, I probably see more opportunities to give to charities than ever before. Whether it is the Salvation Army volunteers faithfully ringing their bells as a sign of the season, churches organizing holiday food drives, or radio personalities soliciting donations and toys, there really is a plethora of venues where one can give something.

And, inevitably, most of us do end up giving something during the Christmas season.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/bonnie-willis/12-17-2013/giving-more-gifts-holiday

By Bob Ross and Trey Ragsdale

Even though Thanksgiving was last month, we are especially thankful this month for the efforts of more than 225 diverse citizens who stepped up to serve Fayette County in a unique capacity.

They participated in a variety of activities to launch a process that will span the next six months to define a Fayette County vision and accompanying implementation plan.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/robert-ross/12-17-2013/fayette-visioning-initiative-gains-momentum

In a Dec. 4 speech, President Obama declared income “inequality” to be “the defining challenge of our time.”

It is time for me to come clean; to own up to a dark secret I have been hiding most of my life. It is embarrassing to admit it, but I suffer from income inequality.

Yes, there are hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people who make more money than I do and it has affected my life in ways too numerous to recount.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/cal-thomas/12-17-2013/me-and-income-%E2%80%98inequality%E2%80%99

Christmas is the time that we pack expectations into every package we wrap and for weeks anticipate that one, perfect Currier-Ives day.

And, of course, since any day is seldom perfect, there are varying degrees of let-down that trickle across the population.

For some people with high hopes, Christmas Day turns out to be melancholy. I realized this year, though, that there is one day of the Christmas season that never disappoints me. In fact, it is always warmer, more loving, memorable, and joyous than I expect.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/blogs/ronda-rich/12-17-2013/christmas-tree-memories

So, you do not want to pay for trash disposal and/or you want to burn items on a regular basis. Here are some of the guidelines you need to keep in mind:

Know all of the rules you are supposed to be abiding by, so you know what you have to do to appear not to be breaking any.

This one is important: Remember you and everyone in your household has to have the mantra of you are “only burning leaves.”

Make sure you have at least one pile of leaves somewhere on ground for proof they need to be burned.

You cannot think about anything, not the environment, other people, or yourself.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/12-17-2013/some-advice-leaf-burners

An open letter to the mayors and councils of Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Tyrone, Brooks, and Woolsey, and to the Fayette County Board of Commissioners:

You have been or will be asked to contribute, on behalf of the taxpayers of your cities and the county, to the cost of the Fayette Visioning Initiative. I am writing to encourage you to provide that contribution.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/12-17-2013/visioning-study-good-investment

I am responding in regards to John Whitehead’s article on “Why do local cops need battle tanks?” The article was written on a pure liberal-pacifist level.

As a retired law enforcement officer with over 21 years of experience, I can assure your readers that Whitehead’s article is purely fluff with no substance.

Many of the items such as the MRAPs that he refers to in his article are being incorporated by Special Response Teams and SWAT teams throughout the country.

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via The Citizen http://www.thecitizen.com/articles/12-17-2013/whitehead%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98cops-and-battle-tanks%E2%80%99-pure-fluff