To the Editor
A Christmas wish
TO THE EDITOR

Dear Santa

My name is James Reese and I am writing you this letter on behalf of the people in Lincoln County, Georgia.

My roots go very deep in the red and rocky soil of my beloved home county. My great-grandparents are entombed, along with my grandparents, in the red soil at New Hope Church. My parents are entombed in the rocks and clay at Martin's Crossroads Church.

My world in the 1930s consisted mostly of the Martin's Crossroads and Double Branches communities. My world was held together by the love and care of "all" the people of residence. Because of the economic depletion during these years of hardship, the only glue that was available to hold us together was the love of our Lord and the care of most of the people in our communities.

Since I moved away from my beloved home for many years, my hope was to be able to return in the autumn years of my life. This hope was realized four years ago when I returned to the place that had given me so much joy and wonder in the early years of my life.

On the surface, I found the same peace and joy that I had left behind. Most of the people were still the loving and caring people that I had al- ways remembered and hoped to return to. The one thing that I did not find to be the same was the greed of power through the political system in our great county.

I know that some of the elected officials did not promise to keep our county in a state of disruption when they asked the people to allow them to be representatives in government. I also know that they did not promise to gather power in self-interest groups that caused a burden on the people of our county. I also know that most of the elected officials ran because they felt they could give back to our community, and most of them kept their promise.

Santa, I am asking you to bring a message from our Creator to all the elected and appointed officials in our county. If they are in any way abusing the power that was entrusted to them by the citizens, that they correct their actions. Touch all the hearts of those who have been given the honor of being our leaders and cause them to examine their every decision as they strive to do the best for "all" the citizens of our county.

Lead us, Lord, in the coming elections so that we are able to vote for those who will keep their promises when they ask for support from the people of our county.

JAMES REESE

Food pantry gives thanks

TO THE EDITOR

Each year, the Lincoln County Food Pantry donates turkeys to the homeless, needy children, unemployed, aged, and disadvantaged. This year, we were blessed with an outpouring of love from our community.

We are grateful to the following schools, churches, organizations, businesses, and individuals for their generosity in contributing monetary gifts, food and transportation:

Lincoln County Elementary and Middle Schools for donating 1,500 cans of food and Paine College, Augusta, contributed a generous supply of food on their annual Thanksgiving Convocation.

In addition, other food donations included: American Legion Post 194; American Legion Post 597; Loco Baptist Church; Bethany United Methodist Church; Salem Baptist Church; Pine Grove United Methodist Church; Lincoln Presbyterian Church; Lincolnton Motel; Lincoln County DFCS; Family Connection; Bell's Food Store; Karen and Bruce Geer; Melody Beggs; Rev. Prichard, Wilkes County; and Bilo, Washington, for placing turkey order.

Monetary gifts included: First Assembly of God; Mulberry CME Church; Newberry Missionary Baptist Church; Lincolnton Baptist Church; New Hope Baptist Church; Easter, Inc., Jeff and Sheri; Hephzibah Baptist Church; Ebenezer Baptist Church; White Rock Baptist Church; New Tabernacle Baptist Church; First Baptist Church; St. Luke Baptist Church; Lincoln County Ministerial Association; Lincolnton Methodist Church; Loco Baptist Church; Lincoln County High School Spanish Club; McGuinn Construction; TIA (Clothes Closet); St. Paul Methodist Church; Mr. and Mrs. Brantley Zellars; Prince of Peace Court #736; Mr. and Mrs. Toye Hill; M. Claire Pursley-Watson; Ms. Martha J. Gainey; Mrs. Alisha Prater; Mrs. Carrie Parker; Mrs. Corene Whete; Mr. James Rowland; Mr. and Mrs. Edward Fletcher; Mr. Roy Stringfield; The Melvin Partridge family; and other anonymous cash donations.

Mulberry CME for providing transportation.

We are grateful to you for your love, support and generosity in providing the necessary assistance for those citizens in need of our help. May God bless each of you in a special way.

LINCOLN COUNTY FOOD PANTRY

A job well done

TO THE EDITOR

Dear Mayor Biggerstaff:

I have lived a lot of places and I have seen a lot of trash. Litter is one of my pet peeves. On Saturday, when I left downtown after the parade, there was litter blowing in the wind. This is to be expected given the size of the crowd and everything that was going on.

On Sunday morning when the sun came up, there was no trash, no litter not even a gum wrapper on the streets of Lincolnton. This reflects not only the hard work of your staff but also the pride they take in their hometown. Please pass along to them a giant attaboy for a job well done.

NELSON BROOKS

Slow to fix

TO THE EDITOR COMMENTS TO THE MAYOR:

Congratulations on decorating the town prior to the holidays. To bad you allow other commitments to languish beyond reasonable lengths of time.

The Lincoln Journals reporting of the City Council meeting on August 7, 2006 stated that you/they would resolve the issue of the paving bricks in front of the City Hall that have misspelled names and the issue would be corrected by the September 2006 council meeting.

A year has passed and you have yet to resolve the issue even though the replacement bricks have been and continue to sit in the City Hall building. Three of the four honorees on the bricks have died. Do we wait until all are gone? There are more than four bricks with the names misspelled. Do you dishonor all citizens or just NFLs?

DAVID HEINFELDT

Thanks for support

TO THE EDITOR

The Lincolnton-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the community for its support of the 10th Annual Holidays In Olde Lincoln Towne Festival. Involvement in the festival as a sponsor and volunteer is a true of service to this community. It is not how much you do, but how much love you put in the doing and the love for our community is obvious.

The Lincolnton-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce is eager to work with organizations, business, and individuals determined to see this community - our community - at its best. We hold this community in the highest regard and strive to conduct ourselves in such a manner.

THE LINCOLNTON-LINCOLN COUNTY

CHAMBEROFCOMMERCE