Dear Editor:
On Sunday, April 6, 2008, we had an explosion that began an electrical fire in our home. We immediately evacuated, called 911 and warned our neighbors of the fire. Within minutes of the 911 call, our volunteer firefighters came in hurried droves. These men and women wasted no time in doing what they were trained to do. They also stayed with us, to comfort us on this cold and fearful morning. Three fire stations were dispatched, as well as the rescue teams. We want to thank them for their compassion on us, complete strangers.
We also want to add that we have lived in Riverstone Subdivision for 10 years and we have tried to be good neighbors. Whether it was taking a sick neighbor to the doctor, fixing a meal for a neighbor recuperating from surgery, cleaning out a neighbors gutters who was afraid of heights or simply welcoming a new neighbor to the neighborhood, we have tried to be the neighbor that we would want. However, during the most frightening time of our lives, not one of our beloved neighbors came out of their warm homes to give comfort to us nor to our two children. Not one neighbor has come to our home to see if we were OK or to offer their help. We wonder if the shoe was on the other foot, would they reach for our help by knocking on our door in a desperate plea for help. We would bend over backwards to help a neighbor who needed our help. If our neighbor was in need, we would be the friend indeed. We have asked ourselves over and over, with friends and neighbors like these, who needs enemies?
We also would like to give some advice that we learned the hard way. The explosion and fire we had was said to be caused by an overheated battery charger. So if you are like us, and you plug in your chargers and leave them for long periods of time, we urge you not to do this. Without sprinklers in our home, we could have lost every earthly treasure in a matter of minutes. Lots of things have chargers like this, perhaps any of them could explode at any time.
Again, we offer our sincerest thanks to the firefighters and rescue teams. The men and women who came to our aid will never be forgotten. We may not know each of your names, but your faces will always be that of a true friend.
May God bless all of the 20-30 of you who were willing to put yourselves in harms way for a family of four that you had never met. We love and appreciate you.

Sincerely,
Greg and Alicia Owens

Dear Editor:
You gave an excellent review of the Fairtax proposal. I will call it Newtax because it is not fair and is new.
Now the proponents will go into their attack mode. I think they are all Pit Bulls.
In Boortz’s book he says that
prices will suddenly drop 22 percent when the embedded taxes in our goods and services go away. He also says that the Newtax rate is 23 percent.
He does not directly tie them together but these two statements would lead us to believe the Promised Land of only paying 1 percent more for what we buy and no income tax to pay anymore.
More from the Promised Land: If $30 tax is added to your $100 doctor bill or grocery bill somehow that is 23 percent? Try adding $300 a year to your $1,000 auto insurance bill. Actually it will (not in the law) be more like $37 as Georgians will not want to fill out income tax forms and demand a service tax added to our present 7 percent sales tax. Also promised is a prosperous economy with good jobs for all and a chicken in every pot.
I have paid taxes on my earnings all my life. Most of my retirement will come to me tax free. It is unfair to tax me again. What I pass on to my wife in life insurance and other assets should not be taxed.

Sincerely,
Bill Slaugenhop

Dear Editor:
There’s no question that our sole commissioner is a democratically elected representative of Pickens County’s people. The question is whether one person can continue to adequately represent this population.
I see three (3) ways of looking at “representation”:
First, representation by population characteristics. A sole commissioner, being one person with a particular set of values, concerns and opinions, should be responsive to the full range of values, concerns and opinions of increasingly diverse segments of the population. As the number of residents increases from migration into Pickens County, differences are likely to increase, such as these:
• The size and degree of community involvement of different age groups. For example, young families with school-age children and “empty nester” retirees will have diverse interests in schools and types of recreational services.
• Wide variation in income levels. As the county’s economy grows, it will attract and support jobs with a wide range of wages and salaries. Also, people may choose to live here and commute elsewhere to the same variety of jobs. People of different income levels may have different expectations of the number and quality of county services, as well as different abilities to pay for those services.
• Urban preferences and expectations. Residents who prefer suburban or urban environments will expect more public services and more intensive public services than residents who prefer a rural environment. Pickens County is certainly becoming more urbanized as we continue to squeeze more people into the same land area.
Second, representation by geographic characteristics. To read the rest of this letter and others see this week's print edition.