DailyViews: Editorial

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From kindergarten to graduate school, graduation is an exciting time in a person’s life. The spring graduation ceremonies at Albany Technical College included a very special diploma recipient. Although it had been 65 years since Arthur L. Jones had been a full- time student, he decided to try for his GED. Having dropped out of school to serve in both the Navy and the Army during World War II, Jones and his wife took classes together until her unexpected death in July 2006. Perhaps others would have used the loss as an excuse to quite school yet again, but not Jones. Surrounded by students much, much younger, this 82-year-old donned his cap and gown and, with tears in his eyes, received his General Education Diploma. Those in attendance as well as his fellow classmates recognized this great accomplishment by giving the scholar a much- deserved standing ovation. Arthur L. Jones, as you continue to further your education (he has already enrolled to begin work on a computer information systems associate degree), we wish you the very best!

Volunteers from all over Albany and Dougherty County participated in the annual Stash-the-Trash event sponsored by Keep Albany- Dougherty Beautiful. How’d it go? With the help of 1,856 citizens, 18 tons of debris were removed from 86 miles of roadway. The used tire collection, a joint effort of the city, county and KADB, netted 52 tons of unwanted tires. Successful, is the best way to describe the event. Thank you one and all for giving your time to improving the appearance and safety of this community.

City Commissioner Jon Howard is well known for his accessibility to his constituents. Howard frequently holds town hall meetings to discuss an array of issues facing those same constituents. Most recently, Howard held a meeting to discuss the Georgia Fatherhood Program. The goal of the program is to educate non- custodial fathers who do not pay or who are behind in child support. By offering life management and job readiness skills, education, training and counseling, the fathers in the program can begin to recommit financially to their children. With the legal and financial issues under control, self esteem rises and relationships with family improve. It is a win-win situation. It is obvious that Jon Howard wants the best for his constituents. Keep up the good work.

Seventy Coffee County High School students paid over $200 each for a senior trip to Disney World. With bags packed, the excited teens gathered outside the school to load up buses for the trip. There were no buses, there were no reservations and, in reality, there never was a trip. A substitute teacher took all the money for herself. The good news is that students and staff at Valdosta State University heard what happened and quickly took action. About 50 of the kids attended the VSU campus luau last week for fun, food and entertainment. Thanks to a generous donation from Lowndes High School, each student also received a gift bag. While in attendance, the announcement came that Wild Adventures Theme Park had made arrangements for the seniors to come to the park on May 17 at no charge. The memories of the generosity that will allow these seniors to have a group trip after all will be good ones for sure.

The Albany Herald Editorial Board

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THE ALBANY HERALD Founded by H.M. McIntosh, 1891 126 N. Washington St., P.O. Box 48, Albany, Ga. 31702 Michael J. Gebhart, Publisher Jim Hendricks, Editor Danny Carter, Managing Editor Michael Hill, Circulation Director Tami Abbott, Advertising Director Lynn Ridder, Operations Director Cheryl Frakes, Business Office Manager