Comments from our readers:

There is a rose thief walking the street in Waynesboro. My neighbor has a rose bush inside her fence which can be reached over the fence. As soon as there are three or four roses open, the thief comes along and cuts them off. Maybe they are a cheap bouquet for his girlfriend. This has happened three times in the last few months - twice in two weeks. The occupant of the property never gets to enjoy her own roses.

I wanted to give a shout out to Mercedes Hamilton (Owner/Operator of Jump N' Beans) for donating the use of his inflatables to the Waynesboro Citizens of Georgia Power to use at Relay For Life. The money raised is for a great cause. The community should appreciate his generosity to assist many of our loved ones and friends who are touched by cancer. Please remember Mercedes for your next party needs!

Congratulations to James Banks and Charles "Bubba" Marshall of Big "J" & Bubba for placing in the Boss Hog Cook-off on Saturday. They were one of the three teams to place in the event from the local teams that entered. They are looking for sponsors to travel to out of town events to represent Waynesboro.

Chris Stewart, coach for the Irrigation Specialist boys midget league baseball team, you are a great coach who shows all our ball players integrity and honesty. I like your coaching techniques! Keep up the good work. We need more coaches like you for all our leagues.

Why doesn't the Burke County Board of Education start paying their employees weekly or bi-weekly instead of monthly? It's hard to support your family and pay bills when you're waiting to be paid once every four or five weeks. Surviving on the little bit of salary is lousy as it is, especially for those working for the maintenance department and custodians. These people and all others who work for the schools are the ones who set an example for our children. So please make a change and have payday sooner, especially with gas prices rising beyond belief.

I see that you were quick to report the overtime being paid

by the county. Now let's talk about the many days we spent away from our families so that the people of Burke County would have fire and EMS coverage through the county 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Most of the overtime was done as a need, not for the joy of making money.

Cats are a major problem in Waynesboro. In my area, stray cats roam free. I do not own cats or dogs, but if I did I would keep them contained on my property instead of letting them be a problem for my neighbors. These cats probably don't have houses, and they bed down in my outbuilding and cause an infestation of fleas.

To the people complaining about the overtime being in the paper: Hello … it's not private information. It's public record. When you get paid with our taxes, it becomes our business. Besides, I don't think anybody was criticizing the employees. It was just a statement of facts.

Columbia County Magistrate Judge Wade Padgett conducts classes for both teenagers and parents on crime prevention. See his web site at www.teenageyears101.com and click on classes. He should be invited to hold those classes in the Burke County schools immediately if not sooner. Also note that he wears a coat and tie and a robe … very professional.

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