Letters to the Editor for the week of 7/27/2010

Dear Editor:
When are people going to lay blame on the illegal alien situation where it really lies? It lies with the crooked employer that employs them. I see and hear time and again how a government official claims the “illegal’s” are costing citizens jobs and not paying taxes on the earnings they receive, thereby costing billions of dollars in lost revenue, etc. If businesses were not taking advantage of these people, and followed the letter of the law in verifying the right to work before putting them to work, the influx of illegal aliens would decline. It does not take a genius to understand if there is no work for them, they have little to gain by being here.
A common practice in the construction industry is to hire subcontractors. Example: A roofing crew. A home builder subs out the roofing to a subcontractor at an agreed rate, the sub has a crew working for him, he pays a decided upon fee to the crew leader who subsequently pays his workers in cash. No taxes are collected no Medicare/ Medicaid deductions are collected. Instead of the business owner having to pay taxes, meeting the deductions required by law, he gets away without paying them. Drive around thru any Hispanic neighborhood early in the morning and see the men standing on the corners in groups and watch and see who picks them up after a short discussion. You will see pick-up trucks get loaded with several individuals and drive off. Do you think they are going to a party? The problem is not that illegal aliens do not want to pay taxes it is the crooked business man that does not want to pay them, thereby reducing his overhead and allowing them to pocket more money. They are the cheats. They are the problem.
Crooked employers are costing legal citizens the jobs not the illegal aliens. If a contractor needs 10 people to do a job he would have to hire 10 people and pay taxes at the prescribed percentages, by NOT hiring individuals, but rather sub-contracting, he pays nothing in taxes. Our government needs to crack down on these practices and give jail time for income tax evasion for these low life businessmen and the problem will go away. It makes too much sense to go after the real problem, crooked business people, so it will never happen.

Charles O. Hendrix, Jr.

Dear Editor:
The family of Sgt. David S. Collins wishes to express our deep gratitude to all of those who contributed to memorializing David at the naming of the intersection at Hwy. 515 and Philadelphia Road. At the risk of mistakenly leaving someone out, we want to single out these individuals and groups:
State Rep. Rick Jasperse, Cherie Martin, Charlene Higgins, Matt Wilson, Rev. Von Hinton, Howell Keown, Pat Gallagher, Sheriff Donnie Craig, Judge Brenda Weaver, Judge Allen Wigington, Debra Watson, DA Joe Hendricks, Huey/Darby Funeral Home, Cagle Funeral Home, ETC, Patriot Guard Riders, Disabled American Veterans Honor Guard, Georgia Department of Transportation, Pickens County Sheriff’s Department, Jasper Police Department, veterans and everyone who attended. May God bless all of you.

Family of Sgt. David S. Collins

Dear Editor:
My name is Diamond. I am a DJ in Jasper, and this is my story. In 1997 I was in an auto accident, and for the last six years I’ve been living on a mountain, pretty much not having anything to do with anyone, family included. I had some terrible things happen to me in my life including a very bad abusive marriage. I do not remember wanting to take my life but I do know that I’d stopped living.
In February of this year I met a man named Mark Hellinger at a small radio station called WIVL and, as our DJ Jett Edison likes to remind me, that stands for “We Invite Virtual Listeners”. This man gave me a chance, he let me DJ (I had no prior experience, just a good voice and he wanted a girl DJ) and brought me back from the dead. My life has changed every day since. I have already had some amazing experiences and met so many amazing people.
Now this station is in trouble. Mark is a famous DJ who won an Emmy. He had an idea for a radio station after his niece suffered from a crippling disease. He hires the disabled. He believed the experience would get them out of the house and their lives would be changed. He was definitely right in my case. I’m not nearly as disabled as some since my disability is my foot. This station exists only because of sponsors/advertising/donations from businesses and the general public. We were making it but the man that made Mark the loan had decided to call in the entire amount. We have a $62,000 problem. Mark would like to raise $100,000 so we have enough left to keep the station going until we get on our feet.
Please help save this station. I get so many calls from people that say WIVL has changed their life, and we have been on the air such a short time. I have seen Jasper rally together for many things. My first reporting job was on the benevolence of this town. I personally volunteer 25 hours each week because I love Mark and WIVL. Donations may be sent to WIVL, PO Box 280, Jasper, Ga. 30143. Any questions, call 706-253-2500.
PS: I am such a Toby Keith fan. I play him every day. I hope to see him in concert on 9-2-10. Maybe somebody knows him; maybe I can meet him; maybe he can come to Jasper and do a benefit.

Thank you,
Diamond

Dear Editor:
In response to the opinion piece masquerading as news in last week’s Progress concerning Bent Tree’s deer population, we have the following comments:
The problem started with the title of the article and the reference to logic. The guided tour of Bent Tree by Ms. Carden showed only areas of the guide’s choosing, clearly a biased approach.


See this week's print edition for the rest of this and other Letters to the Editor.