The honor given to Chief Jack Krakeel at the recent Region V EMS awards banquet reminded me that perhaps the people in Fayette County do not realize what an incredible leader they have for their Emergency Services.

Our government can find $600 million to build a Taj Mahal of an embassy in Iraq with tennis courts, spas, pools and all the other amenities of the finest hotels. [It’s] a structure that can be destroyed in seconds in a country we are supposed to be in for the short haul.

Unbelievable. I was somewhat taken aback by the mayor’s comment that the Kedron CSX railroad siding has been constructed unbelievably fast.

Rodeo participant Bo Huddleston chose to join the rodeo circuit, but the animals he gets such a “rush” from have no choice (“Starr’s Mill senior qualifies for state rodeo in bull riding,” May 23).

Howard Dial went to great lengths to defend his faith from the very silly and very popular phenomenon we call “The Da Vinci Code.” But Mr. Dial seemed a bit confused, a bit torn, in the article.

Pepper Adams in his letter to the editor [“What are the odds? It takes a heap of faith to maintain atheist viewpoint”] makes numerous spurious claims about what folks in the scientific community believe and how they arrive at their beliefs.

I e-mailed Barry Amos for some information about Tyrone but got the runaround and finally was told I could have it for $49. Here is the e-mail I sent:

The two candidates that were disqualified recently to run for Fayette County Board of Education are whining away in the newspapers. Not once did either of them take any responsibility for any of their actions in these matters.

The governor and other state Republicans must be very happy indeed about their recent loss. Yes, they’ve got to be beaming at the recent ruling from that “activist” judge (not just a woman, but a black woman to boot) concerning the Georgia version of the “Defense of Marriage Act.” She threw it out on a technicality. They say they’ll appeal, but really? Why not re-word it to comply with the judge’s ruling and put it on the ballot this November? After all, President Bush has said he’d like to see the “Defense of Marriage Act” added to the U.S. Constitution.

What will happen when millions of illegals gain citizenship? Will they continue to work in sub-par jobs? Of course not.

The speed at which news travels in our modern world is head-spinning. The novel, “The Da Vinci Code,” by Dan Brown is one example of how quickly books and movies can dominate our cultural experience. Its intriguing plot, well-written prose, mass-media attention, and the controversy it has inspired have combined to make this book a best-seller.

Thank you for publishing articles from two local Marines in editions of your paper last week. I think it appropriate that you welcome and publish articles related to veterans and current military personnel in the periods preceding and following our two national holidays that recognize veterans. I am pleased that other veterans see the need to publish these articles to help in educating our young people.

I appreciate this newspaper’s desire to allow our public officials the opportunity to attempt to set the record straight.

Thank you, Citizen, for being the only newspaper in the local area that I can depend on to present its readers with a semblance of balance in its editorial and commentary pages.

During the past three weeks, I have exchanged several e-mail messages with Senator Saxby Chambliss concerning his insistence that this country have an alien work program to aid farmers.

It would be much appreciated by the thousands of World War II and Korean War era veterans if you could publish the following:

Any effect may be categorized as having one of two causes, natural or supernatural. Many scientists repeatedly claim that only natural explanations are allowed into a scientific discussion. By definition this puts them in the field of promoting naturalist, or atheist, philosophy.

Senator Isakson, I am writing as an aging retired Army general officer, very concerned over what the U.S. Congress is miserably failing to accomplish for this nation, both long- and short-term. Have the following concerns:

What is going on in Washington, D.C.? The borders are wide open and we have 13-15 million illegal aliens in this country and what is the first thing our elected officials think of? They take a hiatus for Easter. They’ll worry about the border after they get back from their vacation.

Did you buy a luminary to honor a loved one or in memory of someone who has died from cancer?

Did you join a team and walk from sunset to sunrise?

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you and your readers about Celebration on the Hill. This is a grassroots effort of the American Cancer Society, a unique event that will show our country’s lawmakers how the American Cancer Society is waging the fight against cancer in communities nationwide.

Kudos to Sallie Satterthwaite. She has the heart and love for Peachtree City that those of us who have been here 30-plus years share.

The County Commission has been in a fight with all our departments for a long time. What is all the fuss about?

It’s about the money. Greg Dunn, Linda Wells, and Peter Pfeifer have been driving the money bus for far too long. In every campaign, candidates seeking election state that they will bring better communication between county and city governments. Is the job just about making a friend or is there something more?

I am tired of Bush haters, like Mr. Bishop of Fayetteville, who recently shared his opinion on gas prices in your newspaper, selectively listening to the President.

Just one question for the candidates for Fayette School Board candidates:

Will you, or will you not, vote to give back summer vacation to Fayette students and their parents?

It has been my deep privilege to serve as your state representative in the 2005-2006 General Assembly. Our state legislature exists for a biennium, meaning we have a two-year term to finish legislation that will improve our quality of life, as well as provide enough time to stop legislation that may have serious unintended consequences.

I read Trey Hoffman’s response with amusement and disbelief. He either didn’t get the main points and should have said so, or he did and committed sophistry to divert the attention of other readers from the subject discussed.

I am an ophthalmologist at Piedmont Fayette Community hospital and feel compelled to write in to discuss a serious topic: Eye safety.

On April 29 about 4:30 in the afternoon, I was walking back from a long run up Kelly Green Drive into Planterra Ridge when I heard a golf cart approaching fast behind me.

Cal, your opinion column on April 26, 2006, quotes extensively from my recent letter to the editor. In the letter I asked you several questions about your apparent failure to investigate and report accurately on the ongoing litigation between the commissioners and the sheriff. You answered none of them. Rather, you quoted me out of context and tried, once again, to make the commissioners look foolish and worse, like lawbreakers.