Benefactors Needed for Camp Happy Land

Dear Friend:

The Salvation Army Service Units of Mecklenburg and Charlotte County will send children from our areas to Camp Happy Land on June 30, 2014 for a week of Bible classes, music, crafts, swimming, boating, sports and many other activities. Each child selected to attend will be from a needy or foster home, and from an environment that normally could not afford such an opportunity. The training and experience gained during their stay will be extremely beneficial as they mature into our citizens of tomorrow.

To attend, each child must have a benefactor to cover the $150 sponsorship fee, and it is our hope to raise funds to support 26 children. Additionally, each child must possess a sleeping bag, swim attire and toilet articles prior to departure, which frequently results in added expense. Please keep in mind that these children are from under-privileged homes and do not always possess the day-to-day articles that many of us enjoy.

We are seeking your generosity as sponsors ($150); however, any contribution will be gratefully appreciated, and used to purchase the additional items that are often needed. In the event that funds are received in excess to Camp HappyLand needs, those monies will be utilized to help children in our area in other ways such as clothing, food, housing and at Christmas. All donations are tax deductible when payable to The Salvation Army, and checks should be annotated as Camp HappyLand. Sponsorship support should be mailed to Treasurers as follows:

• Boydton-Clarksville: P. O. Box 494 Boydton, VA 23917

• Chase City-Charlotte County: P. O. Box 431 Charlotte Court House, VA 23923

Please let us hear from you soon. God Bless you and thank you for your consideration and support.

Mecklenburg/Charlotte Salvation Army Service Units

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The date was Tuesday April 15th, the time 3 p.m., and the place Prince Edward County’s Board of Supervisors’ Conference Room, the event the final Budget Work Session before the Public Hearing on the budget.

I clung to my seat as Supervisors Wilks, Cooper-Jones, Campbell, and Timmons battled it out for the Citizens and cutting some excessive and costly appropriations and being more fiscally responsible in our spending.

While I watched Supervisor McKay threaten to vote no on funding our Public Library, unless the YMCA was given an additional $23,500.00 for their Summer Camp; (remember Supervisors McKay and Simpson are on the Board of the YMCA) and Supervisors Jones and Townsend came to the rally that the YMCA is the County’s Parks and Recreation; yet none said anything about the pending EEOC ongoing complaints or investigations. So the YMCA is walking away with $118,000.00 of taxpayer’s money this year.

$50,000.00 interest free to start being paid back in 2019

$20,000.00 Summer Program

$25,000.00 Regular Appropriations

$23,500.00 Summer Camp

Then there was the County’s Insurance plan that instead of giving everyone this free; with the Exception of Emergency Services Personnel, and those county Employees making less than $50,000.00 the employee should pay a portion of their insurance premium, and their $250.00 deductible. (A savings of $56,000.00)

Steps got its normal $23,000.00 without showing just what dividend is the County of Prince Edward getting on its investment.

And then came what I consider to be helpful Community Services, FACES Food Bank which could have received more considering it helps feed thousands of our citizens, or the Free Clinic, which helps those who still fall through the cracks of the health care system, and within their short period of existence has helped hundreds if not thousands of our fellow system and which supervisor Jones voted no to giving them a meager $20,000.00.

So it did not amaze me that Tuesday April 22nd Public Hearing meeting which Supervisor and Board Chair Simpson was gracious enough to give us “po citizens” three minutes to speak; even though only ten citizens spoke, giving us five, (would have meant you would have to spend 50 minutes not 30 listening to our concerns.) Plus without any feedback from board members the citizens felt shorted.

We can only hope that something we as citizens of this county said will change the mind(s) of one or two of the holdout Supervisors, to do what’s right for the citizens of this county. I want to add we did the tax increase and vehicle increase five years ago, it added extra taxes to land owners who owned vehicles too, and we never saw positive use of those funds either. In addition and finally in June 2014 our new real estate assessments will be out and we will know how much of an increase or decrease there is in funding, this is not worked into the budget in actual numbers.

Hope to see you all on May 6th 2014, 7:00 p.m., 3rd floor Board Room see who fights for the citizens, and fight for ourselves.

 Kenneth Jackson, Rice Virginia

*****

Your newspaper is interesting, fearless and clever. I’m glad the recipes aren’t so full of sugar. I enjoy the puzzles, information, Bible oriented columns – in fact, I look forward to your paper each week.

Jean F. Gay (Mrs. James O. Gay), Victoria, VA