Dear Friends and Neighbors of Pickens County Medical Center:

We would like to personally invite you to our 2010 Pickens County Medical Center Foundation Lollapa-looza “BBQ on the Bayou.” This annual event continues to be the major fundraiser for our newly renovated and expanded, state-of-the-art Emergency Depart-ment. We are very proud of our new facility and the environment it has created for our patients, their families, and our staff.

Please join us on Saturday, Oct. 9, for a silent auction which will begin at 5 p.m. with something for everyone; Gates Restaurant will provide a mouth-watering dinner consisting of ribs, barbeque pork, chicken, and all the fixings starting at 6 p.m.; and entertainment provided by “MidLife Crisis” featuring local keyboard sensation Jeremy Manion. This will be a fun-filled evening for all who attend, and you don’t want to miss it!

Tickets are available at Pickens County Medical Center. For more information please contact 205-367-8111 ext 483.

Reserved Tables are $200; individual tickets are $20; and T-shirts are $10.

Thank you for being a friend and supporter of Pickens County Medical Center and the Pickens County Medical Center Foundation. With your help, we can achieve our vision: “To be the best rural health care organization in the nation.”

Sincerely,

John E. Paluzzi, Chairman

Pickens County Medical Center Foundation

H. Wayne McElroy, Administrator

Pickens County Medical Center

An open letter to Larry Blakeney,

Thanks, Coach. And bless you. I've told you before. I'd like to again.

In the late 60's you coached my little league baseball team in Gordo; the Beatles. We won our "league". I got the game-winning hit in the championship game against the Animals (our teams were unfortunately named for music groups--Beatles, Animals, Monkees and Turtles).

During that summer, friends wanted me to quit baseball (in the late 60s and early 70s, "quitting" and dropping out were all the rage, even in Gordo). Our conversation was brief. Perhaps you didn't remember it later that day. Small moments are often the most important.

I think I was born a quitter. Too comfortable a role. Too afraid of failure to see a thing to its end. Certainly, I was that day. Mom forced me to talk to you before quitting. Left on my own, I would not have made that effort. But being a southern boy who loves his mom, I went to the field to talk with you. And stayed. And played.

I remember blooping that improbable walk-off single down the right field line in the final game for the title. I can see the ball plop down just inside the right field line. It was a fluke. Knew it then. Know it now. But here's the thing. I was thinking of you and Auburn as I always do when September approaches. I am a son of Gordo and of War Eagle persuasion. Today, the full impact of our brief talk hit me. It occurs to me the reason I had this success 40 years ago was because of the confidence I felt in myself through you.

This isn't meant in an "if not for you I would have quit" way. It's true enough. But I recall having two strikes on me. I remember thinking I was "damn well not going to strike out looking." So, I flailed away at a low away pitch. I'm sure it was outside. A ball. But I was not going to strike out looking. Providence and luck combined, the ball fell into short right. I don't remember who scored. I do remember proudly standing on first base.

We all strike out on occasion. Striking out is not failure. Striking out looking is. Taking a grand swing and coming up empty can be glorious.

So thank you, coach. Thank you for touching my life. I can only imagine the huge impact you have on dedicated young men who never need to be told to stick with it and swing away.

Don Anthony

Carmel, IN

snorkellovango@me.comDear Editor,

Dear Editor:

Over the past several months, I have encouraged all of those running for office to run clean and respectable campaigns. Our citizens deserve no less. Most have agreed and are running campaigns, both local and statewide, that are honorable and issues based.

It is important, as we move toward the November general election, that you really get to know your candidates. Please take time to research and understand their political philosophies, their track record (incumbents), their platforms and, most of all, their character.

When candidates slander and distort the truth, it really reflects badly on that candidate. As voters we must demand and expect a higher standard from our elected officials!

Thank you to the candidates running clean and honorable campaigns.

Sincerely,

Alan Harper

State Representative

District 61

The Pickens County Herald welcomes letters to the editor; however, there are a few things we ask of those who do write in. First, all letters must be signed and include complete mailing addresses. We will not run unsigned letters. Also, please include your telephone number; this is needed for verification purposes, but the number will not be printed. Letters without phone numbers that cannot be verified will not be printed. Please keep letters as brief as possible. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity, or possible libel, but we will not change the tone of meaning of your letter.

The Herald's editorial page is for opinions and comments. Editorials of the Herald are the opinion of the

management. Other articles, cartoons, or letters are the opinions of the writers, whose names are included, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the management.

This newspaper tries to report news fairly and accurately. When we fall short of that objective, we welcome complaints from our readers. Please direct your comments to Doug Sanders Jr., Editor and Publisher, at the Pickens County Herald, P.O. Box 390, Carrollton, AL 35447. You may call during regular business hours at 367-2217. We do not knowingly make misstatements of fact. If we find that we have, we will gladly make a correction in the next issue.

Publisher/Editor ... Doug Sanders, Jr.

Business Manager ........... Ann Gates

Sports Editor .......... Kevin Strickland

Staff Writer ........... Matthew Satcher

The Pickens County Herald (ISSN 0893-0767) is published weekly at

215 Reform Street, P.O. Box 390, Carrollton, AL 35447. Phone 205-367-2217. Entered as Periodicals at the Post Office at Carrollton, AL 35447. Annual subscription rate is $29.50 for one year or $18.00 for six months for Pickens County residents; $33.00 per year or $21.00 per six months for adjoining counties. Subscriptions for Pickens County senior citizens (Pickens County ONLY) 65 and over are $22 for one year or $14 for six months. All others are $40.00 per year or $24.00 for six months.

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