I retired from Department of Human Resources in December of 1999 after working in the state Regional Hospital System in Bainbridge and Thomasville.

During my tenure with the State Hospital System, I had the pleasure of being associated to some degree with community-based programs and services. I admit that there is a lot that I don’t know about the community-based programs and services, but there is one thing that I did learn while employed with DHR, and that is that there is nothing that cannot be achieved if you get the right people in positions of authority involved.

If the people in authority would take the time to read the mission statements that are affixed to the walls throughout their facilities and adhere to the mission and get involved in solving the problem that Cornelius and his family is faced with rather than expending time on identifying reasons to deny instead of ways to fix the problem, then this family’s dilemma would be solved.

To the people who might read this in positions of authority in state government and the elected official’s that the people pay, you know there is a way, it’s all in the want to. My hat is off to Susan Steen for being an advocate for Cornelius.

Keep pushing on until positive results are accomplished.

DeVaughn Valentine