Dear Editor,
I read an opinion article in Saturday’s paper written by Ashley Johnson that troubled me. The article began by referring to a woman’s bitter response towards her choice of cheesecake toppings in correlation to the gratefulness of children in Africa eating rice. Then the article went on to plug Ms. Johnson’s upcoming wedding.
However, the title of the article would lead one to believe that the progress of Bainbridge would be discussed. As I enjoy the many events that are held here, I’ve noticed some things that could have been mentioned in the article. For example, unsupervised children attending Relay for Life leaving restrooms and other areas filled with trash, people yelling at graduation ceremonies making it difficult for loved ones to hear their relatives’ names, overflowing trash cans on the side of the roads days before pickup, using out-of-town/large chains to purchase items for events such as weddings, instead of using local businesses which would bring great revenue to the city, free breakfast and lunch programs for those children that will not receive them because school is out, the lack of/very few free summer programs for children of low economic status, which could possibly reduce crime, or the poor handling of the youth baseball/softball/T-ball 2014 season.
The above examples as well as other concerns are much bigger issues for the residents of Bainbridge to focus on and read about. We certainly wish Ms. Johnson years of happiness and we hope she patronizes the fine shops we have here when purchasing items for her wedding. As we plan and strategize on ways to feed the children of Bainbridge throughout the summer, we will keep the children of Africa and other areas in our hearts. Lastly, we will be mindful when expressing our perceptions, with our choice of words, relativity to issues and descriptions of events.
For some of us, Bainbridge is not just a rest area. This great city is our home.

Darlene Melton
Bainbridge