The recent fund-raising dinner for the Boys and Girls Club of Lauderdale County was a tremendous success. That success is due in large part to the good people of Meridian and Lauderdale County, businesses, churches, groups and individuals who came together to support a proven youth program.

This success is also due to a caring and committed board of directors and staff that believes in providing a positive place for our youth. However, most of the success can be attributed to the members of the Boys and Girls Club. It is their effort, commitment and example that capture the hearts of our community.

For everyone that helped to make this "Celebration of Excellence" so successful, I extend a heartfelt thank you! Every dollar we raise is critical to the continued operation of the Boys and Girls Club of Lauderdale County. In today's environment, it is so refreshing to see and be a part of a community that cares. We were able to raise approximately $50,000 dollars with the dinner, the Mitchell Boys and Girls Club Endowment was established and we had our largest turnout ever.

For those not familiar with the Boys and Girls Club, it truly is a positive place for kids. This is a nationwide program which was started in 1860 and has been serving youth ever since.

In a recent survey conducted by Louis Harris, more than half of the club's alumni stated that the club helped save their lives, and a Columbia University study found that public housing with access to a Boys and Girls Club experienced a significant reduction in drug activity and juvenile crime. Whether it is homework help, counseling, recreational activities, monitoring, leadership skills or just plan self-esteem, the Boys and Girls Club is making a difference.
Steve Cobb, president of the board
Boys and Girls Club of Lauderdale County

Agri-Center wasn't built to make money?
To the Editor:

I'm sorry but I had to laugh when reading the story about the "Agri-Center" in (the) paper. The statement, "It wasn't built to make money..." is a turn-around from what we have been told for the past many years that this project has bounced around.

The real problem is that the supervisors, past and present, make up their minds (?) and press on regardless of the facts (or lack of).

Several years ago when the idea of the Agri-Center was first being discussed I talked to our supervisors about traveling to Asheville, N.C., to view their facilities, as it is a profit-making facility, but none were interested.

In fact, on one of my trips to Asheville I made an appointment with the director of the center and spent about an hour with him. From that meeting, I brought back cost of operating, drawings and the fee schedule for the rent of the facilities. All this information was turned over to the Board of Supervisors to no avail. Perhaps now, one supervisor might eat a little crow and go to Asheville and get some information first-hand.

The idea of the Agri-Center is a good one as it can make money but it is going to cost us, the taxpayers, more money. To turn our "horse barn" into a profit-making center is going to cost at least another million dollars regardless of how we feel about the place. We also need a new architect to do it right this time.
Roy P. Gibbens
Meridian

We've lost sight of Independence Day
To the Editor:

Why do we celebrate Independence Day a day during which we listen to one speech after the other emanating from the mouths of monarchists praising our founding fathers who fought and died to gain our independence from an overpowering central government while having long forfeited that very independence to an existing, all-powerful central government?

On the fourth, we unwittingly enjoy our pork ribs while today's floundering fathers continue to trade more and more pork for more and more power.
Armond "Si" Simmons
Pell City, Ala.

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The Meridian Star
P.O. Box 1591
Meridian, MS 39302