Well, this week has been one of the most eventful since I started putting your paper together.

First of all, I was so impressed with the meeting of the Gates County Board of Commissioners. Not only was it extremely interesting to watch the group of six in action, but it was interesting to watch as they interacted with each other and those who came before the commission to discuss their concerns.

The board Chairman, J.S. Pierce of Sunbury, paid strict attention, but also the County Manager, Mark E. Biberdorf of Gatesville, was absorbed by each of the citizens who presented their &uot;case&uot; for consideration. Marsha Faulk Langston of Gates was most amiable with her &uot;I move for approval&uot; on the issues presented, and she was certainly tuned in to each person before the board.

Vice Chairman, William H. Harrell of Eure, and L. Frank Rountree, a Hobbsville resident of the county, listened as if the questions and issues under consideration were personal to them. You don’t see that in many public offices.

David R. Brown, a Gatesville resident who is also a probation officer for Gates County, was definitely looking out for local residents when the issue of a fuel contract was brought before the commission. He wanted to make sure that citizens of Gates County would not lose a dime in the deal. After Biberdorf explained the details of the contract, Brown was satisfied and approved it along with the other commissioners. You do not see such cooperation and expeditious handling of details in most other communities. It is obvious that this half-dozen definitely has the welfare of the people of Gates County in mind as they make decisions on county issues.

In another instance with local leaders, Sheriff Edward E. Webb was one of those who came before the commission. He brought T-shirts for the group in celebration of a $10,000 grant from the state that was awarded to his office, enabling the sheriff and his deputies, Sgt. Randy Hathaway in particular, to continue to enforce both the &uot;Booze it and Lose it&uot; and &uot;Click it or Ticket&uot; campaigns. Much to his credit, the Sheriff was like a glass of the old remedy &uot;Bromo-Seltzer&uot; in his enthusiasm. He was literally bubbling with excitement over the grant that won’t cost local citizens one red cent, but will definitely stop some drunk drivers and those who refuse to possibly save their own life by buckling up.

Sheriff Webb and his deputies are also concerned for the youth of this community, a fact proved when Webb also advised the commissioners that the School Board had come to him about fighting at the high school. As he presented the facts to the commissioners, it was obvious that he’d immediately grabbed their total attention. Just as quickly, every one of the commissioners agreed; it has to stop and the sheriff and his deputies are the ones to nip it in the bud.

Later that same evening, Commissioner Brown was present at the School Board meeting to advise the group that the commissioners had approved the Sheriff’s presence in the school. Superintendent Robert Hahne and Chairman of the Board Dale Saunders both expressed great appreciation to the Sheriff’s Office for their quick action.

Nowhere have I ever seen such immediate response to solving a problem that could have developed into an event.

Also this week I visited the site of the Red Cross Blood Drive, the Community Center, where the Gates County Rotary Club had again sponsored the event. There, I found, once again, County Manager Biberdorf was ensconced along with Mack Eason, both Rotarians. They were there to assist Red Cross nurses and Gates County’s Red Cross Representative, Ruby Joyce Buck, as they all helped local citizens give the gift of life. The Red Cross will be back in another 58 days so if you didn’t get to give the gift of life this time, be sure to check with them then. Remember; every unit of donated blood saves at least three lives.

Well, the fat is in the fire again! Now I’m just furious with Massachusetts

Senator Ted Kennedy. Now why, you may ask, should I even worry about the senator from the great state of Massachusetts? Well, in case you’ve not already heard; he’s working hard to revise the Constitution of the United States, the one our dear old forefathers founded this nation upon.

It seems that Kennedy is trying to block President Bush’s appointment of conservative, Christian, pro-life judges to the federal bench. Now you may be a Democrat and maybe you don’t like Bush’s policies, but if you are a Christian, you must know; that just ain’t right.

Kennedy and a handful of his fellow senators had used (or should I say abused?) their power to continue to stall nominations of judges. The honorable senators filibusted, endlessly debated and in the end, refused to vote on the nominees. This prompted the President to appoint Judge William Pryor to the Eleventh Circuit. Bush exercised a presidential right to do so during a Senate recess, but even that failed to stop the Kennedy machine.

Sen. Kennedy devised a federal lawsuit to oust Judge Pryor. It was an action, a legal maneuver, that coming from a member of the United States Senate, is wrong, unconstitutional, and unprecedented in more than 200 years of history in this great nation.

Scary thing is; if Kennedy wins the lawsuit, he will have set a new standard; a virtual veto power over presidential appointments. In essence, he will have established a dictatorship of constitutional order over citizens living under the law.

The Attorney General under the late President Ronald Reagan, Edwin Meese, has asked the Eleventh Circuit Court to set right this abuse of power – and the citizens of the United States and we in Gates County should stand with him.

Kennedy’s lawsuit, at best, is desperate politics of the lowest kind. Will you stand idle while the senator makes a mockery of the Constitutional law as set forth by the proud founders of this nation?

If you believe that Judge Pryor’s appointment by the president is in the best interest of this nation, write to your Congressional contacts; Senator John Edwards and Senator Elizabeth Dole at the U.S. Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20501. We may not live in Massachusetts, but we can let the big wheels that think they run this country know that we won’t stand idly by while qualified Christians are literally drummed out of office.

So how was your week? If you’d like to share your thoughts, please send letters to the editor by e-mail to cal.bryant@r-cnews.com. Please include your telephone number, which will not be published, but used only to verify your submission.