Rockdale Citizen

"My Christmas wish this year would be for no teacher at Conyers Middle School to be called into the principal's office over the intercom minutes before leaving for the holiday break and told they are not wanted back because of problems at the school beyond their control. Even the Grinch eventually found his heart ..."----

"I would like to say a word of thanks to Kevin Rogers, the principal of the RCHS ninth-grade academy. I have had my kids go through his program and I appreciate his hard work, professionalism, and support that he gives the students, parents, and teachers. He has great teachers under him and seems to support them very well. He provides a firm but upbeat environment for the kids to excel in."----

"In all my years of teaching, I have never met a more incompetent administration as the ones at Hightower Trail Elementary. You want to know why the students are not progressing? It is because the administration does not believe in the teachers and does not know how to run a school. Scheduling is a huge issue, as well as utilizing personnel effectively. The administration is only obsessed with pointing out the weaknesses of teachers who work many hours, neglect their families at home and love their students. I wish the county office would come into that school and take a survey of the teachers that are happy ...! I guarantee they would not want the students treated this way! Something really needs to be done about this before they run off more great personnel!"----

"911 services have long been a vital part of public safety in, not only Rockdale County, but in every community in our country. We celebrate police officers, sheriff's deputies, fire fighters and EMTs and rightfully so. These men and women risk their lives to protect and serve their communities. However, does anyone ever stop to consider the men and women that are on the other end of the phone or radio when a citizen or emergency personnel need assistance? Every time the fire department responds to put out a fire, every time a police officer or deputy responds to a domestic call, accident, robbery, every time an EMS unit is there to take care of a person with a medical emergency ... a dispatcher was there to answer the call and get that person help. The 911 center in Rockdale county is under staffed, it's dispatchers are over-worked for minimal pay (they make considerably less than every other surrounding county or city agency) and this year they were given absolutely no recognition or acknowledgment for any of their efforts in helping to keep our community safe. Dispatchers may not show up in person to fight a fire, stop a fight, perform CPR or chase down a person robbing a house but without those dispatchers no one would show up to assist our citizens. They don't do it for the pay, they don't do it for the recognition (obviously) ... they do it because they are dedicated and care about the welfare of the citizens in this county. I would like to say 'thank you" to all the men and women of Rockdale County 911 for being there when I call for help. I appreciate their dedication and assistance even if the higher powers that be in this county do not."----

"Nice work to the police/sheriff who caught the air conditioning thief. Now, as a citizen of the city and county, I would like to ask that the police, DA, and judges throw the book at this man to deter all of his friends in Lithonia. If he gets a swift prosecution and stiff sentence, it may keep others from coming over and taking our air conditioners. I would like for thieves who have their eyes on Conyers to to rethink it. I would like all Atlanta and DeKalb criminals to say 'I'm not going to Conyers, they don't play over there! The cops are smart, the jail is terrible, and the judges don listen to sob stories!'"