New middle school should be named for mayor

Editor:

This is a new millennium and our nation is strong only because there are those who have given of themselves heroically. Since Sept. 11 we have become aware of how saliently freedom impacts our American way of life.

I am amused with Barry Paschals opinions for naming new Columbia County schools. He mentions great philanthropists, giants in education and renowned politicians as deserving individuals. It is certain that those he names are already etched in the annals of our history, and rightly so.

However, I vehemently disagree that this honor should be bestowed posthumously upon a notably deserving individual. None is more deserving to have a school bear their name than the Grovetown Mayor Den-nis Trudeau. During World War II, at the mature age of 17, he was thrust into captivity where he encountered the utmost horrors of terror and starvation as he bravely defended the freedoms that we enjoy today. No, he was not a decorated general, but his tenacity and sheer grit filled the gap for you and me as he endured until the freedom bells sounded around the world.

Following retirement from the military, he has been a public servant at the helm of policy-making for the city of Grovetown. Education has been one of his major priorities. He has even served as a mentor for Grovetown Elem-entary students who needed a shoulder to lean on, and he frequently participates in school activities.

Now is the time to give honor to whom honor is due and name the proposed first Grovetown Middle School for a living, worthy, educational giant. After all, he has been pleading for this new middle school for just 15 years. ...

Rosa Lee Owens

Grovetown

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