To Dr. Glenn Golaszewski and Mountain Valley Hospice for holding a public health care meeting to see what message area residents wanted to send to president-elect Barrack Obama regarding changes in the nation’s health care system.

Obama has promised change in many areas, this being near the top of the list, and he asked for input from medical professionals and private citizens.

Dr. Golaszewski and Mountain Valley Hospice put together a forum for learning what was important to local health care professionals and residents, and will forward that information to an Obama transition team.

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To all who took the time to show up and comment at the aforementioned health care forum. It’s easy to complain about the problems in life, but those who took time to attend the forum and speak took a proactive step toward bringing about change.

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To Jim Harrell III who took kids from the Children’s Center of Surry County for a shopping trip in Elkin.

Harrell and his family and other mentors at the Children’s Center, take the kids on an annual shopping trip for the youth to pick up items they need without having to worry about the cost.

He does it simply because he saw a community need, and has the means to fill a void in the lives of some kids.

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To Angela Llewellyn and the Mount Airy Public Library for a game night set to debut this coming Thursday.

No big social ills will be addressed, not major challenges will be met. It’s simply a program for folks to get together, have some friendly competition playing various board and table games, and have some fun while getting the chance to meet others from the community.