Comments from our readers.

Y'ALL DON'T GET IT. Much of Columbia County would love to see Augusta-Richmond County disintegrate into ashes. But why? Do you not realize the overall impact to this area? No celebrities, no companies and no jobs ... Maybe even no Masters, either!

WHY IS AUGUSTA GOING to do a bus route study at a cost of $15,000 a month when the ridership information is already available for the Augusta Mall route? I see a small number of riders get off at the mall. This is a huge waste of money.

RAVES FOR THOSE board of education members who appreciate that oversight of their respective school systems' operations necessitates frequent visits to their system's schools, offices, warehouses and shops.

RICK MCKEE'S cartoon about the bidding process, is, as usual, right on the mark. BUT, it's not the "process" that's busted. It's the people running it.

RICHMOND SCHOOLS suffer from bomb threats. Punishment for those caught making these threats should include public beatings in front of all other students. Of course, that'll never happen.

EACH MONTH AUGUSTA commissioners get enough gas to drive an average car to Texas and back, or to Maine and back.

RAVE FOR THE LADY known only as Margaret, who, in the doctor's office, gave money to the grandmother of a Marine to provide knitted caps for those serving in Iraq.

A RANT FOR THE "leaders" of Hephzibah -- give it up and let us join Augusta. We're tired of this 1950s mentality.

A RANT TO THE middle school science curriculum that requires eighth-graders to be weighed by a peer in front of the classroom. Aren't teachers aware that even the thinnest girls that age spend an inordinate amount of time complaining that they're "too fat" and comparing themselves to other girls favorably or unfavorably? And what about the boys? Surely there's a better, less humiliating way to demonstrate the scientific concepts under discussion!

MURPHEY MIDDLE SCHOOL apparently failed to report many crimes committed there. Isn't it a crime to NOT report crimes?

IF YOU WANT to understand why Augusta is shrinking and Columbia County growing, consider this: Augusta wants to spend money to put up plaques for their politicians; Columbia County builds monuments to those who have gone in harm's way for freedom.