To The Editor:
I am James Allen Baker, Master Sergeant, U.S. Air Force (Retired), the son of Ms. Beatrice Baker, of Latta. I am proud to announce the completion of my degree of Bachelor of Science Religion at Liberty University. When I graduated Latta High in 1972, I could not read or write well enough to fill out a job application. When I was in the ninth grade, my mother and I had to sign a note from school and that is when she found out that I could not write my own name. She made me sit at a table all evening writing my name until I could do it legibly. I believe I was one of the kids passed along to get rid of me. But, thanks to a praying mother, and probably the Vietnam War, I was able to join the Air Force. The first thing they did was to send me to school to learn to read and write. Thanks to my mother teaching me, with a switch, of course, to never make the same mistake twice, but to learn from it and move forward. That philosophy and getting the job done ahead of time so I would have time correct my mistakes helped  me in serving my country in the Air Force for 24 years.
On a political note, I support a strong mayor position in the Town of Latta and the firing of the police chief. If the Mayor’s office is broken, don’t try fixing it by breaking the system. Who knows, I may want to be a strong mayor some day, and I am sure the members of the town council who are planning to run for that office next time around would also like to hold a strong mayor position. I would  hate to see the Latta Town Council turn into the next  Atlantic Beach Town Council; one power struggle after another.
James Baker
103 N. Richardson Street
Latta, SC 29565