Here are some of the issues that area residents are discussing. The statements were phoned in anonymously, so the Courier does not vouch for their veracity, nor do we know what motivated the callers:

If the board of education wants to know how they can save money, well, for gas, for starters, the bus drivers can stop going to pick up their aids. I have never known of a company that pays people to go and pick up their employees and take them to work. What kind of stuff is that?

I hear that the lawmakers in Washington are thinking about lethal injections for those who reach 50 years old to pay off the debt and bring down the unemployment rate.

It does not matter what you drive. What matters is if it gets you from point A to B. So the cost of your vehicle, it does not matter. As long as you get from point A to B, that’s what counts. All you people who think having an expensive vehicle is what makes a person, well, you are very shallow and I feel sorry for you.

I have a co-worker who just purchased a home. She’s paying $500,000 for that home. She will never see that house paid for. I have a nice, medium-sized home and it’s beautiful. It’s paid for and it’s mine – and it didn’t cost me $500,000. I don’t understand why people think they have to impress others with big homes and big cars.

I think, because of the kids who died in Atlanta, the schools need to start later in the year — not in August in the middle of the heat. A young man in high school died after practice. It’s too hot to start school. All these kids who want to play sports, we need to change to protect the children.

Gum Branch gets $750,000 to build a station, but what about the other fire departments in Liberty County? Don’t they rate some of that money?

What happened to the health-care reform? I thought the president was going to get everyone health care. What happened to that plan? President Obama said that everyone was going to have health care in America. What happened?