Fayetteville

resident H. Wayne Howell spoke to the Fayette Metro Kiwanis recently about

various current issues in Washington, D.C.

As administrative

assistant and chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Max Cleland, Howell is responsible

for managing the senator's staff in Georgia as well as the nation's capital.

Reared in Vidalia,

he is a graduate of Georgia State University and the Woodrow Wilson College

of Law. He has also served for five years in the U.S. Air Force and spent

five years on the Georgia State Patrol.

In 1968 he

was appointed an investigator by then Secretary of State Ben Fortson Jr.,

serving in various capacities for the state. In 1990 he began a private

law practice in Fayetteville.

He said that

the most pressing issues in Washington at this time are various prescription

plans, homeland security, and bankruptcies of major corporations. He commented

that only one of those companies in news recently actually stole money,

while the others covered up deficiencies through accounting procedures.

"You must

go vote," he said. "Educate yourself, look behind the candidates.

Investigate each one, and question their opponents' charges. A candidate

is often charged with voting for or against something, and it may have

only been one item in an entire bill of 20 items."

The Fayette

Metro Kiwanis meets each Tuesday at noon at the International House of

Pancakes in Fayetteville. For more information, contact Forrest Cate at

770-461-5567.