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Community Briefs

Clay Today
Posted 9/15/16

Howard attends Florida League of Cities conference

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Orange Park Town Councilman Steve Howard was among hundreds of officials who recently attended the 90th Annual Florida League …

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Community Briefs


Posted

Howard attends Florida League of Cities conference

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Orange Park Town Councilman Steve Howard was among hundreds of officials who recently attended the 90th Annual Florida League of Cities conference in Hollywood, Fla.

Using the theme, “Florida Cities: United & Strong,” officials took part in workshops on such subjects as public records reform, the sharing economy, autonomous vehicles and Florida’s Constitution Revision Commission.

“While Florida is one of the most geographically and demographically diverse states in the nation, our municipalities still face similar challenges,” said Howard. “I look forward to take the creative ideas the conference offered and putting these ideas to work for the people of Orange Park.

The League’s Legislative Committee discussed and presented the League’s 2017 legislative priorities during the three-day conference, which ran Aug. 18-20.

Clay High sets 55-year reunion

ORANGE PARK – The Clay High Class of 1961 will have a 55-year reunion on Sept. 24 at Holiday Inn & Suites on Wells Road in Orange Park.

The festivities begin with a social hour from 6-7 p.m. with a buffet at 7 p.m.

Organizers have been collecting donations for the Food Pantry of Green Cove Springs and currently have about $400 and will continue to collect donations up to the time of the presentation.

Class President Brad Bradley and Reunion Chairman Martha English Johnson will present the money they collect during the dinner to Wynema Lovell, director of the Food Pantry. Other members of the reunion committee are Jeanne Geiger Jones, Marsha Turner Owens, Kitty Kenney Gordon, Sally Hutchinson Kart and David Hopson.

For more information, contact Martha English Johnson at (904) 278-5404.

A preschool child is waiting just for you

FLEMING ISLAND – Preschool centers all over Clay County are waiting to have a volunteer reader visit them each week, someone to make books come alive for them and who can share their love of reading. If you love young children and love to read then becoming a volunteer reading pal is for you.

The Early Learning Coalition of North Florida is holding a new volunteer reader information and orientation meeting today, Sept. 15, from 10 a.m. until noon at its Fleming Island office at 1845 Town Center Blvd., Suite 150, inside the Career Source building.

Come find out how you can make the difference in the life of a child. RSVP to Early Literacy Outreach Manager, Joan Whitson at (904) 342-2267 extension 202 or via email at jwhitson@elcnorthflorida.org.

National award-winning songwriter to perform benefit concert

MIDDLEBURG – Craig Seaton, national award-winning songwriter, pianist and vocalist, will perform a free benefit concert on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.

The concert is to raise awareness for “The Forgotten” in Clay County and Jacksonville-area nursing homes, assisted living facilities and senior communities. The one-hour concert will be hosted by Christian Faith Center at 4021 Everett Ave. in Middleburg.

Seaton performs free “golden oldie” concerts for Jacksonville senior citizens and will be featuring the concert set he plays for nursing homes. Classics such as, “Moon River,” “I’ll be Seeing You,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love” and some fun sing-a-longs will be performed, as well as a few original compositions. The concert is free. Donations will be accepted.

SJR State to hold open house for ITT Tech students

ORANGE PARK – In response to the closing of the ITT Technical Institute, St. Johns River State College is ready to assist qualified students with completing their academic goals.

SJR State will hold an open house on its Orange Park campus for all ITT Technical Institute students who wish to explore their transfer options and continue their education at SJR State on Sept. 20 from 5-8 p.m. in building T at 283 College Drive.

Students are asked to bring a list of their completed courses if transcripts are not available.

For more information, visit the SJR State website at SJRstate.edu or contact John Etienne at johnetienne@sjrstate.edu or (386) 312-4063 or Michael Munn at michaelmunn@sjrstate.edu or (904) 808-7497.

Hunter safety internet-completion courses offered in October

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is offering free hunter safety internet-completion courses in Clay County and surrounding areas in October.

Students who have taken the online course and wish to complete the classroom portion must bring the online-completion report with them.

All firearms, ammunition and materials are provided for free at the class. Students should bring a pen or pencil and paper. An adult must accompany children younger than 16 at all times.

Anyone born on or after June 1, 1975, must pass an approved hunter safety course and have a hunting license to hunt alone and unsupervised. The FWC course satisfies hunter-safety training requirements for all other states and Canadian provinces.

Clay residents can take the class on Oct. 6 from 6-9 p.m. in Middleburg and Oct. 8 from 8 a.m. until complete in Graham. The class will also be offered Oct. 13 from 6-9 p.m. in Keystone Heights and Oct. 15 from 8 a.m. until complete in Graham.

The specific locations for this class will be given to those who register in advance. Those interested in attending a course can register online and obtain information about future hunter safety classes at MyFWC.com/HunterSafety or by calling the FWC’s regional office in Lake City at (386) 758-0525.

FWC using public input to improve Critical Wildlife Area proposals

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continues to move forward with an unprecedented initiative to conserve some of Florida’s most vulnerable wildlife by designating and modifying Critical Wildlife Areas throughout Florida. Overall, the public has been largely supportive of this effort. However, FWC staff continues to solicit public feedback and has modified some CWA proposals in order to address concerns.

“The proposed CWAs constitute high-octane, quiet conservation. They are patches of protection in a sea of opportunity,” said Brian Yablonski, FWC commission chairman. “The narrowly tailored and discreet designations will help with reproduction and recruitment for significant bird species on our threatened list.”

This summer, FWC staff obtained public input statewide on proposals to establish new or improve existing CWAs. More than 400 people attended 14 workshops held throughout the state. The workshops were designed to explain how CWAs work and why they are needed, address questions from attendees, and gather public feedback about each proposal.

Moving forward, the FWC will continue to work with citizens and stakeholders to better understand concerns from the public and reduce or eliminate negative impacts where possible.

“Often our enthusiasm to see these birds in large concentration is the very thing that causes the disturbance,” said Yablonski. “These are Florida’s signature bird species. They are the great wildlife ambassadors of Florida and we owe them this small measure of protection.”

CWAs are established by the FWC under a Florida Administrative Code rule to protect important wildlife concentrations from human disturbance during critical periods of their life cycles, such as breeding, feeding or migration.

FWC is still receiving citizen feedback, which can be emailed to CWAcomments@MyFWC.com. The specific CWA name should be included in the subject line of the email.

The final decision regarding the CWAs will be made at the November Commission meeting in St. Petersburg.