SJR State’s spring graduation May 2

St. Johns River State College will celebrate its spring commencement on Friday, May 2.
Candidates from the Orange Park, Palatka and St. Augustine campuses will be acknowledged for their prospective associate and baccalaureate degrees, as well as certificate programs.
The commencement is divided into two ceremonies beginning at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Thrasher-Horne Center located on the SJR State Orange Park campus. Tickets are required for graduate guests. The event will be live-streamed through the College’s YouTube channel.

Thrasher-Horne Center is owned and operated by SJR State and is located on the Orange Park campus at 283 College Drive.
SJR State President Joe Pickens, J.D., has announced Jay Engelbrecht as the commencement speaker. Since 2017, Engelbrecht has taught writing and literature on the Palatka campus.
Visit spring commencement for more information.

Girls and Grills gets cooking May 20

The Clay County Chamber of Commerce will present Girls and Grills with local grill master Todd Knowles from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 20. Knowles is the CEO of Premier Specialty Service & Premier Gas and Grill, where the event takes place at 3293 N. Highway 17 in Green Cove Springs.

The cost is $12 per person.

Hospital begins procedure for hypertension

St. Vincent’s Clay County is expanding its cardiovascular services by adding new FDA-approved technology to treat people with uncontrollable high blood pressure. The hospital is the only facility in Clay County to offer the procedure. 

Renal (kidney) denervation is a minimally invasive procedure using radiofrequencies to interrupt overactive nerves between the heart and kidneys. The technology also incorporates an ablation system with the goal of reducing and/or eliminating the need for additional hypertension medication without intolerable side effects.

“This is a vital advancement in reducing the need for multiple daily hypertension medications and a very promising tool to achieve the optimal target blood pressure goal,” said Dr. Omer Zuberi, cardiologist at St. Vincent’s Clay County.

St. Johns RIVERKEEPER expands efforts

This week through May 2, St. Johns RIVERKEEPER (SJRK) is joining forces with Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) Florida and Mighty River Recovery (MRR) as they prepare for the third year of the SAVe Our River’s Grasses Expedition, seeking answers and solutions to the massive loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) that has occurred in the St. Johns River in recent years.

"Submerged river grasses are critical to the health of our river -- providing biofiltration, fish habitat, flood protection and more. Without it, the St. Johns could turn into a dead zone which is absolutely unacceptable," said Lisa Rinaman, the St. Johns Riverkeeper.

Their partnership of advocates, scientists, anglers and riverfront homeowners will install 10 protective SAV enclosures at research sites along an 80-mile stretch of the river between Doctors Lake (Clay County) and Lake George (Putnam County.) 

SAV Protective Enclosure Installation occurs Thursday at Doctors Lake (Clay County). From May 27-30, they will return to collect data. This will be the first of three four-day field visits in 2025, kicking off year three of the SAVe Our Rivers Grasses Expedition.

Healthcare construction heats up in OP

Construction is officially underway on three new $30 million rehabilitation hospitals in Florida, with projects breaking ground this week in Wellen Park, Daytona Beach, and Orange Park. The facilities are being built by Catamount|Freese Johnson JV, LLC., in partnership with Exalt Health, a fast-growing provider of post-acute rehabilitation care.

Each hospital will feature 40 beds, delivering specialized programs for neurological, orthopedic, and cardiac recovery, as well as comprehensive physical, occupational, and speech therapy services.

“Expanding into these growing Florida communities reflects our long-term vision to build a regional network of state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospitals,” said Jeff Crawford, Chief Development Officer and COO of Exalt Health.

Stronger Together Golf tourney

tees off June 10

The 2^nd annual Stronger Together Golf Tournament for Isaiah Carrasco is scheduled from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. June 10 at Fleming Island Golf Club. Top of the Tee is the event’s presenting sponsor.

Carrasco survived a 2022 car crash and sustained a traumatic brain injury.

The tournament comprises a 9-hole scramble on TopTracer: The Back 9 of Oakmont, and a Long Drive Competition (three balls for $10 or 10 balls for $20). The event includes a silent auction, raffles, live music and food trucks.

SJR State honors radiologic technology graduates

St. Johns River State College faculty, administration and staff recently held a pinning ceremony to honor Radiologic Technology graduates. The students were each presented with a special pin during the ceremony, recognizing their accomplishments in completing the program and becoming eligible to join the profession of radiologic technologists.

Program director Christy Mauel, congratulated the 22nd class to graduate from the program: Tyne “Korey” Bryant, Andrew Capitano, Gianna Gardner, Brendan Kosty, Neo Milliganw, Nicole Mullins, Sarah Patterson, Keira Podratz, Sarah Ramirez, Sarah Irizarry, Derra Salter, Grace Velez, Sally Pagaza, Dylan Schmidt, Hannah Shoemaker, Angelina Upmann and Erian “Reece” Watson.

During the ceremony, Angelina Upmann was presented with the Daniel Maj Scholarship for achieving the highest GPA. The scholarship was created to honor Maj, a former Flagler radiologic supervisor and SJR State alumnus who passed away in 2014. The scholarship is presented each year to the student who exhibits the highest performance scores.

Thrasher-Horne to host MasterChef All-Stars show

Thrasher-Horne Center in Orange Park will host MasterChef All-Stars Live! at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 at 283 College Drive.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, May 2, and can be purchased at thcenter.org, mastercheflivetour.com or by calling (904) 276-6815.

The show, a spin-off of the hit series MasterChef, will premier Wednesday, May 21, on FOX.