Tag Archive for Lee

MID AFTERNOON FIRE DESTROYS HOME IN LEE

November 6, 2012 Front Page Comments Off
StructureFireLeeSchoolAve 012f1

Photos and text submitted by Pat Lightcap
In the mid afternoon of election day, November 6, 2012 a structure fire was reported to Madison County 911 Center. Units arriving at 123 Lee School Avenue in the town of Lee found a home with flames and smoke pouring out. This was the fourth structure fire in Madison County since October 19, 2012 with a fire in downtown Greenville. On October 23 there was a building fire on Sundown Creek Road south of I-10 and on Sunday, November 4 a home burned on Happy Drive in the city of Madison. The State Fire Marshall has been called to each of these incidents. Responding to the fire today was Lee Fire/Rescue, Pinetta Fire/Rescue, Madison Fire/Rescue, Madison County Emergency Medical Services and the Madison County Sherrif”s Office. In addition to the Fire Marshal, the Red Cross is responding to today’s blaze to assist the residents. No injuries were reported.

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ASPCA Applauds Florida Court Decision Placing Custody of Animals Seized From Caboodle Ranch, Inc. With Madison County Sheriff

June 26, 2012 Front Page Comments Off

Hundreds of ASPCA responders providing extensive care
for animals in a temporary shelter since February

NEW YORK—The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®) applauds the decision of the County Court, Third Judicial Circuit, Madison County, Fla., ordering the animals seized from Caboodle Ranch, Inc. (“Caboodle”) on February 27, 2012, as part of a criminal animal cruelty investigation, to be remanded to the custody of the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. The Court stripped Caboodle, a Fla. not-for-profit corporation, of all right, title or interest in the animals seized from its facility in February and prohibited Caboodle from possessing other animals.

The ASPCA has managed the sheltering of the hundreds of animals (almost all cats) removed from the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions at Caboodle in Lee, Fla., approximately 64 miles east of Tallahassee, for the past four months.

“We are pleased that the Court so strongly affirmed what we knew to be true from our work on this case—that Caboodle has not provided adequate care for the animals in the past and is not fit to do so in the future,” said Stacy Wolf, vice president of the ASPCA.

“The Court’s decision has the best interest of the animals at heart,” said Tim Rickey, senior director of the ASPCA’s Field Investigations and Response team. “As the Court noted, cats at Caboodle lived in filth; many were sick and in pain; hundreds of ASPCA responders have made an extraordinary effort to care for these cats over the past four months in order to bring them back to a basic level of health. Our hope is that we will soon be able to help them find the homes, special adoption arrangements or colonies they so richly deserve.”

Among some of the Court’s findings:

The evidence demonstrated “clearly and convincingly, that the Caboodle animals were not receiving proper and reasonable care while in the custody of Caboodle.” (Order ¶ 8)

“Caboodle’s own veterinarian testified that the number of animals on the Caboodle property on the date of the seizure significantly exceeded the limits he had recommended. . .” (Order ¶ 10f)

Caboodle “depended upon a continuing influx of new animals for its financial survival. It is more likely than not that Caboodle would continue to fail to abide by the recommendations of its own veterinarian regarding population limitations if the animals were returned.” (Order ¶ 10g)

“Sick animals were not adequately isolated. . .” (Order ¶ 10j)

“. . . Caboodle is clearly and substantially lacking in the resources, ability, skill and (most importantly) willingness to follow expert veterinary advice essential to an operation dedicated to the care of such a large and apparently ever-growing number of animals it seemed intent on sheltering.” (Order ¶ 11)
The following criminal charges are pending against the founder of Caboodle: one count of felony animal cruelty; three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty; and one count of scheming to defraud (felony).

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Lee To Host 4th of July Celebration

June 25, 2012 Front Page Comments Off
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Archie’s Opens Under New Management

July 12, 2011 Around Madison Comments Off
By Lynette Norris
Greene Publishing, Inc.

Hungry Time, the little green and white diner with the dark green striped awnings, is open for business in Lee, on the southeast corner of the only intersection in town with a caution light – or any kind of traffic light at all for that matter.  It is the quintessential little American small-town diner with home cooking that includes those perennial favorites, hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs, with a modern twist – free wi-fi.

New manager Lane Gerth and her father Myron surprised even themselves with their opening on July 2.  They had planned to open about mid-July.

However, when they realized the town was holding its Lee Days Celebration the weekend before the Fourth, they moved up the opening date and rushed to get everything ready for the busy Saturday with crowds of people downtown.

There were a few bumps in the road with the change in plans, such as the gas not being hooked up yet to run the grill, but they made do with hotplates and skillets, serving breakfast with eggs, meat, pancakes and home fries, and lunch with burgers and hot dogs to a lot of hungry people.  The menu from that day, hand-written in black magic marker on white poster board, is still up on the wall.

Hungry Time now has printed menus with handwritten notations as Lane and her father keep adding things.  So far, the big favorites with the customers are the hamburgers and cheeseburgers.

“And they have awesome hot dogs!” said Joan Faglie, who stopped in with her husband Ned for a quick bite.

Independence Day itself was kind of slow, since it was a Monday, and a holiday, and a day known for people firing up their own backyard grills, but the following Sunday, July 10, was their busiest day yet.  It was the first time they did their Sunday lunch buffet ($7.97 for all you can eat, including a drink), catching the after-church crowd and folks that, for one reason or another, just don’t like to cook on Sundays.  If they bring their church bulletin with them when they come in, they will get a 10 percent discount.

Lane worked as a waitress in such places as Denny’s, learning about the restaurant business from there.  Her father, Myron, originally from Minnesota, moved to Florida with his parents when he was 15; he has lived all over Florida since then, but he and his daughter Lane have lived in Jasper since 2001.  Myron’s parents had two restaurants, both family-friendly/home-style cooking places, much like Archie’s.  They ran one and he ran the other.

Then, he spent several years horseracing with two wheeled carriages.  “That was ‘back in the day’ as the kids would say,” says Myron.  There are a couple of old framed photographs of him from his horse-racing days that will soon go up on the wall in Hungry Time.  Once he retired from horseracing, he worked for a while as a truck driver, and after he retired from truck driving, he and Lane decided to open a restaurant.  When Archie’s came up for rent, they liked the location, right in the middle of town, and the building itself, the oldest building in the town of Lee, with bead-board walls in the back dining room.

With the three dining areas together, the place can host up to a hundred people, and they will be using all three areas on a regular basis quite soon.  They will soon be starting up all-u-can-eat dinner buffets, with Thursday as prime rib night, Friday as catfish night, and of course the Sunday lunch buffet they already have going. Also, large groups of people will be able to reserve the dining room for their gatherings.

Currently, Lane says, a lot of people run in to grab a menu, and then come later with friends.  Sometimes, people stop in “just to see if you’re open” said Lee’s Volunteer Fire Department Chief Reese Thomas, as he traded jokes with Ned Faglie about who looked better dressed as a woman for the Firefighters’ Challenge during the Lee Days Celebration.  Faglie had won a dance contest doing the twist.

Before he left, Lane gave him the free beverage all volunteer firefighters receive, (along with a ten percent discount on meals) whenever they come in.  Other uniformed service personnel such as EMTs, police officers, sheriff deputies, etc, receive a ten percent discount if they are in uniform.

“The community is really helping up out,” said Lane.  They’ve really come together to help us.  Everybody is very friendly here.”
Hungry Time is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.

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Lee Celebrates American Independence

July 7, 2011 Around Madison Comments Off
By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.

The Town of Lee was alive with the sound of music and fireworks and people enjoying themselves on Friday, July 1, and Saturday, July 2.

People came out to enjoy the Fourth of July a little early this year and they were not disappointed. There were bounce houses and food booths. Some enjoyed having their faces painted. Others enjoyed participating in the firefighter challenge.

The Lee Events Committee and the Lee Community Volunteer Fire Department sponsored the event.
Entertainers included Amber Abbott, winner of this year’s Texaco Country Showdown, and Elee Storey.

The event ended with a big bang as fireworks filled the Saturday evening sky.

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Lee Man Dies During Accident

February 25, 2011 Front Page Comments Off

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
A Lee man died after running into two trees on Saturday, Feb. 19, on Baker Avenue, approximately one-third of a mile north of Dale Leslie Drive.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Steven Alan Harrelson, 50, was traveling south on Baker Avenue. Due to a possible medical condition suffered by Harrelson, he traveled onto the west shoulder of Baker Avenue and collided into two trees with the front bumper of his 2003 Chevy Silverado.
The trooper reported that the crash consisted of a low speed collision with two trees.
Harrelson was pronounced dead at Madison County Memorial Hospital.
FHP Trooper Gus Smyrnios was the crash investigator. FHP Cpl. Terrance M. Chukes was the homicide investigator.
Harrelson was born November 21, 1960, in Hollywood. He had lived in Madison for the past 21 years. He was a Methodist.
A memorial service was held Thursday, February 24, 2011, at Lee Methodist Church at 2 p.m.
He is survived by his wife, Leisa M. Harrelson of Lee; two sons, Steven Harrelson, Jr. and Jacob Harrelson, of Lee; two daughters, Stephanie Harrelson and Samantha Harrelson, of Lee; one brother, Billy Harrelson, of Lee; and a sister, Diane Thompson, also of Lee.

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Lee Library Has Great Opportunities For The Community

January 25, 2011 Around Madison Comments Off
Mary Dye (right) and Josia Greathouse (left) are the ladies who keep the Lee Library running. They are in charge of checkouts and returns, organizing the shelves and calling customers.

Public libraries: home to hundreds of books, movies and computers. They are safe havens from the outside world, allowing readers to find a quiet and comfortable place to enjoy a good book. Anyone with a library card can check out a book, research for a homework assignment or even check out a movie.
The Lee Library is now extending their welcome to children and toddlers. Every Monday Linda Hesketh is teaching a program to young children. The program envelops children into a new world, a world of reading, entertainment

Mary Dye (right) and Josia Greathouse (left) are the ladies who keep the Lee Library running. They are in charge of checkouts and returns, organizing the shelves and calling customers.

and fun. The programs are from 9-9:30 a.m. 9:30-10 a.m. 12 -12:30 p.m. Everyone is invited to join in the fun at Lee Library.
At the Lee Library, book lovers can check out some of their favorite books. Avid readers can also donate some of their old books to the library. New or used books are accepted, but they must be in good condition.
Students from Lee Elementary School come to the library several times a month to read books and watch programs. The fifth graders come over every other Friday and can check out books and research for projects.
Around Christmas, the Lee Library put up a Christmas tree in the lobby. The students from LES got to decorate the tree. They made popcorn strings, paper chains and hand colored ornaments. Josia Greathouse shared, “The only thing we put on the tree was lights. After the kids got done decorating it, it didn’t need anything else. It looked beautiful.”
Lee Library is trying to begin several new programs as well. Mary Dye, manager at Lee Library explained, “One of the programs is going to focus on helping and encouraging children to read more challenging books, instead of only reading the lower level books.”

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