MCHS Boosters Ramp Up For Championship Ring Drive
By Ted Ensminger
Greene Publishing, Inc.
-On a recent, clear December evening, 60 young men, along with their coaches, made their way to the last step of a grueling, testing, painful, yet rewarding season; a season that bordered on the edge of perfection. The team was focused on both commitment and upon reaching a goal that escapes 99 percent of the teams that go after it annually.
Statewide, virtually every high school of every size imaginable competed during the year for the opportunity to represent their community at the annual Florida High School Athletics Association Florida State Football Championship. In the end, as with every year, only 16 teams qualify to represent the eight divisions and are invited to the big dance.
The eight divisions that exist in the state attempt to classify the quality of play to be expected from a team based on the total enrollment of the institution. The Cowboys are in Division 2A, with Division 6A being the larger schools.
How good are the Cowboys? Nease High School’s record for this year is 12 wins, 1 loss. This coming Saturday the team from Ponte Vedra will play for the Division 4A State Championship. This is the same school that produced this year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Tim Tebow, of the University of Florida. The Madison County High School Cowboys beat them in the regular season, giving them their only loss of the year!
In the playoffs, the Cowboys dominated from the first snap against Marianna to the last snap against a befuddled Tampa Catholic.
Madison County scored a whopping 157 points in the playoffs against their opponents 33. What this equates to is a team that is firing on all cylinders. A powerful offense, complemented by a stubborn defense. A team that is a dynamic testimonial that emphasizes the results of a team being focused, persistent, trained, dedicated and with excellent leadership.
Now it’s up to the fans to show the Cowboys what they can do.
The Madison County High School Booster Club is faced with the task of raising approximately $15,000 to buy each and every player and coach of the championship team a Florida State Championship Ring.
These young players and their coaches have given the county a memory of a special season that will last us a lifetime. Now it’s the community’s turn to give them a something that will last a lifetime.
A special bank account has been established at the Madison County Community Bank. It is called the Madison County High School Booster Club Awards Account. Fans should go by and donate what they can, when they can, as often as they can.
Those donating $100 or more will have their name placed on a plaque that will be placed beside the Championship Trophy at the school. In addition, those donating $100 or more will have their name featured on a page in the team program for each home game of the 2008 season.
The goal is to have the monies raised before the team’s awards banquet, which is tentatively scheduled for January 21, 2008.
If every one of the 3,000 people who went and enjoyed the championship game in Orlando gave just $5, the goal would be met in no time. If every one of the 7,000 people that filled the stands at each game gave $5, the Booster Club would have a reserve, for next year
Don’t just think about donating, do it.
Next Friday, December 21, fans will have another opportunity to meet the Cowboys and to contribute to the championship ring drive.
The Cowboys will be honored with a Fan Day with the Cowboys arriving at 3:00 p.m. at the Madison County Courthouse.
However, the MCHS Booster Club will start at noon selling hot dogs or sausage dogs with a drink for just $3, championship t-shirts will be available for $15 and a DVD of the Cowboy highlights of the 2007 season will be on sale for $10.
A special silent auction will include autographed footballs signed by Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Bobby Bowden, Warrick Dunn and Champ Bailey. All proceeds from the sale of food, shirts, DVDs and footballs will go toward purchasing the rings
Greene Publishing, Inc. will publish a special section in next week’s Madison Enterprise-Recorder on the Cowboys’ championship season.
Three Seriously Following Crash
By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
Three people were seriously injured in an automobile accident on Friday afternoon, December 7, at the corner of Interstate 10 and County Road 255 in downtown Lee.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Georgia A. English, 69, of Lee, was stopped facing south on County Road 255. At the same time, Ashley V. McQuary, 19, of Madison, was traveling east on U.S. 90.
English failed to see McQuary approaching and pulled into the path of McQuary's 1990 Ford SUV with her 2001 Kia SUV. English's SUV was struck by McCrary's SUV with the front of the Ford striking the right side of the Kia.
English, McQuary and Gerard Mariney, 46, of Madison, a passenger in McQuary's vehicle were all seriously injured in the crash.
Lee Fire and Rescue assisted at the scene, along with Deputy Kevin Anderson.
FHP Trooper Tom Roderick was the investigating officer.
Leadership Pushes For Awareness And Prevention
By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Madison County Coalition For An Alcohol And Drug Free Community (MCCADFC), working in conjunction with Health Promotion Program & Intiatives, Inc. (HPPI), held their annual recap meeting Monday evening, December 10, at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church in Madison. The meeting was divided between organizing and promoting coalition resources, both human and financial, necessary to deliver the healthy lifestyles mission, including alcohol and drug prevention, HIV/AIDS awareness and youth counseling.
“It’s so good to have several youth with us tonight. They know what’s going on in their neighborhoods and schools, and they play a very important role in helping us teach them to help themselves,” HPPI Local Community Organizer, Jerome Wyche stated.
HPPI Executive Director, Gregory Harris, strongly agrees. Harris covers an area that includes Jackson and Madison counties, as well as the Panama City area in Bay County. “We’ve been supporting local communities for 20 years. Madison is making very good strides, and working together we’ll take it to the next level,” Harris noted.
Working with Harris and HPPI Program Coordinator, Bruce Smith, the coalition is dedicated to helping the youth, and adults, of Madison with all available tools. Harris discussed the intent to deliver applications and arrange workshops to promote a $2000 mini-grant that is available to the entire community.
“We want everyone to participate in the mini-grants program in order to support the goals of HPPI and this coalition. I’ll be getting out all the details and applications soon, at which time we can have a workshop to assist anyone interested. We want the community, the media and the coalition leadership to form a strategic partnership to deliver these grants and other resources,” Harris explained. For details and to obtain an application, call HPPI Program Coordinator, Bruce Smith, at 850-385-1205.
Among other planning tools, Harris brought the coalition members a professional guidebook of information designed to provide the type of critical data necessary to steer policy, receive grants, and accurately speak the “numbers” of the county when applicable.
The coalition is very well represented with an impressive mix of officials, educators, professionals and clergy. The 2008 plan is clear and dynamic, while remaining sufficiently flexible to creatively deliver the program. “With the mix of people in this room, we can do anything,” Wyche concluded.
County Commission Keeping Clear Vision
By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Madison County Commission met on Wednesday morning to discuss and execute plans ranging from zoning to prescription drug cards. All commissioners were in attendance, as City Planner, Jeanne Bass, kicked things off using the computerized presentation equipment, showing the officials various sites under review.
During the discussions, there were references to the Economic Development Plan, the Enterprise Zone, Vision 2010, and the upcoming Vision 2020. Each of these initiatives renews the common message of development and growth in the county.
Over the last decade, a few borders and sectioned properties have either been purchased, sold, or shifted, to ensure a good fit to what is intended in the master plans for the best land use. These are the exact approaches been taken, and often tweaked, by the city planners in much more populace areas. It is becoming a common theme: Madison County’s planning and projects utilize leading edge planning programs, including workshops and shared knowledge from other counties.
Additional business included upgrades to the Supervisor of Elections phone system and a report from the Forestry Service.
Supervisor of Elections, Jada Woods Williams, explained to the commission that the new phone system, fax and copier would modernize the department, and that it cost less than the $24,000 the department had returned unused from the previous year’s budget. The commission unanimously agreed. The commission also voted to repair the Bunker Street precinct polling station.
The Madison Forestry Supervisor, Elijah Terrell, said that things were good and getting better. He then introduced Jim Fleming, the new Senior Forester, who gave a detailed account of current conditions. Notable points included that only 374 acres had been lost this past year and that the Forest Stewardship Plan had been very well received.
The last few items included a warning of pending state legislation regarding limitations on the use of internal county staff and equipment on some projects, instead shifting these operations to outside contractors. County engineers are strongly opposed, and urged the commission to use their influence to ask state legislators to kill the bill.
The commission concluded with a vote to adopt and promote a prescription drug card program that will be made available to all county residents. The drug card has several attractive features and may be used in conjunction with some other programs. It is offered through the National Association of Counties (NACo) and details will soon be put on the county website at www.madisoncountyfl.com. |
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