“God’s Protective Hand”

By Mary Santerfeit
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Wednesday Night, June 25, 2008, began just like any other Prayer Meeting night. The Beulah Baptist Church congregation started to gather at church around 6:15 p.m. The group enjoyed a time of Christian fellowship. Services opened with a joyous song service. The final song of the evening was the great little chorus "Jesus I Just Want To Thank YOU." Little did the group realize just how very meaningful the chorus would become as the evening progressed. Pastor T. J. Santerfeit was in the middle of Bible study when suddenly a hailstorm came up with hail the size of marbles. This was followed by a "twister." Pastor looked out the window and told the congregation that the outside shed had just blown by the window into the front entranceway of the church. Next came down three large trees. Clipped in half. The most amazing thing was not one vehicle was touched by the trees. Nor no harm to the main church or the group of worshippers. The trees fell just shy of every ear or truck parked. Normally everyone would have parked under the trees. Due to the cloudy skies and the still small voice of the LORD no one had parked in their normal places. Also, the group discovered several power lines down. Prayer meeting was ended with a chain of prayer of thanksgiving for the mighty protective “Hand of God."               

State Agricultural Leadership To Attend Eighth Annual CARES Banquet

  By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   The County Alliance for Responsible Environmental Stewardship (CARES) eighth annual supper and celebration is scheduled for July 1.  The event continues to grow, bringing in as many as 800 attendees previously.  This year 27 farmers and their families will be honored, of which 13 are from Madison County.  There are also honorees from Suwannee County (5), Hamilton County (5), Jefferson County (3) and Lafayette County (1).
   The guest speakers are among the Who’s Who of agriculture, including Charles Bronson, the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Agriculture.  In addition, the Under Secretary, USDA, Dr. Gale A. “Arlon” Buchanan and Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick will also be featured.
   The Florida Farm Bureau and the Suwannee River Partnership created CARES to bring agricultural associations, public agencies and institutions, and farmers together to increase environmental awareness on farms.  It recognizes farmers that implement measures to help protect and save water.  The Partnership now includes 60 federal, state, and local agencies, as well as private associations and businesses.  One can visit their website at www.suwannee.org.           
   The Madison County Farmers being honored are Dewayne and Kevin Leslie, Charles and Michael Roland, Willie and Bo Agner, Neal Baer, Joe Sherrard, Arthur Burkett, Marian Ramsey, Myles McNierney, Napolean Honeywell, Norman Otis, Phillip, Dale, and Chuck Hackle, Wayne Lane and Jerry Herring.
   The CARES dinner will be held at the farm and nursery of the former State of Florida Representative Dwight Stansel located near Live Oak on July 1, 2008 at 6 p.m.  This is a great opportunity for the public to join those that represent them, and honor the farmers in this area who are making positive contributions for the environment.  For event information, contact Holly Stalvey at 386-362-1001.

Staff writer Michael Curtis can be reached at michael@greenepublishing.com.

Eight And Under Girls All-Stars Headed To State

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   The Madison County eight and under girls all-star softball team is headed to the state championship.
   The girls earned the trip to Gainesville with a second place finish at the district tournament played last weekend in Madison.
   The team went to the state tournament last year with the same players and finish third in a field of 17 teams, who were all district champs. This year’s field will be approximately 20 teams.
   “They played beyond their capabilities a lot of the time,” Head Coach Mike Cooper said. “They never gave up. Hopefully, they will do as good this time.”
   Cooper said that the team had a little bit more experience this year and would not have the jitters that they did last year.
   The tournament will begin July 3 and will run through July7.

   The girls will be having two fundraisers this weekend. On Friday, they will be at the Johnson & Johnson Shell Station, at the corner of Highway 53 and Base Street, selling watermelons and lemonade. On Saturday, they will be on the Courthouse Square, selling hamburgers and hotdogs from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to go out and support them!

JULY 4 FIREWORKS Set For Greenville And Madison

  By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   When the sun goes down on July 4, the fireworks will be launching at Lake Francis in Madison and Haffye Hayes Park in Greenville.  Everyone is urged to attend and bring the whole family.
   The organizers of the Greenville event regret that the celebration may be somewhat abbreviated due the spike in fireworks costs, but it’s sure to be fun none-the-less.
   The Lake Francis event kicks off earlier in the day at 5 p.m. with local veterans will being recognized, as well as the families of those currently deployed.  One may call Madison County Community Bank at (850) 973-2400 to provide details regarding those servicemen and women.
Happy Fourth of July from the Greene Publishing staff.

Second Annual Red, White & Blue Heritage Day Ready To Go June 28

By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   The regional political candidates are gearing up and the vendors are loading their trucks ready to kick off the Second Annual Red, White and Blue Heritage Day.  The festival will be launched from the Madison County Courthouse lawn, extending down Range and into the shops along the way. 
   Among activities scheduled for the event, candidates from throughout the region seeking political office will have campaign booths and be speaking throughout the day.  A political podium will open at 10:30 a.m., where each candidate will be given three minutes to open and then answer questions relevant to that particular office.
In addition to campaign activities in the Courthouse square, the festival will run along Range Ave., with antiques and collectibles, arts, crafts, lots of food vendors and even a nostalgic horse & surrey tour of the historic district.  There is space available for civic fundraisers at no charge.  Please call (850) 973-9000 for booth inquiries and event details.

FCAT Math Scores Showing Steady Progress

By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   FCAT scoring encompasses numerous groupings, including subject, grade and school, as well as an examination of improvement.  Of course, additional demographic issues and population trends should be considered in conjunction with the final published school letter grades (due out in July) to determine the overall health of the local educational system. 
   Superintendent Of Schools Lou Miller and Coordinator of School Improvement Shirley Joseph provided insight into some of the numbers, as both eagerly and optimistically believe that overall improvement will be demonstrated across all schools.  Again, keep in mind that both snapshots and year-to-year comparisons flow into the elaborate scoring model used to determine overall school rankings. 
   Regarding FCAT Math grades, with few exceptions, scores throughout the district continue to show improvement.  Generally speaking, more students are now scoring at grade level and above, while fewer are scoring at the lowest level.  By the numbers, on a scale of one to five, five being best, more students are now scoring at Level 3 and above and fewer are scoring at Level 1.  In fact, compared to the base year of 2002, a time when more students were actually scoring in Level 1 than Level 3 and above, since the scoring crossed over in 2005, many pockets are improving significantly.
   The accompanying graphs illustrate the math trends for several grades.  In the end, these numbers will be included in the computation of points to determine overall school letter grades.  This comprehensive scoring model is based on the following eight components that are divided into two parts, with one bonus component for high school:
Part 1 – Proficiency

Reading Proficiency – (percentage of students scoring at) FCAT Level 3 and above
Mathematics Proficiency – FCAT Level 3 and above
Writing Proficiency – Scores of 3.5 and above
Science Proficiency – FCAT Level 3 and above

Part 2 – Annual Learning Gains

Learning Gains in Reading
Learning Gains of the lowest 25 percent in Reading
Learning Gains in Mathematics
Learning Gains in the lowest 25 percent in Mathematics

Part 3 – High School Bonus Points

High Schools may earn ten bonus points when 50 percent of all 11th and 12th grade students who retake the Grade 10 FCAT meet the graduation requirement.
   Over the summer, additional details will be forthcoming, as well as highlights of a few more shining stars.

   Staff writer Michael Curtis may be reached at michael@greenepublishing.com.