By Jessica Higginbotham
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   According to the Florida Highway Patrol, on November 11, a sheriff’s deputy and a suspect were involved in a traffic crash on South 53.
   A 1995 Jeep, driven by Robert Woods was actively fleeing from Deputy Mel Renz in his marked patrol car.  Woods was traveling at a high rate of speed and attempted to make a left turn onto Roger Sink road, into the path of Renz’s patrol car. 
   The bumper of Woods’ jeep collided with Renz’s right front bumper, causing the jeep to rotate counter clockwise and travel onto the south shoulder of SE Roger Sink Road.  The right side of the vehicle then made contact with a barbed wire fence, causing it to overturn.
   Woods’ Jeep made one complete roll before it came to final rest facing north on the south shoulder of SE Roger Sink Road.  Renz’s Crown Victoria patrol car came to a final rest on SE Roger Sink Road facing southeast.
   Woods was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and reckless driving.

Cherry Lake Fire And Rescue Holding Boston Butt Fundraiser

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Cherry Lake Fire and Rescue will hold a Thanksgiving Boston butt fundraiser on Saturday, November 17.
   The sale will be held at the Cherry Lake Fire Station from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. that day.
   The price for smoked Boston butts will be $25.
   To place your order, please call the fire station at 939-2354 and leave a message with the your name, contact phone number and the number of smoked butts desired or contact any Cherry Lake Fire and Rescue member and give them the details.

Madison County Ministerial Association To Host Annual Community Thanksgiving Service

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   The Madison County Ministerial Association will host its annual community Thanksgiving service on Sunday, November 18, at 6 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Madison.
   Rev. Robert Agner is the president of the Ministerial Association.
   "We pray that you will come out and join us for a spirit-filled worship service to give God thanks and praise for another Thanksgiving," Agner said.
   Rev. Phil Heard is the interim pastor of the First Baptist Church, which is located on West Base Street in Madison.

Tax Bills Are In The Mail 

---For months, Madison County property owners have heard plenty of debate about property taxes and tax reform. Now, tax reality has arrived.
---A total of 16,090 tax bills were mailed last week: 15,176 for property tax and 914 for tangible personal property, mailed by the Madison Tax Collector, Frances Ginn.
---Additional informative information is provided on the back of your tax bill. Please take the time to look over this information before responding or paying your tax bill.
---The tax collector is bracing for the inevitable rush of calls and she anticipates that among the most common will be questions about property values. What should people know? 'The No. 1 thing is that this office has nothing to do with property values,' she said. That falls under the office of county Property Appraiser Leigh Barfield.
---She, too, is waiting for the expected onslaught of calls, especially from those people who did not read their Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notice mailed out in August. That notice states the taxable value of their property. Owners who questioned their property value could challenge the figures, but the appeals period is now over for the current tax bill. This year, Barfield's office had 24 petitions to reconsider values, up from last year's 17. Far fewer actually went to the Value Adjustment Board, which hears arguments from both sides. Many were withdrawn after Barfield or her staff explained the numbers to the property owner. 'The big thing is that a lot of people do not realize that property is assessed for what occurred in the market in 2006,' she said. The property appraiser's date of assessment is January 1, 2007. The tax roll reflects values from last year, not current conditions, thus property owners questioned why their assessments were not falling along with their property values this year.
---The tax bills will include a non-ad valorem assessment which you did not see on the Truth in Millage, or TRIM, notice mailed out in August. This is set by your county commission. If you feel that there are errors in this assessment you should contact the Board of County commissioner's office to question or have it corrected. Their phone number is (850) 973-3179.
---Ginn and Barfield also expected that some property owners may call with questions about the latest tax-reform plan from the Legislature and how that would affect the tax bill.
---The simple answer is that it won't affect this tax bill. It could affect next year's bill if reforms make it to the January ballot and if 60 percent of voters approve the tax reform.
---Ginn and Barfield resisted the temptation to add informational materials to the bills about tax reform, avoiding confusion now showing up in some counties where brochures on the new proposed super homestead exemption were included in the bills. Super homestead exemption is no longer considered on the ballot. Putting in one more flier also would have increased postage costs.
---Taxpayers have through March 31 to pay their bill. The sooner they pay it, the larger the discount they receive. Between 70 and 75 percent of property owners pay their tax bill in the first month to save.
To view a tax bill online, do a search at www.madisoncountytaxcollector.com. If you have not received your tax bill please contact Frances Ginn's office at (850) 973-6136 to verify the address is correct and have a duplicate bill mailed to you if you do not have access to the website. Also, all address changes to be made for 2008 tax roll should be made through the Property Appraiser's office Leigh Barfield at (850)973-6133.  The Property Appraiser request that you provide something in writing to change your address, this may be also done by email  at info@MadisonPA.com along with the name of the person requesting the change.

O Brother, Can You Spare A Job?

The Status of Madison Families
Part 3 – Jobs & Education

By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Fifty percent of Madison County either works in government (30.1%), or in education and health services (19.2%).  Though overly simplified, it apparently takes half of us, to take care of, and teach, the other half of us.  On average, this is double the state numbers, and although there are several variables at work, it’s mostly a basic reflection of the job market.  In other words, as long as these “public service” positions are available with pay rates and benefits well above county average, why would anyone seek something else, at least until pay, benefits and job security are better?
   Overall, the per capita income for Madison County is $19,000, compared to $34,000 for the state.  Again, a number of variables are at work.  But as leaders will look behind questions like, “How employable is the Madison labor pool,” and “Where are the college graduates going?” another more fundamental feature should be considered.
---This “feature” of existing businesses is well understood behind-the-scenes, but rarely acknowledged directly.  The feature is that many businesses, especially some agriculture businesses, are built around minimum wage.  This is a fact of life, and the employers shouldn’t necessarily be looked like Scrooge, or their people like Tiny Tim. 
---Even the Honorable Charles Bronson, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, acknowledged that farm labor, at lower pay rates, is necessary for the survival of certain farm industries.  He used tomatoes as an example, where there are no machines that can harvest them, it must be manual.
---The same phenomenon exists in other private businesses.  Of course, I’m not ignoring the possibility of a “big-wig” conspiracy, where the very wealthy work to keep progress at a minimum so they can pay less for workers when they could, and should, pay more. 
Accusations that the affluent unduly influence growth so they can milk those of us that can’t get away will always exist.  However, it seems less likely that we, “owe our souls to the company store,” and more likely that there is a fundamental need to make the population more marketable and develop a desire among others to become entrepreneurs in a modern economy.  This applies to large and small, urban and rural settings. 
---So this begs the question, “How does one become skilled, trained and marketable?”  Indisputably, it begins with a good education. 
---Madison County public education can best be described as extremely polar.  While kudos go out to all educational leadership working to eliminate the bottom end while maintaining the upper end, it can only be done so fast. 
---The war will take time.  In the interim unfortunately, too many fallen soldiers may be lost, so this warning siren is offered in the hopes that parents and volunteers can be organized into a “carryover crusade,” until the system adjusts.  Part four of this series will provide functional details of participating in several current, and some proposed, solutions addressing this issue.
---Madison County has “A” rated schools, “F” rated schools, a community college rated among the very highest of its class, and a middle school in the process of aggressively reworking its identity.  Madison has several private school options as well.  And the leadership in all these groups consists of talented devoted individuals. 
---The “report card” that would typically follow here would include the still heinous dropout rate and some deplorable FCAT history.  Madison County Schools have also been affected, some would say, “infected,” as the state increases the number of schools participating in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), under the No Child Left Behind Act.  In a nutshell, this program gives parents the option of transferring children from poor schools with certain restrictions.
---Instead of being backhanded with these, and a myriad of additional statistics, or worse getting wrapped up in a political debate; instead consider this common sense, but factually confirmed, perspective. 
---Think back to anyone, family or otherwise, that was unemployed, underemployed, or for that matter, doing work that had no potential of improving themselves or their children. 
---Think about anybody you know that ever wrote a check at the grocery store a few days before payday hoping it wouldn’t hit their account until they had a chance to go to the bank the next day.  What man or woman born is emotionally prepared to throw a meaningful hour into helping little Johnny with his homework under continuous financial stress, not to mention extra daily hassles?
---Poverty is not a good parent.  Poverty, and a lack of education, wears people down like a disease.  All of the top school communities around the state, as measured by all testing agencies, have the highest levels of wealth and education. 
---So, “which came first?” That aspect of the issue is irrelevant now.  New solutions must tackle both ends of the problem; education and jobs for the parents, education and job preparedness for the children.  The former is also the strongest influence on the latter.
---Many exceptional, selfless counselors and instructors have agreed to assist in building a local army of parents, volunteers and practitioners whose marching orders will encompass jobs and education.  To that end, please look for Part four in this series, to be titled, “The Light At The End Of The Tunnel.”  It will offer practical advice and direction to bring a constructive outcome to the status of Madison families.