By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Doctors know that a blood clot that went to her heart killed Jillian Alesia Uphold. They don’t know what caused it, though.
   Doctors thought at first that it could have been food poisoning but say that it could have been a ruptured appendix.
   “They don’t know,” Jillian’s mother, Kimilee Uphold said.
   Kimilee Uphold said that doctors at South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta had given Jillian three blood clots while doing blood work on her. One of the clots apparently went to Jillian’s heart.
   Jillian was a home-schooled 18-year-old senior, who was the apple of her family’s eye.
   “She was my baby,” Kimilee said.
   Jillian was the youngest of Tony and Kimilee Uphold’s four children. She had one brother, Tony Uphold, Jr., and two sisters, Julie Staley and Jacqueline Parnell.
   Jillian passed away Thursday evening, February 7, at 7:35 p.m. at Shands Hospital in Gainesville. Her funeral was held Sunday, February 10, at Beggs Funeral Home in Madison.

Teenager Critically Injured In Dirt Bike Accident

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   A 17-year-old was critically injured in a dirt bike accident on Friday  evening, February 9, at approximately 9:30 p.m.
   According to reports, Stephen Rusinko was riding on a dirt bike when he ran into a dump truck that was parked on the property that he was on.
   Rusinko, a sophomore who plays junior varsity baseball at the high school, had stopped at a friend’s residence to ask him to weld something. While there, Rusinko noticed a dirt bike and asked Cooper Welch if he could ride the dirt bike. Cooper told him “no” and said that it did not belong to him. Rusinko kept asking to be allowed to ride the bike but Welch never consented and Rusinko jumped on the dirt bike and took off.
   Welch and his friends, Will Culpepper, Bryant Tuten, and James and Skylar Thompson, watched Rusinko go off on the dirt bike. According to reports, they had heard a sixth gear change when suddenly they heard a thud. They went to see what happened and found Rusinko.
   Welch and the Thompson boys saw that Rusinko was choking on his blood and stood him up. They put Rusinko in his own truck.
Cooper, a member of the Lee Volunteer Fire Department, has learned to react the way he was taught by the other members of the department. Although he was taught not to move a victim from an accident, if he hadn’t moved Stephen he would have died right there.
   Will Culpepper called his father, Jack Culpepper, and told him what had happened. Jack told the boys not to move Rusinko, but when Will told him they already had, Jack instructed them to head toward State Road 6 and wait for law enforcement and ambulances to arrive.
   In route to Madison to meet the ambulance, Welch kept pressure on Rusinko’s wounds.
   “Though it’s never recommended you move a victim, this is one of those times when it might have helped, because if the boys had left Stephen there, he would probably have died,” a medical professional told this reporter.
   Welch took Rusinko to meet the ambulance at the intersection of Highway 6 and US 90 and then rode in the ambulance to Lanier Field with him, where Rusinko was put on a helicopter and flown to Tallahassee.
   Jameson Thompson drove Stephen’s truck to Lanier Field. After Life Flight left with Stephen, Cooper drove Stephen’s truck back to Henry and Dot Thompson’s house.
   Cooper, his father, Allen, and his grandfather, Alfred Welch, all headed to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. While there, Alfred called his pastor, Rich Quackenbush, of Lee United Methodist Church, who also went to the hospital to be with Rusinko and his family. Rusinko’s baseball coach, Doug Brown, was also there to lend his support to the family.
   Reese Thomas, who lost a son in a dirt bike accident, was there when everyone else arrived at the hospital.
   “It looks much better now than it did earlier,” one of the boys’ parents said.    “It’s going to take a long time, but, thanks to the boys helping him that night, he should be all right.”
   “Cooper saved the boy’s life,” another family member said.
   At TMH, Dr. Hurt operated on Rusinko for six hours, tying a graft to top of his aorta.
   “Dr. Hurt said everything went perfect,” Alfred Welch.
   This coming Saturday, Rusinko will undergo an operation for his forehead and cheek facial structure.
   “When all of this is over, he will probably be back playing baseball again,” Alfred Welch said.

Chili Dog Fundraiser To Be Held

   The Madison County High School Band is having a chili dog fundraiser from on Friday, February 22, from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Madison Courthouse.
   The $5 meal will consist of a chili dog, chips, dessert and a drink (canned soda or bottled water).
   Meals can be delivered locally if there are six or more meals to the same place.
   Email Suzanne Godfrey at godfreys@nfcc.edu if interested in purchasing tickets for the meals.

Woman Attacked And Mauled By Pit Bulls

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Becky Williamson Wimberly, formerly of Madison, was attacked and mauled by her son’s pit bulls at her residence in Mayo on January 27.
According to reports, several of the dogs had gotten loose from their pen on the back of the property and attacked her. Following a call for help, the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office and Lafayette County EMS personnel arrived at the scene to find Wimberly, 58, at the door of her greenhouse, covered in blood from wounds on her arms and legs.
   Discoloration was caused in Wimberly’s feet and lips, due to the massive amount of blood she had lost.
   Wimberly’s son, Benjamin, shot and killed the dogs that had gotten loose.
Wimberly was flown by helicopter to Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where she was treated for her wounds. Doctors also treated her for rabies as a precautionary measure.

Morris Steen Addresses Lee Town Council

By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Morris Steen, President of North Florida Community College, opened business for the Lee Town Council Meeting of February 5, 2008.  He was there to make a case for placing the NFCC logo on the new water tower adjacent to I-10 on the new service road, Dale Leslie Drive.  Although the tower appears to be a county structure, it is under the authority of Lee because they oversee the water system that includes the new 150,000-gallon tower. 
   The water tower is part of the recently completed infrastructure intended to attract and serve businesses along the corridor.  In prior discussion, the logo was initially introduced as an enhancement to attracting that commerce, the idea being that Madison County should draw more attention to perhaps its greatest gem, NFCC.  From a practical viewpoint, it was also meant to send the message that professionals are being educated here now, representing the vital future contributors needed to support industry whose leadership is considering the infrastructure.
   During this discussion however, the focus shifted considerably.  There was little mention of future growth or jobs or infrastructure collaboration.  Instead, the conversation centered more on advertising comparisons.  Sentimentality appeared to override planning and in the end the proposal centered more on rewarding NFCC for their accomplishments by allowing them less expensive advertising to showcase their logo.  “Our logo is gaining increased recognition, but still many don’t know that out home is Madison County,” Steen noted 
   Paraphrasing, one council member then asked, “Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for you to simply get a billboard out by I-10?” to which Steen replied, “Well, that would need much more upkeep and be much more expensive.  We can get the same exposure for ten years by putting our logo on the water tower than what a billboard would cost for just months.”  No discussion regarding NFCC needing this consideration due to a limited advertising budget was offered, although prior to the exchange Steen noted the college had built up over three million in reserves en route to a ten million target. 
   A second council member expressed similar reservations, stating they had observed virtually no towers with anything other than community references during a recent trip across several states, to which Steen playfully replied that perhaps it’s time for innovation.  In the end, the council decided an ordinance governing the process should be enacted regardless because of the likelihood other parties will assert that they too deserve access.  The final determination may come at next month’s council meeting
   Additional town business included a review of the annual town audit, which to no one’s surprise contained had no exceptions, and a unanimous vote for Shirley Yeager to serve as Council President.  The Council President presides in the Mayor’s absence.
   There was also discussion about the prominent challenge facing future residential development throughout the county from the new mandates regarding school availability and capacity.  And lastly, the council voted unanimously to appoint Michael Curtis to the Planning and Zoning Board, filling the vacancy caused by Roger Parson’s appointment to the council following Thelma Thompson’s midterm resignation.  Staff writer Michael Curtis can be reached at michael@greenepublishing.com.

Happy 100th Birthday Miss Madison 1925

By Michael Curtis
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   On June 5, 1925, the Madison Enterprise Recorder ran a story announcing the Miss Madison contest.  According to the article, seven businesses, including the ER, that comprised the Madison Trade Territory, sponsored the contest. 
   In order to nominate and vote for contestants, residents were required to visit these merchants, who in turn used an elaborate scoring system to convert patronage into votes.  This elaborate scoring system yielded big numbers for the winner, Mildred Bishop, who received 14,151,015 votes.  As winner, she was treated to a two-week, all-expenses-paid, tour of the North and East, which was a very significant prize at the time.
   Now residing in Jacksonville Beach, Lois Mildred Bishop was born on February 13, 1908 to Roberta and Ben Bishop of Madison.  She later married Samuel Jackson White of Live Oak on June 14, 1950. 
   The owners and staff of the ER wish one of Madison’s finest, and now the newest centenarian, a warm and blessed birthday.  Staff writer Michael Curtis can be reached at michael@greenepublishing.com.