By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   A man was killed early Saturday morning, April 19, in a traffic crash three miles east of Lee on U.S. 90.
   According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, at 4 a.m. Saturday morning, Joey Shaun Nichols 36, of Jasper, was westbound on U.S. 90. For an unknown reason, Nichols veered to the left and entered onto the south grass shoulder.
   The front of Nichols’ 1999 Ford pickup collided with a large concrete utility pole and came to a final rest with the front against the pole and the truck pointing to the southwest.
   Nichols received fatal injuries and died at the scene.
   Units from the Lee Volunteer Fire Department, Madison County EMS, Madison County Fire and Rescue and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office assisted at the scene.
   FHP Trooper Berry Crews was the investigating officer. Cpl. Donnie Pitts was the homicide investigator.

Feds Raid Pilgrim’s Pride Plant

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   Federal agents raided Pilgrim’s Pride in Suwannee County last Wednesday, April 16, as part of a U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement target operation.
   The plant, located east of Madison County, in the Ellaville area just across the Suwannee County, was raided, along with poultry plants in four other states as authorities attempted to end an alleged scam to provide false identification for illegal immigrant employees.
   Other plants targeted include the Mount Pleasant, Texas; Batesville, Ark.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; and Moorefield, W.Va. locations.
   There were more than 280 arrests nationwide and reportedly 15 arrests at the Suwannee County chicken processing plant.
   Barbara Gonzales, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement regional communications director for the Southeast, was reported as saying that the operation was based on intelligence. She said federal agents were targeting those believed to be involved in identity theft and that many of those arrested are facing criminal prosecution. The ones arrested in Suwannee County are being processed for being in the country illegal and are going to be presented criminally for federal prosecution.
   The Suwannee County facility consists of a processing plant, feed mill, hatchery and distribution centers, employing more than 1,600 people and contracting with 167 family farmers in the North Florida area to raise chickens for the processing plant.

People Upset Over NFCC Decision To End Athletics

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   The following things are now ghosts at Sentinel Field, Frank Cantey Field and Colin P. Kelly Gymnasium on the North Florida Community College campus in Madison:
            •The smell of hotdogs and popcorn
            •The metallic sounds of aluminum bats making contact with baseballs and softballs
            •Infield chatter among the players while an opponent stands at bat
            •The sound of a sizzling fastball making contact with a catcher’s mitt
            •Umpires yelling “Play ball!” “Strike!” and “You’re Out!”
            •The sounds of sneakers making squeaking noises and the “thump-thump-thump” sound of the basketball on the court
            •The beauty of an arcing jump shot and it sails through the air and strips the net
   The North Florida Community College Board of Trustees voted to abandon the college’s athletic program for one year and probably more at its Tuesday, April 15, meeting. The news did not sit well in Madison and surrounding counties.
   Jackie Johnson, a Madison businesswoman who was among the college’s first baseball boosters when the program was reinstated in the 1980s, was among those upset by the vote.
   “I’m distressed because our kids are lacking in so much,” Johnson, who was related to Frank Cantey (who the softball field at NFCC is named after) through marriage, said. “We need to hold on to all the recreation that we can.”
   Cantey donated property to the college and the softball field was named after him.
   A 1964 graduate of the college, Johnson elaborated, saying, “We were making so much progress with the new recreation park and everything. The people who are running it are doing a great job and then we have to pull the athletic program at the college.”
   Johnson said that she is extremely proud of the college’s academic program but that sports were needed also at the college.
   In Suwannee County, Alex Flowers, president of that county’s baseball boosters, said he thinks that NFCC canceling sports is just the tip of the iceberg.
   “I think we will see more and more of them do it,” he said.
   Flowers noted that Lake City Community College had already done away with their athletic program and that the cutbacks in sports are hitting a lot closer to home.
   “They have been talking about cutting out some of our middle school sports here,” he said.
   Flowers has a son, Clent, and a step-daughter, Erika, who are involved in the sports program at Suwannee High. Erika is a cheerleader and Clent is a baseball player.
   A junior this season, Clent is looking at playing college baseball.
   “They (the NFCC baseball team) finally got good this season and now they’re cutting the program,” Alex Flowers said. “I’m afraid it’s going to cost some young’uns an education.”
   Flowers said he was sure that the trustees could find the money for sports if they would just look for it. One suggestion that he gave was for the college teams to play a 20-game schedule like high schools instead of the typical 40-game schedule.
   “Half of the games would be at home, anyway,” Flowers pointed out. “They wouldn’t have a lot of money in travel for those games and the local games might generate revenue.”
   Flowers said that the booster club for Suwannee High pays for most of the school’s baseball program. He said that the school district there had only allotted $1,500 for the program and that the uniforms alone had cost over $8,500.
   “Why can’t the college have boosters help offset some of their costs?” Flowers questioned.
   Flowers also said that he would like to know where the money that was supposed to be generated by the Florida Lottery for education went.
   The lottery, which was instituted in the 1980s, was supposed to provide more money for education; however, some legislators, seeing the extra money coming in from the lottery, cut what was already spent for education and replaced it with lottery dollars.
   Connie Day, mother of Aucilla Christian Academy star player and Madison resident Lindsey Day, said her daughter also had a bitter pill to swallow.
   “She had wanted to play at North Florida since she was a little girl,” Connie Day said.
   Connie added that Lindsey, who had signed to play for NFCC, still had not heard whether the college would honor the scholarship that she signed with head softball Coach Jeff Dabney.
   Connie said that Lindsey had spoken to a couple of other colleges since, but one coach had told her that the roster for her team was already full for next season.
   “People tell me that there is still time (for another scholarship to be signed) but it’s kind of late in the season,” Connie said.
   Connie said she would support Lindsey in whatever decision she makes concerning her softball career.
   “She has really been hurting over this,” Connie said. “I’m very disappointed the way this was handled. It’s going to be very hard for girls to find scholarships.”
   Jefferson County Sheriff David Hobbs, whose daughter Brittany played for the NFCC softball team, spoke to Fran Hunt, the sports reporter for The Monticello News. She said, “It’s a shame for a student athlete in Lindsey Day’s case. Other schools have already recruited their players for the following year.”
   Brittany Hobbs’ scholarship at NFCC will be honored, but David Hobbs said that he understood that Day’s scholarship would not be honored.
   Rosalyn Bass, Lindsey’s high school coach, (speaking to Hunt) said, “It’s pretty said when athletes go from Aucilla to NFCC to play sports locally and then it’s pulled out from under them.”
   ACA Principal Richard Finlayson also spoke to Hunt and said that he is disappointed that the college had to pull the sports programs but that he understood that the Board of Trustees had the students’ best interest at heart. He said that it could also possibly happen at ACA.
   Frederick Mickler, a retired Jasper physician who was originally from Madison, was the voice of the Sentinels’ baseball team for 15 or 16 years. He said that he was very disappointed to hear about the vote to suspend sports at NFCC.
   “Sports was a real plus for the county and town to have a school that competes with Panama City and Pensacola,” Mickler said. “For Madison to be compared with them was a real plus.’
   Mickler said he hopes that there is someway to counteract the program’s dismissal.
   Mike Harris, the athletic director at Lafayette High School in Mayo, said, “I hadn’t really thought too much about it. It’s unfortunate because of the budget cuts. We did have people from here that continued their academic and athletic careers at NFCC.”
   Mike Harris continued, saying, “It’s somewhat understandable with the budget cuts.”
   He said that this past year, no one from Lafayette signed to play basketball and he was not aware of any who signed to play baseball or softball at NFCC. He said that it had been a few years since anyone at Lafayette had signed to play for NFCC.
   Price Harris, who grew up in Madison watching the Sentinels play ball and who is now the head football coach and athletic director at Taylor County High School in Perry said, “I hate to see it happen. It’s put one girl here who signed with the Sentinels in a bind. There are so many people who go play ball there and then go somewhere else after they graduate to play ball. It’s a shame, but, on the other hand, I understand. Sports are expensive and you get caught in a budget crunch. I don’t think anyone (in the NFCC administration and on the Board of Trustees) wanted to see it happen.”

Pinetta Man Injured In ATV Wreck

By Jacob Bembry
Greene Publishing, Inc.
   A Pinetta man was injured in an ATV accident on NE Ridge Loop early Friday morning, April 18.
   According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Kevin E. Miller, 29, of Pinetta, was traveling south on NE Ridge Loop. The road had loose surface materials of sand and rock.
   The tires of the 2006 Polaris ATV struck the loose materials and the ATV veered sharply to the left and traveled into a ditch. The vehicle then collided into a large tree.
   Miller was ejected from the ATV and received serious injuries. Madison County EMS transferred him to South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Ga.
   According to his mother, Sheree Miller, Kevin broke both collarbones, three vertebrae in his back and two ribs. He was in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a couple of days but has since been moved to a room. He has two small fractures in the skull, which doctors say will heal on their own, a gash on the side of his head and a small pinhole puncture in his lung, which doctors don’t expect to bother him. Doctors also put a plate in to help him heal faster.
   Sheree Miller said that her son would probably be operated on Wednesday.
   “Basically, because there’s no neurological damage, it’s looking good right now,” Sheree said.
   Units from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and Pinetta Volunteer Fire Department assisted at the scene.
   FHP Trooper Berry Crews was the investigating officer.

Mark Branham Announces Candidacy for County Commissioner District 5

   Mark Branham, a long time resident of Madison County, has announced his candidacy for County Commission, District 5. As a small business owner and conservative Republican, he believes that Madison could prosper with a fresh approach to county government and spending. Mark stated, "I believe in keeping taxes as low as possible while maintaining services that help Madison County grow. If elected, I would hold semi-annual town hall meetings so that all the voters in the district can have a voice on how their tax dollars are being spent."
   Mark attended the University of South Florida, where he earned his Bachelor's of Music Education to then join the USMA Band at West Point, New York. While serving in the U.S. Army, Branham received his Master's from Columbia University, Teachers College in New York City. In 1978 the family moved to Madison for Mark to take the position as Director of Music at North Florida Community College. In 1987, he chose to pursue his desire to become a financial advisor. This new career path allowed him to own his own financial planning practice and to help people achieve their own financial goals. In 1993
   Branham excelled in the industry by attaining the designation of CFP, Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner.
   Mark has been actively involved in the community for many years as a member of the First Baptist Church, Treasurer for the Republican Executive Committee of Madison County, Treasurer for the Gideons Suwannee West Camp; and a member of the Rotary Club. As one of the founding Board Members of Madison's Family Lifeline Center, he currently sits on the Board of Directors with A Women's Pregnancy Center in Tallahassee, FLC's now-parent company.
   He has been married to Willa, a teacher at Madison Academy, for over 34 years and they have two daughters. Marcia Bass is a Registered Nursing instructor at NFCC (husband Donnie, Dept of Corrections) and Wendy Branham is an associate financial advisor in Mark's practice (fiance Kevin Anderson, MC Deputy Sheriff).
   Mark's financial planning practice has taught him over the years to be conservative with other people's money and knows that this stewardship attitude will follow him into office. He believes in a fiscally responsible government that will work hard to keep taxes low. Branham says, "By bringing in clean industry to Madison County we can have a win-win situation, increase the overall tax revenue while relying less on the residential tax roll. We have a golden opportunity here in Madison County to also reap the rewards of increasing tourism dollars."
   "Madison County has been a wonderful place to raise my children and I believe it could be made even better with a stronger financial base. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 4th, 2008."