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Public Meeting Held To Discuss Greenway
Calhoun County Man Loses Life
In Motorcycle Accident
Children's Coalition
Hosts 7th Annual Family Affair On July 31st
There were many questions raised at a public meeting on the proposed Northwest Florida Greenway held Thursday night in Blountstown.
An estimated 75 area residents packed into the conference room of the Extension Office in Blountstown to hear details about the greenway that would establish a conservation corridor spanning six counties and following the flight path of military aircraft on training and testing exercises from the Apalachicola National Forest and the Gulf coast to Eglin Air Force Base. The study area is roughly 10 miles wide by 100 miles long and covers approximately 750,000 acres.
According to county officials, this project could have far reaching effects on privately owned lands in Calhoun County, particularly in districts three and five. A map of the proposed corridor shows a study area encompassing about 40 percent of Calhoun County, covering most of the southern section and sweeping west to Bay County.
“This land is very important for the Department of Defense,” Col. Robert C. Noland of Eglin Air Force Base told the crowd during his presentation last Thursday night. “We would like the property underneath that airspace to remain like it is today...if the land were to change, we would not be able to operate our aircraft in this area.”
Noland explained that the flight path is the same they are currently using, but by designating it a greenway, it would hinder further development. He said the military is authorized to fly as low as 500 feet and emphasized it was necessary for proper training of Air Force pilots. Those in the flight path could either sell their land to the greenway or enter into a conservation easement with DEP, limiting development.
“This is a willing landowner program,” said Noland. “You have to be willing to help us.”
Many citizens in the audience did not appear willing to give up the right to develop their land in the future.
“It’s going to be like the national forest,” Clerk of Court Ruth Attaway pointed out. “It will reverse any possibility of anybody else coming into our area and putting in an industry. I have five nephews in the service and I’m supportive of the effort. But when they’re out [of the military] they want to come home and support their families.”
Others did not want planes flying low over their homes. “I bet everyone in this room supports you 100 percent,” remarked one man in the audience. “You probably have the most patriotic people in this room. But I bought land way up here in the county to get away for peace and tranquility, the next thing I know there’s a couple of F15s flying over at 500 feet.”
While Eglin is interested in military aspects, The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and The Nature Conservancy are also on the greenway team in support of environmental preservation.
Dr. Greg Brock, a DEP representative, said other areas of the state often request their help in preserving land before it is developed. “You all have a golden opportunity - it’s not gone,” he told Calhoun County citizens. “It’s up to you to decide whether you want to work with us. If you don’t, we have plenty of other people who do.”
Jessie Borthwick, the Greenway Program Manager for Eglin Air Force Base, said the project is still in the planning phase and greenway partners are just beginning to talk with different property owners in the region. “We understand some will want to participate and others won’t,” he remarked.
Borthwick advised the goal is to have the greenway in place by 2010, however, if support is not there, it may not happen. Funding is needed from both the state and federal governments. “People in South Florida are trying aggressively to secure this funding,” he noted. “If Northwest Florida doesn’t embrace this, chances are the money will be spent in South Florida.”
For more information on the greenway, contact Dr. Greg Brock at DEP at 850/245-2784.
Calhoun County Man Loses Life
In Motorcycle Accident
A Calhoun County man lost his life Wednesday afternoon in a motorcycle accident in Kinard.
Thomas Arthur Adams, 56, died after being thrown from his 2002 Honda when he hit a truck head-on.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Adams was traveling south on SR 71, about a mile south of SR 73, when he passed a vehicle and, for unknown reasons, lost control of his motorcycle. At the same time, Walter Crawford Fields II, 49, of Kinard, was northbound in a 1986 Toyota pickup. Adams’ bike crossed the path of the pickup and Fields braked and steered right in an attempt to avoid him. Adams’ bike collided with the front of the truck on the northbound shoulder of the road. Adams was ejected and came to rest in a field.
Adams was pronounced dead at the scene. Fields and his two passengers, Charles R. Kirkpatrick, 43, and Peter G. Abernathey, 32, both of Kinard, were treated for minor injuries.
Adams’ wife, Janice, was riding on a separate motorcycle, as were three other friends. Janice tells The County Record they had only been gone from their home on Shellcracker Avenue in Scotts Ferry about 15 minutes when the crash occurred.
The accident was investigated by Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jason T. Britt.
Adams worked as a registered nurse at Calhoun Correctional Institution. In addition to his wife, Janice, he is survived by his parents, Thomas and Beatrice Adams of Scotts Ferry, along with a daughter, two sisters, a stepson, two stepdaughters, and two grandchildren. Funeral services were held Sunday at the Peavy Funeral Home Chapel. His complete obituary appears in this issue.
Calhoun County’s teen pregnancy rate is soaring and local leaders are searching for solutions to reverse this trend.
The seriousness of this matter was clear at the Calhoun County Children’s Coalition meeting Friday where representatives from several agencies were discussing some startling figures.
“We have 27 girls pregnant who are 19 and under,” Coalition Chairperson Peggy Howland reports. Howland is the Healthy Start Care Coordinator at the Calhoun County Health Department where she is seeing more and more young girls who have become pregnant. “The majority are below 18. A lot of them between 14 and 17.”
Another shocking statistic is the fact that sexual activity is apparently starting at a younger age. In the Coalition’s five-county region, three 10-year-olds became pregnant this year. One of those cases was a result of alleged abuse; the other two were reportedly consentual sex.
In the past, Howland says the highest local pregnancy record was 32 for an entire year and Calhoun County is near that point seven months into the year. “Just because we’re small doesn’t mean we don’t have a problem,” she emphasizes.
Most disturbing is the fact that more teens seem to be having sex with multiple partners. “Previously, we would see more getting pregnant as a result of a relationship,” says Howland. “Now we’re seeing kids getting pregnant as a result of casual sex.” After a baby is born to a teen mother, Howland says it is not uncommon to have several young men submit to DNA testing to determine paternity.
What’s the solution? “Abstinence is the ideal, but it’s not a reality,” Howland remarks. “We want to promote abstinence as a goal, but if they are going to be irresponsible, they need to know the consequences in graphic detail.”
Coalition members say they believe a variety of reasons are behind the rise in teen pregnancy, ranging from explicit television shows and lack of activities to drug and alcohol abuse.
“When you’re talking to kids, they cite boredom,” says Carrie Baker, a former teacher who serves on the Coalition. “Drugs often play a part. Perhaps when they’re high they do things they wouldn’t normally do. We need to teach them the real story of what can happen to them.”
Susan Chafin, the Health Department’s Tobacco Prevention Coordinator who serves on the Coalition, says she believes alcohol plays a key role in the rising teen pregnancy rate. “Alcohol abuse among middle and high school kids is unbelievable,” she remarks. “It’s easy to get. That, to me, is the biggest epidemic we’ve got. If you could curtail that, I think you could curtail a lot of things.”
Howland is convinced teaching children critical thinking skills is essential to solving the problem. “We’re trying to find a way to attack this in the school system,” she says.
The Children’s Coalition plans to meet with the School Board in the near future to discuss the teen pregnancy rate and work together on this issue.
Children's Coalition
Hosts 7th Annual Family Affair On July 31st
If you’re in the market for face-painting, sno-cones, and free school supplies, get set for the Family Affair!
The Calhoun County Children’s Coalition is hosting the Seventh Annual Family Affair on Saturday, July 31, from 9 a.m. to noon at the W.T. Neal Civic Center in Blountstown.
With an admission price of a mere $1 per family, it’s an event worth every penny.
Organizers have been busy all week packaging school supply bags filled with crayons, coloring pencils, scissors, erasers, folders, paper, rulers, pens, pencils, and virtually everything needed for youngsters to start the school year off right.
In addition, 33 agencies and five churches will be on hand providing details about their program offerings. “In this day and time when so many services are being lost, it’s great to be able to let parents know what services are available,” says Peggy Howland, Children’s Coalition Chairperson.
While the grownups are getting informed, children will be entertained with train rides, a dunking booth, a moonwalk, and face-painting. In addition, there will be plenty of service vehicles for exploring including a City of Blountstown fire truck, a National Guard Humvee, Florida Forestry tankers, a Mallory tow truck, and a Mack truck from Capital Trucking. Making the rounds will be McGruff the Crime Dog and the Piggly Wiggly pig.
Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian in order to receive the free school supplies.
The Children’s Coalition extends their appreciation to the City of Blountstown, Calhoun County Commissioners, Calhoun County School Board, Roger and Gidget Thomas, David Price, Oglesby Plants International, Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT), Helping Hands, Early Education and Care, and Panhandle Area Health Network for donating funds or in-kind contributions to present the Family Affair and purchase school supplies.
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