Local
A2 | Holmes County Times-Advertiser
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
bonifay from page A1 hurt people, especially those on a fixed income. I can’t see how we can just sit here and let this happen to our people.” City grant writer Bob Jones reminded the council there would be a public hearing for the Capital Improvements Plan at 6 p.m. on Sept. 6. “Basically, this public hearing will be going over any and all ongoing projects the city has and will give you the ability to approve of
GAL
the plan during your meeting on Sept. 9,” Jones said. “This gives the public an opportunity to become involved in the park project.” The council also was reminded they have a workshop set to speak with the Bonifay Kiwanis Club about city expenses at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Assistant State Attorney Brandon Young came before the Bonifay City Council on behalf of the Bonifay Kiwanis Club to renegoti-
ate a 50-year contract between the city and the club for the use of Memorial Field during the city’s Aug. 12 meeting. “There is a 50-year agreement between the Bonifay Kiwanis Club and the City of Bonifay for the use of Memorial Field that was renewed in 1995,” Young said. “Before, the Kiwanis Club would receive numerous bills to pay various people for jobs, and this contract was arranged between the club and the
EYE EXAM FOR NEW PATIENTS 59 AND OLDER This certificate is good for a complete Medical Eye Exam with
Todd Robinson, M.D. In Our Chipley Office
Board Certified Eye Physician and Surgeon.
✁
The exam includes a prescription for eye glasses and tests for Glaucoma, Cataracts and other eye diseases.
FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT CALL: 850-638-7220
ELIGIBILITY: U.S. Citizens living in the Florida Panhandle, 59 years and older, not presently under our care. Coupon Expires: 9-15-13 CODE: WC00
Can produce clear vision without glasses, at all distances
The question becomes can you live without electricity, and Hapner said the answer is yes, even if it might be uncomfortable. “In the good old days, there wasn’t electricity or running water or indoor plumbing, but that wasn’t considered neglect — that was just the way it was.” Hapner said reports from the GAL to the courts were based on the advocates’ information. “This information is backed up by what you have seen and heard at the home.” Advocates are not investigators in the sense they are out to solve a crime, Hapner said. “I had one advocate in Bay County who was a former FBI agent, and he was always wanting to solve the case,” Hapner said. “We aren’t there to solve the case or find someone guilty. We’re there to look out for the child’s best interests.” The advocate gathers information to be better able to make an informed recommendation on the behalf of the child or children involved. The advocate is not out there alone; it is a team effort between the GAL staff, attorneys and advocates. GAL advocates gather information and facilitate things for the child and the family. “If you have resources, contacts that can help the family that is great,” Hapner said. “For example, if the power is turned off, and you know that if you call the church they can help, then by all means use those resources.” Volunteers also are there to be advocates for the children. “Ultimately it is up to the volunteer to gather information and make a recommendation that is in the best interest of the child,” Hapner said. The next training session for volunteers will be held in the fall. For more information about volunteering, call 747-5180.
Todd Robinson, M.D.
On the evening of Aug. 19, the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office answered the call to a burglary at the Stateline Liquor Store in Northern Holmes County and were able to get images of the suspect off of the surveillance camera, according to the report. At the same time, the Geneva Police Department was answering a call about a stolen vehicle, which was used in the liquor store robbery and a vehicle burglary in their area, according to the report. On the evening of Aug. 20, the Geneva Police Department received a call
about a prowler and found Tidwell intoxicated, which he was then charged with public intoxication, according to the report. According to the report, the police found evidence that linked Tidwell to the recent burglaries. Tidwell is being charged with two counts of burglary of a structure, petit theft of more than $100 less than $300, grand theft of more than $300 less than $5,000, two counts of criminal mischief, wearing a mask while committing offense and grand theft-automobile, according to the report.
Sheriff Tim Brown would like to thank the public for their assistance in identifying this individual and would also like to thank the Geneva Police Department and the Geneva County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance. “This is a perfect example of citizens and neighboring law enforcement agencies working together to see that this individual is brought to justice,” Brown said. Sheriff Brown asks that anyone with any information on illegal activity call 547-4421 or reportacrime@ holmescosheriff.org.
wings from page A1 requirement to pay for tuition. We’ve been paying for text books for a while now.” Dixon said the school district paid $85,000 in books last year, which is one-third the cost of tuition. “We’re looking into finding a way to change legislation for the next school year, because this is a big burden to schools,” he said. “Chipola is our area’s zoned community college, and they’re trying to filter these students into these zoned schools.” Kolmetz reminded everyone there are upcoming Morals and Ethics Training for faculty and staff. “I also wanted to say that
I’m against Cokes and candies,” Kolmetz said. “They shouldn’t be sold at school.” Board member Shirley Owens said she visited a few of the schools during the first day. “You couldn’t tell that this was the first day of school,” Owens said. “Everything just flowed so smoothly, which shows the level of leadership, and I have seen the relationships between faculty and staff, principals and teachers. Thank you everyone for going the extra mile in making the first day of school such a wonderful success.” Motley agreed with Owens about the good
relationship between principals and teachers. “I want to mention how clean and well maintained the schools were for the first day of school, which went well in spite of the weather,” Chair Rusty Williams said. “I’d like to thank the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and Holmes County Correctional Institute for saving us a lot of money in cleaning and maintaining these buildings. I also wanted to thank our superintendent for our presentation in Tallahassee, which went very well.” The next scheduled meeting of the Holmes County District School Board is set for 9 a.m. on Sept. 3.
SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY’S UNIVERSITY
Board Certified Eye Physician and Cataract Surgeon
MULLIS EYE INSTITUTE Chipley Office
1691 Main St., Ste. 1 Chipley FL 32428
850-638-7220
We are located directly across the parking lot from the Walmart in Chipley
1600 Jenks Ave. • Panama City, FL (850) 763-6666 • 1-800-227-5704 www.mulliseye.com
1116478
Smart LensesSM
because it may be more or it may be less.” Public Works Supervisor Jack Marell requested the city hold off on paying the company that paved the city hall’s handicap parking spaces. “You need to hold on to it until they come back and fix it because it is a mess,” Marell said. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Bonifay City Council is set for 6 p.m. on Sept. 9.
burglary from page A1
from page A1
As trained advocates, GAL volunteers are appointed by judges to be a voice for these children in court. A Guardian ad Litem is much more to a child than just their court advocate, according to the website, guardianadlitem. org. “A GAL volunteer often becomes a role model, mentor, educational surrogate, friend, confidant and most important, a consistent caring person on whom the child can rely,” according to the website. The role of the advocate is to assess the situation in which the child is living and be able to make a recommendation to the agency and the court about the situation in which their wards are living. “Is it neglect if there is no food in the home?” asked Fred Hapner, circuit director, who was leading the first training session for the new volunteers. One of the advocate trainees suggests it might be the end of the month, and the coffers are bare. “That’s a good point. Just because there isn’t food in the house, that doesn’t mean the child isn’t being fed,” Hapner said. Hapner said advocates have to not only observe the situation the children are living in, but they also have to be able to put things in perspective. That perspective is important for a GAL advocate, because their recommendations wind up going to the judge in Dependency Court and can have an impact on the proceeding’s outcome. “A lot of times this comes down to your own experiences and common sense,” Hapner said. He also gave the example of a home having no electricity. “Would it be neglectful to be living in a home without electricity? We may think so, but a judge may disagree with us.”
FREE
city so that the club would pay one lump sum to the city to cover all the expenses associated with using Memorial Field for two events.” Council member Richard Woodham suggested a workshop be held to negotiate the terms of the new contract. “We’ve got to get together and compare expenses,” Woodham said. “We just want to get paid. We need to look at the expenses, do our homework and get back to you
"WE WELCOME NEW PATIENTS, CALL TODAY FOR YOUR PRIORITY APPOINTMENT" NO HIDDEN CHARGES: It is our policy that the patient and any other person responsible for payments has the right to refuse to pay, cancel payment or be reimbursed by payment or any other service, examination or treatment which is performed as a result of and within 72 hours of responding to the advertisement for the free, discounted fee or reduced fee service, examination or treatment.
Stay Connected! Like us on Facebook & Follow us on Twitter
THE CAMPAIGN FOR OUR COMMUNITY’S UNIVERSITY Endowment for Tomorrow’s Jobs $0
$1,000,000
$500,000
$2,000,000 $3,000,000 $4,000,000
$1,500,000
$2,500,000 $3,500,000
$5,000,000 GOAL
$4,500,000
The new College of Applied Studies at FSU Panama City was approved by the FSU Board of Trustees in June 2010 and allows the campus to more easily respond to workforce needs in our area. We invite you to support The Campaign for Our Community’s University by helping us build an endowment for tomorrow’s jobs. Our goal is to establish a $5 million endowment for the College of Applied Studies by 2017, which will allow FSU Panama City to establish student scholarships, implement new degree programs and provide new equipment and technology.
/emeraldcoast.jobs
@ECoastJobs
1091654
To learn how you can support our community’s university, contact Mary Beth Lovingood at (850) 770-2108 or mblovingood@pc.fsu.edu.