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per player. Teams will be picked on Sept. 9 Practice will begin on Sept. 12. The season will begin on Sept. 30 and the last game will be played on Oct. 29. If you have not heard from a coach by Sept. 11 call Guy Lane at 6386348 or 658-2773.
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 advocates have to not only observe the situation that the children are living in, but they also have to be able to put things in perspective. That perspective is impor-
Marsha Harrison Benefit BETHLEHEM — There will be a benefit for Marsha Harrison from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 7 at Bethlehem High School. There will be a De-Feet Cancer 5K Run/Walk. The entry fee for the 5K is $30 and registration will be at 7 a.m. with the 5K starting at 8 a.m., awards will follow. Fried Fish and Chicken Plates will be $7 and will include fish or chicken, baked beans, potato salad or coleslaw, bread, dessert and a drink. There will also be a silent auction at 10 a.m. with the winning bids being announced at 1 p.m., and there will also be inflatable for the kids. Marsha Harrison has been diagnosed with breast cancer is currently undergoing treatments in Birmingham, Ala. This benefit is to help raise money for her medical care and travel expenses. There is also an account set up at the First federal Bank in Bonifay as “Benefit Account for Marsha Harrison.” For more information call Emmy Mosser at 547-3468 or Wanda Pope at 956-4459.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
tant 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.” 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 that 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 that 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,
Randal Seyler | The News
The Guardian ad Litem program meets in Chipley and a new training class will begin in the fall. Volunteers act as court appointed advocates for children in Washington and Holmes counties. 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, the attorneys, and the 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 ex-
ample, 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.
BOCC from page A1 “We lost $59,000 in revenue from the budget by waiving those fees,” Abbott said. The impact fee is a $1,400 charge by the county on new construction, including mobile homes. Last year, Commissioner Charles Brock had recommended the fees be waived for one year to save homeowners money and to encourage development in the county. Abbott noted that he was not suggesting raising taxes by reinstating the fee. “This is a fee, not a tax,” he said.
County Attorney Jeff Goodman said the commissioners did not have to take any action to reinstate the fees. “The fee was waived for one year, so it will go back into effect automatically,” he said. Brock made a motion that the impact fees be waived for another year, but the motion died due to a lack of a second. Commissioner Lynn Gothard made a motion that the county apply $300,000 of Sunny Hills MSBU funds toward the Sunny Hills
loan debt. “That will leave $171,000 in there,” she said of the account. The commissioners voted earlier this year to do away with the MSBU and contract out the mowing in Sunny Hills, freeing up the rest of the money raised by the taxing district to be applied toward the $1.66 million in loans the county has been paying on. The plan was to pay the debt off as quickly as possible. The Municipal Service Benefit Unit, or MSBU, is an ordinancecreated tax district.
Sal Zurica asked the commissioners, on the behalf of the Sunny Hills residential association, to inventory all the equipment from the MSBU that the county plans to sell and to provide to him a detailed list of what was sold and how much money each item earned. Zurica read a list of items the MSBU possessed that were not maintenance related, including a TV and a pair of recliners. “I would like to see a better inventory list than what was given to me,” he said.
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project. “This is a case of the property owners facing a hardship because of the highway taking their property,” DeRuntz said. “These variances will put back what is existing currently.” In other business, the county commissioners took no action to suspend impact fees on new housing in the county for 2014. The impact fees were waived last year, and Commissioner Todd Abbott asked the board to consider reinstating the fees for the coming year.
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ligan, when she represented the restaurant at the Aug. 6 Planning Commission meeting. The Vernon City Council also approved the proposed construction. The county was being asked to approve reducing the setback requirements from 50 feet to 10 feet to allow the restaurant to stay on its current location. Designs call for a new parking lot alongside the restaurant. The new building will seat as many customers as the restaurant could prior to the DOT