NEWS Washington County
Wednesday, NOVEMBER 20, 2013
CHIPLEYPAPER.COM
IN BRIEF Farm-City Banquet set for Thursday CHIPLEY — The 2013 Washington County Farm-City Week Banquet will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, at the Washington County Agricultural Center. Outstanding agricultural leaders in the community will be recognized. Donations of peanut butter to benefit local food pantries will be accepted. RSVP by calling the Washington County Extension Office at 638-6265.
Vernon OKs enterprise zone final map By RANDAL SEYLER
638-0212 | @WCN_HCT rseyler@chipleypaper.com VERNON — The Vernon City Council approved the proposed expansion to the town’s enterprise zone on Monday night, paving the way for the revisions to be submitted to the state. The town of Ebro also approved expansions to its enterprise zone on Thursday, so three more miles of potential economic development have been added to Washington County. An enterprise zone is a statecreated area for industrial or commercial development that offers incentives to businesses in order to create jobs. Those incentives include jobs creation tax credits,
electrical energy tax credits, sales tax refunds for jobs creation and building materials, property tax credits for jobs creation and sales tax refunds for business equipment and machinery. Last year, the state Legislature passed a new law allowing counties to expand their enterprise zones, and Washington County will be allowed to expand its areas by three miles, which Washington County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ted Everett divided between Ebro and Vernon. The bulk of the county’s enterprise zone is in Chipley, but now Ebro and Vernon each have more than an additional mile. “I think this is great,” said Mike DeRuntz, senior planner for Washington County. “This will provide a
lot of opportunity for the future of Vernon.” The zone changes also will have to be approved by the county Planning and Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners because part of the changes include county property. In other business, the council approved advertising for a new city clerk. Longtime clerk Dian Hendrix has resigned, and the city is looking for a replacement. Deputy Clerk Karen Dodd is filling in during the search. Councilman Tray Hawkins said he hoped Dodd would apply for the clerk’s job so the city could hire from within its ranks to fill the position. The council also reappointed Tim Barnes as the Vernon fire chief. Barnes had left the area for
CHIPLEY — The Washington County Chamber of Commerce will host a two-hour workshop on the Affordable Care Act for small business owners from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday, Nov. 21, at Northwest Florida Community Hospital. Register by calling 638-4157. The workshop is free to Chamber members.
INDEX Opinion ................................A4 Sports ..................................A7 Extra....................................B1 Faith ....................................B4 Obituaries ............................B5 Classifieds ............................B6
Phone: 850-638-0212 Web site: chipleypaper.com Fax: 850-638-4601
See VERNON A2
Advisory panel to review project ideas By RANDAL SEYLER
638-0212 | @WCN_HCT rseyler@chipleypaper.com
City planners to meet Thursday
See BRIEF A2
a while earlier this year, and Councilman Shawn Sanders was serving as interim fire chief. The council approved using the Vernon Community Center for the fifth annual free Thanksgiving dinner, which will be 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 28. The dinner will feature the Golden Rose band in concert. The council also approved resident Steve Coatney temporarily connecting his travel trailer to city water and sewer until a more permanent solution can be found. According to county land use ordinances, permanent residence in recreational vehicles is prohibited, DeRuntz told the council. “I don’t plan on living there any longer than I have to,” Coatney
Wausau to seek $600,000 CDBG grant
WHAT’S UP, DOC?
Chamber to host Affordable Care Workshop
CHIPLEY — The Chipley Planning and Zoning Commission will meet at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, in the Council Chambers at Chipley City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.
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Volume 90, Number 63
RANDAL SEYLER | The News
Members of the Mount Family Farms give a rabbit demonstration during the Orange Hill Express Customer Appreciation and Purina Check-R-Board Days on Saturday in Chipley. The annual event drew hundreds of visitors. For more photos from the event, see Page A6.
School Board appoints chairman, sets schedule Data Center coordinator discusses staffing changes By RANDAL SEYLER
638-0212 | @WCN_HCT rseyler@chipleypaper.com CHIPLEY — The Washington County School Board reappointed Terry Ellis as chairman during its annual re-organizational meeting on Monday at the district administration building in Chipley. Susan Roberts was elected vice chairman, and the board voted to keep the regular monthly meetings at the same day and time — 5 p.m. second Mondays. “I think a chairman needs to be in that position for more than a year,” Roberts said. “The first
year, you’re kind of shy and you’re still learning what to do.” The board also set the salary of the board members at the state recommended. For 2011-12, that amount was $25,146, according to the state Office of Economic & Demographic Research website edr.state.fl.us. The board also reappointed Jeff Goodman as attorney and kept his retainer fee the same, subject to negotiation, Superintendent Joe Taylor said. After the brief re-organizational meeting, the board had a workshop with Sandra Coppedge, coordinator of the district’s Technology and Information Services, to discuss staffing the technology center. “We have three main tasks that we have to perform,” Coppedge said, “MIS, which is handling personnel and school records,
programming and technology.” The department has three employees who will be retiring in the next year, and those positions will have to be filled, Coppedge said. Ellis said he would like to eventually see computer techs stationed at both the Vernon and Chipley campuses, where they could oversee technological issues in the schools, rather than have all the techs working out of the Chipley campus. The department is advertising for a data entry clerk, and Roberts said she hoped that meant there would be someone available in the department to answer the telephone. “Martha Compton (director of Washington-Holmes Technical Center) has said she can send us a part-time person maybe two days a week,” Coppedge said. “That can help with the phones.”
Time for a Turkey Hunt! Y You ou don don’t ’t ha have ve tto o ha have ve a gun but yyou ou will ha have ve tto o hunt – and you could WIN $100 Hunt turkeys in today’s paper. Entry form inside.
WAUSAU — Town officials approved Fred Fox Enterprises taking the first steps toward seeking a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant for Wausau during Thursday’s Town Council meeting. During a public hearing before the council meeting, David Fox, project manager for Fred Fox Enterprises of St. Augustine, explained the process of applying for a 2013 CDBG grant. “The first step is we need to appoint a Citizens Advisory Task Force,” Fox said. “Then we need to advertise the task force meetings and discuss possible projects.” Fox also ran through a Fair Housing workshop for the audience, which discussed the history of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The Fair Housing workshop was also one of the requirements en route to applying for a CDBG grant. During the regular meeting, council members voted to allow Fred Fox Enterprises to begin the initial steps toward applying for the grant, and they approved a list of five potential members for the Citizens Advisory Task Force, three of whom were in the audience. One project the town has been wanting to fund is a new fire station, and the town has initial plans already drawn up for the facility. Fox said the CDBG grant could be used for a fire station. A new category being added to
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Bethlehem Lady cats compete in regionals, A8