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Suwannee 131st YEAR, NO. 035 | 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES
Democrat
Wednesday Edition — December 30, 2015
75 CENTS
Serving Suwannee County since 1884, including Live Oak, Wellborn, Dowling Park, Branford, McAlpin and O’Brien
What do your public officials make? By Carl McKinney carl.mckinney@gaflnews.com
Elected officials’ salaries are public record in Florida, and the state legislature releases an annual report detailing who makes what in Suwannee County and elsewhere in the state. Sheriff Tony Cameron’s base salary is
$114,33 per year, not including overtime, holiday pay or benefits. If he completes a certain number of continued education training courses outside of the mandatory 20 hours a year, he gets a $2,000 supplement to his salary. The supervisor of elections, Glenda Williams, has her salary set at $87,538 per year.
Teachers, employees of the year announced
The county tax collector, Sharon Jordan, has a base salary of $105,384. Clerk of Circuit Court Barry Baker’s salary is $107,384. Lamar Jenkins, the county property appraiser, makes $105,384, as does the school superintendent, Jerry Scarborough. School board members make $27,892.
Vickie Music DePratter, finance director for Suwannee County Schools, supplied the following information: The assistant superintendent for instruction makes $88,132 per year. The assistant superintendent for administration makes $94,606 per year. SEE WHAT, PAGE 9A
Reclaiming a slice of life
By Jessie R. Box jessie.box@gaflnews.com
Suwannee County School District has announced the teachers and school-related employees of the year. For Suwannee Primary School, the Teacher of the Year is Georgette Allbritton and the SchoolRelated Employee of the Year is Robbie Kuyrkendall. For Suwannee Elementary School, the Teacher of the Year is Connie Leavitt and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Vernita Reed. For Suwannee Intermediate School, the Teacher of the Year is Natalie Haney and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Lori Alban. For Suwannee Middle School, the Teacher of the Year is Meri Herrell and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Debra Hodges. For Suwannee High School, the Teacher of the Year is Michael Pate and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Kathy Aukerman. For Branford Elementary School, the Teacher of the Year is Elizabeth Johnston and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Amanda Harris. For Branford High School, the Teacher of the Year is Lynda McInnis and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Jerri Byrd. For RIVEROAK Technical College, the Teacher of the Year is Joanne Kietur and the School-Related Employee of the Year is Ginny Crews. For the District Office, the School-Related Employee of the Year is Karen Bates.
Billy Joe Brown sharpens a railroad spike in his workshop. After about an hour, he had turned it into a knife.
Local craftsman makes knives from reclaimed metal By Carl McKinney carl.mckinney@gaflnews.com
SEE TEACHERS, PAGE 2A
Gun groups expect Obama to tighten rules on background checks By Kery Murakami CNHI Washington Reporter
WASHINGTON - Gun control advocates want President Barack Obama to tighten rules for background checks on firearms purchases, which they argue give criminals easy access to weapons. But if Obama acts in the coming weeks, as expected by those on both sides of the gun debate, gun-rights supporters are already poised to sue. “What we’re expecting is for Obama to try doing something illegal,” said Michael Hammonds, legal counsel for the Gun Owners of America. “I don’t think he cares any more if what he does is legal.” Federal law now exempts gun-sellers from conducting background checks on buyers if a seller only deals “occasionally” and is not “engaged in the business” of selling guns. Critics say those terms are so vague that they have allowed for the purchase of hundreds of guns - particularly at gun shows and online - by criminals including those with histories of domestic abuse. Jonas Oransky, legal counsel for Everytown for SEE GUN, PAGE 9A
Brown tempers the blade with a blowtorch. The knife was almost finished.
The finished knife, made from a railroad spike. Brown estimates he’s made several hundred of these. - Photos: Carl McKinney
LOOK FOR: Action scenes from this season. Sports Page 1B
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Sparks flew as the metal touched the wheel. What had started as an old railroad spike an hour earlier was transformed into an ornate knife. Billy Joe Brown said he doesn’t even own a knife, but the metallurgist from Live Oak has made plenty of them using recycled scrap metal. “I hate seeing metal go to waste” he said. “This way, it gets made into something useful.” On Tuesday, Dec. 8, his 57th birthday, Brown prepared to take the old railroad spike someone gave him and fashion it into a knife. All the metal he uses he either found, somebody donated to him, or he traded a finished product for, he said. “I don’t buy steel,” he said. “There’s too much lying around.” Brown placed the spike, given to him by a former railroad employee of 42 years, into the forge. He’s used materials such as saws from old mills, pitchforks and even a bridge cable, which he grabbed from his workshop to show off. “This will be a knife someday,” Brown said, before he turned his attention back to the glowing-red metal in his forge. SEE LOCAL, PAGE 2A