Staff bloggers

A widow of Sept. 11, 2001, disasters will be the guest speaker at a women’s conference at 7 p.m. Fridayand 8:30 to noon May 10 at Hickory Grove Baptist Church, 310 S. Oakridge Ave. in Green Cove Springs. Jennifer Sands will share her story. Admission is free; however reservations help with planning. Please call 284-3311 or 406-9526 to register. 

In this one cage at Clay County Animal Control, a group of seven lab, shepherd mix, and bulldog puppies are waiting for a new home! Can you give even one of them a chance?

Can't adopt now? Send this to someone who might be interested!

The puppies are in cage 65, tag numbers 378, 319, 379, 13, 391, 417, and 008.

T379: TAN FEMALE BULLDOG MIX, 3 months old

T135: BROWN & WHITE LAB MIX, FEMALE, 4 months old

T417: MALE TAN/BLK/WHT Shepherd MIX, 3 months old

T378: MALE TAN/BLK/WHT Shepherd MIX, 3 months old

T319: MALE TAN BULLDOG MIX, 3 months old

T008: FEMALE BRNDLE/WHT BULLDOG MIX, 4 months old

T391: FEMALE TAN BULLDOG MIX, 3 months old

These dogs are currently at Clay County Animal Control, 3984 Florida 16 W., Green Cove Springs. Call 269-6342 for more information.

Have you guys seen this? If not, prepare to spend the next 4 minutes of your life in absolute wonder (this trailer is only 1:20 long, but you'll watch it at least 3 times.)

 Orange Park tonight came another step closer to implementing a town-wide tax to fund the fire department.

"It's not going to be pretty," said Orange Park Town Manager explaining that the town will be taxing residents who have never before been taxed.

Five months ago, the council notified state and county officials that they are considering taxing all property owners - including tax-exempt parcels - a tax based on the property's square footage. This would include the tax-exempt Moosehaven retirement community and St. Vincent's medical complex, both on U.S. 17.

Funds collected would make up for ad valorem tax losses to be incurred as a result of recent legislative mandates.

 Tonight, the council agreed to have the Clay County's property appraiser generate a tax roll, listing properties and their square footage.  The data will enable the town to figure out how much money such a tax could raise.

The next step will be hiring a consultant to review the tax roll and help set a tax rate, Bowles said.

In other business, the council postponed until 7:30 p.m. July 15 a controversial vote on a request to rezone 2.6 acres at 357 Stiles Ave. from residential to commercial.

Orange Park accountant Linda Dufresne, who owns the property, wants to build a professional office complex on the site but several residents spoke against the idea.

"I view this as encroachment and irresponsible," said Scott Geeser, who lives next door to the property on Stiles Avenue. "And once you rezone it, you can't go back."

 Dufresne's attorney, Paul Harden of Jacksonville, asked the council to postpone the hearing and vote to give him and his client time to meet with residents to discuss concerns and hopefully hash out a compromise. The council granted the request.

Two more wonderful pets from the Safe Animal Shelter are our features in the Pet Preview this week. Can't adopt right now? Be sure to send this to your friends and family!

These pets can be found at Safe Animal Shelter, 2913 County Road 220 in Middleburg. Call 276-7233 or visit www.safeanimalshelter.com. All animals are altered and microchipped prior to adoption.

POWDER is a 2-year-old male domestic medium-hair. A sweet and loving cat.

SHADOW DANCER was found as a stray in March. 2-year-old male Shepherd mix weighing about 71 pounds. Friendly; good with other dogs and kids.

The following release is from Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson's office.

Keystone Heights- The Florida Division of Forestry, Florida Park Service, and Clay County Fire Rescue are jointly working on a project to reduce the wildfire danger for residents of Keystone Heights. A prescribed burn has been planned for approximately 30 acres of thick overgrown brush located on an island in the middle of Lake Geneva, just south of the intersection of Florida 100 and Florida 21 in Keystone Heights. This dried lake bed is covered with flammable grasses and underbrush that could fuel a wildfire, dangerously close to homes.

A public meeting to discuss this prescribed burn has been scheduled for Tuesday, May 6th 2008, at 6:30 PM. The meeting will take place at Keystone Heights City Hall, located at 555 South Lawrence Blvd.  Representatives from the Florida Division of Forestry, Florida Park Service, Clay County Fire Rescue, Keystone Heights Volunteer Fire Department, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office will discuss how prescribed burns reduce wildfire risk, increase public safety and benefit wildlife. These local community service professionals will also be available to answer any questions from the community.

Firefighters and emergency managers are concerned that if a wildfire were to start in the area, it would be difficult to extinguish due to the amount of vegetation available to burn, and the inaccessibility of the property. Once the vegetation has been burned back, under controlled conditions, the fire danger is reduced for up to three years and lush green grasses will quickly return, attracting a variety of wildlife. Fore more information on the benefits of prescribed burning visit the Division of Forestry web site at www.fl-dof.com. For questions concerning the community meeting call John Ward with Clay County Fire Rescue at (904) 219-0640.

Because I know you guys were talking about this the other day, here's an update with the Truck Nutz debate.

The AP wrote a beautiful lead sentence for this story-

The Associated Press

A provision in a highway safety bill that would have banned drivers from attaching replica bull testicles to their rear bumpers was snipped from the legislation. The bill will now go to the governor’s desk.

Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, had sponsored the amendment that would have allowed police to give drivers a $60 ticket for displaying the dangling decorations.

The House did not have the amendment in its version of the bill.

Senators had engaged in a somewhat heated debate over the issue two weeks ago. Sen. Jim King, R-Jacksonville, said he had bought “Truck Nutz” for his own vehicle and opposed the ban.

After Baker announced that the provision was no longer in the bill (SB 1992), he said, “Congratulations, Senator King.”

Provisions still in the legislation include updating Florida driver licenses to conform with federal standards and placing a three-year moratorium on specialty license plates. Police would also be allowed to fine anyone who watches a drag race $60.

About 600 marijuana plants were seized in Clay and St. Johns counties as part of a drug task force raid this week to cut down on grow houses.

In Clay the Sheriff’s Office said authorities found 228 plants in four homes prompting the arrest of five people: James P. Powers, Tony R. Hines, Joseph Gallant and Robert and Dawn Gunning.

The locations were the 1700 block of Colonial Drive, Green Cove Springs; 6300 block of Island Forest Drive, Orange Park; 1800 block of Mackenzie Court, Middleburg; and 1700 block of Sherwood Drive, Middleburg.

In St. Johns authorities found 429 plants, about a pound of processed marijuana and 11 firearms in seven homes, the Sheriff’s Office said. Two people were arrested — James Gupton and James Steele — and several arrest warrants were pending.

The locations were the 8200 block of Riverview Drive, 11800 block of County Road 13, 800 block of White Eagle Circle, 6300 block of Salado Road, 100 block of Juper Road, 40 block of Palmetto Road and 5800 block of County Road 208.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect in a Wednesday standoff in the County Road 208 raid as Lawrence Sacks. The 50-year-old sustained a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and is at Shands Jacksonville.

Scott Butler

In the 'in case you wondered' department:

Recently reinstated Clay County Commissioner Christy Fitzgerald remains term limited, despite her absence from the board for two years of her term.

Fitzgerald was suspended from office in 2006 by then-Gov. Jeb Bush after being indicted on theft and misconduct charges. She was recently acquitted in the final of three trials and reinstated to the commission by Gov. Charlie Crist.

But her absence does not give her a break from the county charter's two-term limit. Since she was elected to two consecutive terms, she cannot seek re-election after her current term ends, said a spokeswoman for the Clay County Supervisor of Elections Office.