www.JCFLORIDAN.conl Graceville church offers free tutoring SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDAN Mt. Calvary Holiness Church is offering free tutoring sessions to Jackson County students in grades kindergarten through six. The sessions will be 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. The church is located on' Highway 2 in Graceville. For more infor- mation, call 263-2810. MHS students attend USM symposium SPECIAL TO THE FLORIDAN \ Students from Marianna High School Band left Friday, Nov. 6, to attend the University of Southern Mississippi's third annual Tuba-Euphonium Symposium held Nov. 7. The clinicians were Dr. Richard Perry, associate professor of tuba and euphonium at USM, the USM Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble, and special guest artist, Dr. J. Michael Dunn, assistant professor of the tuba and euphonium at the University of Colorado. The symposium is designed for tuba and "euphonium (baritone) play- ers interested in improving their musicianship. Students learned different breathing techniques, notes, music and scales. After a day of clinics, students participated in a finale concert, performing -U^-,.",' ... "., ,, , .-, '...^.. , �S .In music they learned during the clinics. There were also performances by Perry and Dunn, the USM Tuba- Euphonium- Ensemble and the Massed Tuba- Euphonium Ensemble. The students returned Sunday afternoon. Marianna students attending included tuba players Jeffrey Edenfield, Levin Berry, Pete Smith and Draylon Toombs; and euphonium players Duante' Smith, Trey Holmes, Jonathan Henderson and Lauren Vila. LOCAL Jackson County Floridan * Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 5k Much to be thankful for By) THOMAS VINCENT MURPHY This is my favorite time of the year. If you love sports as I do, you can't beat this time of the year. The New York Yankees just fin- ished winning the World Series; but football, basket- ball, hockey and racing will be on our televisions and radios for a while. Another reason I love this time of the year is the awesome weather. If that's not enough, it's the time many of us look forward to spending time with our extended family and close friends for the holidays. Some of our biggest holi- days are observed during this time of the year. Recently, during the observance by some of the Halloween season, I noticed quite a bit of.pro- motional activities leading up to Oct. 31. Halloween seems to be increasing in popularity each year. Businesses are enjoying the financial rewards they receive as a result of Halloween. In the past, some of our churches frowned on" Halloween (some still do); but lately some of them have found various ways to -mark Halloween. One of the good things they are doing is scheduling fun events that keep our children at safe locations instead of allowing them to go "trick or treating" on some of our dangerous streets. In a strange way,-some of our churches are still observing Halloween, a holiday that wasn't looked upon in a positive way in the past. I guess each per- son has to let his or her conscience be their guide. We are now approaching the Thanksgiving holiday. For some reason, Thanksgiving does not receive all of the promo- tional attention Halloween, Christmas and Easter receive. Maybe. the finan- cial gains made by selling costumes, candy and a large. variety of other prod- ucts during Halloween, Christmas and Easter make Thanksgiving an unimpor- tant event to businesses and individuals out to make a great deal of money. We should all be excited about Thanksgiving, because .we have much' to be thankful for. If you are able to read this column, you should be thankful for the blessing of life and the ability to read and see. 4 L-l' *.. . rige, ard outrageous baiik fees, WE hold the line on i to come in to take advantage of our CD Specials and ltattentiQon that we give. each of our customers. f De peials .-.^ '. ,. .- J 2.75% APY* 24 Month Term t our FREE Capital Checking account with no charges transaction Fees. ^ i i rI L .JL, *^'- ^ ^** However, even though you may not see the glitter or see and hear the exposure displayed during Thanksgiving that you see during other holidays, the opportunity to spend time with your family, eat a great meal and thank God for His blessings make, Thanksgiving an awesome, holiday. By the way, do not take chances when it comes to your meal. Make sure you assign the major dishes to the best and most proven cooks in the family. For most of our citizens, Christmas is the most exciting holiday of the year (especially for the chil- dren). Giving and receiving' gifts, large or small; is spe- cial for many of us, and the huge profits received by the business' community are highly anticipated by them. At times it seems that the real meaning of Christmas - celebrating the birth of Jesus --- is lost in the com- mercial activities leading up to. that special day. When more emphasis is put on the real meaning of Christmas, what you receive or give won't have such a large impact on hav- ing a happy holiday. Spending time with your extended family and close friends will be appreciated much more. Yes, this is a great time of the year; but we must keep things in the proper perspective during these tough times. After all, holidays should be a time of fun, good food, peace of mind and family enjoy- ment. During those special days, get rid of the stress and drama that is often a' part. of everyday life. The good thing about holidays is that when one is over, another will soon be on the way. 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