rFA ri cT-H E S '


Subic


Continued From Page 1A

the Hamilton County High
School JAFROTC. After
White Springs Mayor
McKire welcomed the
guests, Herbert Lumpkin
from the Veterans Service
Office offered an invoca-
tion.
 Colonel Richard B. Davis
Jr., Florida National Guard
State Judge Advocate and
Hamilton County Judge, in-
troduced Maj. Gen.
Kennedy, who presented
the Bronze Star Medal to
Subic. Kennedy who began
her military career in 1963
as an enlisted officer, said
that she felt privileged to be
able to present the medal to
Subic before she retired in
10 days.
 "Soldiers like Joe are not
compelled to serve, they
choose to serve," Maj. Gen.
Kennedy said. "It is no acci-
dent that America produces
soldiers like Joe with the
heart and courage to serve
their nation."
 Maj. Gen. Kennedy. ex-
pressed her pleasure at
meeting Chief Subic's fami-
ly wife Valinda, daughter
Ashley, son Joey and father
Joseph Sr. and thanked
them for sharing him with
the US Army Reserve.
 As guests and partici-
pants dried their tears, Maj.


Gen. Kennedy pinned the
Bronze Star Medal on Chief
Subic. The Bronze Star
Medal is awarded for hero-
ic or meritorious achieve-
ment or service in connec-
tion with military opera-
tions against an armed ene-
my. Subic as the Personal
Security Officer for the
Deputy Commanding Gen-
eral, Multi-National Force-
Iraq and the Commanding
General of Task Force 134
and his team came under
fire repeatedly during the
course of their duties in
Iraq.
 At the conclusion of the
ceremony Amber Lee sang
"God Bless America," and
kev. Ron Thompson, pastor
of First Baptist Church in
White Springs, offered the
Benediction.
 During the reception fol-
lowing the ceremony, Chief
Subic said, "Let's continue
our prayers for those over-
seas and get our troops
home." His wife, Valinda,
said, "Our family is very
proud of Joe and appreci-
ates all the prayers and help
of everyone. I don't know
how we would have made
it without their support."
 As the guests departed,
the air was filled with the
peal of carillon bells play-
ing a selection of patriotic
songs.


 Chief Subic joined the
Army in 1974. He was one
of 51 soldiers who was cap-
tured by Iranian Militants
at the US Embassy in
Tehran in Nov. 1979. Dur-
ing his 444 days of captivi-
ty, he was blindfolded and
beaten. He was released in
Jan. 1981 and he received
his discharge in June 1981.
 In 1994, Chief Subic was
called to active duty for two
years in Haiti during Oper-
ation Restore Democracy.
In 1997, he joined the Flori-
da National Guard as a
member of the 20th Special
Forces Group based in
Camp Blanding. He then
transferred to the US Army
Reserve and served with
the 307th Military Police
Detachment (CID). He is
currently assigned to the
99th Military Regional
Readiness Command
(Provost Marshal Office).
 After leaving the Army in
1981, Chief Subic has
worked as an administrator
in various sheriff's offices
throughout the south. He
moved to White Springs 10
years ago and has been
Chief of Police since 2001.
 When asked about his fu-
ture plans, Chief Subic
replied, "I love White
Springs and will continue*
as the police of chief for as
long as possible."


New teachers, staff for


Hamilton County Schools


 Several teachers and staff members
were approved for employment or .trans-
fer during a special Hamilton County
School Board meeting on Aug. 1

 Central Hamilton Elementary


Charles Claridy
Marjorie Cooks
Norman McCall

Greenwood School
Coretta Ford


Teacher
Principal
 Dean


 Teacher


Hamilton County High School
Leon Black Security Entrance
 Specialist
Angela Boatright Teacher
Kellan Dedge Teacher
Cynthia Fondren Teacher
Linard Johnson Teacher
Carolyn Lee School Food Service
 Assistant
Travis McCullough Teacher
Carole O'Cain Teacher
Diane Peters School Food Service
 Assistant
Becky Skipper Teacher
James Peterson Teacher


 NOTICE OF CITY ELECTION
The City of Jasper, Florida will hold an election for Ordinance 05-06-03,

A Proposed Amendment to the Existing Charter of the City of Jasper.

Election Date: Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Location: City Hall, 208 W. Hatley Street, Jasper, FL

Voting Hours: 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.

 JASPER CITY ELECTION
 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6,2005
 PROPOSED CHARTER

 VOTE FOR ONLY ONE

 TO VOTE: CLEARLY MARK THE SPACE _NEXT TO YOUR
 CHOICE USE THE MARKING DEVICE PROVIDED

 IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE, ASK THE CLERK FOR
 A NEW BALLOT.
 IF YOUR BALLOT IS NOT MARKED CLEARLY AS TO
 YOUR CHOICE, YOUR VOTE MAY NOT COUNT.

 BALLOT SUMMARY



THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL IS TO REVISE THE
EXISTING CHARTER OF THE CITY OF JASPER. IT ELIMINATES
PROVISIONS OF THE EXISTING CHARTER WHICH CONFLICT
WITH CURRENT LAW. THE PROPOSAL SETS FORTH POWERS
OF THE CITY, COMPOSITION, QUALIFICATION, POWERS AND
COMPENSATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND ITS MEMBERS.
THE PROPOSAL DESIGNATES CERTAIN CITY OFFICERS AND
THEIR DUTIES, PROVIDES FOR ADOPTION OF COUNTY
REGISTRATION BOOKS FOR ELECTION, AND PROVIDES
PROCEDURES FOR ELECTION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.

 yes, for the proposed Charter

 no, against the proposed Charter

 A copy of the charter is available for inspection at the City Hall.
 during regular business hours of 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.


Aug. 6 Nationwide walk to


benefit children with HIV/AIDS


 On Saturday, August 6, in
big cities and small towns
across the Unifed States,
people will unite and walk
together to show their sup-
port for the fight against
HIV/AIDS in children
across the globe. The new
nationwide event, called
MannaWalk, will raise
funds to provide nutritional
programs 'for children,
mostly orphans, with this
epidemic disease. Thou-
sands of walkers are expect-
ed to participate in more
than 300 MannaWalk events
across the country.
 MannaWalk is an effort of
MannaRelief, a not-for-prof-
it organization that brings
health and hope to the
world's medically fragile
children by providing them


with nutritional supplement
programs overseen by doc-
tors around the globe.
 More than 2.2 million chil-
dren worldwide have
HIV/AIDS, and last year
more than half a million
children died from the dis-
ease. The number of chil-
dren with HIV/AIDS is ris-
ing at an epidemic rate in
every region of the world.
 MannaWalk is an effort to
improve the quality of the
lives of these children. One
hundred percent of local do-
nations and sponsor contri-
butions will provide im-
mune-supporting nutrition-
al programs from
MannaRelief to orphans
with HIV / AIDS.
 Since the organization's
inception in 1999,


MannaRelief has helped
thousands of children
around the world in more
than 50 countries.
MannaRelief programs,
which are overseen by med-
ical doctors, include the ad-
ministration of naturally
derived nutritional supple-
ments, called glyconutri-
ents, vitamins and minerals.
MannaRelief is headquar-
tered in Grand Prairie, Tex.
For more information on
MannaWalk and MannaRe-
lief, visit www.man-
nawalk.com.
 More than 300 locations
across the country will be
sponsoring this event. To
find a local MannaWalk
event visit www.man-
nawalk.com and click on
"Find A Walk."


Forestry has biggest economic


impact on Florida agriculture


 In a new study that reveals
the changing face of Florida
agriculture, University of
Florida researchers say the
forestry industry now has
the biggest economic impact
on the state eclipsing citrus,
vegetables and ornamentals
in terms of output.
 Annual output or sales im-
pacts in the forest products
industry exceed $16.6 billion,
creating 133,475 jobs, with
$7.5 billion in value-added
personal and business in-
come.
 Citrus is the crop most
people associate with Flori-
da, and the state still leads
the nation in citrus produc-
tion, but the study indicates
forestry is now the economic
heavyweight in the state's
$67 billion agricultural and
natural resources industry.
 While forestry has a bigger
economic impact on the state,
environmental horticulture
still generates more jobs than
forestry in Florida. Environ-
mental horticulture is the
fastest growing segment of
agriculture in the United
States, and Florida is ranked
as the second largest produc-
tion state in the nation.
 The forestry industry is
concentrated mainly in
North and Central Florida,
with more than 16 -million
acres or 25,000 square miles
of.forests, representing near-
ly half of the state's land area.


Forests in Florida are man-
aged to produce a variety of
wood and fiber products,
with about 650 million cubic
feet of wood harvested annu-
ally.
 The growth of the Florida
forestry industry mirrors that
of other states in the south-
eastern United States, where
forestry is now the leading
agricultural commodity.
 The success of the industry
in Florida and the Southeast.
is also driven by the fact that
large tracts of forest land are
privately owned, while
forests in the western part of
the nation are largely on pub-
lic lands. In many cases, state
and federal restrictions on
publicly owned lands govern
the amount of logging that
can take place, particularly in
old-growth forests, which ac-
counts for the decline of the
industry in the West.
 While tourism is the
largest and most well known
sector of the Florida econo-
my, forested landscapes pro-
vide environmental ameni-
ties that support this indus-
try, particularly for the
growing eco-tourism mar-
ket. Visitors spend about $47
billion annually, which
translates into an overall
economic impact of $117 bil-
lion.
 Various surveys indicate
that more than half of Flori-
da visitors engage in some


type of nature-based activity
during their visit. U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service data
show that wildlife-related
recreational activities in-
cluding hunting, fishing and
wildlife viewing account
for total expenditures in
Florida of an estimated $6.05
billion. That figure includes
money spent on fuel, lodg-
ing, and meals as well as
recreational equipment such
as boats and guns.
 In addition to these com-
mercial and recreational use
values associated with
forests in Florida, there is an
array of non-market envi-
ronmental services that are
important to recognize, al-
though they may be difficult
to measure.
 These non-market envi-
ronmental services include
surface and ground water
storage, purification of air
and water, mitigation of
droughts and floods, stabi-
lization of movement of nu-
trients, provision of wildlife
habitat and maintenance of
bio-diversity.
 Florida forests absorb or
"sequester" about 5.8 mil-
lion tons of carbon from the
atmosphere -every year,
which helps reduce the ef-
fects of global warming. Us-
ing the figure of $5 per ton,
this positive environmental
impact is worth about $29
million annually.


Copies are available upon request.


189359-F


THURSDAY, AUGUST 4,2005


THE JASPER NEWS, Jasper, FL


PAEF 9A