Resident's gifts go a long way this holiday season Area residents are prepar- ing to bring joy this Christ- mas by packing and collect- ing shoe box gifts for chil- dren around the world through Operation Christ- mas. Child, the world's largest International Chil- dren's Christmas Project. "This simple and fun pro- ject gives people right here in this community a chance to bring a smile to the face of a child very far away from them,' said Susanne Price, Operation Christmas Child Florida Regional Director. "By taking the time to pack these gifts and pray over them as we drop them off to be sent around the worl4, we want to show hurting children that they are loved, and that they are not forgotten." Spirit of the Suwannee Musfc Park Campground, lo- cated at 3076 95th Drive, Live Oak, .will be open to receive gift-filled shoe boxes for Op- eration Christmas Child until Nov,.l, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m ..... This is Spirit of the Suwan- nee's eventh year as a Col- lection 'Center for Operation Chrishnas Child, a project that "encourages children, families, churches and group s to fill empty shoe boxes with toys, school sup- plies, hygiene items, photos and personal letters. The box- es are hand-delivered to chil- dren worldwide who are suf- fering from poverty, war, disease, natural disaster and terrorism. "Everyone is excited to be involved with Operation Christmas Child. We are par- ticularly pleased to see the children of this community reaching out to other kids through this program. We pray that this year, there will be even more people in our community involved in Op- eration Christmas Child," said Vickie Clayton, who is volunteering as the Collec- tion Center Coordinator for Operation Christmas Child. Last year, the park collect- ed 13,430 gift-filled boxes and has set a goal of 15,500 shoe box gifts for 2005. Over 7.4 million gift-filled shoe boxes were collected worldwide last year, and dis- tributed to children in more than 90 countries. This year's international goal is to collect and distribute 7.8 million shoe box gifts. Packed with love and sent with prayer, Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts have bright- ened the lives of more than 38 million children since 1993. Operation Christmas Child is a project of Samari- tan's Purse, an international Christian relief and evange- lism ministry neaaea oy Franklin Graham. For more information about Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park's participation in operation Christmas Child, call 792- 3210. For more information about Operation Christmas I .l --- I----1-- -1-4 1 )- 4 '.*]A 4- -;Uf, 0 La1 1V i nfl.cL - Cnhil, or 1o receive nree atiLe- rials, call 1-800-353-5949 or visit www.samari- tanspurse.org. Governor Bush declares November "Hire a Veteran Month" in Florida Recognizing the value of those who have served the country, Governor Bush re- cently declared November 2005 as "Hire a Veteran Month" in Florida. The Gov- ernor's declaration is part of a nationwide campaign to reaffirm commitment to those who have served our nation in times of peace and war. Coordinated by the U.S. Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment and Training Service, "Hire a Vet" is designed to remind employers of the un- matched economic resource that veterans offer. "Florida veterans have consistently and selflessly defended our nation's secu- rity and in the process have gained valuable skills, lead- ership and maturity. They represent a versatile and well-trained workforce," said Gov. Bush. "I encourage Florida businesses to take advantage of this un- matched employment re- source." The Governor's proclama- tion was presented at the Jacksonville Naval Air Sta- tion by Warren R. "Rocky" McPherson, Executive Di- rector of the Florida Depart- ment of Veterans' Affairs. The presentation was part of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP), a federally administered re-employ- ment program for separat- ing service members. "The Transition Assis- tance Program provides em- ployability skills training and other benefits informa- tion to military members and their spouses in their transition from military to civilian society," said McPherson. Florida is home to 1.9 mil- lion veterans and has the fastest growing veterans population in the nation. Created in 1989, the Flori- Narcotics A Narcotics Anonymous will meet at the Jasper Public Alcoholic Anonymous will meet every Monday from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m., at da Department of Veterans' Affairs provides advocacy and representation for Flori- da's veterans in all state and federal veterans matters, and operates the state veter- ans' nursing home program providing assisted living and long term healthcare with 750 beds in six loca- tions around the state. anonymous Library every Wednesday and Saturday, at 8 p.m. the Jasper Library. The meetings will be led by Ray Luckey of the Trinity Group. Juvenile Continued From Page 1A drugs and those parents whose addictions impact their families and affect their parenting. Whole families will benefit from both parents and children completing the program. Juvenile Drug Court is more flexible than adult drug court, providing more opportunities for creative ways to help prevent prob- lems with drug use in the county. Everyone will not qualify for the program and it is not a guaranteed solution for everyone ad- dicted to drugs, but the program has been shown to have a very high success ra- tio. On average across the nation 87% of the people who successfully com- plete the course are still sober and drug free one year later. Farm-City Irin-rder to allow our employees time off to spend with their families the following deadlines will be in effect: The Jasper News Nov. 24 edition Classified & Legal Advertising 4 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17 Retail Advertising Noon, Friday, Nov. 18 Our office will esla.sed Nov. 24 and Nov. 25 .,,, rIlae aSper Nrnus 105 NE 2nd Ave., Jasper, FL 32052 386-792-2487 216165-F Continued From Page 1A National Farm-City Council and promoted nationally by the American Farm Bureau, is observed the seven days leading up to and including Thanksgiving. Under the theme "Partners in Progress," Farm-City Week salutes all those who work as part of th'e, complex network ".Jtf brings food from the field to the table. These "Partners in Progress" include farmers and ranchers, researchers, processors, brokers, truckers and shippers, advertisers, wholesalers and retailers. This network results in nu- merous benefits to society by providing an abundance and variety of food as well as products used to make cloth- ing, housing, medicines, and countless other items used daily. "The key is the interdepen- dence ampnpg thpse who pro- duce the products, those who consume the products, and all those in the produc- tion and marketing chain be- tween the producer and con- summer said Carl Loop, pres- ident of the Florida Farm Bu- reau Federation. "These vital farm-city partnerships have made the most of our rich agricultural resources, and they continue to contribute to our health and well being and to the strength of our economy." Florida's 44,000 commer- cial farmers grow more than 280 different crops. Year- round, Florida ranks No. 2 nationally in the U.S. pro- duction of fresh vegetables. Florida agriculture has an es- timated overall economic impact of more than $64 bil- lion annually. " The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state's largest general-interest agri- cultural association with more than 151,000 member- families statewide and Farm Bureaus in 62 counties. Headquartered in Gainesville, the federation is an independent, non-profit agricultural organization. For more information call visit www.FloridaFarmBu- reau.org. FARMi~! lb A. A Alcoholic Anonymous meetings now held in Jasper on Mondays 1-1-1 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17,2005 THE JASPER NEWS, Jasper, FL PAG- OA