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Franklin Chronicle


Volume 8, Number 12


A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER


June 11 24, 1999


After 3 p.m., on Sunday, May 30,
1999, friends, family and associ-
ates gathered at the Friendship
Missionary Baptist Church,
Apalachicola, Florida to partici-
pate in a program cast by the chil-
dren of Clarence Williams.
They wrote in their program, "We
the children of Deacon Clarence
Williams, honor and love our fa-
ther. For he truly has shown all
of us he loves and cares for us."
In a loving tribute, seldom expe-
rienced by many living men or
women, testimonial after testimo-
nial citing deeds of Mr. Williams
-were publicly spoken as the nearly
three-hour program unfolded
amid music and song. The Friend-
ship Choir opened the program
followed by a hymn led by Elder
Clifford Williams. Brother William
Key led the congregation in
prayer, joined- by Minister.


Deandra O'Neal giving the Wel-
come, with the Occasion remarks
by Clifford Williams. Sister Teresa
McClendon sang. A series of trib-
utes were spoken by Andersen
Williams, Sister Nikita Williams,
Deacon Noah Lockley, Sr.,
Brother Charles Watson, Bruce:
Varnes and Mike Mock. Mr.
William's role in education was
addressed by old friend Willie L.
Speed. Clerk of Court Kendali
Wade, and friends William
Henderson and David Kelley also
addressed Williams and the con.
gregation. Brothers Henry Brown
and William Key conducted the
offering, and granddaughters and
grandsons sang,and danced a
tribute to the guest of honor.
Friendship Youth also danced in
honor of father, deacon, county

 Continued on Page 11


Franklin Briefs ..... Page 2
Editorial............... Page 3
Island Methodists. Page 4
Dixie Theatre ....... Page 5
Graduation Classes Page 6
Fish ...................... Page 7


Yacht Club............ Page 8
Birds ................... Page 9
Bookshop ......... Page 10
Love Feast ..........Page 11
Bulletin Board .... Page 12


Buried Treasure Discovered

On St. George Island


Carrabelle City Commission

Votes To Hire Police officer


By Aaron Shea
Following almost one hour of de-
bate and heated arguments, the
emotionally charged citizens of
Carrabelle got the police officer
that they had pleaded for. The citi-
zens were able to convince City
Commissioner Raymond Williams
to break a 2-2 deadlock vote and
approve the hiring of new police
officer Allen Cyzon.
Williams and Commissioner
Donald Wood voted against the
hiring of a new officer, claiming
that they wanted to lower the city
budget. However, it was pointed
out that the city had a budget for
four officers and they currently
have only three, following the res-
ignation of Marty Schutt, who
moved on to another position else-
where.
During the debate, citizens be-
came outraged over the prospect
that Williams and Wood were
placing more importance on
money then public safety. Cries
of "they don't care about us" came
from the angry crowd. At one
point, Commissioner Pam Lycett
became so incensed with Williams
she asked him to step down as
commissioner if he wasn't going
to run for "re-election."
Williams and Wood believed that
the Sheriffs Department could
handle the extra calls for police
assistance in the city. It was
pointed out by many people in the
audience that the Sheriffs De-
partment already has a heavy load
to handle because they have the
whole county to watch over.
Carrabelle Chief of Police Buddy


Shiver added that another officer
is needed because currently,
Carrabelle officers not only have
to answer calls in Carrabelle, but
,Lanark Village and Alligator Point
as well.
Williams agreed to hire the officer,
but he said that the topic would
be discussed again in three
months, when the city begins its
preparations for next year's bud-
get. Williams is interested in not
only cutting the newly hired of-
ficer out of next years budget, but
cutting another officer for next
year.

 We're Almost
 There!!
 To secure the $250,000
 grant from the State of
 Florida, we must match
 that amount by July 1,
 1999. At this time; we
 have raised $185,000 and
 need an additional
 $65,000.
 TIME IS RUNNING
 OUT. WE NEED YOUR
 HELP NOW.
 Please donate to:
 THE CARRABELLE
 LIBRARY BUILDING
 FUND, P.O. Box 722,
 Eastpoint, FL 32328.
 With your help, we CAN build
 a new Carrabelle Library.


By Aaron Shea
Legend has it that over 200 years ago a rowdy gang of pirates buried
a treasure chest full of gold coins where St. George Island state Park
resides today. On May 27, Jeanni McMillan discovered the chest that
contained an estimated $10,000 in gold.
Actually, this not-so-legendary chest, had no treasure in it and it was
buried there a little more than two months ago by editors of the Forbes
FYI magazine. Two things are a fact, however. Jeanni McMillan did
find the chest, with a little help from Alexandra Dixon of San Fran-
cisco, and the chest was worth $10,000 to anyone who found it.
Let's start at the beginning. Every year Forbes FYI magazine holds a
treasure hunt that spans the United States. The magazine posts six
clues on their web site. Each answer to a clue gives a coordinate.
Once these clues are solved, the location (coordinates) of the treasure
are revealed. The above mentioned Ms. Dixon solved four of the clues.
With the use of the coordinates she had, her computer, and more
than 100 mathematical possibilities, Dixon deducted that the trea-
sure was either on the coast of Massachusetts or Florida. She trav-
Seled to Cape Cod and came up empty.
She then returned to San Francisco and instead of going to Florida,
she called the Apalachicola Chamber of Commerce. She explained
that she needed to got in touch with someone who access to a boat,
four wheel drive vehicle, and a GPS (global positioning system). She
was advised to call McMillan who owns a canoe, kayak and sailboat
tour and guide business on St. George Island.
McMillan agreed to search for the treasure for half of the gold ($10,000)
reward. It took McMillan and Dave Armentrout only a hour to find
the buried chest. They discovered the treasure chest in a hollowed
out dune in the St. George State Park where two pieces of driftwood
formed an X. They found the chest two feet below the surface.
McMillan will be traveling to New York next month to collect $5,000
in gold. She is going to give $1,000 to Mr. Armentrout, who helped
her find it. How she is going to spend the rest of the money is up in
the air. "Hopefully, we won't spend all of the money in New York," said
McMillan kiddingly.


I0Nig 0bod


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munity on St. George Island's East End. Mariner's Harbor
features landscaped gated entry with privacy berm, paved
streets, 500' community pier with a private boat slip with
elec. boat lift for each property, community recreation ar-
eas and dune walkover to the beach. From $125,000.


Bay -ront! uaysiae SuDOivision, St. George Plantation.
Located at the extreme west end of St. George Island, Bayside
is an exclusive neighborhood limited to nine homesites over-
looking Apalachicola Bay. Bayside features a brick paved en-
trance with lush tropical landscaping, dune walkover to the
beach, deep water dock with boat moorage, and access to
the Gulf of Mexico with Bob Sike's Cut just 150 yards away.
From $165,000.


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Florida Forever

Signed Into Law
Governor Jeb Bush signed into
law June 7th, the new land ac-
quisition program, Florida For-
. ever. This program will succeed
Preservation 2000 when it
expires.
Florida Forever creates a $3 bil-
lion program for the next 10 years.
The state will receive approxi-
mately $300 million each year
through a bond program. The
Department of Environmental
Protection will receive 35 percent
of the funds for acquisition pro-
grams, plus 1.5 percent for rec-
reation and parks and another 1.5
percent for greenways and trails.
The Water Management Districts
will receive 35 percent and the
Department of Community Af-
fairs, Florida Communities Trust,
will receive 24 percent. The new
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conser-
vation Commission will receive
1.5 percent and the Department
of Agriculture, and Consui .
Services, Division of Forestry,


Special Preview Succeeds


By Carolyn Hatcher and
Tom Campbell
A Special Preview of the art ob-
jects donated by local artists was
held June 3 on Marine Street in
Carrabelle. There were 60 art ob-
jects donated, to benefit the
Carrabelle Library Fund. Chair-
person of the Carrabelle Library
Building Fund Committee, Mary
Ann Shields said, "We feel the
event was a big success like the
social event of the season in
Carrabelle and we want to thank
everybody who helped."
The. Special Preview of the Silent
Auction and a wine and cheese
tasting were sponsored by the Sea
Oats Garden Club to benefit the
Carrabelle Library Fund, which
was, at that point, about $67,000
short of the goal of $250,000, the
amount needed to match the state
funds for the matching grant.
Hostesses for the event were Mary
Ann Shields, Cindy L. Sullivan
and Martha Kersey.
Ms. Marian Morris organized the
artists' donations and arranged to
get the building location on
Marine Street for the event. The
use of the empty building was do-
nated by Attorney and Realtor
Ben Watkins of Carrabelle.


Ms. Morris was also the Coordi-
nator of the Medieval Days Festi-
val, Giant Yard Sale and Cook-out
sponsored by employees of the
Gulf State Bank and Timber
Island Yacht Club, held June 5th,
during which the Silent Auction
of the art work took place.
According to Mary Ann Shields,
both events were successful, mak-
ing over $4,000. Totals are: Li-
brary Book Table $290, Bank
Yard Sale $875, Silent Auction
$2,140, Food Tent $1,000, Total:
$4,305. The Preview social event
drew approximately 100 persons
from the area. Estimates of the
crowd at the Medieval Days
ranged from "about 1,000 up to
2,000," according to organizers of
the occasion.
Several artists donating their
work were present at the June 3
preview. Betty Roberts donated
her First Place prizewinning wa-
tercolor "Dinosaur Daze." The
painting won First Place at the
North Florida Fair last year.
Dan Dobson is an artist who
works in oil on driftwood and
other surfaces. He donated one of
his paintings of a seascape.

 Continued on Page 4


Resource Officers Could Be
Patrolling High School Halls
By Next Year


The School Board will vote
on a contract that was de-
veloped by the Sheriff and
Superintendent at the June
17 Board meeting
By Aaron Shea
Currently, Franklin is the only
county in the state of Florida with-
out a resource officer's program
in their high schools. That could
change on June 17 when the
School Board will vote on whether
or not to pass a contract, which
will outline the program, that was
created by Sheriff Bruce Varnes
and Superintendent Brenda Gal-
loway.
The program would put a uni-
formed and armed Sheriffs officer
in Apalachicola High and
Carrabelle High. According to
Sheriff Varnes and Superinten-
dent Galloway, the program will
be much more than just having
an officer patrolling the halls of
the schools. The officers would
teach classes, counsel, and basi-
cally educate students on the law.
"They are there to supplement
what we already have in our code
of conduct," pointed out Galloway.
There are already three sheriffs
officers in the county that have
gone through a one week train-
ing program that taught them the
basics of how to set up a resource
program. Two of these three of-
icers will be used if the program
is passed. According to Varnes
these are officers that are already
active with the youth in the area
and know how to communicate
with local kids.
Some, however, may be wonder-
ing why has it taken the county
so long to go after a program like
this? Jay Abbott is one resident
of the county who wants to know.
His child had a conflict with a
classmate this past school year.
This same classmate was sus-
pended and then returned to the
school and allegedly assaulted
another student.
"That child could have came back
with a gun," said Abbott. "I don't
want our children to become
statistics...The schools are re-
sponsible for the safety of our
children. No if, ands, or buts


about it. I am going to stay with
this (resource program) until it
happens."
Galloway and Varnes said that
they have been looking to imple-
ment this program for years, but
there has been a lack of funds
because of a decrease in school
enrollment. This year enrollment
is up and the funds are there ac-
cording to Galloway. She says
that the program is a "done deal"
and it is "just a matter of word-
ing", but is it?
School Board Chairman Wil
Kendrick wants to make sure that
all problems are addressed with
this program. Kendrick said that
he does not want to create some-
thing that is not needed, such as
just a uniformed officer. He wants
to make sure that "true" resource
officers will be used in the
schools. He said that he will pass
the contract as long as his con-
cerns are addressed.
They all agree that a program like
this one is needed. The visibility
of officers in the schools would be
a deterent to those who want to
break the rules and a safety net
for those who feel uncomfortable
in the school halls.
More than ever, school safety has
been questioned because of the
epidemic of school violence
around the country. Up to this
point, county schools have not
had to deal with any fatal acts of
violence from students, but it is
still in the back of people's minds.
"It's my worst nightmare,' said
Galloway. "I think more so now
then ever before, our children
don't realize the damage that can
be done when they make poor
decisions."
If the contract is passed by the
School Board, the resource offic-
ers will begin working at the high
schools in the Fall (August).




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Art Auction Helps Raise Over $4,000 For Carrabelle Library Fund