Th rnlnCrnceA1 flCeAr- 1 1 flW-f XTEWP PER 2 June2000 Page 7 Alligator Point Residents Urged To Conserve Water By Rene Topping At the June 10th regular meeting of the Alligator Point Taxpayers Association, Harry Bitter re- minded residents present that the 'Alligator Point Water Resources Board (APWRB) had been con- tacted to request that the resi- dents make a concerted effort to conserve water. Taylor Moore, manager of the Point's water company, said it was among several small water com- panies in the area that are being asked to keep water usage down while the area is in this drought condition. Moore said that residents had two options. One is that residents who live in odd-numbered and even- numbered residences alternate daily during the week and not water at all on Saturdays and Sunday. Option two was to wa- ter only during the hours of mid- night till 5 a.m. He suggested they use option two. He was asked if people declined to follow the regu- lation voluntarily, what could be used as enforcement. Taylor re- sponded "They would find their water shut off." However, he quickly said that he had not had any real problems. He said sprin- kling a little water on flowers is OK, but please don't wash the cars. Moore stated that the marina will still be washing boats right now w as they are a commercial user and there is no way to shut them down. Moore reported the good news that the test well that had been driven on the other side of US 98 returned good results and the Board will be contracting for a lease with St. Joe Development (ARVIDA) to place wells in the near future. He said "A lease is in the making right now." Moore also announced a meeting of the APWRB on "funding of the water expansion" to be held on July 15 at 10 a.m. Randy Miller, Chairman of the Board, said,"I want to invite you all to come to that and we will answer all ques- tions. It will be in the interest of all as water is the lifeblood of the Point." All those political speakers who request an invitation to speak at meetings will be able to address the APTA members either at the end or at the beginning of meet- ings, due to a decision made by the Association directors, and Passed on a 6 to 3 vote. They will S;be:held strictly to afiteen minute speech. Bitner spoke on the upcoming Army Corps' study of the break- water for the area in front of the KOA Campground. He said all he knows is that the study is to be done. One woman asked, who had started the study. County Com- missioner Cheryl Sanders said, "I did. It is just a study to see if it would be feasible. It is not a done deal." She assured the residents that they would have input into as to whether they did or did not want a breakwater. She thought they would he hearing something in about 3-6 months on a road that has been made over a sand dune. Bitner said it appears that the dune is on private property, and as far as he can see it is made to bring fill to go under a house to be built. He said he had not been able to get up with the owner but will continue trying to get more information. On the boat ramp at Sun and Sand, Bitner said that it is tem- porarily stopped. A request has been made for Woody Miley of the Apalachicola River and Bay Es- tuarine Sanctuary to do a study on the sea grass. Notice was made of the death of Chris Kalvas who was described as a long-term resident of the Point. Sanders said that the "Knuckle Truck" which can pick up white goods and other big refuse from the Point will be on Alligator Point the coming Monday and Tuesday and then will come once a month on the Monday and Tuesday of the second full week of each month. Steve Fling announced that there will be no fireworks on July 1 in honor of the Fourth of July, due to the dry conditions in the woods, but there will be the traditional parade and this year there will be a beauty content. Ken Osborne said he spoke to a person driving on the beach to warn him off. He added that the offender just laughed at him and said, "What are you going to do? Call the Sheriff?" Another resident said that when a call was made to the sheriff from the KOA Camp- ground the nearest deputy was between Eastpoint and Carra- belle, which is a good half-hour or more away. Bitner suggested that calls should still be made to the sheriff and if he got four or five in a row he be- lieved that something would hap- pen. Another resident said that the answer given for slow answers was, the Carrabelle Police Depart- ment is down one officer, and the Sheriffs Department had to take up the slack there. A question came up as to who is in charge of public safety at the Point. Complaints were made on, the very uneven pavement, also on people who swim in the Gulf. Commissioner Sanders said, "The County is in charge." She said she had brought these issues up sev- eral times at meetings. It was said that Bruce Varnes needs to have more enforcement of speed-lnmi ts on the Point. Itvwas reported that the county only has one car equipped with radar. A lady who is working with the turtle patrol said that manatees had been sighted in the Alligator Harbor. This provoked a lively dis- .cussion. One man said that there had been loggerhead turtles sighted at the entrance to the bay. Law Offices of. J. PATRICK FLOYD Third generation of Lawyers providing legal services to this area. OVER 20 YEARS PERSONAL INJURY EXPERIENCE APALACHICOLA 653-2709 PORT ST. JOE 227-7413 "The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based upon advertisements. Before you decide ask us to send you free written information about our qualifications & experience. Bob Burnett said that there were 9 confirmed turtle nests, 2 of which were inside the new Bald Point Park grounds. He also an- nounced a meeting on the new Bald Point State Park on July 28 at 7 p.m. The next meting of the APTA will be July 8 at 9 a.m. Carrabelle Beach Sand Goes To Memorial By Rene Topping Carrabelle Beach stirred many emotions in the heart of Chester Cowan, Jr., ofTallahassee and Sid Winchester, president of Camp Gordon Johnston Camp Reunion Association when on June 6, D-Day, they dug sand to go to a memorial in Virginia to honor the 4th Infantry Division and its three regiments, the 8th, 12th and 22nd. The sand from Florida will be de- livered to the National 4th Army Infantry Division Association. There it will be mingled with sand from Utah Beach and soil and sand from every place the 4th In- fantry have trained or have been engaged in battle. Cowan's father, Chester Cowan was one of the men who trained on Carrabelle Beach and Dog Island to take part in the landing on Utah Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. On that day, the elder Cowan was a member of Company M, 3rd. Battalion, 22nd Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division. Chester Cowan said his father spoke very little about his war experiences during the time he was growing up. But one day in 1969, when the younger Cowan had joined the military and was graduating from basic combat training at a place called South Harmony Church, at Fort Benning, Georgia, he did tell his son about one happening while he too was at Fort Benning. His dad opened up his memories as the family drove over a bridge between Sand Hill and Harmony Church. He began to reminisce about December 7, 1941, saying that he was pulling guard duty on the bridge. It was when another man came to join him and double the guard. It was then that the elder Cowan learned Pearl Har- bor had been bombed and the United States was into the war. His dad chuckled as he quipped to his son, "Just imagine The Japs bomb Pearl Harbor) five thousand miles away, and the army doubles the guard on a bridge over a six-inch creek in South Georgia." The elder Cowan went on to get more vigorous training and wound up at Camp Gordon Johnston in 1943 for amphibious training to be ready for the assault on the beaches of Europe. Cowan said his dad would talk about seemingly necessary things that happenedduring both men's mili- tary stints. Never anything about the really serious side of being in the Army. That is until 1989. This was when Chester Cowan Jr., told his dad he was going to be taking a position in Tallahassee. It was then that his dad quite ca- sually mentioned that he had trained in Camp Gordon Johnson and it was close to Tallahassee. It was then when his dad talked for hours about the war and his experiences in Camp Gordon Johnston. From then on Chester said that he started to take an interest and he began looking for evidence of the old camp. He and his dad tramped around the area and his dad would describe what had taken place in areas such as St. Teresa, Alligator Point and of course all around Lanark Village. The more they found, the more the two men talked. Chester was amazed at the memo- ries dredged up from over 40 or so years. He marveled at his dad remembering in such detail so much about a place he was only at for eight weeks: Most likely, his son believes, it was because this was his last military training. He left there to become a battle- hardened combat veteran in the European Theater. Cowan said that his dad never spoke a word about the Normandy landing, the breakout from the beach or the battle of the bulge in Belgium, all places his dad had been in action. He learned a lot, however, when his dad died in 1993 and he recov- 4 % w " ** ~ .-ri -4 Two board members of Camp Gordon Johnston Association prepare a sand bag. Postal Jobs $48,323.00/Yr. Now Hiring-No Experience-Paid Training Great benefits for app, and exam info: 1-800-429-3660 ext. J-815 7 days a week THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WELCOMES YOU Srinitp 850-653-9550 Highway 98 & 6th Street Apalachicola EST. 1836 SUNDAY 8:00 A.M. (EDT) 10:00 A.M. (EDT) Postmaster S. Michael Harless "At Home" In Carrabelle Nancy Varner congratulates new Carrabelle Postmaster S. Michael Harless. By Tom Campbell Carrabelle is home to the new U.S. Postmaster S. Michael Harless. Born and raised in Carrabelle, he said his grandmother Mamie Robison was clerk in the Carrabelle Post Office and retired at 76, serving in that position from about 1940 to 1976. Harless said his "great-uncle J. L. Mayton-my grandfather's sister's husband-also worked in the Carrabelle Post Office." Harless said his family still owns property in Carrabelle. Harless said he has "23 years to- tal service in the U.S. Postal Ser- vice." He started in Tallahassee in the Main Post Office on South Adams Street. He started as a substitute rural carrier and did that job for two years. Then he went to "mail-carrier position for five years." He was promoted to City Carrier and did that for five years, and then "went to the Centerville Station in Tallahas- see." He was Growth Management Coordinator/AMS Technician, and then was moved to Crawfordville Post Office, where he was an Address Management' Systems technician. He started in Crawfordville Post Office in March 1998, as "Windows and Distribu- tion Clerk." Harless said that he and his fam- ily live in Woodlake, south of Sopchoppy, on the Ochlockonee River. He built the house in 1996. Before that, they lived in the "north part of Wakulla County." His wife's name is Teri, and they have three children: Michelle, 26, Samantha, 22, and Cory, 14. He said he has "five grandchildren." "I'm proud to be home here in Carrabelle," smiled Harless. "There's an old sorting machine in the post office here." He ex- plained that his grandmother ran the old Post Office. "It was beside where City Hall is now." He ex- plained that he used to work on the old "hand-canceler." He said, "After school, I'd get to go over and cancel letters. There would be maybe 12 letters for the whole day, going out of Carrabelle." He explained that "Mr. Jeff Bradford-his father was Post Master then-bought that old hand-canceling machine about 1940. He left it in the Post Office and it's been here ever since." Harless said that the machine dated from "probably in the 1920's or 30's." Harless said, 'The Post Office still owns that machine." He smiled, "I have progressed from there (using the old hand-canceler) to providing infor- mation for our automated cancel- ing and sorting equipment!" Of course, there are many more than 12 letters going out of the City of Carrabelle per day now. Harless said, "When I retire, or my wife retires, we plan to move here. We're only 20 miles away, so it's not a bad commute for now." Local Writer Publishes Book By Tom Campbell Secretary/Treasurer Carolyn Hatcher of Panhandle Poets and Writers Group based in Carrabelle reported that another Carrabelle writer named Mack Mangham has published a novel called "The Ac- cidental Agent." The book runs 318 pages and is available at Gulf Coast Commu- nity College bookstore, price $13.95. For further information, phone 872-3563. Author Mack Mangham said he likes "to meet new people and visit with them. I'm always bumping into strangers, spending an hour or two with them and going on to another one." Rec 'entlv released,; "The Acciden- t4ateAent't isabotit-a college pro- fesor6 who transports drugs for easy cash, but gets caught up in an FBI sting. Mangham taught Western civili- zation at Gulf Coast Community College for. 14 years. Mangham said he lived in Carrabelle and often hung out at the Carrabelle docks. He said he soon discovered a drug trade. He said, "I really enjoyed meeting the fishermen on the boats. Some were drifters. Some were very in- telligent." He-said a lot of them "are running from things. If they weren't running from the law, they were running from family or obligations or just running from demons." This is Mack Mangham's first published book. He reportedly splits time between Sylvia, N.C., and Carrabelle. He was born in Macon, Georgia, and earned a master's degree in creative writing and psychology from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vt. Mangham said he has met many interesting people during his life, and this has provided him with a great many characters for his nov- els. "I've been told that I develop really strong characters that people can identify with," he said. He is currently at work on another novel. He said, "I sort of build it, plan it and plot it. Suddenly, it reaches a point where it has to be written. I love writing." An officer in Panhandle Poets and Writers Group, Carolyn Hatcher is currently at work on a novel which deals with a sea ghost. The story takes place in Carrabelle. She said she hopes to be able to get Author Mack Mangham to speak to the group of writers, which meets in Carrabelle at the Episcopal Church on the last Wednesday of each month at 7 p.m. 61 West Gulf Beach Dr. Suite C St. George Island, FL 32328 (850) 927-2821 [fcs Property For Every Budget Beautiful Bayview lot bordering state-owned property in Unit 4. Only $45,000. Call for long-term rental information. ," . 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Chester said as he gathered the sand at the beach he was think- ing of it being mingled with so much of the soil of a faraway con- tinent. He added that it made him feel closer than ever to a father who served so honorably for his country, in desperate times, and acquitted himself well in the face of the enemy. Chester Cowan is now a hard- working member of the Camp Gordon Johnston Reunion and on May 23 he was appointed to pur- sue the erecuon of a historic marker noting the D-Day train- ing. All of the members of the As- sociation are dedicated to mak- ing sure that the World War II his- tory of the Camp that trained the men, many of whom died or were wounded on distant battle fields, will persevere. The soil is to be placed by mem- bers'of the 4th Infantry in a planter of a monument in Arling- ton, Virginia in late June, this year, to honor the men who per- formed so well. The Florida sign will be erected at the beach, some- where near the building, before the next reunion, to be held in March 2001. A [D rArrvowATEDl~ NEWSPA PER 23 June 2000 Page mi-- T 11I_-, r ^I.- _- I-l