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rank in PERMIT #8






 Chronicle


A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER


Boyd Secures

North Florida


Recently, Congressman Allen
Boyd (D-North Florida), a mem-
ber of the House Appropriations
Committee, voted in favor of the
fiscal 2005 omnibus appropria-
tions package (HR 4818), secur-
ing $63 million for North Florida,
which includes funding for dairy
and poultry waste treatment,
North Florida Watershed Project,
Florida National Scenic Trail and
the expansion of U.S. Highway
319.
"I'm so pleased I was able to se-
cure this funding for North
Florida," said Congressman Boyd.
"Our rural communities will
greatly benefit from the improve-
ments these funds will facilitate.
By promoting and encouraging
development and conservation
projects in North Florida, out cit-
ies and towns, as well as out resi-


State Notice Of Intent To

Sue Army Corps Of

Engineers Remains Intact

No Progress on Negotiations
Less than 30 days remain for the State of Florida to begin a civil
lawsuit against the United States Army Corps of Engineers for viola-
tions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) arising out of Corps opera-
tions of dams and reservoirs on the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint
(ACF) river basin.
The letter of intent to begin a civic action against the Corps was sent
to the Secretary of the Army, the Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Commerce on November 5, 2004.
The letter was written by the law firms of Fennemore Craig which
legally represents the State of Florida in the proposed litigation, signed
by attorney Donald G. Blankenau.
The letter asserts that the Corps has violated, and is currently violat-
ing, the ESA, by operating its dams and reservoirs, absent consulta-
tion required by the law, in a manner that adversely affects species
listed and critical habitat designated under the BSA. The offending
actions include, but are not limited to, the authorization of and con-
tinued operation of dams and reservoirs to facilitate water withdraw-
als from and below Lake Sidney Lanier by and for various municipal
water providers in the State of Georgia. The Corps' operations likely
are jeopardizing the continued existence of the Gulf sturgeon, an
anadromous fish species; the fat threeridge and purple bankclimber,
two species of freshwater mussel; and the Florida torreya, a species
of tree (collectively, the "ACF Species", all protected under the ESA
and native to the ACF Basin and the State of Florida. Such opera-
tions are also adversely modifying critical habitat designated for the
Gulf sturgeon. Florida has been injured by the Corps' failure to com-
ply with the procedural and substantive mandates of the ESA.
Further, the Corps' practice of 1) withholding water upstream to sup-
port non-native reservoir species, 2) manipulating reservoir releases
needed for navigation in a manner that sharply depletes Apalachicola
River flows in the spring has and will result in unlawful takings of
Gulf sturgeon and the mussel species. Such actions violate Section 9
of the ESA.
Florida intends to commence a civil action pursuant to the ESA, and
the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA") for declaratory, injunctive
and other appropriate relief (including attorneys' fees) against the
Corps to redress the specific violations enumerated in Section IV of
this notice.

Background
The Chattahoochee River originates in the mountains of northern
Georgia, flows along the Alabama-Gcorgia border, joins theUiui tLi'c.r-
to become the Apalachicola River at the Florida-Georgia border, and
flows into the Apalachicola Bay and Gulf of Mexico.
The ACF Basin is an ecosystem of unusual richness and diversity.
The ACF Basin is home to at least 122 species of fish, 29 species of
mussel, 30 species of crayfish the highest diversity of reptiles and
amphibians in the United States and one of the most productive fish-
eries in North America. The Apalachicola Bay is one of the most pro-
ductive estuarine systems bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It provides
approximately 90% of the oysters harvested in Florida (approximately
10% of the Nation's total), and it yields substantial harvests of shrimp,
finfish and crab.


 'Spoil Mountain" on the Apalachicola River
Florida, the United States, and private conservation interests hay
invested heavily in the Apalachicola River and Bay because, they cot
stitute one of the most ecologically diverse and significant natur
areas in the Southeast. Florida has Purchased approximately 278,00
acres of land now actively managed for conservation purposes. Th
represents the largest land acquisition in any Florida river system
Nearly one-third of that land has been purchased since 1999 at
cost of over $100,000,000. The United States has Purchased 256,09
acres and The Nature Conservancy another 8,843 acres. In total
approximately 542,940 acres are being managed actively to prote
the area of concern, which is roughly twice the size of Rocky Mour
tain National Park.
The Apalachicola River and Bay's significance has earned it stat
national, and international recognition. The Apalachicola Nation
Estuarine Research Reserve ("ANERR") encompasses 193,758 acr
of land and water, making it the largest of the 26 estuarine research
reserves in the United States. The ANERR has received internation
designation as a "biosphere reserve" through the United Nations Edt
national, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Florida designated b
statute areas within the ANERR as outstanding Florida waters. Th
State of Florida has also designated the Apalachicola Bay as an aquat
preserve.
The ACF Species, like all endangered and threatened species, "are
aesthetic, ecological, educational, historical, recreational, and sciei
tific value to the Nation and its people" Any actions taken by th
Corps in the ACF Basin that adversely impact the ACF Species con
promise the national values Congress enumerated.

The Threatened Gulf Sturgeon
The Gulf sturgeon is an anadromous fish species endemic to the AC
Basin. The historic range of the Gulf sturgeon included nine maji
rivers and several smaller rivers from the Mississippi River, Louis
ana, to the Suwannee River, Florida, and marine waters of the center
and eastern Gulf of Mexico, south to Tampa Bay, Florida. In 199
the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") and NOAA Fisi
series (collectively, the "services") listed the Gulf sturgeon as "threa
ened" under the ESA.
The Gulf sturgeon currently occupies the Apalachicola River and Ba
portions of which were designated as critical habitat for the specli
in 2003.
 Continued on Page 5


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 Inside This Issue
 10 Pages
 Eileen Annie Ball ............ ............................. 1, 4
 Apalachicola River Litigation......................... 1, 8
 Eastpoint Theatre............................................... 1
 Franklin Briefs ................................................... 2
 Editorial & Commentary ................................. 3, 4
 Carrabelle City .................................................... 5
 Holiday Wishes ............................................... 6, 9
 FCAN ................................................................. 7
 Business Card Directory ........ ............................. 9
 Big Bend Hospice ............................................. 10


At the Franklin County Public Library


 Eileen Annie Ball Winner Of
 December 10-23,2004 New York Times Library

 Award
 Funds For Award
 Program honors librarians around the country for
 outstanding public service.
its, will all profit from the Eileen Annie Ball, Director of the Franklin County Public Library
gress made with this funding." (Eastpoint, FL), was among the 27 winners of the 2004 New York
 Somnibus appropriations Times Librarian Awards. Now in its fourth year, the program honors
e omnibus pplibrarians from around the country who have provided outstanding
kage includes: public service. In recognition of the program's origins in New .York
I million for Dairy and Poultry City, 15 awards were given to librarians from New York City, New
ste Treatment York State, New Jersey and Connecticut. The remaining 12 were pre-
 sented to exemplary librarians from six regions around the nation:
1 million for the North Florida the Northeast, the South, the Midwest and Great Lakes, the Moun-
tershed Project tain and Plains States, the Southwest and the West. Nominations
 from the general public were accepted from June through September
2.5 million for Florida National and totaled nearly 1,500, with nominations coming from 47 states
nic Trail
2 million for Suwannee Wild- ,_ __ 1
Corridor L -


* $1 million for U.S. Highway 319
* $450,000 for Post Harvest Oys-
ter Research
* $297,000 for Feed Efficiency in
Cattle


About One Year Away

Eastpoint Theatre, Inc.

Signs Building Contract


Tom W. Hoffer, publisher of the
Franklin chronicle and owner of
the Eastpoint Theatre, Inc. an-
nourgced the sipningp of a building;
i. uV'_rlrit ior' ., 'red-iron" steel
building planned for 33 Begonia
Street in Eastpoint with Vulcan
Steel of Sparks, Georgia.
"Vulcan will construct a 50 by 100
foot auditorium supplemented
with two adjacent activity rooms
measuring 16 feet by 50 feet on
each side of the auditorium. The
building will stand up to 30 feet
high", Hoffer said. on the front
end will be a 96-foot long area that
would eventually be remodeled
into two leased offices and a lobby
measuring about 26 feet deep and
30 feet in length. The front of the
structure will be designed to "add
on" additional leased spaces even-
tually creating a small mall.
"The process of planning the
structure is just beginning,"
Hoffer indicated. "We will receive
engineer drawings in January
before a formal review can be
completed. Vulcan Steel will help
us design a concrete foundation,
based on test borings already
completed by Earthworks, Talla-
hassee. The foundation presents
special problems as the weight of
the steel structure will be slightly
over 40 tons." A conceptual draw-
ing of the structure will be cre-
ated and published when the en-
gineered drawings have been
completed and approved.
An infrastructure of living quar-
ters in the form of two duplexes
has been under construction
since May when the first duplex
was started. This is a steel frame
building contracted by U.S.I. Sys-
tems of Marietta, Georgia, con-
tracted with Eric Dahlin, the Vice
President of this minority-owned
company. Dahlin.is about to be-
gin construction of the second du-
plex at the Chronicle compound
when the permit is issued.
Andy Dyal, Director of Opera-
tions, and Diane Dyal, Ad De-
signer, accompanied Hoffer to
Sparks, Georgia last week for a
long meeting with designer Jeff
Spradley, Vice President of Vulcan
Steel. Several design problems
were worked out in this meeting
including the placement of a pro-
jection room at the front of the
building to serve all three areas,
the main auditorium designed to
seat about 300 persons, and the
two auxiliary rooms that could
serve as intimate cinemas or for
video projection and production.
"The erection of this massive steel
structure complete with insulated
walls and roof will be the crucial
shell," Hoffer said. "We will have
to remodel the interior with a
stage, screen, stadium seating for
a portion of the theatre, and
16mm, 35mm and video projec-
tion equipment and surround
sound systems. We want to design
a comfortable seating venue that
will nearly require patrons to be
pried out of their seats at the end
of each performance. And, of
course, the concession area will
be large and accessible."


The contract cost of the steel
building is $113,000. Competing
bids for the concrete foundation
will be taken when the plans are
available. Sewer and water infra-
structure were installed two years
earlier and sewer hookups have
already been accomplished for the
first duplex. The installed sewer
and water system will also service
the theatre complex.
"We anticipate that the Eastpoint
Theatre will also become a com-
munity center where groups of
special and general interest may
meet and discuss and deliberate
on problems involving the county
as well as special services such
as the Panhandle Players, or reli-
gious interests for nominal costs.
We also anticipate some level of
live entertainment most likely
emphasizing music but there are
no specific agendas on that point,"
Hoffer said.
The Chronicle will remain an in-
tegral part of the Eastpoint The-
atre, promoting attractions and
continuing other public interest
work.
"At least, we have reached a fo-
cus point for the conclusion of our
construction program, in terms of
planning. Despite the ambiguity
of that statement, I have to sigh a
little relief at what has been ac-
complished thus far. We started
with 2.3 acres of highly vegetated
and treed property, cleared it out,
re-landscaped the land, installed
a large sewer and water collection
system, stormwater system, built
one duplex and an editorial build-
ing with archives in the time
frame of two years. This is not
really what I envisioned in my re-
tirement and for stress-free activ-
ity, I would not recommend con-
struction. But, Andy, Diane and I
have had considerable help from
local sub-contractors and many
contributors to the Chronicle dur-
ing this time. We will continue to
need help," Hoffer concluded.
The sub-contractors involved
thus far have included Sipprell
Concrete, Summerhill Electric,
David Paul Plumbing, U.S.I. Sys-
tems of Marietta Georgia
(steel-fabricator), Vulcan Steel
(Sparks, Georgia) Bo's Pest Con-
trol, Rodney Hall Roofing,
Franklin County Rental Center
(Eastpoint), Coastline Clearing
and Development (Eastpoint),
Disposal Depot (Lynn Haven),
Tri-State Pest Control and Insu-
lation, Nero's Boat Yard
(Carrabelle), Ben Withers, Inc.
(Panacea), R. W. Thomas, Con-
struction, Inc. (Eastpoint), C. R.
Smith and Son (Port St. Joe), K
and T Construction, Sunshine
Painting (Eastpoint), Sellers Tile
(Eastpoint), American Fence Co
(Tallahassee), Tim Ryan Enter-
prises (Eastpoint), R. Tennyson
(Apalachicola), Chisholm Con-
struction (Carrabelle), Jackson
Hardware (Carrabelle), Harold
Benjamin, Jr. (Project Engineer),
Clayton Anderson (Project Engi-
neer), Bill Douglas Engineering
(Tallahassee) and C&C Construc-
tion (Eastpoint).


Ms. Ball was nominated by Shirley Hartley formerly of St. George
Island, and Dawn Radford of Eastpoint. Ms. Hartley brought to light
that rural Franklin County did not have a public library until Octo-
ber 1992. She described Ms. Ball as a "person of unusual ability, one
who has been of incredible benefit to her community." Ms. Hartley
further stated: "I came to understand that, under her direction and
directly due to her ability in acquiring grant funding, the Franklin
County Public Library had become more than just a place to check
out books, but actually filled a need for a community center, a coun-
seling center, an after school center and an educational center."


Continued on Page 4


Santa Arrives In Franklin By

Shrimp Boat

Santa Claus left his reindeer at Headquarters as he pulled
up to an Apalachicola pier on a crisp Friday evening, No-
vember 26th, to kickoff the Holiday season. His arrival in
these parts is taken seriously, as he was greeted by over
300 screaming children and some adults popping flash cam-
eras in rapid succession. When Santa heard the roar, he
picked himself up and almost flew onto the pier to greet
the hysterical multitude. That was not the end but just the
beginning. He held court, receiving the hundreds of chil-
dren upon his lap, each posing for a picture with this icon,
as Mrs. Claus stood behind the throng, passing candy and

gifts to each child. Transportation was provided by Buddy
Ward Seafood and the official host was the Chamber of
Commerce, ably assisted by Alex and Laura Moody.


Volume 13,


Number 25


I