RattlerGator Blog

Beautiful Orange Park Gets A Blemish

Somer Renee Thompson.

The blemish, of course, on Orange Park, is the least of it.

Word this week that a child was missing in Orange Park came as something of a shock. That is my hometown. And it is an idyllic place to raise a child. Little 7-year-old Somer Thompson, unfortunately, has been killed and then dumped into the trash. I can't explain logically why that particular bit of news is all the more infuriating but it is. It is. Her body was found in a landfill and now the hunt is on for her killer(s).

I look at her picture (how can you not?) and I imagine her walking home and getting angry, running away from her siblings:



And you just say to no one in particular, but you do just say it: "You can't run away from the pack, baby girl! You have to stay with the group!"

So we've lost a precious little child and beautiful Orange Park gets a blemish.

Orange Park remains a great town. Life continues, but this pain will surely linger around the town. Many, many people move to O.P. because it is such a great town. It has grown tremendously, however, and "Orange Park" is now a very broad region covering most of northeastern Clay County and part of Duval County close to the I-295 intersection with Blanding Boulevard. So I wasn't really, really initially tuned in to the news about this girl because so much has been going on at work, and I was still recovering from a road trip to witness a beautiful niece getting married up in Carolina, etc.

But then I heard "Grove Park Elementary."

Oh my goodness! That's just up the way from my family's house and actually located well within the town limits. That school used to be known, in the days of segregation, as "T.C. Miller" and it was my school for first and second grade. It isn't actually located in Grove Park (which is an Orange Park subdivision); it's located in one of the primary black communities in town. Like so many casual insults inflicted on black communities in the wake or integration, the school was closed and we were shipped off to W.E. Cherry Elementary or S. Bryan Jennings Elementary. Later, the school was greatly expanded and renamed Grove Park to placate (I'm sure) the white parents that would now have to send their kids to a school in the middle of a black community.

No perfect place exists on this planet, however, and Orange Park is idyllic. Just a great place to raise a kid. An online friend who grew up in Grove Park and also graduated from the University of Florida was discussing just how surreal the news of this missing child was for him. He, too, attended Grove Park Elementary and walked home from the neighborhood school.

Now that memory is blemished by the evil obsession that lurks. And lurks. An evil that prowls great neighborhoods waiting for the chance when some child, somewhere, will let down his or her guard and in an instant be gone.

I pray that the Lord will give strength to the family, especially the siblings who were walking with her that beautiful Orange Park day . . . and then -- all of a sudden -- weren't.

Two Florida Photos

I saw this photo on another website the other day and thought it was a beautiful Florida shot:

Great Northeast Florida scene. Here's another:

Home sweet home. The photographer has a cool-looking Myspace page, too. Kudos to you, erion904.

Weather Oddity

I've probably mentioned somewhere my more than passing interest in the weather. This morning, U.F.'s automated weather newtwork (FAWN) reported a temperature range around this great state exactly opposite of the norm; lowest (that is to say, coldest) sunrise temperature reports came from South Florida and the warmest low temperatures were found in Northwest Florida:

With a younger brother raised (as was this writer and all of my five other siblings) in Northeast Florida but now a proud Miami snob, especially with respect to cold weather, that range really caught my eye. My goodness, 63 over along the Alabama line and 47 south of Miami? Mid-50's in Tallahassee and upper 30's down on The Muck?

This is a bad omen of something; I know not what, but it's a bad omen of something.

Winter

To my North Florida sensibilities, the dreaded realization that Winter will surely arrive is once again here. We had a tremendous amount of steady rain in Tallahassee yesterday. A sure sign of a dastardly cold front looming out there somewhere. As I write, it is 61 degrees this morning, the temperature is still dropping, it's in the 50s up in South Georgia, and it's very wet outside although not raining.

There is not the hint of warmth; instead, there is the certainty of cold weather. Yes, I said it; 61 degrees and I can feel the cold. I'm serious!

It's 71 degrees this morning in Gainesville.

You see, this is what many of us on the North end of the state do; look for some nearby Florida locale just a bit further South to see if it's . . . WARMER there. We are culturally trained in this state to be ashamed of our cold weather (especially so if you're Black). Jacksonville has a climate as good or better than Houston, New Orleans, Savannah or Charleston but is constantly made to apologize for its weather. Tallahassee is so ashamed of its cold weather, the local weather folks talk incessantly about, and minimize the importance of, our cold spots.

The airport is in a cold spot, don't you know? That's the not the real temperature here.

Well, hell, there are cold spots all over this town and real people live there. Moreso than in some supposed heat pocket around the Capital. It is weird, however, how our temperatures can get remarkably low in the winter and compete with cities hundreds of miles further North for low temperature in the region. The difference is those locales don't warm up in the day nearly as much as we do. I think the lowest average high temperature for any winter day in Tallahassee is 61 degrees or so and the coldest average low temperature is around 39 or 40 degrees.

To me, that's not bad. I still remember being in the Army up at Fort Bragg. One especially cold winter day the weather man said it was going to be a gorgeous sunny day with a high temperature around 34 or 35 degrees. I swear, I wanted to kill the fool. For the rest of the day the outrageousness of that statement floated in and out of my mind.

Gorgeous!?!

Somehow I survived that and Nurnberg, Germany. Don't even get me started talking about that winter weather over there in Europe -- okay? Okay. Well, it seems another local harbinger of winter has also arrived; Homecoming at the University of Florida. Here a few more nuggets from Florida's homecoming. Next week is homecoming at Florida A&M and the installation of its 10th President, James Ammons. Soon thereafter, the presumed beginning of the official coronation of Barack Hussein Obama (Sweet Jesus, what did I just write!?!) will commence.

Winter, winter, winter! I'm telling ya, it does funny things to a man. I have two more entries on the campaign I want to post but Thursday and Friday didn't provide the time I thought I'd have to finish the fourth entry. Sunday or Monday is more likely. The Obama people are superficially confident. Extremely so; like the fatted calf before the slaughter. But, who be you Obama? Consumer, or the consumed? Whatever the case, time to kick back, thank the good Lord for another day in creation, and watch some football. Most everyone in the state seems to be playing today. Go Florida!

Finally, I did a post on the Rays victory yesterday but yesterday was quite hectic, my router crashed and I lost the post. Big Game James came through, B.J. came alive, and Price did what he had to do out on the mound. The Rays won without getting a single hit from Evan Longoria. That lack of hitting from him will not last and I look for Longoria to be the big story in Game Three whenever it is played. Go Rays!

The Incomparable Florida A&M University Marching 100

I was pleased this morning to get notice that CNN recently did a nice piece on the best marching band in the entire universe, the world-famous Florida A&M University Marching 100. Check it out:

It would be hard to overstate the phenomenal pride the University has in the marching band. Historically quite conservative (take note, FAMU --unlike most other black college bands -- does not parade out skimpily clad coeds to dance and gyrate), this band far exceeds most others. There is nothing any other band can do that this band can't also accomplish but the contrary is simply not true. There are many excellent black college bands with tremendous pride (Bethune-Cookman, South Carolina State, Tennessee State, Grambling, etc.) but I suspect most Rattlers only acknowledge one real competitor -- Southern University's Human JukeBox out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana). They are an excellent band but . . . as Joe Bullard, the announcer for the Marching 100 regularly says, there can only be one.

FAMU is that one.

Back in October 2003, ESPN's Kieran Darcy, did a good piece on The Hundred titled, "The Best Band in the Land." This isn't a band that simply brags about being the best; they are objectively acknowledged by more folks than any other as the best marching band.

As is the case with so many other things at historically black colleges and universities, we need this kind of demonstrated excellence made apparent across a far broader range of disciplines. Academic disciplines not related to performance arts. We also quite probably need to protect the band from itself. These are young kids, 420-strong, and these days that's one hell of a gang. God only knows what potential for foolishness walks with them.

But that's the case with most all young students, so why at this moment harp on it. Kudos to Dr. Julian White, band director, and all involved with the Marching 100.

And for the uninitiated, FAMU is pronounced with two strong and equal syllables and it is definitely not fam-moo or fa-moo -- it is fam yoo. I mention this because so many white Floridians who should know this, don't. And it is an immediate signal to Rattlers that you know nothing about the school. And that's not a good thing.

Michael Yon Photo Exhibit Opening Today in Lakeland

Here's a message of interest from our very own Florida Boy, Michael Yon -- there was a grand opening of a photo exhibit of his excellent work this morning:

---

I am very happy to announce the opening of my first photography exhibit.  During my travels I have taken thousands of photos, only a small portion of which have been published.  Some of these images will be on public view for the first time when Picture Perfect Frame Shop in Lakeland, Florida, hosts the Moment of Truth in Iraq Photo Exhibit.  From September 25 to November 8, the gallery will feature forty images which have been specially prepared for this event.  All images will be available for purchase, along with copies of my books Moment of Truth in Iraq and Danger Close. The proceeds will help fund my work in Iraq and Afghanistan.
   
Although I will be in Afghanistan, I cordially welcome everybody who can make it.  If you’re in the Central Florida area, please come see the exhibit.  It will really mean a lot to me.

Michael

Grand Opening on September 25 starting at 9:00 a.m.

Picture Perfect Frame Shops, Inc.
4525 South Florida Avenue, Suite 28
Lakeland, FL 33813
863-644-9951

Exhibit Hours:
Mon, Tue, Wed, + Fri: 9am-6pm
Thur: 9am-8pm
Sat: 9am-4pm

---

Congratulations, Michael. The man has done phenomenal work since the War for Freedom in Iraq began.

St. Petersburg's Northeast Laundry

Recently, an old friend (Leonard Cooperman) from Orange Park who used to drop by Orange Park Elementary as our family was performing daily janitorial services in the afternoons was featured on the Your Business program on MSNBC (here's a St. Petersburg Times story with the details).

Back in the day, Leonard would occasionally come by and shoot hoops with me and my brothers and is an all-around good guy. An Orange Park High and University of Florida grad, too, he and his wife, Jen, live down in Pinellas County and own Northeast Laundry in St. Petersburg. Obviously, after purchasing the business they subsequently ran into some surprises that threw them for a bit of a loop (and that's certainly the way it goes with a business). 

Here's the video of the program:

Leonard and I got together and attended the Florida versus Hawai'i football game a couple of weeks ago; the older we get, the more we reminisce about how much we love U.F. He has family spread around the world and we had a good time talking about that, his lovely wife, etc. Two getting old dudes trying to enjoy some of this world. Courtesy of the St. Pete Times, here's a good photo:

Congratulations, Leonard and Jen -- the program segment looked great. Good luck and best wishes on growing that business. 

Steinbrenner Band Hall Nears Completion at U.F.

University of Florida alumni know that our school, historically, has not been the university for an arts education in Florida. The arts were certainly available, but they weren't emphasized. That has been slowly but surely changing for decades. Today, we have a full range of academic units in the College of Fine Arts:

For those of us interested in athletics, however, the music program necessarily reduces down on Saturdays in the fall to the Marching Band. And our band, the Pride of the Sunshine, is in need of a new name, new uniforms, and all the help it can get. There are rumblings that help is on the way because a good Director of Bands is on the scene. I hope so. What is for certain, however, is that another piece of the puzzle leading to improvement will come online soon when the Steinbrenner Band Hall opens. George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees, is a bigtime Gator Booster and donated the funds to get the hall constructed. Here is a timeline of photos showing the progression of construction on the new building:

July 2007:

 

February 2008:

May 2008:

Today:

Thank you, George Steinbrenner. I'm hoping we see a progressively better marching band in the years ahead and an explosion of greater interest in music on campus.

Hot Fun in the Summertime plus an Army ROTC Memorial

A college campus in summer with student campers all over the grounds (theater camp is concluding, as is band camp and a host of others, I'm sure) is a beautiful thing. Today I did a little bit of walking around the Florida A&M campus and snapped a few shots. Below, some guys are playing a pickup football game and making some college memories they will tell lies about for years and years to come:

Good stuff. And it wouldn't be a Florida college campus without some construction. Below, FAMU's new 10,000 seat convocation center takes shape:

That building has been a long time coming and will replace Gaither Gymnasium, a sweatbox that seats 3,000 folks at best. Hallelujah!

Like most flagship black campuses, FAMU has a large Army ROTC program:

And what would an Army outfit be without an assertive slogan displayed prominently somewhere:

Hell yeah!

Finally, I stumbled upon Woodruff Park behind Howard hall -- never heard of it or noticed it before (it's just a small patch of land) but I'm glad I did find it on this day. With the blooms from a nearby Crape-myrtle coating the plaque, here is the photo I took:

We remember you, Captain Donald Coles Woodruff of Bartow, Florida. And we honor your service.

Press Release on the Big Sugar - State of Florida Agreement

This is from the South Florida Water Management District:

Governor Crist Unveils Momentous Strategy to
Save America’s Everglades, Preserve National Treasure

~Water managers to negotiate buy-out of U.S. Sugar Corporation;
Massive environmental acquisition to provide “missing link” for reconnecting Lake Okeechobee
and the Everglades and reviving fabled River of Grass~

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – Governor Charlie Crist today stood at the edge of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, joined by Florida’s top elected leaders, the United States Sugar Corporation and a host of environmental advocates, to unveil a momentous strategy that could bring about one of the largest environmental land acquisitions in the nation’s history and provide “missing link” needed to protect Florida’s coastal estuaries and better revive, restore and preserve one of America’s greatest natural treasures – the Everglades. The announcement kicks off the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate, which begins tomorrow in Miami.

“Sixty years ago, President Harry Truman came to South Florida to dedicate Everglades National Park. Today, we follow in the great footsteps – and in the tradition of the great conservationist President Teddy Roosevelt. We continue their legacy of permanent preservation of the one of the most unique landscapes of our country – and on the planet,” said Governor Crist. “We have an opportunity to provide the critical missing link in our restoration activities. I can envision no better gift to the Everglades, or the people of Florida, or to our country than to place in public ownership this missing link that represents the key to true restoration.”

Announcing a new partnership to revive the River of Grass, Governor Crist called on the South Florida Water Management District to begin negotiating an agreement to acquire as much as 187,000 acres of agricultural land owned by the United States Sugar Corporation. The vast tracts of land would then be used to reestablish a part of the historic connection between Lake Okeechobee and the fabled River of Grass through a managed system of storage and treatment and, at the same time, safeguard the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and estuaries.

“This is a watershed event in national conservation history, and a paradigm shift for the Everglades and the environment in Florida, one that would have been inconceivable in years past. Yet, here we are,” said Robert Buker, president and CEO of United States Sugar Corporation. “We look forward to continuing to work with the Governor and the District in the cooperative spirit with which we have begun, in order to make the dream represented by the Statement of Principles that we sign here today a reality for Florida tomorrow.”

The proposed agreement between the South Florida Water Management District and the United States Sugar Corporation involves the public purchase of nearly 300 square miles spanning four counties in South Florida – a land mass as large as New York City. The District will also take ownership of the company’s assets, including 200 miles of railroad, a state-of-the-art sugar mill, sugar refinery and citrus processing plant. Subject to independent appraisals and approval by the District’s Governing Board, water managers will invest $1.75 billion in cash and certificates of participation to finance the acquisition.

“America’s River of Grass sustains life for so much and so many. Today it receives its lifeline,” said Everglades Foundation Vice Chairperson Mary Barley. “A restored and sustained Everglades is no longer a dream. History will record this action as the point that brought it within our reach.”

Acquiring the enormous expanse of real estate offers water managers the opportunity and flexibility to store and clean water on a scale never before contemplated. Water managers expect that dedicating significantly more land in the Everglades Agricultural Area to restoration will build upon and enhance the 30-year state-federal Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and the State of Florida’s Northern Everglades program to restore and protect Lake Okeechobee, the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and their respective estuaries.

Benefits from the land acquisition will allow for the following:

• · Huge increases in the availability of water storage, significantly reducing the potential for harmful discharges from Lake Okeechobee to Florida’s coastal rivers and estuaries when lake levels are high.
• · The ability to deliver cleaner water to the Everglades during dry times and greater water storage to protect the natural system during wet years.
• · Preventing thousands of tons of phosphorus from entering the Everglades every year.
• · Forever eliminating the need for “back-pumping” water into Lake Okeechobee from the Everglades Agricultural Area to augment the water supply needs. The District’s Governing Board this year voted not to back-pump into the lake during the ongoing water shortage to protect water quality.
• · Additional water storage alternatives, relieving some pressures on the Herbert Hoover Dike while the federal government undertakes repairs.
• · Sustainability of agriculture and green energy production.

“The significance of this moment will forever be recorded in Florida’s environmental history,” said South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Vice Chair Shannon Estenoz. “Today, we offer the Everglades restoration opportunities once thought impossible; environmental progress once considered unachievable; and protections just a decade ago believed unattainable. History will mark today as a watershed event for restoring our beloved national treasure – the Everglades – and generations will thank the Governor for his leadership in making it happen.”

To mark the occasion, the Governor stood as official witness as South Florida Water Management District Governing Board Vice Chair Shannon Estenoz signed a “Statement of Principles” with United States Sugar Corporation President and CEO Robert H. Buker. The Statement of Principles provides the framework for the potential acquisition of property. Negotiations on the final agreement will take place over the coming months, with a closing on the real estate anticipated before the year’s end. As part of the proposal, United States Sugar Corporation will continue to farm and manage the land consistent with its previous business practices for the next six years. Construction of any new water treatment and storage projects on the agricultural land would likely begin following the six-year transition period.

As the agreement is finalized, the Governor directed the District to work closely with interest groups, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the Florida Legislature, United States Congress and federal agencies on the future use of the land and any effects to the planning, design and construction of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan or Northern Everglades projects. The Governor also called upon the Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development and the Agency for Workforce Innovation to work with United States Sugar Corporation, local governments and area businesses on an economic transition plan for the area.

About the Everglades

America’s Everglades once covered almost 11,000 square miles of south Florida. Just a century ago, water flowed down the Kissimmee River into Lake Okeechobee, then south through the Everglades to the Florida Bay – the ultimate destination of the pure sheet flow. Because of efforts to drain the marshland for agriculture, development and flood control, the Everglades is today half the size it was a century ago.

Dubbed the River of Grass for the sawgrass that flourished throughout the marsh, the Everglades is a mosaic of freshwater ponds, prairies and forested uplands that supports a rich plant and wildlife community. Known throughout the world for its wading birds and wildlife, the Everglades is home to dozens of federally threatened and endangered species, including the Florida panther, American crocodile, snail kite and wood stork. The mix of salt and freshwater makes it the only place on Earth where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side.

About the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate

Governor Crist’s monumental announcement kicks off the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate this week, June 25-26, 2008, at the Intercontinental Miami. Building on the foundation for Florida’s energy future that began at last year’s summit, the 2008 summit will focus on stimulating economic development in clean technologies as well as “greening” Florida’s business community. By encouraging companies to invest in our state’s energy future, Florida will transform its energy marketplace to enhance fuel diversity, lessen dependence on foreign sources of oil and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on restoration of America’s Everglades, visit www.myflorida.com. For information on the 2008 Serve to Preserve Florida Summit on Global Climate Change, visit www.myfloridaclimate.com or www.myflorida.com.