Madison County Liquor Referendum

My county -- Madison County, Florida -- is considering placing a liquor referendum on the ballot.
Madison County is currently considered a "dry" county. It is one of only five in the state which maintain a dry status. Beer and citrus based wine (or wine coolers) are sold in the county because state law says that they can be sold in any of Florida's 67 counties. Hard liquor and wine cannot be sold.
Proponents of Madison County becoming wet maintain that it will help the economy. I don't really see how that is possible. For Madison County to get $150,000 in sales taxes from liquor being sold, $10 million worth of it will need to be sold through three beverages licenses. Being a rural county, I don't see that happening. That $150,000 would have to be split three ways -- $50K for the new hospital debt retirement, $50K for the new infrastructure debt retirement and $50K for EMS. If a Florida law passes in November, another half-penny will have to go towards funding community colleges throughout the state. That will reduce any income to the hospital, infrastructure and EMS to $37,500 -- if Madison County somehow miraculously gets that much money from the sale of liquor and wine.
If people want Madison County to become wet so that they don't have to drive 15 minutes to get their liquor, they should just say that and not try to fool people with an economic picture that is distorted just so they can pick up votes from people who may think that the picture is correct and think that Madison County will benefit from it.
Another picture that they try to paint is one of Madison County becoming a spot for restaurants that serve liquor and alcohol. They argue that his will help the county. Restaurants do not bring newer money into the county. The money just shifts from one place to another. They then argue that the restaurants will go at the interstate exits. Take a trip across the country, or just down the north Florida I-10 corridor. What kinds of restaurants do you see along the interstate? Fast food restaurants and when you look at the older ones in the area they are hurting because the money has shifted from them to a newer place.
I realize the reason that most people who want the county to become wet are probably those who don't want to have to drive to Valdosta, Ga. or Perry, Fla. to get a fifth of Lord Calvert or some other branded label. They don't care one bit about the economic impact.
I realize that those of us who are opposed to it oppose it because of personal convictions such as our personal relationship with Jesus Christ and because of our legitimate concerns about the youth, the families and the individuals in Madison County. Because of my stance, I have been called "self-righteous," accused of being "holier than thou" and been labeled a hypocrite. Other people who are opposing it are also subject to the same abuse.
We have also been called unpatriotic because of our efforts to keep people from signing the petition and for not signing the petition ourselves. That is our First Amendment right!
The chairman of the group pushing the liquor referendum has sent letters, along with his petitions, which are muddled and confusing. Maybe he is trying to play on the fact about what he thinks of Madison Countians. He basically said that people from Madison County are a "bunch of idiots." This man has made the accusation that two people in Madison County threatened him. He refused to identify them to the sheriff although he told me and other members of the press that the sheriff has their names. The sheriff told me that he was never given the names. Someone else told me that he had identified them as a Baptist and a Methodist. Wow! That only rules out about ten percent of Madison County.
The man's second letter was basically a personal attack against me filled with hysterical inaccuracies. The letter for some reason had a slew of restaurants that he had eaten at on it. Seems like he doesn't like to spend his money in the county.
If the issue gets on the ballot I will be there voting against it. I know that others will vote for it. If it doesn't get on the ballot, I cannot be blamed. I did my job. The others will not have done theirs. Let's just be honest about it and leave the economy out of it!

Dangers of Alcohol

My county is involved in a debate over whether or not it should remain a dry county. No matter what your position is, watch the following video. Warning: graphic images.

I Have Had It

Okay, once and for all, I'm TIRED!!!
I have had it with sickness in my family and with myself.
I have had it with people being mad at me because of my job as an editor and reporter at a newspaper!
I have had it because people don't like the editorial stance that I have taken against a liquor referendum!
I have had it with people calling me names behind my back!
I have had it with people calling me names to my face but, at least, they have the guts to call me those names to my face!
I have had it with people calling me at home on my own time to complain!
I have had it with people calling me at work to complain!
I have had it with people who think they know it all!
I have had it with people who act like they know nothing!
I have had it with being sick!
I have had it with being tired!
I have had it with being sick and tired!
I have had it with having to miss work and lose money because of it! I get paid by the hour and if I don't work, I don't get paid. I will have to miss at least parts of five days on my next pay period!
I have had it with not making any more than I do!
I have had it with not having any money!

Mortality

Mortality

As a senior in high school, I was shocked when an underclassman was killed while driving to school.
I was not the only one shocked. The whole school was stunned. We were faced with our own mortality.
I imagine the students at Suwannee High School in neighboring Live Oak felt much of the same shock that my schoolmates and I felt so many years ago.
His name was Chris. I first met Chris when he attended the homecoming at my church last October. He came because his then-girlfriend, Mary Pate, invited him.
From all accounts, from Mary, her parents and Chris’s house parents, he was a super nice guy who never got into trouble despite being a resident at the Florida Sheriff’s Boys Ranch.
Chris was 17 and, like most 17-year-olds, Chris liked to play and, occasionally, show off; after all, he was a teenager.
Chris was doing backflips off the bridge at Suwannee Springs on Friday afternoon, having a friend videotape him with the friend’s digital camera. One of the flips went wrong and Chris drowned.
A memorial service will be held for Chris on Sunday, August 24, at 2 p.m. in the chapel at the Boys Ranch, located at 1813 Cecil Webb Place, in Live Oak.
I know that Mary and her parents were shaken by Chris’s death. I am also sure that Chris’s own family and his fellow students at the Boys Ranch are also hurt. I can tell them that time will help, but it doesn’t necessarily heal. The best thing to do is to remember the good times shared with Chris.
For those who have been struck by the fact that they are mortal, I encourage them to embrace the mortality and, for those who haven’t accepted Christ, to give their hearts to Jesus Christ, who will grant them eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Labor Day Birthday

When Monday comes, I will be another year older -- Monday night to be more precise, at approximately 9 p.m. Monday will also be Labor Day.
I was born the day before Labor Day, but my mama said that I was born on “labor day.”
I have labored throughout my life. I have worked. I have attended school and college. I have been labored for myself and for others. There are many jobs that I enjoy doing, others I hate doing.
The one thing that I will always love doing, no matter how hard it might be and no matter how much I might seem to hate it at times, is helping my family.
My family needs me and I need them. My father needs me. My brother Danny needs me. My sister Abbie needs me.
Daddy just suffered a broken hip but he does all that he can. Danny has lost all his vision in one eye and has problems with his feet due to his diabetes, yet he works a full-time job and helps around the house, cooking and cleaning. Abbie is mentally challenged, yet she is there to lift our spirits. I have had my own health problems, but I go. I work a full-time job. I get Danny to the eye doctor and to work. I get Daddy to the doctor. When he was doing physical therapy, I visited him every single day. When he was in Gainesville, I visited him almost every day.
I don’t believe that it’s just enough to say that you love someone. I believe that your actions have to back it up. My family and I show our love for each other through our actions.