Florida schools to reopen no sooner than April 15
Standardized testing cancelled for term This past Tuesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that current statewide school closures have been extended until at least April 15 in response to the escalating COVID-19 pandemic. The order includes all public and private K-12 schools, including career and technical centers. All Florida K-12 school districts, colleges and universities…
Gadsden resident tests positive for COVID-19 while outside Florida
Though positive test reports continue to flood in from around Florida near-daily, as of press time this past Tuesday, there were still no confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus inside Gadsden County. Earlier this week, however, two Big Bend residents – one from Gadsden, the other from Leon – tested positive for the virus while…
Tricia’s Place: The “Alaska” saga
Alaska: A true story Part I“I’m leavin’ on a jet plane…” In 1969 – when I was but a shy widow at the tender age of 22 – I met a military man. We were engaged and planned to wed upon his return home from his stint in the cold, far north – Alaska. The…
Local teacher arrested on drug charge
Over the past week, Gadsden County has been thrust into the international spotlight, with the story of a local school teacher’s recent drug arrest garnering widespread – and no doubt unwelcome – attention in news media outlets from Tallahassee to New York, and even as far away as London and New Delhi. Guy Raynak, a…
Police seek public’s help with catching fence post bandit
A thief made off with 17 galvanized steel fence posts from Sneads’ Adam Tucker Wilson ballpark earlier this week, police reported, and investigators are asking anyone with information in the alleged crime to come forward. In a statement released this past Wednesday by the Sneads Police Department, Chief Mike Miller requests the public’s assistance with…
2019 school grades a mixed bag for Gadsden County
The Florida Department of Education released school grades recently, and based on the numbers and marks alone, the 2018-2019 school term proved a mixed bag for Gadsden County’s public schools. Despite challenges like Hurricane Michael, which disrupted normal school operations for days and led to an influx of students from harder hit districts, as well…
Sneads schools hang on to high marks; Grand Ridge surges
Schools in East Jackson County are celebrating following the Florida Department of Education’s recent release of 2018-2019 school grades. A rare feat for Panhandle schools, for the fourth year in a row Sneads Elementary distinguished itself with an “A” ranking. That’s in spite of the disruption caused by Hurricane Michael, the October 2018 Cat5 storm…