A thousand words

The old cliché “a picture is worth a thousand words” aptly applies to the image to the left. The photo is of a beautiful sunrise over Apalachicola Bay, captured by Robin Rickel Vroegop of Apalachicola during the 2008 Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Black History Festival A Success

Below are highlights of the 6th Annual African-American History Festival held over the weekend of February 20-22 in historic Apalachicola Florida. Enjoy.

Triumph and Tribulation

An Eagle sitting high in a tree is confronted by a powerful wind. Instead of being blown away, he spreads his wings and is lifted up by that which came against him.

Mayor featured in Black History Column

Throughout February of this year, the Tallahassee Democrat has featured an African-American in their Black History Month’s column. In today’s February 24, 2009, edition, the paper featured our very own Mayor Van Johnson.

Click this link to read the article.

Black History: A tribute to my parents

During the civil rights movement, there were a lot of media attention surrounding the activities of our national leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others.

However, Franklin County had its own brand of African-American leadership and a movement that received local and regional attention. Both my father and mother spent the majority of their life in service to the Franklin County African-American community. My father was originally from River Junction, Florida in Gadsden County and my mother was from Bascom, Florida in Jackson County.

My father the late Abe Johnson, Sr., was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army where he was assigned to Rome, Italy during the European Theater of World War II. While traveling in a jeep on routine patrol, the jeep hit a landmine, exploded, and killed everyone aboard except for my father. He survived the blast, but lost the use of both his eyes. Because of his service-connected injuries, the Military awarded him the Purple Heart. For three consecutive years of honorable and faithful service, they awarded him the Good Conduct Ribbon. For heroism in the face of enemy fire, they gave him the Bronze Battle Star and for his service in the European Theater, they gave him the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Metal and honorably discharged him from the service.

I never witnessed my father let his injuries hold him back. In the early 1960’s, he opened and operated a local eatery called the Green Lantern Café and during the local civil rights movement, he served as the first and only President of the Franklin County Voters League where he organized a massive voter’s registration drive.

My mother the late Azalee Johnson worked briefly outside of the home before she and my father went into the restaurant business together. She was one of the 1969 founders and President of the Franklin County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In 1973, after the expulsion of an African-American student from Carrabelle High School, as president of the local NAACP, my mother organized a boycott of the Franklin County schools, which involved over 350 Black students. The boycott culminated with a non-violent march from Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church down U.S. 98 to the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse. Where my mother called for the firing of both Principals from Carrabelle High School and from Chapman Elementary and demanded that the school board abandon its policy of expelling blacks students.

The top photo is at a 1975, NAACP banquet where both my father and mother received certificates of appreciation from then Apalachicola Mayor Jimmie Nichols for their work in the community. The other photo is of the students on the steps of the Franklin County Courthouse after the historic 1973 school boycott march.

Black History: A tribute to my brother

After desegregation, my eldest brother Abe Johnson, Jr., attended Chapman High School where he led the school to an undefeated football season and its first and only State football championship.

In his senior year, as a 5 foot 9½ inch, 210 pound fullback, the Florida Sports Writers Association named him to the 1968 Class C All-State football team, after he rushed for 1,077 yards on only 66 carries and scored 13 touchdowns.

In November of that year, the team was fresh off a 55-10 district win over Wewahitchka. With that victory, the team captured the Apalachicola Valley Conference and the Class C district title, behind a 285-yard rushing game from Abe. Afterward the Tallahassee Democrat named him the Big Bend football back of the week. During that game, he carried the ball only 12 times for a 23.7 average and scored on runs of 10, 85, and 95 yards.

After high school, he attended and played college football at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) before entering the U.S. Army through their Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program as a 2nd Lieutenant.

He is an ordained minister, the founder and current President of Smith Chapel Bible College in Tallahassee.

City Square Community Garden

Organizers of the Apalachicola City Square Community Garden are inching forward in their quest to sow seeds that will not only bring forth a harvest of nutritious foods, but also create an opportunity for social interaction through community involvement.

Community garden coordinator, Karla Ambos reported that the group has submitted an application to the Fiskars Corporation for their Project Orange Thumb grant. Fiskars is a leading global supplier of consumer products for the home, garden, and outdoors. Based out of Finland, in 2003 the company launched Project Orange Thumb, which has already awarded more the 100 community groups, schools, churches and other organizations with more than $300,000 in total grants for their garden programs.

This year, the program will award 20 grants within the United States and Canada. Each will receive up to $1,500 in Fiskars garden tools and up to $800 in gardening-related materials (i.e. green goods).

As part of the grant process, the local garden group had to submit a creative piece that answered the following question.

Assume an alien landed on earth without speaking or understanding any language, but wants an answer to this: How does gardening make you feel?

To find the appropriate answer, members of the garden group combed the community taking photographs, and afterwards Nadine Kahn and Clarice Powell formatted the compilation of pictures into the following video for submission.

For more information on the activities of the community garden or on how to join, email Karla Ambos at dambos@mchsi.com.

Happy Valentine's Day Apalachicola

African-American History Festival

Why not fund soup kitchens instead!

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which goal is to stop the U.S. economy from worsening passed the House in late January but now faces severe cuts in the Senate that could render the purpose of the bill ineffective.

Before lending their support to the bill, some key Senators from both parties have proposed cutting $40 billion set aside in the House version of the bill for aid to state and local governments.

Funding without a doubt that Florida could utilize to deal with its $2.3 billion budget shortfall and Franklin County to address its mounting fiscal concerns. Not to mention funding the City of Apalachicola could use to put toward much needed infrastructure improvements, such as expanding sewer services to areas of the city without such services.

State and local governments want be the only ones to suffer due to Congress inability to work together to repair the failing economy. In addition, slated for cuts are funding proposed for education, which includes $85 billion for school construction and another $19 billion for teacher salaries and for intuitions of higher learning. With the United States falling behind other countries in education, one would think that funding such would be a priority.

However, the intent of the stimulus is to infuse the national economy with new cash in order to save jobs, and prevent the necessity for further cuts in local services or increases in local taxes. If the legislation currently under consideration by Congress fails to meet these objectives, then don’t pass it.

As an alternative, Congress could consider passing a bill that funds the construction of homeless shelters, complete with state of the art soup kitchens and additional prisons for the people that the shelters have to turn away.

At the rate things are going, I’m sure we are going to need them.

Commission Report: February 3, 2009

Brought before the city commission at the February 3, regular scheduled monthly meeting were a variety of topics that included the following:

*Karla Ambos, coordinator of the City Square Community Garden Committee updated the commission on the progress her group has made on the community garden project. She reported that to date the group has cleared the site, held a groundbreaking ceremony, raised community awareness through the local media, held fundraisers and constructed 14 out of the 28 beds needed to start planting.

*Tami Ray-Hutchinson representing the Hillside Coalition of Laborers for Apalachicola (H’COLA) requested and received approval to use Franklin Square Recreation Park and its amenities for the Annual African-American History Festival scheduled for February 20-22. The request also included closing from 9:00 AM until 11:00 AM, 14 Street going east down Martin Luther King Avenue to 6 Street and North to Avenue M for the annual parade.

*Apalachicola resident Phyllis Blan requested consideration for renaming Veterans Park across from the Grady Market after the late Robert L. Howell, who was a former Mayor of the City of Apalachicola and Franklin County Clerk of Circuit Court. The Board took no action on the request.

*The Board proclaimed March 1-7, 2009, as Problem Gambling Awareness Week throughout the City of Apalachicola, in support of Governor Crist efforts to raise awareness concerning problems associated with compulsive gambling throughout the state.

*The Board backed a statewide effort aimed at teaching students and citizens about municipal government by adopting Resolution 2009-01, which promotes the “Building Citizenship in the Community: Back to Basics” initiative of the Florida League of Cities.

*Chamber of Commerce executive director Anita Grove reported that most of the renovations to the Chamber office and visitors center are now complete. She further reported that improvements have been made to Chambers website as well, making it easier for visitors to select to view member listings by geographic area and that the “Think Local First” awareness campaign handed out 500 pens with the Think Local First logo to local businesses. Grove also commented on the $8.5 million dollar state economic business loan program signed into law by Governor Christ.

*Denise Roux, chair of the Apalachicola Municipal Library board reported that at the Library Board’s February 2, meeting, members discussed but took no action on extending library hours to Saturdays. She went on to report that patrons visiting the library has increased from 560 in December to 948 in January and that the advertisement to fill the vacant librarian position will close February 15. Susan requested an update on the status of the directional signs for placement alongside U.S. 98 and other places to give directions to the library.

*Lt. Pam Lewis with the Apalachicola Police Department (APD) report that for the month of January 2009 the APD answered 151 calls, made five direct arrests, served four warrants, issued 11 traffic citations, and worked two traffic accidents.

*To help ease the financial burden on local businesses and shrimp harvester brought on by the economic recession, City administrator Betty Taylor-Webb asked for and received approval to roll back by 20 percent the rate businesses pay for city water and sewer services. She also received approval to add additional shrimp harvesters who rent boat slips at the Scipio Creek boat basin to the grandfather status list, which is set to expire December 31, 2009. Shrimpers who live inside the city will pay $20 per month while those living outside the city will pay $30.

*City Attorney J. Patrick Floyd undated the commission on the Tri-State Water War litigation and on the transfer of property from the School District to the City of Apalachicola for youth related activities.

AVFD recognizes one of their own

Firefighters from the Apalachicola Volunteer Fire Department (AVFD) took time out Monday night, February 2, to recognize one of their own for his many years of dedicated service to the department.

Alfia Mirabella a 85 year-old retired paper mill worker was recognized and honored with a dinner at the Battery Park community center by fellow firefighters from the eighteen member all volunteer department for his 51 years of service.

Fire Chief Bert Simmons presented Mirabella with a plague that read, “Presented to Alfia Mirabella in recognition of many years of tireless service and dedication to the Apalachicola Volunteer Fire Department”.

Ashley Teat a former member of the AVFD drove in from Ocala, Florida to take part in the occasion and spoke during the dinner, “Mr. Alfia embraced me as a young firefighter when I was just getting started on the fire department, now I’m a certified state fire inspector”, said Teat.

Mirabella’s family shared in the moment, joining him was Eunice his wife of 60 years, their daughter Mary Joe and husband Jimmy, Alfia Jr., and son John along with Eunice’s sister and husband.

Photos by Gail D. Johnson

Boyd voted no for Stimulus

U.S. Congressman Allen Boyd (D) voted against the economic stimulus package also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Although Boyd voted nay, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the $819 billion measure January 28 during the first session of the 111th Congress by a vote of 244-188. The bill is now under consideration in the U.S Senate.

The purpose of the Act in part is to preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery and stabilize state and local government budgets in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and increases in state and local taxes.

According to a press release on Boyd’s official website, he questioned whether the package would create jobs or strengthen the economy in the short or long term. Boyd also questioned the actual price tag of the stimulus, citing that to fund the plan the government would have to borrow the money, which would add an estimated $347 billion in interest payments to service the debt, which could end up costing taxpayers $1.2 trillion.

In President Barack Obama weekly address, the President urged prompt passage of the stimulus package, citing recent statistics showing continuing deterioration in the national economy. He stated that the economy has shrunk by nearly 4 percent from October through December, the largest decline in over a quarter century, which has brought on a loss of tens of thousands of jobs in the month of January alone.

The President further stated that the measure the House passed will save or create more than 3 million jobs, put a tax cut into the pockets of working families, and place a down payment on America's future by investing in energy independence, education, affordable health care, and infrastructure.