With the Primaries of August and the Final Elections of November looming into the not too distant future, it is increasingly becoming the "Political Season". This is evidenced by the eager emergence of political candidates for all scheduled functions which promise to draw a crowd. This phenomenon will undoubtedly continue until the votes have been cast and winners and losers determined.

Leading this political parade last week were U.S. Representative Steve Southerland, and State Senator Don Gaetz who were both in town shaking hands and sympathetically listening to citizen problems and opinions.

On Thursday Senator Gaetz had a busy day in Jackson County as he participated in a special presentation at Riverside Elementary School where he presented a framed certificate which recognized the school for its "A" School Rating. State Representative Marti Coley was also at the presentation and she noted that this was the ninth "A" rating the school has achieved since the rating system began.

Then Gaetz set up office in at the Russ House where he listened to several hours of conversation with local citizens who had scheduled interviews with the Senator. He also engaged in a meeting with the Government Affairs Committee of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. At noon Gaetz spoke at the local Kiwanis Club, where he gave a review of the accomplishments of the last session of the Florida legislature. During the afternoon he returned to the Russ House and enjoyed several more hours of interchange with local citizens.

Then on Friday, U.S. Representative Steve Southerland was in Marianna. Southerland set up shop in the Agricultural Conference Center on Penn Avenue for a town hall meeting with local citizens. The conservative congressman stressed the dangers America faces with the presence of an overwhelming national dept.

Southerland lauded his 96% conservative rating for his votes in Washington. He stated the problem is that we need to increase the total number of conservatives which have been elected to the House and the Senate. He also mentioned the growing movement to pass increased authority to the United Nations, especially in matters related to water resources and environment. "In many instances these changes would allow the United Nations authority to supersede the rights granted to us in our Constitution," Southerland stated.

(See the accompanying story about Southerland's talk.)

After 37 years of dedicated service Mrs. Becky Grimsley is retiring from the Jackson County School system. Mrs. Grimsley is originally from Bainbridge Georgia and is a Graduate of the University of Georgia. She moved to Marianna in 1974 as a result of her husband, Owen Grimsley, relocating to Marianna to take a position with Unimac. They have called this area "home" ever since.

State School Systems Are In a State of Uproar and Rebellion Jackson County Schools are no exception.....

In what some people would consider to be typical bureaucratic fashion, the Florida Department of Education has drastically changed procedures relating to the state testing and evaluation program, FCAT, and in the process has apparently destroyed the meaning and effectiveness of the system. This is unfortunate, because indications were present that over the past few years as a result of the continuing focus on the system, combined with incentives based on results, school and student performances were improving. The DOE may have now destroyed those gains by demoralizing the entire state school system.

Jeanette "Daniele" McDaniel has declared her intent to seek the School Board seat for District 2. McDaniel was born in Marianna, Florida in 1976. Her parents are Mary Patricia "Pat" and the late Richard Allen Burnett. Daniele's siblings are Kathryn "Kathy" Sue Carter, Karen Lynn Obregon and Douglas Chance Burnett. She was educated in the Jackson County Public School System and graduated Salutatorian of Cottondale High School in 1994. She received a "Leadership in Excellence Scholarship" to Troy State University for her service as Student Government Association President. Daniele earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a major in Accounting from Troy State University in 1998.

It hasn't been this lively on the South Green Street hill in downtown Marianna since the 1980s, back when the Monitor newspaper, Rene Jordan's original hair salon and Dr. Jon Kisner's dental office had the place hopping. To get to the Green Street Plaza during that era, one only needed to turn south off Lafayette Street and go between Thompson Brothers Printing and the Citizens Bank lot with the drive-through lanes.

Thompson Brothers has long since vanished, Dr. Kisner died, and Citizens is now SouthTrust Bank—no drive-through—but the lower part of Green Street has recently been revitalized. With the grand opening of a promising new automotive repair shop, Green Street Automotive, the small business district is now full of tenants and customers. Bruce Adams has completely redone his sewing and embroidery shop, giving it a new name: "Sew Spoiled."