Camp Braveheart Site Coordinator Gino Mayo accepted a check from Beef 'O' Brady's for six hundred and seventy dollars, which along with money from t-shirt and wristband sales totaled more than one thousand dollars raised for Camp Braveheart! Emerald Coast Hospice is VERY grateful to the Jackson County community for the support and kind words for the services they provide.

Applications are beginning to come in for camp, and sixty children who have experienced a loss will be attending camp July 20-23. Camp Braveheart, for children ages 7-14, is a four day camp offered at no charge to children from the Florida Panhandle and southeast Georgia. If you know of a child who might benefit from this camp please contact Gino Mayo or Sherri Stone at 526-3577 for information and applications.

Many folks are scratching their heads over the sudden resignation of Jackson County Library director Darby Syrkin. After working and making many improvements to the library systems throughout the county for the last 10 months, she turned in a resignation to the Jackson County Commission last month. Interviewed by the media this week, she declined to make public any grievances. She only cited "personal and professional circumstances." There were reports that she was not initially given a salary commensurate with her master's degree qualifications for the job and that she disagreed with the commission on the job duties and pay of her staff.

April is Dental Professional Appreciation Month, and Jackson County citizens should pause and express their respect and appreciation for the cadre of dental professionals which serve the people of Jackson County. Within the county there are 10 Private offices 7 are general dentists and 3 are specialists. There are two dentists at the Jackson County Health Department. There are 5 dentists in the correctional facilities in Jackson County.

Sneads Pharmacy (Hwy. 90) will soon be under new ownership. Dr. Brian Lewis is reportedly taking over from founder, pharmacist and longtime owner Jimmy Alday. Also in Sneads, Lewis Electronics (7887 Seminole St., 593-5600) is closing in two weeks, former Sneads council member Greg Lewis informed Business News Monday afternoon.

McDaniel's Grocery has been chosen by the East Jackson County Economic Development Council as the business of the month. McDaniel's has become an iconic business because of its decades of service to this community. Located in Sneads, this is McDaniel's fifteenth year at their current location at the Lake Seminole Shopping Center at 8166 Hwy 90. McDaniel's driving force has been its owner, Ralph McDaniel. Breaking ground at this location in 1997 gave way to expanding McDaniel's into what it is today. "Customer service is what we sell at the lowest possible price", says Mr. McDaniel. He is happy to call Sneads his home, living here all of his life. "Everything we do is centered on a combination of reducing cost and delivering the best possible product to the market. It's a job that never ends, but has proven to be a winning combination." The processes that McDaniel's has adopted to fulfill this mission has made a difference to their shoppers over the years.