DFS Council Meeting Review

Life Enrichment Senior Center Director Leigh Morrison gave a quarterly report, saying they have collected over $1000 in membership dues with 39 memberships so far. Morrison talked about several large pieces of equipment, like a pool table, to be delivered soon and has talked to the county about opening a large space for activities instead of using the Boys & Girls Club. The B & G Club will have a day camp this summer and the old armory will not be fully available.

Howard Rinker asked to use $6,000 of Christmas Reflections money for the 4^th of July activities. The money would go to the DeFuniak Business Professional Association. The request was approved. Council member James Huffman said he recently attended a Florida League of Cities event and heard a number of people talk about the lights. Rinker said they are to have even more this year.

The council approved the purchase of new pick up trucks and approved two requests from City Marshall Mike Adkinson. One of the requests deals with a way to send phone information to the patrol vehicles. Adkinson said this is an effort to keep the officers in their vehicles and on the streets instead of in the office.

Mayor Harold Carpenter received an award from the Florida Chapter of the American Public Works Association for historical preservation. The award is from the city’s work on the Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood.

City Manager Kim Kirby presented the bids for the sidewalk projects. There were 14 bids with Tyndell Enterprises of Freeport the low bidder. Council member James Huffman said sidewalks present a tremendous amount of character. Kirby also presented bids for traffic signs. The low bid was accepted. Kirby also said they would have about $245,000 left from another source which could also be used for sidewalks.

DFS Police Get Trailer and Has Successful Community Day

The Office of the City Marshal, DeFuniak Springs Police, recently added a new piece of equipment to its fleet.  A thirty-one foot travel trailer was obtained from F.E.M.A. as part of a program to supply government agencies with surplus items from the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. After obtaining the travel trailer, it was remodeled and outfitted entirely with funds seized from manufacturers and dealers of illegal narcotics in our local area.

The travel trailer, known as the Community Service Unit, made its debut at their second annual Caring for Kids Day, last Saturday. The event took place at the Wee Care Park in DeFuniak Springs.

The Community Service Unit served as their main office where child identification cards and fingerprinting was conducted. Police say the Community Service Unit will serve as a vital part of their upcoming community events. They also say the Community Service Unit is a valuable part of the agency’s fleet and has already shown great benefits; the best being no cost to the tax payer.

The Caring For Kids Day saw over 1000 participants with many youngsters receiving goodies and information on safety and health. One highlight was a chance to climb into the cab of a Walton Fire-Rescue truck and honk the horn. Kids also got a chance to see the Crash Test Dummies Vince and Larry, experience what it feels like to try and walk a straight line when your impaired, play games with 4-H, Boy and Girl Scouts, Boys & Girls Club, the Walton Library System, Health Department, local businesses and much more. The DeFuniak Springs Police fingerprinted 150 children and gave their parents the information on an id card. Free hot dogs and hamburgers cooked by the Liberty Fire Department on their fire engine grill fed the attendees at the second annual event.

Annual Letter Carrier Food Drive Deemed a Success, But Less

A lot of food was collected and a lot of people will be helped, but the total amount collected was estimated to be about half of the previous year. The annual Letter Carrier’s Food Drive was held Saturday in Walton and Okaloosa Counties. This is where people place bags with canned and dry goods in or on their mailboxes and as the letter carriers make their routs, the food is picked up and distributed at local food banks.

Berth Hood, with the Tri-County Community Center Canning Center, says the amount collected was about half of the previous year. Hood feels the lower amount is due to the same problem many food banks and charities are facing, a downturn in giving due to uncertainty in the economy.

Hood says she appreciates everyone who gave and those volunteers who assisted with unloading and storing the food. Of course the letter carriers are the ones who take the extra time, loading their vehicles with the food. Tri-County, COPE Center and Caring and Sharing in DeFuniak Springs were the main recipients.

Pictures of both events are on our website, http://www.wzep1460.com and click on the News Center link.