Thursday, January 7, 2021 Vol. 120, No. 1 u One Section 50 ...

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021, PAGE 1GADSDEN COUNTY TIMES

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Thursday, January 7, 2021 Vol. 120, No. 1 u One Section 50¢

City of Quincy responds to discrimination lawsuit

By ERIN HILLThe Gadsden County Times

During the week-end, the Gadsden County Sheriff’s Of-fice was dealt another deadly blow by Co-Vid-19.

Deputy Brian Fai-son, 51, succumbed to his battle with the Coronavirus.

Faison is the sec-ond GCSO employee to die from compli-cations caused Cov-id-19.

Severia Frank-lin, who was a front desk receptionist at the sheriff’s office for more than seven years, died from com-plications caused by the virus in August.

In a press release, Sheriff Morris A. Young said he, and the entire department, is shaken by Faison’s death, He says Faison was firmly entrenched in the community he so proudly served dur-ing his 26-year tenure

as a Gadsden County Sheriff’s Deputy.

“On behalf of The Gadsden County Sheriff’s Office, I pray for understanding for the bereaved as I extend our heart-felt condolences to the family of Deputy Brian Faison,” Young said. “And for all of those closest to Bri-an, just know that his GCSO family inher-ently shares this bur-den of sorrow because he was our brother-

of-the-badge.” Gadsden County

Board of County Com-mission Chairperson Brenda Holt, who rep-resents District 4 also issued a statement following Faison’s death.

“Today, we mourn the death of Gads-den County Sheriff’s Deputy Brian Faison. All Gadsden County law enforcement and first responders stand beside Brian’s fam-ily, friends, and co-

workers at the Gads-den County Sheriff’s Office and former co-workers at the Chatta-hoochee and Havana police departments,” Holt said.

As a patrol deputy, Holt said that Faison positively impacted multiple communities in Gadsden Coun-ty for 26 years. She called him a dedicated and honorable pub-lic servant who made communities in Gads-den County safer. Fai-

son embodied the ser-vice mindset and he always had a smile on his face, Holt said.

“The Gadsden County Board of County Commission-ers’ thoughts and prayers are with Dep-uty Faison’s family, fellow deputies, and friends,” Holt said.

Faison is the 60th person in Gadsden County who has died due to complications caused by the novel

GADSDEN COUNTY

Turn to Page 3

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By ERIN HILL

The Gadsden County Time

On Tuesday, the City of Quincy issued a press release in response to a discrimination lawsuit filed against the City.

The press release also referred to an article in the Dec. 8 edition of the Times, which reported on the lawsuit, which was filed on

behalf of former City of Quincy employee Linda Ortega.

“This article, unknowingly, left out critical information, especially concerning the fake claim involv-ing Former Mayor Keith Dowdell,” the press release states.

However, a follow-up article was published in the Dec. 17 edition of the Times, where it was reported that City Attorney Gary Roberts,

had filed a motion to dismiss the case on Dec. 8.

McLean said he was not aware a follow-up article had been pub-lished.

In April, Ortega filed a com-plaint with the Florida Commis-sion on Human Relations (FCHR) alleging that Gloria Woodard, a city employee, had discriminated against her because of her eth-

nicity. She also stated that Com-missioner Keith Dowdell, who was the mayor at the time, retaliated against her for rejecting his sexu-al advances.

Ortega served the City her April 27, 2020 notice of complaint of dis-crimination.

In October, the FCHR issued a notice of determination, which

City attorney says claims made against Commissioner Keith Dowdell are “fake”

By ERIN HILL

The Gadsden County Times

More than 500 Gadsden County senior citizens received the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine last week.

Just after noon on Thursday, cars were lined up from the Gadsden Senior Services Center, where the shots were administered, down LaSalle Lefall Drive, across Strong Road, into the Jessie

Furlow Medical Center’s parking lot.Gadsden County Board of County Commission

Chairperson Brenda Holt, was among those se-nior citizens who received the vaccine.

“I feel great, I came back home and went right back to work,” Holt said during an interview with the Times on Monday evening. “Encourage every one to get the vaccine, if the opportunity presents itself.

She also emphasized the importance of people

Special to The Times

CHATTAHOOCHEE – The City of Chat-tahoochee will lower electric bills for cus-tomers in January in an effort to maintain competitive rates and to invest in utility in-frastructure.

On Dec. 1, 2020, the city council ap-proved a rate adjustment that will decrease bills of typical residential customers by nearly 4%. Beginning Jan. 11, a customer using 1,000-kilowatt hours will pay approx-imately $4.40 less per month.

The rate adjustment is a result of a new wholesale power contract with Orlando Util-ities Commission. The agreement will help make the city more competitive among Flor-ida’s utilities and enable the city to enhance the reliability of its electric system.

“We understand people are facing finan-cial challenges and need to save as much money as possible,” said Robert Presnell, Chattahoochee city manager. “We’re excited to pass on the savings from the lower power costs to our customers, so they can keep much-needed money in their pockets.”

Customers should expect to see the rate adjustment in their bills due March 10.

Sheriff’s deputy dies from Covid-19

Bethany Lartigue checks over paper work, while Fredrika Hobbs with the Department of Health, prepares

to administer a COVID-19/ vaccine.

Gadsden Board of County Commissioners Chair Brenda Holt receives the Covid-19 vaccine.

City to discount utilities for customers

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

Deputy Brian Faison is the second Gadsden County Sherif ’s Oi ce employee to die due to complications

PHOTO BY ERIN HILL

Turn to Page 3

StaɈ Report


The Florida Department of Health in Gadsden County will administer 200 Mod-erna vaccines per week to residents who are 65 years and older.

For more information, or to register, call (850) 329-0685.

Operating hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

200 Covid-19

vaccines on the

way weekly

CITY OF CHATTAHOOCHEE

Seniors need to register for shots

GADSDEN COUNTY TIMES

PAGE 2, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021 WWW.GADCOTIMES.COM

to become a Big Bend Hospice Volunteer

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AmeriCorps Volunteering opportunities also available. Contact Taylor Casper at (850) 850-671-6037 or [email protected].

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BIGBENDHOSPICE

OBITUARIES

Marva Ann Alls, 57, transitioned on Sat-urday, Dec. 26, 2020. Funeral service (with Cvoid-19 observance) will be 1 p.m. EST, Sat-urday, Jan. 9, 2021, at the Old West Florida En-richment Center, 2344 Lake Bradford Road, Tal-lahassee, 32310.

Public Viewing will be Friday Jan. 8, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Reed and Hall Mortuary in Quincy.

Marva is preceded in death by her mother, Dollie Campbell-Alls; sis-ters: Annie Dorris Alls and Linda Kay Alls; and brothers: Mitchell Alls and Joe Louis Alls.

She is survived by her father: Bishop Marvin Alls; four sons: Jarvis Alls (Montrieal), Zander Lanier, Broderick Alls, and Terrell Faulk; four sisters: Erma Fryson (Charlie), Isabella Du-bose (Dennis), Angela Alls, and Janella Hall (James); one brother: Charles Alls (Betsey); six grandchildren along with a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Please have floral ar-rangements delivered to Reed & Hall Mortuary on Friday, Jan. 8, 2021

Services entrusted toReed & Hall Mortuary

Corp.

Mattie Mae Cooper

Mattie Mae Cooper, 78, of Quincy, Florida, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2020 at River Chase Health and Reha-bilitation Center, Quincy.

Services Entrusted to:

Reed & Hall Mortuary Corp, 116 West Jefferson Street, Quincy in Quincy.

Betty Lou Cost

Betty Lou Cost (Pea-cock), 93, of Quincy, died on Dec. 29, 2020 in Char-lottesville, Va., where she had recently moved to be near her daughter.

She was born Sept. 13, 1927 in Quincy to the late Thomas Jay and Jessie Yon Peacock.

On Jan. 1, 1951 she married Charles William (Billy) Cost and they had nearly 64 happy years to-gether before his death in 2014. In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by her son, William Eugene Cost, in Febru-ary 2020; her broth-ers, TJ Peacock, Jr. and Billy Yon Peacock; sis-ters, Sara Sakshaug and Helen Stokes; nephews, Tommy Peacock and Yon Peacock; and one niece, Allison Peacock.

She is survived by her daughter, Kay C. Parker and her husband, Da-vis, of Charlottesville, Va.; and her grandchil-dren, Davis and Thomp-son Parker, Rachel Cost Smith and Jason Pappas (Michelle); and great-grandchildren, Jase and Broxton Pappas and Rylee Trujillo. In addi-tion, she is survived by devoted nieces, Dianne Ruff (Mike) and Jan Pea-cock; and a host of other relatives.

Betty Lou was the ma-triarch of the Peacock clan, an avid reader of history and non-fiction and a true Southern Lady.

Due to Covid-19 re-strictions a memorial service will be held in Quincy at a later date when it is safe to gather together.

Memorial contribu-tions may be made to Centenary United Meth-odist Church of Quin-cy, 206 North Madison Street, Quincy, Fla.

32351.Condolences may be

sent to the family at www.hillandwood.com.

Services entrusted toHill & Wood Funeral

Home – Greene Chapel in Ruckersville, Va.

Mr. Edward E. Dixon, Jr. 67, of Quincy, depart-ed this life on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020 in Gaines-ville. He leaves to cher-ish his precious memo-ries his mother, Maybell Palmer Holley, Quincy; five brothers, Sam Palm-er (Paula), Floyd Banks, Regimond Bouie, all of Quincy; Thaddeus Bell (Sheryl), Duleth, Ga., Ed Dixon, Quincy; one sister, Linda Massey (Frankie), Quincy. Visita-tion will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Jan. 8, at the Mortuary. A cel-ebration of life will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9, 2021 at Sunnyvale Cem-etery in Quincy. Williams Funeral Home of Quincy, will be providing the ser-vice for the Dixon family.

Brian Faison, 51, of Gretna, departed this earthly life, Saturday, January 2, 2021 in Tal-lahassee.

A native of Gadsden

County, he served as a Gadsden County depu-ty sheriff for 26 years. He was a member of St James A.M.E. Church. Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 8 at Bradwell Mortuary in Quincy. Viewing will be from 3 p.m to 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7, at Bradwell Mortuary.

Survivors include his wife, Tamyar Kelly-Fai-son, Gretna; daughters, Joy Weaver, Spanish Fort, Ala. and Jailyn Faison, Tallahassee; sis-ters, Mashelle Hawkins, Stephanie Faison, and Alynysa Bisbee (Michael); brother, Shannon Faison (Dana); stepson, Jaquise Donaldson, Sr.; step-daughters, Shi’Kerria Esland and Shar’Keydra Esland; and grandson, Jaquise Donaldson, Jr.

Bradwell Funeral Home in Quincy will be providing the services for the Faison family.

Mr. Laffette Frison Jr., 76, relocated from New Hempstead, N.Y back to Quincy in 2018, depart-ed this life on Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. He leaves to cherish his precious memories: a daughter Tracey Henry, Pomona, N.Y. and two sons, Kev-in Frison, Pomona, N.Y. and Andrew Frison, Simi Valley, Calif., five sisters, Edie Frison, Tallahassee, Barbara Green (Fred), Quincy, Mary Smith, Sacramento, Calif., Ruth McQueen (Jerry) and Daisy James, both of Quincy; three brothers, Arthur Frison, Tallahas-

see, Earnest Frison (She-litha), Gretna, Larry Fri-son (Ingrid), Heidelberg, Germany, and a host of nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 8, 2021 from 3pm - 6pm at the Mortuary. A Celebration of life will be held on Sat-urday, January 9, 2021 at 1:00pm at Sunnyvale Cemetery in Quincy, FL. Williams Funeral Home of Quincy, Florida will be providing the services for the Frison family.

Traci Denise Knight

Traci Denise Knight, 34, of Quincy, passed away on Friday, January 1, at Tallahassee Memo-rial Healthcare.Services Entrusted to: Reed & Hall Mortuary Corp. in Quincy.

HAVANA PUBLIC LIBRARY

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BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

EXPRESS SERVICES

Marva Ann Alls

Edward E. Dixon

LaɈ ette Frison

Brian Faison


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PUBLIC NOTICESFor our readers’ convenience, The Gadsden County Times provides

this Public Notice Section for all Public Notices not published in the

Legal Notice section of the newspaper.

CityFrom Front Page

said it found no rea-sonable cause to be-lieve that an unlawful practice occurred.

On Nov. 23, a law-suit was filed in Gads-den Circuit Court, on Ortega’s behalf.

There is a “Note to File” in Ortega’s per-sonnel file, which is dated Aug. 9, 2018.

It begins by stat-ing, “Linda Ortega informed me that on Friday, July 27 around 4:09 p.m. she met with Jack McLean, City Manag-er, about a situation that occurred earlier that day with Gloria Woodard.”

According to the note, “Woodard had to leave and asked Dona Reeves to hold on to the Parks and Recreations employ-

ees’ checks. Wood-ard told Reeves to give the checks to the employees if they came to pick them up. When Ortega got back to her desk, Reeves gave Orte-ga the checks and told her that since she does payroll, she should distrib-ute the checks, not her (Reeves). Wood-ard returned and asked Reeves for the checks. Reeves told Woodard that Ortega had the checks. Af-ter Reeves left the office area, Wood-ard allegedly went to Ortega requesting the checks, and snatched them out of Ortega’s hands. Ortega told her she did payroll, and according to the note, Woodard re-sponded, “And OK, but checks were not

left with you.”McLean called Van

Perkins, who works in his office, and Woodard into his of-fice while Ortega was having a meeting with him. McLean voiced his concerns about the way the situation came about, and gave Perkins and Woodard a chance to explain.

According to the note in Ortega’s file, “Gloria Woodard got loud in the manager’s office saying that Lin-da was pits off with her about the sum-mer student being in her area when Linda Ortega got in late one day.”

Ortega said the allegation was not true. McLean advised Woodard, Ortega and Perkins to resolve the issues among each other.

“Jack McLean did not address the is-sue as a high priority

due to Linda Ortega feeling that she was being bullied. Ortega expressed that she felt the meeting was not productive, and that she felt that she was being discrimi-nated against.

There is no note of the incident in Wood-ard’s personnel file, nor any note of any other incidents con-cerning Ortega.

Although the city’s

press release did state that Ortega’s allegations made against Dowdell were “fake,” the press re-lease did not address the claims made against Woodard.

A hearing has been set for March 2 before Circuit Judge David Frank.

Ortega’s attorney Kim Winegardner has not responded to phone calls or emails.

Roberts said Orte-ga met with city of-ficials several times, but never mentioned any inappropriate be-havior from Dowdell.

Roberts also said Ortega should not be able to file a lawsuit because the FCHR did not give her a “right to sue letter” and she did not ap-peal the FCHR’s de-cision within the 35-day time period.

The Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners will virtually hold and broadcast their bi┽monthly regular meeting and public hearings on Tuesday┸ January なひ┸ にどにな┸ at は┺どど p┻m┻ Those wishing to provide public testimony for the meeting and public hearings will be able to do so by attending the meeting┻ Only one member of the public will be allowed in the Chambers at a time┻ Due to the restrictions on gatherings as a result of the COVID┽なひ virus┸ this meeting may be viewed by accessing the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners Facebook Page┸ www┻facebook┻com【GadsdenCountyBOCC┻ Virtual meeting access details will be posted to the Gadsden County website┸ ┻ Anyone wishing to speak on agenda items or non┽ぱのど┽ぱばの┽ぱはばな or at before attending the meeting and will be asked to follow the Gadsden County Public Meetings Citizens Access Guidelines┻ Public comment for Commission meetings can be submitted via email to until ぬ┺どど p┻m┻ on Tuesday┸ January なひ┸ にどにな┻ Comments submitted after the deadline but prior to the that Commissioners and staff will have adequate time to review comments prior to the meeting┻ The proposed agenda will include the following scheduled Public Hearings┺CITIZEN�S GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING BILL OF RIGHTS (LDR

2020-02) ‒ Consideration of Ordinance にどにど┽どどの to approve the amendment of Section ばどどな┻な┸ The Citizens Growth Management and Planning Bill of Rights and consideration of amendments to Subsection なぬどは┸ Community Meeting to the Land Development Code as follows┺AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF

GADSDEN COUNTY, FLORIDA AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT

CODE BY AMENDING SECTION 7001.1, THE CITIZENS GROWTH

MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING BILL OF RIGHTS IN CHAPTER

7, DEVELOPMENT ORDERS, DEVELOPMENT PERMITS, AND

DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS; AND CONSIDERATION OF AMENDMENTS

TO CHAPTER 1, ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT; AND

PROVIDING FOR REPEAL, SEVERABILITY, INCLUSION IN THE GADSDEN

COUNTY LAND DEVELOPMENT CODE, MODIFICATIONS THAT MAY

ARISE FROM CONSIDERATION AT PUBLIC HEARING, AND CORRECTION

OF SCRIVENER�S ERRORS; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.County Planning Division┸ なB E┻ Jefferson St┻┸ Quincy┸ Florida┸ and on the County website at ┻If a person decides to appeal any decision by the Board of County Commissioners with respect to any matter considered at such public meeting┸ he【she will need a record of the proceedings┸ and for such purpose┸ he【she may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made┸ which record includes testimony and evidence to which the appeal is to be heard┻ If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to

participate in this meeting, you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision

of certain assistance. Persons needing assistance in obtaining any information

from the County must contact the Gadsden County Public Information by calling

850-875-8671 or emailing at least 24 hours prior

to the meeting. January ば┸ にどにな ADおZLTM

MEETING NOTICE

Notice of Public MeetingRE: Local Mitigation Strategy (LMS)

Planning Committee to Meet via Zoom MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2021

TIME: 11 AMPLACE: Zoom Webinar

LEGAL NOTICE:

he Gadsden County LMS Planning Committee/Work Group will meet at 11 AM on Monday January 18, 2021, via zoom webinar. he County en-courages any interested citizens and business owners to attend and pro-vide input. he Committee guides the preparation of the Gadsden County LMS, which serves as a plan to reduce the community’s long-term risk for protecting people and property from the afects of natural disasters and to build a safer and stronger community.

Please contact the Gadsden County Emergency Management Department at: (850) 627-9233 for more informa-tion. January 7, 2021 AD#ZLVB

Gadsden Arts Center presents America the BeautifulSpecial to The Times

The Gadsden Arts Center & Museum is pleased to present its first major of 2021, America the Beauti-ful: the Monumental Landscapes of Clyde Butcher, on view Jan. 15 to April 3 in all three of the mu-seum’s first floor gal-leries.

Visit the exhibition to travel through the most pristine land-scapes in the Unit-ed States through Butcher’s monumen-tal photographs, from the Redwood forests of California to the Everglades swamps of Florida.

Clyde Butcher is a nationally acclaimed landscape photog-

rapher whose work documents pristine and untarnished lands across the United States.

Deeply committed to his artistic pro-cess, Butcher carries large-format camera gear that can weigh up to 120 pounds as he crosses difficult terrain and stands in chest-deep water for hours. Aware of wild-life that make these territories home, Butcher goes above and beyond to deliv-er the perfect photo-graph.

Butcher promotes environmental con-servation through his work, and through-out his career has completed six Public Broadcasting pro-

grams on Florida’s environment, three of them award winning documentaries.

This exhibition is brought to you by Trulieve, present-ed by Florida State University College of Medicine and May Nursery, and spon-sored by Russell Rainey DMD, and Talquin Electric.

Three special on-line presentations will accompany America the Beauti-ful. On Wednesday Feb. 10, scholar Vic-toria Machado will present Sacred Wa-ters, a talk about ef-forts to restore Flori-da’s waterways.

On Feb. 25, Steven Noll, PhD, will share Florida Water Sto-

ries, talking about Florida’s long and difficult relationship with water.

On March 11 at 1 p.m., join Butcher for an online question and answer conver-sation.

Register for these online events, spon-sored in part by Flor-ida Humanities, at www.gadsdenarts.org.

Another new, ex-citing offering is the Dean Gioia: Haunted exhibition, opening in the Munroe Fam-ily Community Gal-lery. This exhibition presents some of Dean Gioia’s most re-cent work, capturing light and how it plays over the nooks and crannies of everyday

life, which results in sumptuous paintings filled with an ethe-real presence. During your visit, you will also enjoy the first Gadsden Arts Art-ists Guild exhibition of the year, present-ing quality work by many of the groups sixty members, and you can shop fine art and craft by ninety artists in the Fletcher Museum Shop.

Gadsden Arts is open to the public Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For visitor and staff safety, masks are required, social distancing and disin-fecting protocols re-main in place, and a maximum of 20 visi-tors will be admitted

into the museum at a time. Reservations are not required. Pro-fessional staff can be reached by call-ing (850) 875-4866 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Exhibition admis-sion is free for mem-bers and children ages 17 and under, and $5 for nonmem-ber adults; Fletcher museum Shop ad-mission is free for ev-eryone. Complimen-tary Art @ Home Kits are also available for any family – drop in and ask for one at Visitor Services! Join Gadsden Arts to earn free exhibition ad-mission and museum shop discounts year round at www.gads-denarts.org/engage.

From Front Page

wearing masks, and washing their hands.

Holt received back-lash on the BOCC’s Facebook.

Some residents questioned why she received the vaccine when only the elderly, and first responders were supposed to re-ceive it first. Holt said many people didn’t know that she was over the age of 65. She also said family mem-bers advised her to not take the vaccine.

“If you’re going be a leader in the county you have to lead by ex-

ample,” Holt said.Holt said she hopes

the governor and other state officials will get more vaccines out to the small counties.

Sheryl Hinson of Quincy also received the vaccine last Thurs-day.

Feels fine, every-thing I hear on the news it gets bad after the second dose.

Sheryl Hinson of Quincy also received the vaccine last Thurs-day.

“I feel fine,” Hinson said. ”From everything

I hear on the news, it gets bad after the sec-ond dose.”

Hinson said al-though the lines were long, they moved quickly and in an orga-nized manner.

“There was none of the chaos that is being reported at other sites across the state and nation by the news me-dia,” Hinson.

Those who have re-ceived the first half of the Covid-19 vaccine have to take the sec-ond dose in approxi-mately four weeks.

Vaccine

From Front Page

caused by the novel coronavirus since March.

As of Tuesday, 315 new cases among res-idents had been re-ported since Dec. 29.

Overall, 4,182 resi-dents have tested positive for Covid-19 since march, and 297 residents have been hospitalized with complications related to the virus.

DOH conducts Co-vid-19 tests at Capital Regional Medical Cen-ter in Quincy from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

CVS in Quincy also offers self-testing for those who are symp-tomatic.

Deputy



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General Manager | William Snowden

Staff Writer | Erin Hill

Member of the Florida Press Association


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I have told you of the dark days of WWII and how much it

affected the feelings people had about their loved ones at Christ-mas. There was no shortage of prayers for the members of their family fighting and trav-eling. There was fear in the hearts of the adults that the war would come to America, and it showed in their faces and sad eyes.

I have not felt those dark days again until this Christmas season. Before the quarantine when I went into a few stores to Christmas shop, there were very few smiling eyes look-ing back at me. People treated each other like they were typhoid Mary instead of their neigh-bor and felt masks were a good excuse not to talk to each other. I found myself saying “Merry Christmas” a lot more than usual to try to cheer folks up. Some did not answer me.

There was no way that we could have the gathering of the clan this year. We were in quarantine for Covid. I now have a daughter, granddaughter, and 2 grandsons that have the virus and my daughter had pneumonia. Thank God they are all getting better now. If you have to be quarantined just

think of it as more quiet time you have been giv-en to think, read, and work on your projects. Weren’t we wishing for a little more of this a short time ago when our lives were so hectic?

On Christmas Eve we rented a movie. That is a far cry from the rol-licking Christmas Eve we always have had but for once it was nice not having all the respon-sibility of feeding the multitudes and trying to find all the little lost parts from the games and toys. Until now I don’t think I have ever used the words “Relax” and “Christmas Eve” in the same sentence. I will still take the house being full of family and friends and the noise level being 100.

None of my grand-children or great grand-children could come. It has been a long time since there were no little ones running around

on Christmas Eve and enjoying the fireworks. We did get another Christmas surprise this year. We had a Zoom call with the family on Christmas afternoon and my granddaughter that is in Africa kept showing us their stock-ings hanging above the fireplace. There are four of them and we realized that five stocking were hung. We asked her if one was hung for the new dog they had got-ten this year and she smiled and said “No”. Then someone shouted, “She’s pregnant”. What a wonderful Christmas gift. The beginning of a new life.

These are hard times for everyone. There are those who have lost loved ones and their hearts are heavy. Some are living in fear that they will get sick and others are worried about having enough money. If we stop and think about whose Birthday we are celebrating, we will be comforted in the knowledge that He cares for us. Happy New Year and God Bless us everyone.

Till next time keep on the sunny side.

Contact Gwynn

Peacock Kidd at

Gwynn0720@comcast.

net.

h ese are the times that try men’s souls

GWYNN PEACOCK KIDD

Keep up with the Times. h e Gadsden County Times

h e origin of Watch Night

OPINIONS INVITED

n The opinions expressed in Gadsden County Times editorials are the opinions of the newspa-per.n Viewpoints depicted in political cartoons, col-umns or letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the editorial board.n Individuals are invited to express their opinions in a letter to the editor.n All letters must be signed and include a phone number, address and hometown, including let-ters sent via email at [email protected]. Phone numbers and street addresses will not be printed or given out. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, libel, fairness and good taste.n Letters to the editor must be no longer than 400 words, and writers will be limited to two let-ters per month.

By LAYNE SMITH

Sunday, Nov. 22,

2020, was the 57th

anniversary of Presi-

dent Kennedy’s as-

sassination. Judge

Smith revisits the

case in a series. Here

is Part 2.

When he lived in Russia, Lee Harvey Oswald worked as a laborer making cheap transistor ra-dios. Ever impulsive, he married a Rus-sian woman named Marina a month after the two met. They struggled to com-municate because neither had a rudi-mentary command of the other’s na-tive tongue. To com-pound their marital problems, Oswald abused her.

Never one to be satisf ied, Oswald quickly tired of life

in the Soviet Union. Eventually, he de-nied renouncing his citizenship, and the United States al-lowed him to return stateside.

Oswald, his preg-nant wife, and their i n f an t daugh t e r moved to the United States in June of 1962. Soon after he returned, he bought a revolver, an Italian military rifle, and a rifle scope from a mail-order house us-ing an alias.

Lacking skills and a work ethic, he had difficulty finding and keeping a job. Un-able to afford a car, Oswald lived alone at a boarding house near his workplace on weekdays, while his family lived full-time with a Russian couple at their home. He joined them on the weekends. He kept his revolver at the boarding house and stored his army rifle, wrapped in a blanket, in the Rus-sian couple’s garage.

In October of 1963, Oswald got a job fill-ing book orders at the Texas School Book Depos i tory

building. The week before the assassina-tion, the President’s staff announced his travel schedule and motorcade route. By sheer coincidence, the President’s lim-ousine would drive t h r o u g h D e a l e y Plaza, by Oswald’s wo rkp l a c e . Th i s route made sense, given the times and locations of JFK’s speaking engage-ments and Dallas’ traffic pattern.

Now, let’s consider Oswald’s unusual conduct during the 18 hours before the assassination. He broke his routine and spent a Thurs-day night with his wife and daughters. Oswald’s marriage was in trouble, and he tried to recon-cile. Perhaps if Ma-rina had not rebuffed him, history might have read differently.

Oswald was as tight with a dollar as the bark on a tree, and even though he was a lousy hus-band, he always wore his wedding ring. That night he left Marina the princely sum of $170 and

his wedding ring on her bedroom dress-er. Oswald kept less than $20, knowing he would have little use for money again.

Before dawn on Nov. 22, 1963, Os-wald removed his rifle and wrapped it in brown paper with tape. Afterward, he walked the package over to a co-worker’s home and persuaded him to drive them into work extra-ear-ly. When asked what he was carrying, Os-wald lied, explain-ing he had curtain rods for his boarding house room. When they arrived at work, he moved the con-cealed weapon into the building.

Next, we will cover Oswald’s workday and other activities on Nov. 22, 1963.

The Honorable J.

Layne Smith is a Cir-

cuit Judge and au-

thor of “Civics, Law,

and Justice – How

We Became U.S.”

Send your questions

to askjudgesmith@

gmail.com.

h e assassination of JFK – Part 2

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope everyone has had a safe holiday season.

While in the mid-dle of a pandemic I’m sure some family tra-ditions were hard to maintain and had to be modified. One of my traditions that I missed was attending Watch Night Service.

I remember in my younger years going to Watch Night Ser-vice. It was great see-ing family and friends share their testimo-

nies from the year as we enter into the new year. Once the ball dropped it was time to give hugs and eat.

Once I switched to a multi-cultural church I realized it wasn’t common for everyone.

There was no men-tion of Watch Night Service. It wasn’t an issue, just an obser-vation. It made me re-search the history of Watch Night Service to better understand why only predomi-nantly black churches hosted Watch Night Service.

How and when did the watch night ser-vice begin?

Watch Night Ser-vice was also called Freedom’s Eve to cel-ebrate the Emanci-pationProclamation which was enacted Jan. 1, 1863.

According to Bri-tannica Watch night can possibly be traced back to Moravian

churches hosting a vigil for congregants to reflect upon the past year and to con-template on the up-coming year.

It became sig-nificant for African-American’s on Dec. 31, 1862 as slaves in the Confederate states gathered in churches and homes, staying up all night, awaiting President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipa-tion Proclamation to go into effect.

More than 150 years later and Watch Night services are holding on strong. Some churches held services online.

I look forward to when I can attend Watch Night Service in-person again.

Breanna Rittman

is a staff writer for

the Gadsden County

Times. She can be

reached at brittman@

gadcotimes.com.

BREANNA RITTMAN


WWW.GADCOTIMES.COM


Sports

By MARJ LAW

You go t a new handgun for Christ-mas! And now, money is tight because you’ve spent a lot recently. How are you going to become familiar with your new Sig, and where will you shoot it?

The Wakulla Coun-ty Sheri f f ’s Off ice range costs only $75/year for you and your spouse and children under 18. That’s $75 for an entire year, and all of you can go as often as you like Tuesdays through Saturdays. It’s very reasonable, but still, money is tight.

So you’ve decided to make a range in the backyard. Since you have about 20 acres, you’re quite confident that you can shoot there without endan-gering any of your ne ighbors . Check to see how far your handgun will shoot. 300 feet is safe for most handguns.

Always carry your gun to your range in its case and not load-ed.

What should you be considering to make your shooting practice safe?

First, you’ll need to find a safe direction to shoot away from any neighbors. Preferably, you could be able to create a mound of dirt a couple feet above, and to the right and left of your targets. You can place your targets in front of the mound. Bullets will pass through paper and bury themselves into the sand.

I f you ’ r e us ing metal targets, plan to shoot at least 20 feet or more away from the targets so that you won’t be hurt by any

possible ricochets. Take a tape measure and a spray can and mark off your 20 feet.

I know you’ve read your manual. Going out for the first time, it’s a great idea to bring along an ex-perienced friend to help you learn about shooting and safety. Youtube has a lot of helpful learning-to-shoot videos, too. Arm yourself with as much information as you can.

Treat all guns as though they are load-ed. It’s amazing how often people forget to completely unload their guns when they are done shooting. Yes, they do! There-fore, treat every gun as if it’s loaded. Always keep the muzzle of the gun pointed away from people. Keep the barrel pointed down range. Rick, a friend of ours, suggests that you think of your gun as a laser. You would never point a laser at anyone.

Keep your finger off the trigger until the range is “hot” and you are ready to shoot.

Everyone on your range needs to know when the range is “hot” and when it is “cold.”

A “hot” range is when you can touch your gun and your rounds and when you can load and shoot. A “cold” range is when you cannot touch your gun or rounds at all. This is a great safety feature because people put up their targets when the range is cold. There is no danger that they will be harmed by any shooting because no-body can touch his gun when the range is cold.

Now that you have your mound built and your targets up, re-member to put on eye and ear protection. This is mandatory at almost every range. You can make it man-datory at your range, too. Since it’s your gun and your range, anyone with you is your responsibility. They will need eye

and ear protection as well. Spraypaint a line a few feet behind you to give them a safe place to stand. Hot casings will shoot out from semi-automatic handguns. Make cer-tain people are always a safe distance behind any shooter. Keep an eye out for dogs or other animals that might try to dart in front of you.

Double check your manual and your rounds to make sure you have the correct rounds for your gun. 9mm rounds and 40 caliber rounds look very similar. The cal-iber of each round is generally stamped into the back of the casing.

If you’re shooting a semi-automatic hand-

gun, make sure your thumbs are always on the same side of the frame when you are shooting. If you criss-cross them across the back of the gun, the slide could re-tract rapidly and rip through that sensi-tive webbing between your index finger and thumb. Ouch.

A new handgun requires about 200 or more rounds shot through it before it is considered “broken-in.” A new shooter needs this and much more practice. Shoot at the near target dis-tance of about 20 feet until you are com-fortable with the gun and hitting the target more often than not. When you’re doing pretty well, then move

back from the tar-get and shoot some more. Make sure all the people who are with you still have on their “eyes” and “ears” and are standing well behind you. Remind them when the range is hot and when it is cold, so everyone stays familiar with these terms.

Is this gun going to be your “concealed carry” gun? If so, then decide what holster you will be using. Practice drawing from it. Then practice some more so you can rely on muscle memory.

Does your gun have a safety? If it does, your practice needs to include thumbing the safety off when shoot-ing, and back on when your gun is in its hol-

ster. You may want to consider having a gun without a safety if you’re afraid you might not remember to take it off in time of need.

This is an awful lot to remember when you go out shooting on your own range. Lots of people in this area are familiar with handguns and how to shoot safely, so asking someone you trust to be with you on your first few times out will make you feel more confident and safe.

Marj Law is the for-

mer director of Keep

Wakulla County Beau-

tiful who has become

an avid shooter in

retirement.

HOME ON THE RANGE

Newbie and backyard shooting

Stacy Lewis is an expert on metal shafts.

After all, she has one in her back.

As a young teen with scoliosis, Stacy underwent a complex, spine-

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in her back. After long months of rigorous therapy, Stacy showed

the world what talent, determination, and advanced orthopaedic

surgery can accomplish.

Check out Stacy’s amazing path to the number one women’s ranking

– and ind your own inspiration at ANationInMotion.org.

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4074-0114 GCT Wiley Gillam2020-CA-483 Notice of Action

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUITIN AND FOR GADSDEN COUNTY, FLORIDA

CASE NO.: 2020-CA-483THREE MUSKETEERS INVESTMENTS, LLC, A FLORIDA LIMITED LIABIL-ITY COMPANY,

Petitioner,vs.WILEY GILLAM (a/k/a WILLEY GILLIAM) and HARRIETT JONES GILLAM (a/k/a HARRIETT JONES GILLIAM), his wife, ET AL

Defendants.NOTICE OF ACTION

To: the Defendants, WILEY GILLAM (a/k/a WILLEY GILLIAM) and HARRIETT JONES GILLAM (a/k/a HARRIETT JONES GILLIAM), his wife, MICHELLE BAITY a/k/a SHALANDA MICHELLE BAITY, MI-

CHELLE ELAINE BROWN BAKER SANTORA, MARY E. WRIGHT BANKS, WALTER LEE EMERSON BELLAMY, LORETTA “LORI” ANN BELLAMY, GWENDOLYN BELLAMY, SPENCER JAMES BELLAMY, CALVIN BLACK, CARRIE BLACK, LEE C. BLACK, PAUL BLACK, SR., PAUL BLACK, JR., THOMAS R. BLACK, BEN BOSTIC, JOHN BOSTIC, SR. JOHN BOSTIC, JR., LELA MAE BOSTIC, WILLIE LEE BOSTIC, DEB-ORAH CANNADY BOSTIC, AMOS BOSTIC, MINNIE SHAW GILLAM BOSTIC, PRESTER BOSTIC, SR., PRESTER BOSTIC, JR., ROBERT BOSTIC, TIMOTHY BRADWELL, ADRIAN LYNETTE BROWN, ANDREW BROWN, ARRON DEVON BROWN, DORETHA HOLLOMOAN BROWN, GENE BROWN, JENNIFER DENISE BROWN, MARY GIL-LIAM THOMAS BROWN, MARCUS ALEXANDER BROWN, RUTH B. BROWN, IRENE BROWN BROWNE, ANNIE PEARL BRYANT, VALEN-CIA DEVON RICHARDSON BRYANT, LILLIE MAE CLARK, WANDA RENEA RICHARDSON DAVIS, DORIS EDWARDS, WILLIE MAE FRANKLIN, ARDELLA BOSTIC FRISON, CHARLIE GILLIAM, JAMES GILLIAM, MAEBELL HARRISON (HARRISON), SUSAN MARIE HILL, RENA MAE L. HINTON, TERESA HINTON MCCARGO, VERONICA HINTON, HATTIE B HOGAN, BEATRICE HOPKINS, BOBBY HOPKINS, JESSIE JAMES HOPKINS, RICHARD HOPKINS, DEBORAH JOHN-SON, SHARAZZ JOHNSON, SPURGEON FRANKLIN JOHNSON a/k/a WILLIAM JOHNSON, ERNESTINE K. KELLY, CLARENCE ED-WARD LEE, JR., MARY L. HOPKINS LEE, JAMES LOCKWOOD, MAE OLA M. LOCKWOOD, OLIVER LOCKWOOD, RAYMOND LOCKWOOD, W.C. LOCKWOOD, SARAH MACK, ISABELL D. MCCLAIN, KENNETH LAMAR MCCLOUD, THEODORE MCCLOUD, BETTY JEAN BLACK MCCRAE a/k/a BETTY BLACK MCCARY, EDORA MCGRIFF, DERICK MCKINNON, DARRELL LAMAR RICH-ARDSON, DARRYL RICHARDSON, KELVIN CORNELL RICHARDSON, VALANCER RICHARDSON a/k/a VALENCIA DEVON RICHARD-SON LEWIS, VERDINE RICHARDSON, KARON DENEAN RICHARD-SON, MARY BLACK RIZOR, GLORIA LEE ROBERSON, LUCY MAE BOSTIC SANDERS, MICHELLE ELAINE BROWN SANTORA, LILLA BOSTIC SHAW, OLLIE M. SMITH, LEE THOMAS, LEOLA WALKER, DANNY MIRO WHITE, MINNIE WRIGHT WHITE, TONY M. WHITE, AL-VIN WRIGHT, SR., ALVIN WRIGHT, JR., ELMER WRIGHT, EVA WRIGHT, JEROME WRIGHT, MARY ALICE WRIGHT, MARY LEE WRIGHT, MICHAEL WRIGHT, SHANE WRIGHT, SHANDA LAVERN WRIGHT, and PAULINE BLACK YOUNG, if alive, and if dead, their respective unknown spouses, heirs, devisees, grantees, assigns, lienor, trustees, creditors, and all other parties claiming an inter-est in this action by, through, under, or against any of them, and all other parties claiming by, through, under or against the defendants; and all unknown natural persons if alive, and if dead or not known to be dead or alive, their several and re-spective unknown spouses, heirs, devisees, grantees, assigns, lienors, trustees, and judgment creditors, or other parties claim-ing by, through, or under those unknown natural persons; and the several and respective unknown assigns, successors in in-terest, trustees, or any other person claiming by, through, under or against any corporation or other legal entity; and all claim-ants, persons or parties, natural or corporate, or whose exact legal status is unknown, claiming under any of the above named or described defendants, and all parties having or claiming to have any right, title, or interest in the Estate of WILEY GILLAM (a/k/a WILLEY GILLIAM) and HARRIETT JONES GILLAM (a/k/a HARRIETT JONES GILLIAM) his wife, or the property de-scribed in the First Amended Verified Petition,

YOU ARE NOTIFIED that a Petition for Declaratory Relief seek-ing a Determination of Beneficiaries, and the Reformation of a Legal Description, and for the Partition and Sale of the follow-ing described Real Property located in Gadsden County, Flor-

4078-0114 GCT ( 1/22 sale )B & S Rentals, 651 Industrial Drive, Quincy, FL 32351, will have a sale on Friday, January 22, 2021, at 9:00 A.M. This sale will be on items stored in the estate of Elvina Thomas, unit D45, Shavitris Cloud, unit A3, Bernadette Kelly, unit B11, Jamie Jack-son, units B12, E53, E55, E63, Mikyla Sherman, unit C29, Jaquelia Preston, unit C34, Bridget Jackson, unit D41, Annette Vickers, unit E49, Angela Brown, units F78, F86, for non-payment of rent. All contents are described as household goods. All items will be sold or otherwise disposed of.Published January 7 & 14, 2021.

GADSDEN3 Bedroom , 2 Bath

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$200 Deposit850-545-4767850-627-6056

GREENWOODTERRACE

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TDD HearingImpaired Number:

# 711“62 years of age

or older,handicap/disabled,regardless of age,

with or withoutchildren.”

“This institution is an Equal Opportunity

Provider andEmployer.”

ida:

A portion of the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of Section 25 Township 2 North Range 4 West, Gadsden County, Florida being more particularly described by survey as follows:

A triangular shaped parcel of land lying in the Northeast one quarter of the Northwest one quarter of the Southwest one quar-ter of Section 25, Township 2 North, Range 4 West, Gadsden County, Florida, more particularly described by metes and bounds as follows:

COMMENCE at an iron pipe (found) marking the Northwest cor-ner of said Northeast one quarter of the Northwest one quarter of the Southwest one quarter, said Iron pipe lying on the right of way boundary of a 60 foot access roadway, known as Access Road No. 1 (as called out on the State of Florida Road Depart-ment Right of Way Map, Section No. 50001-2402 (Sheets 4, 12 and 13 of 13) and run;

Thence South 00 degrees 00 minutes 34 seconds West along the Western boundary of said Northeast one quarter of the Northwest one quarter of the Southwest one quarter a distance of 60.00 feet to a point on the Southerly right of way boundary of said Access Road No. 1, for the POINT OF BEGINNING.

From said POINT OF BEGINNING thence South 89 degrees 55 minutes 25 seconds East along said Southerly right of way boundary a distance of 173.95 feet to a point on the Westerly right of way boundary of Pat Thomas Parkway (State Road No. 267 - right of way varies, also said right of way called out on said State Road Map);

Thence South 19 degrees 23 minutes 29 seconds West along said Westerly right of way boundary a distance of 459.36 feet to a point;

Thence South 57 degrees 22 minutes 18 seconds West along said Westerly right of way boundary a distance of 25.54 feet to a point on the Western boundary;

Thence North 00 degrees 00 minutes 34 seconds East (BEARING BASE) along said Western boundary a distance of 447.30 feet to the POINT OF BEGINNING.

Containing 0.98 acres more or less

has been filed against you and you are required to serve a copy of your written defenses, if any, to it on Marion D. Lamb, III, the Plaintiff’s Attorney, whose address is 217 Pinewood Drive, Tallahassee, Florida 32303, on or before January 27, 2021, and to file the original with the Clerk of this Court either before serv-ice on the Plaintiff’s Attorney or immediately thereafter; other-wise a default will be entered against you for the relief de-manded in the Complaint or Petition.

Dated this 11th day of December, 2020.

NICHOLAS THOMAS As Clerk of the Court(COURT SEAL)

BY: Pam K. Carter, As Deputy Clerk

Published December 24, 31, 2020, Jan. 7 & 14, 2021.

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SALOME�S STARS

ARIES (March 21 to April 19) A hectic peri-od begins to wind down. Take time to draw some deep breaths and relax before getting into your next project. A long-absent family member makes contact.

TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) You’re eager to move forward with a new challenge that sud-denly dropped in your lap. But you’d be wise to take this one step at a time to allow new developments to come through.

GEMINI (May 21 to

June 20) You’re almost ready to make a com-mitment. A lingering doubt or two, however, should be resolved be-fore you move ahead. An associate could pro-vide important answers.

CANCER (June 21 to July 22) Caution is still the watchword as you move closer to-ward a decision about a new situation. If you act too fast, you might miss some vital warn-ing signs. Go slowly and stay alert.

LEO (July 23 to August 22) Your new goal looks

promising, and your golden touch does much to enhance its prospects for success. In your pri-vate life, Cupid does his best to make your new relationship special.

VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) That im-patient side of yours is looking to goad you into moving before you’re ready to take that big step. Stay calm and cool. Let things fall into place before you act.

LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) Travel and career are strong in your aspect. Perhaps

your job will take you to someplace exotic. Or you might be setting up meetings with poten-tial clients or employ-ers. Whatever it is, good luck.

SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Part-nerships -- personal or professional -- which began before the new year take on new impor-tance. They also reveal some previously hidden risks. So be warned.

SAGITTARIUS (No-vember 22 to December 21) Your associates are firmly on your side, and

that persistent problem that has caused you to delay some activities should soon be resolved to your satisfaction.

CAPRICORN (De-cember 22 to January 19) Favorable changes continue to dominate, and you should be re-sponding positively as they emerge. Someone wants to become more involved in what you’re doing.

AQUARIUS (Janu-ary 20 to February 18) A friend wants to share a secret that could an-swer some questions

you’ve wondered about for a long time. Mean-while, travel aspects continue to be strong.

PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Stay on your new course despite so-called well-meaning efforts to discourage you. Rely on your deep sense of self-awareness to guide you to do what’s right for you.

YOU BORN THIS WEEK: You have the capacity to meet chal-lenges that others might find overwhelming, and turn them into success-ful ventures.

1. U.S. PRESIDENTS: The poem “O Captain! My Captain!” was written after the death of which president?

2. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the weight of a U.S. quarter?

3. MOVIES: What was the name of the skyscraper in the drama “Die Hard”?

4. TELEVISION: What city was the set-ting for the sitcom “Mork and Mindy”?

5. SCIENCE: What is the study of knowledge, reality and existence called?

6. ANIMAL KINGDOM: What are male blue crabs called?

7. GEOGRAPHY: What is the highest point in Japan?

8. FOOD & DRINK: The acai berry is native to which continent?

9. LITERATURE: Who wrote the “Win-nie-the-Pooh” book series for children?

10. MEASUREMENTS: What is an angstrom?

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.

Answers

1. Abraham Lincoln2. 0.2 ounces3. Nakatomi Plaza4. Boulder, Colorado5. Philosophy6. Jimmies7. Mount Fuji8. South America9. A.A. Milne10. One ten-billionth of a meter, used

to measure very small distances

Posting Date January 4, 2021

orthoinfo.org/patientsafety

The safest, most successful surgeries happen

when physicians and patients team up as active

partners. Which means plenty of candid questions

and honest answers from each. Bone up on patient

safety at orthoinfo.org/patientsafety. A public

service message from the American Academy of

Orthopaedic Surgeons, reminding patients and

doctors that communication is the best medicine.

Patient Safety. It takes a team.

GOING IN FOR SURGERY?DON’T JUSTLIE THERE.



By VICKIE LILLO

Times Correspondent

The llama, still in training with the hal-ter and a lead, is a little skittish, moving every now and then behind her owner, Shannon Carroll, who also happens to be the proprietor of Redemptive Love Farm and Petting Zoo, near Monticello.

“Meet Aloha Etsy. She’s one of the lat-est additions to our llama family…she was a present for my last birthday,” Car-rol says.

She beams at the predominantly brown relative to the camel, with the white chest, belly and legs, and a spattering of black spots just above the muzzle.

“This is good ther-apy for her,” Shan-non affirms. “To get her feet wet.”

It helps her master the art of posing for pictures and inter-views, being petted, and joining the team of other ‘llama la-dies’ as therapeutic, ‘healing’ animals at the local hospitals, in order to serve as goodwill ambassa-dors to the patients.

Eventually, she’ll also take part in the Farm’s famous ‘lla-ma-grams, whereby llamas are sent to someone’s business or residence to cel-ebrate.

Shannon says, “We arrive with the decorated llama—usually in birth-day gear—and an-nounce our arrival with a big speaker. People are usually screaming, crying, or laughing!” As she speaks, Etsy shifts on her even-toed, ungulated hooves, while Weasley, a small-sized New Zea-land KuneKune pig, wanting to break into the petting are-na, ploughs down the gate. Crash! The metal guard slams to the ground.

Apparently, the little boar, part of a delightful breed of swine raised by the Maori indigenous peoples, though doc-ile and friendly, has a determined mind of his own.

With attention fo-cused back onto the adorable lamoid, Aloha Etsy ducks be-hind her holder once again; the fall-foli-age-patterned blan-ket draped across her back swishes ever so slightly. She butts her nose up against Shannon, rustling the autumn leaves garland that dangles from around her neck, in a futile attempt to eliminate the sunflower head-band from across her brow.

“I know you don’t like it,” Shannon coos. “But you have to wear it. Like a bra,” she laughs, re-adjusting the floral ribbon on her fore-head.

Linked to its wild ancestor, the gua-naco, Etsy the llama is a domesticated beast of burden. Just like her cousin, the alpaca, whose DNA analysis ties this fluffy camelid

to its untamed pre-decessor, the prized, but endangered, vi-cuña, whose high-quality wool fetches the highest prices in global markets. Herds of these gre-garious South Amer-ican pack animals graze in the high-altitude Andean mountains and pla-teaus of their native Peru, Bolivia, Ecua-dor, and Northern Chile, along with the grasslands of the Ar-gentinian pampas.

Pretty soon, Aloha Etsy will join her ‘sisters’ Tina and Linda on the hospi-tal visitation/llama-gram circuit.

“The last three months of summer —August, Septem-ber, and October —are the worst,” Shannon explains, as she smiles at the herbivore. “They can have a real issue with the heat. So, we have sprinkler systems throughout the farm.” Even as her master speaks, the typically-social llama flaps her long, inward-curving ears and, once more,

waltzes from side to side, before coming to a stoic stance and beginning to emit a low hum. It’s A po-tential sign of wor-ry…or plain curios-ity. Perhaps merely fatigue. They often

hum softly to one another as a means of communication.

Shannon says, “That’s the time we run bloodwork and fecals (lab tests) to make sure the llamas are healthy. It costs between $2500-$3000/month to provide a planned

basic vetting service, as well as feed all the animals with grain and hay. We have an additional $500 sav-ings ‘pool’ for the un-planned emergency veterinary services.”

To offset these ex-

penses, Shannon and her family—in-cluding her husband Brian and seven adopted children—have taken the en-trepreneurial high road to success.

They host private parties at client lo-cations or on their own grounds, deliv-

er traveling zoos for town functions, offer ‘therapy’ visits with the llamas and send llama-grams, give horseback riding lessons, and pres-ent various events throughout the year. Like Circus Day, Trunk or Trough, as well as both Thanks-giving and Christ-mas festivities at the Farm. They rent lla-mas dressed as elves or in Santa suits; their beloved live-stock can even be hired as ‘live’ partici-pants in spiritual na-tivity scenes. Their oldest son provides shearing services. Two-hour field trips at the Farm are also a popular retreat, rotating the attend-ees every 20 minutes or so through four fun and educational activity stations—cow-milking, petting area, pony rides, —with a 30-minute picnic lunch at the end.

Lastly, but not least, Redemptive Love furnishes loving mascots for profes-sional photography sessions. Shannon designs and sews all of the endearing cos-tumes.

Annually, the Car-roll family opens up their farmstead

property to the gen-eral public for a free tour. Adults and children alike from the neighboring com-munities come out for the day to expe-rience and interact with their friendly farm animals. Pur-chases of $5 bags of feed or pony rides, $10 llama plush toys, along with $15 handcrafted earrings and dollar drinks help defray some of the operating costs. Manning the sun-dries booth is Aman-da Baumann, who’s been in charge of running Redemp-tive Love’s volunteer program since its in-ception, officially in 2018.

“My son has vol-unteered out here since he was eleven. He’s learned a lot of things,” she shares. “They homeschool here. He has learned the mathematical part of building fenc-es…learned about taking care of the animals, feeding, cleaning up their fe-ces, and the realities of death in animals, which, too, is a part of life.”

Another reality of life, according to Shannon, was that by summertime of this past year, with

Redemptive Love Farm

Shannon Carroll, co-owner of Redemptive Love Farm introduces Aloha Etsy the llama to guests.

Kune Kune pig wallows in mud.

Feeding the goats and Harlequin rams.

Destination�The world is a book and those who

do not travel read only one page.�

-Augustine of Hippo



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(850) 875-1529

Sandra Black, Owner

BB �Trip� Boldt III, FDIC

The Family of

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prayers and condolences during this

To all of those we have served in our

community over 23 years, we will

continue to be here for you now and

many years to come.

Thank you again for your support,

The Family and Staff of Independent

Funeral Home

the coronavirus still

lingering, “I told the

family that we’d ei-

ther ‘have to’ open

back up or sell off

some of our [flocks].”

As with all things

in their day-to-day

existence, they re-

lied on their faith

to get them through

the tough times. “We

are first Christians,

then parents, then

homeschool teach-

ers,” Shannon says

proudly. “Then farm-

ers, and then busi-

ness owners.”

She says, “When

we gave our hearts

to the Lord, He gave

us His heart for the

orphan.”

All of her children,

except one, ranging

in age from 9 to 18,

came to her and Bri-

an through Florida’s

Foster Care system.

In 2011, within a

6-month span, from

June till December,

they welcomed a sib-

ling group of three

into their home,

plus a 6-week new-

born baby girl and

10-month old boy.

By February of 2014,

the couple had jour-

neyed across the

U.S. to re-home a

boy who originally

had spent his first

four years in a Chi-

nese orphanage. By

June of 2015, only

16 months later,

Shannon and Brian

accepted their last

addition to the fam-

ily— a girl named

Brittany, who has

special needs.

Shannon glows

when she speaks of

her ‘brood.’

“Our heart is for

giving kids a hands-

on love for animals

and celebrating peo-

ple!” In spite of the

trolling ‘haters’ who

have judged her for

allowing access to

their farm during the

pandemic, she feels

no shame about per-

mitting her neigh-

bors and the general

public back onto

their 12-acres of

what started out as

a 7-acre abandoned

and trashed dump

site, which was in

foreclosure, and had

a 2000-square ft.

repo’d mobile home

on it.

Shannon takes

pride in sharing that

all of the outbuild-

ings, structures,

and pens have been

constructed from re-

cycled and reclaimed

articles gleaned from

unsightly roadside

refuse heaps. “Al-

though it may not

be the prettiest to

the world, it is func-

tional and beautiful

to us, because it was

broken and thrown

away, but now made

it into something

new.”

Just like the re-

vamped Redemptive

Love Farm itself,

having risen from the

rubbish like a phoe-

nix, the domestic

beasts who inhabit

it are an eclectic

bunch. None of the

nine family members

could imagine hav-

ing to part with any

of their beloved pets

or their menagerie of

rescued animals.

A menagerie that

includes donkeys,

ponies, Southdown

Babydoll/Harlequin

sheep, Angora goats,

big horses and min-

iature cattle, a single

potbelly pig and baby

camel, a Brahma

cow and mini White

Park bull chris-

tened Parker, with

speckles against

a white body and

ebony nose. Pekin

and Muscovy ducks

roam freely inside

an enormous, tem-

porary and moveable

coop, surrounded by

a myriad of boister-

ous guineas, chick-

ens, and a spurred

Bantam rooster

called Lobo. Gob-

bles, a tom turkey,

shakes his wattle

and fans out his tail

feathers, while an

equally-egoistic male

peacock, named

Azul, preens mag-

nificently around the

yard. Luckily for the

visitors, he refrains

from that ‘screaming

lady’ shriek they are

so famous for. Ma-

bel, the black-and-

white KuneKune (a

heritage pig perfect

for beginning home-

steaders), displays

her fabulous person-

ality, while a cohort,

napping next to Ted-

dy Bear, the Scottish

Highland steer with

long hair covering

his eyes, appears to

be dreaming, or sim-

ply twitching rest-

lessly in his sleep.

“You don’t have

any eyes,” Charlotte

Fisher, granddaugh-

ter to Susan Strauss

notes, as she ca-

resses a ram with an

exceptionally-wooly

face.

Susan acknowl-

edges, “Yes, you

look like a Hobbit.”

The overzealous

cream-colored ram

tilts his head awk-

wardly, probably to

balance the weight

of his good-sized

backwards -curv -

ing horns, before

straining against the

strung-wire of his

corral to wolf down a

few pellets of food.

Havana resident

Joel Pollock and his

two sons are giggling

at the seemingly-shy

baby camel that has

just brayed at an at-

tending journalist

about to snap his

photo.

Who knew such an

innocent little calf

could let out such a

hair-raising sound?

The floppy-eared

cow nudged up next

to the surly young-

ster doesn’t seem to

mind. “What’s that?”

one of the boys won-

ders aloud; he points

his finger to indicate

the bovine.

“I’m not sure what

that is,” Joel ac-

knowledges. “I’m

just a 45% farm-

er. But Shannon’ll

know,” he says, as-

sured that his dear

friend, whom he’s

been acquainted

with for more than

10 years, will have

the skinny. Turns

out, it’s a Brahman

heifer.

Sequestered be-

hind another fence

halfway across the

farm, the llama girls

Tina (the first ac-

quired), Debbie (the

untrained), Linda

(the one spotted

like a giraffe, )and

Zelda Rose, (the

last of this quartet)

are hovering by the

guests, always in-

quisitive. They’re In-

nately curious. RCF

Moon Dance, the

registered breeding

male, is nowhere in

sight.

An 1800’s his-

toric farmhouse

with shake shingles

and a wrap-around

porch looms in the

distance. Beckoning.

An open invitation to

potential event plan-

ners wanting to rent

the establishment for

private get-togeth-

ers. Clever photo-op

settings are inter-

spersed throughout

the grounds: a pair

of well-worn horse

saddles embellished

with colorful blooms

at the entrance, a

pig and cow pair,

cast from metal and

adorned with purple

wildflowers, ‘har-

nessed’ to a wagon,

and even an old-

timey, weathered-

green vestige of farm

equipment parked

in front of a lifelike

bright-red barn sil-

houette. The Klein

s ib l ings–Savanna

and Ezra–make

themselves com-

fortable, frolicking

amongst the bales

of hay, pumpkins,

and authentic giant

sunflower sculpture,

while their brother

Levi straddles the

outsized seat of the

tractor.

A set of signposts

directs farm visitors

toward the various

compounds.

Shannon and Alo-

ha Etsy have me-

andered across the

complex, stopping

just short of the

pens containing the

donkeys and dwarf

goats. The brown-

and-white llama

flicks her short,

bushy tail and smiles

at the assemblage of

guests. Smiling with

the lamoid’s natural-

ly-strange dentition.

“Llamas only have

teeth on the bottom,

with nothing but a

gum pad on the top,”

Shannon explains.

Three pairs of

modified canines

and incisors, in fact,

located on the lower

jaw. ‘Fighting teeth’

that erupt in males

between 2-3 years of

age, but only appear

rudimentary –less

pronounced – in the

females. One final

grin with those fangs

and Etsy shakes

her backside; a few

coarse hairs, unlike

the shaggy, lusher

fleece of the alpaca,

disperse from her

wool and catch on

a whisper of wind.

Shannon re-ar-

ranges the quaint

shawl and leads the

Redemptive Love

Farm’s good-will

ambassador towards

her corral, and the

other llama ladies.

From Previous Page

Levi (on tractor) , Ezra and Savanna Klein take advantage of one of many photo props at the farm.

Susan Strauss and her granddaughter Charlotte Fisher admire llamas at Redemptive Love Farm.



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