Restaurant donating day’s work to Green Cove Springs families

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A Green Cove Springs restaurant is pitching in to aid the families of the victim’s of last week’s tragic shootings in Clay County.

Cookin’ in the Cove at 410 S. Orange Ave. will donate all gross sales on May 16 from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. to the families of Erica Green and Buddy Short and his daughter Valorie Short to help with funeral expenses.

“He was always very polite when he came in the store – very funny,” said co-owner Ann Burkes. “He supported our business by being a customer so we should support his family.”

A Clay County native, Burkes said she has lived in Green Cove Springs a year after moving back to her home after living in Tennessee. She experiences daily the closeness of the families in this tight-knit community.

“I think that everybody is very sad. It was very tragic. I think that what anybody can do to help the family is part of the healing process,” Burkes said.

The restaurant is located inside the Shell Gas Station and can be reached at (904) 531-5086 for more information.

Theatre benefit scheduled for Challenge Enterprises

ORANGE PARK – A benefit performance of the hit Broadway musical “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying” will be held June 9 at the Orange Park Community Theater with doors opening at 7 p.m.

The playhouse at 2900 Moody Rd. will donate proceeds of that night’s performance to Challenge Enterprises, a nonprofit that for more than 40 years has provided services and work opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Curtain is at 8 p.m. and seating is open. Refreshments will be available. A prize drawing will be held at intermission. Contact (904) 284-9859 for tickets or more information

SJRWMD has new inspector general

PALATKA, Fla., – The St. Johns River Water Management District voted May 10 to negotiate an agreement with Joanne Becknell of Winter Garden, Fla. to serve as the agency’s inspector general.

Becknell is currently the performance auditor for the Orange County Comptroller’s Office, where she has worked since mid-2013. Prior to that, she served as fiscal manager for the city of Tallahassee for 13 years. She holds a bachelor’s of science degree in accounting from the University of West Florida.

The district’s Office of the Inspector General conducts independent financial and operational audits of the agency’s financial records, system of internal controls, programs and operations and communicates results of audits through written reports and presentations to auditees, management, members of the public and the Governing Board.

Tim Boyer, who has served as district inspector general since 1987, is retiring at the end of May.

Kick off summer with a root beer float

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The Friends of the Green Cove Springs Library are getting ready for summer by offering root beer floats.

The fun begins at 5:30 p.m. on May 25 at the library located at 403 Ferris St.

The meeting agenda will include a presentation of the library’s initial children’s and teens’ areas design ideas, voting for new executive officers for the upcoming year and a reading of proposed by-laws changes.

Guests can also sign-up for selected dates and times to volunteer with the Summer Reading Program that will run from June 7-July 14.

Friends can also renew their memberships at the meeting or bring in new friends to join as well. For more information, call (904) 284-6315.

Yoho scheduled for Armed Services Day

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho(R-3) is scheduled to speak at the Armed Forces Day celebration on May 21 at the Military Museum of North Florida.

The events run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sat. and Sunday. Exhibits will include a classic car show, a classic military vehicle show, parachutists, war re-enactors to include Civil War and WWII battles and live Civil War cannon firings.

Displays include the replica of the Confederate Navy Submarine Hunley, an A4 Jet simulator and an A64 Apache cockpit simulator. There will be combat vehicle tours for the kids and a uniform try on station.

The celebration kicks off at 9 a.m. with a formal presentation at the main flagpole of Reynolds Industrial Park to commemorate WWII’s Navy Auxiliary Air Station Green Cove Springs and will feature the F6F Hellcat fighter. The Military Museum of North Florida and Reynolds Industrial Park will replace the Plaque at the flagpole for Ensign Benjamin Lee for whom the airfield was named. At the conclusion of the ceremony there will be a vintage aircraft fly by.

Numerous vendors will be on hand and the museum and the festivities will be open to the public free of charge.

The address is 1 Bunker Ave, Hwy 16 Green Cove Springs across from the Clay County Port.

For more information, Chris Rodatz at crodatz@bellsouth.net or call (904) 655-6511.

Why are babies in Clay County dying?

MIDDLEBURG – The Florida Department of Health in Clay County presents a report in infant mortality next week.

The presentation, “Why are Babies in Clay County Dying?,” will be on May 17 at 6 p.m. at the Clay Behavioral Health Center at 3292 County Rd. 220.

Clay Health Administrator Heather Huffman will present the findings based on a 10-year infant mortality trend data study. Following the presentation, attendees will engage in discussions to find solutions to eliminate infant deaths in Clay County. RSVPs are encouraged at jose.morales@flheath.gov.