wellborn my hometown

Final Thursday evenings @ 7 PM, each month, the Wellborn Neighborhood Watch meets at the Blake Lowe Building next to Wellborn Community Park. January guest speaker was Sheriff Tony Cameron. It is a tradition! and a good way to start a new year of working together. It is all about law enforcement and our own safety.
L to R Billy Maxwell, Russell Smith, Jane Campbell, Tony Cameron and Ruth Ford. Tim Steichen was busy doing his secretary& treasurer duties. Leaders for WNW '09 were chosen by easy vote. Co-coordinators for 2009 are Russell Smith and Ruth Ford, Tim Steichen, secretary&treasurer, Jane Campbell, publicity & the summer block party and Kelcy McGarrity assumes hostess duties to be sure there are refreshments to enjoy together before the evening programs And business meeting.
Sheriff Cameron gave heartening statistics about diminished crimes in the county. His current main concern is theft and burglaries. Oxycotin is the drug of choice these days. It combines with the lost jobs & alcohol as motivating factors toward theft.. Tightened regulations on the sale of scrap metals should bring down abandoned cars stolen for scrap value.
Billy Maxwell pointed out the postive aspect of high prices for metal now. Our fence rows and empty lots are currently picked clean! :-)
WNW will be notified of local burglaries. Everyone needs to be alert and watchful and willing to report suspicious looking activity with a 911 on a cell phone (even if the phone is defunct). It will get the dispatcher who will direct the call. Sherriff handles about 60,000 calls a year now!
The good working relationship between the County Commission and the Sheriff Department is a blessing that is especially appreciated in the current Budget making process.
Suwannee County Correctional Insititute opens in March '09 with 423 work camp inmates. By summer there will be 1600 with all the necessary support staff. Eventually 4000 inmates will make it the largest facility in Florida..
Jane asked the Sheriff if a tour of the facility might happen for the Wellborn Neighborhood Watch.
He and the commissioners just did a tour and were favoarbley impressed.
NEXT MONTH SPEAKER IS LAMAR JENKINS whose property tax expertise is legend here.

Gerald Roach comes home today from Washington DC where his National Guard Unit was called up for special duty on Inauguration weekend. His stream of text messages assured mom Patty that he was being kept busy, that there were lots of people, that the accommodations were more military than first class and he would be tired and in need of a shower first thing when he gets home.
Patty is readying for a trip to Iowa where daughter Rhiannon lives now (Husbands job required this chick to fly far).

Judy Adams, Earlene Parker and Char Williams were seen at Wellborn WHISTLE STOP where they meet to play MahJong and enjoy lunch out at the same time. The Mahjong ladies come from Live Oak, Lake City, Branford and Wellborn. Andrea Haller wants blog readers to know about a CowWorking Workshop Introduction to take place January 24, a Saturday, at WellbornQuarterHorses on CR137

Andrea Haller, Sharon Persons, Rita Locke and Florence Williams make up this table of MahJong enthusiasts who meet a couple of times a month at the Wellborn Whistle Stop to enjoy their game, each other and a Whistle Stop lunch of their choice. Tommy Andrews was sitting on his Tommy Andrews chair, two couples who just happened to drop in for lunch in Wellborn and a second table of MahJong players complete the happy picture on January 19, 2009

Community Service was the focus for Martin Luther King Holiday this year.

These volunteers are readying themselves to participate in the AARP TAX AIDE service.
They are a Good Group whom I interrupted on their lunch hour for this photo . Linda Young supplied their names.
John Hampton,Vinny Malhotra,Natasha Frenkel,Joy Thorndike(hidden),Pauline Smith,Sharon DeBruin,Cil St.Denis,Agnes Hjelsand,Rebecca Bachman,Barbara Rodon,Marilee Bonyata, Shelah Keen,Richard Manning and Cindy Burnett(seated)
Rebecca and Barbara are part of the State Training Team and Eileen Koutny, the Techie, Linda was across the street in the WUMC annex building finishing up with the other counselors.

Most of us think of March as Tax month. Linda Young, local coordinator, started months ago to recruit helpers for AARP TAX AIDE work.

Tax payers should bring last years form and any other relevant documentation.
AARP TAX AIDE is geared to seniors, but not limited age wise. Taxes to be paid need to be relatively uncomplicated. All are welcome. Recommendation to a professional tax preparing place is made if warranted. The big group photograph is incomplete, partly because two workshops were going simultaneously. The volunteer tax form helpers all have IRS laptop computers for the 2009 season. E-filing will be common practice.
For the smaller picture, the photographer stood behind instructor Rebecca Bachman whose volunteer job involves traveling about the state, teaching, encouraging, and coordinating all activities according to IRS standards..
Hours at the different sites are published in the Suwannee Democrat: It all starts February second week & runs to April 14
Community Presbyterian Church, Live Oak, Tuesdays 10 AM to 1PM
Library on US129 Live Oak. Saturdays 9AM to 1PM
Branford Library, Live Oak, Wednesdays 10 AM-4PM
Southside Recreation Center, Lake City, Thursdays 10AM-1PM
FYI Linda: 364-8396.


Suwannee Regionl Library Saturdays 9AM t0 iPM PM

God smiled down upon us today when several different fellowships were represented at Wellborn Baptist Senior Luncheon. (Always the second Tuesday at 11 A.M>). Ruthie Mizell welcomed us and we all said AMEN to her thanksgiving for the rain, even tho it kept some of the regulars in their own homes. Pastor Minshew blessed us and the food. Both he and Ruthie hinted about future combined worship experiences. ( We hope, pray and wish all Baptists would join in on Saturday evening, January 24 @ 6 PM with AllenChapel and us. This month it is @ Wellborn MethodsitChurch where three fellowships come together for a worship service)
Bonnie Scott played the piano while folks gathered and later she accompanied Maurice Geiger as he sang 3 oldie goldie songs. We smiled over his choice of "I believe every raindrop sent from above will make the flowers grow" on this rainy day. Another song Maurice chose was about how God is always willing to say "I forgive" when we turn to Him in repentance and ask forgiveness. The third "just right" song was "Let There Be Peace of Earth and Let It Begin With Me!" I sat opposite Pastor Jim Messer (Wellborn Methodist) who mouthed the words reverently. I did that too. Pastor Jim's message was timely at this season of New Years promises/resolutions. He reminded us that God never breaks His promises and cautioned us about promises/covenants we make with God being different than the ones we make to ourselves. Better not to make a promise, even to ourselves , unless we intend to keep it.
It was my pleasure to be recognized by Mrs. Howell. She remembered my visit in her home to interview her, her husband and her son many years ago. She is in her nineties now but she has to tell you that fact to have you believe it. She shows no white hair yet, and both mental and physical agility are evidenced. She has been a widow 5 years. She is currently in the raw grief stage because it is less than 3 months since her only sons death. Obit facts and a tribute to her son were in the same recent WellbornWhisper that my own husband's were. So it was good to touch hearts and lives again with her.
Jaynie Clark came to speak to me and reported one group of company has left in time to free up the beds for the next group. The anticapted ones are part of her Miami Highschool Class Reunion which takes place in Orlando. These good folks have offered to drive up and get Jaynie and then, after the reunion fun, to bring her home. They plan to stay in Wellborn to extend the visiting for a few days.
The best table hopper visit of all of them, tho', was Eddie Joe McLeran. He started reminiscing with Maurice Geiger. "Do you remember the Odom boys when we all went to Wellborn School? There was Lynn Earle and Joel and I think Bryan was the youngest but lots younger than we were." "I think so" answered Maurice. "Well" continued Eddie Joe, "I will never forget the day Lynn Earle started a fight with me. Your momma 'wore me out' with her paddle and when I got home and told my momma about what was clearly to me an injustice, my momma listened very quietly to my whole story and then she said 'If Mrs Geiger thought you needed a paddling, I think so too. And then she wore me out herself." "I think maybe that put an end to my telling my momma everything" said Eddie Joe with a twinkle in his eye and a blush on his face. Maurice added "Imagine me with that same momma/teacher, but then add a daddy who was Wellborn school principal". Ruthie pointed out " Both of you boys turned our real well." I observed that they grew up in the days when teacher and momma were right even when maybe they were not! Ponder that.

Your blogger congratulated Wendell & Kathie Snowden for the Suwannee Democrat article about grandson Jason M. Flynn who was inducted to the Golden Key International Honor Society
More information came by reply e-mail
"Yes - that was a nice thing about our grandson. However, we had written about two honors he had received and they only included the Golden Key Society. (I thought the other one was better, too.) The other was that he was selected as a Florida Bright Futures Academic Top Scholar for the 2008 graduating class. He was the selection for Suwannee County (one of 67 for the State of Florida). The award was based on a combination of his grade point average and his SAT score. He's at U of F now in the College of Engineering. He's doing well so far (straight As the first semester). If you asked him, he's probably most proud of his guitar-playing ability. He really did not want us to put him in the paper anyway."

ALICE GEIGER's smile reflects her great pleasure and satisfaction in having tested very well at Taekwando, Lake City January 8, '09
She shows her name embroidered on her advancement in black belt. Alice presented her skills in three memorized routines requiring exquisite mind focus in combination with well tuned muscles. One set was almost ballet-like. The expected self defense was done in pairs simulating attack. With protective equimpment there was a time of free sparring. Mighty Alice broke a board once with an arm maneuver and a second time with her foot! She has the broken pieces to show for that amazing feat!!

Three tested simultaneously that night. The pretty strawberry blonde on the middle mat was Danielle Hoffman and she lives in Wellborn. Both Alice and Danielle were nervous ahead of their testing. Both young women excelled and both passed with flying colors. Their accomplishment warmed their own hearts and made the judges/instructors proud.

The third candidate was older by a decade or more. His movements were done more slowly so that the two girls had to hold the final position while the doctor finished the routine.

A recent highschool graduate, a professional engineer and a doctor all proved that practice can make perfect and that personal goals can be reached. It is a WOW moment for all involved when it happens. They were awarded an advanced black belt each at Tae Kwon Do Thursday January 8, 2009 .

Here are four of the volunteers who made blueberry pancake breakfasts for all comers on January 3, 2009. Sandy Wilson, Jack Allred, and Ed and Marion White. The Whites tell of 50 years of friendship with Beanie and Wayne Brooks . It all started when they all lived in Massachiussetts. The Whites chose North Carolina for their happily ever after home while the Brooks chose our hometown.
Kelcy was the meet-er and greet-er by the door on January 3. . After all breakfasts are served Beanie and Kelcy get the money ready to deposit toward WCA projects. A heart warming serendipity to blog about is that any extra cooked pancakes are not trashed but carried to homes where they are appreciated.

LeAnn & Rolf Poesse breakfasted in downtown Wellborn with friends Bobbi and Jerry Fenderson. Jerry said "They came all the way from New Hampshire for WCA Blueberry Pancakes".:-) The Wellpin New Years Eve ride was another part of local color they enjoyed

The first Saturday of the new year was very foggy. Sandra Jordan volunteered to wave customers in for WCA Blueberry Pancake Breakfast on January 3, 2009. She transplanted to Wellborn from Plant City seven years ago and brought with her expertise in plants.
One of her best customers for green plants is Colleen Smith whose beautiful garden and yard is The Best of advertisements.