House Democrats Lay out Case for Formal
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HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN Tuesday, December 10, 2019 VOL. 100 | NO. 344 | $1.00 YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1919 An Edition Of The Sun Half-cent school sales tax nets $17 million By MARC VALERO 27, 2017. Averyt said. STAFF WRITER Assistant Superintendent of Business The half-cent sales tax revenue has to Operations Mike Averyt said in the be spent on the areas that were specified SEBRING — It’s enough to buy a “Six fiscal year 2018-19 the district collected in the resolution and for capital items Million Dollar Man” every year, but the $6,6632,000. only, he noted, so it cannot be used to School Board of Highlands County isn’t “So it has been averaging a little above help in the nearly $1 million shortfall in buying cyborgs, it uses its half-cent sales $6 million, which is good,” he said. state funding the district is facing due tax revenue to purchase much needed “Currently we have about $1,468,000 to a decline in enrollment of about 300 new school buses, to improve school available in cash. We spent this year students. security, for many maintenance and $4,539,544 because we carried over Overall, through the September tax repair projects and student technology. COURTESY PHOTO some money from last year and that is collections, the district has received Following voter approval in 2016, the how much we spent this year.” $17,096,707.85 from the school half-cent More than $3.7 million in school sales tax revenue half-cent school sales tax collections A big portion, around $1 million, of sales tax. has been used to pay for student computers and began Jan. 1, 2017 with the district the money spent this year went to pay The district has spent a total of software since The School Board of Highlands receiving its first revenue (for the month for new school buses and also to sum- County started collecting the half-cent tax in of January) totaling $418,380 on March mer maintenance and security projects, TAX | 5A January 2017. Citizens committee Tackling challenges together begins reviewing city manager applications By MARC VALERO STAFF WRITER AVON PARK — The City Manager Citizens Selection Committee is going to work now on reviewing more than 30 applications in the process to find the city’s next top administrator. The City of Charm currently has a interim city manager, Kim SNELL Gay, after its previous city manager, David Flowers, resigned effective Sept. 30 amid a majority of the City Council who were ready to vote on his ouster. The City Manager Citizens Selection Committee had its first meeting recently. Maria Sutherland, who attended the meeting, said about 36 applications were handed out to the committee members who were present. The committee set some standards from the KIM LEATHERMAN/STAFF get-go of a minimum requirement of the four-year college degree, she said. That was the only thing by From left: Hill Gustat Middle School Prinicpal Chris Doty, Caden Heath and Sam Foster look forward to the next race. consensus they decided so they immediately started taking names out of the list. “I have gone through some of the names, but Coach helps student in competition I haven’t done a huge thorough review just yet,” Sutherland said. She is confident the committee members will check all the qualified applications to By KIM LEATHERMAN derive a top five list of candidates without any rank- STAFF WRITER ing or particular order for the council to consider. Committee Member Gerald Snell said he has SEBRING — Caden Heath has the need for speed, to borrow a line from “Top Gun.” Caden and his adaptive P.E. MANAGER | 5A coach, Sam Foster, completed their first 5K at the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving at Highlands Hammock State Park. The dynamic duo crossed the finish line in a triumphant 43.12 minutes. Foster jogged behind Caden, a sixth grader at Hill House moves Gustat Middle School, and his adaptive three-wheel bike. Caden’s need for speed instills a small amount of fear in Foster. closer to abolishing “He liked to go fast,” Foster said laughing. “Caden also likes for me to have to run fast behind him to keep up. He goes fast around corners to scare me. The back wheels constitution panel tend to lift up when he goes too fast.” MidFlorida Credit Union sponsored the pair’s entrance By JIM TURNER fees. They wore matching T-shirts. They had matching NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA smiles as they relished their victory. Foster had a special trophy made for Caden. TALLAHASSEE — An effort to jettison the Florida The next challenge is the Jingle Bell Run on Friday. Constitution Revision Commission, which drew Foster coaches Caden in areas of physical education controversy last year as it successfully proposed a that his physical limitations exclude him from. Foster series of ballot measures, continued to move forward visits the school two times a week for about half an hour. Monday in the state House. Foster brought the idea of Caden riding his adaptive bike Members of the House State Affairs Committee in the 5K. unanimously backed a pair of proposals (HJR 301 “I kinda debated it for a little bit,” Caden said. “I just and HB 303) that would put before voters in 2020 wanted to do it. I wanted to say I accomplished it and do a proposal to abolish the commission, which drew it.” across-the-aisle scorn for the manner in which it put After a brief hesitation, the pair trained on the school’s COURTESY PHOTO/FOSTER seven amendments on the November 2018 ballot. special bicycle after permission was given by Caden’s “What I think a lot of us observed and would agree mom, Stephanie Bateman. Sam Foster and Caden Heath finished the Turkey Trot in just over is that, this last time when the Constitution Revision “His mom was super excited and said ‘oh yea, let’s do 43 minutes. Commission met, that it was more of an activist this,’” Foster said. committee,” said House bill sponsor Brad Drake, Caden described the hardest part of the 5K was being R-Eucheeanna. “A lot of the action that was taken was behind 600 people and taking a while to get around them. done by proxy, by those who sent them.” “I was starting way in the back,” he said. “People started The 37-member commission meets every 20 years walking about one mph. It was hard to get around them; and has unique power to place proposed consti- it was frustrating.” tutional amendments on the ballot. While voters Principal Chris Doty, an Ironman and running enthu- approved all seven of the proposals last year, the siast, encouraged Caden and Foster to participate in the commission faced criticism for issues such as tying Turkey Trot. Other teachers and Caden’s bus driver were together unrelated issues in single ballot measures. participating in the event or cheering him on. The commission was primarily appointed by then- Doty caught up with Caden and Foster. He affectionate- Gov. Rick Scott and Republican legislative leaders, ly calls Caden “Speedy.” but GOP lawmakers have proposed abolishing it — “He’s great,” Doty said. “We’ve got some ideas for him; and have drawn support from groups such as one of one we haven’t shared with him yet.” the state’s biggest labor unions. Doty dropped a big bombshell on the youngster. “It has no guardrails,” Rich Templin, a lobbyist for “I’m gonna talk to Mr. (Chet) Brojek (Central Florida the Florida AFL-CIO, who said the commission failed Striders) and I would like to have you do a triathlon, to follow its own rules. except instead of doing a swim-bike-run, you’re going to COURTESY PHOTO/FOSTER He added that more issues could arise if lawmakers do a wheelchair, bike, run.” A look on his face that says he is proud as he heads off to accom- PANEL | 5A CHALLENGE | 5A plish his goal of finishing the 5K. Classifieds ......................B5-7 Obituaries ........................ A5 Good morning To Comics ................A7-8, B9-10 Sports ............................ B1 Viewpoints ....................... A6 Mary McCamic Lottery ........................... B2 TV Listings ....................... A9 Weather .........................A10 facebook.com/ twitter.com/ Thanks for reading! newssun.com newssun TheNewsSun A2 | HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN | December 10, 2019 www.highlandsnewssun.com 5 THINGS That Will Make You Children’s choirs and handbells SMARTER 1. Gingerbread is an incredibly rigid cookie, there- to combine for night of music fore making it pretty much the perfect cookie for making houses. By KIM LEATHERMAN they continue to sing and STAFF WRITER 2. Gingerbread houses can be traced back to 15th participate in making or 16th century Germany, but the popularity of the music-we hope that this blobby gingerbread man is thought to be more of an LAKE PLACID — The is an experience they will American creation. Lake Placid Elementary cherish and remember.” 3. Recipes vary, but two ingredients are always Green Dragon handbells The church youth have included — ginger and cinnamon. and choir have teamed been practicing since up with First Presbyterian August and the music was 4. Since most of the batter is made up of dry COURTESY PHOTO ingredients, gingerbread is an incredibly dense, heavy Church of Lake Placid’s selected in September. dough, which means you’ve got to be prepared for a children and youth choirs, A combined Lake Placid Elementary School and First Presbyte- Berrio’s kids had a Veteran’s kitchen workout. teen handbell ensemble rian Church of Lake Placid chorus sing during practice under the Day concert to focus on 5.