Category: Events

Early Voting

Debbie Roney Smith on
Early Voting for the Primary Election 2020. Dates, times and locations for any Jackson County Registered Voter.
Monday- Saturday, August 3rd thru August 15th, 8am- 5pm and Sunday, August 9th, 9am- 5pm. Any registered voter can vote at any one of the following locations during the early voting dates above.
*Sneads City Hall, 2028 Third Ave, Sneads
*Supervisor of Elections Office, 2851 Jefferson St, Marianna
*Graceville City Hall, 5348 Cliff St, Graceville
Primary Election Day is Tuesday, August 18th and voters will have to go to their assigned polling place.
If you already registered to vote by mail you should have already received your ballot. To ensure your vote is counted, supervisors recommend mailing ballots at least five days before election day or returning it in person.For the General Election which will be November 3,2020, the deadline for new registrations and party changes is October 5, 2020

Any questions or for more details click: https://www.jacksoncountysoe.org/

Tax Free School (office) Supplies August 7th – 9th

Debbie Roney Smith on

Now is the time to stock up or restock those school and office supplies. This weekend, August 7th, 8th, and 9th Florida will be having it’s annual sales tax holiday. Florida first held a sales tax holiday for school supplies in 2007.

During this sales tax holiday period, Florida law directs that no sales tax or local option tax (also known as discretionary sales surtax) will be collected on:
• purchases of clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $60 or less per item,
• purchases of certain school supplies selling for $15 or less per item, and
• the first $1,000 of the sales price of personal computers and certain computer-related accessories, when purchased for noncommercial home or personal use.

For more information and a detailed list click here: https://floridarevenue.com/backtoschool/Pages/default.aspx

Marianna and Graceville library are reopening today

Debbie Roney Smith on
The Jackson County Public Library in Marianna and Graceville are re-opening their doors today, August 3, 2020. Marianna will open at 9:00 a.m. with Graceville opening their doors at 10:00 a.m. They will both close daily at 5:00 to allow staff to thoroughly sanitize the facilities.
They have arranged the computers and furniture to allow for safe distancing in accordance with CDC guidelines. They are strongly recommending and encouraging masks and they will be available at the library as will hand sanitizer. The children’s room is not open for children to visit, it is recommended for their safety that children stay close to their parents while visiting the library.
At the present time, internet service is unavailable, but repairs are underway and we are very hopeful that service will be restored sometime next week. *Checkout is limited to five items per valid card. DVDs are limited to 5 per family. Launchpad checkout is limited to one per card.
Curbside service is still available at both locations for those who need it. You must fill a form out online 24 hours in advance. The link for the library is http://jcplfl.org/?fbclid=IwAR1_SzYMBiJ-xgr-S191pIMvNV8z2b11jROx_1a_H4UEok6VyBKOCSgeypk

Concert ~ July 30th

Debbie Roney Smith on
Thursday from 6 PM – 9 PM at Citizens Lodge Park  Main Street Marianna, City of Marianna City Hall and 3 others are hosting an End of Summer Concert in the park. The band Heyword will be playing from 7-9 pm. Papa G’s and The Ice Box will be there vending starting at 6 pm. Social distancing will be in practice as you join them to bring an end to the summer. 

July 31st at 6pm

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Gathering is hosting a night of hope. Friday, July 31st at 6pm at Hope Park on 159 Bear Creek Road in Eastpoint. They will have free food, fellowship, worship, dance, and word.

County Commissioner forum online ~ July 27th

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Jackson County NAACP will be hosting the County Commissioner forum via zoom on Monday, July 27th from 6 to 8pm. For more information you can call 850-696-0599. The zoom meeting id # is 857-4109-1214, the passcode is 263232, and is going to be livestreamed on Jackson County NAACP Facebook page. Read this flyer for more information.

Pinspiration in PCB

Debbie Roney Smith on

Pinspiration is located in Panama City Beach on 2423 Thomas Drive, You can call 850-249-6040 for more information or click this link to be taken to the website https://www.pinspiration.com/locations/panama-city-beach/

Pinspiration is a franchise that is in 6 states. Florida has several locations and thankfully one is located her in the Panhandle. They believe that everyone is an artist, regardless of age, background, and skill level. This is for kids, adults, men, women, individuals, groups, skilled artists, and beginners. They have a bar onsite as well as a menu of snacks and nonalcoholic beverages. They give you all the supplies and materials you need to make an individual project on-the-spot. Makers work from tutorials so you don’t have to take a class.  Make what you want, when you want it! They have walk in or you can reserve your spot. Take a group and each of you can pick a different craft to do!

They are even offering camps for the summer. A maximum of 10 kids are allowed in camp each day. Temperature checks and hand washing are also in place. The themes being offered throughout the summer include pets, glow party, space, and Disney.  Campers complete three projects per day, getting to personalize each one. Camps are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and kids who are five through 12 years old can participate.

So get those creative juices flowing and plan to visit this great place soon!

 

How to spot Comet Neowise

Debbie Roney Smith on

Want to see a comet? Comet NEOWISE is now visible during the early morning hours for a brief period of time. With binoculars or a telescope look NE low to the horizon between about 4:45am and 5am.Comet NEOWISE will be visible over the next few weeks here in the panhandle. The comet was discovered earlier this year on March, 27, 2020. The comet is named after the space observatory that actually discovered it… Near Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. The comet is about 26 million miles way from us and is about 3 miles across. It is estimated that it formed nearly 4.6 billion years ago!

Enough with the stats… you want to see it, don’t you? Starting on July 16th it should be far enough above the horizon in the northeast right after sunset (8:30pm) to be visible. It will continue to get higher in the evening sky but will fade quickly. After the 24th you will probably need a telescope to see it. It will climb a little bit higher in the sky each day until it disappears next month. It won’t make a return appearance for about 7,000 years. If you’re in an area with little or no light pollution, you should be able to see it with the naked eye. Otherwise, you’ll need binoculars to spot the long tail, according to NASA. And, in case you were wondering, the comet doesn’t pose any danger to the planet and will pass by harmlessly.

 

 

Vintage Camper Open House ~ July 18th

Debbie Roney Smith on

Falling Waters State Park is having a Vintage Camper Drive Thru Open House. This Saturday, July 18th 8am to sunset. You will have to pay a park entrance fee of $5 per vehicle. Falling Waters is located at 1130 State Park Road in Chipley.

Jackson County Elections Candidate Forum is tonight

Debbie Roney Smith on

Don’t forget the Jackson County Elections Candidate Forum is tonight, July 14 at 6 p.m. on the grounds at Citizens Lodge, located at 4574 Lodge Drive in Marianna. Candidates will be allowed to set up a 10-by-10-foot tent along the track area and hand out materials beginning at 5 p.m. until the forum begins at 6 p.m. and after the conclusion of the forum at approximately 8 p.m., until no later than 9 p.m. Check this blog from earlier this week for more details about this being a COVID-19 social distancing event.

Races and candidates are listed below:

State Attorney, Circuit 14: Larry Basford (Rep) and Wes Hatcher (Rep)

Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller: Justin Branch (Rep) and Clayton O. Rooks III (Dem)

Property Appraiser: David Fraser (Rep) and Rebecca Morris-Haid (Dem)

Sheriff: Kevin Arnold (Dem), Hayes Baggett (Dem), Donnie Edenfield (Rep), Scott Edwards (Rep), Tim Ham (Dem), and Jeff Snell (Rep)

Superintendent of Schools: Steve R. Benton, Sr. (Rep), Gerald F. Brockner (Rep), Dallas Ellis (Rep), and Larry Moore (Dem)

Supervisor of Elections: Carol A. Dunaway (Rep), Alice Pate (Rep), Gail Ann Ward (NPA), and Rico Williams (Dem)

Tax Collector: Mary Carol Murdock (Dem), incumbent, unopposed

Jackson County Commissioner — District 1: Alex B. McKinnie (Dem) and Willie E. Spires (Dem)

Jackson County Commissioner — District 3: Paul A. Donofro Jr. (Rep), Marcell Shane Harvey (Dem), Mary Ann Hutton (Rep), Tyler Lipford (Rep), Rance L. Massengill (NPA) and Ronstance L. Pittman (Dem)

Jackson County Commissioner — District 5: John Bryan (Rep), Byron L. Dickens (Dem), and James Peacock (Rep)

Jackson County School Board Member — District 2: Tony Pumphrey (NPA), incumbent, unopposed

Jackson County School Board Member — District 5: Pam Long Bimberg (NPA) and Stacey Goodson (NPA)

Visit the Jackson County elections office website by clicking this link jacksoncountysoe.com or call 850-482-9652 for additional voter information.