Chronicle: ‘Action needed on Forest Ridge Sidewalk’
Grateful for the Citrus County Chronicle‘s Editorial and position and support of the Forest Ridge/Beverly Hills Sidewalk needs and pleased with the commitment of the staff of the Citrus County Planning Department & Health Department’s efforts to provide a safe route for students and adults.
This is been a project that the people of Beverly Hills have been asking for for sometime. Through the Safe Routes to School grant funding we might best fund this project (rather then ad valorem taxes).
This area is the most residential densely saturated areas that does not have a sidewalk, not only in Citrus County, but in the state of Florida which is why the state has even given it a priority.
The sidewalk would run from Publix, to the new adult apartment complex, down to the library, and down to the Beverly Hills community centers.
This is a project that has come about through the citizens of Beverly Hills. When we had public hearings on this we had residents of Beverly Hills come to the meeting who talk about how they have to walk on the side of the road and in the grass and how unsafe it is as well as how many more people it would serve.
Chronicle’s Position:
THE ISSUE:New sidewalks along Forest Ridge planned. …eventually.
OUR OPINION:Students and seniors need safe routes sooner rather than later
Washington Post: Citrus is AGAIN among America’s Most Challenging High Schools 2016
Today we learned that all three of our high schools in Citrus County were again recognized by the Washington Post as “America’s Most Challenging High Schools”.
Of the 28,561 high schools in the US, about 2,500 are recognized. Rankings are based on the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests, and college level coursework given in a school year divided by the number of seniors who graduate in May. The schools that earn this challenge honor are among the top 9% of schools in the US.
The publisher of The Washington Post personally called Citrus County School District’s Director of Research and Accountability Patrick Simon to share with him the positive news of how Citrus continues to excel nationally. The publisher shared how Citrus continues to gain the attention Washington Post’s for continually being an outlier with student success with the challenges of being in a rural community with a high number of economically disadvantage households.
Lecanto High School is now ranked 761 out of 2,500 awarded schools, Citrus High Schools is 1,822, and Crystal River High School improving even more significantly again to be awarded 1,572.
Read Citrus Chronicle News Editor Brad Bautista wrote a special report on today news; Citrus County’s high schools are still among the best in the nation – http://goo.gl/BNyVYe
UF Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute will be providing PRE-PARTICIPATION/SPORTS PHYSICALS to all youth that will be participating in athletics for the 2016-2017 school year.
April 23, 2016
8 am—12 pm
UF Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute
2nd Floor
3450 Hull Road, Gainesville, FL
*Forms can be found on the FHSAA website at www.fhsaa.org*
[Click on EL2 Form under For Students and Parents]
*Pop warner forms can be found at www.popwarner.com
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Filed under: News & Updates
Tuesday, April 12th, 2016 the Citrus County School Board met for our April Regular began with opening exercises by the Honorable Doug Dodd.
Mr. Dodd brought Citrus Springs Middle School Principal John Weed and AVID teacher Jill Lynch to introduce Emily Brock, an eighth-grade student at CSMS who recently won first place in the national AVID E-Binder Contest. Miss Brock played her winning video which can be viewed by clicking play on video or by following this link: http://youtu.be/pXQxZRMN5cE
Following the presentation of Miss Brock’s video Citrus High School student Mackenzie Barnett performed a wonderful rendition of the National Anthem. Watch Miss Barnett’s performance by clicking play on video or by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/CitrusCountySchoolDistrict/videos/10153940001866259/
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Filed under: News & Updates
We all know that the intake of food is vital for physical performance. In addition, social scientists and nutritionists have long known there is a definitive link between nutrition and learning.
The Citrus County Blessings program was started in 2009 to address the needs of hungry school children. Its singular purpose is to help feed children of less fortunate families on the weekends, so they will be ready to learn on Monday mornings.
Sixty-eight percent of school age children in Citrus County are enrolled in federally funded subsidy food programs. That translates to the possibility of a large number of children not having proper access to food during days they are not in school.
The Blessings program works in close cooperation with guidance counselors, teachers and administrators from Citrus County public schools. School personnel help identify the neediest children and enroll them in the program. The schools do not reveal identifying information about the students enrolled, just the number of children in the school who have a need. A network of volunteers pack the meals and deliver them to schools, and the kids pick up the meals on their way to buses on the last day of the week.
Blessings currently serves 1,450 students in 18 local schools. The program services all mainstream public schools in Citrus County. Surprisingly, it only takes $125 to feed one child for 35 weekends during the school year. Seventy-six percent of the children served are ages 6-11, and 24 percent are ages 12-18. Participating schools report that children benefit in the following ways:
Increased access to vitamin-fortified food.
Increased attendance at school.
Higher test scores.
Reduced behavioral problems.
Increased parental participation.
Citrus County Blessings is completely dependent on money and food contributions to keep this program going. The ongoing generosity of so many people is a testament to the character of all the communities in Citrus County – but, there is still a need. You can “Adopt a Child” for $125 per year or you can donate an amount that is affordable for you. You may also donate food. Many banks and businesses have donation containers with flyers explaining the guidelines for food donations. Visit http://citruscountyblessings.com/ to find out how you can make a difference in the life of a Citrus County child.
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Filed under: Blog Posts
Grateful for the Citrus County Chronicle‘s Editorial and position and support of the Forest Ridge/Beverly Hills Sidewalk needs and pleased with the commitment of the staff of the Citrus County Planning Department & Health Department’s efforts to provide a safe route for students and adults.
