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The County Record will be closed Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday (Dec. 23-25) to celebrate Christmas with our
families. [Full Story »] 

Christmas festivities continued in the river valley over the weekend. [Full Story »] 

The Calhoun County Board of Commissioners will meet Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 6 p.m. at the board room in the Extension Office on Central Avenue East. Here's the agenda for the meeting:

6:00 P.M. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
6:01 P.M. PRAYER AND PLEDGE
6:02 P.M. APPROVAL OF THE DECEMBER 3, 2013 WORKSHOP MINUTES; DECEMBER 3, 2013 REGULAR MINUTES; APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS
6:03 P.M. HOMER HIRT, RIVER WAY SOUTH
6:15 P.M. MAXIE WALDORFF, IDA BOARD
6:20 P.M. DONALD STANLEY, COUNTY ENGINEER
6:30 P.M. ANGIE SMITH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
6:40 P.M. JOE WOOD, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
6:50 P.M. CLERK TIME
 Proposed Resolution 2013-33
7:00 P.M. ATTORNEY TIME 7:10 P.M. COMMISSION TIME

Show your TIGER PRIDE Thursday, Dec. 5 at 9:45 a.m.!
Community asked to show support as BHS Tiger Football team passes through headed to State Championship
The Blountstown High School Varsity Football Team is headed to Orlando this Thursday to challenge the Trenton Tigers for the State 1A Championship title. The community is invited to show their TIGER PRIDE as the bus goes through Blountstown on their way to Orlando where they will play in Citrus Bowl Stadium Friday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. CST.

PLAN: Thursday at 9 a.m. the BHS Tigers will board a bus and head to Carr School where students will form a spirit line and cheer them on. After greeting students and getting lots of high-fives, players will reload the bus, and head back to Blountstown. Estimated time of arrival through town is 9:45 a.m.

The bus will travel east on Hwy. 20, circle Magnolia Square, then turn onto Hwy. 71 N as they head to Blountstown Middle School where they will greet students. From there, they will drive through the Blountstown Elementary campus, then make their final stop at Blountstown High School before traveling up Hwy. 69N to I-10.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT: The community is asked to line Hwy. 20 from the West End Quick Pic to Magnolia Square, and on Hwy. 71 from the red light to Folsom Avenue, where the bus will enter the BMS campus. Estimated time of pass through town will be 9:45 a.m. The team will be escorted through Blountstown by the Blountstown Fire Department’s Engine #1.

Show your Tiger Pride, and help cheer on our boys! BHS STRONG!

Local kids had the chance to experience something rare in our area: Snow! These little guys were all laughs as they ice skated on the rink outside the Calhoun Courthouse Saturday. [Full Story »] 

Results for the Blountstown City Council runoff election were in after press time last night. Ronnie Williams, Sr. came out on top with 151 votes to David Blair's 121. According to the Calhoun County Supervisor of Elections Office, the City of Blountstown has 1456 registered voters meaning only 18.6 percent showed up at the polls to cast their ballots.

The following incident occurred after The County Record went to press Tuesday morning.

FROM THE CALHOUN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
On Tuesday, November 5, a student was found to be in possession of a firearm at the Blountstown High School. Principal Dr. Debbie Williams located an abandoned back pack on the school grounds. In an effort to locate the owner, Dr. Williams looked inside the back pack to locate a name and discovered a .22 caliber semi-automatic handgun. The back pack was secured and turned over to the School Resource Deputy. The Sheriffs Office CID responded to the school and determined the back pack belonged to a 17 year old male who was a senior. The suspect was interviewed and admiued to bringing the handgun on campus. The suspect stated that he was having some issues off campus after school and felt that his life was being threatened and, therefore, had the firearm for protection. The handgun was not loaded and no ammunition was located. The suspect admitted to stealing the handgun from his grandmother. The suspect was placed under arest for Possession of a Firearm on a School Campus which is a third degree felony. He was subsequently transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice and will be first appeared on November 6 at 1:00 pm at the Juvenile Justice Courthouse on 11th Street in Panama City.

FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE REPRESENTATIVE HALSEY BESHEARS

In a continued attempt to make certain that former Sheriff Nick Finch receives a fair and unbiased trial, Rep. Halsey Beshears (R-Monticello) delivered a letter on Friday to Governor Rick Scott asking for his strongest consideration in executing his duties as Governor of the State by assigning a new prosecuting attorney.

This factor is paramount in the former Sheriff receiving a fair trial according to some citizens of Liberty County. A recent radio talk show sparked this awareness and telephone calls and emails began to pour into the office of State Representative Halsey Beshears (R-Monticello).

“We are concerned with each and every citizen being offered fair and just treatment in any situation they are facing. Former Sheriff Finch deserves a balanced and impartial trial, no less”, said Rep. Beshears.

There has been a great deal of public opinion on this particular case. Rep. Beshears continued in his letter to state that a full investigation was critical and to allow anything other than deliberate focus on facts would be inexcusable.