ABC 3rd graders exceed state reading average

ByDavid Adlerstein

The negative effect of the coronavirus pandemic on language arts scores among Franklin County third graders this past spring appears to have hit the Franklin County Schools much harder than it did the Apalachicola Bay Charter School. The Florida Department of Education reported that 54 percent of third-grade students statewide this year scored a “satisfactory”…

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Jobless rate improves, labor force grows

ByDavid Adlerstein

Franklin County’s unemployment numbers improved slightly in May, even as the size of the labor force grew According to preliminary numbers released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in May was at 3.8 percent, two-tenths of 1 percentage point better than the April rate of 4.0 percent….

Littlest All-Star Darlings score district title

ByDavid Adlerstein

Sometimes, it’s the littlest ones that make the biggest sound. The Dixie Youth League Franklin County All Stars in the Darling division, for ages 7-8, emerged victorious at last week’s district tournament in Bristol. “We never left the winners bracket with a 3-0 record to be district champs,” said Leigh Sheridan, head coach of a…

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Paving the old school

ByDavid Adlerstein

The Panhandle Players, the Forgotten Coast’s community theatre group, made a request to the county earlier this year to repair the lot at Apalachicola’s Chapman Auditorium, which it oversees. The county has come through. Commissioner Noah Lockley used $27,310 funds from his road paving budget to pave the lot with asphalt in front of the…

Franklin County Schools reinforces dress code

ByDavid Adlerstein

The Franklin County Schools have reinforced the importance of the school’s dress code, making several changes to address areas that needed correction. While the school board still must approve the revised dress code as part of the code of conduct, Principal Laurence Pender outlined the proposal with the school board at a June workshop. In…

Doris Gibbs, county’s longtime elections chief, dies

ByDavid Adlerstein

Doris Shiver Gibbs, one of Florida’s longest serving supervisor of elections, passed away Monday morning, at 10:42 a.m. at the age of 69. First elected Franklin County Supervisor of Elections in 1980, Gibbs went on to serve 28 years in the county office before retiring in 2008. She rose to statewide prominence after serving in…

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Apalachicola mourns passing of Mayor Begos

ByDavid Adlerstein

Apalachicola Mayor Kevin Begos died early Saturday morning in Tallahassee. Members of the family confirmed Kevin Paul Begos, Jr. passed away at Capital Regional Medical Center at 1:40 a.m., at the age of 63. He had been rushed there early Thursday morning via medavac after experiencing cardiac arrest. His mother, Jane Richardson, of Apalachicola, was…

Tax base growth largest since 2004

ByDavid Adlerstein

Franklin County’s tax base has fattened up considerably over the past year, growing in the neighborhood of 8 percent, based on the property appraiser’s initial “good faith” estimates. According to numbers provided the county commission at its June 1 meeting. Property Appraiser Rhonda Skipper estimated the combined taxable value for use in the 2021-22 budget…