A meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 7, at Madison City Hall to review City Manager Harold Emrich.

City Attorney Clay Schnitker will chair the meeting, which is open to the general public.

Since the meeting is public, citizens should have input at the proceedings.

The meeting is being held at the behest of City Council Member Judy Townsend, who asked that the meeting be held at the last Madison City Council meeting.

A packet for the meeting includes letters from concerned residents and articles from The Orlando Sentinel outlining Emrich's previous problems as city manager in Deltona. Emrich was dismissed from that position with a 4-3 vote of the commission.

Some of the letters in the packet discuss problems individuals have had communicating with the city manager.

Bennie C. Morris, 41, of Monticello, was charged with driving while license suspended after he overturned a log truck on Little Cat Road.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, Bennie C. Morris, 41, of Monticello, was traveling north on Bobwhite Terrace and attempted to make a left turn onto Little Cat Road.

For unknown reasons, Morris failed to negotiate the turn, causing the vehicle to overturn, with the right side of his 1996 truck striking a ditch.

The log truck came to a final rest, on the north shoulder of Little Cat Road.

Skid marks revealed that the truck did not stop at a stop sign. The tires on the truck were severely worn.

A license check also revealed that the driver's license was suspended.

The Department of Transportation, Madison County Sheriff's Office and the Hamburg-Lovett Volunteer Fire Department assisted at the scene.

Morris was taken by Madison County EMS to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where he was treated for serious injuries.

Problems with crime in the city will be one of the topics of discussion at a meting on Thursday, Sept. 9, at the Mail Room.

The Neighborhood Crime Watch will be discussed. among other things, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

The Mail Room is located at 173 NE Range Avenue in Madison.

For more information, please call (850) 973-2328.

Mount Olive Baptist Church will hold a yard sale, beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 4, at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, located on Highway 53 South.

The church will also host a cake auction, beginning at 5 p.m. in the Opry Hall at the church.

All proceeds from the cake auction and yard sale will go to benefit the Mount Olive Baptist Church building fund and to send missionaries to Europe.

Attorneys for Dennett Cruce and Jeanette Thompkins will file pre-trial motions in a murder-for-hire case on Monday, Sept. 13.

Cruce was arrested on Jan. 28 for criminal solicitation to commit murder. Cruce allegedly tried to hire someone to kill his wife.

Thompkins was also arrested on the charge of principal to solicit murder.

According to the Madison County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), the case began when investigators from the MCSO received information from informants regarding someone in Madison County soliciting Hispanics to commit a murder.

Further investigation revealed that Cruce, along with Thompkins, were allegedly the subjects who were trying to hire someone to commit the murder. Investigators from the Madison County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, and the Third Circuit State Attorney's Office to assist in the case.

Probable cause was obtained and warrants were issued.

Judge Wetzel Blair signed the warrants for the arrest of Cruce and Thompkins.

Cruce and Thompkins remain in Madison County Jail.

Cruce's bond has been set at $300,000.

Tompkins' bond has been set at $150,000.

The trial is tentatively set for Oct. 19.

Florida's students, teachers and schools won a victory recently with the announcement of up to $700 million coming to the Sunshine State as a part of the federal Race to the Top competition.

Along with New York, Florida received the largest award and this funding will be dedicated to carrying out a broad range of strategies designed to improve our lowest performing schools, reward Florida teachers, and increase the academic achievement of our students.

"I was honored to lead Florida's delegation to Washington, D.C., to present Florida's Race to the Top application," said Governor Charlie Crist. He thanked the Race to the Top Working Group for answering the call to come to consensus and strengthening the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or letter of intent.

As a result, Florida's teachers and school leaders overwhelmingly supported the revised Memorandum of Understanding, including 54 local teacher unions.

"I want to thank Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who chaired the Working Group, and Andy Ford, the president of the Florida Education Association, for helping us achieve this tremendous level of consensus," said Crist.