Rick Patrick
rick@greenepublishing.com
The special guest speaker for the meeting of the Madison County Rotary Club on Wednesday, June 19, was State Representative Allison Tant. Rep. Tant gave an update on some of the legislation passed during the most recent session of the Florida legislature, especially legislation and items of interest to Madison County residents. Notable among these was funding to begin a new Emergency Center that can house the Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Fire Rescue, the Madison County Communications Center (9-1-1 dispatch) and the Madison County Emergency Management department. Having all these resources in one central location is expected to greatly increase efficiency and ease of operation, especially in the event of an emergency, such as a hurricane. Rep. Tant also stated that funding for building new cabins at the 4-H Camp at Cherry Lake had been approved to the tune of $900,000. Rep. Tant said this funding would be coming through the University of Florida, which makes the funding much more secure. Rep. Tant also spoke on legislation she has been working on that would help parents and guardians more easily care for and make decisions for those with developmental or mental issues, such as dementia, downs syndrome, etc. without having to go through the trouble and expense of going to court, hiring lawyers, etc.
The Madison Rotary Club meets each Wednesday, at 12 p.m., at the Villa Maria Social Hall of the St. Vincent dePaul Catholic Church, located on Orange Ave., across from Beggs Funeral Home, in Madison. Taking the Rotary motto, “service above self” to heart, the local Rotarians have supported many local service projects, ranging from providing books to local elementary schools to area disaster relief, and more.