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What’s on for holiday events Area churches offer plenty
Character Counts!
Award-winners recognized
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Art education
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PALM CITY/TESORO
YourVoiceWeekly.com VOL. 3/ISSUE 6
YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2014
Legislators hear from public, officials Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
Staff photo by Patrick McCallister On Monday, Dec. 8, State senators Denise Grimsley and Joe Negron, along with state representatives Gayle Harrell and MaryLynn ‘ML’ Magar, held a local-delegation meeting at the Stuart City Hall.
MARTIN COUNTY — Two state senators and two state representatives, dozens of constituents, along with plenty of issues, all gathered in the same room earlier this week. On Monday, Dec. 8, state senators Denise Grimsley and Joe Negron, along with state representatives Gayle Harrell and MaryLynn “ML” Magar, held a legislative-delegation meeting at the Stuart City Hall. They’re preparing for the 2015 session of the Florida Legislature, which will be from March to May. Laurie Gaylord, superintendent of the Martin County School District, had a lot of requests of the local legislative delegation. Among them was more time to get everyone up to speed on the Florida Assessment Standards
before making more rules. “One of our priorities, we ask for no new mandates,” she told the county’s legislative delegation. Gaylord said that school districts have had about 30 changes in assessment standards in the last three years — enough to make a lot of uncertainties that need to get ironed out. Gone are the days of parents and students hating the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, FCAT. Now student performance is getting measured by the Florida Assessment Standards and end-ofcourse exams for every class. The only remnant of FCAT 2.0 left is the fifth- and eighthgrade science portions, and a handful of older students who need to retest in order to graduate high school. Students these days will be taking the Florida
See LEGISLATORS page 3
‘Drive-through miracles’ Patrick McCallister STAFF WRITER
pmccallister@YourVoiceWeekly.com
PALM CITY — Lots of churches do Christmas cantatas. Some even stage living nativities. For the eighth year, New Hope Fellowship Church is pulling off a miracle. The church’s annual production of “The Grand Miracle” will be on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12 and 13, from 6:30
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to 8:30 p.m. The church is at 3900 S.W. Citrus Blvd. in Palm City “Sometimes it looks so good, I think it can only be God that made it look so good,” Rebecca Negron, production organizer, said. Gary Merritt, executive pastor, said God’s got a miracle co-worker in Negron. “She’s very good at organizing,” he said.
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Photo courtesy of Rebecca Negron
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Laura Rinker teaches children about first century textiles at a previous production of “The Grand Miracle.” The annual production of Palm City’s New Hope Fellowship Church, 3900 S.W. Citrus Blvd., will be on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 12 and 13, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
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