The County has received notification from CSX Transportation that the below railroad crossings will be closed for repairs the following dates/times:

River Road in Callahan at Brandies Avenue: Beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, February 8th and ending at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, February 12th. The detour will be Old Dixie Highway (CR115), west to Bypass Road, south to River Road. Please click here to view the detour map. 

County Road 108 in Hilliard by Pecan Street: Beginning at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 16th and ending at 12:00 p.m. on Friday, February 19th. The detour will be West 6th street, west to Oxford Street, south to County Road 108. Please click here to the view the detour map.

CSX has hired Benchmark Consulting to handle the road closures. Flagmen and message boards will be placed in the vicinity of the closures. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Betterley with Benchmark Consulting at (864) 684-6885.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

In celebration of Black History Month, the Nassau County Library System will host a series of free events. Below are two events that have already been scheduled. Other events may be announced at a future date and stories will be published accordingly.  

National African American Read-Ins
This national event was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English in an effort to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month and is the nation's first and oldest event dedicated to diversity in literature.

Join the other 5.5 million participants around the world on Monday, February, 1, 2016 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. in the Fernandina Beach Library Community Room. You can choose to listen or if you would like, you can participate by bringing a 1-2 reading from any material written by an African American including poetry, speeches, books, etc.  This event is sponsored by The Friends of the Fernandina Beach Library, The Association for the Study and Preservation of African American History in Nassau County, and the Nassau County Public Library System.

A second National African American Read-In will also take place at the Hilliard Branch Library on Thursday, February 18, 2016 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. and will include a special performance by the West Nassau Mass Choir. This event is sponsored by the Nassau County Public Library System, The Friends of the Hilliard Library, and The Concerned Citizens of Hilliard.

Showing of the Rosenwald Film by Aviva Kempner
Rosenwald is the incredible story of Julius Rosenwald, who never finished high school, but rose to become the President of Sears. Influenced by the writings of Booker T. Washington, this Jewish philanthropist joined forces with African-American communities during the Jim Crow South to build over 5,300 schools during the early part of the 20th Century, including Peck High School in Fernandina Beach. The film will be shown on Monday, February 22, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the Fernandina Beach Library Community Room.

This film screening is funded by the City's Historic Preservation Trust Fund, the Nassau County Library System, and local citizens. 

For information or questions concerning these events, please contact the Fernandina Beach Library at (904) 277-7365.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office





 

The Nassau County Extension offers a variety of services to Nassau County residents on a myriad of topics including diet & nutrition, health insurance benefits, and youth development. The department also hosts many free classes related to agriculture and horticulture including monthly landscape classes, plant clinics, small farming classes, and pesticide training. Many of these classes are taught by volunteers who received Master Gardener Certifications through the University of Florida. In 2015, Master Gardeners taught 686 classes to 7,257 residents resulting in over 5,000 in volunteer hours and a cost savings of $108,132 to Nassau County residents!

At this morning's meeting, the Board of County Commissioners recognized four Nassau County residents for their volunteerism at the Nassau County Extension Office.

• Jane Brown was recognized for 10 years of service to Nassau County. Ms. Brown specializes in annuals and hosts classes related to identifying flowers that can survive the Florida heat, caring for flowers, and pruning techniques. She also specializes in growing and caring for various types of roses. In fact, she assists with caring for all the roses featured in the County's demonstration gardens.
  
• Ginny Grupe was recognized for 15 years of service. Ms. Grupe is known by her colleagues as the "butterfly lady". She holds numerous community outreach programs to teach children about butterflies, as well as classes for adults to learn how to attract more butterflies to their landscape. Ms. Grupe also hosts the annual Ag Extravaganza for all third graders in the County to learn about farming and teaches classes on Florida Friendly Landscape to help homeowners reduce water consumption and learn how to choose drought-tolerant plants.
• Bea Walker was recognized for 10 years of service. Ms. Walker promotes the County Extension's programs through various marketing techniques including articles, photos, and public relations information in the local papers, websites, and gardening magazines. These articles and photos have provided the County Extension with nearly 17 million positive exposures, providing the residents of northeast Florida with learning opportunities implemented by the County Extension Office. Fun fact: Bea Walker was selected at the Master Gardener of the Year for the State of Florida in 2009.
  
• Kathy Warner was recognized for 10 years of service. Ms. Warner spends countless hours designing and administering the County Extension website. Under her leadership in the last ten years, the website has grown from 8 pages to just over 300. The website "hits" have also increased from 610 annually to over 100,000. She is also the editor and author of the "Horticulture News", an online newsletter that provides homeowners with useful information such as how to care for grass, how to choose the correct soil, and mulching techniques. Fun fact: Kathy was selected as Nassau County's Volunteer of the Year in 2014 and was recognized at the Annual Volunteer Luncheon for her services.

Nassau County is truly grateful to these individuals, as well as all the other volunteers who sacrifice their time to make this County great!

If you are interested in learning more about the County Extension Office, please visit their website. You may also contact their office directly at (904) 530-6350 with questions or comments.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

At the December 14, 2015 Board of County Commissioner's meeting, the Board made motion to post signs on SR200/A1A near the current Sheriff's Administration Building and on US 17 at the old School Board Property in honor of the 2015 Heisman Trophy Winner, Derrick Henry.

We are pleased to announce that the Board has selected the monument sign shown to the left. They are currently seeking donations to assist with the costs of constructing the signs, as well as a Derrick Henry Day Event consisting of a parade and celebration. (date and location to be determined). So far, just over $500 has been raised, but we still have a long way to go!

If you are interested in making a donation, please mail a check payable to the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners at 96135 Nassau Place, Suite 1, Yulee, FL 32097 and include a reference on the memo for Derrick Henry. You may also make cash donations in person by visiting the County Manager's Office at the same location.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office

The Florida Department of Transportation has provided the attached monthly status report for the State Road 200/A1A Widening Project. The report gives an overview of activities that have taken place since the project began in September 2014, as well as activities that are expected to be performed in January 2016.

If you have any questions, please contact Debbie Delgado, Public Information Officer for Adkins Global, at (904) 524-3869 or via e-mail at Debbie.Delgado@atkinsglobal.com.

-Sabrina Robertson
 County Manager's Office