community

By PAUL R. MAY
paul@paulrmay.com

Ralph Fiennes, the actor behind the evil Lord “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” is scary enough to begin with. But his reptilian blue-white skin and those terrifying pit viper slits he has for nostrils are even freakier when he’s standing in front of you at about 50 feet tall.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiered at World Golf Village’s IMAX Theater Tuesday night. A packed house of media reviewers and lucky prizewinners enjoyed a 7 p.m. sneak preview of the movie before it opened to the general public at midnight.

Northwest St. Johns County resident Caridad Ferrer writes novels for young adult readers. MTV Books published her first novel, Adios to My Old Life, in 2006 and will be releasing her second novel, It's Not About the Accent, in August. MARK PETTUS/My St. Johns Sun

By TERRY BROWN
terry.brown@mystjohnssun.com

Cutting more than $100 million from the 2007 budget amount, County Commissioners Ben Rich, Tom Manuel and Ron Sanchez listened to details of the proposed 2008 county budget Tuesday. The budget news was welcomed by the trio who had pledged to tighten the county’s spending habits during Manuel’s and Sanchez’s fall campaigns. Absent from Tuesday’s meeting were Cyndi Stevenson, who was out of the country, and Jim Bryant, called away due to urgent family matters.

Nina Johnson

Get the candles ready and lots of them. On July 23, Westminster Woods resident Nina Johnson will celebrate a birthday — her 103rd!

Still very active, the centenarian is a prominent feature at the retirement community located adjacent the St. Johns River. Johnson is seen daily pedaling her candy-apple red, three-wheeled bike rather briskly throughout the Fruit Cove campus. However, the quick-witted Johnson, whose rides these days are frequently interrupted by well-wishers, does not plan to slow down.

By MARK PETTUS
mark.pettus@mystjohnssun.com

It may be a Carrabas. It may be a Chik-fil-A. It may even be a Starbucks. But it won’t be a storage facility.

So says the company that had planned to build an Atlantic Storage facility on land the firm owns along Flora Branch Boulevard in Julington Creek Plantation.

Bill Dillow

Bill Dillow and a buddy went together to join the Army in 1941 under a program that guaranteed to assign them to the same duty station. The Army recruiter was at lunch. Dillow’s buddy wanted to wait, but Dillow didn’t want to wait and enlisted in the Navy.

He joined the Pacific Fleet as a diver and for the next few years was assigned to ships that dodged torpedoes and battled Kamikaze pilots. At 20 years old he became one of the youngest men ever to earn the rank of chief. Although he saw gruesome duty during World War II —Dillow was assigned to enter damaged ships and recover the bodies of sailors killed by a Japanese attack — and he is now deaf in one ear because of a diving accident, he doesn’t regret not waiting for that Army recruiter. Not one bit.

By MARK PETTUS
mark.pettus@mystjohnssun.com

At its meeting Thursday, the Anastasia Mosquito Control District board is expected to approve a budget, adopt a tentative millage rate for next year, and discuss a bid for the design and construction of a new facility on land the district purchased off Florida 16 near Interstate 95.

Budgets and Rezoning
Old Business leads the agenda

1: Approval of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services work plan budget.
2: Lease renewal of the district facility in Hastings.
3: Continuing the rezoning process on the Florida 16 property.
4: Creation of a grant-funded biologist position.
5: Approval of the new account’s job description as “Administrative Assistant.”.

just moved to st. johns county
Newcomers Network of St. Johns County invites newcomers to join. The group meets from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 10, at The Coastal Community Center, 180 Marine St., St. Augustine Residents who are new to the area in the last three years or those who have experienced a lifestyle change are encouraged to attend.

The evening, sponsored by Mercedes Homes, will feature a short program with guest speakers, complimentary beer, wine and hors d’oeuvres.

Al Kalter

St. Johns resident Al Kalter believes in the youth of today. In fact, he passionately believes a sharing of cultures and experiences among today’s young people are key to world understanding and peace, and he’s doing what he can to bring young people from diverse worlds together. Kalter heads up the Rotary Youth Exchange program for the Northeast Florida district. The 2007-2008 program will send 25 area kids, including five from Bartram Trail, overseas for a year while host families will welcome 30 kids to the First Coast. The now successful Northeast Florida program has grown in respect under Kalter’s leadership, and is now modeled by other districts across the state. Not bad for an all but defunct program that Kalter started turning around in 1999 after moving to the area.

County commissioners Ben Rich and Cyndi Stevenson (center left and right) unveil
the new names of County Roads 223 and 244 as Longleaf Pine and Veterans parkways.

By TERRY BROWN
terry.brown@mystjohnssun.com