NEW EACH DAY - DAILY DEVOTIONAL
THE CHRISTIAN PRESS​

NEW EACH WEEK
Gary Miller's Outdoor Truths Ministry, Oct. 13, 2025
CLICK HERE

Two children accept certificates

Pre-kindergarten student Grayson Dexter is seen next to his mother (left) and Chiefland Mayor Lewrissa Johns on Monday night (Oct. 13) as the child was honored by being a Student of the Month.

Story and Photos By Jeff M. Hardison © Oct. 14, 2025 at 10 a.m.
All Copyrights Protected By Federal Civil Law
Do Not Copy and Paste to Social Media or Elsewhere
     CHIEFLAND – A pre-kindergarten student and a sixth grader accepted certificates to show they were selected as outstanding students on Monday night (Oct. 13) in Chiefland, but the high school recipient did not attend.

MORE BELOW THIS AD

Click On Ad To Go To Website.

     The Chiefland City Commission held its regular twice-monthly meeting on a federal holiday, which also happened to be a “teacher workday” for Levy County teachers – Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
     So, teachers and administrators were at school but there were no Levy County students in public schools on Monday.


Pre-kindergarten student Grayson Dexter pauses for a photo opportunity with Chiefland Mayor Lewrissa Johns.

     Grayson Dexter a pre-K student honored as the Student of the Month for September by the Chiefland city Commission.
     His teacher noted that he comes to school ready each day.
     “Even with being super anxious about starting school,” he teacher noted that this child comes to school with a positive attitude and is ready to learn something new every day. He pushed through all of the new feelings that come from starting school for the first time, his teacher wrote.


Landrie Locke, a sixth grader, listens as Chiefland Mayor Lewrissa Johns speaks about the student’s outstanding traits that resulted in her being awarded the Student of the Month award in Chiefland for September.

     Sixth grader Landrie Locke was the next to be honored by Mayor Johns as the mayor wrote what was noted by the sixth grade teachers at Chiefland Middle School.
     The young Miss Locke is the picture of responsibility, her teachers noted.
     “She is respectful and engaged with teachers and students alike,” they noted. “Landry is very dedicated to her education. She always participates in class and volunteers to help. Landry is an excellent choice for the quality of responsibility. She is in class on time, prepares, is attentive and always volunteers to help others.”
     It was also noted that she is an extremely respectful sixth grader.


Landrie Locke pauses with Chiefland Mayor Lewrissa Johns for a photo opportunity.


Grayson Dexter, Landrie Locke and Chiefland Mayor Lewrissa Johns are captured in a digital image for posterity at the conclusion of the presentations on Monday night.

     The high school student who was nominated as the September Student of the Month from Chiefland High School was not present to accept his certificate on Oct. 13, which was a federal holiday as well as being a day when Levy County public school students were not in school.
     All three students not only received a certificate to note they are outstanding students, but the Chiefland Rotary Club gave each of them a $20 gift certificate as an award as well.

More Below This Ad

Retiring Levy County Road Department
employee honored after 30 years of service

People gather for a group photo to celebrate the occasion of the retirement after 30 years of service of David Cannon, and seen here are (from left) Levy County Commissioner Johnny Hiers, Levy County Commission Vice Chair Tim Hodge, Levy County Commission Chair Desiree Mills, Levy County Animal Services Manager Brandy Cannon, Kristi Cannon (David’s wife), honoree David Cannon, County Commissioner Charlie Kennedy, Assistant Road Superintendent Lincoln Cannon, Levy County Road Department Administrative Coordinator Alice LaLonde, and Public Works Maintainer II Brian Cannon.

Story and Photo By Jeff M. Hardison © Oct. 7, 2025 at 11 a p.m.
All Copyrights Protected By Federal Civil Law
Do Not Copy and Paste to Social Media or Elsewhere
     BRONSON – The first numbered item on the agenda for the Oct. 7 meeting of the Levy County Board of County Commissioners was “Present Retirement Plaque to David Cannon.”
     Levy County Human Resources Assistant Manager Elizabeth Vigorito brought the event to the forefront as she stood in for Levy County Human Resources Manager Jacqueline Martin, who was involved with a conference.
     Cannon was invited to the front of the meeting room, where he was presented with a plaque in honor of his 30 years of service in the Levy County Road Department.
     Levy County Commission Chair Desiree Mills said she felt Cannon’s years of dedicated service to Levy County are amazing.
     Levy County Commission Vice Chair Tim Hodge said that Cannon’s work in trimming trees as a member of the Road Department is noteworthy.
     “He was a leader, and we thank him for everything he did,” Hodge added.
     Assistant Road Superintendent Lincoln Cannon said he is thankful for all that Cannon did for the county, and he is glad the man has reached the point now where he can retire from the Levy County Road Department. 

Gilchrist County paramedicine program
gets new truck and another employee
North Gilchrist County residents
reportedly poor and unable to use Internet

Gilchrist County Fire Rescue Paramedic Ryan Clemons speaks to the County Commission Monday evening (Oct. 6).

Story and Photo By Jeff M. Hardison © Oct. 7, 2025 at 7 p.m.
All Copyrights Protected By Federal Civil Law
Do Not Copy and Paste to Social Media or Elsewhere
     TRENTON – Gilchrist County Fire Rescue Paramedic Ryan Clemons, who runs the county’s paramedicine program, sought and received a new truck and another employee by a 5-0 vote of the County Commission Monday night (Oct. 6).
     Clemons provided a PowerPoint presentation to show his plans to improve the program that provides in-home wellness checks, medication management, and care coordination for at-risk residents, particularly seniors, and offers support for substance abuse and mental health issues.
     The state government, he said, is requiring all 67 counties to have some core level of care in regard to responding to drug overdoses.
     The Gilchrist County paramedicine program bridges the gap between emergency and everyday healthcare by connecting vulnerable community members with health and social services, managing chronic conditions, and reducing non-emergency 9-1-1 calls as well as reducing ambulance rides to Gainesville. 
     Gilchrist County, like Levy County and Dixie County, does not have a trauma center or a hospital. There are hospitals in Gainesville (Alachua County) and Ocala (Marion County). Therefore, people who have a probability of needing urgent emergency care may not want to live in the Tri-County Area.
     Primary medical care for families is mostly done thanks to Palms Medical Group, which has several centers, including in Bell and Trenton, and it offers a sliding scale for low-income patients. And there are some other primary care family medicine providers in the Tri-County Area.
     As for the hundreds of thousands of dollars managed by Lutheran Health Services for Gilchrist County as a result of a law suit against pharmaceutical companies that allegedly pushed opiates, the $38,799 brand new Chevrolet pickup truck, as well as the $56,296 and $17,698 pieces of medical equipment for XXX approved for the paramedicine program, are part of the $236,261 of money approved by the County Commission – all with unanimous votes.
     Clemons said Gilchrist County had been allocated $775,000 for this mental health program, and that allocation was based on the population.
     Clemons said he is adding another full-time paramedic so that he and the other paramedic can be on call 24 hours every day to coordinate emergency mental health calls that will be managed by Meridian Behavioral Health Services when the paramedicine team is contacted about drug overdoses.
     Meridian is the accepted agency for mental health care in the Tri-County Area by Lutheran Health Services, he said.
     Clemons said more than 50 percent of his paramedicine patients live in a small part of the county that he calls North Gilchrist County. That area is the unincorporated area of the county north of Gilchrist County Road 232, Clemons said.
     His patients are poverty-stricken, elderly and are not able to use the Internet. Hence, the idea of using social media to promote this service did not seem well-advised.
     A number of people who are able to use the Internet, don’t use social media for a variety of reasons. One reason is due to counterfeit “sites.” For instance, On Patrol Live, a police-oriented program on REELZ cable network, has a YouTube site, but its host warns viewers to find the actual On Patrol YouTube and not a counterfeit version.
     Social media is more for social purposes rather than to be considered a trusted source of factual information. 
     The community paramedic items on the agenda were listed under matters for Gilchrist County Administrator Bobby Crosby, who asked Clemons to make the presentation about the county’s paramedicine program and use of money to improve it, which resulted in 100 percent of the requests sought being granted.

FDOH helps primary care patients
in Dixie County
Tri-County Area contracts
show service continuing Oct. 1

Florida Department of Health Tri-County Unit Health Officer Natalie McKellips (right) speaks from the lectern to the Dixie County Commission about approving the annual budget request. Standing next to her is ARPN Sherry Barker, the primary care medical provider for the FDOH in Dixie County.

Story and Photos By Jeff M. Hardison © Oct. 6, 2025 at 9 p.m.
All Copyrights Protected By Federal Civil Law
Do Not Copy and Paste to Social Media or Elsewhere
     DIXIE COUNTY – Florida Department of Health (FDOH) Tri-County Unit Health Officer Natalie McKellips, JD, found county commissioners in Dixie County, Gilchrist County and Levy County approving her budget requests for fiscal year 2025-2026 (Oct. 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2026) with each visit to those meetings in Cross City, Trenton and Bronson respectively.

Dixie County Commissioner Daniel Wood III (left) and Commission Vice Chairman Mark Hatch are seen before the start of the first meeting of the new fiscal year.


Dixie County Sheriff Darby Butler (right) speaks with County Commissioner Mark Storey (left). Also seen at the dais before the start of the Oct. 2 meeting (going left from Commissioner Storey) are County Commissioner David Osteen, County Manager John Jenkins and County Attorney Chana Watson.

     At her most recent trip to Cross City, the Dixie County Board of County Commissioners not only approved the annual contract she sought, but they approved the schedule of fees she presented, and they thanked her for the increased primary medical care offered at the office in Cross City.
     The annual Dixie County FDOH contract shows under “Recital 4,” “FUNDING,” that the revenue to be provided by the state to Dixie County for FDOH services is not to exceed $1,345,003 ($1.3 million-plus), from the State General Revenue, State Funds, other state funds and federal funds listed on the Schedule C attachment to the 12-page document that is the contract.
     The state’s obligation to pay under this contract is contingent upon an annual appropriation by the Florida Legislature.
     Dixie County’s appropriated responsibility (direct contribution excluding any fees, other cash, or local contributions) as provided in attachments to contract is not to exceed $25,000 (amount listed under the “Board of County Commissioners Annual Appropriations” section of the revenue attachment).
     While the verbiage for most of the contracts is the exact same for Gilchrist County, the funding numbers are different.
     The state’s responsibility for Gilchrist County is not to exceed $1,127,412 (about $1.3 million) in the fiscal year that just started on Wednesday (Oct. 1). (The state fiscal year, by the way, is July 1 through June 30.)
     Where Dixie County’s part is not to exceed $25,000, Gilchrist County’s responsibility is not to exceed $88,388, according to the approved annual contract.
     The same contract for Levy County with the FDOH shows the state payment not to exceed $1,900,038 ($1.9 million).
     Levy County’s annual revenue for the FDOH in FY 2025-2026 is not to exceed $165,500, according to the approved contract.
     To recap, Dixie County $25,000; Gilchrist County $88,388; and Levy County $165,500, according to the contracts.
     McKellips told HardisonInk.com, after being asked if these amounts are based on the different levels of service or on populations in the three counties, that she took the numbers that existed when she accepted the duties to lead the FDOH Tri-County Unit and continued them forward.
     McKellips took over as the administrator for the FDOH Tri-County Unit on Nov. 20, 2020, according to FDOH records.
     On Thursday morning (Oct. 2) in Cross City, McKellips was granted the budget request she made.
     McKellips introduced Sherry Barker, ARPN, the primary care medical provider in for the FDOH in Dixie County.
     An APRN, or Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, is a Registered Nurse (RN) with advanced graduate-level education and training (a Master's or Doctoral degree), specializing in a particular area of patient care. APRNs have increased autonomy and responsibilities, including diagnosing illnesses, developing treatment plans and prescribing medications.
     The Primary Care Clinic opened on May 7 at the FDOH in Cross City, McKellips said.
     Between four and 10 people are seen daily so far in the clinic, McKellips said as of Oct. 2.
     “Those people are so grateful to have a doctor who will listen to them,” McKellips said, “and help them figure out their problems, and I can’t say enough about how well the clinic is running. We’re so proud of it.”
     The FDOH Tri-County Unit officer said the plan now is to expand the services that clinic provides in Dixie County.
     County Commission Vice Chairman Mark Hatch asked how to increase the number of four-to-10 patients daily at the primary care clinic of the FDOH in Cross City. 
     McKellips said the FDOH is seeking to add an X-ray machine. The FDOH in Cross City is also trying to become a Community Care Center for the Veterans Affairs (VA) to serve United States military service veterans, she said. Then veterans can be seen in Cross City, and their prescriptions can be sent electronically to the VA to be filled.
     In addition to approving the budget, the Dixie County Commission approved the schedule of fees for services at this primary care clinic.

Following are the fees approved:

     Commission Chairman Jody Stephenson asked McKellips how the FDOH is progressing in the previously planned transition for the Florida Department of Environment Regulation (FDEP) to take over permitting and inspections related to septic tanks and septic drain fields.
     “Well,” McKellips said, “there have been some snafus. DEP did not get the positions they needed to continue on with the transfer of the septic program. They (FDEP leaders) are going to the (Florida) Legislature for clarification in the coming year.”
     She went on to say the FDOH was presented with “three possible scenarios.”
     ● FDEP takes over the septic program in December of 2026;
     ● FDEP takes over the septic program in December of 2027;
     ● The septic program remains under the control of the FDOH.
     The bottom line for a structure that has two bathrooms and needed a septic drain field repaired, the cost in Levy County was $4,000 or so. The FDOH staff in the field and in the office were professional and said what they meant and did what they said.
     In the not-too-distant future, this work might be in the $12,000 or higher range to complete due to the upcoming BMAPs.
     Briefly, according to FDEP, In Florida, BMAPs (Basin Management Action Plans) are comprehensive water quality restoration plans designed to reduce pollutant loadings to achieve the limitations identified in a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL). They include strategies such as permit limits on wastewater facilities, urban and agricultural best management practices, and conservation programs. BMAPs are developed with local stakeholders and are legally enforceable, aiming to address specific water quality issues in various water bodies across the state.
     Meanwhile, back to primary care in Dixie County, there is Dr. Jason R. Konopack, M.D., at UF Health Family Medicine in Old Town.
     Among the many Palms Medical Group offices in the area are one in Bell (Gilchrist County); one in Trenton (Gilchrist County); one in Chiefland (Levy County); and one in Branford (Suwannee County).
     There is a paramedicine program in Dixie County, which is not for primary care but serves as an intermediary for several medical issues that save people from going to an emergency room at a hospital in Gainesville. 
     There are no hospitals or trauma centers in Dixie County, Gilchrist County of Levy County.
 

First Published Feb. 1, 2011 at 8 a.m.
     On Feb. 1, 2011, HardisonInk.com came into existence on the Internet. On All Saints Day - Nov. 1, 2011, The Christian Press section on The Life Page of HardisonInk.com started, which was about nine months after the start of the daily news website. The name "The Christian Press" was derived from an encounter a decade earlier in 2001 in St. Petersburg, when and where a man mentioned to a journalist that this particular journalist must work for "The Christian Press." Although the presumption by the man about that journalist was incorrect and misplaced, the name sounded good. And the journalist said that if he could work for The Christian Press, then that certainly would be the publication to serve.
     Since Nov. 1, 2011, The Christian Press section of this page has run daily devotionals from several individuals who contributed over the past years. There were two days in 2018 when the daily devotional did not run due to a journalist requiring emergency orthopedic surgery on broken bones in his left arm and wrist. That surgically added metal, though, makes that part of that arm even more able to withstand forces. Many daily devotionals are pulled from Strength for Service to God and Country (Whitmore & Stone © 1942; Renewed 1969 by Norman E. Nygaard; Second revised edition © 2002 Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, Providence House Publishers). The journalist who is the sole proprietor and owner of HardisonInk.com (Jeff M. Hardison) notes his appreciation for the use of those devotionals from that now-defunct publishing company, and for the many other contributors who have helped people over the past decade-plus now. Strength for Service to God and Country's daily devotionals include many from a time when the United States of America was a partner in a World War, both WWI and WWII. This journalist welcomes contributions of daily devotionals. Daily devotional authors are asked to please send only their original works to hardisonink@gmail.com. Americans are reminded that all religions, having no religion and or being a person who endorses anti-religion are all protected as part of the freedoms from government intervention, as are other benefits from being an American.
 

Friday, Oct. 17, 2025 at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time

THE ROCK THAT IS HIGHER

Read Psalm 46

     From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
-- Psalm 61:2 (KJV)

     Since many lives are lost in the lowlands of confusion, our primary need is for spiritual altitude. The verse above is a good prayer for anyone.

     There is a trail within your life
     Where you can climb above the crowd,
     When you can rise above the earth,
     And look far down on haze and cloud.

     There is a trail within your soul
     Where you can climb right up to God,
     And know the source whence blessings flow
     To quicken life in seed and sod.

     There is a trail that calls to you,
     “Come, climb and conquer heights unscaled,
     That you may see with vision true,
     And find life’s goal where others failed.”

     There is a trail that you can climb,
     What though death come on mountain peak!
     The vision comes to those who climb!
     Christ’s mantle falls on those who seek!
-- F.S.B.
 
   O GOD, where mountains tower high above the plains and alleys, teach me to set my spirit on upward trail. Help me in all my climbing to feel the presence of Him who climbed the hills of Nazareth, Gethsemane and Calvary. Amen.
The Rev. Dr. Fred S. Buschmeyer (1899-1981)
Mount Pleasant Congregational Church
Washington, District of Columbia
Strength for Service to God and Country
(Whitmore & Stone © 1942; Renewed 1969 by Norman E. Nygaard; Second revised edition © 2002 Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, Providence House Publishers)

Outdoor Truths Ministry
By Gary Miller © Oct. 13, 2025 at 7:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time