Fashion Show
St. Joseph’s parish members are having their annual Fashion Show on Sat. Feb. 12, 2011. Parish members will model the clothes from Bon Worth. Tickets are $10. A nice luncheon will be served, along with tea or coffee and dessert. Get your tickets early, they go fast. Call Cindy: 6255685 or Celeste: 625-3800.
Alpha Center
The Ocala Alpha Center is asking for assistance. There is a great need for items for the children. They can use new clothes and items gently used and clean. Someone from the Center will discuss their work and what they do for the community Sat. Jan. 3:00 p.m. at the church hall. They work all year long for needy children.
Healing
Fr. Ateer, a healing priest, will be at St. Joseph’s on Feb. 2 at 6:00 P.m. All are welcome.
Forest Lake Park
Turning Point mentoring Center and Forest Lake Park are continuing their efforts at community building thru the children. Twenty plus kids go each weekday after school to complete their homework, play organized games and eat lots of snacks under the watchful eye of Tammy Houke and her crew. Some of these children would go home to empty houses or roam the street unsupervised until their parents get home in the evening. Parents are reporting positive feedback and the kids love to attend the program.
Dec. 18th Turning Point sponsored a Christmas Block Party for the community. More than 200 residents and friends attended and were treated to dinner, a Christmas play and caroling given by the community children. The delicious meal was cooked and served to everyone by Southwind camp. Santa then delivered presents to the children. Great fun was had by all.
Tammy also kept the school open for over 30 children over the Christmas holiday. Activites, fun projects and movies were enjoyed by the kids. Elections were held in Dec. for FLP. Pres. Bud Ryan, VP Jackie Walker, Sec. Pat Ryan and Treasurer, Bob Webster. BOD Leroy Stevens, Steve McCurdy, Mel Harrelson, John Munger and Phyllis Morris. Watch us as we continue to grow a better community.
Kim Ryan
FLP and the Forest Community mourns the passing of Kim Ryan. The whole community knew Kim, her husband Tim and all the Ryan crew who have lived in Forest Lake Park for many years. Kim served on the Board of Directors for several years and had been a past secretary for FLP Association. Before managing Mom’s restaurant on Hwy. 40 where she touched so many lives the past few years, she managed Meadows Corner store on 314A. Meadows was our FLP corner store and the hub of the community. Kim knew all the kids and families and always had a smile and a chuckle for everyone. FLP and the whole Forest community will miss that smiling face.
The Seasons of Life
by BJ Morbitzer
There was a man that had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn, not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away. The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in the summer and the youngest in the fall. When they all had gone and returned, he called them together to describe what they had seen.
The first son said the tree was ugly, bent and twisted. The second son said it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them, he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen only one season of the tree’s life. He told them you can not Judge a tree, or a person, by only one season. That the essence of who they are, and the pleasure, joy and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer and the fulfillment of your fall. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of the rest. Don’t judge life by one difficult season.
Perservere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come in time.
Aspire to Inspire…before you expire.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly and leave the rest to God.
Happiness keeps you sweet, trials keep you strong, failures keep you humble, success keeps you growing, but only God keeps you going.
Citizens Observatory Patrols
As always the COPS patrol has been busy this quarter. We started this quarter by handing out candy at the Library for Trunk or Treat. Halloween night all cars were patroling to help keep the kids safe and handing out candy. Nov, 13 we had two tents set up to collect dollars and personal care supplies for our Toops. We collected over $1000.00 and lots of supplies. These were boxed and sent to Camp Blanding to accompany the new troops going to Afghanistan.
In Dec. the patrol helped the FAC with traffic for the Choral Celebration and rang the bell for the Salvation Army for a week. Our annual Christmas Party was held at the Methodist Church and everyone had a great time.
At the Dec. meeting it was announced that the Sheriff’s Forest District Office was closing. A work center would remain for the deputies, but they now would report to Salt Springs District Office under Lt. Chester and Ocklawaha District Office under Sgt. Byrd. We were assured that we would see no reduction of coverage or service. It was felt by all that this was a great loss to the community. With the help of FAC and lots of community support, a change in plans was brought about regarding the closing of the office to citizens. We now have Lt. Sauter manning the office weekdays and the COPS patrol will man the front desk weekdays 10-2 for the community help and information.
We still lost two people who were a great asset to our community, Detective Tillis and our much loved secretary Stephanie. Each have been transferred to new positions. Our loss. Time will tell how the present plan will work out. Other changes may occur as time and the budget are worked out. We will keep you posted.
Alzheimers Support Group
The monthly Alzheimer’s Support Group meets every third Thursday in the parish hall of St. Joseph of the Forest Church. Time: 2p.m. These meetings are open to anyone dealing with Alzheimers disease including caregivers, family, friends or persons in frequent contact with person with Alzheimer’s. There is NO COST for attendees. Meeting facilitator: LindaMetzler. Ph. 625-2778 or 715-379-6353.
Meetings: Jan. 20, Feb. 17, Mar. 17, April 21, May 19, June 16, July & Aug no meeting, Sept. 15, Oct. 20, Nov. 17, Dec. 15.
Forest Art Club
The Art Club meets the fourth Friday of each month, and we are growing every month. This last few months we all painted rocks, painted a waterfall on black canvas, and painted a glass jug in reverse glass.
In January we will be doing a pastel still life; in February it will be a canvas oil painting of a mill in spring. And March will feature glass etching. Cost is only $2.50 and you don’t need to have any artistic ability. In the next year we will be doing watercolors, outdoor sketching, mosaic material and much more.
In the Forest
Hunting will end in the Ocala National Forest mid Jan. for general gun, so dispersed camping can resume. Lake Eaton Sinkhole hiking trail is being renovated, but the Loop trail by the lake is still open. There are many hiking trails open and most have been cleaned and readied, now is a great time to go before it gets hot.
Ghost Towns
7th in our series of abandoned towns in Marion County. Vogt Springs was a small Marion County community in the late 1800′s. Albert Vogt discovered phosphate on his 10 acres in 1889. Originally called Renfro Springs because the original owner was James Renfro in 1860. At that time there were two general stores and a post office, which only lasted a year before it was moved to Dunnellon. The springs remain, privately owned, and there is a historical marker for the discovery of phosphate in Marion County.
Matt Jordan
The C.O.P.S. and the community lost a great friend this quarter with the passing of Matt Jordan. Matt patrolled faithfully each week with the C.O.P.S. patrol and spent many hours shuffling patients around Munroe Hospital in Ocala. Matt was 93. He will truly be missed by all.
CERTS
Citizens Emergency Response Tearns The CERTS team is a voluntary group trained by Emergency Management to respond to emergencies here in the community. Hurricanes, tornados and terror attacks are just a few of the situations they are trained to assist with.
Our local CERTS team is headed by George Ryles. He organized two practice drills this quarter with more to follow in the new year.
CERTS needs more volunteers. We are a big Community and at times very isolated. If you would like to join, training is free, call MSCSO Salt Springs for more info.
At The Library
Family Story time happens at 10:30 a.m. every Tues. at the Forest Library. (They will not meet March 15th) Thumbs up Thursdays Childrens book club for grades K thru 3 will read and talk about a great book from 3:30-4:30 (no meeting Mar. 17) There will be snacks and an art project.
Free movies: twice a month Friends of the Forest Library offer a movie, from a comedy to romance to adventure. Call the Library for the titles 438-2540. Free popcorn, let us know what you would like to see.
Friday Favorites tween book club will be Feb. 4-25th on Fridays 3:30-4:30 p.m., a gathering to share favorite books and to do an activity. Grades 4-6
Need help with Taxes?
AARP will be in the Community Room of the Forest Public Library from 12:00 4:00 p.m. on Mondays starting Feb. 7th thru April 11th
(except Feb. 21st)
Purse Auction
Need a new purse? Come to the Purse Auction offered by the Friends of the Forest Public Library. The auction will take place at the library on Sat. Feb 5th. Money raised to support the children’s summer programs.
Open House at the Forest Library
Wed. Feb. 16th is the first anniversary of the opening of the new Library. To celebrate this event Friends of the Forest Public Library invite you to a birthday party. It will be held in the Community Room 10:30-12. There will be cake, coffee, games and door prizes.
E-Waste Collection
Electronic waste will be collected at the MacPherson Complex on Feb. 12th.
Basic Computer Classes
Wed. 10:15 a.m. or Thur. 6 p.m. Jan. 12-Feb. 10 at the Forest Public Library. Limited seating. Subjects: basic email, introduction to the computer, basic internet, the Library on the internet and Facebook. 438-2540
Parade Float
Forest Advisory Council created an outstanding float to enter in the Ocala Christmas Parade and represent this area. It featured 38ft. sand hill cranes and one baby crane, on a 16ft. trailer with several people riding on the back. Ray Migatz did the sculpturing of the huge birds and the float was constructed with the help of Terry Taylor, Diana Harris, Hershal David, Patcy Migatz and CJ. We recieved many comments about how great it was. The birds are now residing in the Ocala Forest. (The area where the community building stands and the new library, is called Sand Hill Park.)
Gardening for Dummies
Master Gardeners, UF/IFAS Marion Co. Extension Services will offer “Gardening for Dummies” Seminar series. The classes will run
from 6-8 p.m. at the Agricultural Complex on Old Jacksonville Rd. The series will run Feb. 7th thru 11th Cost is $25 per person or
$40 a couple. Register by Jan. 24th.
Sayings from Grumpy
1. It’s a pretty sure thing that Noah didn’t do much fishing on the Ark….he only had two worms.
2. After the kids say their prayers, its time for the parents to say theirs: “Thank God they are in bed!”
3. A little boy was haVing dinner at his grandmothers and started eating right away. He was told to wait until they said the prayer, but he replied” We’re not home now, we are at Grandma’s and she knows how to cook.”
4. A little girl always ended her prayers “bless all girls.” When she was asked why her response was, “because everyone else finish their prayers” All Men”.
Happenings at Forest Lutheran
Free ice cream, games and socializing continue on Friday afternoons from 1:00 to 4:00. School children have a chance to stop after
school. Free community meal on the third Sat. of the month (Jan. IS, Feb. 19, Mar. 19) at 3:00 to 5:00. Not a fund raiser; we want to HELP everyone in the area. We wanted to do an every Fri. free meal but didn’t have enough volunteers to prepare and serve this new
event.
Vendor yard sales are held the 2nd Sat. of the month.
In Mar. we will have a Church Yard sale. We have that twice a year. The ladies usually have baked goods and hotdogs and soda will
be available to purchase.
Ash Wed. is Mar. 9th. Evening services start that day and every Wed. at 7:00. Soup supper before the service at 5:30. You are welcome to come to both.
Sunday morning Bible Class is studying the book of Revelation. We also have a week-day Bible class and information class. Sunday
service is at 10:30 with Sunday school and Adult Bible class at 9:30. Everyone Welcome!
AARP
“55 Alive” driving classes at the Community Center March 17 – 18 from 9am to 12pm. Reduce your insurance rates!