GAINESVILLE - During a special meeting/workshop July 15, the School Board of Alachua County voted to push back the first day of school for students to Aug. 24. That two-week delay will allow for more preparation and planning before school begins. The Board’s vote included additional training days for teachers and staff.

The other item the School Board approved during the meeting was a mandatory mask policy. With limited exceptions, mainly for medical issues, students and staff will be required to wear masks at schools and on school buses.

Under a state order issued last week, all Florida public schools must reopen in person five days a week in August. Florida districts must also submit reopening plans that meet state requirements to the Florida Department of Education for approval. Those plans are due July 31 and must include an estimate of the number of students who plan to attend school online.

Under the district’s reopening plan, local families will have three options for instruction this fall. They include the traditional, brick-and-mortar option requirement mandated by the state and two online options—a Digital Academy and the Alachua eSchool. Families are being asked to choose the option they prefer by 11:59 p.m. on July 19.

More information about the three options, the Choose Your School Option form and a Frequently Asked Questions document that answers many of the most commonly-asked questions about the proposed return to school is available on the district’s website at: https://www.sbac.edu/Page/29815

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ALACHUA – A local group in Alachua is making life a bit easier for troops overseas and is also stepping up to help military families who can’t afford to send their own care packages to their loved one. The Military Support Group of Alachua County (MSGFAC) sends monthly care packages to deployed soldiers in combat zones to provide items they can’t find in the field to make their lives a little easier and remind them of home.

MSGFAC President Ronna Jackson explained part of the reason the groups mission is so important to the members, many of whom have family members that either served, are currently serving or are veterans themselves.

“We owe our freedom in America to these heroes that are willing to risk their lives to defend people they do not even know, but are fellow Americans,” Jackson said. “This is especially true of our current military. During the Vietnam War there was a draft where people had to serve by law. But our current troops are all volunteers, who give up their civilian life to serve their country. What we do is a small way to say thank you.”

The group sends monthly packages to service members whose names have been provided by families or friends. They typically ship 20-30 boxes a month. Boxes usually contain items that are hard to get in the field such as nonperishable food, snacks, candy, personal hygiene items, writing supplies, movie videos and clothing items such as socks and underwear.

Troops may be out in the field for several weeks with nowhere to wash clothes and often wear the socks till they wear out from multiple marches. The military has a set quota for replacements, so additional socks and underwear are appreciated. Each box also contains letters and cards from people back home thanking the soldiers and offering a pen pal to correspond with.

Supplies for the packages come both from donations of cash or goods and from funds the group raises from special events they host. Members of the group are assigned items to purchase with one person getting snacks, another toiletries and hygiene items while another will get writing supplies or videos. The group meets once a month over a pot luck dinner supplied by members to load the boxes for shipping.

The whole process changed when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. In person group meetings stopped. Many of the members were older and concerns of spreading the potentially lethal virus put the group’s health concerns a priority. In April and May, the MSGFAC was unable to ship any boxes. For much of that time mail service was limited to necessary items and the packages were not considered essential.

“It really was a hard time emotionally, as we had to stop sending anything to the troops, especially since this was a trying time for the deployed troops concerned about their families back home as the virus spread,” Jackson said. “We decided we had to find a way to do this safely and get back on track, so we started up again in June.”

The process changed to adapt to social distancing. Instead of a whole group gathering over a meal to load the boxes, each member put together a box and brought the completed package to the First United Methodist Church in Alachua. Several members volunteered to put the packages into cars on a no-contact drive-through basis on a designated evening. Members picking up the packages shipped on their own.

But the pandemic had also shortened the list of soldiers they were shipping to, and at the July 2 distribution, there were only 16 packages to send. While group numbers went down, some members had specific soldiers they had been sending to, so they sent packages individually.

“One of our concerns is that with the high unemployment and financial difficulties the pandemic has caused will limit the ability of families to send on their own. Many families who were not part of our group were sending their own packages to their family members who were deployed, but could no longer afford to do so,” Jackson said.

“We want to help those families. Their resources may now be limited but our group has the funds, but we need the names and addresses of these soldiers so we can send them packages,” Jackson said. “Anyone who is having financial difficulties and has a soldier deployed can contact us and we will send a package for them each month.”

While the MSGFAC is limiting direct contact meetings currently, the group is open to anyone who would like to help support the troops, either as a volunteer or for donations. They can be contacted through their website at msgfac.com.

Families with deployed troops who are having financial difficulties due to loss of income can email the group at their website with the name and address of their soldier. The group will make sure that the soldiers get a monthly package.

“For the soldiers deployed in combat areas, these packages are important,” Jackson said. “They give them a sense of home and lets then know that we care and appreciate their service.”

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ALACHUA – On Wednesday July 1, the City of Alachua issued a call to action to all children regardless of abilities to have fun.

The City held a ribbon cutting in Legacy Park to officially mark the opening of an all-inclusive playground. On hand to witness the event were City of Alachua Commissioners and officials, State Representative Chuck Clemons, and members of the public, including children of all ages.

The all-inclusive playground is different from traditional playgrounds and is designed to remove barriers that exclude any child due to physical, social or other limitations, and provides a place for children of all abilities to play and interact together in the same environment.

Most playgrounds are designed for the majority of kids and can often be limiting to those children with physical or mental limitations. While many places have separate areas for children with limitations, this playground is designed to include everyone and improve social interaction for all children.

“Statistics show that nearly 15 percent of all playground-age children have some form of physical or social limitation,” Alachua Communications Director Mike DaRoza said. “In Alachua, we feel that any child with these types of limitations is cause enough for our community to provide an inclusive playground.”

Prior to setting plans into action, city staff looked at playgrounds around the state to get ideas on what to revise or keep for a better more inclusive playground. “Most of our neighborhood parks were designed for the majority of kids in that neighborhood, and we needed a bigger space to build a new one. With the expansion of Legacy Park to 105 acres, that became a perfect location,” DaRoza said.

While the City of Alachua Master Plan included a playground in the expansion of Legacy Park, it was not considered an all-inclusive playground for kids with disabilities, but that plan would change. About a year earlier, the City was approached by local resident and mother of three, Susan Sloan. While her children were grown, she had seen inclusive playgrounds in other places and suggested it to the City Commission and City Manager.

The design was revised to accommodate an all-inclusive playground. Sloan was actively involved in the meetings, planning and design, often finding other inclusive playgrounds while traveling to see what worked and what didn't. Funding for the playground included a Wild Places and Private Spaces grant as well as individual donations to supplement City funds.

The new playground is different from the ground up and has a poured in place surface that allows for easy wheelchair access with various points of entry. The surface material is softer than dirt or concrete with specific softer fall pit areas around the equipment to lessen the chance of injury. The equipment is custom built to allow access by all children. The merry-go-round is level with the ground to provide easy access for wheelchairs and individuals with other disabilities. The swing set features a variety of swings geared toward different needs. There is also a quiet area where kids can go to reflect and enjoy a calming environment. The large jungle gym/slide includes talk tubes for kids in different sections to communicate. All play areas include sensory elements for touch, sound and visual experiences for children, features that were specifically added to create an environment that meets individualized abilities.

Alachua’s inclusive playground also takes into account Florida’s hot, humid weather, incorporating a feature that many playgrounds do not. “Since the heat and humidity can be high in the summer when most children are off school, the City wanted to limit the possibilities of dehydration and heat exhaustion and put coverings over all the equipment,” DaRoza said.

“The ultimate reason for the Legacy Park Inclusive Playground is to remove barriers that exclude any child due to physical, social or any other limitation, providing a place for children of all abilities to play and interact together in the same environment.”

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