The Priest Theatre has reached their fundraising goal, which will allow equipment upgrades from film to digital projection in order to keep the theatre operational.

HIGH SPRINGS – On May 30, 2013, High Springs Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) members authorized $40,000 to be used by Priest Theatre owners Alan and Janet Alligood solely on exterior and foundation improvements for the historic theatre building.

Alachua County provides a pass-through of tax dollars from the downtown district’s collected taxes to the CRA to fix or improve deteriorating portions of the downtown district. This year the CRA has chosen to help improve the front of the Priest Theatre, a historic structure built in 1914 by W.A. Priest at 15 NW 1^st Street.

According to Janet Alligood, the building is historically significant because it is the only one built during the early days of the city that has been continually used for the purpose it was built.

“People have come all the way from Gainesville to visit our theatre,” explained Janet Alligood. Neighboring towns also are served by the theatre and some business owners believe the theatre is a High Springs visitor’s attraction.

The CRA’s decision to provide funds for the structure and building façade is good news for the 437 backers who pledged $87,472 to help pay for the required equipment upgrade from film to digital projection in order to keep the theatre operational.

The industry-wide requirement began a 60-day fundraising effort by High Springs citizens to raise $85,000 to help pay for the new equipment. As of June 3, 2013, the end of the 60-day pledge drive, the goal was exceeded by $2,472.

The CRA’s decision at this time means that the required improvements to the building will now be completed in time to secure the investment in the required new equipment. The current condition of the 100-year-old structure allows moisture into the building. Digital equipment providers have told the Alligoods that their equipment will be severely compromised if the structure is not repaired before the new equipment is installed.

Board members applauded the couple for their determination to raise funds to pay for the required digital projection equipment inside the building. During the meeting, which occurred prior to meeting their goal, the Alligoods vowed that if their $85,000 goal for the new equipment was not met, they would come up with the additional funds themselves.

Alan Alligood estimated the outside improvements the CRA was funding would be completed before the end of the year.

Also during the meeting Vice-Chair Sue Weller presented a list of several additional projects the board could consider completing within the next three years, which met the requirements for CRA funding. Among the items identified to research further was the possible purchase or rental of the train station building as a site for the train museum. City Manager Ed Booth is to look into the issue further to determine if the building is a viable option and its condition.

Additional parking, sidewalk repairs, building facades and a billboard on I-75 were also listed for consideration. Weller asked the board members to review the list prior to the next meeting, which is scheduled for June 18, 2013, at 6:30 p.m. She asked that Booth attach realistic costs to each project to help the board determine how to allocate the CRA funds for the next three years.

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Andrew Geelhoed “gets his wings clipped” by Express Air Flight Instructor, Randall Taylor. Geelhoed successfully completed his first solo flight on his sixteenth birthday at Keystone Heights Airport on May 9.

Unlike most boys, when Andrew Geelhoed turned 16 on May 9, he probably wasn't too concerned with getting his driver's license.

When he awoke for his birthday, he drove from his High Springs home to the airport in Keystone Heights with his mother Kathy for his first solo flight.

"I was so nervous," Andrew said. His mother was no less worried.

Ever since he can remember, Andrew has been interested in planes and flying. He started his training in the virtual world with Microsoft Flight Sim X.

The Santa Fe High School sophomore first took the controls of a real plane when he was 12. A coworker of his dad with the Gainesville Civil Air Patrol bought him lessons. He was a little scared of his first flight, but that quickly changed, he said.

"I couldn't believe it when the instructor handed me the controls."

Since then, he has spent about 25 hours in the air.

When he first pulled into the Keystone Heights Airport on his birthday earlier this month, he found a Cessna 150 plane fueled up and ready to go. He got inside, went through the pre-flight checklist, and told his flight instructor, Randall Taylor, everything was clear.

As his mother watched him, she thought of all the mishaps that could happen to her oldest child.

After Andrew entered the plane with Taylor, they took the plane to the runway. Andrew then called out on the radio "Keystone Area Traffic Cessna 8536 Uniform departing runway 29 to the northwest, Keystone Traffic."

After that, he took the plane off and headed northwest. After completing two landings, Andrew landed the plane for Taylor to get off. He wasn't completely on his own, though. He had his flight instructor guiding him over the radio.

He spent about half an hour circling over the airport at 1,200 feet in the air, unable to really see the landscape below him through the clouds.

Without the instructor, "The plane felt lighter," Andrew said.

When he finally landed, his mother felt a burden being relieved.    

"I breathed a sigh of relief," she said. When the seasoned pilots hanging around the airport began complimenting Andrew's landing, his mother felt less worried.

"That really put my mind at ease, she said."

With his first solo flight under his belt, it would be easy to think passing the test for his driver's license would be easy.

"He would tell you that driving is harder than flying," said Andrew's dad, Don Geelhoed. "It is!" Andrew added.

Many boys fantasize about the day they turn 16 and get to drive. For Andrew, he fantasizes about the day he gets his pilot's license, which he hopes to have when he is 17. He still has a way to go. Common requirements for a private pilot’s license include a minimum of 40 hours of flight time, an oral and written exam and that the student has flown more than 100 nautical miles in a single flight. The student pilot must also undergo a hands-on flight exam with a certified examiner.

After that, he plans on going to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs to train to be a pilot.

"I'm thinking I want to fly fighter planes," he said.

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Therapy horse Magic reads with Taylor Kimmel, a tornado survivor from Briarwood Elementary School in Moore, OK. Taylor's father Toby Kimmel was driving to the school to pick up his first grader when he saw the tornado destroy the school.

HIGH SPRINGS – Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengochea and their troop of three therapy horses narrowly escaped the onslaught of five tornadoes heading toward Oklahoma City and Moore, Okla. on Friday, May 31, 2013.

The group was in Moore visiting with children who had been in schools hit by the devastating May 20, 2013, category EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 200-210 mph. The Gentle Carousel Horses had been asked by hospital personnel and affected families to come to Moore to visit with some of the children.

With at least five more tornadoes building in the area, the Garcia-Bengocheas evacuated their horses in a successful attempt to outrun the building storms. Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, a former school principal, said in a telephone interview, “The place where the horses were staying and the surrounding area were destroyed. We had to evacuate with the horses in front of the storm because it was too dangerous to stay any longer.”

They left the area just in time as the tornadoes hit the hotel they were staying in about 30 minutes after they fled. “With five tornadoes going at the same time, it was hard to know which way to go,” she said. “We knew we couldn’t stay at the hotel after checking with hotel management and hearing they had no safe area or emergency plan. They just had people pull mattresses into the hallway to cover up,” she said. The hotel was badly damaged when they returned to Moore after the tornadoes had passed.

With all the devastation, hotels and churches that were left standing were housing children during the day. “We met with them [children] wherever there was a safe place they were staying in for the day,” she said.

The couple stayed until late Saturday night, June 1, 2013. They loaded the horses in the trailer and arrived at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Monday. Tuesday the horses rested and exercised at a Nashville farm. On Wednesday, June 5, the horses visited children at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, Tenn.

The group is currently en route back home to High Springs.

“This was another unplanned trip for the Gentle Carousel Horses,” said Debbie Garcia-Bengochea. “After receiving several phone calls and requests by the people in Moore, we just couldn’t not go,” she said. “There was no time to raise money for the trip, so we’re operating in the red again.” This is a situation the group finds themselves in almost monthly.

Following the Sandy Hook/Newtown, Conn., trip earlier this year, the couple worked with counselors to create a book called, “Magic Loves Me” with photos of the horses which were taken by the couple. They have used the book to work with children who desperately need to heal and have found it quite helpful. All of the children want to keep the book, but the couple hasn’t had the money to get the book published. They have the only copy.

They estimate the cost of publishing the book at $5,000, but would not be able to recoup the cost if they gave the books away to the children, which is what they would like to be able to do. They desperately need local and national sponsors to help them continue the work they have been doing with children.

Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity. The teams of 32 miniature therapy horses visit over 20,000 children and adults each year inside hospitals, hospice and assisted living programs, libraries and schools programs for at-risk readers.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the program or donate to the organization can contact them on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TherapyHorses.

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Now headed to Moore, Okla., the Gentle Carousel Horses have recently visited children’s hospitals and the Sandy Hook/Newtown, Conn., area.

HIGH SPRINGS –Debbie Garcia-Bengochea, husband Jorge, and the Gentle Carousel Horses are on the road again. This time they are heading to Moore, Okla., after receiving several requests for visits from area hospitals and families of children affected by the recent devastating tornado.

“This was another group of telephone calls we just couldn’t say ‘no’ to,” explained Garcia-Bengochea. “It was the very best thing we could do, so we’re doing it. Anytime there are children involved, we know we can help,” she said.

The team of miniature therapy horses just returned from a second trip to Sandy Hook/Newtown, Conn. They visited children's hospitals on the way starting with St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis and ending at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. They also worked with victims of child trafficking in Washington, DC.

“On the way back to Florida we will be stopping at various children’s hospitals on our route,” she said. “We want to be there to support as many children and caregivers as possible.”

One of the benefits of working in different cities and recently working in Washington, DC is the couple’s new-found ability to contact sources to help them coordinate their visits. In addition to the local people in Oklahoma, FEMA and the Health Department are all pitching in to help. “We have people we can call on now to help us, which is great,” she said.

Garcia-Bengochea also extols the virtues of social media. “So many more people know who we are now because of our Facebook page and the press coverage we have received along the way. It really helps,” she said.

Also, unlike their first trip to Connecticut, there are teams of people along the way and in Oklahoma who have volunteered to help with the horses and to provide locations for them to rest and play between visits to the families. “It’s more economical for us if we do not have to bring a team of volunteers with us,” she said.

Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses is an all volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity. The teams of 32 miniature therapy horses visit over 20,000 children and adults each year inside hospitals, hospice and assisted living facilities, libraries and school programs for at-risk readers.

Anyone wishing to learn more about the program or donate to the organization can contact them on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TherapyHorses.

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