Graceville Florida FL Warrant Search

Graceville, Florida Graceville is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,402 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,392 . Geography Graceville is located at 30°57′33″N 85°30′48″W / 30.95917°N 85.51333°W / 30.95917; -85.51333 (30.959044, -85.513280).Land area: 916 sq mi (2,370 km2). Region of the country: Southeast Average temperature: 67.2 Average high temperature: 79.0 Average low temperature: 55.0 Annual rain: 66.0 inches Annual snowfall: 0.0 inches Earthquake index: 0.0Jackson County is a rural community primarily composed of business in agriculture, manufacturing, service, and retail trade. In addition, many government facilities are located within the county, including a federal prison and three state correctional institutions. Elevation ranges from 50 to 330 feet (100 m) above sea level. Marianna is 185 feet (56 m) above sea level.Soil composition ranges from sandy to clay base. The most typical soil is sandy loam. Jackson County has a vast deposit of nearly pure limestone. The county abounds in lakes including Lake Seminole, Compass Lake, Merritt's Mill Pond and Ocheessee Pond. The Chattahoochee River-Apalachicola River, which is navigable and has a nine foot channel depth, forms the county's eastern border. The Chipola River flows south through the center of the county. Demographics US Census Graceville, FL FactsAs of the census of 2000, there were 2,402 people, 933 households, and 572 families residing in the city. The population density was 215.7/km² (559.0/mi²). There were 1,076 housing units at an average density of 96.6/km² (250.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.48% White, 23.90% African American, 0.92% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.46% of the population.There were 933 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.3% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.6% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.08.In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 13.3% from 18 to 24, 23.1% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.The median income for a household in the city was $23,031, and the median income for a family was $32,778. Males had a median income of $25,969 versus $20,109 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,245. About 15.1% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 18.9% of those age 65 or over. Education Graceville Elementary SchoolGraceville Elementary School presently serves students in PreK through fifth grade. Graceville’s first public school was built in 1885 and was a combined elementary and high school. In 1911, a two story brick school building was erected near the present Graceville Elementary site. The first graduation ceremony was held in 1913. The 1911 structure burned about 1920 and was rebuilt near the same site. Classrooms were added in 1930. Two of those classrooms are still part of Graceville Elementary School.In 1971 middle school students began attending St. Paul School in Campbellton, about seven miles (11 km) from Graceville. The Graceville School was again partially destroyed by fire in 1974. Twenty-one portable buildings replaced the burned classrooms and auditorium. In 1976, a modern high school was built and only grades one through six were housed on the present site of Graceville Elementary. Kindergarten classes were held in classrooms near what is now the North Florida Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. The kindergarten was moved to the present site when two new buildings were constructed in 1989. At the beginning of the school year 1989 sixth graders were moved to the high school. In 1991 a pre-kindergarten program began on campus.Graceville Elementary School is a strong force in the community and has great support from the surrounding area. This support comes from local businesses, churches, and the Baptist College of FloridaGraceville High School: (Graceville Tigers)In the 1870's, a one room log building was built on the corner of present day Mixon Street and 12th Avenue. In 1885, the first students attended school in that building known as the Enterprise School. School days often ran from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. School ran in two six week sessions, the first in early summer after crops had been planted and the second after crops were harvested. The school didn't provide busing or lunches. In 1899, the Enterprise School was torn down. By 1910 though, Graceville had twelve grades and in 1911 a two story building was built on the site of present day Graceville Elementary School. With the population increasing and the concept of middle school developing, in 1975 Graceville High School, as it stands today, was built. A new middle school wing began construction and opened in 2002. Graceville High School will continue to grow and change as the years continue to roll by.The Baptist College of FloridaThe Baptist College of Florida (BCF) is a private, Level II institution (Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools), located in Graceville, Florida, 90 miles (140 km) northwest of Tallahassee, 60 miles (97 km) north of Panama City, and 25 miles (40 km) south of Dothan, Alabama. BCF is owned and operated by the Florida Baptist Convention. It is the only institution of higher learning supported by the Florida Baptist Convention.BCF, founded by a group of pastors on September 7, 1943, held its first classes in a Sunday school room in the First Baptist Church of Lakeland, Florida. The educational institution, then named Florida Baptist Institute (FBI), was purposed to provide training for “God-called” men and women who needed seminary-type training, but lacked college degrees. At that time in Baptist life, seminary training was available primarily to students who had earned four-year college degrees. While “special classes” for “the non-college graduate” were offered at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, then known as Baptist Bible Institute, (Annual of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1946, p. 98), Florida ministers would have to relocate to take advantage of the course offerings. Therefore, individuals who felt “called” to the ministry and needed seminary training, particularly those of nontraditional college age who lacked a four-year college degree, had limited opportunite s, particularly in Florida, to receive ministerial training of substantial scope and value resembling seminary education.Some of the first students to enroll in FBI were WWII veterans and six Seminole Indians (Minutes of Board of Trustees, 1945, October 24). One of the Seminole Indians was Billie Osceola, a “great-grandson of Chief Osceola of Seminole War fame” (Richards,1993, p. 30).Because the college maintained an “open enrollment” policy and both Baptists and non-Baptists could attend, the institution grew. Two years after beginning classes in some of the Sunday School rooms at First Baptist Church, Lakeland, the college acquired 7 acres (28,000 m2) to develop as a campus (Bennett, 1973, p. 95). A total of twelve buildings, ten of them surplus military property purchased from ADrane Field, a U. S. Army Corps facility seven miles southeast of Lakeland were moved to the new campus (Bennett, p. 129).With the increase in government support of the GED and the emphasis on adult education proliferating across the country (Cohen & Brawer, 1996; Deegan & Tillery, 1985), FBI needed to refocus its attention on ministerial training. Rev. William Smith, who became Dean of FBI on March 7, 1947, helped the institute move closer toward becoming a college. Smith helped the institution redirect its efforts toward a Bible focused curriculum (Walker, 1959, p. 3). “The change to a college-oriented program took two years to effect, but he [Smith] tapped the feeling of the trustees and others that the institute had to be brought back to a Bible-centered curriculum” (Richards, p. 44). A “Doctrinal Statement,” titled “Abstract of Principles,” was adopted for the institute and first appeared in the FBI Catalog, 1948-1949. The statement pointed to the refocused position of the school—to be church-related and to function along theological guidelines (Richards, pp. 44-45). The current catalog carries a revision of the origin al statement. In 1947, the name of the institution was changed to “Baptist Bible Institute of Florida.” The new name was chosen to better represent the nature and mission of the institution. Two years later, the trustees changed the name to “Baptist Bible Institute” (BBI) (Richards, p. 13).The next few years were difficult ones for BBI. Finances were tight, as they often had been, and two of the founding leaders of the Institute left the state to accept other positions. Some influential people in the state wanted to close the school and others wanted to move the school to the tri-state area (Alabama, Florida, Georgia) of northwest Florida. Under the leadership of President Arthur Stainback (1952-1957), BBI moved to Graceville, Florida. The new campus of 160 acres (0.65 km2) was secured for $15,000 (Richards, pp. 49-56). During the next several years, BBI developed and expanded its academic program as well as its facilities, faculty and staff. Three-year diploma programs were offered and included emphases in theology, music, and Christian education.As recorded in the Minutes of the Board of Trustees, April 7, 1975, Dr. James Southerland, president from 1957 to 1977, addressed the faculty about moving to a degree-based curriculum. His paper, “A Case for a Degree Program at Baptist Bible Institute,” was received favorably by the faculty. Degree programs were begun in 1976 by adding a fourth year of study to the existing three-year diploma programs. In 1981, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accredited the degree programs.Associate degree programs were added in 1988. Diploma programs declined in popularity and were phased out of the curriculum a few years later. Also in 1988, the name of the institution, BBI, was changed to “Florida Baptist Theological College.”Curriculum and facilities expanded during the 1990s under President Tom Kinchen. Additional student housing and an assembly center were added as well as new degree programs in elementary education, Christian counseling, and leadership. Initially the education degree was offered in combination with Christian education. Later, elementary education was offered as a separate, single-focused degree. In 2000, to reflect the broadening scope of the college, but still focused on theologically-based Christian higher education, the name of the college was changed again to “The Baptist College of Florida.”From The Baptist College of Florida's Website City Government City of Graceville PO Box 637 Graceville, FL 32440Phone: (850) 263-3250Fax: (850) 263-7387Mayor: Charles B. HolmanManager: Eugene AdamsClerk: Michelle WatkinsPolice Chief: Elton HortonMeetings: Second Tuesday - City Hall 6:00pmCouncil Members:Dr. Mark Long, David Horton, Tommy W. Williams, Arthur P.W. Obar, Jr. (Mayor Pro Tem)