On February 20th, 2007 the Orange Park Town Council voted 4-1 in favor of adopting a resolution allowing the Orange Park Kennel Club to open a Poker Room. This same matter will soon be set before our county commissioners. A similar proposal was put before the BCC some 10 years ago and was denied. In a March 15th article in the Clay Today Doug Conkey was quoted as saying, “that a similar proposal 10 years ago faced stiff opposition, particularly from the local churches and pastors.” He added, “that was a long time ago and things could change.”

Kennel Club management contends that opening the facility to gaming will bring 135 new jobs that pay over $50,000 per year. Their gross revenue projections seem to indicate some $7,000,000 plus per year financial impact could come into our community. If the numbers proposed are true, there is no doubt this could potentially pose significant economic development for our county. But it does beg the question at what cost? We have heard commissioners, the chamber, and other talk a great deal in recent years about the right kinds of economic development. I for one contend that this is not the right kind of economic development.

What looks good on the surface isn’t always good when you lift up the hood. It doesn’t take a hard look to reveal that there might be great economic benefit to a few, but certainly this will come at the expense of many. If  the number above is correct, that is $7 million in dollars that might have been spent in area restaurants, shopping establishments, or possibly even saved. A deeper look at their job figures also seems to reveal that 50% or more of the jobs are part time. So those numbers might also be a bit misleading.

What about the social cost? It is said that those most likely to gamble are college aged or retired. About.com says that recent statistics from Gamblers Anonymous suggest that four to six percent of gamblers eventually become problem gamblers or pathological (compulsive) gamblers. While this is a small percentage of the total number of people gambling, when you consider the millions of people who gamble each year the raw numbers of problem gamblers are significant.

Do people have a free will? Of course, but in my own family I have seen the damage that gambling can do as some relatives fell into gambling addiction and ended up in dire straights financially and relationally.

This past week I had the opportunity to return to South Florida. For years in Ft. Lauderdale off of 441 was a Seminole Indian Gaming bingo hall. 5+ years ago they approved small time casino gambling. If you visit there today you find a Hard Rock Casino and one of the most opulent looking gaming facilities you will ever see. Unfortunately if you look right across the street in a 2 block area you will find in excess of 6 pawn shops and a number of adult video establishments.

Do I expect that to happen on 17? Maybe not. The leaders in Orange Park and at the county level might try preventing it. It does strike me as interesting though that one of the primary motivators of the Kennel Club is to find new income sources because their average attendance for the dog races has been cut almost in half since 1991. It seems that right now Poker Rooms are the rage. If poker fades will they ask for Slots? Full casino gambling?

It’s worth thinking about. If you have an opinion on this matter I would encourage you to contact the board of county commissioners.

The phone number for the commissioners is:      904-284-6376

Their bulk email account is: commissioners@co.clay.fl.us

Sincerely,

Eric C Jaffe
www.ericjaffe.org

Citation: http://sportsgambling.about.com/od/gamblingaddiction/a/Addiction_Facts.htm

The launch of Impact Clay went really well. We started it all off on Wednesday Night as 5 different churches came together for a worship service. We had 8 pastors in the audience in total and Daniel Bernard preached a great message on the Sin of Churches not working together.

Thursday’s Lunch was incredible. We had 120 rsvp’s but 172 people showed up. We had many county officials there, area non-profits, and around 50 pastors. It was simply amazing.

Keep praying. God is up to something and the work is off to a good start. We are believing God for continued funding, so please pray that we can get the finances to accomplish all the goals we are shooting for for. For more information visit www.impactclay.org

Yesterday I was pleased to be a part of the grand opening and ribbon cutting cerimony at the Clay Victim Services Center. Some 125+ people came out as a show of support. Folks were there from the hospital community, the police department, the clay victims task force, the board of county commissioners, and more.

Congressman Stearns who has been a champion for victims rights in Washington was on hand to open up the cerimony, assist with the ribbon cutting and cheer on those who helped make the day possible. Assistant State attorney Sam Garrison oversaw the proceedings and was instrumental in leading the way to get this cause on the radar.

Comissioner Rutledge was also on hand to speak about the BCC’s role in this cause. As a former police officer he was also touched by the fact that he had previously taken people to that same building to get help when it was previously opened for similar services. Mr. Rutledge has helped champion the cause with the BCC and pledged that it would continue to receive funding as long as he was a commissioner.

All in all it is a great but sad day for the county. Sad that a service like this is even necessary, but great that we now have a place to help those at their time of deepest need.

If you want to help by contributing financially to this cause, get in touch with me and I will tell you how you can make a difference in the lives of others through serving or giving to this great cause.

Show up for Family Fun Fest on Tuesday night as well. All proceeds from the event will benefit the cause as well. Everything is free that night except for food, donations will be accepted.

Today I had the pleasure of spending an hour or so with Doug Conkey, Republican Canidate for the Clay County Board of Commissioners. We had been running into eachother around various events in Clay County and finally had the opportunity to meet face to face.

I was more than appreciative of him taking the time to hear my heart on various issues of the day, and it was once again good to hear his heart on the issues facing the County in the years ahead. We touched on topics of Economic Development, transportation, homelessness, social issues of the day, and even how the faith based community might partner with the BCC to help make our community a better place in the years ahead.

He seemed to have a very good head on his shoulders and was certianly very likeable. He took the time to tour the church and may even show up during the upcoming Family Fun Fest event. He was admitedly a little tired as he approaches the final stretch of the campaign season so I would encourage everyone to be praying for him as well as the other candidates as they enter the home stretch.

A word to those reading. I just want to take a moment to encourage you to get out and vote during the election. Educate yourselft to the best of your ability on the candidates, the issues of the day, etc. Every vote counts and as believers it is important that we have a voice in what goes on.

The bible teaches that it is God who puts people in places of leadership and it is God who brings them down as well when needed. God desperately wants our cities to prosper. As we continue to believer God for a better Clay County, a better NE FL, and a better US. Lets be sure to pray for those in positions of authority, and lets put action to those prayers by being involved in making a difference in the lives of others in whatever way God has positioned us.

Disclaimer: Please note that this post is neither and endorsement or an opposition to any political candidate on behalf or myself or Celebration Church. It is simply a sharing of my interactions with those who I have been privelaged to meet with.

Today I completed my last Leadership Clay Tuesday by taking part in Justice System Day. I met a lot of great people whom I will describe and walked away for a new found respect for those who help lead and protect in our County as well as a reminder that I never want to find myself locked up in a county jail!

We started the day by meeting James Jett, the counties "Clerk of the Court." I was impressed with James and his enthusiasm as well as his desire to serve the people of the county. He helped promo more electronic records for the county as well as a transition into the internet age by allowing things like title renewals, drivers license stuff etc to all be done online through the counties site.

Following that we met with members of the judical branch of government including one of the lead prosecutors, public defenders, and Judge Wilkes who is the Lead Justice of Clay County. I found all to be humorous and passionate about their jobs, especially in light of the low pay for people of their stature. I still don’t get the whole election for judges thing as I think most people are clueless to what judges stand for and basically Christmas tree that section of their ballot.

We had lunch at Ronnie’s and I had the unfortunate position of sitting with Greg Voss from the Chamber. This guy is a real pain in the neck and I will not miss seeing him every Tuesday one bit. Gotcha Greg!   Just kidding. Greg is an awesome guy and I look forward to serving with him on the Business Development committee starting next week.

We went on to get a tour of the sheriff’s office where we spent about 30 minutes with Sheriff Rick Beseler who I also found to be a great guy with a great heart seeking to make sure this city is well protected and cared for. We spent a considerable amount of time in their communications hub for 911 calls. It was really cool to see how all that works. I still think they should get GPS for all the police cars to see where the guys are at.

We concluded the day with a 90 minute tour of the Clay County Jail. Which was a rather incredible facility to say the least. I have had the misfortune of spending one evening in the Juvenile detention center back in Miami Dade some 19 or 20 years ago, and believe me, I would never want to go back or even consider having to stay in a place like that again. Although clean and incredibly respectful at every turn there was no lack of privacy what so ever and man, just what a bummer to have one find themselves in that place.

To give you the lowlight of the day, I ran home and told Mary Jo – I saw a naked lady today. It barely got a rise out of her, then she finally got it and said what are you talking about. Like I said, there was no privacy there and the inmates couldn’t see inside of the security area we were in, but the guards can see out. There we were a group of about 13 people from the county and one of the ladies dropped her drawers right and front of us and sat on the John. Luckily not everyone was paying attention, it was a scary site to say the least.  That being said, the captain summarily warned us before entering the mens area that there is no privacy there either, so we used a bit more caution when approaching that POD..

The scariest part of the day was the solitary confinement area.. wow.. sad sad sad..
An interesting part was that the majority of the people in jail were white males and many of the people in jail were not from our county, but snuck in from Duval to do their crimes and got caught. We import more crime from neighboring counties than from within.

It gave me a huge desire to pray more for those folks who find themselves in that kind of a place because of their choices. Some families where there, mothers, sons, etc. Generational curses.

May God use us to help make a difference in our area for His Glory!