Registration is now open for the Adult Mental Health First Aid class scheduled Saturday, September 14, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The classes are free and open to the public, but registration is required. The 8-hour classes take place at Starting Point Behavioral Healthcare’s Yulee campus at 463142 SR 200.
 
Starting Point staff member Katrina Robinson-Wheeler is certified by the National Council to provide the Mental Health First Aid program. Since Starting Point began offering the program in 2014, more than 2,000 Northeast Florida residents have received the training. The trainings are provided at no charge through funding from Baptist Health.
 
The Mental Health First Aid program teaches participants a five-step action plan to assess a situation, select and implement interventions and secure appropriate care for the person who is experiencing a mental health or addictions challenge or is in crisis.
 
Studies have proven the CPR-like program is effective in improving knowledge of mental disorders, reducing stigma and increasing the amount of help provided to others. 
 
Mental Health First Aid training classes are offered at community classes. Organizations and groups also may schedule classes. For more information or to register for a class, visit mhfanassau.com or call Katrina Robinson-Wheeler at 904.415.9350.   
 
About Starting Point
Starting Point Behavioral Health provides mental health and substance abuse treatment services to children, teens and adults in Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. The non-profit agency serves more than 2,800 individuals each year and has been serving the region for more than 25 years. Starting Point is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). For more information, visit spbh.org.
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Don't miss the last open house event for the Timber to Tides SR200/A1A Corridor Design Study on Monday, August 19, 2019 from 6:00-8:00 P.M. in the Nassau County Board of County Commissioners Chambers, 96135 Nassau Place, Yulee, Florida. 

This event is intended to be convenient for residents living from Amelia Concourse to the Shave Bridge, but is open to all.

The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners and Planning and Economic Opportunity Department have kicked off a major corridor design plan for a 13 mile segment of A1A/SR200 in Yulee. The planning process is envisioned to be completed by the end of 2019.

The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners has engaged GAI Consultants to work with the County in completing a corridor design plan for the State Road 200/A1A/ Buccaneer Trail Corridor from Police Lodge Road west of I-95 and continuing east to the Intracoastal Waterway.

Envisioned as the Timber to Tides Trail, the goals of the study are to transform SR 200/A1A into a place that functions not just as a major roadway, but a place that provides different opportunities for living and working, and creates a sense of place in Nassau County based on our community’s history, character, and quality of life. The County seeks a plan for the Corridor so that it will be functional and of value to the community over the long-term. The study will emphasize community identity, enhance the public realm and streetscape, encourage recreation and bicycle and pedestrian activity, promote compact mixed-use development patterns, and improve environmental quality and floodplain management, while also attracting private investment and making use of already developed sites.

The County would like to hear from residents, businesses and visitors about your vision for SR200. Please join us at this open house event to learn more about the project and share your opinions on the future of the corridor. ​

For more information, please visit www.NassauCountyFL.com or call (904) 530-6010.

Barnabas Center will be coordinating the annual GoKids! School Supply collection drive in partnership with the Nassau County Public Schools and WestRock. This donation drive provides schools with supplies to distribute to students in need for the upcoming school year. All school supplies may be donated, including backpacks, notebooks, paper, glue sticks, crayons, #2 pencils, scissors, pocket folders, etc. 

Donations can be dropped off at any of the following locations in Fernandina Beach and Yulee: 

• Amelia Dental - 1947 Citrona Drive
• Omni Amelia Island Plantation, Associate Services Office 
• Atlantic Avenue Recreation Center Office - 2500 Atlantic Avenue
• Century 21 - 500 Centre Street
• First Federal Bank - 1891 S. 14th Street
• VyStar Credit Union - 1900 S. 14th Street
• Synovus Bank - 1750 S. 14th Street
• Florida Public Utilities - 780 Amelia Island Parkway
• Pineland Bank - 715 Centre Street

Barnabas will collect and distribute donated supplies to schools in Nassau County. Monetary donations are also accepted and may be sent to Barnabas Center, 1303 Jasmine Street, Suite 101, Fernandina Beach, FL 32034. Please note that the donation is designated to GoKids! Last year, 1,560 pounds of school supplies were divided among all 13 schools in Nassau County. 

For more information about Barnabas' programs, please visit www.BarnabasNassau.org. 

Family Support Services of North Florida is hosting a monthly educational program for social services professionals, foster or adoptive parents, kinship caregivers, and the general public. 

This month's program will discuss understanding toxic stress and childhood trauma and how its implications on long-term health can enable us to collectively address and respond appropriately. Thus, building a more empathetic and trauma-responsive community. ​

There is no charge for this program, but please register in advance at fss.bls.nassau@fssnf.org or call (904) 225-5347. 

The northbound I-95 ramp to State Road (S.R.) 200, exit 373, will be detoured Monday night, June 24 from midnight to 5 a.m., weather and schedule permitting. The detour is necessary for crews to install an overhead sign structure. Once the structure is installed the ramp will reopen. Drivers will be detoured north on I-95 to U.S. 17, exit 380, and travel south to reconnect with State Road 200. A map of the detour is attached for convenience.

The S.R. 200 improvement project in Yulee consists of the reconstruction and widening of 2.2 miles of S.R. 200/A1A from west of I-95 to west of Still Quarters Road, widening of ramps at Interstate 95/A1A exit 373 (to Yulee/Callahan/Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach), and the reconfiguration of the interchange under I-95 into a diverging diamond interchange (DDI).

The widening project will increase the roadway from four lanes to six lanes and includes raised medians, bicycle lanes, curb and gutter, sidewalks and high mast lighting.
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J.B. Coxwell Contracting, Inc. of Jacksonville is constructing the $40 million project. The project is expected to be completed in summer 2020, weather and unforeseen circumstances permitting.

A diverging diamond interchange (DDI) is a type of interchange where the two directions of traffic below I-95 briefly drive on the opposite side of the road. The configuration will promote safety, due to the elimination of dedicated left turn traffic signal cycles. Additionally, the DDI configuration promotes efficiency with only two clearance intervals (the time for traffic signals to change from green to yellow to red) instead of the six or more found in other interchange designs.

For more information about the DDI and to watch a video of how it will work for this project, visit www.nflroads.com/DDI.