The Baker County Press Baker County's Circulation Leader

Weir Stewart Barton Sr., 64, of Sanderson died on December 22, 2012 at the VA Medical Center in Gainesville. He was born in Glen St. Mary on November 1, 1948 to the late Martin Barton Jr. and Mary Griffith Barton, and was a lifelong resident of Baker County. He was a longtime member of Faith Baptist Church where he served as a deacon for forty years. He served in the United States Marine Corps and retired as a corrections officer from Florida State Prison after 30 years of employment and more recently was employed by Northeast Florida State Hospital as a security officer for over four years.

Mr. Barton enjoyed hunting and was deeply committed to the bus ministry at his church. He was preceded in death by his sister Schere Barton.

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James E. Lawrence Sr., 76, of Frankfort, Indiana died on December 13, 2012 at his home.

He was born on January 16, 1936 in Geneva County, Alabama to John D. and Effie May (Brooks) Lawrence and married Barbara Fleenor on December 27, 1979 in Kingson, GA. He served in the U.S. Navy aboard an amphibious assault personnel carrier from 1952-55 during the Korean War.

Mr. Lawrence worked 45 years for Miller Pipeline Construction as superintendent and foreman, and retired in 1998. He was a member of the Local 103 Operating Engineers Union.

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Dear Editor:

We waited years and had many delays before getting a good place to ride our 4-wheelers. Unfortunately it lasted a very short time before Shoals Park was closed to repair the roads and stayed closed for months and months with no word on when it would reopen (just try to get information about it). Now we see that it will reopen in January (maybe) after extensive road repairs and a lot of money spent. We 4-wheelers don’t want smooth, graded roads — that’s the idea of off-road. Leave the trails alone, forget about fees and just let people have fun without a lot of government messing around in it.

Mitch Holloway in Macclenny

Deborah J. Arnold, 54, of Glen St. Mary died on Sunday, November 25, 2012. Ms. Arnold enjoyed fishing, puzzle books, her dogs, and spending time with family and friends.

She is survived by her mother Lovenna Neal of Milton, FL; son Sean (Karina) Neal of Milton and daughter Tessa (Jerry) Gardner of Jacksonville; brother Dale (Debbie) Metz of Baltimore, MD; sisters Gale (Clyde) Bernard of Friendsville, MD, Marla Johnson of Newport News, VA, Misty (Harry) Phillips of Milton and Regina (Bobby) Iman of Baltimore; three grandchildren.

Ms. Arnold’s family will hold a memorial service at a later date. Forbes Funeral Home of Macclenny was in charge of arrangements.