In Memory of Maddie Clifton

This section is for any special event that has taken place in the memory of little Maddie Clifton. These are in no particular order, but well worth the reading. I encourage anyone that has an event or notices that is not listed here, please send me the information at wjones@fireblazer.com so it can be posted.

• (06/15/2000) Maddie Memorial run Though more than a year has passed since 8-year-old Maddie Clifton disappeared from her Jacksonville home and was found slain a week later underneath a teenage neighbor's waterbed, she hasn't been forgotten. In memory of the girl and for all missing and abused children, the third annual Maddie Memorial motorcycle run will begin with registration at noon Saturday in the parking lot across the street from the Orange Park Kennel Club. The hour ride will leave the parking lot at 2 p.m. and end at the Papa Joe's Firehouse tavern at the corner of Wilson Boulevard and Lane Avenue. There is a $5 donation for each rider. After the ride, there will be a free cookout, and Herd of Turtles and Double Take will play for the crowd. Proceeds go to the Maddie Clifton Memorial Fund to build a permanent memorial.
• The new playground equipment at San Jose Catholic Grade School is for pre-kindergartners and kindergartners. But yesterday, the third-graders got to try it out first. The equipment was donated in the memory of Maddie Clifton, the Jacksonville girl whose November slaying clenched the city's heart. She was a third-grader at the school. The Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation donated $5,000 for the equipment and Southern Recreation, the supplier, donated $2,000 worth of labor and landscaping. The equipment was installed Saturday.
• More than 200 motorcycles roll down Wilson Boulevard during yesterday's Maddie Memorial Motorcycle Ride, designed to help missing children. Riders from all motorcycle clubs in Jacksonville - including the Christian Motorcyclists Association, the Coastal Gold Wing Road Riders Association and the Outlaws Motorcycle Club - said this ride not only remembered Maddie, but was for all missing and abused children.
• People hold hands as they line San Jose Boulevard while the funeral procession of Maddie Clifton passes by.
• I am the Resurrection and the Life Whoever believes in me will live forever ''On my own behalf, on behalf of the priests, sisters, staff and the faith community of San Jose, I extend to Maddie's parents Sheila and Steve, her sister Jessica, to her grandparents Garland, Florence, John T. and to her uncles, aunts and cousins our sincere sympathy with our prayers and our love. ''The liturgy which we celebrate this morning is filled with faith, hope and love, the three great virtues which we as Catholic Christians try to live by. The sadness of death gives way to the bright hope of immortality. ''The white vestments we are wearing, the white cloth on the coffin are symbols of joy and resurrection, but the greatest symbol of all is the Paschal Candle lighting here which was blessed on Holy Thursday night to remind us of the resurrection of Jesus and our eternal destiny. ''In this life we are on pilgrimage to work out our salvation to focus on and to follow Jesus. We will all pass through a moment called death - a transition from life to eternity. For us death is a passage to a better place that Jesus has prepared for those who love him. ''Maddie had that faith, that hope and indeed she loved Jesus. In my visits to her second-grade classroom this year there was, as there always is, great joy among the children, great expectation because they knew that in a few months they would receive Jesus in Holy Communion. Maddie received Jesus for the first time on the first weekend of this last May. ''Today we are celebrating the liturgy of the Mass, the same liturgy we celebrate on weekends and every day. It consists of two parts. The word, which you have just heard from the Hebrew scriptures, the epistles, the songs and the gospel. The second part is sacrament, receiving Jesus in Holy Communion. ''The eucharistic liturgy is the high point, the very basis of our faith. It gives us energy to love our neighbor and our God. At death, faith and hope are no longer necessary but love goes on forever to eternity. Forgiveness is necessary so that you and I can love our neighbor. Jesus said love your enemies, do good to them that hate you. He said also leave your gift at the altar and first be reconciled with our brother. There is need for reconciliation in our community. There is no need for attempt to get back. This is not following Jesus. This is not focusing on Jesus. ''In the past 10 days we have experienced how much love there is in this faith community - indeed in the neighborhood and in this our beloved city and even farther afield to the nation and other countries. ''I know that you will reach out in consolation wherever there is hurt and need for healing. I want Steve, Sheila and Jessie to know that we will continue to hold you in our care in the difficult days, months and years ahead. God give you peace, the peace of Christ not the peace the world gives. God bless you and keep you always.''
• About 1,400 friends, relatives and Jacksonville police officers filled the church where Maddie, 8, recently received her first communion. Outside, thousands lined San Jose Boulevard near Oaklawn Cemetery to say goodbye, one of the greatest outpourings ofemotion in the city's history.
• Last week, children from the child-care center at duPont planted a dogwood tree in front of the building in memory of Maddie. ''The tree will help kids who didn't know Maddie remember,'' Martin said.
• In memory of Maddie Clifton, approximately 1,000 children around the world will be vaccinated against the crippling disease of polio.The Mandarin Rotary Club paid for 1,000 inoculations in memory of Maddie, the 8-year-old girl who was killed recently in her Southside neighborhood.
• Ride for Maddie A benefit memorial motorcycle ride will be today to pay tribute to Maddie Clifton. Motorcyclists will gather at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot across from the Orange Park Kennel Club next to McDonald's on U.S. 17. Bikes will leave about 10:30 a.m., cross the Buckman Bridge to San Jose Catholic Church, where donations will be left for Maddie's memorial fund. The Cliftons have not decided how the money will be used. From there, the bikes will ride past Maddie's house and then to Oaklawn Cemetery.
• Business owners, executives and workers around the Jacksonville area expressed condolences yesterday to the family and friends of 8-year-old Maddie Clifton, as well as to the caring community at large, for such a tragic loss. Around town, business conversations throughout the day focused on the death of the little girl, whose sparkling face beckoned to people citywide from posters and fliers in offices, stores and car windows. Some businesses, such as restaurants at The Jacksonville Landing, gave purple ribbons to patrons in memory of Maddie and in support of the family, which learned the devastating news yesterday morning that Maddie, missing for a week, had been found dead in a neighbor's home. This little girl captured hearts and sympathies throughout the community, and her memory will continue to unite us.