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City keeps ban on weekend solicitation

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FORT WALTON BEACH — The City Council is standing firm on its ban on door-to-door solicitation on weekends despite the threat of a federal lawsuit.

The council on Tuesday voted to allow door-to-door solicitation from 9 a.m. to sunset on weekdays. It also defined sunset as a time by the U.S. Naval Observatory.

The city’s previous solicitation hours were 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The council also voted to remove all exemptions to the ordinance requiring businesses and other groups to have permits before soliciting. Now all entities – even churches – must have a permit to sell or solicit door-to-door within the city limits.

Those changes, however, might not keep the city out of court.

Vivint, a Utah-based residential and home automation company, has complained that the city’s solicitation ordinance is too restrictive.

Tallahassee attorney Dylan Rivers, who represents Vivint, attended the council meeting Tuesday and said his client is prepared to sue the city in federal court over the continued ban on Saturday solicitation.

“Because of the restrictions, they don’t think they have very much ability to conduct business (in the city),” he said.

Rivers said Vivint wants to be able to conduct business at a time when it knows residents will be at home.

He added that the company has a “constitutional right to commercial speech” and the city has no right to curtail that speech on Saturday.

But council members said they weren’t interested in making more concessions.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Councilman Dick Rynearson said. “I’m happy with the ordinance the way it reads.”

City Attorney Hayward Dykes told the council in late April that he didn’t think the city’s original solicitation ordinance would withstand a court challenge.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.


4-year-old barrel racer shares mother's passion

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LAUREL HILL — Laynee Jo Pettis has her eyes on the prize: namely, an All-Around Cowgirl saddle.

It’s hers if she has the most points in the under-6-years-old age group this year while barrel racing in Great Southern Youth Rodeo Association competitions.

Of course, each of the 10 events’ outcomes relies heavily on Spirit, the Laurel Hill 16-year-old quarter horse cross.

Laynee, who is 4, knows her companion needs motivation, and before the pair take off on a cloverleaf-shaped course, she gives the old girl a pep talk.

"She’ll pet Spirit and tell her, ‘OK, girl, we can do this," Bacarra, Laynee’s mother, said.

And both cowgirl and her horse need help from Dad Deon, who leads Spirit into the arena and points her toward the first barrel.

But after that, it’s all Laynee.

"Laynee uses her little whip, and her horse runs first to the right and then two left turns after that ... she gets (Spirit) to go as fast as she can," Bacarra said.

Much of Laynee’s young life has centered on horses.

In fact, the third word she ever spoke was "horse.” It sounded more like "hearse," Bacarra said, but everyone knew what she really meant.

That followed her first words, "Daddy" and "Mommy" — which sort of indicated the baby’s priorities, her mother said.

"Daddy, who makes all the money; momma, ‘cause I can saddle her horses up; and then horse," Bacarra said.

Laynee has been around the animals her whole life.

Bacarra, a stay-at-home mom, once galloped young race horses in Ocala professionally; now she trains horses and gives riding lessons in her spare time. She started racing when she was 7.

Laynee started riding at 13 months.

"She was just a baby, and since she could sit up, I would put her in a saddle with me and we would ride around," Bacarra said.

Now, Laynee rides solo using a saddle cover that secures the rider on the horse with Velcro straps.

It allows her to compete in the 6- and-under and 18-and-under divisions in Great Southern Youth and National Barrel Horse Association races in Mississippi and Baker, respectively.

And, more important for those rodeos, it allows her to fulfill her need for speed.

"I like to ride fast horses," Laynee says.

“Horses are her life," her mom said. "I don’t push her, either. I’ll ask her, ‘You know, Laynee, do you wanna go outside and ride? Sometimes, she says no — sometimes, she beats me out there to the barn."

Two accused of burglary after confrontation with victim

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FORT WALTON BEACH - Two alleged burglars are in custody after the victim remembered them being in the neighborhood and confronted them. 

The victim had gone out for a jog on Tuesday morning and returned to find her cell phone, change and credit cards missing from her Pinedale Way home, according to a media release from Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

The 55-year-old woman remembered two suspicious men in the neighborhood earlier and drove around the neighborhood looking for them, the release said.

Law enforcement advises citizens to avoid confronting suspects and to call police instead, as confronting suspects can be dangerous, the release said.

When the woman found one of the men, she demanded her belongings back, the release said.

The man, identified as 20-year-old Hunter Lee Johnson of Fort Walton Beach, gave her back her cell phone, but denied taking her credit cards, according to the release.

He ran off while the victim called Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies spoke to the woman, who said she’d just seen the two men. Deputies performed a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by 19-year-old Cameron Wayne Hensley of Fort Walton Beach.

Johnson was in the passenger seat, “fully reclined back, and sweating profusely,” according to the arrest report.

Johnson admitted to going into the home through the half open garage door to “steal anything they could find” while Hensley acted as a lookout, the report said.

Both are charged with burglary and felony theft.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Trista Pruett at 850-315-4445 or tpruett@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @TristaPnwfdn.

Child in critical condition following DeFuniak wreck

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DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — An SUV turned in front of a tractor trailer at a busy city intersection Tuesday afternoon, causing a three-car pileup that left a child in critical condition and three more with serious injuries. 

The truck was traveling east on U.S. Highway 90 “carrying a heavy load of feed” to a nearby poultry processing plant when the driver of the SUV, 38-year-old Lucia Lovato, turned left from U.S. Highway 331 in front of it, the DeFuniak Springs Police Department said in a news release.

The impact of the collision sent the SUV into a third vehicle. Both wound up on the sidewalk north of the intersection, where a traffic signal was damaged, the release said.

Lovato had a 10-year-old, a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old inside the vehicle with her, according to Defuniak Springs Police Department.

They are not currently releasing the names of the children.

Lovato and one of the children had to be extricated from the SUV, the release said. All four were taken to a Pensacola hospital.

Lovato and one of the children required emergency surgery.

As of Wednesday at 2:30 p.m., Lovato, the 7-year-old and the 4-year-old were in stable condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.

The 10-year-old child was initially taken to Sacred Heart Hospital, but was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Alabama in critical condition, according to DeFuniak Springs Police.

The driver of the third car, identified as 73-year-old Vonnie McBroom, was taken from the scene by a family member to Sacred Heart on the Emerald Coast Hospital and later released, according to reports.

The truck driver, identified as 46-year-old Leonard St. John, was not hurt.

Walton County deputies and troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol assisted with traffic control at the intersection, where traffic was slowed for nearly four hours, according to reports.

“The crash is still being investigated by DeFuniak Springs Police and charges are pending,” the release said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn. Staff Writer Trista Pruett contributed to this report.

18-year-old Krystal Newhouse continues her fight

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DEFUNIAK SPRINGS — Irene Newhouse wants people to know that her daughter, Krystal, is "still fighting."

It was around this time last year that Krystal was fighting cancer at Shands Hospital in Gainesville when her heart stopped. By the time she was revived, her brain had lost oxygen for 17 minutes.

After six rounds of chemotherapy and four doses of radiation, Krystal’s cancer is now in remission. The 18-year-old had a CT scan recently that showed no signs of cancer, said her mother Irene.

But the brain damage remains.

Krystal has had several small victories from saying the words "No," "Ma" and "Ow" to picking her head up — things her doctors weren’t sure she could do.
"I’d like her to say a few more words," Irene said. "So she can tell us whether she’s hurting."

A typical day of starts early in the morning with "a bunch of meds," said Irene.

Irene is her daughter’s primary care taker, along with some help from a part-time home healthcare nurse and her two grown daughters.

Before she was in the hospital, Irene said her daughter had dreams of doing more to advocate against bullying. Krystal was often on the receiving end of cruel words with her prosthetic leg, which she’d had since she was 3 due to a genetic disorder.

In February 2014 — just a few months before she went to the hospital, she had organized an anti-bullying event at her school.

Now, she mainly communicates through art.

"She does a lot of painting and she’ll paint anything," Irene said. "Someone will tell her what they want and she’ll paint it for them."

Next week, Krystal Newhouse will be rolled across the stage in her wheelchair at her high school graduation from Walton High School alongside her friends.

Although she may not receive an actual diploma and her future will look different from the lives of her peers, Irene said she’s still proud of her daughter.

"She is very strong, I tell her that everyday," she said.

WANT TO HELP: You can still donate to Krystal’s GoFundMe page at gofundme.com/at2ch0

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Jennie McKeon at 850-315-4432 or jmckeon@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennieMnwfdn.

Cyclists gather to remember those who have been killed on the road (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

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FORT WALTON BEACH — Wind and a slight chance of storms Wednesday evening didn’t deter more than 75 people from banding together for the 2015 Ride of Silence.

For video from the event, click here

“Its primary purpose is to memorialize local cyclists that have died or been injured on the roads,” said Steve Fikar, safety officer for the Emerald Coast Cyclists club. “They have no voice, so we’re trying to remember them the best way we can.”

He said they also try to promote bicycle safety and to raise awareness with motorists.

“We want to peacefully co-exist,” Fikar said. “Bicyclists are often on the road and they’re very small. We’re all people. We’re all trying to share the road together.”

For photos from the event, click here.

James Adams, vice president of Emerald Coast Cyclists, welcomed the riders at 6 p.m. in the parking lot at Families First and Gentiva Home Health on Beal Parkway. He said riders across the country were gathering the same evening for the same reasons.

He noted that the local list of those killed had grown.

“We did lose one more person last year from Navarre,” he said.

Allan Stearns, who led the procession in a white funeral coach, said he had personally taken some of the 27 names read to their final resting place.

“Unfortunately, someone took their life,” Stearns said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Trista Pruett at 850-315-4445 or tpruett@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @TristaPnwfdn.

Dog fighting tip leads to warrant, two arrests (PHOTOS)

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The Walton County Sheriff’s Office conducted an early morning search of a Freeport home Wednesday after being notified about possible dog fighting activity.

By the end of the day, two people were in custody.

"We got a tip back in October from a concerned citizen after they observed dog fighting on social media," explained WCSO spokeswoman Corey Dobridnia.

PHOTOS from the scene.

The sheriff’s office investigated and obtained a search warrant for the home on Old Jolly Bay Road. At 5:15 a.m., Wednesday the SWAT team arrived.

Residents of the home, 25-year-old Terrell Bramlet and 24-year-old Kelsi Greene are both facing charges of possession of a controlled substance, cultivation, possession of drug paraphernalia and child endangerment.

Bramlet is also facing felony charges for dog fighting and animal cruelty.

Seven dogs — puppies and adults — were recovered and one dead dog was found. Dobridnia estimated the dog had been buried on the property three to four weeks ago.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was on scene with the Walton County SWAT team, K-9 unit and animal control. The State Attorney’s Office was also represented.

"Since it was a planned search warrant, we were able to contact the ASPCA, who came into town last night," Dobridnia said.

They were tethered on heavy chains and many had scars and wounds consistent with fighting. They’re being cared for at an undisclosed location until medical and behavioral assessments are finished and placement options can be determined, according to an ASPCA release.

“For the victims of dog fighting, life is a constant cycle of suffering and torture,” said Tim Rickey, vice president of the ASPCA Field Investigations and Response team. “Dog fighting is an underground but widespread epidemic, and we are grateful to the Walton County Sheriff for actively pursuing this case and seeking justice for innocent dogs who were subjected to horrific abuse.”

Weapons, dog fighting paraphernalia, crack cocaine and marijuana were also found on the property.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Jennie McKeon at 850-315-4432 or jmckeon@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @JennieMnwfdn. Reporter Trista Pruett contributed to this story.

Three accused of distributing meth

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NICEVILLE - Two Freeport residents and a Ponce de Leon resident are facing multiple charges, including distribution of methamphetamine.

Niceville Police officers stopped a car driven by 47-year-old Joseph Everett Byrd, of Ponce de Leon, around 1:40 a.m. on May 11 for not having tag lights, according to the arrest report. Byrd’s license was suspended.

After he was arrested, he gave officers permission to search his vehicle, the report said. Passengers 40-year-old Shanna Dianne Simmons and 34-year-old Kenneth Dewayne Wilson stepped out of the vehicle.

Officers found a makeup bag with two methamphetamine smoking pipes, methamphetamine, a digital scale, acetaminophen and hydrocodone, according to the report. They also found eight rounds of ammunition.

All three are charged with delivering methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Byrd is additionally charged with driving while his license is suspended and possession of ammunition by a convicted Florida felon.

All are scheduled to appear in court on June 2.


Man accused of drunken disturbance, taking razor blade into jail

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CRESTVIEW - A 35-year-old Alabama man is facing charges after allegedly creating a drunken disturbance at an apartment building.

On May 5 around 8:30 p.m., an off-duty officer reported nearly being struck by Henry Andrew Jones, of Castleberry, Alabama, in the parking lot of an apartment complex, according to the arrest report. The officer tried to check on Jones, who allegedly became verbally abusive and yelled obscenities.

Jones then tried to taunt the officer by “yelling at him to follow him to his apartment,” the report said. Other residence in the complex reported being disturbed by the yelling and going to the parking lot to check it out.

One resident reported that her three sleeping children woke because of the yelling, according to the report. Jones allegedly had “a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage” and became verbally abusive with on-duty Crestview Police officers who responded to the scene.

He was taken to jail, where he was asked twice if he had anything that would get him into trouble, the report said. His response was allegedly, “man check my pockets what the (expletive) an I going to jail for.”

Officers searched him and found nothing, according to the report. Once in the jail, he was searched again, and a razor blade was found in his pockets.

He is charged with felony introducing contraband into a county detention facility and misdemeanor breach of the peace.

His next scheduled court date is June 16.

REPORT: Witness saw woman ‘fly’ out of house nude after alleged battery

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NICEVILLE - A 35-year-old man is accused of attacking a woman he was living with “four nights a week.”

Niceville Police officers were called before 9 a.m. on May 11, when a woman walking by saw the victim “fly” out of the home, “nude and crying,” according to the arrest report. The witness reported seeing the Niceville man “scream” at the victim.

The victim told officers that she was awoken by the man screaming at her, the report said. When she tried to get away, he allegedly grabbed her by the neck and began choking her.

She said she was able to flee, but he “pushed” her out the back door, according to the report. She had “substantial red marks” on her chest.

The man is charged with misdemeanor battery.

His next scheduled court date is June 2.

Mobile home fire under investigation

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HOLT - The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating a mobile home fire in Holt on Tuesday night.

The fire on Bone Creek Road was called in about 8 p.m... Firefighters from Holt, Baker and Blackman responded, according to Baker Fire Capt. Tim Busby.

The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes, he said.

No one was at the home and no injuries were reported.

Firefighters are not sure what caused the fire, although Busby said the State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating it as suspicious.

Dangerous electrical system, leaky roof may force group out of building

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After 50 years in the old city hall building on 1st Street, the Arts and Design Society of Fort Walton Beach is facing eviction.

The nonprofit, which leases the space from Fort Walton Beach, cannot afford to make the roughly $100,000 in repairs to bring it back up to code.

“We don’t know what to do,” ADSO Vice President Helen Harris said. “... We thought we had time and that they were going to work with us. We’re confused, and it seems like they’re confused.”

But City Manager Michael Beedie said that under ADSO’s lease with the city it’s responsible for the building upkeep except for the parking lot and landscaping.

“No one should be surprised,” he said. “That building has had problems for years.”

The aging facility also houses the Playground Gem and Mineral Society and the Playground Amateur Radio Club.

The building was deemed unsafe for public use in a recent study of all city-owned buildings. Its main problems are a faulty and dangerous electrical system and a leaking roof.

Beedie said past city administrations had made repairs for ADSO through the years but the city can no longer afford to do that.

The City Council has not yet decided if it wants to keep the building and is scheduled to discuss it at a June budget meeting. In the past three years, the city has been reducing the number of discounted leases it provides to local nonprofits.

The city began renegotiating ADSO’s lease about a year ago. It’s most recent lease was set at $300 a year.

Harris said the city’s real estate broker, NBI Properties, proposed a new lease of $1,000, which she called “absolutely exorbitant.”

At present, ADSO doesn’t have an active lease with the city.

Because the city owns the building, it will cite itself for the code violations and then issue a notice to its tenants, Beedie said.

ADSO then will have 15 days to make the repairs or move out.

“It wasn’t that we weren’t trying,” Harris said, adding that the group has done a lot of work the building through the years. “We’ve redone kitchens and bathrooms. We’ve painted and put up shelving. ... We tried to update as best we could.”

ADSO also raised $20,000 to cover half of the electrical repairs, but the city wasn’t willing to pay the remainder.

Harris said she and other ADSO members are scrambling to come up with a solution. One of their most popular events – a summer children’s camp – is scheduled to kick off June.

“We like the downtown because ... the art culture is downtown,” Harris said. “We’d like to stay where people are familiar with us.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

Renourished beach wins national award

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A project that restored 1.7 miles of Destin beaches has been recognized by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association as one of 2015’s Best Restored Beaches.

The $8 million project, which wrapped up two years ago, faced its share of challenges, including a lawsuit by some property owners along the stretch.

“The ASBPA is the preeminent organization in the country that deals with beach restoration and coastal issues,” said Jim Trifilio, coastal management coordinator for Okaloosa County’s Tourist Development Department. “To be able to win that award says something about the quality and purpose of the project.”

The project placed about 650,000 cubic yards of sand. It was pumped from a site 1.5 miles off the coast, three miles west of Destin’s pass.

The award recognized Destin’s project for providing substantial economic and ecological benefits to the community, despite the challenges faced during the process.

Challenges noted include “significant controversy, misinformation (and) litigation,” according to a press release from the organization.

Some homeowners along that stretch fought the restoration in court. As a result, the beach on either side of that stretch was restored, but no sand was directly placed in front of the disputed parcels.

Trifilio said those homeowners have still benefitted from the restoration.

“The sand moves from the restored area to fill that gap,” he said. “They’re benefitting from the project even though they didn’t pay for the project.”

Projects in South Carolia; Texas; California and St. Lucie, Fla., were also recognized.

Contact Daily News Managing Editor Wendy Victora at 850-315-4478 or wvictora@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @WendyVnwfdn.

Two local schools recognized for inspiring students

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Two local principals received a delightful surprise in their email inboxes earlier this week.

Walton High School in DeFuniak Springs and Fort Walton Beach High School were selected as two of the top 50 Inspiring Schools Meeting the Challenge by TheBestSchools.org.

“Our community can be proud,” said Walton Principal Russell Hughes.

See the rankings:

The two schools were the only local ones to make the list, which selected schools that had beat the odds stacked up against them. No application process was involved. Each school selected for the ranking had a short write up included with it.

“I’m really happy for our school and I’m happy to come and work with these teachers,” said Principal John Spolski, who took over at Fort Walton Beach High School earlier this year. “They rock and roll.”

Fort Walton’s write-up focused on how it had to establish an identity after becoming the second high school in southern Okaloosa County. It specifically noted the school was left off the U.S. News & World Report ranking last year.

“The best teachers are the ones who keep doing what they are doing even if nobody notices,” the FWBHS write-up stated. “Your students notice, and so do we here at TheBestSchools.org.”

Over at Walton, which was ranked by U.S. News last year, the news was just as welcome and was an indication the school was reaching the goal set by Hughes when he took over eight years ago.

“We’re going to be known ... for the work we do for children,” Hughes said he told his staff.

The write-up on Walton honed in on that dedication to students, noting the recent addition of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the extra time Hughes is known to take to help students get into college or find scholarships.

“Thank you Walton High School for thinking outside the box,” TheBestSchools.org wrote. “And giving your students once in a lifetime opportunities.”

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.

Attorneys hope brain injuries keep Davis off death row

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DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — Barry Davis’ defense team is counting on his abnormal brain to keep him out of a cell on Florida’s death row.

Expert witnesses in the fields of clinical psychology and neuropathology were called on Thursday to testify that head injuries sustained by Davis at an early age had caused traumatic brain injuries. Those injuries that could well have turned him aggressive and impacted his judgment and impulse control.

Coupled with growing up mostly unloved on the mean streets of Los Angeles, anxiety and depression brought on by a failing relationship, the injuries Davis suffered playing football, boxing and in ATV accidents created a deeply disturbed individual, doctors Julie Harper and Joseph Wu told jurors.

The testimony, solicited by attorney Michelle Hendrix, came on the second day of the death penalty phase of the Davis trial. Davis was convicted Monday of killing South Walton County resident John Gregory Hughes and his girlfriend, Hiedi Ann Rhodes, of Panama City Beach.

Brain injuries to a young person are potentially more harmful later in life because the organ is still developing, Wu told jurors. A PET Scan of Davis’ brain indicated an abnormal frontal lobe area, he testified.

“The frontal lobe is most susceptible to brain injuries that impact judgment and impulse control,” he said. “A damaged frontal lobe is like driving a car when the brakes aren’t working.”

Outside factors, like the environment you grow up in, can exacerbate problems stemming from the brain injuries, Wu told the jury.

“I think Mr. Davis has several factors present,” he testified.

On cross examination, prosecuting attorney Bobby Elmore confirmed that Wu was well briefed in the grisly details of the murders of Hughes and Rhodes, including the beatings they sustained, the effort to make sure they were dead by placing their heads in a bathtub and the dismembering and burning of their bodies.

“Do you believe these deaths were the results of an impulse action?” Elmore asked.

Wu mostly shied from answering what he termed Elmore’s “philosophical” questions, but when asked if a person with traumatic brain injury can understand that it’s wrong to murder, he responded by saying, “there’s a different type of knowing.”

“You can know murder is wrong but have the inability to regulate certain impulses,” Wu said.

Friday is expected to be the last day of testimony in this second phase of what has been a four week trial. The jury will then be asked to return with a recommendation to either have the state put Davis to death or sentence him to life in prison without the opportunity for parole.

Circuit Court Judge will ultimately deliver the sentence, though he must, by law, give great weight to the recommendation of the jury.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.


Boy Scouts president: Ban on gays is 'no longer sustainable'

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NEW YORK — The national president of the Boy Scouts of America, Robert Gates, said Thursday that the organization's longstanding ban on participation by openly gay adults is no longer sustainable, and called for change in order to avert potentially destructive legal battles.

In a speech in Atlanta to the Scouts' national annual meeting, Gates referred to recent moves by Scout councils in New York City and elsewhere to defy the ban.

"The status quo in our movement's membership standards cannot be sustained," he said.

Gates said no change in the policy would be made at the national meeting. But he raised the possibility of revising the policy at some point soon so that local Scout organizations could decide on their own whether to allow gays as leaders.

In 2013, after bitter internal debate, the BSA decided to allow openly gay youth as scouts, but not gay adults as leaders. The change took effect in January 2014.

Gates, who became the BSA's president in May 2014, said at the time that he personally would have favored ending the ban on gay adults, but he opposed any further debate after the Scouts' policymaking body upheld the ban.

On Thursday, however, he said recent events "have confronted us with urgent challenges I did not foresee and which we cannot ignore."

He cited the recent defiant announcement by the BSA's New York chapter in early April that it had hired the nation's first openly gay Eagle Scout as a summer camp leader. He also cited broader developments related to gay rights.

"I remind you of the recent debates we have seen in places like Indiana and Arkansas over discrimination based on sexual orientation, not to mention the impending U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer on gay marriage," he said. "We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be."

Gates said the BSA technically had the power to revoke the charters of councils that defied the current ban on gay adults, but he said this would be harmful to boys in those regions

He also noted that many states have passed laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, raising the possibility of extensive legal battles.

"Thus, between internal challenges and potential legal conflicts, the BSA finds itself in an unsustainable position, a position that makes us vulnerable to the possibility the courts simply will order us at some point to change our membership policy," Gates said.

He expressed concern that an eventual court order might also strike down the BSA's policy of banning atheists.

"Waiting for the courts is a gamble with huge stakes," he said. "Alternatively, we can move at some future date — but sooner rather than later — to seize control of our own future, set our own course and change our policy in order to allow charter partners — unit sponsoring organizations — to determine the standards for their Scout leaders."

Such an approach, he said, would allow churches, which sponsor about 70 percent of Scout units, to establish leadership standards consistent with their faith.

"I truly fear that any other alternative will be the end of us as a national movement," he said.

Zach Wahls of Scouts for Equality, a group that has campaigned against the ban, welcomed Gates' remarks.

"Dr. Gates has built his reputation on straight talk and tough decisions," said Wahls. "It seems like the Boy Scouts will continue an internal dialogue about the subject and that a change within the next year or two is imminent."

Until Thursday, there had been no indication how the BSA would respond to the New York Councils, which on April 2 announced the hiring of Pascal Tessier, an 18-year-old Eagle Scout. Tessier, currently finishing his freshman year of college, has been a vocal advocate of opening the 105-year-old organization to gay scouts and leaders.

Tessier had been getting legal advice from prominent lawyer David Boies, whose recent causes include arguing for recognition of same-sex marriage. Boies said it was possible that Tessier's hiring could lead to litigation between the New York chapter and the BSA's national headquarters, but he expressed hope this could be avoided.

Another of Tessier's lawyers, Josh Schiller, expressed hope that the BSA's ban would be lifted.

"People will join the Boy Scouts and look at them as an organization that has the principles of equality," he said.

PHOTOS: Collegiate School graduation

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NICEVILLE — Collegiate High School graduating seniors celebrated during commencement on Thursday at the Mattie Kelly Fine and Performing Arts Center at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. The Collegiate High School graduated 100 seniors this year.

PHOTOS from the graduation ceremony.

 

Contact Daily News Photographer Nick Tomecek at 850-315-4426 or ntomecek@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickTnwfdn.

Driver and passenger injured in I-10 crash

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HOLT - Two Pensacola residents were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital after a collision on Interstate 10 early Thursday.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 53-year-old Bonnie Hawthorne was traveling west on I-10 just west of the Okaloosa County line about 12:03 a.m. when she lost traction and began to fishtail as she approached other vehicles from behind.

Hawthorne veered off the road and hit a tree on the north shoulder.

She was taken to Sacred Heart by helicopter. Her passenger, 44-year-old Jerald Calvert, was taken by ambulance. Both are listed with serious injuries.

Driver of stolen truck hits school bus

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PACE - A Pensacola man faces several charges after he ran a stop sign and crashed into a school bus Wednesday afternoon.

Kyle Logan Tharp, 21, was heading west in a Dodge Ram on Martin Street approaching Seventh Avenue when he ran a stop sign and  hit the bus that was traveling north on Seventh Avenue, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Both vehicles veered into the yard of a home on Martin Street, where the school bus struck a Ford Ranger parked in the driveway.

Tharp ran away after the crash, but was captured by Santa Rosa County sheriff’s deputies. The pickup truck was found to have been reported stolen May 15.

The bus driver, Gail Marie Reaves, and two students were taken to local hospitals for minor injuries. Ten students were on the bus.

Tharp suffered minor injuries in the crash. He was charged with grand theft auto, possession of chemicals to manufacture a controlled substance, fleeing an accident scene with injuries, driving while license suspended and running a stop sign.

Woman accused of having cocaine in bra

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CRESTVIEW - A 57-year-old woman is facing drug charges after allegedly having cocaine in her bra.

Kathleen Rae Smith, of Crestview, was a passenger in a car that was investigated for suspicious activity around 9:30 p.m. on May 11, according to the arrest report. She allegedly admitted to having marijuana in her purse after the man with her was questioned by Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputies.

A probable cause search yielded copper coated steel wool in her purse and a gram of crack cocaine in her bra, the report said. She also admitted to having two glass pipes and other paraphernalia in the car.

She is charged with possession of cocaine, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Her next scheduled court date is June 16.

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