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Sheriff: Listen to me, not The Press E-mail
Written by Mike Anderson   
Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:13
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Sheriff Dobson at a press conference in January.

Sheriff Dobson at a press conference in January.

Sheriff Joey Dobson offered some advice to county commissioners last week: Listen to your sheriff, not to The Baker County Press.

He suggested during the May 7 board meeting that commissioners disregard a recent article in the newspaper that focused on sharp drops in federal detainees housed in the county jail during the first quarter of this year, which created a loss of nearly $500,000 in revenue.

That’s the amount the Baker Correctional Development Corporation, which owes about $40 million to bondholders who funded the facility, lost in housing fees because of the inmate reduction, according to the article written by managing editor Joel Addington. BCDC gets paid about $85 daily for housing prisoners, including detainees from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the Bureau of Prisons.

The sheriff, an elected constitutional officer, basically accused Mr. Addington and Press publisher Jim McGauley of stirring up controversy and trying to pit his office against the county commission.

“Mr. McGauley and Joel Addington do not like the project…” the sheriff declared. “They have opposed the project ever since we started it.” A few minutes later, he said the newspaper was trying to “get us cross ways with one another.”

The article stated that from January through March the average daily number of detainees from ICE, which accounts for most of the federal inmates, dropped 26 percent to 183. By comparison, the jail reported about 39 fewer inmates from the Marshal’s Service and about two fewer inmates from the Bureau of Prisons.

Meanwhile, the number of inmates coming from Baker County grew by some 19 prisoners, or about 17 percent, during the same period. That increase cost the Baker County Commission about $145,000.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 13:48
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30 months prison for attack on deputies, police dog E-mail
Written by Jim McGauley   
Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:11
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A Sanderson man with a criminal record for dealing drugs pleaded no contest to a trio of felonies stemming from a violent encounter with two county deputies a year ago and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Kharis Clayton, 29, entered the no contest pleas on May 7 to battery on police, resisting police with violence and escape. He gets credit for more than a year in county jail since his arrest on April 28, 2012.

Mr. Clayton attacked a county canine deputy and his dog following a traffic stop on CR 127 and fled on foot. He was arrested in Jacksonville the following day at the residence of a girlfriend.

Deputy Chris Walker stopped the suspect that afternoon for not wearing a seat belt, and said Mr. Clayton got out of his Pontiac cursing and refusing requests to remain in the vehicle. He struck the officer in the throat, knocking him to the ground, and resisted being handcuffed.

Last Updated on Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:32
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Cochlear implant changed his world E-mail
Written by Joel Addington   
Thursday, 16 May 2013 11:39
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Chase Brannan during during the district Hi-Q match late last year.

Chase Brannan during during the district Hi-Q match late last year.

Chase Brannan of Macclenny was born almost totally deaf.

At first, he appeared to be like every other baby. But after about six months, his mother and father understood something was wrong.

His father, Chuck Brannan, once banged a metal pan behind his head to test his son’s reaction.

There was none.

That led to further testing of Chase’s hearing, this time with a device that monitors brain waives. It confirmed Chase, now 19 years old, had only a “residual” amount of hearing — less than 5 percent of what most of us have.

“We were just floored,” said Mr. Brannan.

He said there was no history of deafness in the family. Genetic testing of his father and mother, who died when Chase was in seventh grade, didn’t reveal the cause either.

“They told us it was a fluke,” Mr. Brannan said.

Hearing aides at 2 years old were the first step, then came a special school in Jacksonville, one of a handful of the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in the nation. There he began to learn how to listen and speak.

Shortly before his sixth birthday, Chase underwent surgery to improve his hearing even further.

Last Updated on Friday, 17 May 2013 09:34
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There's plenty to do this month. Click here to see some of the events happening around the county. Become a registered user at www.bakercountypress.com and start posting your own events. They won't appear immediately, but once we approve them (in short order), everyone can see!

 
TEXT, EMAIL SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR TEENS WITH SEXUAL HEALTH QUESTIONS

A new resource was recently launched for teens in the region with questions about sexual health. It's the BrdzNBz NE Florida text message system.

BrdsNBz NE Florida gives confidential, medically-accurate answers to sexual health questions via text message for teens 12-18 years old Baker, Duval, Nassau, Clay and St. Johns counties. The service is anonymous, provides real-time responses and it's free, though standard text message rates may apply.

A similar resource from Healthy Baker, Inc. is available online at the non profit's Oustpoken website called Ask Aunt Cathy. It's been available for more than a year. Teens can submit any health-related question by filling out the online form and receive a response from a public health professional by e-mail.

To use the BrdzNBz NE Florida service, teens can text NEFLTeen to 66746 to opt-in to the service and then submit their question. Health educators with more than 40 years of combined public health experience respond to questions within 24 hours.

Question topics submitted to the text line include sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, sex, relationships and contraception. Teens can ask follow-up questions and receive referrals to local resources.

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What kinds of charities do you tend to support?

First responders - 13.8%
Military - 13.8%
Health or disease-related causes - 20.7%
Youth charities - 37.9%
Help for seniors/the elderly - 10.3%
Anything with a 5K - 3.4%

Total votes: 29
The voting for this poll has ended on: 17 May 2013 - 16:14

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