ST. LUCIE COUNTY — After weeks of police officer training in a classroom, Indian River State College students move on to a small platform that provides a high-tech simulation of how they react in a real-life situation.

They’re given a weapon that only emits lasers and equipped with a belt that zaps them if they put themselves in danger.

“It teaches consequences if they make bad decisions,” Stephen Huntsberger, associate dean of Public Service Education for IRSC, said of the VirTra Systems simulator at the complex.

The simulator is one of the planned demonstrations at Friday’s public open house at the new Indian River State College Public Safety Complex.
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PORT CANAVERAL — Martha Jackson was watching a wedding video with her nephew when she heard the splash.

Soon after, the Nashville, Tenn., woman heard a man yelling.

“You could hear him hollering for help,” said Jackson, who was on the last night of a four-night cruise to the Bahamas.

Authorities have not released the name of the 34-year-old Philadelphia man who jumped from his sixth-deck suite aboard the Carnival Sensation late Wednesday. The man, who was on the cruise celebrating his wedding anniversary, was rescued 1 1/2 hours later by the Disney cruise ship Wonder off the coast of southern St. Lucie County. (more…)

PORT ST. LUCIE — Offering the unions a “final” opportunity to save eight police officer jobs and avoid other layoffs, the city agreed to guarantee no layoffs next year in exchange for a wage freeze.

But the Coastal Florida Public Employees Association, which represents the city’s civilian employees, voted Monday night to reject the city’s offer, said union acting Executive Director Johnny Bingham. The city’s other two unions, the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which represents lieutenants and sergeants, and the International Union of Police Associations, which represents police officers, have not come to an agreement.

Bingham said the Police Benevolent Association, which he also directs, was sending a letter to the city Wednesday advising officials they are interested in coming back to the table to negotiate.
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TREASURE COAST — The number of Treasure Coast medical equipment suppliers for Blue Cross/Blue Shield patients will dwindle to three starting Nov. 1.

The cutbacks follow a competitive bidding process by regional suppliers who provide products from diabetes testing strips to oxygen machines statewide to remain in the Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida network.

Liberty Medical Supply and Physician’s Choice Respiratory Services, Inc., both in Port St. Lucie, and Rotech Oxygen & Medical Equipment in Stuart remain as the lone Treasure Coast suppliers after the bidding, according to a Blue Cross/Blue Shield list sent to Oxygen Plus in Vero Beach.
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TREASURE COAST — Two Treasure Coast hospitals have made a national list of poorly performing health facilities near travel hot spots.

USA Today included Indian River and St. Lucie medical centers on a list of hospitals with greater-than-average mortality rates near vacation spots. The national newspaper used statistics from Hospital Compare, a government-run Web site, to look at the mortality rates for heart attack, heart failure and pneumonia and singled out hospitals whose rates were worse than the national average.

Heart failure put Indian River Medical Center on USA Today’s list. St. Lucie Medical Center made the list with higher-than-average rates for heart failure and heart attack.
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ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A Tallahassee law firm has put the school district on notice that it will be taken to court if it doesn’t promptly produce public records first requested in June about a contract with a computer software company.

Attorneys Edwin Bayo and Bill Furlow declined to say who they represent in their attempt to get documents and e-mails between St. Lucie County schools and Skyward Inc., a Stevens Point, Wis.-based supplier of school administrative software. The district began seeking a contractor in 2007 and Skyward’s software came online this summer. (more…)

VERO BEACH — New Orleans resident Lionel Sims broke a hole in his roof to be rescued from Hurricane Katrina’s devastating flood waters in August 2005, but he had to leave behind a best friend, his dog Peanut.

Rescuers said they couldn’t take the dog.

Sims didn’t know if Peanut was dead or alive for about two months, until an American Red Cross volunteer tracked it to the Humane Society of Indian River County and Vero Beach.

And the two were reunited.
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The City Council Monday night unanimously agreed to move forward with purchasing 15 acres from Tradition Outlet LLC for $10 million, a move that puts up half the state’s contribution to help a Hollywood executive set up a digital production studio.

The studio could create up to 500 jobs and bring Florida State University’s Film Studies program to the Treasure Coast.

The package includes the local governments building a 150,000-square-foot studio for Hobe Sound-based Wyndcrest Holdings, a private investment firm focused on entertainment and Internet technology headed by Jupiter Island resident John Textor.
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MARTIN COUNTY — Dorothy McManus got her own personal chauffeured bus from Halpatiokee Regional Park to West Palm Beach to start her work week Monday.

The Stuart resident, who takes a train from West Palm Beach to work in Broward County, had the bus to herself on the inaugural 5:10 a.m. Palm Tran Commuter Express. McManus was the first rider on the area’s first mass transit service offered between Martin and Palm Beach counties on Monday.

Four people hopped on the bus for the service’s 6:10 a.m. departure to Palm Beach County.
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PALM BAY — Palm Bay High senior Tyler Laprade received a perfect score on the ACT, the only Florida student to do so this spring.

Laprade, 16, scored a 36 on the nationwide college entrance exam, which he took as a junior.

The average Florida student in the class of 2009 received a score of 19.5 on the test, but results for Laprade’s class aren’t available.

He also received a perfect score of 2400 on the SAT, the other nationwide college entrance exam.

“I was always raised to be the best,” said Laprade, who participates on the wrestling, swimming and track teams. “My parents expect me to be a high achiever.”

Laprade is enrolled in all Advanced Placement classes at Palm Bay High. He said he hopes to study mathematics next year and likely will become a computer programmer. He’s filling out applications to Harvard, MIT and the University of Florida.

He turns 17 Saturday and plans to go to Walt Disney World for his birthday.

By MEGAN DOWNS, Florida Today