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By Alexi Howk
PORT ST. LUCIE — Not everyone is pleased Digital Domain is proposing to build a film school in downtown West Palm Beach.
Port St. Lucie City Councilwoman Michelle Berger told city manager Jerry Bentrott she was “extremely” disappointed that a new Florida State University film school would be built in West Palm Beach rather than Port St. Lucie.
STUART — Two men being followed by Palm Beach Gardens police Tuesday morning were apprehended in the area of Halpatiokee Regional Park after their Hyundai crashed into a ditch, according to a Martin County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
Driver Brandon Tavaris Davis, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, and passenger Darris Bryan Gresham, 21, of Oakland Park, were taken into custody after the pursuit.
Palm Beach Gardens police called Martin County sheriff’s investigators about 10:09 a.m. and asked for assistance, saying officers were following a vehicle north on Interstate 95, sheriff’s spokeswoman Rhonda Irons said.
Deputies went to the area and put out tire deflation devices on I-95 just south of Kanner Highway. The Hyundai swerved to avoid the devices and crashed into a ditch.
One of the men in the vehicle was taken into custody immediately, Irons said. The other man ran into the park and was captured about 20 minutes later.
A helicopter, K-9s and several law enforcement vehicles converged in and around the park in efforts to find the men, who were arrested and taken to the Martin County jail.
A high school district boys and girls tennis tournament was being conducted in the park at the time. Athletes were ordered into their cars and onto school buses until the men were brought into custody.
Aaron Lindstadt, a freshman tennis player at Fort Pierce Central High School, witnessed one of the suspects on the run near the tennis courts.
“I was watching the tennis tournament and saw something out of the corner of my eye,” said Lindstadt, who was at the event with his mother. “Something popped out of the woods, and it looked like a man.
“He vanished right away back into the woods.”
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A pit bull mix was recovering from surgery performed Monday following gunshot wounds received during a burglary at his home Friday, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Charles Ulrich, the owner of 5-year-old Teddy Bear, said the dog spent several hours bleeding and in pain Friday afternoon before Ulrich arrived home and discovered the grisly sight. Teddy Bear was shot in the chest and the shoulder, he said. Ulrich took his dog to the Florida Veterinary League in Vero Beach for treatment.
“I’m convinced it’s a miracle the bullets didn’t hit any major organs,” Ulrich said. “But he’s in a lot of pain.”
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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Authorities announced Monday they made three arrests after three Storm Grove Middle School students were hospitalized when they became ill from snorting crushed Roxycodone pain pills and using other drugs.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said one of the sick students, a 13-year-old girl, named students at the school who were providing prescription drugs and marijuana to her and others, Sheriff’s spokesman Deputy Jeff Luther said.
The Sheriff’s Office charged Halee Marie Webb, 14, of the 100 block of Harris Drive, Sebastian, and Jacob Scott Martin, 13, of the 100 block of Midvale Terrace, Sebastian, each with felony distribution of a controlled substance. Another 13-year-old girl had a juvenile affidavit filed against her for misdemeanor possession of marijuana, Luther said.
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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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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Opponents of the school superintendent’s decision not to let students see President Barack Obama’s nationally televised back-to-school speech live, lashed out at him Tuesday night.
“You have chosen to put politics in front of good citizenship and good patriotism,” Vero Beach resident Peter Hyatt said during a public comment period at the beginning of a school board meeting.
Hyatt called for Schools Superintendent Harry La Cava’s resignation.
Board members took no action following speeches by about 10 people.
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Alex Barton with his mother, Melissa Barton
A mother whose autistic son was voted out of kindergarten in St. Lucie County last year is planning a press conference this afternoon to announce the filing of a federal lawsuit against the school district, several school officials and the local teacher’s union.
The complaint submitted in federal court alleges 5-year-old Alex Barton suffered irreparable damage when his teacher Wendy Portillo “orchestrated a ‘Survivor-style’ vote” asking the boy’s classmates whether or not he should be allowed to return to the class after he’d been repeatedly disruptive. The class voted him out 14-2.
Alex has since been diagnosed with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome.
Wendy Portillo answers questions during an administrative hearing.
The school board initially suspended Portillo one year and stripped her tenure, but in June they restored her tenue and said she will be allowed to return to the classroom in November.
St. Lucie County Schools spokeswoman Janice Karst this afternoon said the district does not comment on active livitgation.
Barton this morning declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit, reserving comment for the press conference scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at her attorney Paul Sopp’s office in West Palm Beach.
She did say that her son now attends a private school in Palm Beach County through a scholarship.
“He’s doing so well,” she said. “His teacher’s a sweetheart.”
Sopp said that that while Barton is seeking monetary damages from the suit, a victory in the case would help other students.
“What we’re trying to do is ensure that no one in the St. Lucie County school district is denied education based upon their disability,” Sopp said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Loading ...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…)
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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Though the summer brought tough budget cuts to Treasure Coast schools, a push into the digital age and environmental consciousness will be top priorities for the school year that begins today as thousands of students head back to classrooms.
St. Lucie County school officials closed Port St. Lucie Elementary and Southbend K-8 School, both in Port St. Lucie, at the end of the last school year and eliminated middle school and junior varsity sports districtwide.
Martin County also made cuts in sports and tightened individual school budgets for expenses like field trips and school supplies, but the fact that two schools this year became Title I schools also brought extra federal money to the district.
Martin Schools Superintendent Nancy Kline on Friday said this year will be the first for the Martin Virtual School, which will provide online instruction to students at all grade levels.
“It’s particularly helpful for students who will have to take extended absences from school, though virtual schools in general are becoming more and more popular,” Kline said.
Some students in St. Lucie County will get a taste of the high-tech at two new charter schools — The Nau Charter School and Renaissance Charter School, both in Port St. Lucie.
Renaissance Principal Eric Lewis said teachers at the new school spent the last few weeks reviewing curriculum and learning how to navigate around high-tech classrooms inside the $10 million building, which will include five laptop computers in each classroom.
“We used to think of the average classroom supplies in terms of papers and pencils, or glue and glitter, but now there are so many other tools at our disposal,” Lewis said.
And though the St. Lucie County school officials made significant cuts to the district’s after-school programs, some administrators still found ways for expansion.
Leaders at Village Green Elementary, for example, responded to news that their after-school environmental program would be cut with plans to integrate the program into their day-to-day curriculum. They unveiled plans for the school’s Global Environmental Studies Center magnet in June, a plan St. Lucie Schools Superintendent Michael Lannon said will actually save the district money.
“What they’ve been able to do is remarkable,” Lannon said.
DETAILS BY COUNTY
St. Lucie
Charters: Two new charter schools, The Nau Charter and Renaissance Charter, open today.
Sports: Budget cuts mean no junior varsity or middle school athletics unless the schools are able to pay for them.
Transportation: Transportation hotline is 772-340-4849. The phones will be manned from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, with bilingual staff available. Transportation to magnet schools will be more limited this year, with fewer stops.
Supplies: Supply lists for individual schools, open house schedules and sports release forms are available online.
For more information, visit www.stlucie.k12.fl.us
Martin
Funding: Though school officials had to make cuts, the naming of two schools as Title I schools brought extra funding to the district.
Virtual School: Students for the first time will be able to receive instruction online through the Martin Virtual School. Eligible students had until August 12 to enroll.
Academics: Academically advanced middle school students in Martin this year will have more opportunities to take high school courses like Geometry, Integrated Science and Algebra. The 8th grade academic intervention program, which last school year helped 148 students in danger of failing pass through to the 9th grade, will be expanded to also target 6th and 7th graders.
Transportation: For transportation questions, call: 772-219-1287
For more information, visit www.sbmc.org.
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