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[ LAKELAND ]

Public Asked to
Help Address
Gang Violence
City ofcials and the
Lakeland Police Department are holding a meeting this evening to educate
residents about the communitys gang problem.
The goal is to start a discussion between ofcials
and residents about where
help is needed and what
can be done to curb gang
violence.
The meeting will be
from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the
Coleman-Bush Building at
1104 Martin L. King Jr. Ave.
and is open to all community members.
If the meeting is successful in addressing the
issues, Mayor Gow Fields
said there will be follow- up
meetings.

Changes Due for Medicare Clients

Consumers need to be watchful for
notices from supplemental plans.
By ROBIN WILLIAMS ADAMS
THE LEDGER

LAKELAND | The Medicare Advantage plan a member likes now might not be the
same plan come Jan. 1.
Some big-name companies
wont be offering all the plans
they did this year, said Jean
Berken, Polk coordinator for
Serving Health Insurance
Needs of Elders.

Plan members should have

received notice of pending
changes, she said, but notices
get overlooked and things can
change quickly.
Its really important they
take a look at the annual
notice of changes, Berken
said. There are significant
changes.
Some Medicare Advantage
plans have dropped doctors

and clinics from their approved networks for 2014.

A mong t he not iceable
changes locally are the Center
for Retina and Macular Disease in Polk County and Moftt Cancer Center in Tampa
being cut from AARP plans
run by UnitedHealthCare, and
Bond Clinic in Winter Haven
parting ways with Physicians
United Plan in a breakup taking effect Dec. 1.
Bond and Physicians United
Plan didnt reach agreement
in contract talks.
Berken has noticed increas-

es in premiums and co-payments for drugs in some standalone drug plans, the type
people on original Medicare
might buy for drug coverage.
People who have a Medicare
Advantage plan or a Medicare
Part D drug plan need to review all their coverage options, even if they are happy
with current coverage, according to the Medicare Rights
Center.
Thats because of the types
of change SHINE counselors
are telling recipients about.
Despite efforts to dispel the

confusion, Berken still nds

some Polk seniors rattled by
the enrollment drives for
Medicare Advantage plans
and private health insurance
plans through the federal Affordable Care Act.
Heres the word:
People who qualify for Medicare dont need to seek insurance through the marketplace
exchanges of the Affordable
Care Act. What they need
to decide is whether to be
on original Medicare or on
[ PLEASE SEE MEDICARE, B3 ]

[ LAKELAND ]

Invasive Plant
Being Removed

politics

BILL RUFTY

Areas of Lake Wire will

be treated for hydrilla
starting today.
The city has partnered
with the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection and Illinois Tool
Works to remove the invasive water plant.
Work is expected to take
about 30 days.
Hydrilla has not been
removed from Lake Wire
since 2004.

bill.rufty@theledger.com

Memories
Clear on
Impact of
Assassin

[ DAVENPORT ]

Join Officers for

Cup of Coffee
Residents are invited to
meet with Davenport police
ofcers on Friday for an
informal discussion over a
cup of coffee.
Ofcers will be at
the Davenport Cafe at
110 W. Orange St. from
8 to 10 a.m. so the community can have Coffee with
a Cop.
The event gives residents
a chance to meet ofcers
on an informal level to
learn more about the Police
Departments work in Davenport neighborhoods and
ask questions.
Coffee with a Cop is
part of a national initiative
to bring law enforcement
and communities together.
For more information,
contact Police Chief
Larry Holden at 863419-3307 or lholden@
mydavenport.org.

[ TAMPA ]

Channel 8 Coming
To DISH Network
DISH Network LLC
now carries Media Generals television stations
in 17 markets, including
Tampa.
The companies reached
an agreement Saturday
to allow DISH subscribers
access to Media Generals
stations, including News
Channel 8 in Tampa.
Details of the agreement
were not released.

[ TALLAHASSEE ]

Jackpot Rises
To $31 Million
The jackpot in the
Florida Lotto game has
grown to $31 million after
no one matched the six
winning numbers in
Saturdays drawing,
lottery ofcials said
Sunday.
Twenty-eight tickets
matched ve numbers
to win $6,454.00 each;
1,948 tickets matched
four numbers for $69
each; and 40,013 tickets
matched three numbers
for $5 each.
The winning Florida
Lotto numbers selected
Saturday were 08-19-22-2932-38.

Bok IT Kid Academy will host

a structured class in the B
Street computer lab, when
they will demonstrate how to
use Google Drive.
Everyone will be at a computer. Ever yone will be
walked through the basics,
Sealey said, and well be introducing them to Google
Drive. Well be helping them
to create a variety of documents and just get started
with a variety of projects so
they get their feet wet.
The kids will be helping
them one-on-one if they have
questions, Sealey said.
The idea for the partnership

t was just after lunch,

Friday, Nov. 22, 1963, and
I was making my way up
the stairs to the second
oor of my high school in a
small North Carolina town
for fth period and an important geometry exam.
I had really studied hard,
and I was going to show the
incredibly difcult teacher.
At the top of the stairs on
the second-oor level, arms
crossed, stood a student
assemblyman, who made
sure trafc owed in the
right direction during class
changes.
With an almost poker face,
he said, Bill, did you hear
the presidents been shot? I
couldnt tell whether he was
suppressing a smirk.
His parents disliked the
Kennedy family, mainly
because of the patriarch, old
Joe Kennedy, and his
removal as ambassador to
Great Britain for his neutral
stand at the beginning of
World War II.
So I considered the source
and walked on to class.
Students were all questioning each other, and the
principal, Mr. Glenn, was
walking down the halls,
pulling teachers aside to
whisper.
It was then that the teacher
announced to the class that
the president was dead. I
have always wondered why
you would do that as just a
matter of fact to students
facing a tough midterm.
Almost every American
knows of the Kennedy
assassination, the conspiracy theories and the what if
he had lived theories.
But unless you are 58 at
the youngest, you wouldnt
understand the sense of that
time. If you are younger than
60, pay attention to the
memories all the older folks
are going to be telling during
the next week.
It is said almost everyone
can tell you what they were
doing during the news of his
death, just as everyone can
tell you what they were
doing during the time the
two passenger planes
crashed into the twin towers

[ PLEASE SEE ACADEMY, B2 ]

[ PLEASE SEE RUFTY, B5 ]

PHOTOS PROVIDED BY POLK COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

A TOW TRUCK REMOVES THE CAR driven by Jeremiah Grady Simpson on Sunday after the 28-year-old Tampa man was killed in an
accident on State Road 37 in Mulberry.

Driver Loses Control, Dies in Car Crash

The Sheriffs Office said speed seemed to
be a factor in the wreck.
By STEPHANIE ALLEN
THE LEDGER

MULBERRY | A Tampa man

was killed early Sunday morning when his car was sent airborne three times before
crashing into an unoccupied
building in Mulberry.
Jeremiah Grady Simpson,
28, died at the scene, the Polk
County Sheriffs Ofce said.
The deadly accident happened about 1:40 a.m. as Simpson was driving south on State
Road 37, also known as South
Church Avenue, according to
the Sheriffs Ofce.

The speed limit in the area

is posted at 35 mph, and excessive speed seemed to be a factor in the crash, the Sheriffs
Ofce said.
Simpson grew up in Lakeland and graduated from
George Jenkins High School
in 2004. A family attorney said
Sunday that Simpson served
in the Army.
As Simpson attempted to
cross State Road 60, his white
2010 Volvo C30 hit a dip in the SIMPSONS CAR CAME TO REST inside a maintenance building at
307 S. Church Ave. after spinning out of control, crossing railroad
tracks and crashing through the cinderblock wall.
[ PLEASE SEE CRASH, B2 ]

TECH FOR THE PEOPLE

Bok Academy Students Help With Computers

By ANYA ZENTMEYER
LEDGER MEDIA GROUP

PAUL CRATE | LEDGER MEDIA GROUP

JACOB LAMONICA, a seventhgrader at Bok Academy in Lake

Wales, inspects a computer.

LAKE WALES | Tyler Wade

is in the seventh grade at Edward Bok Academy, but hes
already starting his own
computer troubleshooting
business.
He knows a lot about computers. He grew up with
them and said he wants to
take what he knows and help
the community.
The idea to put his techsavvy skills to socially constructive use was spawned by
a larger project at Bok Academy, a two-part class called
the IT Kid Academy that is
partnering with the B Street
Community Center in Lake

BLOGS | FERAL HOGS: INVASIVE SPECIES | ENVIRONMENT.BLOGS.THELEDGER.COM

Wales to host a series of free

tech training seminars.
Weve got these kids,
theyre extremely intelligent
and they are very tech savvy,
said Nicole Sealey, a science
teacher at Bok Academy who
is helping with the class
event.
The rst seminar scheduled
for Thursday is divided into
two parts. Beginning at 4:30
p.m., the rst hour will be a
device and application demonstration, during which
people will be able to walk up
to the experts from Bok and
ask questions about their
smartphones, tablets or computers of any kind.
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the

LOTTERY B3 | POLK PULSE B3 | STATE NEWS B4 | OBITUARIES B5 | WEATHER B8

LYNNE MADDOX | ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR FOR METRO | LYNNE.MADDOX@THELEDGER.COM | 863.802.7504

B2

B2

T H E L E D G E R M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 3 W W W.T H E L E D G E R . C O M

Haines City,
Bright House
Agree on
Wi-Fi Access

ITS ABOUT LOVE AND HARMONY

Crash

By CODY DULANEY
LEDGER MEDIA GROUP

HAINES CITY | A public

wireless connection is planned
for Haines City, but it comes
with a price tag for some.
Manny Garcia, the citys IT
supervisor, will be working
with Bright House Networks
to implement wireless connections in downtown Haines
City, Railroad Park, 8 Acre
Park and Lake Eva facilities.
The City Commission approved the idea on Nov. 7, and
project planning will begin
during the first week of
December.
That doesnt seem fair,
said Kristen Moores, a Haines
City resident. The people who
have DirectTV or something
else will be missing out.
I think Ill just stick with
the free Wi-Fi offered elsewhere.
But Garcia has a different
take on the situation. This is
economic development
through technology, he said.
Under the deal, the project
will not cost the city anything
or bring the city revenue. All
the payments for use will go
to the cable company.
Bright House subscribers
will be able to use the public
Wi-Fi service for free with an
account number and password
they can get from the cable
company. Nonsubscribers will
have to pay a fee.
One hour of service will cost
$1.99, three hours will cost
$3.95, one day will cost $8.95,
and Wi-Fi for the week will
cost $19.95. Payment will be
by debit or credit card.
Businesses like McDonalds
and Starbucks in the city still
offer all their customers free
Wi-Fi connections.
I see how benecial it is for
free Wi-Fi, Garcia said, but
the difference is about convenience and staying connected
wherever you want.

ERNST PETERS | LEDGER PHOTOS

LARRY SLEDGE DIRECTS the Lakeland Choral Society in a concert Sunday at All Saints Episcopal Church in Lakeland. The program,
on the theme Its About Love, also featured the Florida Southern Girls Chorus, below, and Childrens Choirs.

[ CONTINUED FROM B1 ]
road and became airborne, the
Sheriffs Ofce said.
Deputies said it appears
Simpson lost control of the
car, which began spinning
sideways. The car hit a curb
on the west side of SR 37, went
up onto the sidewalk and grass
and then continued southbound as it crossed over a set
of railroad tracks onto Phosphate Avenue.
The car hit a curb, breaking
off a piece of concrete on
Phosphate Avenue as it slid
through the grass in front of
Master Containers Inc. at 209
Phosphate Blvd.
Deputies said the car then
hit a second set of railroad
tracks and again was sent
airborne.
While airborne, Simpsons
car crossed over Second Street
Southwest without touching
the road, according to the
Sheriffs Ofce. The Volvo
landed on its
tires, slid
through the
grass and
started rotatSIMPSON
ing.
The car was
sent airborne a third time before crashing through the side
of a maintenance building at
307 S. Church Ave., deputies
said.
The car crashed through the
cinderblock wall, creating a
hole about 15 feet high and 25
feet wide, and landed upside
down inside the building, according to the Sheriffs Ofce.
During the crash, one of the
cars tires came off and was
sent airborne through the
building.
Si mpsons fa m i ly wa s
mourning his death Sunday
afternoon and declined to
comment.
Deputies closed the road for
about eight hours to remove
the car and investigate. Electricity to the building was
turned off, and CSX stopped
all railroad trafc to check the
tracks for damage.
Deputies are investigating
whet her Si mpson wa s
impaired.
[ Stephanie Allen can be reached
at 863-802-7550. ]

Academy

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[ CONTINUED FROM B1 ]
started when Clinton Horne,
executive vice president of the
B Street Community Center,
approached Bok Principal
Damien Moses.
Since then, B Streets Allison Snyder, who is in charge
of computer technology at the
center, has been coordinating
with Sealey for the event.
Thats been one of the main
goals with our organization all
along, partnering with the
community and the schools to
help with the education factor
for students and adults, Snyder said.
So they have been dealing
with the schools before the
charter school was formed,
she said. Mr. Horne was instrumental with that. Theyve
always been in communication with trying to further the
education with students to
give them a better education
and better opportunities.
The first IT Kid Academy
class at Bok wasnt until last
year, when Sylus Green and
Tyrone Williamson, owners of
the M.Y.T. Academy in Winter
Haven, designed the class for
Bok students.
The M.Y.T. Academy specializes in providing training for
technology-based certifica-

tions, and the class at Bok is

designed to equip students
with the knowledge to build,
troubleshoot and repair computers, and support the technology programs within the
school system.
Whats great about that is
that I think all but two students were a part of our rstyear program where they built
the (computer) towers, said
Colby Pike, the instructor of
the IT Kid Academy. So to see
them come in with different
prociencies and then really
excelling and really taking
that knowledge and really
putting it into practice is
awesome.
He said that in a way, the
class and event-planning work
has been humbling for the
digital natives, who were surprised to learn about adults
who didnt know how to use
their iPhones or access Facebook and other social networking sites.
They were humbled by that
and that they could actually
be teaching someone else,
Pike said. So it is pretty empowering and I think its
going to be an awesome opportunity to partner with the
community and to help people

cross that digital divide. Its

neat to see a practical application actually happen.
Sealey said right now, the
kids are working on learning
how to screencast tutorials
that they can put on USB ash
drives to give to people who
attend the tech seminars at the
community center.
Making all of the materials
accessible to people even after
the sessions was the students
idea, Sealey said.
I love how fearless they
are, Sealey said. They are
very intuitive and they are
fearless, and I love that. Because honestly thats the only
thing holding them back, and
were really trying to get them
to think globally, to think
without limits. I love how
quickly they adapt and I love
that no matter what you throw
at them, they are ready to meet
that challenge, Sealey said.
If you are interested in attending a session or donating
an old computer to the IT Kid
Academy, contact Sealey at
nicole.sealey@ lwcharterschools.com or 863-638-1010.
[ Anya Zentmeyer can be reached
at anya.zentmeyer@newschief.
com or 863-401-6981. ]

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PAUL CRATE | LEDGER MEDIA GROUP

TEACHER COLBY PIKE, right, listens as his students identify the components of a computer. Boks
IT Kid Academy is partnering with the B Street Community Center to provide free tech training
seminars.