Medicaid Changes Hit Home
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SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | $1.50 Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM Lake invaded A lack of credibility LEGO creations at SUNDAY by algae, at City Hall. Fort White EDITION sand. 3A See opinion, 4A Library. 7A changes hit home Medicaid For three years Khan oversaw The changes stem from Local cancer patient will suffer due Westberry’s care, closely moni- Florida’s initiative to privatize the SVTA will to privatization, his caregiver says. toring his cancer, which became Medicaid program, which law- inactive. makers said consumed the state see budget By EMILY STANTON ular patient at the Community But on Tuesday, that all budget. [email protected] Cancer Center of North Florida changed. Enrollment in managed care since his diagnosis of Stage IIIA Changes to Medicaid caused for the majority of Medicaid recip- cuts due to Every day is a victory and a lung cancer. He was referred to Westberry to lose his doctor. He ients, more than half of whom are struggle for Jonathan Westberry. Dr. Waseem Khan for chemother- now will have to travel rough- children, started in Miami-Dade, changes. He was diagnosed with lung can- apy and continued care for his ly 50 miles from his home to Broward and Monroe counties. cer in 2011. on-going treatment after receiv- Gainesville to seek medical treat- The 51-year-old had been a reg- ing radiation therapy. ment one to five times per month. MEDICAID continued on 6A SEE STORY, Page 6A 2 shot; suspect Fair-weather sought Security guard, woman wounded at local club. FOURTH By TONY BRITT [email protected] Two people are hospital- ized and a local man is on the run after a Saturday morning argument at the Washington Street Elks Lodge escalated into a shoot- ing. The man allegedly shot an unarmed security guard and A group of people enjoy the fireworks display at the Columbia County Fairgrounds on Photos by JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter female patron Church Friday. More than 40,000 people are thought to have attended the annual event. Wesley Smith, 4, waves an American flag on Friday. after he was escorted from the building following an argument with two other women. Perfect weather draws 40,000 to fireworks show Deputies believe the shoot- er is Robert Dell Church, 29, Visitors appeared at of Lake City. He is described as a black man standing 5’ fairgrounds as early 10 inches tall and weighing as 4 p.m. Friday. about 235 pounds. Around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, By SARAH LOFTUS Columbia County Sheriff’s [email protected] deputies responded to the Elks Lodge, 1688 NE The Lake City Fourth of July Washington Street, where two celebration started off with a Streaks of color dance across people had been shot. bang. And no, it wasn’t because the sky during a fireworks display The initial investiga- of fireworks. Friday night. tion revealed an argument Those didn’t start until later. between two unknown It was because of how many had a large red satin bow at the females and Church began people showed up for the annual neckline. inside the lodge at closing. event — most of them early. On the opposite end of the live The on-site security guard Lake City-Columbia County music sat a sea of brightly-col- attempted to separate the par- Chamber of Commerce Executive Fort White resident Tripp Holland (right), 3, and his brother, Tuff, 5, play ored bounce houses. ties involved and escort them Director Dennille Decker said with sparklers as the sun begins to set on Friday. Allie Wilson, 8, said the bounce outside. this year’s crowd was 30-40 per- houses were her favorite part of Once outside Church fell cent bigger than usual, putting sored by the Lake City Reporter, grounds were teeming with peo- the night. That and the food. to the ground at some point. estimated attendance figures in wasn’t scheduled to begin until ple – some dressed from head to In between the bounce houses Murray Smith, Columbia the 40,000 range. 5, she said. toe in red, white and blue. One and the music were the vendors. Some showed up as early as 4 By 5:30 p.m., the festivities little girl wore a red, white and SHOOTING continued on 6A p.m. even though the event, spon- were in full swing, and the fair- blue striped sleeveless dress that FOURTH continued on 6A City says Brownfield’s fired, despite union claims sentative claims. City Manager Wendell Johnson ity to delegate power to Gilmore Brownfield filed a complaint Charter gives city Gary Evans, said Police Chief Argatha Gilmore to terminate police department through the city’s human resourc- manager right to Brownfield’s does in fact have the authority employees. es department on June 26, con- delegate firing. Fraternal Order to terminate employees in the Brownfield was terminated testing findings released through of Police union police department. Monday, June 23, after she spent a departmental internal investi- By TONY BRITT representative, In an interview last week, more than seven months on paid gation sustaining the charges of [email protected] said the city vio- Evans argued that only the city administrative leave following a conduct unbecoming an officer Brownfield lated its person- manager has the authority to ter- DUI arrest last November. and violation of Florida law. City officials say that former nel policy when minate Brownfield based on city A press release issued by the Johnson said he is withholding Lake City Police Officer Staci LCPD Chief Argatha Gilmore, personnel policy. Lake City Police Department on comment on the complaint because Brownfield has been fired after all rather than Wendell Johnson, city However, Johnson said the June 25 said Brownfield was ter- — despite what her union repre- manager, terminated Brownfield. city charter granted him author- minated by Gilmore. BROWNFIELD continued on 6A Vol. 140, No. 109 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER LIFE BUSINESS (386) 752-1293 Columns . 7A Calendar . 5A Rec Department Avoid wildfires SUBSCRIBE TO THE REPORTER: 90 68 Advice & Comics . 3D offers day camp with new website, Voice: 755-5445 Puzzles . 2B for youth, 1D. 1C. Fax: 752-9400 Storm chance, 8A 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER DAILY BRIEFING SUNDAY, JULY 6, 2014 Page Editor: Emily Lawson, 754-0424 Scripture of the Day “And in that day you will say: ‘Praise the Lord, call upon His name; Declare His deeds among the peoples, Make mention that His name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, For He has done excellent things; This is known in all the earth.’” — Isaiah 12:4-5 Thought for Today It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe. — Thomas Paine, English-American political activist and philosopher (1737-1809) Winning Lottery Numbers Cash 3: (Saturday) 1-9-5 JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter Play 4: (Saturday) 8-1-1-4 Gathering at the Ichetucknee Fantasy 5: (Friday) 10-11-17-28-33 Florida Lotto: (Wednesday) 7-15-36-37-39-45-x5 Dozens of swimmers gather at Ichetucknee Springs Friday afternoon. PowerBall: (Wednesday) 8-18-45-53-58-35-x2 AROUND FLORIDA Officer hospitalized after shooting in parking lot FORT LAUDERDALE Police Department requested 1 dead after fight Shotwell was taken to a near- Saturday. uthorities say a Fort the sheriff’s office assistance in by hospital in critical but stable The boaters are believed to Lauderdale police offi- investigating the shooting. outside restaurant condition. have been out celebrating the A cer is hospitalized in FORT LAUDERDALE — Fourth of July holiday when the critical but stable condition Giant pie serves Investigators say a man is dead One injured in crash happened late Friday near after a shooting in a restaurant 1,500 at festival after being shot by an off-duty lightning strike the Dinner Key Marina in Miami. parking lot that left one other Fort Lauderdale police officer. Rescuers were alerted by one man dead. KEY WEST — A 9-foot key The Broward Sheriff’s Office SUNRISE — Authorities say a of the boaters at about 10:45 p.m. Broward Sheriff’s Office lime pie is the highlight of a reports Richard Arruda and South Florida man injured when He said he’d been hit by another spokeswoman Keyla Concepcion Key West festival celebrating his girlfriend Christine Menatti lightning struck in his backyard vessel and that his 36-foot plea- says the officer was off duty Florida’s state pie. pulled into the parking lot of the was taken to a hospital with sure craft was taking on water, Thursday night when he came The pie baked Friday during popular Maguires Hill 16 restau- non-life-threatening injuries. the Coast Guard reported. upon an altercation between a the Key Lime Festival measured rant in Fort Lauderdale Friday Sunrise Fire Department Eight people were taken to couple in the parking lot. 9 feet 2 inches in diameter. evening. officials tell WTVJ-TV that the shore and transported to local Concepcion said early Friday That’s a foot bigger than the pie Officials say the couple had man was under a tree by a canal hospitals. Two later died. that sheriff’s detectives are baked during last year’s festival. gotten into a physical altercation when lightning struck the tree. Commercial salvage crews still investigating what led an The pie serves 1,500 and inside the vehicle. Officials say the electrical cur- found the second vessel believed exchange of gunfire between the includes the juice from 6,480 key Officer Mark Shotwell had just rent traveled onto the victim.