HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN Thursday, October 31, 2019 VOL. 100 | NO. 304 | $1.00 YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1919 An Edition Of The Sun Markley charged Bear breaks school rules with child By ROBERT MILLER area of South Orange Street NEWS CLERK and Nasturtium Avenue, one block off East Center Street, in neglect after SEBRING — Students and the area between First United faculty at Sebring Middle Methodist Church and the daughter dies School found themselves Sebring Parkway. on the lookout for a bear Sebring Police Commander By KIM LEATHERMAN Wednesday afternoon just as Curtis Hart said that Sebring STAFF WRITER the end-of-day school bell residents had a bear sighting rang. off Hammock Road a few AVON PARK — Elizabeth Danielle A bear was spotted in the years ago and police have had Markley, 29, of Avon Park was arrested area between the school periodic reports of them since. Tuesday afternoon by the and the Highlands County But not immediately down- Highlands County Sheriff’s Sheriff’s Office. Florida Fish town. “This is the first time Office. She is being charged and Wildlife officials would in recent memory that a bear with child neglect with not allow students to leave the had been this close to down- HCSO SCREENSHOT great bodily harm. The campus on foot or via bicycle town Sebring,” Hart said. “The young girl died on Feb. 27. while they looked for the bear. BEAR | 7A The bear caught on security camera near Fernleaf Avenue on An intensive investiga- The bear was seen in the Tuesday evening. tion revealed Markley’s 9-year-old daughter did not MARKLEY get the medical care she needed and died of “pneu- monia with Contributing Conditions of congenital heart disease, fluid and electrolyte imbalance.” The investigation results were provided by District Six Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Noels Palma after the autopsy was complete. Markley’s daughter was born with a congenital heart defect and she did not have a spleen, which helps the body fight off infection. The medical report showed the lack of an appendix as well. According to the HCSO report, Markley gave several accounts of when the child actually became ill with a “stomach bug.” She originally told investigators the child became ill on Feb. 23 and later changed the date to Feb. 25. Markley told investigators that on Feb. 26 she spoke with a nurse at John Hopkins All Children’s Hospital asking for antibiotics but the nurse could not give them to her because the child had missed so many cardiology appointments. The Sheriff’s Office investigator pulled text CANDYSTORE.COM messages from Markley’s phone the night of Feb. 26. In one of those text messages she told a friend that she had called the Candy corn rated worst candy hospital nurse, but investigators found no MARKLEY | 7A to hand out Top 10 worst and best Halloween candy COURTESY PHOTO By KIM LEATHERMAN On July 20, 2018, TrueCore celebrated the 20th STAFF WRITER anniversary of the opening of the Highlands Youth Academy in Avon Park, which opened as SEBRING — Toilet paper blows the Avon Park Youth Academy in 1998. with the wind in the breeze while eggs harden on the walls of the house. Pranksters nail houses that hand out bad candy, or even worse, healthy Highlands snacks. Consider this a public service announcement: Do not hand out candy corn this Halloween. Youth Academy The people have spoken and Candystore.com has released its closes with annual list of dos and don’ts for the spooky holiday. After surveying 30,000 of their customers and employing contract some very sophisticated algorithms (basically using other website lists), the candy corn has toppled the Circus expiration Peanuts off the most gross list. Candy By MARC VALERO is serious business. Chegg.com report- STAFF WRITER ed that 600 million pounds of candy Candy corn has toppled the Circus Peanuts off the most gross list this year. will be purchased in America just for AVON PARK — The contract for the Halloween alone. That’s a lot of time service provider at Highlands Youth on the treadmill. Tootsie Rolls came in at six, Smarties at seven, and black licorice is still in Academy near Avon Park expired today, Since its creation, the candy corn closing the facility as a new provider is has evolved into different flavors the top 10 at number eight. Good and Plenty seems to get a bad rap since sought. and even shapes like pumpkins. A statement Wednesday from The Candystore.com list does not it’s just more black licorice. It sits at number nine. Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) differentiate between the flavors or Communications Director Amanda Slama shapes. It’s probably just best to avoid The Bit-O-Honey is a lot of yuck. It deserves to be at the top 10. Honey is said, “The contract for the Highlands them altogether. In a startling factoid, Youth Academy is set to expire tomorrow Chegg.com states that candy corn is not bad on its own, but the delivery is a miss. (Oct. 31). DJJ is looking to procure new the best seller even though chocolate services at that program in the near is far preferred. It may have something Those wishing to stay in the good graces of their neighbors and trick future. to do with pricing. “All youth that were remaining have The sugary sponges, aka Circus or treaters will pay attention to the 10 Best list on which Reece’s Peanut been moved to other programs that will Peanuts, did not go far off. They are continue to meet their individualized still ranked number two, so, don’t even Butter Cups dominated. Snickers came in second with its peanuts. There treatment needs.” think about handing them out. Peanut DJJ did not offer any further details or a Kisses are number three and deserv- The Necco Wafer is ranked in the middle of seems to be a pattern with the peanuts least favorite Halloween candy. and chocolate. reason for not renewing the contract. edly so. The orange and black wrapped The Highlands Youth Academy was peanut butter “treats” are anything Twix and Kit Kat came in at numbers three and four respectively. No reason operated by Tampa-based TrueCore but. almost caused a nationwide panic Behavioral Solutions, which states it is Wax soda bottles are next up at when the Necco Wafer stopped being to toilet paper for those. M&Ms are number four. Talk about a lot of work made. Eventually, they are supposed to CANDY | 7A CONTRACT | 2A for not a lot of pay off. Number five make it back to the market. Classifieds ......................B4-8 Obituaries ........................ A5 Viewpoints ....................... A6 Good morning To Comics ................A7-8, B9-10 Sports ............................ B1 Weather .........................A10 Mark Cheeley Lottery ........................... B2 TV Listings ....................... A9 facebook.com/ twitter.com/ Thanks for reading! newssun.com newssun TheNewsSun A2 | HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN | October 31, 2019 www.highlandsnewssun.com AP Council gives OK AP tractor mishap to fill vacated position toppled power poles By MARC VALERO that are vacated. Gay said, Anderson said he had no By MARC VALERO the company will likely accident,” Gay said. STAFF WRITER “One that is really crucial problem with it, noting STAFF WRITER send the city a bill for City Attorney Gerald right now, we lost a meter that the city needs to stay the repair/replacement Buhr advised Gay to AVON PARK — While reader last week and we operational. If the next AVON PARK — A tractor costs. turn it over to the city’s no new positions can be only have one. We are city manager has an issue driven by a city worker There were two guy- insurance company. created, the City Council already behind on billing with any employees it can toppled two power poles, wires there: one had a Gay said when she gave approval to fi ll posi- because of the meter be addressed at that time. but no one was injured yellow sleeve on it and hears from Duke Energy tions as they are vacated issues and the misreads, Gay noted that Human in the accident that the other one didn’t, she she will inform council to maintain city services. where hundreds have to Resources is sitting in occurred near a city water said. “That is a brand of the amount the power At Monday’s City be manually read.” on interviews, but is not plant. new Kubota and you company seeks from the Council meeting, Interim The utility depart- doing any hiring. The Interim City Manger can’t see out of the back city. City Manager Kim Gay ment is becoming department heads will be Kim Gay informed the even if you turn around Councilman Jim informed the council overwhelmed by this as doing the hiring for their City Council on Monday and there are all the trees Barnard recommended she wanted to address it is shorthanded, she department. that on Oct. 18 a city behind it. having employees walk an email that everyone explained. City Attorney Gerald employee was at the “So when he turned around the areas they received from someone “We did run an ad for Buhr noted that the city water plant on Bell Street around the best that he will be working. Many nobody ever heard of be- a meter and we had 259 currently has a hiring operating a Kubota could, because there is utility companies do that fore. The email from last applications already,” Gay freeze. tractor and backed into no backup camera, he and they put out cones in week addressed the hiring said.