BAKER COUNTY 2010 Election Forum Hosted by the Press a Drunk Driver in 48 Hours
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Enrollments & Bus Routes Primary Election - MES, WES, Pre-K/K August 24 and Bus Routes Early voting ends August 21 See pgs. 14-18 75¢ AUGUST 19, 2010 THURSDAY T B C P 81st Year, Vol. 17 • Winner of 10 state awards for journalism excellence in 2009 A mail carrier’s fi nal ride home Killed by drunk driver while wife kept dinner warm JIM MCGAULEY | PUBLISHER began a backwards re-trace of the route his “One of the troopers told me there was [email protected] father would be taking that night. another accident up near Macclenny and He got as far as Raiford, where state he knew there was a fatality,” said Michael, he route Gene Trail took the night troopers were working a non-fatal accident, also interviewed last week. “Then he told me of July 31 back to his home in Fort also on 121. He had a pit in his stomach as — it was my Dad. I’d almost come up on the TWhite was a familiar he approached them, asking if his Dad wreck myself.” one. was involved. The time was 10:45 — more than 2.5 hours He’d driven it for nine years Michael was relieved to learn that after impact. For much of that time, Gene after dropping off his mail wasn’t the case. Trail’s body lay wedged near the right front truck in Jacksonville. He’d be He had no way of knowing how seat of the Pontiac, covered with a sheet, as enjoying a day off on Sunday short-lived that relief would be, or FHP troopers combed and photographed the — a routine that included at- how bad things would turn in the next scene. Once freed, it was taken to Gainesville tending services at the Lake few minutes. See page 2» City Church of God with mem- PHOTOS BY JOEL ADDINGTON From left, James Croft, Mike Tupper and congressional hopeful Troy Stanley. bers of his family. He loved Gene Trail at left. The remains of his vehicle after colliding with a drunk driver are pictured below. that church. PHOTO BY JIM MCGAULEY On this night he never made it home. Shortly after 8:00, Gene Candidate was killed instantly by a drunk driver who crossed the center line of SR 121 near Northeast forum 2010 Florida State Hospital and demol- ished his 1998 Pontiac. The dam- age so extensive that police who adds Q&A fi rst arrived at the scene had to look at the front grille to determine More than 150 politically-active citi- what make of car it was. zens gathered at the fair grounds under Gene Trail was the second per- cloudy skies, and on soggy soils, for the son killed in the Macclenny area by BAKER COUNTY 2010 election forum hosted by The Press a drunk driver in 48 hours. ALCOHOL-RELATED CRASH HISTORY the evening of August 14. His wife of 37 years, Patsy Trail, A question-and-answer session was was waiting at home that night for 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 added to the program this year following Gene to pull up to the house. She 31 45 46 44 37 three-minute speeches from 11 candidates had his dinner waiting and about for county commission and school board 9:30 she called their son Michael, ALCOHOL-RELATED FATALITY HISTORY seats. See page 4» 31, to say she was alarmed because Gene hadn’t come home. He was 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 always on time and he’d call her if 3 he was delayed. 2 4 3 1 6 (to date) “I called Michael and said may- be he ought to go look for his Dad,” DUI ARRESTS recalled Mrs. Trail in an August 12 2005 2006 2007 2008 interview. Michael, a cabinet maker who 75 82 78 93 lives nearby, picked up on the *Statistics provided by Florida Highway Patrol. anxiety in his mother’s voice and Above is Caden Conner, 4. At right, are school board candidates during the Developers irked by board’s action Q&A session. JOEL ADDINGTON road improvements are com- NEWS EDITOR pleted or paid for at the project’s [email protected] entrance to US 90. Jackson-Shaw’s attorney For the second time in a year, Tom Ingram told commission- Battering boyfriends: the Baker County Commission ers this week his client wasn’t is caught between two compa- notifi ed of the July 19 hearing 3 cases the past week nies invested in Baker County on the Roberts Land & Timber real estate. project, but should’ve been. Boyfriends were arrested in three separate cases of domestic vio- Both Roberts Land & Timber “We just didn’t have a shot,” lence over the past week, including one who inflicted facial injuries so Investment Corp. of Lake Butler said Mr. Ingram. severe that his live-in girlfriend was flown to Shands Jacksonville by and Dallas-based Jackson-Shaw At stake was the limited helicopter. Co. are planning industrial park amount of traffic allowed on Michael Prevatt, 28, was arrested at the residence on Tall Pine Rd. projects on US 90 at either end roadways — namely US 90 and north of Macclenny that he shared with Brandy Hoffman, 27, after of the county. I-10 — before costly improve- Cpl. Ben Anderson arrived about 1:00 am on August 12 and found her And because of traffi c con- ments must be made by devel- unconscious on the kitchen floor. currency regulations that force opers. The suspect’s mother Wanda, 59, called police when she awakened landowners to fund road im- A property and project with to the sounds of an argument in the kitchen and saw her son striking provements, rather than exist- an approved traffi c concurrency Ms. Hoffman repeatedly about the face as she lay on the floor. ing taxpayers, to handle traffi c agreement is much more mar- Deputy Anderson said when he arrived he found Mr. Prevatt stand- from new development, both PHOTO BY JOEL ADDINGTON ketable than one without such ing in the kitchen with a beer in his hand and yelling at the motionless companies face millions of dol- Jackson-Shaw’s Tom Jones (left) and LaBuena Farms president Jimmy Knabb. an agreement. girlfriend. lars in traffi c mitigation costs plications and then negotiates Jackson-Shaw has an op- And by approving the deal Mrs. Prevatt told the officer her son grabbed her by the throat and after the initial phases of their agreements with landowners tion contract to buy about 1000 with Roberts Land & Timber, pinned her against the wall when she attempted to intervene. projects. that define how much devel- acres from LaBuena Farms ad- the commission green-lighted The accused was arrested and placed in the rear of a patrol car Under these rules, the county opment can take place before jacent to its planned industrial the equivalent of the Walmart while police and a rescue crew tended to Ms. Hoffman. Cpl. Anderson accepts traffi c concurrency ap- roads must be improved, what park east of Macclenny. Distribution Center, but in noted in his report that extensive swelling had already begun around improvements will be needed The agreement with Roberts Sanderson. the woman’s eyes and face. and how much they’ll cost. Land & Timber will allow con- “It’s a marketing tool to help The Department of Children and Families was notified because the The Baker County Commis- struction of a million square bring jobs into the county,” couple’s two children, ages 3 and 6, were present at the time. sion’s approval of a traffi c con- feet of industrial space near the commented Jimmy Knabb, Mr. Prevatt is charged with aggravated domestic battery, a second- currency agreement last month I-10 interchange with US 90 in president of LaBuena Farms, degree felony, and misdemeanor domestic battery. String of with Roberts Land & Timber Sanderson within the next fi ve in reference to the agreement. In other cases: came under fi re by attorneys for years. “It’s the same for him (Avery • Phillip Givens, 25, of Macclenny was arrested for domestic battery Jackson-Shaw and the Knabb After that, the agreement Roberts, president of Roberts on girlfriend Amanda Marshall, 29, after a county deputy saw them vehicle family’s Macclenny real estate states another 9 million square Land & Timber).” arguing loudly while he was on patrol near US 90 and South 6th St. company, LaBuena Farms LLC, feet can be built provided an Mr. Knabb asked that com- about 1:00 am on August 15. break-ins the evening of August 16. estimated $4 million worth of See page 4» See page 2» in western bakercountypress.com COVERING BAKER COUNTY SINCE 1929 ONLINE POLL The county’s most professional and extensive source for news, classifi ed, display and real estate listings RESULTS 43.3% Excited Macclenny 23.3% Anxious 904.259.2400 •• 904.259.6502 Fax School starts www.bakercountypress.com See page 4 August 23, are you: 20% Wishing summer didn’t end Visit our website and vote each week in our online poll. [email protected] Page 2 T B C P ursday, August 19, 2010 Get your COUNTRY FEDERAL Back to School Loan CREDIT UNION 602 S. Sixth Street, Macclenny • 259-6702 Earn EXTRA Reward Points and Receive US Hwy. 90 West, Glen St. Mary • 653-4401 a School Gear Package for Your 9140 CR 229, Sanderson • 259-6702 Child's First Day Back To School! 100 S. Lima Street, Baldwin • 266-1041 www.countryfcu.com Final ride home Trio of battering boyfriend cases All New - «From page 1 tempted to intervene.