DESANTIS TO FEDS: PAY 90% OF CLEANUP LOCAL | A3 PANAMA CITY LOCAL & STATE | A3 SCHOOL HONORS MARGARET K. LEWIS Tuesday, April 23, 2019 www.newsherald.com @The_News_Herald facebook.com/panamacitynewsherald 75¢ Bay bases’ battles sound familiar Military leaders discuss the Bay County Government Tyndall took the brunt housing, missions aft er Center. of Michael’s hit along with Hurricane Michael Col. Brian Laidlaw from the Mexico Beach, and NSWC 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall PCD and Naval Support By Collin Breaux Air Force Base, Capt. Aaron Activity Panama City and [email protected] Peters from Naval Surface other tenant units also sus- @PCNHCollinB Warfare Center Panama City tained damage. Division and Bay Defense “Our challenges on the PANAMA CITY — Hous- Alliance President Tom base are very similar to the ing, missions and whether Neubauer answered ques- challenges the local commu- Hurricane Michael repair tions from readers and News nity is facing day in and day From left, Bay Defense Alliance President Tom Neubauer, Col. Brian work will stop were some of Herald editors about how the out,” Laidlaw said. “From Laidlaw from the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall Air Force Base and the topics local military lead- bases are recovering from the our perspective, we had 867 Capt. Aaron Peters from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City ers tackled Monday during a Category 5 storm, and where Division answer questions from The News Herald on Monday at the News Herald forum held at the installations go from here. See FORUM, A4 Bay County Government Center. [PATTI BLAKE/THE NEWS HERALD] Parker students make Taxpayer spending on disaster fund Earth Day diff erence explodes amid climate By Jeff Stein and In March, Nebraska Andrew Van Dam and Iowa suffered among The Washington Post the worst floods in their history. California is Hawaii needs funding trying to rebuild after last after volcanic eruptions year’s deadliest and most sprayed lava on homes, destructive wildfire in its bridges and roads. Thou- history. And Puerto Rico is sands of farmers in Georgia still looking for emergency and Florida were wiped reconstruction money after out last year by Hurricane Hurricane Maria killed Michael, one of the stron- thousands in 2017. gest hurricanes to ever U.S. senators are fighting make landfall in the United States. See SPENDING, A4 Joshua, a fourth-grade student, sweeps the sidewalk Monday at Parker Elementary School. [PATTI BLAKE/ THE NEWS HERALD] Third- and fourth- graders roll up sleeves Flames race through a patch of woods in South Walton after a to spruce up campus wildfi re broke out on Monday. [ SOUTH WALTON FIRE DISTRICT ] aft er Hurricane Michael By Eryn Dion [email protected] Firefi ghters battling @pcnheryndion South Walton blaze PARKER — Like most yards around Bay County, the Parker Elementary School campus By Wendy Victora Malaina Brown, who lives needed sprucing up after Hur- 315-4478 | @WendyVnwfdn in one of the neighborhoods ricane Michael. [email protected] evacuated, said it was scary Unlike most yards, though, and stressful. Parker Elementary had a veri- SANTA ROSA BEACH “The fire truck people just table army of Earth-conscious — Crews are battling a wild- said you need to get in your third- and fourth-graders will- fire that spans 100 acres of cars and go,” she said. “I’m ing to roll up their sleeves and Fourth-graders Julius McDaniel and Aidan Kirkland pull weeds at a wooded area between like, ‘Wait a minute, we need get a little dirty to help beautify Parker Elementary. [PATTI BLAKE/THE NEWS HERALD] Goldsby Road and Mack some time.’ ” their campus and celebrate the Bayou Road in Santa Rosa The service has 11 tractor planet’s special day. Beach, officials said. plow units on scene and two “After the hurricane, there Cynthia Williams, who spent event, Williams said her class According to a 5:40 p.m. engines, along with a fixed- was just a lot of trash out here,” the morning directing stu- watched videos and read books news release, the fire was wing aircraft. A helicopter said third-grader Jessalyn dents’ boundless energy into to help them understand their 90 percent contained, with capable of dropping water Wilkerson. “And I get tired of cleanup efforts while also impact on the environment evacuations lifted. Earlier, on the fire was en route, a lot of trash. My room has to corralling them to make sure around them. Goldsby Road was closed according to forest service be spotless.” they weren’t running around “They realize if they put it and 25 homes in the area officials. Leading the charge with sharp garden tools. To were evacuated, according was third-grade teacher get ready for the Earth Day See STUDENTS, A4 to the Florida Forest Service. See FIRE, A4 Panama City News Herald Business .......................A9 Obituaries.....................A5 TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY Want to subscribe? Diversions.....................B6 Sports........................B1-4 Sunny; nice Partly sunny Mostly cloudy Call 850-747-5050 Local & State..............A3-7 Viewpoints....................A8 79° / 59° 78° / 62° 78° / 64° * ** A2 Tuesday, April 23, 2019 | The News Herald GO & DO CELEBRATE COMMUNITY TODAY IN HISTORY Tuesday, April 30 BEACH KIDS - JELLY BEAN PICTURE PERFECT The Associated Press AND MARSHMALLOW ENGI- NEERING: 3:30 p.m. at the We want your photos: Post your photos to the News Herald Facebook page with your name, city of Today is Tuesday, April Panama City Beach Library. residence and information about the photo. You can email photos to [email protected]. 23, the 113th day of 2019. Geared for elementary stu- There are 252 days left in dents (5 years and older) to the year. work on a STE(A)M project. Today's Highlights in Registration required. History: Details at 850-233-5055 On April 23, 1954, Hank BOOK DRAGONS: 4 p.m. Aaron of the Milwaukee at the Bay County Public Braves hit the fi rst of his Library, 898 W. 11th St., 755 major-league home Panama City. Enjoy book runs in a game against the talks and snacks. Come St. Louis Cardinals. (The prepared to discuss a book Braves won, 7-5.) you've read. Details at On this date: NWRLS.com In 1616 (Old Style cal- endar), English poet Wednesday, May 1 and dramatist William DIANE RUSSO - EXHIBI- Shakespeare died in TION: Exhibit will run Stratford-upon-Avon on through May 31 at the Bay what has traditionally been County Public Library, regarded as the 52nd anni- 898 W. 11th St., Panama versary of his birth in 1564. City. Free to view during In 1789, President-elect regular library hours: 9 George Washington and a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday- his wife, Martha, moved Wednesday, and 9 a.m. to into the fi rst executive 5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. mansion, the Franklin BEACH BOOK CLUB: 10:30 House, in New York. a.m. at the Panama City In 1898, Spain declared war Beach Library. "The Lost on the United States, which City of the Monkey God" responded in kind two days by Douglas Preston. later. Details at NWRLS.com In 1943, U.S. Navy Lt. John F. Kennedy assumed Thursday, May 2 command of PT-109, a WILL THOMPSON - motor torpedo boat, in the FRIENDS PRESENTS Solomon Islands during CONCERT: 6 at the Bay Gerald Herd emailed this photo of a pair of nesting ospreys at the state park. [CONTRIBUTED PHOTO] World War II. (On Aug. 2, County Public Library, 898 1943, PT-109 was rammed W. 11th St., Panama City. and sunk by a Japanese Afterhours library concert destroyer, killing two crew series sponsored by the TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS members; Kennedy and 10 Friends of the Bay County others survived.) Public Libraries. Details at Film- Actor-comedian-talk Penn is 42. Actress Jaime Patel is 29. Actor Mat- In 1968, student protest- NWRLS.com maker- show host George Lopez King is 40. Pop singer thew Underwood is 29. ers began occupying author is 58. Rock musician Taio Cruz is 36. Actor Actor Camryn Walling is buildings on the campus Friday, May 3 Michael Stan Frazier (Sugar Ray) Aaron Hill is 36. Actor 29. Model Gigi Hadid is of Columbia University in 56th BAY ANNUAL COMPE- Moore is 51. Country musician Jesse Lee Soffer is 35. 24. Rock musicians Jake New York; police put down TITION AND EXHIBITION: is 65. Tim Womack (Sons of the Actress Rachel Skarsten and Josh Kiszka (Greta the protests a week later. May 3-June 1 at at the Moore Actress Desert) is 51. Profes- is 34. Rock musician Van Fleet) are 23. The Methodist Church and Panama CIty Center for the Judy Davis sional wrestler/actor Anthony LaMarca (The the Evangelical United Arts, 19 E. Fourth St. Fea- is 64. Actress Valerie John Cena is 42. Actor- War on Drugs) is 32. Send your birth- Brethren Church merged to turing work by students Bertinelli is 59. Actor writer-comedian John Singer-songwriter John day information to form the United Methodist in Bay County schools. Craig Sheffer is 59. Oliver is 42. Actor Kal Fullbright is 31. Actor Dev [email protected]. Church. Free admission. Details at In 1969, Sirhan Sirhan PCCenterForTheArts.com was sentenced to death LYNN HAVEN SPRING for assassinating New CONCERT SERIES: 6 p.m. York Sen. Robert F. Ken- at Sharon Sheffi eld Park nedy. (The sentence in Lynn Haven. Free was later reduced to life admission. imprisonment.) In 1971, hundreds of Viet- Saturday, May 4 nam War veterans opposed 'SUMMER FUN': May 4-June to the confl ict protested by 1 at The Light Room, 306 tossing their medals and Harrison Ave., Panama ribbons over a wire fence City.