GRAY WON’T RUN GULF BREEZE HOSPITAL TURNS 25 School Board veteran plans to step down Dignitaries break ground on $5 million expansion project COMMUNITY, 3C COMMUNITY, 2A 50¢ YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER June 17, 2010 CRUDE AWAKENING Week 8 ‘Assault on our Oil intensifies; Obama visits shores’ will be Officials aim “The good news is there doesn’t to improve fought vigorously seem to have been any new oil In the days since the BP oil spill began, coming in Tuesday. The bad news is response to the failure to stop the leak has caused that what is already in here could be incredible anger and frustration – especial- oil impacts ly for the people of the Gulf Coast strug- drifting around all summer.” gling to survive one of the worst environ- – Marco White BY SCOTT PAGE mental disasters in our nation’s history. Gulf Breeze News On Tuesday I visited Pensacola Beach, [email protected] and during the last few weeks I’ve been to the Gulf and met with people directly As President Obama visited impacted by this tragedy. I’ve heard sto- Pensacola Beach on Tuesday, ries from oystermen and shrimpers who state, local and BP officials are wondering where their next paycheck escalated response efforts to will come from. I’ve met business owners cope with intensified oil impacts who are seeing revenue dry up as the along the Northwest Florida number of tourists decline. And I’ve talked coastline. with Americans young and old who are “We’re going to be doing afraid that the ecosystem that has played everything we can – make sure such an important role in their lives will that there are skimmers out, there be damaged beyond repair. are booms out, and a response to These people don’t want excuses; they keep the oil offshore,” Obama want results. They want the leak stopped, said Tuesday after a briefing with the coastline protected, and the water U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Thad cleaned. They want their lives to go back Allen and local officials. to normal and their communities to be Scott Page/Gulf Breeze News Efforts to prevent shoreline Marco White, a volunteer with the Gulf Breeze Police Department, documents the location of a large patch of made whole again. impacts, however, have been oil sheen, tar balls and thick brown mousse floating in Pensacola Bay on Tuesday morning. The oil was This is an assault on our shores. An largely unsuccessful to date. detected approximately 3 miles west of the Gulf Breeze shoreline. American way of life is at stake. And we Pensacola Pass was closed are doing everything in our power to repel Friday, June 11, with boom this assault – to stop the leak, to contain deployed to prevent oil from and clean up the spilled oil and to help the Commerce, commuters pinched entering Pensacola Bay, but that people of the Gulf Coast return to their strategy also was unsuccessful. was shut down through whose motorcade originat- owners. lives and their livelihoods as soon as pos- BY JOE CULPEPPER On Saturday, there were 14 sible. Gulf Breeze News Gulf Breeze to the eastern ed at the Crowne Plaza “You’re going to get a lot reports of tar balls on Navarre This leak is an unprecedented catastro- [email protected] end of the Naval Live Oaks Hotel in Pensacola and trav- of letters to the editor on Beach along with trash washing phe and a technical challenge unlike any preserve and on Pensacola eled through the city on the this,” Gulf Breeze resident ashore covered in oil. we’ve ever seen. That’s why we’re press- For more than 2½ hours Beach Road. way to and from Pensacola Doug Bass quipped as he On Monday, there were 22 ing for every possible remedy to keep oil Tuesday morning, Gulf It was all part of the Beach to meet with officials pedaled a bicycle along the confirmed oil debris reports for from flowing into the Gulf, and to capture Breeze Parkway was eerily heightened security detail dealing with the oil spill motorcade route past Gulf Pensacola Bay, Pensacola Pass as much as we can while relief wells are devoid of traffic as U.S. 98 for President Obama, and affected beach business See PINCHED, Page 3A and Santa Rosa Sound. drilled that will permanently stop the leak. Tammy Bohannon, a resident We are relying on a team of scientists of Pensacola Beach and and experts from our own laboratories and Chairman of the Santa Rosa from around the world – led by our Island Authority, reported oil Energy Secretary and Nobel Prize-winning breaching booms in Little Sabine physicist Steven Chu. And we’ve ordered Bay and Lafitte Cove. BP to send additional equipment to facili- “Oil is encroaching by wash- tate the capture of oil and the capping of ing under the boom,” Bohannon the well. said. But with so much oil already in the See WEEK 8, Page 3A Gulf – and more likely to spill before this Related inside catastrophe is over – we are also doing ■ Potential reimbursement everything in our power to protect the delays worry businesses, 4A coastline. That’s why, as we speak, the ■ Florida Emergency Bridge federal government is in the midst of the Loan Program activated, 4A largest cleanup effort in the nation’s histo- ■ Lifeguard Ambulance aids ry – an effort that began on the very first exhausted cleaning crews, 5A day of this spill, and one that will not end David Schulz/Gulf Breeze News ■ Opinion: Loss of sacred See OBAMA, Page 6A President Obama’s motorcade zooms past the Pensacola Beach sign in Gulf Breeze on Tuesday morning. ground prompts tears, 6A INSIDE ON NEWSSTANDS NOW WEEKEND Weather-plus Calendar . .2A Fire Reports . .2A Classifieds . .3D Home and Garden . .3D Community . .2-8A Island News . .1D Crossword . .3B Lifestyles . .1B home! FRI 6/18 SAT 6/19 SUN 6/20 MON 6/21 Entertainment . .2B Opinion . .6A ISOLATED PARTLY PARTLY ISOLATED Faith . .7A Schools/Sports . .1-8C your STORMS CLOUDY CLOUDY STORMS Financial Focus . .4B Talk of the Town . .2B hi 89/lo 79 hi 91/lo 79 hi 90/lo 79 hi 89/lo 78 rain: 30% rain: 30% rain: 30% rain: 30% “Mailing Statement on Opinion Page” FOUR SECTIONS, 24 PAGES | VOL. 9, NO. 24 | JUNE 17, 2010 Call 932-8986 today Call 932-8986 today REMEMBER DAD ON FATHER’S DAY, SUNDAY, JUNE 20 Enjoy your community paper community your Enjoy mailed directly to mailed directly GULF BREEZE NEWS (850) 932-8986 www.gulfbreezenews.com 2 A June 17, 2010 GULF BREEZE NEWS Groundbreaking for Gulf Breeze Hospital expansion Thursday, June 17 Santa Rosa Island Authority Committee Gulf Breeze Architectural 5 p.m., SRIA Headquarters, 1 Via Review Board 6:30 p.m., City de Luna Drive, Council Chamber, 1070 Pensacola Beach Shoreline Drive, Gulf Breeze Thursday, Monday, June 21 June 24 SRC Commission Committee 9 a.m., County SRC Commission Administrative Center, 6495 Regular 9 a.m., County Caroline Street, Milton Administrative Center, 6495 Caroline Street, Gulf Breeze City Council Milton 6:30 p.m., City Council Chamber, 1070 Shoreline SRC Commission Drive, Gulf Breeze Special Rezoning 9 a.m., County Administrative Center, 6495 Caroline Street, Tuesday, June 22 Milton Gulf Breeze City Board of Santa Rosa County School Submitted photo Adjustments 6:30 p.m., City Board 9 a.m., SRC School Council Chamber, 1070 Board Building, 5086 Canal Participating in groundbreaking ceremonies for the new $5 million Gulf Breeze Hospital expansion were, from left: Paul Snider, Shoreline Drive, Gulf Breeze Member, GBH Community Board; Steve Zieman, D.D.S, Vice Chairman, GBH Community Board; Suzie Gilchrist, Member, Street Milton GBH Community Board; Al Stubblefield, CEO, Baptist Health Care; Bob Harriman, Administrator, Gulf Breeze Hospital; SVP, Baptist Health Care; Michael Mazenko, Chairman, GBH Community Board; David Kellen, M.D., Chief of Staff, Gulf Breeze Wednesday, June 23 Wednesday, June 23 Hospital; David Cleveland, Member, GBH Community Board; Shirley Brown, Member, GBH Community Board & Chairwoman, Chamber Board of Gulf Breeze City Council Baptist Medical Park Navarre Advisory Board; and Innes Richards, Member, GBH Community Board. Directors 11:30 a.m., Executive Committee 6:30 Chamber Conference Room, p.m., City Council Chamber, 409 Gulf Breeze Parkway, Gulf 1070 Shoreline Drive, Gulf GB Hospital celebrates silver anniversary Breeze Breeze Gulf Breeze Hospital is cele- Laenger is asso- present a free seminar on dia- brating 25 years of serving the HEALTH ciated with Sacred betes management on Thursday, Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office Report community. Heart Medical June 24, from noon to 1 p.m. in Information provided by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. Baptist Health Care (BHC) vice president. “This celebration Group’s Tiger the Rehabilitation Center at The opened the facility in June 1985 is very timely as we begin a $5 Point office in Club in Gulf Breeze. Felonies Navarre, burglary and larceny. to provide convenient access to million construction project to Gulf Breeze. The seminar will be present- 6/12/2010 hospital services for the resi- Fellowship in ed by Cynthia Leitschuck, a cer- increase capacity and continue 6/9/2010 Krueger, Curtis William, W/M, dents of south Santa Rosa, the ACP is an hon- Laenger tified diabetes educator with meeting the needs of our grow- Robles, Aaron James, H/M, 48, 7100 block of Manatee Escambia, Okaloosa and Walton orary designation Sacred Heart’s Diabetes ing community.” 25, 9600 block of Bonebluff Drive, Street, Navarre, violation of pro- counties. given to recognize ongoing Education Program. The semi- The expansion is adding two Navarre, assault and resisting an bation.