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 August 9, 2005
 

 Tampa Tribune...Sex Predators Must Weather Storms In Jail

INVERNESS - David Leroy Spangler lives three miles from a hurricane shelter at Inverness Primary School.

But Spangler, a registered sexual predator convicted of a child sex crime, is on probation that bars him from public shelters because he cannot have contact with children. The same applies to Kathryn Elizabeth Ferrier, of Holiday, former Hillsborough County resident Robert Max Schultz and thousands of other predators and offenders who assaulted or abused minors.

In the past, they had to ride storms out at their homes or those of family members or friends. Now they have a new option: go to prison.

In fact, they have to move into a state lockup if their residences are in a mandatory evacuation zone, state Department of Corrections spokesman Robby Cunningham said Monday. Those who don't will be violating probation.

``They're not going to be put in general population. They're not really in prison,'' Cunningham said. ``They may be in a visitors area, but the door may be locked. It's for their safety and the public's.''

Mark Lunsford, whose daughter Jessica's slaying in February helped prompt the policy, praised it.

``It takes away the temptation these maggots get when they get around kids,'' he said. ``They might use a storm to find their next victim.''

Mike Snure, a Winter Park lawyer and president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said the policy is overkill.

Recent events, including the slayings of Jessica, Sarah Michelle Lunde and Carlie Brucia, ``have heightened our awareness, and it's typical to overreact because of the understandable outrage,'' Snure said. ``But it's a bit abusive to single these people out, saying they can't go to a friend's or relative's. It's the same way with seeing some communities saying they can't live there.''

The Department of Corrections policy is not the first to invite predators and offenders back inside.

Kevin Doll, public information director for the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, said that with last year's rash of hurricanes, his department developed its own policy.

``We have been telling sex offenders under supervision they can come here and we'll find a place for them, even if it's our [county] detention facility,'' he said.

Corrections records show 7,428 people were on probation for sex crimes Monday, but Cunningham did not know how many are barred from being around children.

He also did not know how many have received letters telling them where to report and conditions of their stay: no pets, no family, no visitors and no smoking or telephone privileges, except collect calls made from a pay phone.

``It's not gone out en masse,'' he said. ``It's triggered by [an approaching] storm.''

Kelly Link: http://www.tampatrib.com/FloridaMetro/MGB1RLRL5CE.html

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  Palm Beach Post...1,700 haven't decided on free pre-K school yet

 

With two days to go before the state's free pre-kindergarten starts in Palm Beach County, it appears that some 1,700 4-year-olds are still looking for a school.

On paper, the county still has a seat for each and then some. The trick is connecting families with schools, said Warren Eldridge, executive director of the county's Early Learning Coalition, which oversees the program.

"This would be a greater concern if we didn't have the capacity," Eldridge said.

According to his office, 204 public and private schools and child-care centers have offered 7,119 slots. Meanwhile, 5,300 children in the county have proved their age and residency and have certificates saying they qualify for the program. But schools have reported enrolling about 3,600 of them.

The state has called every certificate holder.

"Some say they're still looking for a school. We think some may be waiting to see if they can get in a (public) school slot before they make a decision," Eldridge said.

Twenty-six public schools in the county will take pre-kindergartners, but they are giving priority to children living in those schools' boundaries and then to the children of the working poor.

Still, state officials have asked schools to have a plan just in case parents have missed the message and simply drop off their 4-year-old on a public school doorstep.

Also on alert: bus drivers. "Districts should inform their bus drivers that there is the possibility that a 4-year-old child may mistakenly arrive at a school bus stop with the attending VPK in a school that is not participating."

The state is not paying for bus service to any pre-K, but if a child is at a stop without his parents, the driver is asked to take the child to school where the staff will work to contact his family.

Across the state, the first day of the pre-kindergarten program varies. It may start no earlier than the first day of school — Wednesday in Palm Beach County. But 25 counties took the plunge last week and without incident, said Warren May, spokesman for the Agency for Workforce Innovation, which oversees the state's Office of Early Learning.

Thirty-eight counties begin pre-kindergarten this week and eight more start next week. As of Friday, more than 92,500 children across the state were enrolled. Still, there is no deadline for parents to enroll their children, May said. State officials predicted 66 percent of all 4-year-olds, about 147,000 children, would enroll this year.

To enroll or to find a provider with slots available, call the county's Early Learning Coalition at (561) 214-8000.

Kelly Link: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2005/08/09/s4b_prek_0809.html

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