Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 3-30-18

Local Letter To The Editor
101-Year-Old Woman Dies After Brief Hospital Stay
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Mrs. Carrington studied Beauty Culture under Madame C. J. Walker
Mrs. Annie Lois Car- rington, passed away Sun- day, March 25, 2018 after a brief hospital stay. She was 101 years old.
Described as a spry, high- spirited woman, who loved her family, Mrs. Carring- ton was born in Camilla, GA, on May 10, 1916. Her mother was the late Mrs. Lillie Mae Knight Butler. She at- tended Gillespie Normal School in Cordele, GA. When her family moved to Lake- land, she attended Washing- ton Park School, now known as Rochelle School of the Arts.
Mrs. Carrington contin- ued her education in Beauty Culture under the tutelage of
MRS. ANNIE LOIS CARRINGTON
Madam C. J. Walker. She enjoyed her career as a Cos- metologist.
Also, Mrs. Carrington was a seamstress and a pio- neer homemaker for Hillsbor- ough County.
Mrs. Carrington was baptized at First Baptist Church of Lakeland. She then
united with Mt. Olive M. B. Church, Tampa, under the leadership of Rev. Dr. C. P. Epps. She later joined New Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Lakeland, under the leader- ship of Rev. Kendrix Gard- ner, Sr.
In 2014, the City of Lake- land declared October 4, 2014 as “Annie Lois Carrington Day” for her dedication and service in the community.
She was a member of The Order of Eastern Star, Delilah Chapter #60.
Mrs. Carrington is sur- vived by her daughter, Sch- eryl Carrington, grandchildren and great- grandchildren.
Funeral services are being held Saturday, March 31, 2018, 2 p. m., at New Mt. Zion M. B. Church, Lakeland. Ray Williams Funeral Home is handling services. (See Fu- neral Notice in this issue)
Don’t Turn K-12 Schools Into The Wild, Wild West
I personally understand a parent’s concern about their child’s safety in a school setting. It is the ex- pectation that a child will be safe, secure, and edu- cated while they are spend- ing the majority of their day in the classroom.
The K-12 School System and Legislators are taking a more microscopic view of the nature of safety in this day and time. Many of us can relate to a time when K-12 Schools forbade any administrator, educator, or staff member to have a gun on school grounds.
Now, there are Legisla- tors focused on arming ad- ministrators, educators, and staff members with guns and giving them the right to carry a concealed weapon on K-12 School grounds.
Please understand me when I say, “guns have no place on K-12 School grounds.” Please remem- ber on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 all 71 Florida House of Representatives - Republicans Voted for No Gun Reform and No School Safety, LOOK IT UP.
As students take to the streets to force the neces- sary dialogue on Gun Re- form and School Safety, all eyes are on their next vote. The current majority Florida House of Repre- sentatives Republicans passed a Bill (HB) 7069
and Senate Bill (SB) 1362 Schools of Hope Charter School Bill. They are will- ing to put $200 Million into the Charter Schools of Hope Program, instead of saving our students and our current K-12 Schools.
Can you imagine if a fight occurred between two students with a staff mem- ber trying to break up the fight, then one of the stu- dents grabs the staff mem- ber’s gun? Legislators need to focus on funding School Safety in a more strategic and safe manner. Lawmak- ers can better serve our students by funding the budgets for more properly trained and Certified School Resource Officers on site, instead of having a School Resource Officer covering four or five schools at one time.
Consider increasing the number of School Re- source Officers available on school grounds before turning the K-12 Schools into the Wild, Wild West. K-12 Schools in Lakeland, Polk County and in our country are learning envi- ronments for students to be educated, mentored, disciplined and achieve ac- ademic excellence, not war zones.
Dr. Shandale Terrell is a community activist, leader, educator and a member of the Lakeland Branch NAACP
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018