Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 10-9-18

Feature
Gun Swap Results In 1,173 Weapons Off Streets
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last Saturday, the Hills- borough County Sheriff’s Of- fice hosted a Gun Swap that resulted in 1,173 weapons being turned in to police.
While collecting the guns, deputies recovered six stolen guns during the event. More than 100 weapons were col- lected during the first hour.
More than an hour prior to the scheduled start, citi- zens began lining up in their vehicles to trade in their un- wanted guns. Each person who surrendered a gun re- ceived $50 in cash and a voucher for a pair of Tampa Bay Rays tickets.
The $50 cash and voucher for the tickets were given on a first-come, first- served basis while supplies last. The Rays are donating 5,000 tickets.
The guns were collected at the Falkenburg Road Jail, 520 N. Falkenburg Road, Tampa and at the Hillsbor- ough County West Service
SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER
Unit, 9805 Sheldon Road, Tampa.
Sheriff Chad Chronis- ter said, “I couldn’t be hap- pier that the community took advantage of this pro- gram to dispose of their un- wanted firearms. But the true gratification comes from the fact in knowing that one of these guns won’t be used by children to harm themselves or that a bad guy won’t use one of them to
commit another crime.”
The guns collected during Saturday’s Gun Swap will be
deputies collected 2,541 firearms, including at least 11 stolen guns and hundreds of illegal weapons. At every one of the five locations, there were lines of cars waiting to
dispose of the unwanted weapons.
During the gun swap in 2013, deputies distributed $55,000 in cash within an hour.
These are some of the weapons turned in at the gun swap on Saturday.
destroyed, Chr0nister said.
In February
Sheriff
2013,
Deadline Draws Near To Register To Vote
Currently, there are more than 852,000 registered vot- ers in Hillsborough County. However, there are thou- sands who can register to vote and who are not regis- tered.
Craig Latimer, Hills- borough County Supervisor of Elections said,
“The deadline to register to vote, if you’re not already registered, is October 9.
“And I encourage anyone who needs to register to vote to visit VoteHillsborough.org and register online – it’s quick and easy.”
Online voter registration applications must be submit- ted by 11:59 p.m. on Tues- day, October 9 to be valid for the General Election. Citi- zens can also pick up and submit printed voter regis- tration applications at any of the 4 Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections of- fices. They can also register at driver license offices, pub- lic libraries, state public as- sistance agencies and tax collector’s offices.
Printed applications must be postmarked or received by close of business on Tuesday, October 9 for
the upcoming election.
The Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, open weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will have extended hours on Tuesday, October 9, with all four of its offices open until 7
p.m.
In the days leading up to
the registration deadline, outreach staff will be at the following locations:
Monday
Strawberry Crest High School
11 AM: HCC Dale Mabry Campus
5 PM: USF Marshall Cen- ter (Oval Theater)
6 PM: Junior League of Tampa Headquarters
Tuesday
Jefferson High School and Wharton High School
5:30 PM: Seminole Hard Rock.
After registering, voters should watch their mail for a Voter Information Card with their Election Day polling place location and other im- portant voting information.
More information is available at VoteHillsbor- ough.org
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3