Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 4-1-16 Edition

Features
Dream Of Attending Space Camp Becomes Reality For Student
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
At the age of 13, N’Jhari Jackson has al- ready firmly entrenched himself as one who accomplishes goals. And, while he faces many of the challenges as others, he is successful be- cause he just doesn’t give up.
One of his dreams has been to attend the Space Camp. N’Jhari is the son of Ms. LaShina Lewis, a single parent, so financing the trip was an obstacle.
“He always dreamed of going, but was aware of the great cost involved. When he found out there was a scholarship available, he began working on his application even before the application period opened so that his would be ready to submit before hand,” Ms. Lewis said.
N’Jhari submitted his application and was given a full scholarship to attend the Space Camp at the U. S. Space & Rocket Cen- ter, in Huntsville, Alabama. He will attend the camp during the week of July 24-30, 2016. He will also spend an additional 12 days complet- ing requirements to obtain a college credit in Science from the University of Alabama Huntsville, as well as a High School Honors Science credit.
His mom said N’Jhari loves Math and Sci- ence. “He is taking advance high school level Math classes as a middle student. He is also a competitive swimmer and extremely attracted to the aerospace scuba mission track that is being offered during the camp.”
Ms. Lewis further said N’Jhari has al- ready earned his Scuba Merit Badge and PADI Certification. N’Jhari is an Eagle Scout with the Boys Scouts of America, Troop 142.
He is an 8th grade student at Paideia School of Tampa Bay, is enrolled in online high school
N’JHARI JACKSON
... Will attend Space Camp in July
classes and plans to graduate early. N’Jhari qualified for the Junior Olympic Swimming trials and is also very active as a member of Men of Vision Social Organization.
Ms. Lewis is extremely proud of her son because only 26% of the students who applied this year received full scholarships. The appli- cants were required to submit an application with a detailed description of a Science exper- iment, two essays, a mission patch design, and three letters of recommendation.
Dr. Deborah Barnhart, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the U. S. Space & Rocket Center said, “To win a schol- arship, a student must submit a truly out- standing application. I congratulate N’Jhari on earning a place in the 2016 Scholarship Class.”
Governor Signs Dozier Bill To Reimburse Families For Burial Expenses
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Wednesday, Gover- nor Rick Scott signed legis- lation authorizing interment compensation for the families of deceased victims of the Arthur B. Dozier School for Boys. The bill also allows for the creation of a memorial in memory of the deceased chil- dren sentenced to spend time at the facility. It goes into ef- fect immediately.
The bill was sponsored by State Senator Arthenia Joyner. State Rep. Ed Narain sponsored its coun- terpart in the House of Rep- resentatives.
Senator Joyner said, “This law finally ends a tragic chapter in Florida’s history. It buries the dead with dignity, and establishes a permanent reminder so that the atroci- ties the children endured at Dozier are neither forgotten nor repeated.”
The Arthur B. Dozier School for Boys opened in 1900, and remained open until it was closed in 2011. Lo- cated in Marianna, Florida, the purpose of the school was to reform young offenders.
Although it housed both African American and white youth, it was segregated until 1968. Through the years, it was rumored that those sen- tenced to serve time in the school suffered physical abuse, sexual abuse, and many of them died at the fa- cility.
After the rumors persisted
and interviews were con- ducted with youth who sur- vived, the University of South Florida were granted permis- sion to search the campus of the institution for graves.
The University’s forensic team issued a report that led to an investigation into the deaths of those found. The re- search team located and exca- vated 55 graves. They were able to positively identify 7 of those individuals, and identi- fied an additional 14 through DNA evaluation.
The bill signed by Gover- nor Scott (SB 708/HB 533) authorizes up to $7,500 to the family of a victim for reim- bursement of burial and grave marker expenses.
The bill also establishes a Dozier Task Force, led by the Secretary of the Department of State to recommend the creation of a memorial and permanent site for the re-in- terment of the unidentified or unclaimed remains.
SENATOR ARTHENIA JOYNER
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2016