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Sheriff’s Office Black Advisory Council To Host 3rd Annual Juneteenth Awards Luncheon
East Tampa Partnership Chair Asks For Audit
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Black Advisory Coun- cil (HCSBAC) will be hosting this year’s third annual June- teenth Awards Luncheon to celebrate the history of June- teenth.
Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemo- rating the end of slavery in the United States. Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union solders, led by Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Teas with news that the war was over and the enslaved were not free.
This year’s Juneteenth Awards Luncheon will be held Friday, June 19th at the TPepin’s Hospitality Centre, 4121 North 50th Street, from 11 a. m. to 1 p. m.
The Mistress of ceremony for the event will be celebrity radio personality Ebone Cruz of the Tom Joiner Morning Show and WTMP 1150AM radio.
Guests attending the lunch- eon will enjoy entertainment from “Reflecting Yesterday – Protecting Tomorrow” theme and celebration. Also, atten- dees will be inspired by Don- ald Dowridge as Mr. Frederick Douglass.
DONALD DOWRIDGE .....as Frederick Douglass
Doors will open at 11 a. m. and the luncheon and program will begin at 11:30 a. m.
During the luncheon the HCSBAC will recognize people from the community for their outstanding service. Scholar- ships will be presented to sev- eral deserving students to assist with the challenges of af- fording a college education. The Luncheon showcases law enforcement as a desirable profession and encourages young people, some of whom face great challenges, to con- tinue their education. All of these activities are made possi- ble from funds raised from the luncheon through sponsor-
EBONE CRUZ .....Mistress Of Ceremony
EDDIE ADAMS .....Advisory Board Member
ships and advertisements.
The categories of awards are: Outstanding Religious Leader, Outstanding educator, and Outstanding Community Leader. This year’s luncheon is being hosted in combination with the 100 Black Men of
Tampa Bay, Incorporated. The HCSBAC is engaged in a variety of community proj- ects, including Law Enforce- ment and safety day which educates families on a number of topics including personal safety, the Back-To-school supplies and book Bags Project for families experiencing eco- nomic hardships, and other
community help projects.
For more information about this luncheon, contact Eddie
Adams at (813) 230-3312.
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
On Tuesday night at the Ragan Park Center, East Tampa Community Revitaliza- tion Partnership (ETCRP) Chair Essie Sims addressed the group on voting to have a statewide forensic audit done on the Partnership.
According to Sims, it’s been alleged ETCRP Tax Increment Finance (TIF) dollars were used illegally on projects they weren’t designed for.
Sims is also alleging that he’s being investigated by a law enforcement group that hasn’t identified itself or told him why he’s being investi- gated. He also brought that issue to the attention of the 20 or more people in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting who voted to approve his request.
East Tampa Development Manager Ed Johnson said Mr. Sims requested the Part- nership support him in asking for the audit, and wants it to cover from the beginning of the East Tampa CRA through this year.
“He feels he’s being person- ally attacked and wants to know if TIF dollars weren’t supposed to be used to build the Tampa Police Department District III Headquarters on 22nd Street.
“He’s angry that he’s being investigated without his knowledge and believes it may have something to do with his involvement with the ETCRP.”
Johnson said it’s against the by-laws of the ETCRP, be- cause Sims needs permission from the Advisory Committee to do this.
“I don’t expect the CRA Board to allow this. The ETCRP was audited last year and everything was fine. As far as Mr. Sims being investi- gated, he told us he’s going to conduct his own investigation to find out what’s going on.”
Johnson said Sims is going around accusing elected officials and others of under- mining him and initiating an investigation on him without telling him why.
“Local police aren’t saying anything, and we don’t know for sure if he’s under investi- gation.
“No one needs to get in- volved in this until more infor- mation is released as to what’s really going on.”
Johnson said Sims ac- cused a lot of people of going
ESSIE SIMS
.....E. Tampa Partnership Chair
ED JOHNSON .....E. Tampa Manager
EVANGELINE BEST .....immediate past E. Tampa Partnership Chair
behind his back at Tuesday night’s meeting, and after the vote was taken on the audit, he left.
Former ETCRP Chair Evangeline Best said, in her opinion this sounds more like a personal issue and has noth- ing to do with the ETCRP.
“I think he’s confused what’s personal with the ETCRP.
“If you follow the by-laws, people will understand what you’re doing. The rules of the by-laws must be met. Essie said he’s being investigated, but we don’t know if it’s per- sonal or an ETCRP issue.”
CRA Chair, Yvonne “Yolie” Capin said she did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting, and she hasn’t spo- ken with Mr. Sims.
PAGE 8-A FLORIDA SENTINEL-BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015