Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 8-26-16 Online Edition

Local
St. Peter Claver Day To Be Celebrated
Federal Judge Returns Lawsuit About Third Grade Testing To Lower Court
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, a federal judge returned a Leon County law- suit back to state court. U. S. District Judge Mark Walker made the decision be- cause the parents dropped their federal claims in the law- suit.
The case was sent to federal court after a state judge said she had some concerns about the effects of the state policy.
The lawsuit was filed by parents in six school districts against the Florida Depart-
ment of Education’s decision to retain student who refused to take a standardized test. The school districts involved in the case are Broward, Hernando, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, and Seminole Counties.
The controversy concerns whether or not students can refuse to take the Florida Stan- dards Assessment test for third graders. The test is used pri- marily to decide whether a child is proficient enough to be promoted to fourth grade.
Although Hillsborough County is not named in the lawsuit, Jeff Eakins, Hills-
borough County School Dis- trict Superintendent said, “We have many different options in place for our students. We offer other types of examina- tions to see if kids have mas- tered third grade proficiently.
“I believe that there are other ways to determine this and it’s only fair to the stu- dents to always have multiple options in place.”
The case will be heard in Tallahassee and each school district will defend its policies in the state court that covers the county in which it is lo- cated.
13th Judicial Circuit
Initiates E-Warrant System Pilot Program
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Nearly two weeks ago, the 13th Judicial Circuit of the State of Florida initiated a new method of obtaining warrants. Known as the E-Warrant Pilot Program, the initiative will be operational for 90 days.
Col. J. R. Burton, of the Department of Patrol Services with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said, “We have been doing it for a week and a day and it is working like a charm. It is really beneficial in obtaining search warrants be- cause the detective never has to leave the crime scene.”
The program is a collabora- tion between the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the State Attorney, Clerk of Circuit Court and Judges Samantha Ward, Gregory Holder, Claudia Isom and Scott Stephens of the 13th Judicial Circuit.
The four Circuit Judges and 75 detectives from the Hillsbor- ough County Sheriff’s Office are participating in the program.
The new electronic process eliminates an officer from hav- ing to travel t a judge to obtain a signature on a warrant. Instead, the judge will receive an e-mail
and text notification. The notifi- cation will provide the approval of the warrant by the State Attor- ney’s Office. The judge will then review the warrant and provide his or her digital signature.
An additional copy of the warrant is automatically for- warded to the Clerk of the Cir- cuit Court’s Office.
Col. Burton said the process saves time that could prevent the loss of evidence in an investigation. He further stated that they are now in the process of testing obtaining war- rants for people.
“So far, everyone likes it. They can access the information from their smart phones or lap- tops.”
E-Warrants can be issued 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. If the program is successful, law enforcement members from the Tampa Police Department, Plant City Police Department, Temple Terrace Police Depart- ment, and Florida Highway Pa- trol will have access to the
system.
Currently 62 judges rotate
the responsibilities of the “Duty Judge” on a weekly basis. If the program is implemented on a permanent basis, the “Duty Judge” will be responsible for signing E-Warrants.
The St. Peter Claver Church and School Family will cele- brate its patron saint, St. Peter Claver, on Sunday, September 11, 2016, 10 A. M., at the parish, 1203 N. Nebraska Av- enue, Tampa. The public is in- vited to attend.
The Reverend Father Hugh Chicawe, Pastor, an- nounces “St. Peter Claver Day,” featuring the Mass and other festivities. Father Stephan Brown, parochial vicar at St. Paul Catholic Church (Carroll- wood), will serve as celebrant.
St. Peter Claver is very proud of its rich diversity and will acknowledge on this occa-
FATHER HUGH CHICAWE
sion its numerous ethnicities and cultural traditions. The celebration will begin with a procession of flags represent-
ing parishioners’ countries of origin. Following the celebra- tory Mass, lunch will be served, featuring foods of various cul- tures.
St. Peter Claver, SJ (1581- 1654) was a member of the So- ciety of Jesus and is the patron of worldwide African missions and of interracial justice, due to his care, humility and work with the slaves in Cartagena, Colombia. He died on Septem- ber 7, 1654.
Mrs. Yvonne Nellum is chairman of festivities. For ad- ditional information please call Fred Braithwaite at (813) 223-7098.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 2016 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3-B