28 JULY 2015
WZEP AM 1460
WZEP AM 1460 First News
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Brought to you by
THRIFT-WAY SUPERMARKET
DEFUNIAK SPRINGS, FL
Today is the 209th day of the year. There are 156 days left in the year.
President Lyndon B. Johnson announces that he has ordered an increase in U.S. military forces in Vietnam, from the present 75,000 to 125,000. Johnson also said that he would order additional increases if necessary. He pointed out that to fill the increase in military manpower needs, the monthly draft calls would be raised from 17,000 to 35,000.
ON THIS DAY IN:
1929 Future first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy is born
1945 U.S. Senate approves United Nations charter
1945 Plane crashes into Empire State Building
2003 Bob Hope dies at 100
Need to know what events are going on? Try the WZEP AM 1460 Community calendar.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S6a6CXueaQr_TB5Nekoy0imjziz3bNneDO1JdEXSm5w/edit?usp=sharing
News Segment 1
FOCUS ON THE
FLAG
By T.H. Merritt
This is the day both, supporters and opponents have
been waiting for. The Walton County Commission
meets today to decide the fate of the Confederate Flag.
Facing intense pressure to remove the flag after a
gunman slaughtered churchgoers at a prayer meeting in South Carolina early this month and photos
of the gunman surfaced of him wrapped in the flag, some officials quickly
removed the flag from public view.
Walton
County commissioners
raised the flag here in 1964 at the Confederate War Memorial at the county
courthouse in Defuniak Springs.
Opponents view it as a symbol of racism and hate. Supporters point out the historical
importance of the flag and are frustrated at attempts to portray all
southerners and flag supporters as racists.
Law Enforcement officials are expecting peaceful
protests at today’s proceedings and will have a visible presence.
The meeting gets underway at 9 AM at the Walton County
Courthouse in Defuniak Springs.
Residents will have the opportunity to voice their opinion on the issue
before Commissioners decide how to proceed.
WZEP will be there.
IN GOD WE
TRUST
Walton County Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr. recently
updated his patrol car fleet with some new graphics.
“In God We Trust,
the national motto of the United
States was recently affixed to the Sheriff’s
fleet. Sheriff Adkinson said, "We
think it's important for the citizens in this county to know what our core
values are." Adkinson follows the lead of Stone County, Missouri
Sheriff Doug Rader who emblazoned his patrol cars last week causing a national
stir.
“In God We Trust”
became the national motto of the United States
in 1956 when the nation was at a particularly tense time in the Cold War, and
the United States wanted to
distinguish itself from the former Soviet Union,
which promoted state atheism.
Fast forward 59 years later and now, Russia is a Christian nation.
“In God We Trust” is
also the official motto of the state of Florida.
News Segment 2
DOH warns
residents against West Nile virus
With the first human case of West
Nile virus recently diagnosed in the state this year, the Florida
Department of Health reiterated its warning to residents and visitors to
protect against the dangers of the disease.
The state's first human case for 2015 is a woman who lives in Walton County.
Florida is the 39th state to have a confirmed
human case of West Nile virus this year.
West Nile virus is transmitted through the
bites of infected mosquitoes. Symptoms usually manifest two to 14 days after a
person has been bitten.
An estimated 80 percent of people who have West Nile
virus infections do not show any symptoms of the illness. The people who do
develop symptoms typically have mild symptoms, including pain, fever, fatigue
and headache. Seniors citizens and people with weakened immune systems are more
prone to severe symptoms.
Dr. John Armstrong, state Surgeon General and
secretary of Health, urges residents to "Stay safe by draining any
standing water near or in your home, making sure that screens are intact, and
keeping your skin covered with clothing and mosquito repellent
LOCAL
FIREFIGHTER GRADUATES
By: T.H. Merritt
A local volunteer fireman recently graduated the
fire academy…with honors.
33 year old Teddy Scott, of the Argyle Volunteer
Fire Department completed requirements for Firefighter 2 – a 6 month course in
professional firefighting techniques at the Midway Fire
Academy.
Scott is a 7 month veteran of the fire department
and is currently in school to become an Emergency Medical Technician. The Argyle Volunteer Fire Department spans a
large portion of eastern Walton
County with three
stations and 10 fire engines.
News Segment 3
POLICE
OFFICERS FACE HEARING
By: T.H. Merritt
Defuniak Springs City Manager Sara Bowers continues
to deliberate her decision on the fate of two Defuniak Springs police officers fired
June 3rd for racial harassment.
Sgt. Anthony Kaiser and Patrolman Rick Boblitt and
their attorneys pled their case Friday during a closed hearing at City Hall.
The pair were fired after an internal affairs
investigation found they had engaged in the racial harassment of a fellow
officer of Asian descent.
Chief Weeks was forced to re-hire the two over a
procedural error in the grievance process until the hearing before the City Manager.
However, he immediately placed both officers on administrative leave.
Bowers says a decision is coming soon. She is
waiting to finish up one more part of the investigation and to speak with a
labor attorney.
SLAP HAPPY
A Tuscumbia, Alabama woman is scheduled to appear in
Okaloosa County Court today on charges of battery, resisting arrest and battery
on a law enforcement officer.
32-year old Stephanie Johnson Alexander of Tuscumbia, AL was
arrested in a July 6th incident at a Ft. Walton Beach hotel after she slapped a young
man on the backside and asked him how old he was. The young man told her he was
16 and asked her to leave him alone. She followed the young man into a hallway
and then told him to run.
Alexander caused a further disturbance on the beach
and when deputies arrived, she was trying to check out of the hotel early. During her arrest, Alexander tried to twist
away from deputies and as she was placed in her holding cell, she spat on the
officers. She was eventually subdued…with
the help of a taser. The arrest reports states alcohol was involved.
News Segment 4
DFS City Council Meeting
By: T.H. Merritt
The Defuniak Springs City Council met Monday
evening to discuss a number of items.
Among them, the council voted to proceed with a 200K and 50K grant
application for recreational areas. Jennifer Conoley of Gulf Power gave a
presentation on the Florida First Sites program. DFS is one of only 8 approved
economic development areas and she stated the program is well underway to
attract business and employers to the Industrial Park at the airport.
Bob Mears of the Florida Rural Water Association
discussed the need to increase water and wastewater rates to sustain
infrastructure of the system. For most residential customers, he said a rate
increase of only $7.48 per 4,000 gallons would stop the financial bleeding and
allow the city to plan for future needs. He recommended the council spread any
increase over 5 years.
The Council also discussed the serious need for a
new Police station. Several sites were
suggested. However, due to budget
concerns and the availability of city owned property, the council approved a
motion to get estimates on renovation of the old health department building on
Hwy. 83 N.
Code Enforcement Officer Dusty Beck also discussed
the need for to implement a Code Enforcement Board to deal with an increase in
issues as the community grows. The board would be merged with the Planning
Board. The council took the information under serious consideration for further
discussion.
Other functional budgetary items were addressed
and the full minutes of the meeting will be available online.
Nighttime Lane Closures Planned for U.S.
331
on the Clyde B. Wells Bridge
Drivers
will encounter alternating lane closures on U.S. 331 across the Clyde B. Wells
Bridge in Walton County Tuesday,
July 28, Thursday, July 30 and Friday, July 31 from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews place
concrete for the new bridge. Flagmen will be on site to safely direct traffic
through the work zone.
Large concrete trucks will be present on the bridge so
drivers are encouraged to use extra caution when traveling through the work
zone. All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be
re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Obituaries - Listen in the morning, just
after noon and the 4pm hour
Mr. Thomas M. Barton, age 79, passed away Sunday,
July 26, 2015. Memorial services will be held 10:00 AM, Saturday, August
1st at Clary-Glenn Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow in the Magnolia Cemetery, with Masonic Rites and
Military Honors at graveside. www.clary-glenn.com.
Clary-Glenn Funeral Home is entrusted with the arrangements.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cBqotV0MFzjcmLZXOcmLCibIZvvIkd5SAXr52oP0Aps/edithttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1cBqotV0MFzjcmLZXOcmLCibIZvvIkd5SAXr52oP0Aps/edit
Copyright by Kyzer Communications DBA WZEP AM 1460: Permission for use of WZEP News and Information granted by written request. If any of any of the content is the basis or input for a story you write or develop, contact WZEP News at 892-3158 to request written permission and indicate “as reported on WZEP AM 1460.”
Newsletter Subscribe or Unsubscribe
If you would like to be added to or removed from our newsletter mail list, please go to our website and use the Google Groups submission box. You do not have to have a Google Groups account to get the newsletter. You may also simply email from the account you wish to receive the newsletter at by letting us know at wz...@wzep1460.com or by sending an email to wzep-su...@googlegroups.com wzep-uns...@googlegroups.com
Contact WZEP AM 1460
Visit our website for more at http://www.wzep1460.com
Located: 449, N. 12th Street, Defuniak Springs, FL 32433
Mail: PO Box 627, Defuniak Springs, FL 32435
Station: 850-892-3158 wz...@wzep1460.com Fax: 850-892-9675
Sales: 850-892-5130 sa...@wzep1460.com Sales Cell 850-333-1853
News: T.H. Merritt, News Director Cell 850-333-6877