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MLK Parade
cancelled in Chiefland
By Jeff M. Hardison © Jan. 15, 2021 at 9:10 a.m.
     CHIEFLAND – What would have been the only celebration of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Tri-County Area of Levy County, Dixie County and Gilchrist County has been cancelled.
     What would have been the Third Annual MLK Parade in Chiefland had been scheduled for Monday (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Jan. 18).
     That parade is cancelled, organizer Pastor Lance Hayes said, due to safety concerns. There were planned precautions to reduce the odds for the spread of COVID-19, but in the interest of public safety, this event has been cancelled.
     It was just three years ago that Chiefland had its first MLK Love March. The second year it was called a parade. In 2021, there is no march or parade now in Chiefland to honor the slain civil rights leader.
     Other parades or festivals in Cross City or elsewhere in the Tri-County Area are not happening either, as best as can be determined from the lack of anyone sending any notice of those events.

 

COVID-19 Death Toll
Continues Growth In Florida

Above are the results on Saturday (Jan. 16), according to the Tallahassee office of the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). These records are the current TOTAL numbers updated by the FDOH in the most recent period measured where the FDOH reported results. In the Tri-County Area, there are 60 people TOTAL who have died from COVID-19 so far. There have been 287 people TOTAL from the Tri-County Area who have been reported as hospitalized because their COVID-19 symptoms were so serious they needed to go to the hospital.
Published Jan. 17, 2021 at 9:10 a.m. (another daily update is set for later today - Sunday, Jan. 17 with today's data)

 

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PUBLIC HEALTH ADVISORY
Residents are advised to wear masks
in public and to socially distance.
Avoid crowds, closed spaces & close contact.

 

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     COVID-19 can be transmitted by people who show no symptoms.
     The best method to reduce the odds of infection and the subsequent symptoms of serious illness and even death from COVID-19 is to limit contact with other humans.
     To find the most updated information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the FDOH’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage by clicking HERE. 
     For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website by clicking HERE.
     For another set of data, former Florida Department of Health geographic data scientist Rebekah Jones has created FloridaCOVIDAction.com. Those numbers are different than the FDOH.

 

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Tri-County positive COVID-19 cases increased by 842 in December. There were eight more deaths in the Tri-County Area from COVID-19 in December. In Florida, there were 3,076 more people who died from COVID-19 from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31, according to the FDOH COVID-19 Dashboard, with the report issued Dec. 31 being before the end of the day
Graphic By Sharon Hardison © Dec. 31, 2020 at 5:10 p.m.

 

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FBI captures suspect
in Marion County

Click on graphic above to open a link to provide the FBI with information about individuals who incited or promoted violence of any kind during the siege in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6.

Story and Graphic Provided
By FBI Jacksonville Office
PAO Amanda Warford Videll
Sent Jan. 14, 2021 at 3:48 p.m.
Published Jan. 15, 2021 at 6:10 a.m.
     JACKSONVILLE -- On the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 14, Michael Curzio of Summerfield was taken into custody by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office during a joint operation with the FBI Jacksonville Division, and in coordination with the FBI Washington Field Office.
     Curzio was among the first individuals to be charged federally for his role in the riot and assault on the United States Capitol on Jan. 6.
     The charges, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia on Jan. 7, included knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; or knowingly, with intent to impede government business or official functions, engaging in disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
     The Jan. 8 press release from the United States Department of Justice about the first suspected criminals charged following the riot and attempted violent overthrowing of the federal government can be seen by clicking HERE.
     "The FBI respects the rights of individuals to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights, but we will not tolerate those who seek to incite violence or wreak havoc on our established institutions,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “We will continue to hold accountable those who were responsible for last week’s violent actions, and coordinate with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure safety in all North Florida communities in the future.
     “The FBI is grateful to our partners at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for their diligence and assistance in locating Michael Curzio, bringing us one step closer toward justice. We encourage anyone with information about individuals who incited or promoted violence of any kind during the siege, to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit photos and video to www.fbi.gov/USCapitol.”

 

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Recovery in a Pandemic;
What does it mean to get better?

 

 

 

Blaine M. Vitallo
 

 

Column and Selfie
By Blaine M. Vitallo
HardisonInk.com Correspondent
© Jan. 14, 2021 at 5:10 p.m.
     TRENTON—As COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to be distributed throughout the country, many individuals still wonder which precautions are necessary and which are too restrictive or even needed.
     COVID-19 is a potentially life-threatening illness with symptoms that may linger for months, and even for a lifetime.
     What happens after you’ve caught the virus, self-isolated and recovered?
     I can only tell my own story. At around Thanksgiving, I developed flu-like symptoms—including fever, chills, achy muscles, and sensitive skin. I had to stay at home and on the couch. I didn’t have the energy or desire to even walk to the front door. Forget going outside.
     After three weeks of self-isolation, I ventured out for the first time to take a drive-through COVID-19 test at a local pharmacy. A few days later, I received a negative text message with a negative test result.
     I had endured the virus and was in recovery. My sense of taste and smell were gone, but I was no longer contagious. I was able to resume my normal life to the extent that is possible.
     What has happened since I recovered?
     Earlier this week, I went to attend an off-site meeting for work. When I arrived, I had to complete a COVID-19 screening questionnaire at the front desk so that I could be admitted to the building. As part of the screening, I was asked if I was experiencing any of the symptoms on a long list.
     Some of the symptoms were serious or characteristic of COVID-19, such as fever and loss of taste. Others were more ordinary, for example, a cough.
     I’ve had asthma since I was child. Asthma is a disease of the lungs that can make breathing difficult. For me, this meant sitting on the sideline for football and basketball games, using a rescue inhaler, and enduring a lingering cough in the winter months, when the air is dry.
     This is the middle of winter. I have my seasonal cough. I like to be honest. I checked the box for “cough” on the form.
     I thought, “So what if I have a cough?”
     A cough can be caused by many different illnesses and allergies. And I was negative for COVID-19. I had the screenshot saved on my phone to prove it.
     When I handed the form back to the receptionist on the other side of the clear plastic shield, she looked up from the form. She eyed me skeptically.
     “You said you have a cough. You know this means we can’t let you in,” she said.
     Thankfully, I knew her and the people I was visiting, so after I explained that the cough was the result of asthma and not the virus I was allowed inside for my meeting. Even so, I felt anxious because my simple response had created an uncomfortable situation for both of us.
     Of course, businesses need to screen the people who enter their buildings, and it’s important for us to be honest when responding to screening questions. Err on the side of caution, as they say. Screenings keep us and the businesses that are vital to our community safe.
     But after my awkward experience with the screening questionnaire, I was left wondering how I should feel now that I had contracted and recovered from the virus. 
     As much as possible, I like to be reasonable. I think it’s better to consider a problem for what it is rather than look at it through the lens of politics or general opinion. Reflecting on this little incident, I decided that I couldn’t be bothered about what had happened.
     I won’t say it was unfair that I was screened. I won’t say it’s unfair to be suspicious of a cough, regardless of the cause.

 In the middle of a global pandemic that has killed 60 people from the Tri-County Area of Levy, Dixie and Gilchrist counties so far and has forced 278 people from the Tri-County Area to be hospitalized for treatment so far, we all have to take precautions.
     If others were still experiencing symptoms like a cough for months after contracting the virus then, for all anybody else knew, I could be suffering from that symptom too.
     Still, I can’t be the only one who has been left with a new sense of self-consciousness as a result of contracting this illness. Even though I no longer have any of the symptoms, I still have the lingering sense that I am contagious.
     And medical professionals say that having recovered from COVID-19 does not mean that a person cannot spread it. Even after getting vaccinations that help people stop or reduce symptoms, they can still spread the virus.
     That is why wearing facemasks, maintaining distance, not meeting in enclosed areas with crowds, washing hands and practicing all recommended pandemic hygiene is the way to help everyone on the planet – not just in Trenton and the surrounding immediate area.
     What’s the take-away?
     I don’t think there’s any easy solution to the many problems COVID-19 has caused over this last year, including significant harm to local and macro-economics.
     No matter what precautions are put in place, there are going to be risks. There are going to be moments of uncertainty when we aren’t sure how to answer a question on a screening form or whether or not to trust a friend.
     Problems like these are probably unavoidable in the middle of such a strange and difficult time in history. What I have learned from contracting and recovering from COVID is that we have to be patient, understanding, and—most of all—reasonable.
 

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Gilchrist County
Emergency Management
launches vaccine text alert
By Gilchrist County Emergency Management
Director Ralph Smith
Published Jan. 14, 2021 at 10:10 p.m.
     TRENTON -- To keep Gilchrist County residents and visitors as up-to-date as possible with the status of the COVID-19 vaccination process in Gilchrist County, Gilchrist County Emergency Management in coordination with the Florida Department of Health unit in Gilchrist County has launched an opt-in text alert feature available to anyone that can receive text messages.
     Residents and visitors can text the keyword GILCHRISTVAX to 888-777 to receive periodic and breaking updates on the status of vaccination availability, priorities, and appointment processes in Gilchrist County.
     The system will begin accepting text opt-ins immediately and will continue as long as necessary. There is no cost associated with this process; however standard text message rates may apply depending on any cell phone carrier plans.

 

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Chiefland City Commission
takes care of business
Garbage woes
and CAAA issues discussed

This stock photo shows Chiefland City Hall on East Park Avenue. Years ago, it was a bank with drive-through tellers. There is still drive-through service for city business such as paying utility bills. It is named the Hardee Dean Sr. Municipal Building, after a former Chiefland city manager.

Story and Photo
By Jeff M. Hardison © Jan. 12, 2021 at 11:10 a.m.
     CHIEFLAND – The Chiefland City Commission met in City Hall on Monday night, as it is inclined to do twice a month, in regular session.
     It completed actions as normal, including the presentation to students with certificates as they were named Students of the Month for December. There were two named from Chiefland Elementary, and one each from Chiefland Middle School and Chiefland High School.
     The annual contract for sludge depositing was approved with two separate landowners. Sludge is the biproduct of sewage that has been treated. It is transported from the wastewater treatment plant in the city and then spread on certain property in Levy County.
     Another matter dominated discussion Monday night in Chiefland City Hall – garbage.
     The amended contract for waste disposal services in the city with Waste Pro was approved.
     After Mayor Chris Jones asked City Manager Mary Ellzey about complaints he had received concerning service from Waste Pro, Ellzey explained to the mayor that a couple of weeks where there were issues resulted from the company lacking employees.
     Waste Pro, Ellzey said, had employees who suffered from COVID-19 and were unable to work. Without people to handle the equipment, the company was unable to provide service, she explained.
     Chiefland City Commissioner Robert Norman Weaver (Group 5) complained that his garbage at his residence was picked up two days late one time. He said in speaking with an Alachua County city leader, he learned it has code enforcement officers who tag garbage cans that are not emptied on time.
     Weaver was close to being accurate with his speech about Gainesville.
     “You can’t do anything to punish them (Waste Pro) unless you have someone enforcing the code,” Weaver said. “Someone’s got to go look at the garbage cans.”
     Ellzey said she looks at the garbage cans and titled herself as “the garbage police,” and Weaver without taking a breath, went on to speak about Gainesville, which Weaver alleged fined Waste Pro $250,000 last year due to being delinquent in its duty to the city.
     In a conversation with Gainesville City Manager Lee Feldman on Tuesday morning (Jan. 12), he said the city has a contract with WCA, which is not Waste Pro.
     That contract with WCA, City Manager Feldman said, includes a clause that is for liquidated damage and penalties for nonperformance. The Gainesville Sanitation Department, Feldman said, does have an inspector.
     On Monday night (Jan. 11), Ellzey told Weaver that there is a liquidated damages clause in the City of Chiefland’s contract with Waste Pro. Ellzey added for Weaver’s edification that the City of Chiefland can fine Waste Pro $20 or $25 per incident.
     She said, for instance, Barbecue Bill’s garbage is supposed to be picked up Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and if the company did not pick up the garbage that week, that would be three times the city could fine the company.
     Weaver said every customer in Chiefland should be made aware that every time Waste Pro fails to pick up the garbage on time that they need to call City Hall.
     Ellzey said the company is fined at the end of each month, if there are misses reported.
     “It’s a battle,” Ellzey said. “It’s a battle sometimes.”
     Mayor Jones said he had spoken with two businesses within the past couple of weeks who complained to him about garbage service being missed on occasion.
     When the mayor said those business interests wanted credit for their bills, Ellzey said that is not in the contract with Waste Pro and “that would be a bookkeeping nightmare” for the city to refund each customer for each time the garbage was not picked up on the day when service is expected.
     Chiefland City Commissioner J. Rollin Hudson Jr. (Group 3) said at his house or other residential customers can deal with four or five days of not getting the service they expect. However, a restaurant has a higher volume that demands immediate attention when garbage pickup is missed.
     Fire Chief James Harris said the Dollar Tree (behind Burger King and Taco Bell, on the same side of the street as China One)  had put carts, like the kind used at Lowe’s for moving lumber to vehicles, around its dumpster when it started overflowing. Someone committed arson and started the pushcarts on fire with the cardboard and other store debris that was stacked those carts, Chief Harris said. The dumpster was not burned, he said.
     Commissioner Weaver gave an update on his look at issues regarding Chiefland Area Athletic Association. Weaver intimated there appeared to be an issue of removal of $21,000 in funds from the CAAA account at Drummond Community Bank, which was not able to be listed for some particular purpose.
     Weaver said he would give the information he had to Chiefland Police Chief Scott Anderson because there may be a crime involved there in that organization, which is not part of the municipal government.
     Weaver added that he had heard there may be an effort to create a new league separate from the CAAA.
     City Commissioner Lance Hayes spoke about the Third Annual MLK Parade set for Chiefland on Jan. 18 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
     In consideration of the global COVID-19 pandemic, which includes people in this area testing positive, requiring hospitalization and some dying, and given that Chiefland is the only city in Levy County having a parade that day, using facemasks and social distancing will be required, he said.
     This will be a processional that will include vehicles as well as people walking, Hayes said.

 

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COVID-19 vaccination
update provided in Dixie County
Dixie County
Emergency Services
is in critical condition

Dixie County Emergency Services Emergency Management Division Chief Scott Garner gives a brief update about the vaccination process to help prevent COVID-19 in Dixie County.

Story and Photos
By Jeff M. Hardison © Jan. 8, 2021 at 10:10 a.m.
     OLD TOWN – Dixie County Emergency Services Emergency Management Division Chief Scott Garner gave the Dixie County Commission an update on COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursday morning (Jan. 7).
     Meeting in the area where the School Board normally meets in Old Town rather than in the County Commission meeting room in the Dixie County Courthouse in Cross City, due to the School Board meeting room having more space for people in the audience, the day was laced with COVID-19 news.
     Chairman Mark Hatch was attending via teleconference due to him exercising caution and quarantining himself as the result of probable exposure to a person with COVID-19. Commissioner W.C. Mills mentioned during the meeting that he previously had contracted the virus and was now able to meet with others.
     As one of the 5-0 votes of the day, and every motion and second met with unanimous votes Thursday, the Dixie County Board of County Commissioners agreed to use the latest guidelines of the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in regard to when a person can return to work.
     As for the vaccinations in Dixie County provided by the FDOH, Chief Garner said on Monday there were 800 vials of vaccine for Dixie County.
     The staff members there are able to vaccinate 90 people per day, Garner said, and it is by appointment only. Vaccinations are given from 12 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays in Dixie County, he said.
     Right now, vaccination appointments are completely booked to Jan. 14.
     “Next week,” Chief Garner said, “the state is supposed to receive 250,000 vaccines coming into the state of Florida. Half of them may go to Miami and the rest of them trickle out to the counties.”
     The FDOH unit in Dixie County, like all 67 counties’ units, do not know how many doses of the vaccine they will receive on any day, Garner added.
     Garner reminded listeners that testing in Dixie County is Tuesdays and Thursday starting at 9 a.m., as is noted on the Calendar Page of HardisonInk.com as well as in an ad on each of the seven pages of the daily news website.


Dixie County Emergency Services Chief Darian Brown warns of the potential for no more fire service or emergency medical service in Dixie County unless the County Commission takes action now to fund the DCES better.


(foreground to more distant) Dixie County Emergency Services Division Chief of Emergency Medical Services Scott Pendarvis,
DCES Emergency Management Division Chief Scott Garner and DCES Division Chief of Fire Service Operations Roy Bass are among the current leaders in DCES. DCSE Division Chief of 9-1-1 Chuck Elton was not present at the Thursday County Commission meeting. Dixie County Emergency Services Public Information Officer (Firefighter-Paramedic) Lt. Mandy Lemmermen (also not pictured) may be leaving the DCES in March.

     After the update on how the state is dealing with the global pandemic disaster, Dixie County Emergency Services Chief Darian Brown shared with the five county commissioners, in no uncertain terms, that the ability of the county to save lives and property is in dire straits.
     Chief Brown said the new retired leader of Dixie County Emergency Services, and retired County Manager Tim Alexander, started with DCES in 2007 and started growing it.
     Back then, Chief Brown said, there were about 60 volunteer firefighters in Dixie County. Now there are seven volunteers who are part of the Dixie County Fire Services that are responsible for every person and piece of property from all four corners of the county.
     In 2012, a grant allowed DCES to increase staff on fire and EMS. That three-year grant was noted to the County Commission in 2014 as coming to an end, Chief Brown said.
     Six years ago, Chief Brown said, a $35 per-property special assessment was required to maintain the level of service.
     The vote required for that special assessment failed, Brown said. Nine staff members saw their positions vanish as they were laid off.
     At that time, Chief Brown told the County Commission this loss of staff would be detrimental to the fire service and EMS in Dixie County. Old Town, Cross City, Jena, Horseshoe and Suwannee are all covered by only seven volunteers now who supplement the paid firefighters, the chief said.
     Firefighter-paramedics in Levy County see a starting pay of $43,068, Brown said. On Oct. 1, they will see a $1,000 a year increase for starting pay, he added. And there is a $4,000 signing bonus in Levy County, Brown said. Then, there is a 3 percent pay increase upon completion of the probationary period.
     The starting pay in Dixie County for a firefighter-paramedic is $38,272, he said.
     This accounts for so many people leaving Dixie County to serve other areas in the fire rescue service.
     “If something is not done to rectify this issue,” he said, “you are in the process of losing our fire and EMS services in Dixie County.”
     Chief Brown said he accepted the post as director of DCES not expecting the county’s fire rescue department to dwindle into nothing.
     “We’ve tried to make this better,” Chief Brown said. “There has been no change, gentlemen. It is what it was. And as I said in 2012 and 2014, if we are not moving forward, we are moving backwards.”
     The chief reminded the five county commissioners that with hospitals so far away, Dixie County almost has the longest transport times of anywhere in Florida.
     With more than 4,000 trips a year, and with only three ambulances, that presents an obvious issue due the physics of speed, space and time. Some people are going to die because they could not be treated soon enough and brought to a hospital for further care.
     There is a probability of the Old Town station being closed due to lack of staffing, if the department loses three of its six paramedics – due to a lack of staffing, Brown said.
     For eight years now, Chief Brown has tried to explain the importance of funding fire rescue services in Dixie County. He thanked Commissioner Mills for that commissioner’s efforts in the past.
     Chief Brown said there may be a point in the not-too-distant future where one officer in a squad truck will answer all of the fire calls in the county with six or seven volunteers.
     “That’s only two out of six days,” Brown added, “because one of them is fixin’ to leave most likely.”
     Later in the meeting, Mills mentioned that the few dollars more each person will pay is nothing when they see a person they love perish as a result of inadequate emergency medical services, or firefighting services.
     In closing, the chief said he is ready, willing and able to speak with county commissioners to find a solution. So far, Chief Brown and his staff have done all that they can do, and now there may be a significant number of key staff members accepting jobs at other places.
     The proverbial bottom line is a need for more funding.
     Commission Chairman Hatch said the county has spent $40,000 already to find the cost to keep the service operational. Commissioner Mills said he does not want to raise taxes ever, but what is the cost when a person loses a loved one. He lost a daughter and a grandchild in a fire.
     There was some brief discussion about timelines to get funding started. Meanwhile, this may be too late because the chief told the five leaders about just how the dire the situation is at this minute.

 

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Levy County Emergency Management
launches vaccine text alert
By Levy County Emergency Management
Assistant Director David Peaton
Published Jan. 7, 2021 at 3:10 p.m.
     BRONSON -- To keep Levy County residents and visitors as up-to-date as possible with the status of the COVID-19 vaccination process in Levy County, the Levy County Department of Emergency Management in coordination with the Florida Department of Health in Levy County has launched an opt-in text alert feature available to anyone that can receive text messages.
     Residents and visitors can text the keyword LEVYVACCINE to 888777 to receive periodic and breaking updates on the status of vaccination availability, priorities, and appointment processes here in Levy County.
     The system will begin accepting text opt-ins immediately and will continue as long as necessary. There is no cost associated with this process; however standard text message rates may apply depending on any cell phone carrier plans.
     Along with the text opt-in, residents and visitors can continue to monitor our website at LevyDisaster.com along with their local news provider for the most up-to-date vaccination information. 

 

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Fried to DeSantis:
Mobilize National Guard
to fix ‘very chaotic’
COVID-19 vaccine distribution
By FDACS Communications
Published Dec. 30, 2020 at 5:10 p.m.
     TALLAHASSEE – Today (Wednesday, Dec. 30), Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, an independently-elected member of the Florida Cabinet, wrote to Gov. Ron DeSantis strongly recommending that he mobilize Florida National Guard resources to coordinate distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Florida, given the slow nationwide vaccine rollout.
     While Florida has received more than 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, only 146,160 vaccine doses have been administered – just 15 percent of available vaccine doses, and just 0.68 percent of Florida residents.
     The state’s decentralized vaccine process has been characterized as “very chaotic” and has left Floridians frustrated and local hospitals and county health departments overwhelmed with calls for information.
     Yesterday (Dec. 29), Florida recorded a record-high COVID-19 positivity rate of 22.75 percent. Today, another 137 Floridians were recorded as being killed by COVID-19 by the Florida Department of Health.
     “The lack of preparation and progress on administering these critical, life-saving vaccines is inexcusable,” Fried noted.

 

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FDOH whistleblower notes
her plan
to leave Florida in January
Column By Rebekah Jones
Sent Dec. 24, 2020 at 2:49 p.m.
Published Dec. 24, 2020 at 4:10 p.m.
     Publisher’s Note: The following email was sent to people on the mailing list for Rebekah Jones, the former Florida Department of Health employee who said the state was not showing accurate data on the hospitalizations and death toll in Florida from COVID-19.
     Later, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement served a warrant to search and seize her computer equipment. Those previously published stories are in the archives of HardisonInk.com. The current governor of Florida is Ron DeSantis (R-Jacksonville).

Thank You
     I thought a lot about how to make this announcement. In true “Rebekah Jones fashion,” I’ll just come out and say it:
     I will be leaving Florida next month.
     After the raid on my home, I can no longer justify staying in the state.
     I am not abandoning Florida. I am not abandoning this project. I will continue to do this work after I move until it is no longer needed, as I’ve always promised.
     The governor of Florida seems have an irrational and passionate hatred for who I am and what I represent: defiance in the name of science of human decency.
     He crossed a line involving my family. The depravity of having his personal police force storm my house and point guns at my young children cannot be overstated.
     That action may very well become a life-changing moment for my son, who at only 11 years old had multiple police officers pointing guns at him.
     We were kept in our living room for hours while police went through our things – an armed babysitter not allowing us to leave the room.
     My family is no longer safe living in this state, and I cannot and will not ask them to make sacrifices of that magnitude for the work I am doing.
     My team of amazing lawyers are working to hold the police and the governor accountable for these actions.
     Despite the raid on my home and my family, my greatest concern is not about police intimidating whistleblowers.
     Science has been at war with politics in this country since its founding. We’re barked at for getting pulled into the fight, but if we can not be advocates for our own work, then we can not sit back and expect other people to become advocates in our absence.
     I saw first-hand how information is manipulated for the advancement of an agenda completely departed from the facts. I refused to be a part of it.
     It reminds be a lot of the history of science related to smoking and cigarettes.
     There have been many great books written about this topic, but if you’re able, get a copy of Merchants of Doubt, by Oreskes and Conway.
     I wrote a short piece below about that fight, and I hope you take the time to read it. It exemplifies the struggle of scientists against political forces.
Smoking causes cancer.
     Franz Herman Muller, Eberhard Chairer, Eric Schoniger, Ernst Wynder, Evarts Graham, Rochard Doll, Bradford Hill, Raymond Pearl, Alton Ochsner, Charles Cameron and others were among the early researchers of the tobacco-cancer link. Their names are not well-known, but they put into motion all of the research that ultimately saved millions and millions of lives from cancer-related illness.
     Alton Ochsner, another researcher looking at the cancer-linked, was stabbed in the back by his own colleagues for being “an anti-smoking enthusiast,” as if being an advocate of his research findings somehow made those findings illegitimate.
     Cigarette companies had their own medical researchers who claimed smoking was great for your health – literally. Even Harvard University speculated as to why the research might be wrong.
     Influential doctors like James Walsh made outrageous statements about how they knew healthy people who smoked and that the entire medical field had no reason to spend its vast resources researching the emerging science on the smoking-cancer link.
     In 1952, emerging research on the link between cancer and smoking broke through the academic-public barrier after a widely-shared article in Reader’s Digest was published. There was a sharp decline in cigarette sales, but it was temporary, and cigarette companies began stepping up their marketing and lobbying to protect sales.
     In 1955, Dr. Charles Cameron, medical and scientific director of the American Cancer Society, published a best-selling book detailing the connections between smoking and cancer, and offering preventative measures. For his efforts, he and other leaders in medical research were harassed, threatened and even fired from their positions.
     Cigarette-funded “scientists” called into question the quality of data being used. They said they had never met someone who had died from cancer due to smoking. They dismissed researchers as being “fear mongers.” Sound familiar?
     Here’s a great excerpt from The Atlantic about how politics interfered with the science:
      “Politics also played an important role. In “The Quiet Victory of the Tobacco Lobby: How It Found the Best Filter Yet—Congress” (September 1965), Elizabeth Drew explained how business people with vested interests in the tobacco industry were exploiting their high-level political connections to influence tobacco-related government policies. And in a 1992 article, "France: An Ambivalent War Against Smoking,” Judson Gooding discussed how similar factors were then operating in France to stymie anti-smoking legislation. In this case, he explained, the vested interests resided not with outside lobbyists, but, paradoxically, within the government itself, which owned the nation’s cigarette-manufacturing monopoly and reaped substantial tax revenues from cigarettes.”
     An article published in 2011 actually calculated the profit made for cigarette companies per each person who is killed from their products: $10,000.
     A cigarette company profits $10,000 for each person they kill.
     Today, we’d view anyone who denies the link between cancer and smoking as a moron, and smoking is generally frowned upon (as it should be). But it took decades of fighting the cigarette lobby and congress to get that information out to the public, and then turn it into legislation.
     The same people who led the misinformation campaigns about smoking and cancer would later lead the disinformation campaigns against climate change science, using the same tactics to undermine the global body of research showing the definitive link between man and global warming.

 

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