JACKSON COUNTY FLORIDAN www.jcflorican.com FAMU I The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE The president of Florida A&M University received a no- confidence vote Thursday from school trustees for his handling of the hazing death of a drum major in its famed Marching 100 band, but he said after- ward that he won't resign. The board voted 8 to 4 to approve the no-confidence measure against university president James Ammons. Ammons signed a five- year contract extension last year. He said he plans to remain in his post and help the university stamp out what many call a cul- ture of hazing surrounding the university and its na- tionally .recognized band, which has played at Super Bowls and inaugurations. Band Hazing. head gets no-confidence "This is very serious' for the future of this univer- sity," Ammons said af- ter Thursday'svote. "You have my commitment to fix them and get this job done." Fy The school has been reeling since the Novem- ber death of drum major Robert Champion. Eleven members of the band have been charged with felony hazing for allegedly beat- ing him to death. The death exposed a wide culture of hazing at the school. Critics say Ammons and other administrators ig- :, nored it. Champion died after be- This Sept. 26, 2009, file photo shows the Florida A&M marching band mi ing beaten in a'band bus during the halftime show of the 2009 Atlanta Football Classic NCAA co outside an Orlando ho- between FAMU and Tennessee State at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. tel after a football game. nounced he was continu- dent in 2007 following a that the Ammons suspended The ing the suspension for the ,budget scandal that threat-. triggered Marching .100 soon after- comingyear. ened the school's accredi- death m ward and last month an- Ammons became presi- station. He said recently challenge State launches investigation of Florida justices Three accused of using public employees to help their campaigns The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE The state opened a criminal investigation Thursday of three justices on Florida's ,Supreme Court. respond- ing to a lawmaker's accu- sation that they violated a lawv against using on-duty public employees to help their election campaigns, authorities said. Voters this fall will take an up or down vote on whether to keep the three ;justices on the bench an- other six years. Since Flor- Sida went to this system in the 1970s no sitting judge or justice has been turned out. The justices, through a .lawyer working on their campaign, .have denied that they did anything "illegal. The three justices nearly missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in' ,April. The seven-member court abruptly put a hear- ing on hold for more than an hour to allow tife jus- t ices to finish their paper- work and turn it in to state elections officials with just minutes to spare. Rep. Scott Plakon,. a Longwood Republican, wrote a letter to Gov. -Rick SScott alleging that Justices Barbara Pariente, R. Fred Lewis and Peggy Quince violated the, law by using court employees to nota- A rize their paperwork, for this year's vote. Violations Share a misdemeanor. Scott forwarded the letter ,to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, say- ing he lacked the authority to order an investigation. But FDLE Commissioner Jerry Bailey on Thursday forwarded Plakon's com- plaint to one of his subor- dinates with a brief memo ordering an investigation to be opened. "Please initiate an inves-. tigation of the outlined al- legations," Bailey wrote in longhand. "We'll discuss as necessary." Supporters of the jus- tices contend that state employees routinely no- tarize candidates' papers. Election records show the four justices on the ballot in 2010 all had their paper- work notarized by court employees. "Notaries do that all the time for all kinds of peo- ple,"' said Raoul Cantero, a former Supreme Court justice and chairman of Pariente's campaign. "That does not constitute using a state employee to assist a campaign." - Then-Gov.LawtonChiles, a Democrat, appointed all three justices. Republican Gov. Jeb Bush, though, co- appointed Quince shortly before Chiles died in office in 1998 and just prior to Bush's first inauguration. The three justices are drawing opposition largely over the Supreme Court's decision two years ago to remove from the bal- lot a proposed state:con- stitutional ameridment sponsored'by Plakon and passed by the Republican- led Legislature. It would have made it il- legal for Florida to require 'that citizens'buy health insurance similar to a re- quirement in President Barack Obama's national health care overhaul.'Re- publicans saw it as a way for voters.to express their opposition to the federal legislation. The high court pulled the 2010 amendment because it had an inaccurate and misleading ballot sum- mary. The Legislature has Since then put a revised version on this year's bal- lot and passed a law al- lowing the attorney gen- eral to rewrite defective summaries. VCA offers: CHRIST-CENiTERED EDUCATION READING READINESS (PRE-K3&4) LEARNING TO READ (K+) GRADES 1-12' MASTERY-BASED, COLLEGE PREPARATORY CURRICUI UM INDIVIDUALIZED STUDIES LIMITED CLASS SIZE WEEKLY CHAPELS PHYSICAL EDUCATION Reading is the door to your child's education. Make sure he has the keys by enrolling him in aphonics-based readingprograms like those offered at Victory Christian Academy. Victory Christian Academy 2271 River Road, Sneads, Florida 32460 850-593-6699 Scholarships May Be Available! 41I Study: Fla.,Va. have bestbuilding codes TAMPA Florida and Virginia ,have received good marks in a survey that looks at building codes in hurricane-prone states. The.Tampa-based Insur- ance Institute for Business & Home Safety conducted an analysis, evaluation, and comparison of build- ing code and enforcement systems for residential buildings in the 18 states most vulnerable to cata- strophic hurricanes in the U.S. Florida andVirginia both scored the highest, with 95 out of 100 possible points. Institute spokesman Joseph King said Wednes- day the two states did well due to a combination of strong statewide residen- tial building codes and comprehensive regulatory processes for the building code officials, contractors, and subcontractors. Mississippi came in at the bottom of the list; King says ,it's largely due to the fact that Mississippi doesn't have a statewide building code. Family lilledin plane crash in Fla, swamp LAKE WALES Au- Sthorities say a Kansas businessman, his wife and their four children were. killed when their small plane crashed into a swampy area of central Florida. The Polk County Sher- iff's office says the plane went down about 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Tiger Creek Preserve. A news release says 45- year-old Ronald Bramlage was piloting ,the plane headed from the Bahamas. -.to function City, Kan. It had stopped for customs in Fort Pierce, Fla., and had taken off a half-hour before the crash. The sheriff's office says the single-turboprop, fixed wing plane broke apart and crashed. When deputies reached the area by helicopter, it was clear no one had survived. Bramlage was the owner of Roadside Ventures LLC in Junction City. vote THEASSOCIATED PRESS FILE members performing liege football game e current crisis lby Champion's larks the biggest e of his career. State Brief 4-year-old caught in drive-by shooting WEST PALM BEACH . -A4-year-old girl is hospitalized after being caught in the middle of a drive-by shooting.inWest Palm Beach. Police spokesmanAllan Ortman says shots were fired from a car around 11:15 a.m.'Thursday. One of the bullets went through the window of a home, hitting the child in her jaw. The girl is expected to survive. No suspects'have -yet been caught. From wire reports Local Bxief Lanes on U.S. 90 to be closed Drivers on U.S. 90 across the Chipola River Bridge east of State Road 73 may see intermittent lane closures on June 12. Bridge maintenance inspectors have planned a routine inspection of the bridge. 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