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Franklin Chronicle


50O


Volume 8, Number 4


A LOCALLY OWNED NEWSPAPER


February 19 March 4, 1999


Florida Fishermen's Federation


Annual Meeting Stomps

Regulators

Ray Pringle: "These Florida Marine patrol
officers are out of control."
About 150 delegates met at the annual meeting of the Fisherman's
Federation in Panacea on Monday evening, February 8th, at Posey's
Beyond the Bay. President Ray Pringle called the meeting to order
at 7 p.m. followed by the prayer led by his father, Ray Pringle, Sr.
from the Jacksonville area. The group was joined by two State Repre-
sentatives and three Wakulla County Commissioners, and other dig-
nitaries including the Federation's attorney, Ron Mowrey.
At once, many of the speakers condemned the State of Florida Marine
Patrol for recent actions involving arrests of fishermen using what
has been described in a legislatively enacted rule as a "legal net."


 Pastor Pringle
Moreover, Pastor Pringle set the tone of the meeting as one of concern
for the diminishment of a culture consisting of a commercial
fisherman's lifestyle and value system. In his opening prayer, Pastor
Pringle said:
 Our Father, we thank you tonight for this meeting of a
 true Brotherhood, people in Florida. Consumers, seafood
 producers, seafood distributors, legislators, and all other
 interested personnel. ... Oh God,-in respect of all the dam-
 age that has been done through the trickery and the lives
 of some, and have brought about this oppression of a
 culture, and these people that are involved in this great
 culture [and] industry of commercial fishing. We're gath-
 ered here tonight to try gain restoration of our... civil rights
 as pure red-blooded Americans, and I pray that You will
 bless this gathering.
 ... Honor us Lord, with your presence, for in our Holy
 Bible, the Scripture' says that Jesus Christ, where two
 or three are gathered in His name, He'll be in the midst.
 That's a real honor. And, help us honor you (as) we eat
 our bread tonight, our food... And, as one great goal. And,
 that is victory over the enemies of the greatest culture
 and industry in this State. ... May this meeting tonight
 generate strength to carry on in the greatest fashion of
 patriotic red-blooded, God-fearing Americans.
Following the prayer, Pastor Pringle spoke one line before being inter-
rupted with loud applause. "That government just moved out of Tal-
lahassee. Thank God, they're gone. I'm not speaking as a Republican
or a Democrat ... They're out of office." His charge continued with
some unflattering references to the Marine Patrol and the adminis-

 Continued on Page 8


 By Aaron Shea
 Ronald Marshall celebrated his
 49th birthday behind bars when
 law enforcement officers executed
 a warrant for his arrest on
 February 13. The arrest came
 three weeks after he was involved
 in an accident that took the life of
 78 year old Lanark Village
 resident Peter Britz and critically
 injured three others in a head-on
 car accident 2 miles east of
 Carrabelle.
 Marshall has been charged with
 one count of Manslaughter by
 D.U.I. (Driving Under the
 Influence), three counts of D.U.I.
 Causing Serious Bodily Injury,
 and four counts DWLSR (Driving
 While License is Suspended or
 Revoked) Causing Serious Bodily
 Injury. These charges, however,
 could change after the state's
 attorney office does their own
 investigation. When the

 Protection Of

 Apalachicola River

 Complicated

 By Tom Campbell
 In a meeting of the Sierra Club
 Big Bend Group Monday, Febru-
 ary 15, at the Leon County Pub-
 lic Library, Steve Leitman of the
 Northwest Florida Water Manage-
 ment District spoke about water
 allocation issues for the
 Apalachicola head waters and the
 Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers,
 together known as the Three Riv-
 ers System. These three rivers
 feed the most productive estuary
 in the United States.
 Leitman said that the Apalachi-
 cola is Florida's largest river, in
 terms of flow. "There are billions
 of gallons in the river," he said.
 "Beginning in north Georgia, al-
 most to the North Carolina bor-
 der, the flow of the river goes to
 Lake Sinclair in north Georgia,
 then past the 'beast of the City of
 Atlanta,' which is a threat to the
 Clean Water Act, and threatens to
 contain the flow. The Chatta-
 hoochee flows south, involving the
 State of Alabama, and the Flint
 River in the State of Georgia."
 At the Florida border, the flow
 becomes the Apalachicola River.
 Hence, there is the need for the
 Interstate Alliance of the three
 states, Alabama, Georgia and
 Florida.
 Leitman explained that the pro-
 tection of the river flow is a very
 complicated issue, and that he
 was grateful for his 25 years of
 experience in related fields of
 study, which gave him an under-
 standing of how to deal with the
 complexities.
 The State of Florida has estab-
 lished December 31, 1999, as the
 deadline for the three states to
 reach allocation of the river flow,
 with special consideration to the
 "adaptive process.'
 The State of Georgia has "ex-
 pressed its desire to reappraise in
 50 years or 2050," he said. Florida
 maintains the need for reap-
I praisal after 10 years or 2010.
Leitman jokingly said, "Even a
man and his wife need to reap-
Draise their relationship more of-


investigation is complete, the
Formal charges will be filed.
According to the probable cause
Sre p,-'rt, Marshall was visibly drunk
at the scene of the accident.
However, the Florida Highway
Patrol Officers were unable to
arrest Marshall at the time of the
incident because they needed the
results of a blood sample taken
by paramedics at the crash scene.
"The results of the blood sample
showed that Marshall had a blood
alcohol level of .307 at the time of
the accident, which is well above
the legal limit.
According to the Florida Highway
Patrol report of the accident
scene, Marshall was described at
that time: "The subject (Marshall)
was unsteady on his feet and his
eyes were bloodshot, watery, and
 Continued on Page 14

 ten than once in 50 years." The
 State of Florida is insisting on re-
 negotiating in 2010. The need is
 to protect the river flow regime.
 Naturally, Florida's interest is to
 protect the downstream flow.
 Leitm'an said that common
 ground needs to be found for ne-
 gotiations; and that the environ-
 ment is a "player in the talks."
 He pointed out that the
 Apalachicola watershed extends
 to almost North Carolina, involv-
 ing the three rivers. 'There are 14
 or 15 reservoirs on the
 Chattahoochee," he said. There
 are about 20,000 square miles in
 the area of the river. Of these, 12
 percent is in Florida, and 75 per-
 cent of the basin is in Georgia,
 where most of the water
 originates.
 The Florida part of the basin is
 spectacular, the Apalachicola
 River. A lot of it, he pointed out,
 is "in a fairly natural. state, and
 the idea is to keep it that way."


The Delta area
Wewahitchka "involves a
wide flood plain.


below
broad,


He continued, "Apalachicola Bay
is a real treasure in its own right.
 Continued on Page 14


 Inside
 This Issue
Franklin Briefs ...... Page 2
Editorial................ Page 3
Chill Competition.. Page 4
Dixie Theatre ........ Page 4
Eastpoint Church .. Page 5
Sports ................. Page 7
CGJA Museum....... Page 7
FCAN Classified ... Page 10
Bookshop ......... Page 12
Cancer Society .... Page 13
DUI Offenders Bill Page 14


Third Annual

Forgotten

Coast Chef's

Sampler

By Pam Rush
St. Patrick's Catholic Church was
the setting for the third annual
Forgotten Coast Chef s Sampler
and silent auction presented, by
the Apalachicola Bay Area Cham-
ber of Commerce.on February 6,
1999. Over two hundred hungry
guests attended the gala event.

 Continued on Page 4


 JUBUILLE
-d ". J Ci JL

 'f..~ ~ ~ R ljfrr~FFE1


Jubilee In Apalachicola A
XAJ^A 1- w LO" I IdlkU f oo


WorK UT LOVe
By Tom Campbell
Formerly Captain of The Gover-
nor Stone and now Captain of his
own 50-foot turn-of-the-century
paddlewheel replica, Jubilee, Cap-
tain Daniel Blake is a friendly
host, willing to answer questions
about Jubilee, the Paddlewheel
Riverboat Tours, or the Apalachi-
cola River and surroundings.
His wife Phyllis is First Mate, a
charming conversationalist and
accomplished artist. "We fell in
love with the town of
Apalachicola," she smiled. "We
have a real treasure here. People
come from all over the world, take
a tour on the Jubilee, and can't
believe how beautiful it is here."


She said many of the visitors don't
want to leave, and "some of them
decide to move here."
The last week in January, the
weather was like a perfect spring
day. The tour on the Jubilee up
the river and then down to the bay
provided spectacular views,
plenty of photo opportunities and
70-degree sunshine. Phyllis
smiled, '"hs is one of the reasons
we love living here."
Phyllis and Daniel Blake have
been living in Apalachicola for
quite a while. "It will be eight years
in the summer of 1999," she said.
Captain Blake has been on a river
"from birth," he smiled. "As far
back as I can remember, Dad had
 Continued on Page 10


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The


-Ronald Marshall Taken

 Into Custody


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