INDIAN RIVER

T R E A S U R E C O A S T N E W S P A P E R S

SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 2018 ❚ TCPALM.COM PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK

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BOCA RATON - Brightline says it hasbuilt the safest railroad possible, but inthe wake of two fatalities in less than aweek and mounting political pressure, itwill “amplify” its educational safety

campaign, railroad President PatrickGoddard said at a news conference Fri-day.

“We ask ourselves everyday if there’sany way to make our railroad safer.What we know is education works,”Goddard said.

Brightline began limited West PalmBeach-to-Fort Lauderdale service Jan.

13, just hours after pedestrian MelissaLavell, 32, was struck and killed whiletrying to beat a Brightline train runninga VIP preview. On Wednesday, bicyclistJeffrey D. King was struck and killedwhile apparently trying to beat a train,according to police.

A third person was struck by aBrightline train in Fort Lauderdale Fri-day night and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to the

Brightline to refocus on safety Political pressure mounting followingtwo fatalities on tracks within a weekLisa BroadtTreasure Coast NewspapersUSA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

SHAPING OUR FUTURE

Two people were struck and killed byBrightline trains while crossing tracksin a week and within a half-mile ofeach other. LEAH VOSS/TCPALM See BRIGHTLINE, Page 10A

Vibrio vulnificus has infected 346people in Florida since 2008, killing99 of them, or nearly 29 percent ofthose who contracted the waterbornebacteria.

Brevard County leads the state indeaths, with nine reported fatalities,while Hillsborough County leads thestate in total cases, having reported27.

In 2017 alone, the bacteria infected49 people in Florida, killing 11 ofthem, which is an increase of onemore death and three more infec-tions over the previous year.

The top-five counties were:❚ Collier: 5 cases, 1 death❚ Lee: 4 cases, 1 death❚ Hillsborough: 4 cases, 0 deaths❚ Sumter: 3 cases, 0 deaths❚ St. Johns: 2 cases, 2 deaths No details were available about

Brevard County’s one reported deathin 2017. The Florida Department ofHealth would not release the victim’sage, gender or any other details, cit-ing federal medical privacy lawsknown as HIPPA.

“We were unable to determine thecause of exposure,” which occurredin October, health departmentspokeswoman Mara Gambineriwrote in an email to TCPalm.

Treasure Coast

No deaths or infections were re-ported in the three-county area lastyear. However, 12 people have beeninfected, two of whom died, locallysince 2008.

❚ Indian River: 6 cases, 0 deaths❚ St. Lucie: 4 cases, 2 deaths❚ Martin: 2 cases, 0 deaths

Risk factors

Infections are rare — chances ofcontracting vibrio are about the sameas being struck by lightning — and“normally healthy people” are not atrisk, the health department says.

The risk is higher for those withcuts and weak immune systems. Eat-ing raw seafood, especially oysters,from contaminated water is also acommon cause of infection.

The highest at-risk group is menover 50 with underlying health issuesthat could compromise their immunesystems.

The bacteria usually enters thebody through an open wound, sopeople with cuts or scrapes shouldn’t

OUR INDIAN RIVER LAGOON

Vibrioinfectedmore in 2017Staff report

See VIBRIO, Page 10A

WASHINGTON - A Trump Admini-stration official’s comment Friday thatFlorida would remain part of a nationalreview examining oil and gas depositsin the Outer Continental Shelf ignited afirestorm among Democrats whocharged that Interior Secretary Ryan

Zinke was breaking a pledge to exemptthe state from offshore drilling.

Except it’s not true.Ten days after Zinke flew to Tallahas-

see to personally promise Gov. RickScott that tourist-dependent Floridawould not have to deal with drilling plat-forms off its shores any time soon, Inte-rior Spokeswoman Heather Swift reiter-

Democrats accuse Zinke of breaking no-drill pledge

Gov. Rick Scott and U.S. InteriorSecretary Ryan Zinke (right) announcethere will be no new offshore drilling inthe state of Florida. They met Jan. 9 atthe Tallahassee International Airportto discuss Scott’s objections to anydrilling off Florida’s coast. SCOTT

KEELER/AP

Ledyard KingFort Myers News-PressUSA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

See ZINKE, Page 10A

VERO BEACH — When communityleaders looked for a way to help raise dis-mal graduation rates for youth in Giffordalmost 20 years ago, they decided therewas one option: Provide a safe, nurtur-ing place where kids could receive helpwith their school work and participate inafter-school activities.

As the Gifford Youth AchievementCenter gets ready to celebrate its 20thanniversary with a special dinner onJan. 27, looking back on the center’s his-tory is natural, said Freddie Woolfork,

the center’s first director/program de-veloper.

Two decades ago, the graduationrates had dropped from 92 percent whenGifford had its own high school to 23 per-cent when students were bused to VeroBeach High School, creating the need fora way to raise academic achievement.

In its 2016 annual report, the centernotes as a measure of success "thatsince 1998, the graduation rate for Afri-can-American students in Indian RiverCounty has increased 47 percent."

“We were the flag-wavers,” said Wool-fork, who now serves as the center’s di-

T'Pring Asencio looks through the stacks of books at the newly reopened Gifford Library on Thursday, inside theGifford Youth Achievement Center. The library suffered water damage and mold from Hurricane Irma and had to beclosed for several months. “The good thing about our reopening is that this is no longer just a children's collection, itis now multigenerational,” said Tanya Huff, assistant library director. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Gifford center celebrates20 years of achievement

Janet BegleySpecial to Treasure Coast NewspapersUSA TODAY NETWORK - FLORIDA

AboutcelebrationWhat: 20th anniver-sary celebrationwith dinner anddancing

When: Jan. 27

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See GIFFORD, Page 13A

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rector of public relations and facili-ties operations."The flagship has al-ways been academics. We knew if wewere going to be successful, wewould have to put academics first.”

For the "Gifford Project" to be suc-cessful, they needed communitybuy-in, not just from Gifford leadersbut from others from throughout In-dian River County.

“The idea of a local communitycenter for children was on everyone’swish list,” said Woolfork. “But no for-mal plan had been actualized untilthe graduation statistics werebrought to their attention.”

Vero Beach locals philanthropistDan Richardson and accountantRene Perez met with Ronald Hudson,a longtime educator with the IndianRiver School District, and the Rev.William Nigh, pastor at CommunityChurch. Indian River CommunityCollege (now Indian River State Col-lege) conducted a survey that sup-ported the need for the educational/recreational facility, setting thewheels in motion for the birth of theGifford Youth Activity Center.

The center would be built as partof the Gifford Park complex on 43rdAvenue on land formerly owned bythe Town of Indian River Shores,which had planned to use the proper-ty for a water treatment plant. TheCounty Commission persuaded townleaders to swap the land for a county-owned parcel on the barrier islandinstead.

Gifford Park was the first step indevelopment. The Community Cen-ter followed in 1988. A ground-break-ing ceremony for the Gifford YouthActivity Center was Feb. 23, 1997. Thecenter was under construction forabout a year, officially opening itsdoors in 1998. The Gifford AquaticCenter followed shortly after.

The center served only a small

number of children in its first fewyears but had almost 400 studentsparticipating in activities last year.There is a waiting list each year. Acapital expansion plan would add asecond floor to the building.

Three years ago, the centerchanged its name to the GiffordYouth Achievement Center to betterreflect its mission. Besides tutoringand after-school activities, the com-munity also uses the facility forevents, exercise classes, Bible stud-ies and computer and educationaltraining. It also serves as a resourcefor those in need of information andservices.

“Thanks to our board, we’ve seen aturnaround in our ability to sustainoperations,” said executive directorAngelia Perry. “As a nonprofit, wehave to raise money to continue sup-porting the children we are able tohelp. What we do is transformation-al; children do well in school, gradu-ate from high school and go off to col-lege. We want the impact from theGifford Youth Achievement Center tostill be felt 100 years from now.”

GiffordContinued from Page 1A

Lissette Asencio, 10, of Vero Beach,reads through a book in the newlyreopened Gifford Library at the GiffordYouth Achievement Center onThursday. The library was closed inSeptember because of storm damagefrom Hurricane Irma. PATRICK

DOVE/TCPALM