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New Voting System Explained To Groups

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By BARBARA ROUTEN

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 23, 2008

BRANDON - Last year, legislation signed by Gov. Charlie Crist mandated the use of optical-scan voting systems with paper trails to increase the security and reliability of Florida elections.

These are not Big Brother, science fiction, eye-scanning machines, but machines that find the location of the darkest mark on a paper ballot and count it as a vote.

In March, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson explained the county's new system to members of the Rotary Club of Brandon South at Port City Java in Valrico and to the Hillsborough County Alliance for Citizens with Disabilities at the Tampa Lighthouse for the Blind in Tampa.

Rotarians who attended included Marie Gilmore, public relations chairwoman; Irma Davila, president; Kathy Curry, sergeant at arms; Sherry Cook, secretary; Bonnie McSherry, proposed member; and Linda Wright and Chris Russell, members.

Among the 16 people who attended Johnson's presentation to the alliance were Arizona Jenkins, community advocate for the New Horizons support group and YES! of America United Inc.; Melinda Wheatley and Leonard Plotkin, alliance co-chairmen; Teri Saltzman, independent-living coordinator with Self Reliance Inc.; and Sandra Sroka, liaison for the county's Americans with Disabilities Act Affairs department.

Johnson spoke about the impact of the new machines on people with disabilities and responded to questions.

"The elections office is always open to opportunities to inform voters of the recent change from touch-screen technology to optical scan, ballot-based voting," Johnson said. "Our goal is to familiarize voters throughout the county so that people will exercise their right to vote with complete confidence and trust in upcoming elections."

Jennifer Marks, a spokeswoman for the elections office, explained the significance of the new machines.

"This ballot-based system will provide a paper trail," she said. "You fill in the oval, and the ballot is scanned as it goes into the ballot box. If you make an error, it spits it back out so you can fix it. For instance, if you vote for two candidates instead of one, it gives you the opportunity to change it.

"The component of the system for voters with disabilities is called the Automark," Marks said. This feature "can orient the machine to voters' disabilities. If you have a slight visual disparity, you may enlarge the font or choose to use an audio ballot. You can choose to have the ballot read slower or faster, louder or softer. If you can't use your hands, you can blow into a straw to mark your ballot or use a foot pad to go from page to page. Then you can put the ballot in the box any which way and it can read your vote."

Johnson said he wants everyone to get the same opportunity to vote, and, if possible, on the same equipment. Of all the systems certified by the state, this seemed to be the most inclusive, he said.

Marks said the consensus is that "this is an amazing system for voters with disabilities."

Golf Tourney Features New Car For Hole In One

RUSKIN - The East Bay High School Alumni Association will award a free new car to the golfer who hits a hole in one at the association's fourth annual, four-person scramble golf tournament May 17 at the Golf Course at Cypress Creek, 1011 Cypress Village Blvd., Ruskin.

The car will be parked at the tee of the chosen hole, which will be at least a par three, 175 yards or more. The winner, if there is one, will pay tax on the car.

Registration for the tournament will be from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A shotgun start will begin play at 1 p.m.

The $100 fee per player will cover a cart, greens fees, lunch, a post-tournament dinner, golf balls and an umbrella. Prizes will be offered for putting, hitting a ball closest to the pin and coming in first and second place. There also will be a silent auction.

Sponsorships are available. Proceeds will benefit East Bay High School.

"The alumni were able to donate $10,000 to East Bay last year to help improve the sound system in the auditorium, thanks to the generosity of our businesses, golfers and alumni supporters," said Bertie Killebrew, who is in charge of publicity

For information about playing or becoming a sponsor, call Killebrew at (813) 672-4659 or Shelley Alfonso at (813) 641-1005.

Couple Celebrate 50 Years Of Marriage

BRANDON - The seeds of love for Gary and Becky Staley of Brandon were sown when they were sweethearts in high school, before they married on April 18, 1958, in Huntington, W.Va.

They celebrated their 50th anniversary with family and are planning a trip to commemorate the milestone.

In 1970, Gary Staley took a job with Gulf Central Corp. in Tampa, and the couple moved to Brandon. He later worked for and retired from GTE of Florida. Becky Staley retired from the Hobbs law firm in Tampa, where she worked as a part-time bookkeeper.

The Staleys' children and sons- and daughters-in-law are Susan and Greg Coker of Brandon, Brian and Rosemarie Staley of Brandon and Neil and Michelle Staley of Winter Springs. Gary and Becky Staley have eight grandchildren and a great-grandson. They are expecting two great-granddaughters this year.

Through the 1970s, the two were members of the Brandon Jaycees and Jaycettes. Since 1999, they have volunteered at the annual Mark R. Mahoney Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, which is coordinated by son Brian Staley.

"My mother likes to read, and we are in a book club together," Coker said. "She loves spending time with her family."

Her father "is an avid vegetable gardener," she said, "and is a lifetime member of Seed Saver Exchange," which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing heirloom seeds.

"He has some seeds from the 1800s ... and a silk floss tree also known as a kapok tree grown from seeds that his father obtained from the Kapok Tree Inn in Clearwater. The tree is more than 50 feet tall and blooms with beautiful purple flowers each November," she said.

"One story that I like was that when my dad visited the Edison home in Fort Myers - Thomas Edison is his hero - he saw tomatoes growing in the garden. He told the tour guide, 'Mr. Edison would not have been growing that variety of tomato,' and then he arranged to send them some seeds of tomatoes which were grown during that time period," Coker said.

The Staleys said the secret to cultivating a long marriage has been overlooking differences and compromising.

Send news and photos of community interest to Barbara Routen at The Tampa Tribune, 505 W. Robertson St., Brandon FL 33511, e-mail neighbors@tampabay .rr.com or call (813) 657-4531.

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