Written by Rinetta McLaughlin Fefie

Edward (Eddie) Nelson, 70, is known as one of the most fit 70 year old males in the world.  The most frequently asked question to Nelson is “How do you do it?”  For Eddie, the answer seems easy because of his personal goals in life which is:  “reflecting a healthy lifestyle for the human body.”  This is what he states in his book, “Old School Workout.”

            Edward Nelson was born in Washington, D. C. and now resides in Jacksonville, Florida.  He feels that he received his gift for having a positive mind and being physically fit from God.  He states that we all have gifts, and it is up to us to discover our own.

  Eddie’s passion for being fit started as a child with playing stickball, handball, table tennis, track, and of course while on the playground.  During the 1950’s he enjoyed spending time at the famous Uptown Gym in Harlem, New York where he was able to watch some great prize fighters such as Sugar Ray Robinson, Joe Louis and Archie Moore.  He became more active at the age of 64 while working out at the World Gym and being observed by two men, who he later learned were NFL players, Donovan Darius and Brian Dawkins, who were astonished at his ability. 

  Mr. Nelson starts his day at 2 a.m. with his first work out.  He is a morning manager at the World Gym in Jacksonville.  His routine is to work out three times a day, Monday through Friday.  He retires to his bed each day at 6 or 7 p.m. and generally rest on the weekends.  Besides his gym workouts, Nelson also does public speaking and appearances.  One of his most recent trips was to Los Angeles, California with Mike Torchia, Head of Shaping Up America.  His biggest thrill was leaving Jacksonville, where Interstate 10 begins, and enjoying the beaches in Los Angeles, where Interstate 10 ends.  His greatest honor while there was the reception given to him by the Mayor and other honorable citizens of the city.

  Nelson actively competes each year in the Jacksonville Senior Olympic Games for the Javelin, Hammer, and Discus.  He holds the world record for doing the most wide-arm pull-ups with a 45 pound plate tied to his waist, which is in Ripley’s Believe it or Not.  He has received many honors, awards, and medals. In fact, he has appeared twice in Ripley’s Believe it or Not.

  When asked about his diet, he stated that he does not believe in diets unless prescribed by a healthcare professional.  He does believe that one should eat in moderation.  He states that everyone can’t make it to the gym everyday or have access to workout equipment.  Therefore, he has created a book which he  calls, “Old School Workout.” The book provides tips on how to exercise in an uncomplicated manner, and can be used by people of every age – from the very young to the very matured.

  Eddie has more fantastic advice in his book which can be found at Barnes and Nobles, Books A Million and from him directly.

  At 70, his main goal in life is to never stop working or working out and even has a modeling contract with an agency in Miami and a writing agreement with The Florida and Georgia Star newspapers.

  To live long and healthy, Eddie’s advice is to listen to your body, find the exercises that give you results, eat in moderation, and treat your body to proper rest.  He is thankful that his spouse, Deborah, daughter, Jackie Bell, grand children and great grand children, all understands.  He said his family provides him his biggest inspiration, support and encouragement.  And Eddie, you have definitely inspired this writer.

  You may reach Eddie Nelson at:  eddieoldschool@yahoo.com or at (904) 349-5288.

   Florida is called “The Sunshine State”.  We have a governor who made one of his first changes:  the ability for former prison inmates to vote.  We have Walter A. McNeil, Secretary and person in charge of the Department of Corrections, and Franchatta Barber, Assistant Secretary, is in charge of the Florida Re-Entry program.  Yet, Florida has the largest number of youth (over 70%) in the United States, serving life or many years of prison terms, all without parole, for crimes committed that did not include murder.  In fact, one report shows that no other prisoner in the United States is serving a life sentence without parole for a juvenile burglary conviction.  The three youth pictured above are from Jacksonville.

  Another concern is race in the State of Florida since only 16 percent of the general population is black.  Yet, almost half of Florida’s prison population is black and 84 percent of juveniles sentenced to life for offenses that did not include murder, are black.

    Shimeek Gridine, 15 was sentenced on the last day of April, 2010 to 70 years in prison, with no chance of parole, even though the Supreme Court determined this week that juveniles can no longer receive a life sentence if they are not accused of murder, without the chance for parole.   Such a sentence, according to the Supreme Court, is unconstitutional.  But Gridine’s case is different.  The Jacksonville judge did not give him a life sentence; he gave him 70 years, which is the longest term to date, in the state, for a youth who has committed a crime in which no one was killed.  At 15 years of age, he will be 85 years old when he is released.  He is not eligible for parole as the state does not allow parole.  He can apply for parole after serving 85% of his sentence, which means he will serve 59 and a half years before he can seek parole, which will make him 74 years of age.

  These youth are placed in a juvenile facility until they reach the age of 18.  At that age, they will be placed with other adults.

  So, what is the reason for a re-entry program for these youth? There is none.  Even though they may regret what they did as children, only those who come under the new Supreme Court’s decision will have the opportunity to prove they can serve and be a part of the community without a problem, and that is not a guarantee. 

  When talking with the attorney for Gridine, he stated that he is seeking a method,  information and materials to give the 15 year old a chance, including help from political personnel and the community since the Supreme Court’s decision did not include him.  The longest term given a youth prior to Gridine, was 40 years, and that too was in Florida.  Gridine’s family is out of money.  How will they be able to seek him a ‘chance.’?

  Terrance Graham, now 23, was implicated in armed robberies when he was 16 and 17 and has been locked up in Florida since.  Gridine did not have a history of crime as his only offense prior to this one was for petty theft.

  No one wants to see crime continue but everyone deserves a chance to change.

Shimeek Gridine, 15 years old

 

 Boy 15, Receives 70 Years for Attempted Murder

By:  Clara McLaughlin

Jacksonville, FL. – Shimeek Daquiel Gridine is now 15 years of age.  On Friday, May 15, 2009, he walked into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with his grandparents to give himself up for shooting Dana Battles behind a restaurant on Main Street.  Battles received a non-life threatening injury and was released from the hospital on the day of the shooting and attempted robbery.

  Shimeek, who was 14 at the time, and a 12-year-old friend, said they had found a small shot gun nearby, lying underneath a car after leaving the barber shop.  They saw Mr. Battles, according to Battles’ brother, taking out the garbage at the restaurant they thought was owned by him and said, “Give it up.”  Both boys are of small statue.  Mr. Battles is not.  So, according to Battles, Shimeek, standing between 6 and 10 feet away from the victim, shot him and quickly ran away.  However, we were told last year that the boys attempted to struggle with Battles and the gun went off.  When Shimeek turned himself in, he was charged with first degree attempted murder, attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery.  Because of the State Attorney’s new policy which is based on intent, at his first hearing before Juvenile Judge Linda McCallum, Shimeek was ordered held without bond until his arraignment.  At the arraignment, he was charged as an adult, again, because of his intent.  The 12-year-old was charged as a juvenile even though Shimeek claims the robbery was the 12 year olds idea.

  Shimeek’s family said he was basically a good boy who had suffered much during the past year.  He lost two family members about two weeks before his situation with Battles.   His mother lost her job and they moved to Jacksonville to live with his grandparents. According to the family, he had one previous incident with the law which was a petty theft charge.  His family said he had ‘good’ grades in school and they were willing to work with him to get him through his trying times.  From May 28, 2009 to the hearing on April 30, 2010, Shimeek’s family had given their all in trying to get him charged as a juvenile rather than as an adult.  They were comfortable that as a juvenile, he would receive the opportunity to get counseling, continue his education and receive job training after serving a reasonable amount of time for his mistake.  In fact, his attorney said that even other officers of the system felt that he would get a much lesser sentence with a maximum of 25 years since he pleaded guilty to armed robbery.  It was clear that he regretted his mistake, said his grandfather. 

  With an understanding and feeling that the judge would give Shimeek an opportunity to get his life on the right track, the youngster  went before Judge A.C. Soud, formerly of Family Court, without a jury.

  We were told by the family that the judge listened to the information provided as he witnessed that Shimeek had family members from as far away as New York and South Carolina there to support him.  The family members are very well spoken.

   After hearing the information from family, and seeing the support,  Judge Soud said, according to family, “Because you were known to be a good kid, because you have good grades and a good family that loves you, you knew better.  Therefore, for the first charge of Premeditated Attempted Murder, I sentence you to 70 years in prison.  On the second charge of Armed Robbery, I sentence you to 25 years. You will serve the sentences together.  The third charge of Aggravated Battery is being dropped.”  The judge then deducted the 300 plus days he had already served, leaving him around 69 years to finish his sentence.  The court was appalled.

  State Attorney Angela Corey said their policy is to focus on the perpetrator’s plan, not the outcome of the event.  When you pull a trigger that is pointed at someone’s head, you intend to kill.  It was fortunate for Mr. Battle that he did not die.  This crime affected two families.  She said.  She added that it is her wish that shooters would think of their love ones before shooting and perhaps carry a picture of the ones they love in their pockets to look at before pulling a trigger.

  Isaiah Rumlin, president of the Jacksonville NAACP said that they do not condone wrong doing but this is a very harsh sentence for a 15 year old and the NAACP will seek to have changes made.  He said if the judges are trying to send a message to our youth, using this young man as an example, is not the way.  Gridine’s attorney is seeking an appeal.

Shown above is a billboard in New York, urging  youth to pull up their pants.  Senator Eric Adams of New York, spent his own money for the billboard because of  his strong feelings about this dress style in his Brooklyn district. 
  Many do not understand the style since it is a hinderance when one is walking and it sends an undesirable message regarding personality.  So do you really want to stand out in a negative way?  The sign is placed to give hope that the low pant wearers will raise their pants and  therefore their image.

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, now you get mad!
You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed..
You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.
You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city drown (New Orleans-Hurricane Katrina).
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage which cost over 20 percent more for basically the same services that Medicare provides.
You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans… oh hell no.
BUT YOU ARE 100% MAD.  Is it because we have an African American president?
  The above was written by an unknown author and submitted to The Star by Mr. James Favor.  What is bothering many is that in spite of progress made during the past 14 months, there is an increase in black candidates in the GOP and some are a part of the tea party which appears to be promoting the growing violence.  The FBI this week, arrested two men who threaten two female politicians and it is said that 30 governors were sent letters with strong demands.  Michigan’s Stupak, a tea party target said Friday morning, that he will retire from Congress this year, even though he said he fought his whole career for health care reform and now that it has been achieved, he is leaving.
  CNN, the ‘real’ news channel is falling behind Fox News in ratings even though Fox won a law suit based on the argument that it is not a requirement to tell the truth when reporting the news since it is not a law, just a policy of the Federal Communications Commission.
  The question now is, if improvement continues through the Obama administration will the masses continue to be ‘mad’?
Is it the masses that are mad or just the over  $250,000 income level tea party members – pushing the madness?  Don’t believe the hype, you are not losing your American freedom – such statements are made just to ‘make you mad.’

This Haitian-born Canadian leader, thanked her country for their rapid response to help her earthquake ravaged birth place.  There were no “Rush Limbaughs or Pat Robertsons in Canada to criticize her or describe her homeland on a Christian TV station to say that the people of Haiti “were under the heel of the French.. and together swore a pact with the devil,” which justifies the earthquake and hardships.
  “Fly Jock”, Tom Joyner, took his crew to Haiti to broadcast the Tom Joyner Morning Show and to set up an Internet cafe’ so that Haitians could get in touch with their families.  World wide, help went to Haiti where it is reported that over 50,000 are believed to have died in this historical earthquake.  Joyner said we learned that we cannot sit back and wait for anyone to do for us what we can and must do for ourselves.  On his show earlier, listeners were encouraged to call “The 700 Club” to tell Pat Robertson that they were praying for him to become a ‘real’ Christian.
  Limbaugh displayed his displeasure with President Obama, which is not unusual, because of the president’s quick response to help the Haitians and many Americans either visiting or living in the country. 
  Jacksonville and Brunswick residents immediately poured in help and Congresswoman Corrine Brown appeared on station 105.3 to voice her support and to give instructions on how to help.
  Even though it has been reported that Tiger Woods whereabouts were unknown, Russell Simmons advised the New York Daily News that Woods is in the process of getting together a mobile hospital  with 50 EMT’s to go set up a triage.  According to Simmons, Woods is planning to make a $3 million contribution.
  After Robertson’s statement, it was explained that the reason Haiti is poor is because Europe imposed a blockade on trade after the slave revolt in 1804.  Presently, it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has had many natural and man made miseries.  Haiti has a population of 9 million people and has the second largest overall income gap between the very rich and the very poor, something America’s present administration is working to prevent.
 Even though many are helping, more help is needed.  Reports say that there is other danger for Haiti because of the prospect of aftershocks bringing down buildings.

 
Sheriff Rutherford, in a talk show conversation with Florida Star’s publisher, advised crime in Jacksonville dropped about 20% below what occurred in 2008.  And even though he did not have the statistics for black on black murders, specifically among black men, it was reported on PBS that the   black murder rate, of black men killing black men increased.  There were 111 homicides in 2009 in Jacksonville and 144 in 2008.  Police shootings in Jacksonville decreased in 2009 from 28 in 2008 to 15 in 2009. 
  The pastors joined hands in one of the highest crime areas of Jacksonville to announce their joint effort to bring healing, peace, safety and more importantly a drop in crime to many of the neighborhoods where their churches  are located.  In Jacksonville and Brunswick, the churches are getting together.

On Tuesday night, candle light vigils were in 48 states and Washington, D. C. with more than 10,000 participating.

In Nevada, MoveOn members delivered over 170,000 petition signatures to Senator Harry Reid’s staff and in Washington, D.C., over 200 people joined public option champions Senators Bernie Sanders and Roland Burris, and Reps. Raul Grijalva, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey, and Donna  Christensen just outside the Senate to demand real reform with a public option. The vigils were held throughout the states of Florida and Georgia.

In Jacksonville, the vigil was led by MoveOn workers, led by Judy at the corner of Main, State and Union. Clara McLaughlin, host of Impact Radio show, and publisher of The Florida Star newspaper did her normal radio show live at the event on progressive radio station, FM105.3, allowing many of those in attendance to voice why they were there and to tell of some of their experiences without health care after losing their jobs.

Apparently the law changed, and the six men above and three others, were not aware of the change as they performed their operation buying or transporting stolen cars. After receiving the vehicles, the operators would salvage them for parts and crush them into scrap metal. The method of stealing the vehicles was so fast, it was difficult to keep up, according to Sheriff Rutherford. A person would leave their cars for just a short moment and return to an empty space. The vehicle would be destroyed before the police could follow up with a report. However, a law went to affect last year that required all cars to come with a title of ownership before the car could be crushed.

The report said the thefts occurred at ABC Automotive and Salvage and at R&R Used Parts. There are ten salvage businesses in this city. Arrested: Donald Taylor, Johnathan Bradley, Jerry Gadsden, Paul George, Todd Robinson and Robert Sands. Three more are wanted.

The neighbors and persons passing by heard gun shots at the Roosevelt Gardens apartments located in the 700 block of Lincoln Court and immediately called JSO. They found the victim lying on the lawn and also found bullet damage to one of the buildings.

People in the area told a Florida Star person that it is rumored that the victim, though they would not give a name, is the person who shot a taxi driver. They also stated that the cab driver was killed just a few feetaway from where the victim of this shooting was found. Their statement: “God does not like ugly.”

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the shooting and had not released any information as of this writing.