- Named Best Florida Newspaper In Its Class -
VOL 22 No. 38
June 29, 2022
County commissioner accused of theft Things are heating up in the race for one Manatee County commission seat, with opponent Jason Bearden demanding that Commissioner Carol Whitmore be charged with the theft of his election signs. BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
Beach closing to boaters JOE HENDRICKS | SUN
HOLMES BEACH – Manatee County voters are no strangers to political antics when it comes to local elections, but the case of the disappearing election signs has turned serious, with an accusation of theft. The problem began when Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore removed three campaign signs promoting Jason Bearden, the opponent for her at-large commission seat. Two of the signs were located on private property and one was on city right of way. During a June 22 press conference held outside Holmes Beach City Hall, Whitmore said that two of the signs she removed were on properties owned by local developer Shawn Kaleta. She said
Parts of Greer Island are slated to be off limits to boaters by July Fourth. Page 4.
Celebrate Independence Day safely Anna Maria Island officials remind everyone that no private fireworks displays are permitted, but the Sandbar will provide a legal fireworks show on July 2. BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com
ANNA MARIA ISLAND - For many, no proper Fourth of July celebration is complete without setting off fireworks. However, private displays of bombs bursting in air are illegal on the Island. Though fireworks can be purchased in Florida, rules regarding their legal use are more complicated. In April 2020, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 140 into law. The bill allows people 18 and older to buy fireworks to use on three holidays: New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and Independence Day. The previous law
INSIDE NEWS EDITORIAL CARTOON OUTDOORS REAL ESTATE BEACH BEAT CROSSWORD CLASSIFIEDS
4 6 30-31 36 15 45 46-47
required signing a waiver saying the fireworks were for specific agricultural reasons. While the state law is clear, local cities and counties have their own rules that supersede what the state allows. Each of the three cities on Anna Maria Island has a slightly different approach to how fireworks violations will be enforced, but setting off fireworks of any kind is forbidden anywhere on the Island, especially the beaches - fireworks can disturb nesting shorebirds, sea turtles and other Island wildlife. Audubon Florida says the bursts of color and noise wreak havoc on coastal birds, especially nesting species. After each fireworks explosion, birds panic and fly from their nests, scattering the chicks and exposing them to predators and heat until their parents return. It’s also sea turtle nesting season,
WATER GUNS
SEE FIREWORKS, PAGE 33
will
be allowed at the Fourth of July parade after all. 5
Anna Maria Island, Florida
SEE COMMISSIONER, PAGE 33
Hit-and-run driver sentenced to jail time Cierra Shannon, the defendant in a 2021 fatal hit-and-run accident, will be spending the next four years in jail. BY KRISTIN SWAIN SUN STAFF WRITER | kswain@amisun.com
MANATEE COUNTY – Cierra Shannon, 28, of Holmes Beach, was sentenced on June 20 to four years in prison after pleading no contest on April 11 to a first-degree felony charge of leaving the scene of a crash with a death. She also will serve a minimum of three years of probation, along with 120 hours of community service to be served in a trauma or similar facility, 10 years without a driver’s license, mental health treatment and a victim impact course. Manatee County Circuit Court Judge Lon Arend handed down the sentence
in a courtroom filled with Shannon’s friends and family and the friends and family of the victim, 83-year-old Madelyn Dakin, of Michigan. Dakin’s husband of 67 Shannon years, Gerald, testified during the sentencing hearing that his wife was going to get laundry from their condo rental at Cedar Cove in Holmes Beach when she was struck by a vehicle on Feb. 10, 2021. He said that he tried to give his wife CPR before paramedics arrived at the scene of the accident. A Holmes Beach Police Department report states that witnesses saw a woman matching Shannon’s description get out of her vehicle, run over to check on Dakin and then get back in the vehicle, fleeing the accident scene. SEE SHANNON, PAGE 33
$18 MILLION budgeted for
Piney Point water treatment. 8 HUNTERS POINT CANAL
permit debated at hearing. 3
The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com
