The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 17

oW The Orlando Sentinel Lotto ticket bought in Hernando County is sole winner of jackpot, C-3 MONDAY, June 3, 1996 i mm oea, Perfect for picnicking Report: 1 in 4 Florida kids poverty-ridden Only 2 states and D.C. rank worse in children's well-being a ASSOCIATED PRESS i i Florida's ranking among the states on key indicators of children's health and well-being as calculated in the 1996 Kids Count Data Book compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation: Composite ranking: 48th Percent of low birth-weight babies: 33rd Infant mortality rate: 29th Child death rate (ages 1-14): 40th Teen violent death rate (ages 15-19): 22nd Teen birth rate: 37th Juvenile violent crime arrest rate: 49th Percent of teens who are high school dropouts: 45th Percent of teens not in school and not working: 37th Percent of children in poverty: 43rd Percent of families with children headed by a single parent: 47th T- GARY BOGOONTHE ORLANDO SENTINEL John Whitman of Titusville and his fiancee, Jeanne Dastic of College Park neighborhood of Orlando. The city enjoyed balmy Orlando, spend Sunday afternoon enjoying a picnic lunch un- weather with lower humidity and a high temperature of 84 de-der trees in Lake Ivanhoe Park along the shores of the lake in the grees, thanks to a cool front that passed through Central Florida. Seminole Democrats get noticed TALLAHASSEE One in every four children in Florida lives in poverty and half of those children live in extreme poverty, a new report shows.

"In an environment where there is so much wealth, the contrast is absolutely shameful," said Jack Le-vine, executive director of the Florida Center for Children and Youth. In a national comparison of the well-being of children, Florida slipped a notch to 48th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Children were worse off only in Mississippi, Louisiana and Washington, D.C, according to the National Kids Count Data Book. The report is compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization based in Baltimore.

It tracks 10 indicators ranging from infant mortality to the percentage of teen-agers who aren't in school or the work force. It also tracks child poverty, some- thing Levine has followed for many years. This year, there's a new piece of evidence that shocks even him. In Florida, one in 11 children lives in a family with an adult who has a full-time job that doesn't pay enough to lift the family out of poverty. "A full-time wage-earning adult can no longer keep their children out of poverty's grasp," Levine said recently.

More than 300,000 of Florida's 3.26 million children are in that situation. "Work is no longer a route out of poverty," Levine said. Welfare doesn't do it either. A family gets less than $3,000 a year per child in welfare assistance. As a whole, Florida's population is much better off than its children.

"The disparity of child poverty in Florida is now more remarkable Even the governor might show up for their convention The convention has attracted party bigwigs from Tallahassee and Washington, including either Gov. Lawton Chiles or Lt. Gov. Buddy McKay, as speakers. Former U.S.

Rep. Jim Bacchus is honorary chairman. Suarez, chairman since December 1994, said he noticed a change in state workers' attitudes two months ago during the campaign for the District 33 seat. Officials such as Executive Director Scott Falmlen came to Central Florida to register another 2,000 voters. Party leaders persuaded political action committees to dump thousands of dollars into the campaign.

Democratic heavyweights walked the district for handpicked candidate Jim Hattaway. Although Hattaway lost to Republican Tom Feeney, local Democrats formed new bonds with their state brethren, Suarez said. "I am very proud of what we did in Seminole County," he said. Not all county executive com- Couch's resignation, state party officials turned their attention to Seminole County. And the convention has attracted party bigwigs from Tallahassee and Washington, including either Gov.

Lawton Chiles or Lt. Gov. Buddy McKay, as speakers. Former U.S. Rep.

Jim Bacchus is the honorary chairman. Organizers expect 1,500 to attend the event June 15 at the University of Central Florida arena. Seminole County Democratic Party Chairman Anthony Suarez, who had accused the party of losing focus, feels like the belle of the ball. "They seem to have adopted it the convention and given me their blessing," Suarez said of the state-level attention. "This is, in fact, a major development." By Sharon McBreen OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Unorganized and broke in a Republican stronghold, Seminole County Democrats felt ignored and abandoned by the state party in Tallahassee.

So they decided to throw their own convention, inviting only party members from seven Central Florida counties. It would be a grass-roots gathering to devise strategies for winning local seats. And it would send a message to Tallahassee that local Democrats could raise their own money for candidates. Now, however, after the District 33 state House race, things may have changed. During the race to fill the seat left open by Marvin mittees, however, have felt as slighted by the party as Seminole's has.

Orange party Chairman Doug Head says the state party's role is to help win key legislative seats and diwy up resources "where the prime opportunities are." Please see DEMOCRATS, C-4 than ever," Levine said. "We're 20th in per-capita income; we're 43rd in child poverty but half of Florida's poor children are extremely poor." Simple poverty for a family that Orlando group targets racism, examines reasons, solutions consists of one parent and one child is an annual income of $8,700 or less. Extreme poverty for a family of three is $5,750. "That is as poor as poor gets," Levine said. Younger children are more likely to be poor than older children: Three of every 10 children under the age of 6 are poor.

Levine said he is encouraged by the increased interest that employers, churches and communities are showing in the welfare of children. And the latest figures show improvement in Florida in four of the 10 areas tracked in the national report during the eight-year period from 1985 to 1993. Infant mortality dropped 24 percent. The death rate of children between the ages of 1 and 14 dropped 19 percent. The violent-death rate of teens between the ages of 15 and 19 dropped 9 percent.

The percentage of teen-agers who are high school dropouts fell 20 percent. Church fills tutoring void this summer When state money for summer school stopped, First Presbyterian came to the rescue. By Rick Badie OF THE SENTINEL STAFF It looked like Corena Kuntz would waste her summer watching soap operas and chatting on the phone. Traditional summer school for students needing academic help appeared to be a no-go. Earlier this year, the Orange County School Board decided to end the program because the state stopped paying for it.

But First Presbyterian Church of Downtown Orlando has stepped in to fill the gap, offering a summer school program that Kuntz and 39 other Howard Middle School students will begin today. A church offering to help public schools is nothing new. What's different about this arrangement, however, is that it will be OK to make religious refer a 0 i By Purvette A. Bryant .1 Si OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Participants listen during a meeting Sunday on how racism affects communities. The session, held at the Orange County schools leadership center in downtown Orlando, was the 2nd in a ntfe tagged as a learned behavior.

Sunday's session, sponsored by the National Conference of Greater Orlando, was the second in a series of grass-roots talks dealing with problem-solving techniques focusing on political, economic, educational, environmental, legal and social issues. Organizers said they hope the program at the Orange County Public Schools Educational Leadership Center in Orlando will promote understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures. The session started with audience participation then broke into groups. Mottaz described how he grew up in New Mexico and learned about racism through books. When he moved to the South in 1973, Please see SESSION, C-3 John Mottaz listened while his white male coworkers rattled off racial slurs they use among themselves.

Mottaz, who also is white and a local land surveyor, said his skin color clothes him, like a spy, and enables him to hear their true feelings about minorities. By comparison, Wendell Luke Simpson, a black cartoonist, said he never hears racial slurs aimed at him, but he often hears workers use racist terms for Hispanics and Asians. Mottaz and Simpson shared their experiences Sunday at a community meeting that examined how racism affects communities. More than 50 people sought solutions to a problem they ,1 series of grass-roots talks on problem-solving techniques focusing on community issues. FRANK RIVERATHE ORLANDO SENTINEL For injured horseback riders, healing will take time WHAT TO WATCH FOR THIS WEEK Osceola charter Osceola County's Charter Review Advisory Commission will present its recommendations to the Osceola County Commission at a special meeting today.

Suggestions: a referendum on troubled boys ages 14 to 18. At the Ted Warrington Impact Camp in Okeechobee, the boys care for the horses and travel around the country performing with them. Staff members at the camp said it will take some time for the boys' emotional and physical injuries to heal. Many have bruises and sprains, and they "will be on kind of limited activity until they're better," said Col. Steve Bloom, a supervisor at the camp.

The deaths of the three horses saddened the boys, who develop a close relationship with the animals by caring for them. "It's a very serious relationship," Please see TEENS, C-4 away and another of the animals died on the road in front of him. "It scared me so bad," the 17-year-old from Philadelphia said Sunday from his bed at Raulerson Hospital in Okeechobee. "I don't even want to get on a horse." He was one of nine teen-agers injured Saturday when a van rammed into their horseback caravan in Yeehaw Junction, a tiny crossroads in south Osceola County. Johnson, the most seriously injured, will need surgery on his broken leg.

The other boys, along with a staff member, were released from the hospital late Saturday. Three horses died in the accident. The teens were from Vision Quest, a national self-improvement program for The boys hurt by an out-of-control van suffer from both physical and emotional wounds. By Sandra Pedicini OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Abdul Johnson remembers the panic he felt when he saw a van careening toward him and the horse he was riding. He tried to get out of the way, but the fast-moving van, which had been rear-ended by a pickup truck, smashed into him and two other riders.

Johnson fell, his leg broken, and he watched helplessly as his horse ran ences in class. That's because participation in the program is voluntary, and it is off school grounds, Orange County school officials said. "We are going to be speaking about Jesus Christ and sharing the Gospel with them," said Teresa Lacey, the church's assistant Please see PROGRAM, C-4 I changing the method of electing commissioners. Today's meeting begins at 10 a.m. in the county administration building on Vernon Avenue..