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October 12, 2014

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Crist makes double visit to voters in Bay County By JENNIFER HARWOOD 747-5073 | @PCNHJennHarwood [email protected]

U.S. ‘cultural exchange’ program puts thousands in low-wage jobs ON THE WEB

By VALERIE GARMAN 747-5076 | @valeriegarman [email protected]

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PANAMA CITY BEACH — Natalia Webber’s departure from Panama City Beach in late August was bittersweet. The 26-year-old law student from Kingston, Jamaica, spent three months in the area on a J-1 Visa Summer Work Travel Program, a temporary work program designed for college and university students. It was her third time in the United States on a J-1 Visa, and by far the worst experience, she said. From the minute she stepped off the plane in Fort Lauderdale with about 30 other

Jamaican students, Webber described the experience as “all lies” from her program sponsor. What was described as a two-bedroom hotel room was instead a crowded dorm, and the number of work hours she was promised was not met. Upon arriving at The Ark in Panama City Beach, her home for the next three months, she couldn’t help but break down and cry. SEE WELCOME TO AMERICA? | A4 HEATHER LEIPHART | The News Herald

Natalia Webber from Kingston, Jamaica, stands in front of her temporary living quarters in Panama City Beach in August.

From the minute she stepped off the plane in Fort Lauderdale with about 30 other Jamaican students, Natalia Webber described the experience as “all lies” from her program sponsor.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The area got a double dose of Democrat Charlie Crist on Saturday as he made his rounds to visit local veterans and African American voters. Crist first stopped by the Democratic Women’s Club of Bay County headquarters to speak about issues important to 1.3 million veteran voters in Florida. “I’m in a race for governor, and the man I’m running against is handing out a lot of medals, and that’s great,” Crist said. “But what I don’t think is great is he’s cut funding for homeless veterans.” Republican Gov. Rick Scott took heat in 2011 for cutting $12 million from the state budget for homeless veterans and more recently for not fighting harder to expand Medicaid. “They need to take a long, hard look at veterans’ benefits,” said former Chief Master Sgt. Don Summer, a Vietnam veteran who retired after 26 years in the Air Force. Summer said the administration has a hard time taking care of older veterans because of how long it takes to get an appointment, be examined and document claims for submission to Veterans Affairs. “Anything the state can do to assist vets with state benefits or Medicaid would help,” Summer said. “Not everyone is going to have a good job when they get out.” Albert Mapp, a family practice physician in Panama City and Army reservist, agreed. Mapp said veterans’ access to health care suffers because of how long it takes to get an appointment, and continuity takes a hit when doctors don’t have full access to medical records. SEE CRIST | A4

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Page A4 | The News Herald | Sunday, October 12, 2014

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‘WELCOME TO AMERICA’ from Page A1 “I didn’t cry for me; I cried because everybody was so heartbroken, disappointed, down and out,” Webber said. “In Jamaica, America is like heaven. Everybody was like, ‘This is America?’ ” During her stay, Webber worked three jobs — about 80 hours per week — to pay back the $2,000 program fee, the cost of airfare to the United States and also bring home money to help pay tuition at the University of the West Indies. “It’s difficult for us to pay our school fees while we’re in Jamaica,” Webber said. “That’s pretty much the kind of work you have to do to make enough.” Late in the summer, she juggled a housekeeping job at Origin Beach Resort in Panama City Beach with jobs at McDonald’s and Shoney’s. When Webber was not at work, she shared a crowded dormitory with dozens of other J-1 workers. A glimpse inside the dorm’s common room one morning revealed filthy conditions, with students sleeping on a set of couches pushed together. Pegged as a “cultural exchange” program by the U.S. Department of State, the J-1 Summer Work Travel Program funnels thousands of foreign college students into unskilled jobs across the country every year. To participate in the program, students pay “sponsors” to act as job placement agencies and assist with housing, insurance and other needs through the duration of their stay. But sponsors often fade into the shadows after students arrive, and what is advertised often is not what participants find, The News Herald found through multiple discussions with J-1 workers in Panama City Beach and Destin.

DEVON RAVINE | Daily News

Volunteer Sue Boswell serves up dinner for foreign summer workers at Destin United Methodist Church. Vankova said she does not regret the experience. “I came here because I wanted to know a different culture, to meet new people, to have new experiences,” she said. “I really enjoy it here. It’s one of my best decisions in life, but I’m disappointed in the agency, in work, in the people at work. If I separate all of that, it’s great.”

Not a cultural exchange

Daniel Costa, the director of immigration law and policy research for the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., described the State Department’s J-1 program as a deeply flawed system. “The Summer Work Travel program is pretty much purely an unskilled worker program,” Costa said. “I think a lot of people are coming around to agreeing and realizing that.” Unlike other temporary work ‘I feel trapped’ visas, such as the H-2B visa for nonagricultural guest workers, Webber said when she raised J-1 visas are not regulated by the concerns about the issues Department of Labor and lack involving her employer and unfit direct oversight from the State accommodations, the sponsor proved useless. Lack of affordable Department. Instead, responsibility is housing options in the area didn’t outsourced to the sponsors, who help. work directly with employers to “I feel trapped,” she said place the students. during her stay this summer. Additionally, the State “Some of us wanted to go back Department only has authority but we couldn’t. There is no to sanction the sponsors but not refund.” the employers, which opens the Webber’s experience is not door for employee mistreatment. unique among J-1 students. Costa said it’s common for Katerina Vankova, a doctoral student studying cancer research employers to threaten to have an employee’s visa canceled if they in Prague, the Czech Republic, came to the United States seeking report poor working conditions to their sponsor. a rich cultural experience. She “Because of that conflict of also left feeling defeated after experiencing unsavory treatment interest, it’s hard for workers to complain,” he said. “The kids who at one of her jobs. are here are terrified of having “I think the idea of a work their visa canceled, so many of experience in the USA is them have invested thousands of beautiful. You think work and dollars to come here and be part travel will be great,” Vankova of the program.” said. “But you come here and In Florida alone there were they think you’re just a cheap, 5,489 participants in the hard worker and they behave J-1 Summer Work Travel very awful. … They behave like Program in 2012. The program we are rats. is just one of 14 offered by the “The big problem is they State Department under the visa, always offer the horrible jobs to which supports the largest group the J-1 students ... always the of guest workers in the United worst,” she added. “It’s awful to States annually. work for very little money. “The main unskilled guest Vankova also lived at The Ark worker program, the H2-B, the during her stay, and she also was presented with a different picture. annual limit is 66,000,” he said. “Just the Summer Work Travel Her employment contract program is much larger than promised a minimum of 30 hours that.” per week, but she only worked Unlike with the H-2B Visa, about half that. employers are not required to “I paid a lot of money to my pay a prevailing wage and are sponsor to help me, but they are not helpful,” Vankova said. “They exempt from paying other fees didn’t help me find housing. They such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment taxes for didn’t help me with nothing.” J-1 employees. Yet, despite some misfires,

“Employers sort of prefer it over the regular work programs,” said Costa, referencing the H-2B Visa. “In that program, you have to pay a prevailing wage that’s set by the labor departments.”

Todd Buchla, vice president of WISE, said the situation is not a shining example of getting it right. He described the process to become a J-1 sponsor as fairly involved. Beyond job placement services, WISE also checks in Seasonal solution with students once a month by For many employers in the email and provides a 24-hour Panama City Beach and Destin emergency line, he said. areas, employing J-1 students “It’s a cultural exchange is a good answer to the intense program at the heart of it, but that seasonality as demand swells doesn’t mean everything goes during the summer months. exactly as planned overseas,” Mike Bennett, owner of several Buchla said. “There are Panama City Beach resorts and differences. There are changes. restaurants, including Origins at These are students, in many Seahaven and Seahaven Beach cases, experiencing their first Resort, described J-1 students time away from home. We want as a critical piece of the local them to have the fundamentals to economy. be properly prepared.” “You get great service at a After Pogue’s visit, Webber great price without the burdens of said she was tired of the federal taxes,” Bennett said. “For finger-pointing. a business that’s after the bottom “I feel so victimized because line in a seasonal economy, all these people that were they’re critical.” supposed to be helping us were During the summer, Bennett playing the blame game,” Webber employed about 100 J-1 students. said. “I just don’t want this to “It’s like a race; you go from continue to happen.” idle speed to 160 miles an hour,” Getting better Bennett said. “It’s the nature of the beast, and I think we’re pretty Despite its flaws, Scott good at it.” Springer, resident agent in Bennett also sits on the board charge of homeland security at The Ark, which recently began investigations in Bay County, housing J-1 students at a charge said the J-1 Summer Work Travel of $10 per night. Program has improved during “That was a goal for us, to be the last few years. a safe place,” Bennett said of The In 2012, the State Department Ark, which is owned by the United began to require sponsors to have Methodist Church. “We’ve been students’ jobs lined up prior to what we intended to be: a safe arrival. Previously, sponsors often place to call home.” just gave students the phone Bennett employed Webber number for an employment and the other Jamaican students contractor, which created another as housekeepers during the window for exploitation. summer. He said the program’s “They have much more sponsor, The WISE Foundation, oversight than they did a couple failed to properly describe the of years ago,” Springer said. “It property. completely changed the way the The Tennessee-based program operates.” WISE Foundation pushed the With the middleman out of responsibility elsewhere. the picture, Springer said the Foundation President Tim change eliminated many of the Pogue said housing ultimately problems seen in Panama City was coordinated and described Beach, including instances of incorrectly by the employer. labor trafficking and employee He also said the foundation’s mistreatment. overseas partner in Jamaica However, while many dropped the ball by failing to tour employers on the beach embrace the facilities. J-1 students, Springer said there “We were upset,” said Pogue, still are some bad seeds. who traveled to Panama City “There are many of them Beach late in the program to that take advantage of these kids observe the conditions. “It just because they know they’re going wasn’t something I would want to be here for a short amount of our students to live in or I would time,” Springer said. “These guys want to live in. The only word I know they can take advantage of could come up with was sad. It these foreign national kids.” was sad to see them living in that Springer said law enforcement type of housing.” has since taken a proactive Pogue said WISE heard approach toward J-1 programs, about the problems shortly after providing presentations for the students arrived, but the students on local laws and how to alternative housing offered was be safe during their stay. too expensive or too far away. Help for J-1s also comes

from various volunteer groups. For J-1s in Destin, many have found a second home at Destin United Methodist Church, which coordinates a free weekly dinner for visiting students during the summer. The church launched its J-1 ministry three years ago after a young Bulgarian woman was killed on U.S. 98 while riding her bicycle home after a late night at work. “They come over here with youth and vigor and the American idea, and they get bad experiences, they get ugly Americans and we don’t want them to have that,” Destin United Methodist Pastor Barry Carpenter said. “What they need is love and acceptance — what any of our kids would need if they’re going to another country.” Along with the weekly dinners, the church offers free bike repairs and sends students home with a backpack of food to help them make it through the week.

‘We were lucky’ On a Wednesday in late August, dozens of J-1s gathered at the church to enjoy an AllAmerican fried chicken dinner. Among the crowd was 19year-old Deandra Robinson from Jamaica, who split her time working for Wyndham Resorts and Surf Style in Destin. Even with two jobs, she said it’s often not enough to get by. “It’s not enough because we’re struggling at the moment,” said Robinson, who spent her first month in Destin sharing a small motel room with four other girls. “It’s all work, no play.” Moldovan student Inonov Victor said he spent about $4,000 to come to the United States to improve his English. To pay it off, he worked about 75 hours a week at Big Kahuna’s and Sunsations. “I’m like a robot,” Victor said. Church member Cindy Wilson, who helped launch the J-1 ministry, said the church also acts as a liaison between the students and sponsors, which has helped improve students’ experiences. “The best news is, this year we’ve really started building a relationship with these sponsors,” Wilson said. “They know we’re going to call them out when they don’t treat the students properly. At the beginning of the summer, we really had to set them straight about what was appropriate and what was not.” Jovana and Jelela Djukic, 23-year-old twins from Serbia, spent their second summer on a J-1 Visa in Destin this year. They described the church as more of their sponsor than their real one. After a rocky summer abroad in 2013 living in a crammed room at Motel 6, the twins found a better situation living with church members Bud and Linda Weaver after getting to know them at J-1 dinners the year before. The twins even have taken to calling the Weavers their “American parents.” “We were lucky,” said Jelena, who recently graduated college with a hospitality degree. Her sister studied economics. The girls worked two jobs over the summer, between 16 and 18 hours a day, to earn money to pay school fees and purchase things like cellphones and other electronics that are too expensive in Serbia. To put things in perspective, the twins outlined their father’s monthly salary as equal to about $250. In the United States, they can earn that much in two days.

CRIST from Page A1 “Our veterans are older individuals with complex health problems,” he said. “For instance, if someone has a heart condition, it might take three or four months before they can get an appointment with a cardiologist, whereas I can get them to see one within a week. A lot of times, patients can’t wait.” Crist said expanding Medicaid coverage would ease the burden and give 1 million more people access to health care, including 41,000 veterans who weren’t getting care previously. He also said the expansion would pump between $51 billion and $60 billion into the economy and create 120,000 jobs. “That’s quite an infusion for our economy,” he said. After winding down with

veterans, Crist was whisked over to the Florida State Conference for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Panama City Beach, where he addressed other issues. “It’s important to show up, number one,” Crist, a lifetime member of NAACP, said in an interview. “Being able to be with the veterans and the NAACP tonight is a real honor.” Crist spoke about education, job creation, health care, the economy and other issues. Burnett King of Pensacola, also a lifetime NAACP member, said the issues are not a matter of what is important to black people or white people. “The big thing is restricting the vote,” King said. “I have to now fight the same old fight that I fought

back in the ’60s, that I fought for my grandchildren,” he said. He is upset with Scott for not expanding voting opportunities and revoking felons’ voting privileges. King wants to see other changes, no matter who is the next governor. “They had a great opportunity to put in a rail system and create jobs, and the current guy didn’t do it,” King said, referring to Scott. “We don’t have a good justice system or opportunities for the poor,” King said. With Election Day a little more than three weeks away, Crist is making his last push to win voters in Northwest Florida. “It’s only 24 days until we’re Scott free,” Crist told the veterans group.

HEATHER LEIPHART | The News Herald

Charlie Crist, left, makes his rounds Saturday at the Florida State Conference for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Panama City Beach.

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. COLLEGE FOOTBALL Florida 10, Tennessee 9 Florida St. 43, Wake Forest 3 Ole Miss 23, Alabama 17 Auburn 41, LSU 7 SPORTS | C SECTION

October 5, 2014

$1.50

SUMMER OF VIOLENCE “ “

9-week spate of shootings leaves 6 dead, unites community This is the first time I’ve seen a diverse cross-section of our community express a willingness to work across barriers on this particular issue.”

Scott Ervin, Panama City police chief

Janice Lucas, Lead Coalition

Panama City shootings 19th Street

June 19: Samuel McGriff, 17, shot and killed at Macedonia Garden apartments, 1722 W. 17th St.

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July 26: Shots fired at relatives of Tavish Greene at Andrews Place Apartments, 1914 Frankford Ave.

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June 9: Jshun Smith, 19, shot and killed in parking lot of KJ’s night club, 908 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

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May 28: Leonard Price, 34, shot and killed in yard, 1332 Roosevelt Drive

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May 24: Xavier Buckler, 23, and Marqueze McGhee, 25, shot and killed outside EZ Serve Petro gas station, 1307 E. Fifth St., pictured above

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STEPHANIE NUSBAUM | News Herald

Homicides spark potential for change By JENNIFER HARWOOD 747-5073 | @PCNHJennHarwood [email protected] PANAMA CITY — Dorothy Price didn’t want her son to go when he said earlier this year he was leaving New Orleans to stay in Panama City with a girlfriend. “I’m just puzzled,” Price said in a telephone interview. “My child leaves, and he comes back in a box.” Price’s shaky voice bore witness to how hard it’s been for the 62-year-old disabled widow since she learned one of her six children, 34-year-old Leonard Price, was shot dead at close range in the yard of a home on Roosevelt Drive just after midnight May 28. The pain she’s lived with since sending her nephew to Florida to retrieve her son’s body for burial in New Orleans has made the last four months the hardest time in her life. “My son was a beautiful man,” Price said. “I just ask God to give me the strength to go on.” Price is not alone in her grief. Six men killed in a surge of gun-related homicides during a nine-week stretch this summer in Panama City left other mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children and friends to mourn. The trend took a toll on a shocked community and brought underlying social issues to the surface in the aftermath of half a dozen young black men dying in fatal shootings.

‘Epidemic’

The Concerned Citizens of Bay County participate in the Stop the Violence march in Panama City on July 26.

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Homicides spark potential for change, BELOW TIMELINE: When each shooting happened and who’s been arrested, A2

NEWS HERALD FILE PHOTOS

EZ Petro, May 24 A double-homicide initiated the summer of slayings. Witnesses near the EZ

IN THIS EDITION

Detectives gather evidence at the EZ Petro gas station at Fifth Street and Bay Avenue after a shooting that left two dead and one injured on May 24. It was the first of six shootings over a nine-week period that left six people dead.

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PANAMA CITY — The bloodstains were still fresh in Tavish Greene’s car as he recounted for police the events leading to his passenger getting shot in the head. Panama City detectives took a break from questioning Greene to check his story against the blood splatter in the Lincoln Navigator, which didn’t catch a bullet itself. Blood coated the passenger and back seats where 19-year-old Jshun Smith, Greene’s cousin, was shot following a heated argument outside KJs Lounge at 908 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. A blood smear was left on the back quarter panel from where Smith tumbled out of the vehicle and onto the street near the intersection with 10th Street as Greene fled. Greene initially denied seeing the shooter’s face, and investigators asked him why he didn’t turn back to look as he sped from the parking lot. “That’s how I get safe,” Greene told investigators. “That’s how I’m safe right now. Because I got away, man.” But he had seen the shooter, and police and his family knew that. The subsequent disappearance of Greene and then the discovery of his body in the trunk of a car was the culmination of the bloodiest summer on the books to most Bay County law enforcement and judicial authorities — the death toll nearly tripling the county’s annual average. Gun-related violence had claimed the lives of 10 people in a wave of shootings throughout Bay County within about three months. The six deaths concentrated in Panama City had many fearing the worst. Police have arrested only three people on murder charges. After Greene was found in the car trunk after allegedly receiving death threats, many wondered whether the shootings and deaths that plagued the Glenwood area were connected by more than just geography. Residents also feared there could be something more villainous at play and more disruptive to law enforcement and justice: witness intimidation. “There was talk around town this was witness retaliation, and that scared me,” said Assistant State Attorney Bob Sombathy, who is prosecuting most of the cases. “That is an attempt, through intimidation to derail our entire system of justice.”

The only commonality between these cases is that people made bad decisions and decided to use guns to settle disputes.”

Frankford Avenue

By ZACK McDONALD 747-5071 | @PCNHzack [email protected]

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Piecing together why Panama City had become a homicide hotspot hasn’t been easy.

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Page A2 | The News Herald | Sunday, October 5, 2014

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TIMELINE OF SHOOTINGS AND ARRESTS MADE MAY

MAY 24: Xavier Buckler and Marqueze McGhee killed

ANTONIO WEST JR.

Charged with felon in possession of a firearm after the EZ Petro shooting

JUNE

MAY 28: Leonard Price killed

JUNE 9: Jshun Smith killed

KHIRY ROSS

FREDERIC JONES

STEPHEN TRUSTY

Charged with aggravated battery with a firearm after the EZ Petro shooting

Charged with second-degree murder in connection with Leonard Price’s shooting

Charged with second-degree murder after fatal shooting at KJ’s

JULY

JUNE 19: Samuel McGriff killed

MARCUS MATHIS

Charged with accessory to murder after fatal shooting at KJ’s

NO ARRESTS MADE

VIOLENCE from Page A1 Petro at 1307 E. Fifth St. said they were awakened about 2 a.m. May 24 by two or three successive gunshots. The scene that unfolded out their windows was of one man sprawled motionless near the gas pumps. A second man appeared to be trying to flee before he collapsed near Bay Avenue, a block west of Williams Street. Xavier Buckler, 23, and Marqueze McGhee, 25, both of Panama City, were shot to death at the Millville gas station. Dalrico Franklin, 26, survived a shot to the leg. No one has been charged with the killings. Only Frederic Jones, 22, of Panama City, and Antonio West Jr., 24, of Callaway, were arrested after being seen on video surveillance and identified by witnesses as being involved in an argument outside the gas station, according to their arrest records. Police have charged Jones with aggravated battery with a firearm, which they said occurred when Franklin was shot in the leg. West was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Although video exists of the shooting, no one has been charged with the deaths of Buckler or McGhee because Buckler, the man who fired the first fatal shots, was killed in the shootout by West, who was defending McGhee, Panama City Police Chief Scott Ervin said. Franklin was treated and released from the hospital. No charges were filed against him. What motivated the shooting is still unclear. Many details have been withheld by investigators and the State Attorney’s Office — a strategy they deemed necessary and which they said later proved fruitful after they arrested the wrong man in the shooting death of 38-year-old Leonard Price.

Roosevelt Drive, May 28 Witness tampering cropped up first following the shooting death of Price. Price, of Panama City, was shot multiple times in the chest and torso at close range in the yard of a home on Roosevelt Drive early May 28. Residents reported hearing gunshots ring out about 12:30 a.m. Police arrested 28-year-old Michael Ray Davis and charged him with murder. The charges were dropped in August, and investigators filed second-degree murder charges against Stephen Trusty, Davis’ brother who had been living at the same home. An

Setting It STRAIGHT It is the policy of The News Herald to correct all errors that appear in news stories. If you wish to report an error or clarify a story, call 747-5070 or email [email protected].

unnamed eyewitness who had intimate knowledge of the crime scene identified Trusty as the suspected shooter, police said. The community’s fear of witness retaliation was validated by a separate charge of tampering with a witness against Trusty. While in custody, Trusty allegedly threatened a family member of the witness. Trusty told the witness he would beat the murder charges — and anyone who cooperated with law enforcement. Investigators have not released a motive in the shooting, but said it was not an act of self-defense or in defense of others.

KJ’s, June 9 People leaving KJ’s Lounge about 3 a.m. June 9 saw the shooting of 19-year-old Jshun Smith. Greene drove Smith, who was new to the area from Atlanta, to KJ’s that night. Witnesses said the shooting stemmed from a previous relationship between Smith’s girlfriend and his accused assailant, 24-year-old Khiry Ross. Gunfire erupted in the parking lot as the night came to a violent close, according to investigative records. “I was like, ‘Baby, just go,’ ” the girlfriend told police. “He was like trying to get mad and stuff … and the next thing I know they start shooting.” Greene recalled several commotions near the nightclub as he waited in the cranked Navigator and Smith stood on the passenger-side running board. He heard screaming between Smith and someone else before hearing one gunshot and then several successive shots. Greene gunned the car, weaving erratically to escape. “By the time I fishtail, he sat down — he ain’t even in the car yet,” Greene said. “By the time he sat down, blood just go gushing everywhere.” Greene fled the scene but wouldn’t escape danger in the following days. According to Ross’ arrest report, he fired shots in the air before ducking behind a car in the parking lot and turning the gun on Smith. However, prosecutors are not expecting a self-defense argument. “By firing his gun in the air, he instilled fear in all of the bystanders,” Sombathy said. “That is not self-defense on his part.” Ross and Marcus Mathis, 25, were arrested in connection with

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DARRIAN GUILFORD HAMILTON

Charged with aggravated assault and felon in possession with a firearm

murder and Woullard has been charged with principal to second-degree murder. Thomas was charged with accessory after the fact to homicide. In a bizarre coincidence, police arrested Darrian Aundre Guilford Hamilton, 36, of Oakland, Calif., and charged him with aggravated assault and felon in possession with a firearm after he fired a weapon July 26 at family members of Greene at Andrews Place apartments. No one was injured.

No premeditation Much like all the other suspects of the summer’s slayings, no one has been accused of premeditation — indicating the deaths were the result of a split-second decision. Authorities said they do not believe any of the shootings were calculated. “All of these murders are devastating for the families, but it’s not nearly as villainous as we originally thought,” Sombathy said. Since the arrests, community groups and officials have tried to prevent future shootings, decrease social alienation and usher in an economic engine to decrease the allure of quick money inherent in the drug trade or gang activity. Stop the Violence has held numerous rallies and speeches, and made outreach efforts in schools as the summer ended and schools opened. The Panama City Police Department started a Street Crime Unit and immersing officers in the Glenwood community. Members of the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency approved the purchase of KJ’s Lounge and 707 E. Ninth Court and an adjacent empty lot. Ervin said police received 267 calls to KJ’s since 2008, including 20 batteries, 17 physical disturbances, 14 discharged weapons and two homicides. The CRA purchased the properties as part of the Downtown North Cultural District, a project aimed to establish a stable economy in the Glenwood community while preserving its history and culture. But despite those accomplishments, and somewhat in spite of the people’s efforts, what lingers at the core of violence is an unpredictable and unpreventable element. “With all the technology and analysis we have in this day, we still don’t have a device to predict human nature,” Ervin said. “There is no way we can tell what will push a person over that edge.”

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JULY 26: Shots fired at Tavish Greene’s family

TYRICKA

Charged with SHAVON conspiracy to WOULLARD commit armed Charged with Charged with robbery for an conspiracy to conspiracy to alleged scheme commit armed commit armed and principal to robbery for an robbery for an second-degree alleged scheme alleged scheme and and accessory after murder after Tavish principal to secondGreene’s slaying degree murder after fact to homicide after Tavish Tavish Greene’s Greene’s slaying slaying

churches and government agencies as a “Stop Violence” movement formed after McGriff’s death. Residents hoped that raising social awareness would influence others not to resist helping authorities and quell any future violence or retaliation. “This awareness will bestow courage onto the community, Bob Sombathy therefore making them feel safe assistant state attorney and their identities secure to come forward with any informational leads,” Henderson said of the No the shooting. Mathis was charged More Monsters group. as an accessory to murder. Ross “We cannot allow these monwas charged with second-degree sters to hide in our communities murder. They are awaiting trial. any longer.” But not long after No More MonMacedonia Gardens, June 19 sters and Stop the Violence, the disappearance of Greene — who The youngest life taken in Pan- saw his cousin killed — would ratama City this summer has yet to tle an already tense community. result in a murder arrest. Samuel McGriff Jr., 17, was Eighth Court, July 24 shot in the stomach about 4:30 a.m. June 19 while standing in Greene had been dead sevan outdoor common area of Mace- eral days before July 24, when donia Gardens apartments on police found his body in the trunk 17th Street. of a white 2004 Chevrolet Malibu “His life was taken way too soon behind an abandoned house at 526 at the age of 17,” Loyal Chip Hen- E. Eighth Court. derson, McGriff’s cousin, wrote on Family members said he had a community outreach Facebook been receiving death threats page. “Our family was robbed of his before he disappeared July 20, but presence and now we need your police were reluctant to release a help with bringing the monster(s) missing persons report. They were who took my cousin to justice.” alerted to the vehicle about 11 a.m. Police said McGriff had just left the day after the Bay County SherPlayer’s nightclub. iffs’ Office issued a report. They Henderson created No More found Green in the truck, shot mulMonsters, a Facebook page dedi- tiple times. cated to pressuring police, after The discovery increased tenofficers found McGriff shot in the sion in the community, and Ervin kitchen of unit C-102. Police said asked residents to stave off unconMcGriff refused to cooperate with firmed reports of car trunks conthem that night when they tried to taining dead bodies. Police also get information. scrambled to make an arrest in McGriff was taken to a local the killing of a key witness they hospital, where he was listed in had interviewed about two months stable condition. Early the next earlier. day, hospital personnel notified Darryl Mack, 21, Tyricka Shavon police that McGriff had died. Woullard, 20, and Dontavis Terrell Police released images of a van Thomas, 22, were arrested and fleeing Macedonia Gardens shortly charged with conspiracy to comafter the time of the shooting, and mit armed robbery for an alleged Sammie “Trigger Tre” Underwood scheme. III, 21, was arrested for several Police reports said the three felonies while police announced suspects lured Greene to Woulthey suspected he was connected lard’s home at 3710 W. 21st St., to McGriff ’s death. Underwood where they planned to rob him was charged June 30 with several the morning of July 19. Thomas charges of felon in possession of a and Mack allegedly used phone firearm, ammo and drugs. calls and text messages to draw Police said DNA testing on a Greene into a trap through Woullhat left at a crime scene led them ard, his ex-girlfriend. The three hid to suspect Underwood. However, inside, waiting to ambush Greene no one has been arrested for McG- for money and narcotics, police riff’s slaying. reported. Several enclaves of community Since then, Mack has been watch groups began to join with charged with second-degree

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JULY 24: Tavish Greene’s body found

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Sunday, October 5, 2014 | The News Herald | Page A3

CHANGE from Page A1 “Looking at the problem, there’s a national epidemic, and it’s in Panama City,” said Jonathan Wilson, a former Panama City commissioner of 23 years who operates a barber shop in the heart of one of the areas struck by violence. Panama City Police Chief Scott Ervin said the worst period for homicides in recent history was seven killings in 2007. He said having almost as many incidents within the city limits in a three-month time frame from May to July has caused the community to focus on gun violence — and what can be done to prevent it — this time around. “It was very taxing for us to have so many homicides going on at once,” Ervin said. Officers shuffled duties in the wake of the shootings to beef up the street crime unit, increase patrol in high-risk neighborhoods and carry out two ongoing investigations to nab shooting suspects. As investigations progressed, officers fielded questions from a community desperate to know why the city was experiencing a murderous epidemic and what was being done about it. Was it all over drugs? Are these young people up to no good out of boredom? Are gangs proliferating? According to the Florida Gang Reduction report issued by Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Bay County is on the same scale as the Orlando, Tampa and Miami metro areas for gang presence. Bay County was identified in the report as having more than 80 gangs in the area since at least 2011.

But Ervin said although the suspects and victims in some of the cases had gang affiliations, the shootings er upted for other reasons. “These weren’t random acts,” he said. “They were people who knew one another.” For instance, 19-year-old Jshun Smith was fatally shot outside of KJ’s Lounge on June 9 for trying to buy a drink for the girlfriend of one of his assailants. Tavish Greene, a witness to Smith’s slaying, was discovered in the trunk of his car July 24, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. But police said the motive in Greene’s killing was the result of a robbery gone bad and was unrelated to him witnessing Smith’s homicide. Another victim, Leonard Price, was shot for stealing a bicycle, according to investigators. “I’m trying to figure out why they murdered my son,” Price’s mother said. “It’s hurting me each and every day.” Price is reluctant to accept what she’s heard about her son’s activities the night he was killed. She hopes justice will win and her son’s shooters “get what they deserve.” Conflicts over theft, a woman, drugs and other causes still unknown were attributed to the shooting deaths. Public opinion seems muddled on the degree of gang influence in the killings, but residents collectively agree on one aspect. “It’s a lot of senseless violence for things that

don’t require that type of the Panama City Beach. He response,” Ervin said. also noted changing family dynamics as a factor in the ‘Culture and mindset’ younger generation growing up with absent fathers. The quest to under“Mothers have a hard stand elusive causes of gun time teaching young boys to violence in Panama City be a man,” he said. brought law enforcement, Wilson sees “idolizing clergy, the school district psychedelic-colored cars and grass-roots coalitions and making fast money with together. drugs” as reasons more “Culture has come young men pick up guns up that guns are a way to today. solve problems,” Ervin said. The victims and those “That’s why we need to get arrested in connection to the community involved recent shootings were all to change that culture and black men in their teens, mindset.” 20s and 30s, except for one Gun culture is in some female arrested in Greene’s measure created by a case. The violence occurred destructive mindset. in impoverished areas, and Wilson feels peer pres- drugs were not always a sure and the glamorization factor. of criminal activity precedes “The only commonality a lot of gun violence. between these cases is that “We’re vastly losing a people made bad decisions young generation of black and decided to use guns to men,” Wilson said. “They settle disputes,” Ervin said. have a different mindset than in the years past.” ‘It takes The 78-year-old Millville resident has watched the a community’ socioeconomic environment Those who’ve responded change over the decades to the homicides’ impact on since he started cutting hair the community describe it as at Wilson Brothers Barber a multifaceted problem that Shop in 1954. has uncovered social issues “It’s really changed. We and a cultural disconnect had a lot of black businesses between law enforcement that time took away,” he and the black community. said. “This is the first time I’ve He recalled when, even seen a diverse cross-section during segregation, Panama of our community express a City was a more cohesive willingness to work across community. He said the barriers on this particular economy thrived on mom- issue,” said Janice Lucas and-pop businesses run by of the Lead Coalition, one families focused on sending of the grass-roots groups to their children to college. form in the urgency to help To Wilson, the social fab- stop the violence. ric unraveled with economic The coalition is made up conditions as larger corpo- of residents, nonprofits, pasrations forced small busi- tors, educators, law enforcenesses to close or move to ment and other community

leaders that meet to stay in touch on what is happening in the community. Members have hosted discussion panels and rallies and gone door to door in affected neighborhoods to soothe concerned citizens. Lucas, a lifelong Panama City resident, attributes deterioration of the community to high crime, a depressed economy and a surplus of failing public schools. “You can’t deny the fact that we don’t have education and jobs,” Wilson said. He feels the lack of opportunity does little to help young people choose better paths after high school. Lack of economic stability makes drugs an attractive option for income or an escape when living in poverty. Ervin said the drug trade thrives regardless of race, gender and economic status. Panama City has its fair share of poverty. Lucas said Panama City Beach is home to an underground drug trade fueled by the party culture and tourist dollars. “That situation permeates the community,” she said. “Employers have a problem finding clean candidates.” Ervin said the drugs of choice in the county are prescription pills, methamphetamine, crack, cocaine and heroin at times. Police are addressing gun and drug issues by classifying sections of the city as high risk, at risk or stable to know where efforts need to be spent. In light of what’s happened, Lucas said people in the community brought new resources to the table, along with a vision for long-term change. Lines of

communication finally are wide open among diverse groups about how to intervene with social problems and rejuvenate the economy and infrastructure. “When we came together this summer, we said we’re not pointing fingers and we’re going to work together,” she said. The Panama City Community Redevelopment Agency spurred the effort along last month by purchasing and shutting down KJ’s night club. To make sure new protections don’t fade with time, the Lead Coalition meets with law enforcement and local ministers frequently to assess what’s happening in the community. Police have formed partnerships with managers of threatened housing developments to keep suspicious activity under the spotlight. Free grief counseling also had been offered at A.D. Harris Learning Center to those affected by the homicides. Lucas said those who’ve come forward this summer want to see the synergy continue for the long-haul. Wilson hopes the area around his barber shop — a block from where Smith was killed at KJ’s and a few blocks from where Tavish Greene’s body was discovered in a car — will one day be restored to its former glory. To some, the summer of homicide sparked a realization of potential for progress in Panama City. “Out of everything that’s happened, I hope it can bring about some good,” Wilson said.

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WATER AND SEWER RATES

RIPPLE EFFECT AP

Dr. Jeffrey Epstein marks areas on the face of Army veteran Joseph Jones, who suffered facial injuries when he was hit by a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq, before facial hair transplant surgery in Miami so Jones can grow a beard for the first time in a decade.

Doctors help Youngstown soldier regain facial hair By AUDRA D.S. BURCH Miami Herald

HEATHER LEIPHART | News Herald file photo

Bay County’s water treatment plant is seen in 2013. The water plant supplies water to many of the county’s consumers.

Cost of water, sewer depends on where you live By JOHN HENDERSON • 522-5108 | @PCNHjohn | [email protected]

A resident living in unincorporated Bay County pays $110.02 for an average 6,000-gallon monthly water and sewer bill, while a resident using the same number of gallons in Panama City Beach pays $51.71.

P

payday,” she said. Rhodes said she was surprised to learn that Parker and Callaway charge higher water and sewer rates than other local governments in Bay County. In fact, there is a wide disparity in rates paid by people who live in different cities and the unincorporated areas. For example, a resident living in unincorporated Bay County pays $110.02 for an average 6,000-gallon monthly water and sewer bill, while a resi-

ANAMA CITY BEACH — As assistant manager of Emerald Coast Dry Cleaners in Parker, Mary Rhodes is well aware of how much the water and sewer bill for a business costs the owner. And as a working person, she said the water and sewer bill for her home a few blocks away in Callaway also takes a heavy toll on her budget. “Sometimes I live payday to

dent using the same number of gallons in Panama City Beach pays $51.71. “That ticks me off,” Rhodes said, pointing out that she thought all the cities charged the same rates.

Many factors Factors that occur long before a consumer turns on the tap cause a ripple effect on water and sewer rates, officials say. SEE WATER RATES | A2

RESIDENTIAL WATER RATE COMPARISON OF BAY COUNTY August 2014 MONTHLY COST BASED ON 6,000 GALLONS USAGE

$45.00 $40.00

$35.00 $30.00 $25.00 $20.00 $15.00 $10.00 $5.00 $0.00 BAY COUNTY

CALLAWAY

LYNN HAVEN

MEXICO BEACH

PANAMA CITY

PANAMA CITY BEACH

PANAMA CITY BEACH PROPOSED

PARKER

SPRINGFIELD

This chart shows the water rates for residents of the municipalities in Bay County.

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Young ARTIST D5-6

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WEATHER A couple of t-storms; high 80, low 75. | B2

NATION & WORLD A3-7 OUT & ABOUT

MIAMI — Army veteran Joseph Jones looked in the mirror at his swollen face and the patches that eventually would become his eyebrows and beard. Still numb, he gently patted the tiny hair follicles that had been planted in arcs above his eyes and along his jawline. He looked side to side in the mirror, taking in all the rows, as the first hint of a smile began to form. It looked to him like the beginnings of a pine tree forest sprouting from his face. But soon enough, he hoped, he would look like the Jones he knew well before the explosion. For the first time in more than a decade, Jones — 35 years old, married, former soldier, war survivor — would have his eyebrows and beard back, their absence the collateral damage of a roadside bomb during the Iraq war. For the first time in more than a decade, Jones could recognize traces of his old self. “After the IED blast, my hair would not grow on my face. I don’t have eyebrows, eyelashes or a beard. I looked odd and sometimes people would stare at me,” said Jones, who lives in Youngstown with his wife and daughter. “I feel like I lost a part of my identity when I lost my hair.” Recently, a Miami-Dade plastic surgeon worked to restore what Jones had lost. Dr. Jeffrey Epstein performed hair-transplant surgery, harvesting about 3,000

SAIGE HAMILTON, FIRST GRADE Tyndall Elementary School

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HEATHER LEIPHART News Herald file photo

WATER RATES from pageA1 For 6,000 gallons of usage, the monthly water and sewer bill in Bay County is the most expensive, at $110.02. Second is Springfield, with a combined rate of $102.30. Third is Parker, with a rate of $93.52. Fourth is Callaway, with a rate of $90.20. Fifth is Mexico Beach, with a rate of $89.32. Sixth is Panama City, with a rate of $72.22. Seventh is Lynn Haven, with a rate of $66.50. The Panama City Beach City Council is considering a rate hike, but Beach residents still would pay far less than county residents and those in other cities if the proposed rate is approved. Should the City Council give final approval to hiking the average monthly sewer and water bill to $52.47, it still would be far less than Bay County. And the beach gets its water from Bay County. Panama City Beach City Manager Mario Gisbert said there are several reasons why the city is able to keep its rates the lowest. “We buy all our water from Bay County, but our contract is an old contract,” Gisbert said. “We negotiated very good rates.” The city also operates its own sewer system. “Our sewer (system) is way, way more efficient than anyone else,” he said. Moreover, Gisbert said the city doesn’t have nearly the number of miles of sewer lines to maintain as the county. “It’s like comparing the cost of operating a semi to a Prius,” he said. The rates for residents who live in the city limits also can be kept low because the city charges 25 percent more for water service it sells to residents who live on the island but outside of the city limits, Gisbert said. Gisbert also said rates for full-time city residents can be kept low because the city charges a minimum water and sewer bill of $34.28, as though the person used 3,000 gallons, even if they weren’t there for the month. “Many condo owners aren’t here all year-round,” he said. “We charge a minimum of 3,000 gallons of use. It doesn’t matter if you are using the system.” Paul Lackemacher, utility services director for Bay County, could not be reached for comment to explain why the average water and sewer bill charged to unincorporated residents is the highest of the local governments.

Other cities The city of Springfield’s combined water and sewer rates for the average user is second highest on the list, but there are many reasons for that, city officials say. City Clerk Lee Penton pointed out that the city gets its wholesale water from Bay County, which he said has raised its water fees 27 percent over the last decade, and raised its sewer fees nearly 40 percent. As this was going on, the city increased its water and sewer fees only twice, by 3 percent in 2007 and by 3 percent in 2012. Also, the city has to charge more for sewer costs to cover fixed debt such as bonds associated with being a member of the Advanced Wastewater Treatment System, which includes the county and the cities of Springfield, Parker and Callaway. “Another factor in (the higher rates) is Springfield has more capacity (in its sewer system) than other cities on AWT,” Penton said. “In return, it means we pay more of the AWT bill for the capacity for expansion. We were in talks last year or so of selling capacity to another (city).”

It is the policy of The News Herald to correct all errors that appear in news stories. If you wish to report an error or clarify a story, call 747-5070 or email [email protected].

Even with the higher rates, Springfield still will lose an estimated $97,121 next fiscal year in its water fund, Springfield Mayor Ralph Hammond said. “Our sewer fund next year will profit $231,000, but our water fund will lose $97,000, so it washes each other out,” he said. Hammond said Springfield doesn’t have the advantage that Lynn Haven has of owning and operating its own water and sewer systems. He said Springfield is at the mercy of the county’s wholesale rate increases. “We don’t have as much control over it,” he said. Penton said the overall bill homeowners receive in Springfield isn’t at the top of the list when trash pickup fees, which are lower than other cities, are factored in. “We charge $6 for trash. Parker is at $21 a house for trash,” he said. “At the end of the day, what (a homeowner) has to pay, I think we’re probably third or fourth from the bottom.” Callaway City Manager Michael Fuller said that city’s water and sewer rates, which rank fourth on the list, also are determined by the county’s wholesale price for water. He said a previous council had agreed to an automatic 2.5 percent increase in the rates every year, but that has changed. The council recently passed a resolution stating that the utility rate increases would be tied to the county increases, he said. “Certainly, this (prior 2.5 percent yearly increase) was something suggested in an effort to make sure water and sewer funds balance, that there remained enough to cover any possible debt service,” he said. Fuller said the city also needs to make sure there are adequate funds to cover the payment on the bonds for the Allanton Peninsula Water and Wastewater extension project. In Parker, the sewer and water rates for an average homeowner are third highest, but the city uses the surplus funds above what it costs to operate the utilities for other services, such as streets and parks. It’s known as an “interfund transfer,” and adds up a couple of hundred thousand dollars each year. Because Parker has no property tax, the overall bill a resident pays to be in the city is reasonable, Mayor Rich Musgrave said. “What any homeowner should do is total the tax burden, total everything, and the ad valorem (property tax) part of it,” Musgrave said. “When you add in the bottom line, I think Parker is a fairly reasonable-costing city.” Panama City’s sewer and water rates for the average user of 6,000 gallons a month are near the middle of all of the pack, at $72.22. Each year, the city transfers about $800,000 of the utility revenues to its general fund to use for other services. The city gets its water from Bay County. Each year, the city raises the rates based on the county’s increases in wholesale water costs as well as a utility index put out by the Public Service Commission, which recommends an amount to set aside for water system maintenance, said Matt Stanley, the director of utilities for Panama City. “Whatever they recommend for (increasing rates for) utilities, that amount is set aside money for repairs and goes into our overall fund for operations and repairs,” he said.

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Army veteran Joseph Jones is marked for hair transplants. would grow back. But it never did,” he said. “I can grow a goatee, but only because it was covered during the blast by my chinstrap.” Eight months later, Jones was in a second roadside explosion just outside Najaf, Iraq, wrecking his left knee and right ankle when the truck he was riding in rolled over onto him. He returned to the United States with a limp, no eyebrows, eyelashes or beard — and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In Youngstown He left the service, eventually settling in Youngstown. He took medication to calm the memories of war, but he still struggled at times. He had a brush with the law. He and his first wife, with whom he has three children, divorced. In 2007, Jones remarried and now sports a tattoo of his second wife’s lips on the side of his neck. Jones says he hasn’t been able to find steady work because of his PTSD. But it is the hairless face, the eyes without cover, that bother him most. A couple of times, insensitive people had even called him “Powder,” an albino character in the 1995 movie of the same name. It’s about Jeremy “Powder” Reed, who has supernatural powers — and lacks the ability to grow hair. Jones had resigned himself to living without facial hair until earlier this year, when he heard about the Faces of Honor program through a veterans’ organization. On Aug. 6, Jones made the eight-hour drive to Epstein’s office, the first step toward becoming whole. Jones was the doctor’s first patient in the program, although he has performed similar pro bono procedures for victims of domestic violence. During the consultation, Jones envisioned the 5 o’clock shadow worn by actor Jason Statham, or, if he were really lucky, a thick hipster beard like that of Jason “Jase” Robertson of the “Duck Dynasty” reality show. For the eyebrows, he was less specific, simply strips of hair that would help to reframe his face and, he hoped, stop the probing questions. “The hair is a way for me to feel better about yourself,” he said.

For Jones, military service was his chosen career path since age 8, when he was awed by the movies “Top Gun” and “Iron Eagle.” His grandfather, father and an uncle had been Army men. He enlisted in his hometown near Jackson, Miss. “When I saw those movies, I knew that was my course in life,” he said. “I knew I wanted to serve my country.” Jones deployed to Iraq in 2004, early in the U.S-led invasion. In March of that year, he and four others were in a Humvee delivering food to fellow soldiers in a convoy traveling through southern Iraq. Then, a small blast. No one was seriously hurt. Jones’ injuries were superficial, relatively painless and, it turned out, deceptive. What Jones didn’t know at the time: The heat of the flames probably deadened the hair follicles on his face and damaged the pigment of his skin. “It was almost like a grease fire like you see in the kitchen, but it took off my eyeThe operation brows and eyelashes. When I To prepare for the transwas receiving treatment, the doctors told me everything plant procedure, a technician

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hair follicles from a donor site on the back of his head and replanting them on his face. The eight-hour procedure in Epstein’s South Miami office, donated by the doctor, was performed as part of the Faces of Honor program, a national initiative by the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and its foundation to help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans injured in the line of duty. Jones’ procedure would ordinarily cost about $16,000. “We are trying to make these veterans look whole. There is a difference between healed and whole,” said Dr. Charlie Finn, the humanitarian chair of the plastic surgery academy. The program, launched in 2009, coordinates the academy’s plastic surgeons, who donate their services. Only a handful of procedures have been performed so far, including treatment for burns and scar revisions, because the program is not wellknown. Two years ago, Finn repaired the nose of a soldier injured in a Taliban attack in Afghanistan. Considered elective and mostly aesthetic, the services often complement the care already provided by the Veterans Affairs health care system. To qualify, veterans must have a combat injury in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom and an honorable discharge. The surgical procedures are as much about psychological healing as looks or function. “The facial hair loss for Jones raises the memories of what was a trauma,” said Epstein, a surgeon with offices in Miami and New York who has specialized in hair restoration since 1994. “The beard and facial hair will put him in harmony with how he feels. It’s going to make a difference.”

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shaved the bottom third of Jones’ hair on the back of his head, an area called the donor site. That area is used for transplants because it grows hair genetically resistant to balding, the reason balding men often retain a “wreath” of hair on the sides and back. Before the operation, Epstein drew the outline of eyebrows and a beard on Jones’ face with a blue marker, drawing the beard thinner than Jones originally wanted to make sure enough follicles on the donor site were available. Once grafts are removed, the hairs in the donor site would not grow back, so Epstein made sure to spread out the harvested area. For the eyebrows, he drew arcs that were symmetrical but not perfect. Jones would go from a small goatee to a “full beard,” Epstein said as he drew. “Of course, the sideburns are a key for him. For the eyebrows, I am just filling in, which will make a big difference.” He has performed more than 9,000 hair procedures over two decades: “For eyebrows, women want nice, sculpted looks. Guys generally just want hair.” Jones was injected with a local anesthetic where the grafts would be harvested from the scalp and transplanted, a modern technique called follicular unit extraction. Using a microscopic drill, Epstein made micro-punches in the donor tissue, then plucked the grafts — naturally-occurring groupings of one to four hairs called follicular units. Each graft is placed in a petri dish and separated into the units. Epstein uses varying unit sizes. The doctor then used a surgical jeweler’s forceps to punch holes into the bare eyebrow and beard area, called the recipient site. For the beard, the punches were set in an irregular pattern but at varying angles so the hair would look natural. For the eyebrows, he placed the holes in a cross-hatch pattern. For the next five hours, Epstein carefully placed the units into the incisions, one by one. When it was over, Jones was swollen, bruised and bloodied — but pleased. The newly planted hairs looked like stubble after shaving. He said it felt like the sting of a sunburn. The technicians began to explain how to care for his face during the first 24 hours — do not touch; do not get wet. Jones listened, but rarely looked away from the mirror. After 10 years and eight hours on a Wednesday, the promise of facial hair was real. The newly implanted hairs began to fall out within two weeks. They will regenerate in about four months, growing into full eyebrows and a beard. For now, he is hairless again. “Some people might look at me and say I don’t need hair,” he said. “But this is important to me. I want to look normal.”

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