What I will remember as a very long, yet poignant day, started very early. I was the official photographer for an event titled Breathe Life not Tobacco and had to get shooting by 8:00.
It was an event that was geared to teach young kids about the dangerous realities of smoking and how the tobacco companies target them. I will defer to the Pensacola News Journal to explain the event…
Published – March, 28, 2007
Grandson of tobacco giant asks students not to smoke
Chrissy Littledale
Thousands of local students were bused to Pensacola Naval Air Station on Tuesday morning and asked to kick butts.
Cigarette butts.
Patrick Reynolds — grandson of tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds who now is a national advocate for a smoke-free society — spoke to nearly 3,500 middle- and high-school students in an aircraft hangar at the base. He is scheduled to address a second group of students on Thursday at the air station.
Reynolds shared the story of his father’s death from smoking, discussed tobacco’s addictive nature and shed light on the inherent risks of using tobacco. He said he hoped to encourage the students to choose hope over tobacco.
”With the war and everything else happening in the world, a lot of kids think, ‘Why bother?’ ” Reynolds said. “Hopefully they will be inspired to have more faith in their future.” Reynolds said a big part of that is making healthy choices, like choosing not to smoke cigarettes. “I hope they have had their eyes opened about addictions and how the industry is targeting them,” he said after speaking to the kids. “I hope they were moved.”
At least one student was. Monica Armsted, 13, said she was touched by the speech. “It was inspiring to see someone who would go against their family to do what they really believe in,” said the Holley-Navarre Middle School student. “I already knew most of (the information about smoking), but it was still reassuring.”
Reynolds also spoke to about 5,000 sailors Tuesday afternoon. “I lost both parents to smoking-related illnesses, so I saw it firsthand,” said Capt. Bob Fiegl, commanding officer of the Naval Air Technical Training Center. “We are happy to do anything we can to heighten the awareness.”
During his three-day tour, Reynolds will address 10,000 students from the two-county area
One thing I was amazed and shocked at was the utter lack of respect the students showed him during his speech. It started with the pledge of allegiance, they could have cared less about the flag and what it means. They congregated in small groups laughing and carrying on while the speech was going on. Kids got up in groups of 4, 5 or more and just walked around. I really could not believe what I saw. I could not have taken that if I were speaking I would have voiced my opinion and demanded attention. In stark comparison though were the Naval Students who as soon as the commander called for “attention on deck” you could have heard a pin drop. The next stop was the VIP party at PJC where I was a dancing monkey shooting picture after picture on demand :) I could not wait to get home.
After eventually getting to bed we were awoken by flashing red lights outside our window. Within a couple of minutes of watching outside it grew from 1 ambulance and police cruiser to 8 cruisers. We saw someone pacing outside in mental distress, and heard some screaming. We all woke up and went out on the porch to see what was going on. The police quartered off the area with crime scene tape so we knew something bad had happened. After about an hour trying to find out what was going on, each of us having our own theories. We all decided to go to bed and see what happened on the news the next day.
We got up early and checked online, nothing. Look outside to see if the tape was still up and it was gone and the place looked like nothing happened at all with two cars parked in the driveway. Suddenly a lone news vehicle cruised down the road and set up for a shot. Curiosity got the best of me. I walked out and asked him if he knew what happened. All he said was there was an accidental shooting. Pensacola News Journal finally shed light on the event…
Published – March, 28, 2007
Pensacola man killed in home
Thyrie Bland
A Pensacola man has been charged in the fatal shooting of a friend with a gun he didn’t know was loaded, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said today. Ryan Evers, 29, is being held without bond on a manslaughter charge in the death of Austin Minchell, 27, of Pensacola.
Minchell was shot in the head about 10 p.m. Tuesday at his home in the 2600 block of Brooklyn Street.
Evers told deputies he was sitting at a table with Minchell and a 17-year-old girl, and they were handling a gun in a “joking manner,” according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office report. Evers said he picked up the gun and asked Minchell, ‘How fast can you get your gun,’ ” the report said. “Evers stated that when he saw the victim and the (teenager) playing with the gun earlier it was unloaded, and that he didn’t realize that the gun had been loaded prior to him firing it,” the report said. Evers also told deputies he had smoked marijuana.
Minchell’s wife, Kristin, was asleep when the shooting occurred. She said she heard a scream and went to see what was wrong. She said she first thought something had happened to the couple’s 8-month-old daughter. Kristin Minchell got out of bed and found her husband sitting in a chair in the sun room fatally wounded.
The husband died in his wife’s arms.
“This is horrible,” Kristin Minchell said. “Our daughter was just starting to say dada.”
Kristin Minchell said she and her husband, childhood sweethearts, were married in 2004. The widow fought tears Wednesday as she tried to talk about her husband and what happened. “I don’t know what to do next,” she said. She said she believes Evers’ story that shooting was an accident, but it’s difficult to accept her husband’s death.
Kristin Minchell said her husband and Evers worked together at the Shrimp Basket on Davis Highway and had known each other a few years. “This has cost me my life,” she said
The sound of loss and despair in her voice as she wailed in grief is something I will never forget. It made my heart sink and I got sick to my stomach, I felt so bad for her. I prayed I would never feel the pain I was hearing in her cries.
