Florida

🎨50-year-old murals discovered behind Central Florida high school walls

Published

2 years ago

June 29, 2023

🎨50-year-old murals discovered behind Central Florida high school walls

ROCKLEDGE, Fla. – History was uncovered at a Central Florida high school.

Construction workers renovating Rockledge High School’s cafeteria discovered murals painted by students more than 50 years ago behind the walls.

“I was just floored when I saw them because it was like finding a time capsule. There were pictures of football players, books, art and there was surfing,” said Leslie Shinault, the Rockledge High School media specialist. “The paint was in remarkable condition.”

Shinault’s connection with Rockledge High School, located in Brevard County, goes well beyond her long-standing career teaching at the school.

“I’m a fourth generation student here. My mother went to this school and graduated in 1956 when it was Cocoa High. I graduated in 1979 and my kids went here,” Shinault said.

What you may not know is that the campus sits in the former Cocoa High School building that opened in 1952.

The murals were painted in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s on the original concrete walls in the cafeteria. The colors of the football uniforms represent the Cocoa Tigers.

“They have on orange uniforms with black letters. Not sure who the opponent was in the painting, but you can definitely tell it was Cocoa High. The stadium isn’t really recognizable. It’s not McClarty Stadium we host games in now,” Shinault said.

Taking a closer look, she noticed the paintings are signed and dated.

Ron Shepherd ‘69′ appears under several of the paintings.

“We found another mural behind the trophy cases that was painted by Eddy Jonas,” Shinault said.

She pulled out old yearbooks from the library to do a little research on the former students. Both Shepherd and Jonas have passed away, but photos in the yearbooks give insight into student life in the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“In (Jonas’) mural, you can see it was painted a year or two after they integrated the school. You can see there’s a Black student painted in the mural,” Shinault said. “Jonas made a career out of art which was unusual. He graduated what was Cocoa High at the time and went to Florida State University, majoring in fine arts.”

Jonas was an internationally well-known sculptor and painter who created the FSU bronze sportsmanship statue and the student statues standing in Landis Fountain on campus.

Shinault is encouraging current and former students to dig into the history of their school and the students who used to walk the halls. The old Cocoa High yearbooks reflects U.S. history.

“(The year) 1967 was the first year Cocoa High was desegregated, and they hired their first Black administrator in 1986,” Shinault said. “It’s also noticeable, the timeframe was around the Vietnam era, so a lot of the students in these yearbooks either went to college, or they were drafted into the military and served in Vietnam. It’s really fascinating to see history come alive. To be part of it and actually see it on display through the yearbooks and murals on the wall. It’s kind of humbling.”

As for the murals, construction has continued and crews framed up new drywall in front of the original structure, but made sure the paintings remained untouched.

Photos of the murals were shared on social media and some people were wondering if the murals would be cut out, but some administrators said there was little conversation about that due to the size of the murals and the fact that they are on the concrete structure so it would probably take a lot of time and money.

Do you recognize any of the former students in this story or keep in touch with their families? Did you attend Cocoa High school before it became Rockledge High? We’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below.

INSIDER TIP: News 6 Anchor Crystal Moyer graduated from Rockledge High School in 2008. Shinault was her English teacher freshman year.

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Florida

Train collides with fire truck in Florida. Police say 3 firefighters and several passengers hurt

Published

2 minutes ago

December 28, 2024

Press Room

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A high-speed passenger train collided with a fire truck at a crossing Saturday morning in Florida, injuring three firefighters and at least a dozen train passengers, authorities said.

Train collides with fire truck in Florida. Police say 3 firefighters and several passengers hurt

The crash happened at 10:45 a.m. in crowded downtown Delray Beach, multiple news outlets reported. The Brightline train was stopped on the tracks, its front destroyed, about a block away from the Delray Beach Fire Rescue truck, its ladder ripped off and strewn in the grass several yards away, The Sun-Sentinel reported.

The Delray Beach Fire Rescue said in a social media post that three Delray Beach firefighters were in stable condition at a hospital. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue took 12 people from the train to the hospital with minor injuries.

Emmanuel Amaral rushed to the scene on his golf cart after hearing a loud crash and screeching train brakes from where he was having breakfast a couple of blocks away. He saw firefighters climbing out of the window of their damaged truck and pulling injured colleagues away from the tracks. One of their helmets came to rest several hundred feet away from the crash.

“The front of that train is completely smashed, and there was even some of the parts to the fire truck stuck in the front of the train, but it split the car right in half. It split the fire truck right in half, and the debris was everywhere,” Amaral said.

Brightline officials did not immediately comment on the crash.

A spokesperson for the National Transportation Safety Board said it was still gathering information about the crash and had not decided yet whether it will investigate.

The NTSB is already investigating two crashes involving Brightline’s high-speed trains that killed three people early this year at the same crossing along the railroad’s route between Miami and Orlando.

More than 100 people have died after being hit by trains since Brightline began operations in July 2017 — giving the railroad the worst death rate in the nation. But most of those deaths have been either suicides, pedestrians who tried to run across the tracks ahead of a train or drivers who went around crossing gates instead of waiting for a train to pass. Brightline has not been found to be at fault in those previous deaths.

Railroad safety has been a concern since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in February 2023, spilling toxic chemicals that caught fire. Regulators urged the industry to improve safety and members of Congress proposed a package of reforms, but railroads have not made many major changes to their operations and the bill has stalled.

Earlier this month the two operators of a Union Pacific train were killed after it collided with a semitrailer truck that was blocking a crossing in the small West Texas town of Pecos. Three other people were injured, and the local Chamber of Commerce building was damaged.

Associated Press writers Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, Chevel Johnson in New Orleans and Julie Walker in New York contributed.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

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Florida

2024 Fall Report: Florida Gulf Coast • D1Baseball

Published

8 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Press Room

2024 Fall Report: Florida Gulf Coast • D1Baseball

Fall Report
Walter Villa – December 28, 2024

In these days of baseball analytics, it’s time to create a new statistic for Dave Tollett, and, in his case, it’s 52 WA.

In other words, Tollett – in 35 years of coaching – has attended the weddings (WA) of 52 of his former players.

“When the young man wants you there on one of the most important days of his life,” Tollett said, “you know you’re doing something right.”

Tollett – the only coach in the history of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles baseball program – has done a lot of things right as he prepares to enter his 23rd season at FGCU.

Over[…]

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Florida

Florida Lottery Mega Millions, Jackpot Triple Play results for Dec. 27, 2024

Published

16 hours ago

December 28, 2024

Press Room

Florida Lottery Mega Millions, Jackpot Triple Play results for Dec. 27, 2024

The Florida Lottery offers several draw games for those hoping to win one of the available jackpots. Here’s a look at the winning numbers for games played on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

03-07-37-49-55, Mega Ball: 06, Megaplier: 3

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Jackpot Triple Play numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

08-18-21-23-34-39

Check Jackpot Triple Play payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash4Life numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

10-11-21-28-51, Cash Ball: 04

Check Cash4Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Midday: 09-16-17-21-27

Evening: 04-07-11-31-35

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Morning: 15

Matinee: 11

Afternoon: 12

Evening: 07

Late Night: 11

Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 2 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Midday: 8-9, FB: 6

Evening: 8-0, FB: 7

Check Pick 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Midday: 2-3-9, FB: 6

Evening: 4-7-0, FB: 7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 4 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Midday: 3-8-3-8, FB: 6

Evening: 5-5-0-3, FB: 7

Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 5 numbers from Dec. 27 drawing

Midday: 0-8-9-4-2, FB: 6

Evening: 6-4-1-2-5, FB: 7

Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Where can you buy Florida Lottery tickets?

Tickets can be purchased in person at any authorized retailer throughout Florida, including gas stations, convenience stores and grocery stores. To find a retailer near you, go to Find Florida Lottery Retailers.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your prize

Prizes of $599 or less: Claim at any authorized Florida Lottery retailer or Florida Lottery district office.
Prizes for $600 to $1 million: Must be claimed in person at any Florida Lottery district office for games that do not offer an annual payment option.
Prizes greater than $1 million and all prizes with an annual payment option: Must be claimed at Florida Lottery headquarters, except Mega Millions and Powerball prizes, which can be claimed at any Florida Lottery district office.

You also can claim your winnings by mail if the prize is $250,000 or less. Mail your ticket to the Florida Lottery with the required documentation.

Florida law requires public disclosure of winners

If you’re a winner, Florida law mandates the following information is public record:

Full name
City of residence
Game won
Date won
Amount won
Name and location of the retailer where the winning ticket was purchased.

When are the Florida Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 11 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Florida Lotto: 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and Saturday.
Jackpot Triple Play: 11:15 p.m. Tuesday and Friday.
Cash4Life: 9 p.m. daily.
Fantasy 5: Daily at 1:05 p.m. and 11:15 p.m.
Cash Pop: Daily at 8:45 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 2:45 p.m., 6:45 p.m. and 11:45 p.m.
Pick 2, 3, 4, 5: Daily at 1:30 p.m. and 9:45 p.m.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Florida digital producer. You can send feedback using this form.

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