Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 1

101st Year, No. 42. Ml 11. 20M St tvTTT5 ITT. READY TO BE SCARED? Horror novelist Stephen King joins the lineup for Seven Days U3I1JUSIH11UJ arts festival iilH Local IB Promoting democracy since 1905 rrn A TT TT Saturday, February 11, 2006 TALLAHASSEE com 50 Cents LKiiiaaik'i ty I -ft nrtrr-W A 7TTT A rrTTlTn TFtTTT ITTTK OTTT A FTT1 ii i i ii ii iv iv.

vi 1 1 i i 1 1 I i i ill 1 1 iii tiff iii ii itii ii i Mdf mm mm sSate i pirns! in DOC lawsuit "saddened and really disappointed, but I had to doit." As if to signal that he wants real reform, Bush appointed Grosby named By Bill Cotterell DEMOCRAT POLITICAL EDITOR Gov. Jeb Bush ousted embattled state prison chief James Crosby on Friday but couldn't say why. "I asked for the resignation of Secretary Crosby," Bush said. "There's an Vigil held for missing ongoing investigation. I can't speak of the details but today was the appropriate time that we were given the chance to take action." The governor, who had staunchly supported Crosby through state and federal investigations of the prison system, said he was Crosby retired Army Col.

Jim McDonough as interim secretary of the Department of 1 I HI' i i A More than 150 people came to a Green subdivision. "All, wherever JJtu i i in-' i 4 1 PHIL SEARS Democrat vigil for All Gilmore, who hasn't been heard from since Feb. 3, In front of her house in Wilson you are, come home. We're waiting for you," said Attallah McLawrence, Gilmore's sister. ex-paratrooper and West Point graduate who has headed the governor's drug-policy office since 1999, will serve until Bush finds someone to head the department for his last year in office.

State and federal police agencies, which have been checking out allegations Please see CROSBY, 2 A Agency called DHS 'stepchild' By Ana Radelat GANNETT NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON -Michael Brown, former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the federal response to Hurricane Katrina would have been much different if New Orleans' levees had been hit by a terrorist bomb instead of a hurricane. "If we'd confirmed that a terronst had blown up the 17th St. canal levee, then everybody would have jumped all over that and been try-ing to do everything Brown they could," said Brown who has been criticized for the agency's lax response to Katrina. "But because this was a natural disaster, that has become the stepchild within the Department of Homeland Security." He told members of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Friday that his agency was unable to function effectively after it became part of the Department of Homeland Security. "We reached a fatal flaw in 2003 when FEMA was folded into DHS," Brown said.

"FEMA should not be in DHS." He said he informed top homeland-security officials about the breaching of New Orleans' levees the day Katrina hit land, contradicting DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff and other department officials who said they did not know about the' levee failure until the next day. Brown called homeland-security officials' assertions about the levees "baloney" and "a little disingenuous." Several lawmakers sympathized, saying the Bush administration made Brown a "scapegoat" for the poor federal response to Katrina. Brown was forced to resign two weeks after the disaster, which killed about and left hundreds of thousands homeless. Brown spreads Katrina blame ONLINE EXTRA To read previous Democrat stories about problems within the Department of Corrections, including those mentioned in this story, goto www.Tallahassee.com. Corrections rather than naming a DOC insider.

McDonough, a decroated woman provider is increasingly having more authority on services they are going to provide," said Karen Wood-all, a Tallahassee social-services lobbyist. Curtis' uterus is stuck to her abdomen, and she has an ulcer and bacterial infection in her stomach. She suffers from internal bleeding and hasn't worked since October, when she did temporary office work. She cares for three of her children, a 15-year-old daughter, and twin son and daughter, 8. A 13-year-old son lives Please see CURTIS, 2A Few clues in her disappearance It's hip to be 'cool' Fads come and go, but one word has established itself as a classic.

NATION, 3A 'An assignment from God' Church's Day of Renewal offers workshops and worship to inspire and rejuvenate women. RELIGION, IE Black pioneers to be honored The Riley House will recognize Bishop and Milli-cent Holifield tonight for their contributions. LOCAL, IB Deadly day in Baghdad A car bomb kills at least eight people outside a Sunni mosque. WORLD, 8A Coming Sunday Columnist Gerald Ens-ley has spent a lot of time lately speaking with, and asking people about, Eddie Mitchell. The man behind so many memorable Mitchell Brothers road projects says DOT just won't give him a break.

Get the full story Sunday. NEWS TIP HOTLINE: 599-2233 FOR BREAKING NEWS: www.Tallahassee.com INDEX Advice 4D Bridge 40 Classifieds IF Comics SD Corrections 2B Crossword 4D Editorials 4E Horoscope SF LocalState Lottery Movies Nation Obituaries Religion Sports Television IB 2A 40 3A 7B ID 1C 3D Today: low 60s Tonight: low 30s Rain: 90 Weather, 8C BUSINESS DJIA 500 35.70 3.21 6.01 NASDAQ Details on Page 2A DELIVERY NEWSROOM 599-2170 ADVERTISING 599-2331 OTHER NUMBERS Page 2A 050" Copyright 2006 TaHalwsM Democrat taw. A Gannett newspaper 1 11 7X air Friday, some friends and coworkers began to lose their composure. Others looked down at their slender candles that glowed in the clear, moonlit Gilmore lit ii mn By TaMaryn Waters DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER Tracy Smith's tears glistened on her own face as she wrapped her left arm tightly around her baby sister, Smith, 36, held Attallah McLawrence, 26, close to her body, hoping to ease the pain their whole family was feeling. But, McLawrence's legs began to buckle from grief.

"Ali, come home. I miss you," McLawrence moaned, as tears streamed down her face in the soft candlelight. "Ali, wherever you are, come home. We're waiting for you." As McLawrence's words were heard in the chilled night sky. More than 150 people came to the candlelight vigil to share encouraging words and hope with the family of Ali Gilmore, 30, who hasn't been heard from since Feb.

3. To many that know Gilmore, it was no surprise to see the Please see MISSING, 2A a PHIL SEARS Democrat Sonja Bradwell, a co-worker of Ali Gilmore, sings "The Lord's Prayer" at the vigil. mix up prolongs woman's pain Medicaid By Stephen D. Price DEMOCRAT CAPITOL BUREAU It was the morning of Jan. 31, and Kimberly Curtis was being prepped for surgery.

The end to the constant pain in her abdomen seemed so close. Until the call came about 7:30 a.m. that approval for the hysterectomy she waited months to have was denied by KePRO, the agency contracted by Medicaid. Instead, the agency recommended she take pain pills. Nurses at Capital Regional Medical Center began to take out her IV tube.

"I started to cry," said GLENN BEIL Democrat Kimberly Curtis lies In her "favorite position," meaning the position In which she feels the least pain. She spends days on end balled up hoping the pain will subside. Curtis, 36, a single mother who lives in Woodville. "I couldn't believe it." Although three days later the decision was reversed and her surgery approved, social-services advocates say it's proof the system needs to change. "The (contractor) fggg TALLAHASSEEjNURSERIES v.

siNCI l3 THl CITY'l OlDIfT AND LAROIST fAKE THE PERFECT GIFT im Rco vA cf 3s-2H2.