Media Release from Office of State Rep. Janet Adkins
October 8, 2014 6:05 p.m.
State Representative Janet Adkins, Sheriff Bill Leeper, representatives from FDOT and others will hold a designation ceremony, designating a section of State Road A1A between I-95 and Stratton Road in Nassau County to the memory of Nassau County Sheriffs that have lost their lives in the call of duty. The ceremony will take place at 10:00 AM on October 13, 2014. The location is in Callahan, on A1A at Stratton Road. The event will be on the south side of the road and there will be plenty of parking.
During the 2014 Legislative Session, Representative Adkins sponsored the legislative language that passed in Senate Bill 820 designating this portion of State Road A1A in memory of four fallen Nassau County Deputies. Sheriff Leeper stated, “We feel it is important to honor and recognize the Deputies who have been killed in the line of duty while protecting Nassau County citizens and also remind citizens of the sacrifices public safety officers make.”
Patrol Deputy Joseph W. Robinson (1891) was the first Nassau County Sheriff’s Office deputy killed in the line of duty while assisting other deputies and Fernandina Beach Police Officers in apprehending a violent fugitive in the Fernandina Beach area.
Patrol Deputy Everett E. Johns (1905) was fatally shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect for an outstanding warrant for theft on the south end of Amelia Island.
Patrol Deputy Jeremiah Mattox (1954), while responding in Fernandina Beach to a domestic dispute, was fatally shot by the male suspect upon his arrival to the scene.
Chief Bailiff Lewis “Tom” Hailey (1992), who served as the Chief Bailiff at the Nassau County Courthouse, was fatally injured in an automobile accident on his way home from work.
“The price of freedom is never without sacrifice. The men and women of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office make sacrifices every day to ensure the safety of citizens and their property. I am grateful for all the unsung heroes at the NCSO and would like to express my deepest gratitude for the important work they do every day to keep our community safe. It is an honor to have had the chance to work with Sheriff Leeper in renaming a section of A1A in memory of those Nassau County Deputies that have paid the ultimate price for freedom,” stated Rep. Janet Adkins.
The public is encouraged to attend the dedication ceremony. For additional information, contact Representative Adkins’ office at 904-491-3664.
This is great! Two days later, 15 October, Friday, will occur the dedication of Francis Gibbs Memorial Highway – in honor of my late son, Francis Boll Gibbs. This will be at the Main Beach Parking Lot – 11:00 a.m., Friday, 17 October. Open to the public, of course! This is the first ocean-front seven miles of Highway A-1-A. The same Florida officials will be there – and, they will be speaking. Please do attend!