Welcome back, Carter

Carter won't have to dunk over Howard anymore. Photo by Reuters.

Yesterday, the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team made the surprise announcement: Number 15, VC, Vinsanity, a.k.a. Vince Carter had been acquired from the New Jersey Nets in a three for two trade. Carter, an Allstar himself, would add to the already talented starting lineup of Allstars: center Dwight Howard, point guard Jameer Nelson, and power forward Rashard Lewis, to fill the critical position of shooting guard.

Carter, a native of Daytona Beach and resident of Orlando, is already a hometown hero in the eyes of local residents. In an effort to give back, Carter has generously donated to many organizations which have touched his life. He is highly admired and respected for his generous philanthropy. It is only fitting that Carter come home to play for the local NBA team, the Orlando Magic, where he can someday end his basketball playing career.

Carter attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, part of the Volusia County public school system. His team won the state championship in 1995. Carter played baritone in the marching band and the saxophone in the jazz band and graduated with honors in 1995.

In 1995, Carter was accepted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he played basketball under legendary coach, Dean Smith, before Smith retired in October of 1997. Carter was the Tarheel’s leading scorer during UNC’s NCAA final four playoff games in 1997 and 1998. Although he left college in 1998 to take his chances with the NBA draft, he later returned to school and graduated with a degree in African-American studies from UNC in 2001.

In 1998, Carter was drafted 5th in the NBA by the Golden State Warriors on behalf of the Toronto Raptors, where he would spend his next six years. He won the coveted “Rookie of the Year” award in 1999. In 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets where he became the team’s leading scorer.

GIVING BACK

While earning the big NBA paychecks, Carter never forgot his roots. He created the “Embassy of Hope Foundation,” a charity to assist families and children, soon after joining the NBA in 1998. The amount of donations the foundation has awarded is phenomenal. A comprehensive list is currently posted on the Nets website.

Carter’s own website also lists updates on his current fundraisers and projects: www.vincecarter15.com

His mother, Michelle Carter-Scott, now a Palm Coast resident, has assisted and guided Carter in his philanthropic efforts.

While earning money playing for Toronto, Carter set up scholarship funds to benefit students back home in Daytona Beach. Over the next few years he would become an institution in the community, founding a summer basketball camp, donating to local schools and libraries, and even giving 2.5 million dollars to Volusia County Public schools to assist in rebuilding Mainland High School.

If you drive along International Speedway in Daytona Beach, you will see the beautiful, new Vince Carter Athletic Center at the new Mainland High School campus, named for Carter in honor to his continued dedication to education.

Carter and his mother are currently involved in a new project: a 100-bed treatment facility for substance abuse set to open on July 20 in Bunnell, FL. The facility will be named the Vince Carter Sanctuary and will be run by the Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare System, a mental health group which operates 15 facilities in Volusia and Flagler Counties. The website features a personal message by Carter, where he says, “Together, we can Slam-Dunk Addiction at the Vince Carter Sanctuary.”

Race car driver, Darrell Waltrip, and his wive, Stevie, also sponsor a center run by Stewart-Marchman-Act.

To honor Carter and his mother for their contributions to the local community, Carter will serve as the honorary pace car driver at this year’s Daytona 400 sponsored by Coke Zero on Saturday, July 4.

Carter is also set to open his own restaurant, just off I-95 on LPGA. The restaurant is currently under construction.

RYAN ANDERSON JOINS THE MAGIC

Traded along with Carter comes Ryan Anderson, an up and coming rookie forward who shows real promise to someday be an Allstar himself. Anderson’s stats are nearly as good as veteran Magic player's Hedo Turkoglu, who perhaps coincidentally, also wears the number 15 jersey and has publicly announced that he would like a raise if he were to stay with the Magic, or else? One can’t help but think that Carter has been eyeing that number 15 Orlando Magic jersey for some time, now. Turkoglu might want to rethink his demand for a raise.

Although I am sad to see Magic players Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie leave the Magic and will miss them terribly (Go get ‘em, guys!), I am extremely ecstatic to welcome Carter home to Florida. Welcome back!

Use Intelligence to Rebuild and Help Flood Victims

Last year when I purchased my first home in Florida, I actually had to turn down an accepted offer I’d put on a home I wanted to buy because it was not insurable. Located on a slight hill in a flood-prone zone, the home was older and had a five foot crawl space so the actual home would be safe in the event of a flood. However, the home was built of wood and the inspector found too much termite damage which made it uninsurable.

Sure enough, this East Volusia home, built sometime in the 1930s, flooded last week during historically heavy May rains. However, due to the fact that the home had a crawl space, the first floor remained dry. (I can’t attest as to whether or not the roof leaked.)

The home I did buy, built in the 1950s of concrete block and also on a small rise, has a three foot crawl space and also did not flood. Only the attached garage, which is lower than the house, took in water. It’s a garage and nothing was damaged – no point even mentioning it to the insurance people. My neighbors who also live in historic homes, some with basements, all escaped damage to their first floor living spaces.

Meanwhile, over 1000 manufactured homes and homes built “slab on grade” must now be demolished. Slab on grade means that the concrete slab foundation is poured directly onto the ground and the home (or building) is constructed on top so that the first floor is only a few inches above the ground (if that). So, in the case of a flood, you have little protection except to pile sandbags around the door openings and perimeter of the home and hope for the best. Here in Florida, flooding occurs every year.

Governor Crist is counting on much needed flood relief from President Barack Obama’s administration to replace and rebuild the over 1000 homes which have been destroyed in cities bordering the east coast of central Florida. I hope Florida flood victims get this relief. However, we have to spend the money wisely.

First, there are numerous homes for sale in dry areas not prone to flooding. Listed on Realtor.com within the 32124 zip code in western Daytona Beach are 67 single family detached homes just waiting for new owners. In all of Daytona Beach, there are currently 997 single family detached homes for sale. In Ormond Beach, 1100 single family homes are for sale. Rather than rebuild in the same flood prone areas, flood victims should be educated to buy an already built home in a non-flood prone area of similar value to the one they are replacing. This will serve two purposes: provide for new homes while remedying the glut of homes for sale currently on the market.

Flood prone areas can be redesignated as parks and retention ponds and swales can be built in their place. You can never have too many parks.

Likewise, the government can issue coupons to flood victims to replace other items. This will help the nearly bankrupted furniture and appliance stores by buying already overstocked goods filling local Central Florida stores. Cars should be replaced with domestic Chrysler, GM, and Ford cars already on the lot. There's no sense making or building something new when the market itself is flooded with goods. It's a win win. The government will be helping not only the victims, but also struggling manufacturers and businesses.

Should someone need to rebuild in the same location, possibly to restore an historic home or replace a much needed business, school or church, the first floor of the building should be raised at least four feet above grade. This allows water to flood below the building while allowing enough room to repair plumbing and electric when necessary. One of the most popular designs in flood prone coastal areas is the "garage on the bottom" design where the first floor is raised eight feet above grade.