[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 70 (Tuesday, June 6, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1013-E1014]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING JAMES D. DAUGHERTY OF BROOKSVILLE, FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. GINNY BROWN-WAITE

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 6, 2006

  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor James 
D. Daugherty, a brave firefighter from Brooksville, Florida who is 
retiring after more than thirty years of service to our community.
  Chief Daugherty was born in Kentucky on October 10, 1947 to Lilburn 
and Irene Daugherty. Serving in active duty in the U.S. Army from 1966 
to 1969, James was stationed in Vietnam during the war. Later he joined 
the Florida National Guard and served there with distinction for 
seventeen years.
  While stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, James came with a fellow 
soldier to Brooksville, Florida. He met his wife Juanita on a blind 
date and they were married on July 3, 1969. James and Juanita have one 
son, Jeff, and two grandchildren.
  While Chief Daugherty has had a long and distinguished career, one 
specific incident with the Brooksville Fire Department in January 1978 
had a lasting effect on him. Responding to an emergency call at a ditch 
cave-in while off duty, James dug in the dirt to help rescue the 
trapped men. Caught in the second cave-in, the one thing that stayed 
with him was the fact that they were communicating with the man that 
died when the second cave-in caught him in its wake. They were so close 
to saving him when the unthinkable second cave-in happened.
  Promoted to Chief in 1999, James has had a long and distinguished 
firefighting career. In addition to his basic fire training, James has 
gone out of his way to advance his knowledge of life-saving techniques 
and procedures. He has an Associates Degree in Fire Science from St. 
Petersburg Junior College, is certified as an EMT, has attended Florida 
Smoke Divers School, is a Certified Wildland Firefighter, and has 
trained extensively in Emergency Management, Disaster Response, WMD, 
and in Hazardous Materials Response through the National Fire Academy 
and the Department of Homeland Security.
  The dedication James has shown to the Fire Department is truly 
outstanding. Following open heart surgery in October 2002, Chief 
Daugherty went back to work as soon as his doctor would release him. He 
was determined that this surgery would not keep him down.
  Mr. Speaker, throughout his years of responding to accidents and 
fighting fires,

[[Page E1014]]

James has shown his compassion and caring for the families who lost 
loved ones and cherished friends. It is that caring that Chief 
Daugherty will be remembered for by the entire Hernando County 
community.

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