[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 10175] [From the U.S. 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, 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. ____________________