WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013 | SERVING BREVARD COUNTY SINCE 1966 | FLORIDATODAY.COM

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Conn-tinuedsuccessConnecticut rolls toeighth NCAA women’sbasketball title, 93-60.

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KENNEDYSPACECENTER—Inaroompreviously used to draw blood and runtests on astronauts, high school seniorMaurisa Orona holds a satellite notmuch larger than the palm of her hand.

Affectionately referred to as the“ ’StangSat” — after Merritt IslandHigh’s nickname, the Mustangs — ahandful of Merritt Island High stu-dents and theirNASAmentors are add-ingfinishingtouchestoaprototypethatwill soon be tested on a Prospector 18rocket.

“Itmeans somuch, it’s going to be soamazing,” said Briana Luthman, 17,looking forward to seeing the satelliteshe helped design and build launch inthe Mojave Desert. “I can’t wait.”

Based on how the high-altitudelaunch on a Garvey Spacecraft Corp.

Mentors Jim Kenney, left, and Shaun Daly, right, talk with Merritt Island High student Briana Luthman asthey work on their CubeSat satellite at Kennedy Space Center. CRAIG BAILEY/FLORIDA TODAY

FLYING INTOTHE FUTUREMI students build tiny satellite, big potential

MOREONLINEOn Facebook:Follow MerrittIsland High’s‘StangSat onFacebook,search“MIHS-CubSat.”

On Twitter:Keep up withthe latest schoolscience,engineering,technology andmath news—commonlyknown as STEM— on Twitter byfollowing thehashtag#BrevardSTEM.

AMerritt Island High School student holdsthe mission patch for their CubeSat satellite.CRAIG BAILEY/FLORIDA TODAY

ByMackenzie RyanFLORIDA TODAY

See SATELLITE, Page 3A

PORT CANAVERAL — PortCommissioner Bruce Deardoffsaid he is not giving up on hisproposal to use $5 million inport money to help keep threelocal schools open, but someBrevard School Board mem-bers on Tuesday indicated theirskepticism about the donationactually coming through.

“That’s politics,” SchoolBoard member Michael Kruppsaidduringabreak inTuesday’sschool board meeting. “I thinkhe’s beating a dead horse.”

Deardoff said he has a newlegal view that differs from onethat concluded the donationwould not be allowed, and heplans to bring the issue up dur-ing the April 17 Canaveral PortAuthority meeting.

According to a statement is-sued throughDeardoff’s office,attorney Terry Lewis has foundthat “the Canaveral Port Au-thority arguably has the powerto make the specified donationto the school board” under aprovision of the port charter.Lewis is the general counsel tothe Florida Association of Spe-cial Districts.

But Port Authority Chair-man Tom Weinberg said portcommissioners voted unani-mously to seek a legal opinionfrom Fort Lauderdale attorneyDavid Tolces, a specialist in lo-

SchoolBoarddoubtsnew tryDeardoff wants 2ndchance for $5M offerBy Dave Berman andMackenzie RyanFLORIDA TODAY

See SCHOOL, Page 2A

Is prison a person’s long-term residence if he or she issentenced to spend 10 or moreyears there?

Brevard County PropertyAppraiser says so, and adds

long-term prison-ers should losetheir homesteadexemptions.

The state Su-preme Court dis-agrees.

Richard Cassinwas convicted ofmanslaughter inthe 2010 death of

his mother. Authorities said heleft his mother to languish inhorrific conditions in the Granthome they shared before shedied inMay 2010, all while cash-ing her Social Security checks.

Barring early parole, the 56-year-old man will remain in a

state prison until October 2027.Cassin says he deserves a

homestead exemption for thehome. Such exemptions, giventoFlorida residents on their pri-mary residences, limit annualincreases in the assessed valueofhomes—whichcanmeansig-nificant property tax savings—and protect them from being

sold to settle most legal judg-ments.

Earlier this year, RichardCassin’s lifelong friend, JayMeaney of Grant, acting as hisadvocate, received a noticefrom the Property AppraiserOffice that the homestead ex-

Court sides with convict on tax break

Richard Cassin owns the home in which his mother was found in foulconditions. He was convicted of manslaughter. RIK JESSE/FLORIDA TODAY

Property Appraiserhopes for law changeByWayne T. PriceFLORIDA TODAY

Cassin

See CONVICT, Page 3A

Apanel of experts on higher-education finance is recom-mending that the federal gov-ernment restructure its popu-lar Pell Grant program to bet-ter meet the needs and goals ofa growing population of collegestudents: low-income adultsover age 24.

Their numbers are rising asmore low-income adults and re-cently laid-off workers seek toenhance their work skills, saysa report on the recommenda-tions to be released today.

Yet, their graduation ratesare lower than those of theiryounger counterparts.

The Pell programwould stillaward aid to traditional-age un-dergraduates whose grantamount is based on their par-ents’ income — about 40 per-cent of recipients in 2010-11.

Based on the report, aid tothe older students would beawarded using different crite-ria, including their income andtheir program of study.

Panel: Focuscollege aid onolder studentsLaid-off workers oftenout to learn new skillsByMary Beth MarkleinUSA Today

See COLLEGE, Page 2A

rocket goes this summer,students will plan andbuild a second and finalsatellite to launch intospace on a future NASAmission.

The students arethought to be the secondgroup of high schoolersto build and launch a “cu-besat,” a name that refer-ences the satellite’sshape.More often, such aproject is undertaken bycollege students — it’sconsidered critical expe-rience for graduateswanting toworkwith sat-ellites.

“These high schoolstudents have been phe-nomenal,” said mentorShaun Daly, an avionicsengineer at NASA.

There was a prettysteep learning curve.

Initially, the studentsdidn’t fully grasp the ad-vancedmath or know theprogramming language,but they quickly pickedup the necessary knowl-edge.

As part of the daVinciAcademy of AerospaceTechnology atMerritt Is-land High, students werealready familiar withelectrical engineeringconcepts. The challengecame in taking the con-cepts they read about intextbooks and applyingthem.

They learned quickly,said mentor Kelvin Ruiz,an electrical engineerwho works in the com-mand and data systemsdivision at NASA.

“Nowthey’reat a levelof programming in the Clanguage that’s almost atmy level,” he said with alaugh. “They correct mymistakes, they help mefind bugs, they debug thecode to get it where it isnow. We’re almost readyto fly into space.”

Students are nowfundraisingfor the trip toCalifornia this summer,and have so far raisednearly half of the $10,000they need.

“We really want to bethere to support it,” Bri-ana said.

Students inspiredThe opportunity for

Brevard high schoolersto design and build a sat-ellite came about thanksto young engineers in aleadership group atNASA. They hope the pi-lot program will help in-spire the next generationof engineers.

“It’s just incredible tosee the students workingonthesatellite,” saidclubadviser Tracey Beatov-ich, who worked as a sat-ellitemissionmanager inthe Air Force before be-coming a teacher.

But so, too, has beenthe impromptu learningexperiences, like the un-expected chance to seeequipment that astro-nauts such as Gus Gris-som used.

A fellow NASA engi-neersawthestudentsoneday and offered to showthem the equipment —the suits and medicaltesting instruments;they’re stored in a roomjust a few doors down.

Maurisa often hasfound herself tellingfriends, who have mar-veled at the experiencebut doubted that the sat-ellite would actuallylaunch: “No, it is real.”

Once in space, the’StangSat will measureand transmit data it gath-ers on vibration andshock environments. Thegroup is partnering with

California PolytechnicStateUniversityandtheybelieve the informationwill help others buildsimilar cubesats.

“We’remeasuringrealstuff thatwill helppeoplein the future to launchtheir missions,” Maurisasaid.

Students divided upthe various roles.

Senior GurkiratKainth worked on thestructural aspects: Mak-ing sure it wasn’t tooheavy, that all the partsfit, that itscenterofgrav-ity was just right.

“I’ve always been fas-cinated by space,” saidthe 17-year-old who isconsidering majoring incomputerscienceatFlor-ida Tech.

Briana worked on thecommand and data sub-system, which inspiredher to pursue an electri-cal engineering at Uni-versity of South Florida.

“My favorite part isprogramming the satel-lite,” she said. “It’s reallycool to type somethinginto the computer and ac-

tually see it function infront of you.”

Like her friend,Maur-isa is also pursuing anelectrical engineeringdegree in college.Almostevery student in thegroup said they plan to togo into a STEM field, anacronym that stands forScience, Technology, En-gineering or Math.

“Before engineeringwasvery, very abstract. Ithought: ‘Oh, electricalengineer, that soundsreally boring,’” Maurisasaid. But she quickly dis-covered it was anythingbut. The processes, thetesting, the program-ming — and putting it alltogether — was fascinat-ing.

“It’s a puzzle,” shesaid. “I love puzzles, so itworks out perfectly.”

Students fromMerritt Island High School work on their CubeSat satellite in theOperations and Checkout building at Kennedy Space Center. CRAIG BAILEY/FLORIDA TODAY

Continued from Page 1A

Students

HOW TO DONATEThe Merritt Island High School satellite club is fundrais-ing for a trip to California this summer to support andsee their satellite prototype launch during a high-altitude test. If you’re interested in donating, contactClub Advisor Tracey Beatovich for more information atthe school: 454-1000 or Beatovich.Tracey@BrevardSchools.org

Ryan is at 242-3664 or mryan@flori-datoday.com. Follow her on Twitter@Mackenzie_Ryan or at Face-book.com/FloridaTodayEducation.

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FROM PAGE ONE

emption was being re-voked.

That’s when Meaney,who pays taxes on theproperty for his friend,announced Cassin’s inten-tion to fight the decision.

A state Supreme Courtruling andFloridaAdmin-istrative Code supportCassin, saying the “thetemporary absence fromone’s homestead will notresult in the denial ofhomestead if the appli-cant intends to returnhome.”

Meaney said Cassinplans to return after hisprison term.

In short, his right to ahomestead exemption isnot one Cassin loses as aconvicted felon.

That’s drawn the ire ofBlickley and others.

“He can’t have a con-ceal-carry permit any-more, it’s likely his driv-er’s license is going to ex-pire and he’ll lose thatright, and he can’t vote,”Blickleysaid. “Butwe, thetaxpayer, have to keep hisproperty tax exemptionintact? I just find that notin the spirit of what thelaw is intended to do.”

Thehomesteadexemp-tion issavingCassinabout$800 year. If the propertyvalue increases betweennow and 2027, that figureonly increases.

The details of howCas-sin ended up in prisonaren’t likely to generatehim sympathy.

On May 7, 2010, theBrevard County Sheriff’sOffice responded to a“suspicious incident” atthe Cassin home, and re-portedfinding90-year-oldFlorence Cassin, RichardCassin’smother, lying in afoul-smelling bedroom.

Shewas covered in herown waste, with bugscrawling out of hermouth. Her eyelids werestuck closed. Her diet forat least the previous threeweeks, Richard Cassintold deputies, had been

liverwurst and water thathe had been feeding herthrough a straw.

ShewastakentoSebas-tian River Medical Cen-ter, and died a week later.

Cassin plead guilty toaggravatedmanslaughterof an elderly person andsentenced to 18 years.

Blickley decided thatthe $800 in extra tax reve-nue wasn’t worth the costto battle Cassin in court .Instead, she looked forlegislative relief.

“I am making what Ifeel is a decision in thebest interest of the tax-payer to not saddle thetaxpayers with litigiousfees that could be, whoknows, in the tens or hun-dreds of thousands of dol-lars,” Blickley said. “Asimple change in the lawwould prohibit a propertytax exemption for incar-cerated felons.”

This legislative ses-sion, Rep. RitchWorkmanattempted to pass a billdenying Cassin, and otherfelons, homesteadexemp-tion benefits, but foundFlorida’s Constitutionironclad on the issue.

“Anybodysentenced toprison for anextendedpe-riod of time, legally andmorally, their homesteadbecomes their 8-by-8cell,” Workman said. “Toextend them the samehomestead tax benefitsthat we extend our law-abiding citizens seems tobe a bit outside the intentof the language in theCon-stitution about our home-stead.”

Workmansaid the solu-tion might be a constitu-tional amendment.

Dante Trevisani, a law-yer with the Miami-basedFlorida Justice Institute,an inmate legal advocacygroup,

urged caution on limit-ing inmates rights.

“These are individualswho already have a limit-ed amount of rights,” Tre-visani said, “sowe need tobe extra careful when wetalk about taking anyrights away.”

Continued from Page 1A

Convict

Contact Price at 321-242-3658 orwprice@floridatoday.com.