HERNANDO NEWS SOURCE
Hernando County, Spring Hill, Brooksville News
Sponsor
Sponsor
HERNANDONEWSSOURCE.COM
HNS REPORTS---FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010
ROYAL HIGHLANDS PAIR CHARGED FOR POT, PUBLIC NUISANCE
Two Royal Highlands men were charged Thursday with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after sheriff's detectives served a search warrant and found 200 grams of pot. Detectives also charged 21-year old Thomas Benjamin Allopenna and 22-year old Anthony Nicholas Vasquez, both of 11055 Marsh Wren Avenue, with maintaining a public nuisance. Detectives said they had recovered larger amounts of pot on several prior occasions from the home and added the nuisance charge. An arrest affidavit says one March search of the home uncovered two pounds of marijuana.
The Florida nuisance law applies to a home which is "visited by persons for the purpose of unlawfully using drugs, or which is used for the illegal keeping, selling, or delivering of the same." The nuisance law could allow the sheriff's office to seize the suspects' home to pay the costs of investigation and prosecution.
Add Comment
CHILD PORN TRIAL OPENS IN CIRCUIT COURT
A Homosassa man facing 125 counts of possession of child pornography, and a potential prison sentence of 42 years, went on trial Thursday in Hernando County Circuit Court. Joe Rogers is accused of downloading 125 images of child porn onto a CD. The 49-year old reportedly admitted to his girlfriend that he accidentally downloaded one image when she found the CD and confronted him. But prosecutors said the multiple images of children engaged in sex acts were mingled among images of legal adult pornography on the disc. A four-man, two-woman jury was seated to hear the case at midday Thursday. Rogers' lawyer is expected to argue that his client didn't know what was on the CD, which was turned over to law enforcement when he apparently broke up with the girlfriend.
According to reports, Rogers turned down a deal for probation in the case because he didn't want to be labeled as a sex offender. The trial is expected to last through Friday morning.
Add Comment
BOYETT'S GROVE ROBBER TO FACE JURY FRIDAY
With circuit judges back from a three-day conference, Judge Jack Springstead wants to fit two jury trials into two days. The Rogers trial went first, but it now looks like the last of the three Boyett's Grove robbers to face justice will stand trial on Friday. Adrian House is charged with two counts of principal to armed robbery in the incident at the Spring Lake Highway citrus attraction and zoo. Shots fired during the robbery critically wounded the owner of the business.
The man who allegedly shot James Oleson in the chest already pleaded guilty and got a 25-year prison sentence. Damion Childs was charged with attempted murder and robbery. The third man in the group that burst into the attraction and robbed Oleson and his wife Kathy at gunpoint, Willie Cliatt, was killed two years ago in a shoot-out with police.
Add Comment
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS DISAGREE ON TERRY'S RECUSAL MOTION
There was no official word at midday Thursday as to what action Circuit Judge Stephen Rushing might take on a motion for recusal in the case of a former Brooksville police detective. Shawn Terry's perjury case was assigned to Rushing, but Terry's lawyer Ellis Faught filed a motion to recuse Rushing, which would mean sending the case to another judge. The motion reportedly claims Rushing showed bias in rejecting a search warrant prepared by Terry because the subject of the search was a friend of the judge's and a member of his church.
Two defense attorneys who spoke off-the-record had different conclusions. Though typically a recusal motion is automatic, and judges have no discretion to challenge the facts, one attorney said the alleged bias was in a different case and was not directed at Terry, but was based instead on the judge's friendship with Terry's investigative target. He said that might be enough of a distinction to allow Rushing to deny the motion.
But a second defense attorney was convinced that distinction didn't matter. He said the law requires the judge to look only at the sufficiency of allegations in the motion and bars a judge from further consideration of the truth or the significance of the facts. He said he expected that Rushing would grant the motion and send the Terry case to the other felony judge, Jack Springstead.
Add Comment
FRIDAY STORMS LEAVE RAIN, LIGHTNING DAMAGE, NO MAJOR PROBLEMS
A strong thunderstorm that developed over central Hernando County at mid-afternoon Friday caused a minimum of damage. According to reports from authorities, a burning tree was blocking Citrus Way near Centralia Road for a time, and several electrical transformers were reported hit by lightning strikes.
Alert reader Kristie Kroslack snapped this burning transformer on south U.S. 41 shortly before five p.m.
An official total for rainfall was not immediately available, but the rain gauge outside HNS headquarters had a little over three inches after barely an hour of constant rainfall.
Add Comment
CCA, COUNTY AGREE ON JAIL INVENTORY PACT
County lawyers said Thursday they received a signed copy of an agreement on the Hernando County Jail transition from Corrections Corporation of America. The private jail operator and the county have listed equipment and furnishings at the jail on which the parties agree as to ownership. CCA would be allowed to remove items it owns without dispute in preparation for the transition from the private operator to the sheriff's office next month. Property with disputed ownership would be subject to review by a third party, who would examine documents and make an ownership determination. That would include the $30,000 dishwasher and other items, such as furnishings and some security equipment. The agreement says CCA would not remove disputed items until ownership is resolved.
The agreement also provides a mechanism for establishing the value of CCA-owned items that the sheriff's office would be purchasing for the jail transition. The pact averts a threatened legal showdown which two county commissioners favored in asking a judge to intervene and stop CCA from removing property. A CCA official called the whole affair a "misunderstanding" in an e-mail Wednesday and said no property had been removed from the jail yet.
Add Comment
WATER DISTRICT HOLDS LINE ON MILLAGE RATE
The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board has approved its proposed millage rates for the General Fund and the seven Basin Boards.
The board adopted a proposed millage rate of 0.3866 mill for the District’s General Fund, which is the same as the current fiscal year.
The total proposed FY2011 budget for the District is $282.9 million, 5.35 percent lower than the adopted budget for this year, which was $298.9 million. The $16 million decrease in the budget is primarily due to a $22.6 million reduction in ad valorem tax revenue and a $7.8 million reduction in state revenue, offset by a $15.4 million increase in balance from prior years.
For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the district-wide tax would be $38.66 a year, or about $3.22 per month. An additional basin tax ranging from $14.84 to $29 a year depends on the watershed basin where the property is located.
Two more public hearings on the District’s total budget will be held in September. The second and final hearing will be Sept. 28 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville Headquarters.
Add Comment
WOMAN ACCUSED OF DUI AFTER ACCIDENT
Sheriff's deputies say they arrested 54-year old Mary Dorton Fanter of Hernando Beach after a Wednesday rear-end accident at Cortez and Deltona Blvds. The crash caused only about $1,000 damage, but investigating deputies said they detected a strong odor of alcohol while talking to the woman. An arrest affidavit said she failed field sobriety tests and declined a breath test at the Hernando County Jail. She was charged with driving while impaired with damage to property.
Add Comment
HIT AND RUN DRIVER CHARGED WITH DUI
Sheriff's deputies say a Spring Hill man who drove away from an accident was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. An arrest affidavit says 37-year old Robert Brian McFarley of 5070 Baldock Avenue was involved in a minor crash near Mariner and Elgin Blvds. Wednesday afternoon. Deputies used a description of the silver Toyota that left the scene and located McSorley at his residence. The affidavit says he failed field sobriety tests and gave breath samples that were more than three times the legal blood alcohol limit when he was booked into the Hernando County Jail.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL HOME A TOTAL LOSS AFTER FIRE; PETS MISSING
Fire officials say a Spring Hill home is a total loss and three pets are missing after a fire apparently smoldered for hours and left the structure uninhabitable. A sheriff's report says the house at 1416 Findlay Avenue was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived Wednesday morning. The homeowner said no one had been in the residence since 10 p.m. Tuesday night but that there were two dogs and three cats inside. The report says only one dog and one cat were found alive.
Fire officials said the cause of the blaze appeared to be electrical in nature, and the sheriff's report says the power to the home had been turned off at some point on Tuesday. An investigation into the exact cause was continuing on Thursday.
Add Comment
DEPUTIES CHARGE BROOKSVILLE MAN FOR BASEBALL BAT ATTACK
An arrest affidavit says sheriff's deputies charged 62-year old Charles Marshall Owen of 6063 Desales Street in Brooksville with aggravated battery and criminal mischief Wednesday. The affidavit says Owen attacked a man who was visiting at the home of Owen's tenants Wednesday night and swung a baseball bat at him twice, missing once and then hitting him in the hand. He then allegedly used the bat against the victim's vehicle. When deputies arrived and took him into custody, Owen reportedly denied hitting anyone or anything. The affidavit says deputies took pictures of the victim's swollen thumb and the damage to his vehicle, and Owen was booked into the Hernando County Jail on the two charges.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL MAN HELD ON DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGE
A 38-year old Spring Hill man was charged with drug trafficking Wednesday when he allegedly tried to fill a fake prescription for 220 oxycodone pills. An arrest affidavit says Jeramy Gene Peal of 17302 Eve3lyn Court is also charged with trying to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and giving a false ID to the pharmacist. The affidavit says the pharmacist at a Cortez Blvd. store spotted the script as a fake, and Peal reportedly fled the store when deputies arrived. They found him nearby and took him into custody.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL FIREFIGHTERS, ADMINISTRATORS TALK CONTRACT AGAIN
A fourth negotiating session between Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District administrators and firefighters has been scheduled for Friday. A district media release says the meeting is set to start at 2:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the district administrative building on Bob Hartung Court. Under Florida law, negotiating sessions between government agencies and employee unions are open to the public.
Add Comment
HERNANDO TEA PARTIERS SET SATURDAY MEEETING
The Hernando County Tea Party will be having a general meeting at 10:00 a.m. Saturday at the Spring Hill Branch Library. A local spokesperson says the meeting is open to the public and will last for an hour. The meeting agenda includes recent changes to the HCTP's organizational structure.
Add Comment
CROOKS ON CAMERA---SPRINGSTEAD HIGH CAR BURGLARS
 |
 |
 |
If you recognize these subjects, notify District 2 Deputy Szatkowski. If you wish to remain anonymous or be eligible for a reward, call the Hernando County Crime Stoppers toll free number 1-866-990-8477 or you may email your tip by clicking below.
http://www.hernandosheriff.org/Tips/ You may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
WEEKEND EVENTS FROM NATURALLY HERNANDO.ORG
Friday, July 30, 2010 - Saturday, July 31, 2010
GHOST TOUR
| 8:00-10:00pm MAY-STRINGER HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 601 Museum Court,Brooksville. Must be minimum 16 yrs. of age to participate. Digital recorders, cameras, EMF meters, cameras and recording devices are welcomed. Reservations Required. $20.00 per person. |
www.hernandohistoricalmuseumassoc.org
Saturday, July 31, 2010
4-H CLUB HO-DOWN
| Doors open: 5:00pm HERNANDO COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, 6436 Broad Street (US-41 South), Brooksville. The "Jolly Ranchers" Ho-down dinner, dance and barn auction, along with a silent auction, a "Kiddie Corral" with games, food and supervision for young children. Donation: Adults - $10.00; Children - $5.00. |
jollyranchers4h.webs.com/
Saturday, July 31, 2010
HERNANDO AERO-MODELERS RACES
| 8:30am-noon HERNANDO AERO MODELERS FIELD, US-98 (Ponce de Leon Blvd.- near Brooksville Cemex), Brooksville. Radio-controlled model aircraft races. Admission and parking is free. |
Saturday, July 31, 2010
HERNANDO HAS TALENT - FINALS COMPETITION
| 7:30pm Location: STAGE WEST COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE, 8390 Forest Oaks Blvd., Spring Hill. Fifteen named finalists compete to win the first "Hernando Has Talent" contest. Tickets: $10.00 per person. |
www.tampabay.com/hernando
HNS REPORTS---THURSDAY, JULY 29,.2010
ROYAL HIGHLANDS PAIR CHARGED FOR POT, PUBLIC NUISANCE
Two Royal Highlands men were charged Thursday with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after sheriff's detectives served a search warrant and found 200 grams of pot. Detectives also charged 21-year old Thomas Benjamin Allopenna and 22-year old Anthony Nicholas Vasquez, both of 11055 Marsh Wren Avenue, with maintaining a public nuisance. Detectives said they had recovered larger amounts of pot on several prior occasions from the home and added the nuisance charge. An arrest affidavit says one March search of the home uncovered two pounds of marijuana.
The Florida nuisance law applies to a home which is "visited by persons for the purpose of unlawfully using drugs, or which is used for the illegal keeping, selling, or delivering of the same." The nuisance law could allow the sheriff's office to seize the suspects' home to pay the costs of investigation and prosecution.
Add Comment
CCA, COUNTY AGREE ON JAIL INVENTORY PACT
County lawyers said Thursday they received a signed copy of an agreement on the Hernando County Jail transition from Corrections Corporation of America. The private jail operator and the county have listed equipment and furnishings at the jail on which the parties agree as to ownership. CCA would be allowed to remove items it owns without dispute in preparation for the transition from the private operator to the sheriff's office next month. Property with disputed ownership would be subject to review by a third party, who would examine documents and make an ownership determination. That would include the $30,000 dishwasher and other items, such as furnishings and some security equipment. The agreement says CCA would not remove disputed items until ownership is resolved.
The agreement also provides a mechanism for establishing the value of CCA-owned items that the sheriff's office would be purchasing for the jail transition. The pact averts a threatened legal showdown which two county commissioners favored in asking a judge to intervene and stop CCA from removing property. A CCA official called the whole affair a "misunderstanding" in an e-mail Wednesday and said no property had been removed from the jail yet.
Add Comment
CITIZENS QUESTION USE OF VOTED MILLAGE FOR PARKS
Several voters and a county commission candidate are questioning the county's proposed use of a voted one-tenth mill tax levy to maintain parks. Commissioners voted this week to consider an ordinance next month that lawyers say would let them divert some of the voted millage to help keep existing parks maintained, even though referendum language said it would be used for bonds to buy conservation land. County legal staff said they are comfortable with the proposed ordinance, given the history of the tax. The commission candidate was Ty Mullis, one of three Republicans trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Rose Rocco. He told Hernando News Source he's also hearing people asking how the County Board could use the tax for parks maintenance without a new referendum.
The 1988 ballot language for the referendum that approved the special levy didn't mention using the tax for anything other than acquisition of environmentally sensitive land. The actual language of the proposition that voters approved is quoted in the "Acquisition Manual" approved last year by a citizen committee appointed by commissioners which meets regularly to make recommendations on the program. According to the manual, voters approved this question in 1988:
"Shall Hernando County be authorized to levy ad valorem taxes on all taxable property at a rate not exceeding one-tenth of one mil (.10 mil) for not in excess of thirty (30) years and to issue general obligation bonds bearing interest at no more than the maximum legal rate at time of sale and payable from such ad valorem taxes for financing the acquisition, lands and habitats for endangered species, threatened species and species of special concern?"
The manual also says that the referendum approval was intended to "support the acquisition and management of environmentally sensitive lands."
Three properties have been purchased in whole or in part with the ESL funds, Fickett Hammock, Cyrpess Lakes Preserve and Peck Sink.
Officials noted that the tax revenue has been used for years to maintain lands bought with the special fund. County lawyers also pointed to a board resolution after the referendum approval that they say supports broader use for public lands maintenance, as well as noting the county's failure to issue the bonds contemplated by the referendum question. But legal issues don't seem to concern voters who have questioned the latest move to ease a budget shortfall and avoid layoffs of parks workers. At least some of those voters will likely be in the audience on August 10 when the County Board considers the ordinance that would legalize the new use of the land acquisition tax money.
Add Comment
CHILD PORN TRIAL OPENS IN CIRCUIT COURT
A Homosassa man facing 125 counts of possession of child pornography, and a potential prison sentence of 42 years, went on trial Thursday in Hernando County Circuit Court. Joe Rogers is accused of downloading 125 images of child porn onto a CD. The 49-year old reportedly admitted to his girlfriend that he accidentally downloaded one image when she found the CD and confronted him. But prosecutors said the multiple images of children engaged in sex acts were mingled among images of legal adult pornography on the disc. A four-man, two-woman jury was seated to hear the case at midday Thursday. Rogers' lawyer is expected to argue that his client didn't know what was on the CD, which was turned over to law enforcement when he apparently broke up with the girlfriend.
According to reports, Rogers turned down a deal for probation in the case because he didn't want to be labeled as a sex offender.
Add Comment
BOYETT'S GROVE ROBBERY SUSPECT TO FACE JURY FRIDAY
With circuit judges back from a three-day conference, Judge Jack Springstead wants to fit two jury trials in two days. The Rogers trial went first, but it now looks like the last of the three Boyett's Grove robbers to face justice will stand trial on Friday. Adrian House is charged with two counts of principal to armed robbery in the incident at the Spring Lake Highway citrus attraction and zoo. Shots fired during the robbery critically wounded the owner of the business.
The man who allegedly shot James Oleson in the chest already pleaded guilty and got a 25-year prison sentence. Damion Childs was charged with attempted murder and robbery. The third man in the group that burst into the attraction and robbed Oleson and his wife Kathy at gunpoint, Willie Cliatt, was killed two years ago in a shoot-out with police.
Add Comment
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS DISAGREE ON TERRY'S RECUSAL MOTION
There was no official word at midday Tuesday as to what action Circuit Judge Stephen Rushing might take on a motion for recusal in the case of a former Brooksville police detective. Shawn Terry's perjury case was assigned to Rushing, but Terry's lawyer Ellis Faught filed a motion to recuse Rushing, which would mean sending the case to another judge. The motion reportedly claims Rushing showed bias in rejecting a search warrant prepared by Terry because the subject of the search was a friend of the judge's and a member of his church.
Two defense attorneys who spoke off-the-record had different conclusions. Though typically a recusal motion is automatic, and judges have no discretion to challenge the facts, one attorney said the alleged bias was in a different case and was not directed at Terry, but was based instead on the judge's friendship with Terry's investigative target. He said that might be enough of a distinction to allow Rushing to deny the motion.
But a second defense attorney was convinced that distinction didn't matter. He said the law requires the judge to look only at the sufficiency of allegations in the motion and bars a judge from further consideration of the truth or the significance of the facts. He said he expected that Rushing would grant the motion and send the Terry case to the other felony judge, Jack Springstead.
Add Comment
WATER DISTRICT HOLDS LINE ON MILLAGE RATES
The Southwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board has approved its proposed millage rates for the General Fund and the seven Basin Boards.
The board adopted a proposed millage rate of 0.3866 mill for the District’s General Fund, which is the same as the current fiscal year.
The total proposed FY2011 budget for the District is $282.9 million, 5.35 percent lower than the adopted budget for this year, which was $298.9 million. The $16 million decrease in the budget is primarily due to a $22.6 million reduction in ad valorem tax revenue and a $7.8 million reduction in state revenue, offset by a $15.4 million increase in balance from prior years.
For the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption, the district-wide tax would be $38.66 a year, or about $3.22 per month. An additional basin tax ranging from $14.84 to $29 a year depends on the watershed basin where the property is located.
Two more public hearings on the District’s total budget will be held in September. The second and final hearing will be Sept. 28 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville Headquarters.
Add Comment
FOUR MURDER SUSPECTS PLEAD NOT GUILTY
Four suspects in two murder cases pleaded not guilty to first degree murder charges in Circuit Court Wednesday. Stanley Eckard, a 21-year old Spring Hill man charged with killing and burying his brother in the side yard of their family home, was scheduled for a pre-trial hearing in September. Also coming back to the court for September hearings are a trio of suspects accused in the murder of 18-year old Enrique Acevedo and the attempted murder of another passenger in Acevedo's car. The cases of Stephen Wesolek, Sherrie Dicus and Sabrina Dicus are unlikely to go to trial anytime soon, though it appears that the 14-year old Sabrina Dicus will not face the death penalty.
Add Comment
WOMAN ACCUSED OF DUI AFTER ACCIDENT
Sheriff's deputies say they arrested 54-year old Mary Dorton Fanter of Hernando Beach after a Wednesday rear-end accident at Cortez and Deltona Blvds. The crash caused only about $1,000 damage, but investigating deputies said they detected a strong odor of alcohol while talking to the woman. An arrest affidavit said she failed field sobriety tests and declined a breath test at the Hernando County Jail. She was charged with driving while impaired with damage to property.
Add Comment
HIT AND RUN DRIVER CHARGED WITH DUI
Sheriff's deputies say a Spring Hill man who drove away from an accident was arrested on a charge of driving while impaired. An arrest affidavit says 37-year old Robert Brian McFarley of 5070 Baldock Avenue was involved in a minor crash near Mariner and Elgin Blvds. Wednesday afternoon. Deputies used a description of the silver Toyota that left the scene and located McSorley at his residence. The affidavit says he failed field sobriety tests and gave breath samples that were more than three times the legal blood alcohol limit when he was booked into the Hernando County Jail.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL HOME A TOTAL LOSS AFTER FIRE; PETS MISSING
Fire officials say a Spring Hill home is a total loss and three pets are missing after a fire apparently smoldered for hours and left the structure uninhabitable. A sheriff's report says the house at 1416 Findlay Avenue was filled with smoke when firefighters arrived Wednesday morning. The homeowner said no one had been in the residence since 10 p.m. Tuesday night but that there were two dogs and three cats inside. The report says only one dog and one cat were found alive.
Fire officials said the cause of the blaze appeared to be electrical in nature, and the sheriff's report says the power to the home had been turned off at some point on Tuesday. An investigation into the exact cause was continuing on Thursday.
Add Comment
DEPUTIES CHARGE BROOKSVILLE MAN FOR BASEBALL BAT ATTACK
An arrest affidavit says sheriff's deputies charged 62-year old Charles Marshall Owen of 6063 Desales Street in Brooksville with aggravated battery and criminal mischief Wednesday. The affidavit says Owen attacked a man who was visiting at the home of Owen's tenants Wednesday night and swung a baseball bat at him twice, missing once and then hitting him in the hand. He then allegedly used the bat against the victim's vehicle. When deputies arrived and took him into custody, Owen reportedly denied hitting anyone or anything. The affidavit says deputies took pictures of the victim's swollen thumb and the damage to his vehicle, and Owen was booked into the Hernando County Jail o n the two charges.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL MAN HELD ON DRUG TRAFFICKING CHARGE
A 38-year old Spring Hill man was charged with drug trafficking Wednesday when he allegedly tried to fill a fake prescription for 220 oxycodone pills. An arrest affidavit says Jeramy Gene Peal of 17302 Eve3lyn Court is also charged with trying to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and giving a false ID to the pharmacist. The affidavit says the pharmacist at a Cortez Blvd. store spotted the script as a fake, and Peal reportedly fled the store when deputies arrived. They found him nearby and took him into custody.
Add Comment
CROOKS ON CAMERA---DETECTIVES LOOK FOR "SUSPICIOUS SUBJECTS"
 |
 |
 |
If anyone recognizes these subjects or their vehicle, notify District 3 Detective Stentz. If you wish to remain anonymous or be eligible for a reward, call the Hernando County Crime Stoppers toll free number 1-866-990-8477 or you may email your tip by clicking below.
http://www.hernandosheriff.org/Tips/ You may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
HNS REPORTS---WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2010
JAIL INVENTORY AGREEMENT IN PROCESS WITH COUNTY, CCA
County lawyers will send a proposed agreement between the county and Corrections Corporation of America to CCA officials Wednesday. They're hoping that an accord on how to handle personal property inside the jail will avert a potential legal action. A CCA official said in an e-mail to county officials Tuesday that she was watching County Board discussion of the issue on a webcast and "wanted to communicate with you immediately to clarify the apparent misunderstanding that exists" on the property issue. Natasha Metcalf's e-mail also said that "CCA has no intention of removing any items necessary for the continued day- to-day operation of the facility until the facility transitions to the County." She said the proposed deadlines in CCA's correspondence were aimed at getting a timeline for the parties to reach agreement on disputed items as quickly as possible.
Assistant County Attorney Jon Jouben warned County Board members during Tuesday's meeting that seeking court action on the property issues might not be the best course, and commissioners agreed to wait until the end of the workday Wednesday to see what the agreement status was. The county and CCA are disputing ownership of some jail furnishings, most prominently including a $30,000 dishwasher but also extending to other equipment in the jail, which is due to transition to the sheriff's office before the end of August.
Add Comment
COUNTY STAFF OPTIMISTIC AIRPORT ROAD WILL MISS ALEXSUK FARM
Hernando News Source has learned that a meeting Tuesday on the proposed road through utilities property southwest of the Hernando County Airport ended with staff officials more optimistic than ever about re-routing the County Line Road-Airport connector. Officials reportedly concluded that a swap of Airport property for the utilities land needed for the right-of-way could work to replace lost sewer plant property at no monetary cost. And officials also said that new flood maps take some of the current plant property out of flood zones, meaning more of the land is usable for planned plant expansion.
Until Tuesday's staff meeting, utilities officials said they weren't sure the re-routed road could be accommodated without buying new land for the Airport sewer plant, which is being designed to process six million gallons per day and eventually allow the closing of the smelly Spring Hill plant. Those concerns meant that the intended savings from not buying the Alexsuk property might not become reality. The Alexsuks were seeking more than $1.3 million for 22 acres of road and pond right of way.
County officials told Hernando News Source Tuesday night they are more comfortable that the road re-route first suggested by commissioners and airport officials last month will actually work. Meanwhile, the Alexsuk family renewed their complaints of mistreatment by the county prior to the decision to move the road. They say they face no compensation for 15 years of uncertainty about the need for their farmland. The latest developments on the road appear to give the Alexsuks no reassurance at all that any of their land will be needed.
Add Comment
MIXSON LAWYER CHALLENGES FIRING, CITES STALLED PROJECTS
Fired County Engineer Charles Mixson's lawyer told county commissioners Tuesday that a lack of progress on two major projects demonstrates the unfairness of Mixson's termination in January by County Administrator David Hamilton. Bruce Snow cited the Hernando Beach dredge project, which figured big in Mixson's firing shortly after sttate regulators ordered a halt to the project due to permit violations. Snow noted that the dredge contractor has now de-mobilized and left the site, so that no work on the project has been accomplished since Mixson was told to pack up and leave after 23 years in the county's Public Works Department. And Snow cited the DPW compound cleanup as another basis for the termination, pointing again to a pending Remedial Action Plan, or RAP, which left the project in almost the same status as before Mixson's firing.
Mixson did not speak except to affirm the truth of Snow's 40-minute statement. Commissioners also had no comments. Mixson has filed a federal complaint against the county charging age discrimination in his firing. Snow had requested the hearing as a requirement of due process in letting Mixson "clear his name" from allegations of mismanagement in Hamilton's termination letter. And by what some thought a coincidence and others did not, Hamilton is on furlough this week and was not at the meeting.
Add Comment
SCHOOL BOARD GIVES THUMBS DOWN TO QUARTER-MILL TAX
Hernando County taxpayers will not be paying an extra quarter mill in tax to the School District this year. The School Board voted Tuesday to approve a tentative millage and budget minus revenue from the so-called Critical Needs millage. A new state law allowed the extra quarter mill levy on vote of the board. Officials said it would have generated an extra $2.2 million, and Superintendent Bryan Blavatt had recommended approval. But no one seconded a motion by board member James Yant to approve the discretionary quarter-mill, and the board then voted 5-0 to set the tentative millage at 7.417 mills, which is .062 less than last year. The School District has less discretion than other taxing authorities, since the biggest part of the millage rate is the "required local effort" mandated by the state in return for state funding. The local millage generates only 31 percent of the school board's total revenues. After approving the millage for notice in August to taxpayers, the board then adopted a tentative $171 million general fund budget for the coming year. The budget will be finally adopted in September after more public hearings.
Tuesday's board action came after a public hearing, but there was only one public speaker, and Anthony Palmieri urged the board to reject the critical needs quarter-mill. Most of the other audience chairs remained empty.
Add Comment
FUNERAL PROTEST FIZZLES
A report that members of a fringe religious group planned to protest at the funeral of a Spring Hill soldier turned out to be much ado about nothing. A media report that the notorious Westboro Baptist Church protesters would show up at the Brewer Funeral Home on Mariner Blvd. drew a crowd of motorcycle-riding Patriot Guards, a large contingent of sheriff's deputies, and Tampa Bay and local media. But protesters never arrived, and the funeral began without incident shortly after ten Wednesday morning.
The 27-year old soldier, Derek Schicchi, died last week in an off-base incident near Ft. Hood, Texas. Authorities said there was no indication of foul play.
The Westboro protesters have gained notoriety by showing up at military funerals around the country because their leader has claimed that American military deaths are punishment for a society tolerant of homosexuality.
The media report that had them coming to Spring Hill was apparently based on information from the Patriot Guard group that regularly attends military funerals.
Schicchi was to be buried at Florida National Cemetery in Sumter County, and Patriot Guard members were optimistic that the controlled access to the facility would prevent any graveside protest.
Add Comment
SCHOOL BOARD OKAY'S BLAVATT RE-ORG PLAN
School Superintendent Bryan Blavatt won formal approval Tuesday night from school board members to re-organize some top administrative positions. The re-org plan was scaled down from an earlier proposal that would have added a second assistant superintendent position. The approved plan consolidates some jobs and uses vacant positions to "streamline" administrative functions, according to Blavatt. He said he expects the plan to produce modest cost savings while making the school district more accountable for compliance with state mandates. He told the board at an earlier meeting that the district needs to keep a closer eye on state requirements. The a state audit earlier this year assessed almost a quarter-million dollars in penalties against the district for not having paperwork in place to document compliance with requirements.
Add Comment
SHERIFF'S OFFICE FILES NEW DRUG CHARGES AGAINST JAIL INMATE
A woman jailed since April on charges of possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia got new charges Monday when sheriff's detectives added 11 counts of conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone. A media release says the new charges were based on information seized at the time of the April arrest from the Zirkels Circle home of 25-year old Jandi Valentine. Detectives said Valentine and co-conspirators had a cell phone racket going where Valentine's phone would ring when a pharmacy tried to call for prescription verification, and Valentine allegedly confirmed the prescriptions. The release said Valentine was being held without bond in the Hernando County Jail on the new charges, which could potentially net her literally hundreds of years in prison if found guilty and sentenced consecutively.
Add Comment
SCHOOL BOARD WANTS TO JOIN CLASS SIZE LAWSUIT AGAINST STATE
Consensus of School Board members at a Tuesday workshop was unanimous in supporting a lawsuit against the State of Florida over the class size amendment. The board was expected to vote to join the litigation at its regular meeting Tuesday night. Board lawyer Paul Carland said the lawsuit would challenge the constitutionality of statutory penalties for failing to comply with class size limits that go into effect this school year. Two members, Pat Fagan and Sandy Nicholson, said the suit should also target the state's failure to provide financial assistance to local districts in implementing the class size constitutional amendment, but Carland said that issue was not a likely winner. Penalties for noncompliance could run into the millions of dollars, but school officials have said the cost of compliance is just as much if not more than the penalties.
At the workshop, members also said they were satisfied with new performance-based evaluation procedures for teachers and administrators. The new process is aimed at satisfying state and federal mandates for grant funding and the Race to the Top program. District officials will use the first year of new teacher evaluations only for research and data collection.
Add Comment
FOUR COMMISSIONERS SAY NO MILLAGE ROLL-UP
County commissioners voted 4-1 today to leave the tentative millage rate at the same amount as the past year's levy. Only Chairman John Druzbick voted against the motion by Commissioner Jim Adkins. The vote was a direction to county staff to plan for a new year's budget with no millage roll-up, and officials said the move leaves the general fund shortfall at almost a million and a half dollars. The vote means that TRIM notices next month will not show any increase in millage rates for the county. It also means that as a practical matter the county's finally approved budget cannot provide for a tax rate increase. Officials had prepared a proposed balanced budget based on a one-third mill roll-up. Commissioners said constitutional officers will need to consider further reductions in their budgets to eliminate the shortfall.
Add Comment
CAREGIVER ACCUSED OF TAKING WARD'S CREDIT CARD
Sheriff's deputies said a 55-year old nursing assistant was arrested Monday after she reportedly admitted charging almost $2,000 on a stolen credit card. An arrest affidavit says Debra Louis Rohrsen of 10485 Heley Street was charged with organized fraud after her employer was contacted by the 81-year old victim, whom the suspect was caring for. The affidavit says the fraud came to light when the victim found more than 40 suspicious transactions on her credit card bill. Deputies said the suspect turned herself in at the Hernando County Jail and was booked on bond of $2,000.
Add Comment
DUI SUSPECT GETS BATTERY OF CHARGES FOR HITTING DEPUTY
A man suspected of driving while intoxicated reportedly refused to cooperate with two sheriff's deputies and wound up charged with resisting arrest and battery on an officer. An arrest affidavit says 40-year old Bobby Zachary Whitfield of 4746 Keysville Avenue in Spring Hill was reported as a possible drunk driver late Monday night, and deputies located his vehicle on Northcliffe Blvd. When he reportedly refused to stop, two officers followed him to his home, where he was "uncooperative" and allegedly struck a deputy in the face with an open hand during an attempt to handcuff him. The affidavit says the deputies then struggled on the concrete driveway with Whitfield, who reportedly had to be subdued with multiple uses of a taser stun gun. Both deputies had minor injuries from the scuffle, and Whitfield had abrasions from the struggle on the driveway. In addition to the battery and resisting charges, he was also booked into jail for DUI and held on total bond of $15,500.
Add Comment
CROOKS ON CAMERA---DEPUTIES SEEK WAL-MART THEFT SUSPECT
The subject pictured above is a suspect in a theft that occurred at Wal-Mart, 13300 Cortez Bv. Brooksville on Tuesday, 07-06-10 at approximately 7:15 p.m.
If you recognize this subject, notify District 2 Deputy Stokes. If you wish to remain anonymous or be eligible for a reward, call the Hernando County Crime Stoppers toll free number 1-866-990-8477 or you may email your tip by clicking below.
http://www.hernandosheriff.org/Tips/ You may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
HNS REPORTS---TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2010
MIXSON'S LAWYER SAYS LACK OF PROGRESS SHOWS UNFAIRNESS
Fired County Engineer Charles Mixson's lawyer told county commissioners Tuesday that a lack of progress on two major projects demonstrates the unfairness of Mixson's termination in January by County Administrator David Hamilton. Bruce Snow cited the Hernando Beach dredge project, which figured big in Mixson's firing shortly after sttate regulators ordered a halt to the project due to permit violations. Snow noted that the dredge contractor has now de-mobilized and left the site, so that no work on the project has been accomplished since Mixson was told to pack up and leave after 23 years in the county's Public Works Department. And Snow cited the DPW compound cleanup as another basis for the termination, pointing again to a pending Remedial Action Plan, or RAP, which left the project in almost the same status as before Mixson's firing.
Mixson did not speak except to affirm the truth of Snow's 40-minute statement. Commissioners also had no comments. Mixson has filed a federal complaint against the county charging age discrimination in his firing. Snow had requested the hearing as a requirement of due process in letting Mixson "clear his name" from allegations of mismanagement in Hamilton's termination letter.
Add Comment
FOUR COMMISSIONERS SAY NO MILLAGE ROLL-UP
County commissioners voted 4-1 today to leave the tentative millage rate at the same amount as the past year's levy. Only Chairman John Druzbick voted against the motion by Commissioner Jim Adkins. The vote was a direction to county staff to plan for a new year's budget with no millage roll-up, and officials said the move leaves the general fund shortfall at almost a million and a half dollars. The vote means that TRIM notices next month will not show any increase in millage rates for the county. It also means that as a practical matter the county's finally approved budget cannot provide for a tax rate increase. Officials had prepared a proposed balanced budget based on a one-third mill roll-up. Commissioners said constitutional officers will need to consider further reductions in their budgets to eliminate the shortfall.
Add Comment
COUNTY BOARD LEAVES SHERIFF'S BUDGET HANGING
Budget Director George Zoettlein confirmed that the proposed County Jail spending plan offered by the sheriff was $281,000 higher than last year's budget. But county commissioners declined to take any specific action after a motion to use Judicial Center reserves for the difference failed for lack of a second.
Jeff Stabins made the motion. He said the judiciary was mainly responsible for not implementing an ankle bracelet monitoring program, though later in the meeting County Judge Don Scaglione said the judges were never given a program to approve. And when Stabins' motion died, he asked where the additional money was coming from to make up the difference between last year's jail dollars and this year's $10.9 million budget.
Chairman John Druzbick said he agreed with Sheriff Rich Nugent that an agreement between the county and sheriff did not require the new budget to have the same numbers as last year's. And he also said that the current $2.6 million general fund deficit could be reduced by such pending ideas as park and boat ramp fees and a reorganization plan to be proposed next month by Administrator David Hamilton.
Add Comment
SAGER SLAMS SHERIFF ON BUDGET ISSUE
Jason Sager, who's opposing Sheriff Rich Nugent in the August 24 Republican Congresional primary, said he was "appalled" as he listened to commissioners discuss the jail budget. Sager e-mailed Hernando News Source to say that the sheriff "has lied to the taxpayers plain and simple. He gave us all a slide show and said that he could do it cheaper then CCA and is now asking for $250,000 more then CCA." And Sager also cited Nugent's comments in a Pasco County candidates' debate last week that he was saving taxpayers a half-million dollars over CCA's costs. Sager says, "In just one week since our debate Nugent has cost the taxpayers 3/4 of a million dollars more then he originally promised."
Add Comment
WORKERS TO PAY MORE FOR INSURANCE, NO FURLOUGHS
County employees will have to cover the difference between last year's health insurance costs and this year's bigger premiums. But county commissioners decided Tuesday that higher worker contributions to insurance costs would be balanced by a commitment to no furloughs for employees. The move was approved 4-1, with Chairman John Druzbick saying he wasn't ready to make a commitment on furloughs. He said he preferred to wait until staff layoff decisions are final in the next few weeks of budget moves.
Add Comment
COMMISSIONERS OKAY NEW ENGINEERING FIRM FOR DPW CLEANUP
County commissioners agreed Tuesday for a new engineering consultant will start working up options for finishing the clean-up of the contaminated former Public Works compound in south Brooksville. Interim Public Works Director Susan Goebel says Cardno TBE would be responsible for presenting alternate methods of dealing with the site in a revised Remedial Action Plan to state regulators. They would charge the county a little over $102,000. Though Goebel says regulators have urged the options approach for some time, the previous consultant, Creative Environmental Services, reportedly declined a county request to include alternatives in a plan.
The new engineers will review state odes with a view to proposing three viable land development options for the site, based on level of clean up required and associated costs. Goebel says that possible options could include recreational facilities or commercial businesses more more consistent with south Brooksville community revitalization efforts.
Commissioner Jim Adkins said he opposed recreational use because of potential county liability but said he would hold off on a motion until the board has a chance to review the engineer's options.
Add Comment
COUNTY APPROVES ONCE-A-WEEK WATERING ON SPLIT VOTE
County commissioners approved a 17-page ordinance Tuesday that restores once-weekly watering as Hernando County's rule. The action came almost a month after the governing board of the Southwest Florida Water Management District lifted a water shortage emergency that had automatically imposed the once-a-week limit. Hernando joins Pasco and Pinellas Counties as local governments that have decided to stick to once-a-week lawn watering.
Utilities Director Joe Stapf recommended the action and was supported by several speakers from the county's Groundwater Guardians committee. Two Wellington residents opposed the move because they said once-weekly watering was not enough for healthy lawns in their community. But commissioners said they thought that groundwater levels needed more protection, and Stapf said he was concerned that going with twice-a-week watering was counter to years of water conservation messaging. He noted that SWFWMD was mandating that the county reduce per-capita potable water use as a condition of renewing the Utilities Department's water use permits.
The ordinance was approved on a 3-2 vote, with Commissioners Jeff Stabins and Jim Adkins voting no.
Add Comment
SCHOOL BOARD WANTS TO JOIN CLASS SIZE LAWSUIT AGAINST STATE
Consensus of School Board members at a Tuesday workshop was unanimous in supporting a lawsuit against the State of Florida over the class size amendment. The board was expected to vote to join the litigation at its regular meeting Tuesday night. Board lawyer Paul Carland said the lawsuit would challenge the constitutionality of statutory penalties for failing to comply with class size limits that go into effect this school year. Two members, Pat Fagan and Sandy Nicholson, said the suit should also target the state's failure to provide financial assistance to local districts in implementing the class size constitutional amendment, but Carland said that issue was not a likely winner. Penalties for noncompliance could run into the millions of dollars, but school officials have said the cost of compliance is just as much if not more than the penalties.
At the workshop, members also said they were satisfied with new performance-based evaluation procedures for teachers and administrators. The new process is aimed at satisfying state and federal mandates for grant funding and the Race to the Top program. District officials will use the first year of new teacher evaluations only for research and data collection.
Add Comment
BROOKSVILLE SCHEDULES BUDGET WORKSHOP MEETING
Not to be outdone by its larger Brooksville neighbors, the city council is also meeting Tueday to talk budgets. The city's 6 p.m. workshop at City Hall will go over spending plans from all city departments, other than the big ticket fire and police agencies, which got the attention at the first workshop last week. The city's last formal July meeting was last week, and council members voted for a 14 percent increase in setting a tentative millage, though it's expected that several council members will press for a lower tax rate when a final millage is set in September.
Add Comment
MASARYKTOWN FARM FAMILY "IGNORED" NO MORE BY COUNTY
A Masaryktown farm family who complained that they were being "ignored" by the county finally got a response to their concerns from two commissioners Monday night. The responses from Jim Adkins and Rose Rocco came shortly after Hernando News Source published a long comment from the Alexsuk family saying that 15 years of uncertainty about a planned road through their property ended with "childish and disrespectful" action to re-route the road away from their land. They said in the comment that commissioners had not answered a letter they sent the county two weeks ago. In addition to Adkins and Rocco responses Monday night, Commissioner Dave Russell, who was the family's main target in the comment, chimed in Tuesday morning.
The family's land needed for the long-planned route between County Line Road and the Hernando County Airport was appraised at about $450,000, and when commissioners balked at a recommendation from staff to pay $1.3 million, about $59,000 per acre, for 22 acres, Russell and a commission majority gave the Alexsuks 24 hours to accept a previous $673,000 county offer that had been rejected by the family. When they did not respond, staff began working on Russell's idea to use county utilities property for the road instead of the Alexsuk property.
Russell said Tuesday morning that he had no comment on the family's public concerns but did say condemnation may still be an alternative depending on how state DOT funding is reallocated. He also said the county "will continue to investigate alternative alignments pros and cons with cooperation from all departments." Russell also noted that his counter-proposal to buy the land for the original county offer was "ignored as well" by the family.
A family spokesperson told Hernando News Source Monday night that Adkins told them he has questions about building the road at all. Adkins said at the June meeting on the project that he feared another Elgin Boulevard situation. He told the Alexsuks after reading their concerns that "It is sad when Government acts this way." Rocco told the family she had forwarded the family's letter to staff for response.
The Alexsuks said they waited two weeks after sending the letter to the commissioners and commented publicly only because they felt "ignored." The family said that the threat of condemnation looming over their land for 15 years "left us with little opportunity to further improve our property." They were also unhappy about being labeled "greedy" and having their $1.3 million offer rejected with references to extortion. They said "there’s no dollar figure that replaces what the FDOT and Hernando County have taken away from our family for years now . . . our given right to peaceful, quiet, enjoyment of our own property!"
Add Comment
SHERIFF'S OFFICE FILES NEW DRUG CHARGES AGAINST JAIL INMATE
A woman jailed since April on charges of possessing methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia got new charges Monday when sheriff's detectives added 11 counts of conspiracy to traffic in oxycodone. A media release says the new charges were based on information seized at the time of the April arrest from the Zirkels Circle home of 25-year old Jandi Valentine. Detectives said Valentine and co-conspirators had a cell phone racket going where Valentine's phone would ring when a pharmacy tried to call for prescription verification, and Valentine allegedly confirmed the prescriptions. The release said Valentine was being held without bond in the Hernando County Jail on the new charges, which could potentially net her literally hundreds of years in prison if found guilty and sentenced consecutively.
Add Comment
WEEKEND ATV ACCIDENT VICTIMS IDENTIFIED
The Florida Highway Patrol released the names of two Dade City teenagers killed in the weekend collision between an All Terrain Vehicle and a Sport Utility Vehicle. The ATV driver who died at the scene was 18-year old Steven Villareal and the ATV passenger who died later at a Dade City Hospital was 19-year old Daniel Brown. Troopers said identification was hampered because neither victim had any ID on them when authorities arrived Saturday night at the accident scene in a remote area of Ridge Manor Estates subdivision. Five of the six occupants of the SUV suffered minor injuries when the larger vehicle overturned after the collision.
Add Comment
DEPUTIES ARREST MAN IN WEAPONS ASSAULT CASE
A 23-year old Spring Hill man was jailed on aggravated assault charges Monday night after he allegedly pointed a shotgun at another man. Sheriff's deputies said they arrested Blaine Sterling Wheeler of 7971 Rhanbuoy Road at the corner of Forest Oaks Blvd. and Rhanbuoy after he reportedly fled the scene. An arrest affidavit said Wheeler took a shotgun from a room in a home where the victim of the assault was removing Wheeler's belongings. The affidavit says the shotgun was pointed at the victim's chest before he knocked it away, scuffled with Wheeler and punched the suspect in the face. Deputies said the weapon was later found to be unloaded. The affidavit also says the victim's two children also witnessed the incident.
Add Comment
BROOKSVILLE MAN ACCUSED OF CHILD ABUSE AT PARTY
A Brooksville man who allegedly invited minors to a party and encouraged them to drink alcoholic beverages was arrested Tuesday morning on two counts of child abuse. Sheriff's deputies said 41-year old Curt Richard Ridenour of 2322 Cross Tee Court invited several minors to an "open house" party at his home. An arrest affidavit says during the party he punched a 16-year old girl and broke a blood vessel in her eye. An 18-year old was allegedly grabbed by her pony tail while the suspect poured an alcoholic beverage into her mouth. The affidavit says that victim was later taken to Brooksville Regional Hospital for treatment of intoxication. A 17-year old minor was allegedly grabbed by the wrist and had his arm twisted by the suspect when he tried to intervene in one of the altercations. Deputies said Ridenour was also charged with holding an open house party in violation of a state law.
Add Comment
HNS REPORTS---MONDAY, JULY 26, 2010
SHERIFF STEAMED AT NEWSPAPER STORY ON JAIL BUDGET
While some county commissioners have grumbled about the sheriff's proposed jail budget, Sheriff Rich Nugent is doing more than grumbling about a weekend newspaper story.
Commissioners and county officials spent part of the last two weeks trying to figure out why the budget request was higher than last year's spending for CCA's jail contract. As Hernando News Source reported first, the discrepancy was pegged to a budget assumption last year that CCA's prisoner count would go down when ankle bracelet monitoring was implemented, which never happened. Though the sheriff and county agreed to keep the jail budget at the same level this year as last, the $10.9 million requested for the jail is more than last year by the quarter-million dollar margin of the assumed ankle monitor savings.
A legacy media report over the weekend on the story was headlined "Sheriff wants more money for county jail." An unhappy Nugent released to all media a letter he wrote to the paper. He called the story "a completely inaccurate account of the facts."
He denied asking for more money and said of the monitoring savings, "Taking a “future discount” on paper alone for a program that doesn’t exist is nothing more than fuzzy math." He also called it "a train wreck just waiting to happen."
Meanwhile, Hernando News Source has been told that County Administrator David Hamilton overruled objections from several staff members in recommending approval of the Sheriff’s jail budget request. Sources say some argued that the agreement language for the same budget amount should be enforced.
The unusual agenda memo from Budget Director George Zoettlein has text that appears inserted labeled "County Administrator Comments" in which Hamilton says that the anticipated savings from ankle monitoring "needs to be added to the budget along with the ‘savings' that did not nor will not occur."
But Nugent said Hamilton "understands that the 'future discount' the County put on paper is completely invalid and should not be considered part of the jail budget." The sheriff also said that Hamilton's "staff, including the budget director agrees as well." However, judging from public and private comments, it will probably be Tuesday before it's known whether three county commissioners agree.
Add Comment
ROWDEN CLAIMS 2nd QTR. CONTRIBUTIONS EDGE OVER SCHENCK
State House candidate Diane Rowden said Monday that second quarter financial reports show her with a 2-1 contributions edge over her expected general election rival, incumbent Republican Rob Schenck. Though the Democrat and former county commissioner still trails by more than 2-1 in total contributions to date, she said in a media release that most of her contributions were in small amounts from Hernando County residents. And campaign finance reports show the Rowden edge is much smaller once a $9,400 contribution from the state Republican party is added to Schenck's total.
State campaign finance databases show the two-term incumbent has almost $90,000 in contributions, while Rowden's total is $41,000. Most of Schenck's contributions were three-figure amounts, many from political action committees based outside Hernando County. Rowden's list shows more smaller contributors, most of them individuals. And Rowden has also been helped by almost $4,000 from the state Democratic party.
Among the names appearing on both candidates' reports are two members of the Bachschmidt family of Inglis, which is outside the district. Bill Bachschmidt is president of influential road contractor DAB.
Rowden's release quotes her as saying that Schenck "is still married to big money and contributions from outside Hernando County."
Add Comment
APPRAISER TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT GOVERNOR WANTS
Hernando County Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek says he and his staff are still reviewing a directive from Governor Charlie Crist for appraisals of properties with values affected by the Gulf oil spill. Last week, after the Legislature adjourned a special session before acting on Crist's call for a constitutional amendment on offshore drilling, the Governor responded with an order to property appraisers. The order allows appraisers to re-assess properties and come up with "interim assessments" that owners could use to claim money from BP. The order applies to 26 counties, including Hernando, which were included in an emergency declaration earlier.
Mazourek says his staff is looking into the latest order to see what his office needs to be doing. He called the unusual directive "a challenge."
Appraisers' association officials apparently haven't been much help so far. The organization's chief said last week that it may be hard to determine how much of the drop in value is attributable to the oil spill and how much to the economy. Since appraisers ultimately answer to the Department of Revenue under state law, it may take guidance from that agency before Mazourek and other appraisers will be in a position to go forward on Crist's order.
Add Comment
TEEN GIRL CHARGED WITH MOLESTING EIGHT-YEAR OLD
Sheriff's deputies say a 15-year old girl has been charged with sexual battery in connection with the alleged molestation of an eight-year old girl. Detectives said the victim disclosed the abuse, and the teen suspect reportedly admitted to sexual abuse of the younger girl on about 15 different occasions between April and July. An arrest affidavit said the abuse involved fondling, digital penetration, and use of a sex toy. The affidavit also says the suspect's parents and the victim's parents were friends and the two were often together. The teen suspect was booked at the Hernando County Jail on the sexual battery counts and sent to the juvenile detention center in Ocala.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL TEEN SLAMS INTO CAR, JAILED FOR DRUNK DRIVING
A Spring Hill teenager with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit for adults was jailed Sunday after he slammed his SUV into a parked car on Montano Street. A sheriff's report says 18-year old John Anthony Mahatcek of 4886 Keysville Avenue lost control of his Ford Explorer and hit the parked car at 3217 Montano Street. Damage to the car was estimated at $10,000. A responding deputy said Mahatcek's eyes were red and watery and his speech slurred, and the suspect failed field sobriety exercises. Though he denied consuming alcohol, the report says breath samples at the Hernando County Jail showed .181 and .191, more than twice the legal limit for adults and way over the separate threshold for drivers under 21. Mahatcek was charged with DUI with damage to property.
Add Comment
MAN SEEKING SHELTER FROM RAIN CHARGED WITH ARMED BURGLARY
A man who said he was only trying to get out of Saturday nght's rainstorm found himself jailed on charges of armed burglary over the weekend. An arrest affidavit says 18-year old Robert Dudley Taylor of Corbin, Kentucky, was spotted coming out of a vacant Gatewood Avenue home with a bag. The affidavit says he apparently gained entry by removing a screen and breaking a window. Deputies reportedly found two knives in Taylor's pants pocket, but the affidavit says the bag's contents and other items in the home were all his. Taylor denied breaking the window and claimed he was just trying to get out of the rain. He's now staying dry at the Hernando County Jail, where he was assigned an initial bond of $25,000.
Add Comment
WEEKI WACHEE MAN JAILED AFTER SMASHING FRONT DOOR GLASS
Sheriff's deputies said a 41-year old Weeki Wachee man was charged with burglary Saturday night after they found him on Waverly Road in Spring Hill with blood on his hand and clothes. The deputies were responding to a Waverly Road residence where the occupant reported a man had smashed through a jalousie glass in the front door and attempted to gain entry. When they located Mack David Stafford of 6999 Richard Drive with lacerations on his hand and blood on his swimming trunks, they took him into custody, and he was later identified by the resident. Stafford claimed the complainant had tubes and canoes he used for his day on the river at the home. Deputies said he appeared to be "extremely intoxicated." Stafford was treated at the scene by EMS for his injuries and then booked into the Hernando County Jail on a charge of burglary.
Add Comment
BASEBALL BAT ATTACK FOILED, MAN ARRESTED
A man who said he was going to kill his ex-wife was disarmed as he wielded an aluminum baseball bat Friday night in a Spring Hill apartment. Arrest affidavits say 39-year old George Anthony Platt of 14541 Todd Trail in Spring Hill went to his ex-wife's apartment and got in an argument. When he grabbed the baseball bat and began to swing it at her, Platt's brother David grabbed the bat and threw it outside the apartment. A separate affidavit says he also pushed another woman down and onto her laptop computer and punched her. He also reportedly kicked the front door in and broke the door frame because the occupants initially refused to let him in. According to the affidavits, George Platt was booked into the Hernando County Jail on charges of aggravated assault, battery and criminal mischief.
Add Comment
TWO REPORTED DEAD, FIVE HURT IN RIDGE MANOR ACCIDENT
An All Terrain Vehicle driver and his passenger were reportedly killed Saturday night after the ATV hit the side of a Sport Utility Vehicle in a remote area of the Ridge Manor Estates subdivision. A Florida Highway Patrol report says the ATV was southbound on Goodstone Drive when it traveled into the path of the SUV, which was heading east on Umbrella Rock Street. Troopers said the SUV overturned, and the driver and five passengers suffered minor injuries. The ATV driver was dead at the scene, and the ATV passenger was taken to Pasco Regional Hospital in Dade CIty, where unconfirmed reports say he died Sunday. Troopers said neither had any identification, and the names of the ATV driver and passenger had not been released as of Sunday night.. Driver of the SUV was identified as 24-year old Lauren Hinson of Webster. Troopers said she and four of the five passengers had minor injuries. Troopers said the crash remains under investigation.
Add Comment
TRIAL SET THIS WEEK FOR LAST OF BOYETT'S GROVE ROBBERS
Trial is set to open this week for the last of three men accused of invading the Boyett's Grove attraction three years ago and nearly killing the owner. Court dockets list 27-year old Adrian House as charged with two counts of principal to armed robbery. Because of a judges' conference, the trial is not expected to begin until Thursday.
The man who allegedly shot James Oleson in the chest already pleaded guilty and got a 25-year prison sentence. Damion Childs was charged with attempted murder and robbery. The third man in the group that burst into the attraction and robbed Oleson and his wife Kathy at gunpoint, Willie Cliatt, was killed two years ago in a shoot-out with police.
Add Comment
NEW FLOOD MAPS READY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT
Hernando County is releasing updated, digital flood hazard maps for public review and comment prior to their final adoption. The maps show the extent to which areas throughout the County are at risk for flooding and are used to help determine flood insurance and building requirements. The new maps replace maps that are more than 25 years old. County commissioners will get a presentation on the new maps at their meeting Tuesday, and part of that will focus on properties that flooded recently, despite being out of the old maps' flood zones.
A county media release says residents and business owners can use the maps to obtain reliable information about their flood risk on a property-by-property basis. The maps also provide flood zone and elevation data to help community planners, engineers, builders and others decide where and how new structures, developments, and remodeling projects should be built. The maps may be viewed online at www.hernandocounty.us/floodmap/ or in person at the Development Services Department, 789 Providence Boulevard, Brooksville, Florida. Two Open House sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, August 11, and Thursday, August 12, 2010, both from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., in the cafeteria at Central High School, 14075 Ken Austin Parkway, Brooksville, Florida. The public will have the opportunity to review the maps and have one on one discussion with representatives of local government, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
County Emergency Management Director Cecilia Patella said, "Flooding is an increasingly frequent and costly problem throughout this part of Florida, and not just in high-risk areas.” She said that having more accurate and easily accessible maps is "an important step in understanding the risk, so we can take steps to protect and insure against it.”
The maps were developed by the Southwest Florida Water Management District, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hernando County and the City of Brooksville. The process included an extensive, multi-year review of the changes brought about by environmental, land use and other forces, use of state-of-the-art aerial mapping and risk modeling techniques, and a comprehensive pre-release review.
The digital maps are also known as Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) because they are now in digital format and are used to determine flood insurance rates and requirements. In reviewing the new maps, officials said many property owners may find that their risk is higher or lower than they thought. A total of 23,983 parcels in Hernando County are shown as moving into the high-risk areas, and 236 are moving out. If the risk level for a property changes, flood insurance and building standards requirements can change as well.
The Open Houses scheduled for August 11th and August 12th are intended to provide an opportunity for viewing the new maps. The updated maps are still preliminary and have not yet been officially adopted. In addition to the public meetings, there will be a 90-day Public Comment Period when property owners can submit appeals and protests if they can show that the maps are in error. The maps will become effective once all comments are received and addressed. At that time, the new flood insurance requirements will take effect.
While the federal flood insurance requirements won’t be based on the new DFIRMs until they take affect, officials said Hernando County has elected to use the preliminary flood risk information to manage development in the floodplain where it shows a higher risk than the current effective map which is more than 25 years old.
Add Comment
MONDAY IS LAST DAY FOR REGISTRATION, PARTY CHANGES
It's deadline day Monday at the Supervisor of Elections office...the last day to register to vote in the August 24 primary or to change registration. Officials say they will then double-check the registration rolls and begin gearing up for the August 9 beginning of early voting.
There are relatively few local races garnering attention for the primary, other than the Republican showdown between Sheriff Rich Nugent and Jason Sager for the right to face Democrat Jim Piccillo in November's election to succceed U.S. Representative Ginny Brown-Waite. Both Republicans and Democrats have statewide races on the ballot featuring contests for Governor and U.S. Senator.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL SENATE CANDIDATE SLAMS POLLSTER
In a poll released Thursday by Rasmussen Reports, pollster Scott Rasmussen once again left Alex Snitker’s name off the survey. Snitker, a Spring Hill Libertarian running for the U.S. Senate, accused Rasmussen of "intentionally skewing the poll so to create the most favorable outcome for Marco Rubio.”
In a media release, Snitker pointed to multiple results from Rasmussen polls that show Rubio with a lead over Charlie Crist, despite recent results from other major pollsters showing Crist with a five to nine point lead. Snitker said the decision to leave his name off the Rasmussen polls shows that "Rasmussen is nothing more than a shill for the GOP and his polling data should be considered flawed.”
Rasmussen did include an “other candidate” category in Thursday’s poll, the first time he’s done so for the Florida Senate race since at least April. In this poll, the “other candidate” received three percent of the vote, which is slightly lower than Snitker’s numbers in another poll last week.
Snitker also pointed out what the media release called "a bit of irony" in what he believes Rasmussen’s reasons are for keeping him out of the polls. He cites the results of another poll, as well as his internal campaign polling, which shows that he is actually pulling more votes from Crist and the democrats than he is from Rubio. “That shows that Constitutionally limited government and individual liberty are not left-right concepts. They are American concepts,” said Snitker.
Add Comment
CLEAN-UP PROJECT STARTS THIS WEEK AT LAKE LINDSEY
State fish and wildlife officials say a project to clean out Lake Lindsey in northeast Hernando County starts this week. According to the agency, the aquatic plant harvesting project is aimed at improving aquatic habitat and navigational access to Lake Lindsey. Crews will target floating tussock and spatterdock rhizome vegetation for removal. The project starts Wednesday and take about 30 days to complete.
Public access to the Lake Lindsey boat ramp will be blocked during the work due to the need to use the boat ramp for loading the harvested plant material. Officials said plant spoil will be trucked to the nearby Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area for disposal.
Add Comment
HNS WEEKEND---JULY 24-25, 2010
SUNDAY NEWS UPDATE
ONE KILLED, SIX HURT IN ATV VS. SUV ACCIDENT IN RIDGE MANOR
An All Terrain Vehicle driver was killed and his passenger critically injured after the ATV hit the side of a Sport Utility Vehicle in a remote area of the Ridge Manor Estates subdivision. A Florida Highway Patrol report says the ATV was southbound on Goodstone Drive Saturday night when it traveled into the path of the SUV, which was heading east on Umbrella Rock Street. Troopers said the SUV overturned, and the driver and five passengers suffered minor injuries. The ATV driver was dead at the scene, and the ATV passenger was taken to Pasco Regional Hospital in Dade CIty. Troopers said neither had any identification. Driver of the SUV was identified as 24-year old Lauren Hinson of Webster. Troopers said she and four of the five passengers had minor injuries. Troopers said the crash remains under investigation.
DEPUTIES ARREST RAPE SUSPECT
An arrest affidavit released Saturday says a 43-year old Brooksville man has been charged with rape. The affidavit says David Anthony Galloway of 21403 Anderson Road was walking with a woman and a 17-year old female minor on Friday at the Lakewood Retreat in southeast Hernando County when he allegedly grabbed the minors' buttocks. After the minor told the older woman, Galloway allegedly forced the woman against a tree, removed her shorts and underwear, and began performing sex acts against her will while the minor watched. The victim reportedly threatened to hit Galloway and was able to return to the camp. The affidavit says Galloway was taken into custody at the sheriff's office in Brooksville and was booked into the Hernando County Jail where he was held with no bond.
BROOKSVILLE PARKS CHIEF ACCUSED OF DOMESTIC BATTERY
The Brooksville city Parks and Recreation Director was arrested early Saturday and charged with domestic battery and witness tampering. An arrest affidavit says 43-year old Michael Walker got in a verbal argument with his wife at their Tankersley Road home and allegedly grabbed her by the neck. The affidavit says Walker smashed a phone on the floor when she tried to call 9-1-1. The arresting deputy said Walker was taken into custody based on the broken phone, redness to the victim's neck and disarray in the home, which was all consistent with the victim's account.
HERNANDO NEWS SOURCE COMMENTARY
CANDIDATES MELTING ICE?
Perhaps we helped melt the ice...as we said here last week, a quick handshake offered by Jason Sager to his Republican primary opponent Rich Nugent was the only sign of collegiality between these two Congressional candidates. We noted we had been waiting to document that moment through two joint appearances and then missed it when it happened.
Well, what do you know! Wednesday night at the Central Pasco Republican Club, it was Nugent who offered a hand to Sager at the end of another debate, and we actually caught it on camera.
Then the two candidates looked in our direction and re-enacted the handshake for us.
These two, who one person said last week didn't seem to like each other, might be getting somewhere. After all, it was Ronald Reagan who warned his fellow party members not to speak ill of another Republican. And except for style and substance on constitutional arguments, the pair seem to be close on a lot of other issues, with relatively minor differences in strategy or emphasis in dealing with them.
In the Fifth Congressional District, with its heavy concentration of Republican and otherwise conservative voters, it's a pretty good bet one of these guys will be our next representative in the U.S House.
Add Comment
CAMERAS, RED-LIGHT AND OTHERWISE
The Brooksville City Council voted 3-2 Monday night to go forward with selecting a new vendor to run the city's controversial red-light cameras. We understand the concerns of opponents who say it's just a revenue source or it violates due process to ticket the car instead of the driver or the cameras will cause more rear-end crashes than any T-bone collisions that might be prevented.
What probably makes the least sense are objections on privacy grounds. Hey, it's understandable that libertarians might be concerned about a more intrusive Big Brother government...most of us read 1984 at one point or another. But we may have past the point of legitimate concern, because in fact there are cameras all around us all the time.
Hernando County's traffic experts monitor dozens of cameras throughout the unincorporated area to keep traffic lights tuned to move cars through the busiest intersections. There are cameras throughout the Government Center and its parking lot, which have been used to put a number of people in jail for violating terms of probation, such as being with a significant other despite a court order to stay away. The cameras also record everyone entering and leaving the building. Government has been watching you and your actions for a long time.
Then there are the hundreds of private businesses with cameras to protect their economic interests, such as the ones that snap your picture every time you use an ATM, or go into a convenience store or big box store. We frequently run these pictures as part of our "Crooks on Camera" series whenever the sheriff's office passes them along so the public can help catch criminals.
So we'll wait to see what happens with the inevitable constitutional challenges to red-light camera rules, or to see if threatened boycotts of camera jurisdictions have any effect, or whether new accident data ends up supporting one side or the other of that debate. But we don't see much point in the 21st Centuy in complaining about the omnipresence of cameras watching almost every move that people make. In our view, we crossed that bridge some time ago.
Add Comment
ROLL-UP, ANYONE?
So far two local taxing authorities have looked at the bleak revenue picture and chosen to increase millage rates. The City of Brooksville is looking at a 14 percent hike, while the Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District has decided to notify its taxpayers that the millage rate is going up a quarter-mill, to the legislative cap of 2.5 that voters will have their say on next month. In each case, the authority's governing board has decided that they want the wiggle room that allows them to keep working on budget cuts while trying to reassure most public employees that they're not headed for the unemployment rolls soon. (Although even with the hike, Spring Hill Fire is looking at laying off some administrative office staff.)
The bottom line is that the tentative millage that has to be approved in July is just that---tentative. Florida law makes it mandatory to notify taxpayers of a proposed millage rate per the August TRIM notices advising of the date, time and place for public hearings, so citizens can speak their minds. But the same law makes it expensive and difficult, if not impossible, to raise the rate in September from the tentative millage on the TRIM notices. Thus, it only seems to make sense to us that higher rates be advertised, so that the flexibility to lower the rate with more cuts is available in September.
The biggest local governments will speak on proposed rates this week, with both commissioners and school board members meeting on Tuesday. County officials have proposed a balanced budget based on a one-third mill roll-up. School board members have another chance to consider an optional quarter-mill that could bring in about $2.2 million, which would pay for a lot of teachers that the district needs, thanks to the class size rules that go into effect this year.
A modest roll-up, or the optional quarter-mill for the School Board, is probably a good idea.
We know that it's not a popular position, and we would hope that more budget work would make it possible to see further reductions in September, but it seems to us that the safest course now is for the County and School Boards to plan for a millage increase, provided it's as modest as possible and would not mean actual hikes on the tax bill bottom line for most taxpayers. Then keep working and find a way to bring those rates down. That's what the September public hearings are for. And we suspect you'll have a lot more public involvement in those hearings if TRIM notices propose millage rate increases.
Add Comment
Now here's a look back in reverse chronological order at a LOT of stories seen FIRST or ONLY in Hernando County this week at Hernando News Source.
FRIDAY
EIGHTEEN LAWYERS APPLY TO REPLACE JUDGE SPRINGSTEAD
Eighteen lawyers from throughout the five-county Fifth Judicial Circuit have applied to fill the judgeship that will become vacant when Judge Jack Springstead retires on November 30. Five of them are from Hernando County--- County Judge Don Scaglione, assistant county attorney Jeff Kirk, and private practice lawyers Steve Toner, Jr., Tim Beasley and Michael Lamberti. The other names on the list are from Citrus, Sumter, Lake and Marion Counties. They are Weldon Mark Burnette, Lawrence P. Cartelli, Thomas W. Cartwright, Heidi Davis, Mary P. Hatcher, Denise A. Dymond Lyn, David Mengers, John E. Napolitano, Jonathan Olson, Rhonda Raulerson Portwood, Milan “Bo” Samargya, Anthony Michael Tatti and Clifford A. Taylor.
The Florida Bar's Judicial Nominating Commission for the circuit is seeking comments on the applicants from the public and members of the Bar. Comments are due before August 10 to local commission chair Meredith Kirste at 803 East Dixie Avenue in Leesburg, 34748.
MIXSON NAME-CLEARING HEARING ON TUESDAY AGENDA
The name-clearing hearing that fired County Engineer Charles Mixson requested last March has been scheduled for Tuesday. Mixson's attorney Bruce Snow requested the hearing so that Mixson could rebut public charges by County Administrator David Hamilton in the January termination notice. Hamilton said Mixson had mismanaged projects such as the Hernando Beach dredge and often seemed more concerned with the interests of contractors than the public. The hearing has been postponed twice at Snow's request, but county lawyers said so far Snow has not asked for any change to next week's scheduled session. After the first two postponements of the hearing, Mixson filed an age discrimination claim against the county.
FASANO SAYS HIGH SPEED RAIL MEANS JOBS FOR HERNANDO RESIDENTS
State Senator Mike Fasano said Friday that he expects construction of a High Speed Rail line between Tampa and Orlando will create "tens of thousands of jobs." Fasano was speaking at the Brooksville Ridge Kiwanis breakfast meeting and said he anticipates that people from Hernando will be hired to build the rail system over a period of years. The Pasco Republican, who represents most of southwestern Hernando County, said the federal tax dollars that will go into the rail construction project are dollars that should be coming back to Florida to make up for Florida tax dollars that go to other states. He said that once Congress voted stimulus money, he thought that Florida should get its share, since otherwise 15 cents of every Floridian's federal tax dollar goes to other states.
Fasano also responded to a question about his future plans when his term-limited time in the Florida Senate ends in two years. Fasano had expressed disappointment at the last minute decision by Representative Ginny Brown-Waite to pull out of her re-election race, since he would have liked the chance to run for the seat. But he said Friday that he's got no firm plans for post-Florida public service, describing himself as a "plodder" rather than a planner.
AQUIFER LEVEL DROPPING, JULY RAINFALL RUNNING SHORT
Officials with the Southwest Florida Water Management District released the latest statistics on aquifer levels and rainfall, and the news is not encouraging for those who thought the four-year drought was over. According to the weekly figures, aquifer levels in the northern part of the district have fallen to levels below those at the same time last year. While still in the 0-3 normal range, this week's aquifer level of .93 is a 35 percent decrease from last month's level and is below the reading for the same time last year. Meanwhile, rainfall for the first three weeks of July is less than half the normal amount for the entire month, with only one week remaining.
Hernando County commissioners will hold a public hearing next Tuesday morning on a local ordinance to keep once-a-week lawn watering. The SWFWMD governing board voted to go back to twice-weekly watering last month, while county officials said they supported staying at once a week to reinforce the water conservation message they have been spreading during the drought.
ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDS OKAY FOR SHERIFF'S JAIL BUDGET
After 10 days of analysis of last year's CCA contract jail budget and the proposed sheriff's jail budget number of $10.9 million, County Administrator David Hamilton says he now "concurs with this number and recommends it." But Hamilton also says that "further reductions may occur based on continuing negotiations in the spirit of good faith and integrity" which led to the Interlocal Agreement pledging the sheriff to the same jail budget as last year.
Commissioners had spotted a discrepancy in the sheriff's numbers versus last year's budget and said they wanted an explanation. Sheriff Rich Nugent promised in the Interlocal Agreement that he would run the jail for the same amount as last year's CCA budget. But Nugent didn't include savings that commissioners anticipated from an ankle bracelet monitoring program they hoped would reduce the jail population. The program never got off the ground, and though some officials wanted to press for a lower amount, Hamilton's comments in an agenda memo to commissioners indicate that the controversy is apparently over.
ENGINEERING FIRM TO FILL STAFFING GAP AT COUNTY UTILITIES
Hernando County Utilities wants to spend almost $40,000 on outside engineering because a former staff engineer is now reported likely to remain as Public Works Director "for the foreseeable future." A memo to county commissioners for action at Tuesday's County Board meeting says HDR Engineering is needed to help the Utilities Department "on a temporary basis for multiple projects" and calls the work needed "due to Susan Goebel's continuing assignment as Interim Public Works Director." Goebel was a staff engineer in the Utilities Department when County Administrator David Hamilton named her to replace fired County Engineer Charles Mixson as head of Public Works.
The Utilities memo says the department has been given the go-ahead to advertise for hiring a replacement for Goebel's position and that HDR's services are needed through September while that hiring is in process.
COUNTY PARKS WORKERS JOBS SAVED WITH NEW FEES
As many as a dozen county Parks maintenance workers who faced layoffs because of funding cuts would be able to keep their jobs if a proposed fee schedule for park use is implemented. That's the message of a memo from Land Services Director Ron Pianta, who says in the report that fees would "minimize impacts to the park system and levels of service" and allow most of the park facilities previously targeted for closure to remain open.
The fee schedule would hike most buidling and pavillion rental fees by about one-third. Some athletic field uses that had no previous fees would now be charged on an hourly basis. Parking fees at Pine Island and rogers Park would go up to five dollars in season, and a new off-season charge of two dollars would begin. New five dollar fees would be charged for using coastal boat ramps. A one dollar parking fee would be charged at the Spring Hill dog park.
MILITARY GRANT PROGRAM RUNNING OUT OF MONEY
County officials say a budget fund that pays for grants to families of active military personnel on combat duty to help with property taxes is almost out of money. The county approved the program five years ago, and since then annual cost has fluctuated from a high of more than $12,000 in 2006 to a low of less than $5,000 the next year. Now Budget Director George Zoettlein says in a memo to the County Board that this year's $7,000 budget wasn't enough. Commissioners added $3,000 to the fund in March, but Zoettlein said two pending applications are being held for payment because they would put the fund over the revised $10,000 amount. He's asking commissioners to transfer another $3,000 from a separate fund that is running under budget. He says that would cover the pending applications and others expected before the end of the budget year in a little more than two months.
THURSDAY
NUGENT AND SAGER SQUARE OFF AGAIN, TALK ISSUES AND BUDGETS
Congressional candidates Rich Nugent and Jason Sager debated issues and budgets for an hour Wednesday night. Even though the latest debate was in central Pasco County, the Hernando sheriff's increasing budgets were a major point of contention. Moderator Tom Jackson posed the question of Nugent's operating budgets to the sheriff, and Nugent said the takeover of central dispatching and emergency management accounted for part of the increase. He noted that the last two budgets he submitted were each three percent lower than the previous year, a move he described as "being conservative." And he cited a 15 percent decline in the crime rate last year and a 6.5 percent drop in newly released figures for the first half of this year.
Sager responded that the sheriff's budgets have increased 67 percent over his two and a half terms, in a county with a population increase of 26 percent over the same period. He also criticized the sheriff over the County Jail, saying Nugent "convinced the county to take over the privately operated county jail," and he said the sheriff claimed a need for the takeover "because government can do it cheaper." Sager told the 200 or so at the Central Pasco Republican Club that the sheriff's transition plan would put 40 people out of work and using the savings to give the remaining employees $7,000 raises.
Nugent's response was to note that the jail contract had never been rebid and that there was no alternative when private operator CCA told the county it was walking away from the contract. He said the county asked the sheriff to come in and that he planned to operate the jail for the same amount of money as CCA got last year, with a hope to return as much as a half million dollars at the end of the year. He also noted that CCA allowed the county's multi-million dollar jail buildings to "fall apart."
Sager said then, "It's a jail, they're prisoners, put them in tents with pink underwear."
COUNTY PARKS WORKER ARRESTED, FIRED FOR GASOLINE THEFTS
A Hernando County Parks Department maintenance worker was cited by sheriff's deputies Wednesday for petty theft in connection with stolen gasoline, and county human resources staff confirmed that the suspect was terminated the same day. Sheriff's reports say 60-year old Gerlando "George" Caruana was seen on video surveillance filling a five gallon plastic container with gasoline from a county fuel tank in Delta Woods Park on two separate occasions. Parks supervisors installed the video after a tank measurement showed missing gas. When confronted with the video evidence, Caruana reportedly claimed he took the gas for a friend who needed it for a leaf blower but had no money.
County officials said Caruana was terminated from parks maintenance job on Wednesday.
ROWDEN BLASTS OPPONENT FOR "54-MINUTE WORKDAY"
Though Spring Hill State Representative Rob Schenck said beforehand he would vote against a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling in state waters, his top Demoractic election opponent blasted him Thursday for "a 54-minute workday in Tallahassee ignoring the Gulf oil crisis." Diane Rowden said the incumbent legislator she hopes to unseat in November "is one of the poster boys for drilling off our coasts." Rowden called Schenck's actions in supporting the Republican-controlled House adjournment "a huge waste of taxpayer money and opportunity." She said when Schenck and fellow Republicans refused to debate the issue and agreed to "break for lunch without getting any work done," they left "Hernando County's seafood fishing and harvesting industries once again without a voice."
Schenck, whose office was asked to comment on Rowden's blast, said before the session that he was satisfied with statutory law that banned drilling in state waters and would not support a constitutional amendment to do what's already covered in law.
ROGERS PARK SWIMMING ADVISORY LIFTED
Come on in, the water's fine, according to the Hernando County Health Department announcement lifting a swimming advisory for coastal Hernando's Rogers Park. Signs went up at the park earlier this month after testing showed levels of fecal coliform bacteria higher than was considered safe. Health Department Environmental Manager Al Gray said Thursday that the latest test results now show the water quality along the Weeki Wachee River at rogers Park is now in the acceptable range, and the July 7 advisory has been rescinded.
HUMANE SOCIETY CHIEF SAYS CAT'S PASSING TELLS STORY
Nature Coast Humane Society Director Joanne Schoch announced Thursday that Chloe the cat died last week. Schoch said Chloe's story demonstrated how one person's love for a cat helped save many other felines.
Chloe was brought to the Society after her owner, Dorothy Huitfeldt, died. A veterinarian said the frail and incontinent elderly probably had only a few months to live. Because Huitfeldt was a Humane Society supporter and left the bulk of her estate to the Society's animal shelter, Schoch says the staff decided to care for the cat for the supposed short time she had left. That time turned into more than three years, when Chloe was given free reign over the shelter's cat cottage as "official greeter."
Schoch noted the pre-planning of Huitfeldt's estate made a big difference in the lives of animals passing through the shelter over the past three years. And she says the Society staff chipped in for cremation and an urn for Chloe, who is still in her favorite sunny spot on the cat cottage copy machine.
WEDNESDAY
NUGENT WINS FIRST BIG NEWSPAPER ENDORSEMENT
The Orlando Sentinel has become the first major newspaper to endorse a candidate in the Republican Congressional primary, and it's come down on the side of Hernando Sheriff Rich Nugent. The Sentinel serves Lake County communities on the eastern edge of the sprawling Fifth District.
An editorial Wednesday in the Sentinel says "Nugent is far more qualified than his GOP primary opponent...he at least has a realistic grasp on the issues he would face in Congress."
An announcement on the editorial from the Nugent campaign tactfully omits the editorial's comment on Nugent opponent Jason Sager. The paper's editorial board actually said: "[Nugent] speaks knowledgeably about taxes and energy policy, and he has dealt with the federal government in his position. Mr. Sager speaks far more authoritatively about sin than he does policy."
DREDGE STILL STALLED, BUT COUNTY GETS GOOD WORD FROM STATE
Though there's no dredging going on at the Hernando Beach channel, county officials announced Wednesday that one milestone on the road to getting the project going again has been reached. Interim Public Works Director Susan Goebel says the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed that the Hernando Beach Channel Dredge Permit Application submitted in January is now "complete." The state regulators' letter says action on the revised permit is required by October 1. Goebel said permit action will be followed by a 21-day period for the dredge contractor to re-mobilize equipment at the worksite in preparation for resuming the project.
The permit application was needed to modify the proposed spoil dewatering methods. The project was halted in January because of excessive silt discharge which violated the terms of the original permit.
Goebel said in a media release that "[w]e are happy to have completed the next step in the permitting process with FDEP, and we are confident that FDEP will expedite processing the permit."
ANALYSIS OF CLASS SIZE MANDATE PEGS LOCAL COST AT $4 MILLION
Hernando County School Board members are being told that compliance with new class size requirements will cost $4 million for the new school year. Constitutional class size reduction mandates take full effect this year. Voters will have a chance in November to revise the amendment, as local school officials around the state have complained about costs of reducing class size. Hernando officials told the board that putting full-time teachers in all classes to comply with requirements would mean almost 400 more teachers at a cost of more than $23 million. But the analysis made available Wednesday in advance of next week's workshop says local schools will include a number of strategies to keep down the cost of compliance, including some additional staff, extra class supplements, and use of long-term substitutes.
The analysis also noted that last year's student data showed 20 Hernando schools were out of compliance with the new requirements, and that without changes the district could be penalized more than $3.2 million. School Board members will review the analysis at a workshop next Tuesday afternoon.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE HAS PLAN FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED EVALUATIONS
Hernando school district officials are asking the School Board to approve a plan for evaluating teachers using student achievement. Officials say state mandates require performance appraisals of teachers and school-based
administrators to be "primarily based on" student performance. The state requirements are also part of the federal Race to the Top funding program.
An evaluation committee of teachers' union members, administrators and district staff will present their ideas next Tuesday at a School Board workshop. The plan calls for a new evaluation form for instructional personnel. Along with that, student performance data for teachers will be collected for research purposes only in the coming school year and would not be considered in the final evaluation. Once officials are sure that the process for collecting data works and everyone is familiar with the process, teacher evaluation for the 2011-2012 school year would be based on student performance data.
Evaluation forms have also been created for school-based and district administrators with a new goal-setting process. Student performance data would be the main focus for their evaluation this year. Officials say the board also needs a contractor to develop a system to collect and analyze the data required for teacher evaluation.
PAIR CHARGED WITH GRAND THEFT, DEALING STOLEN SEWING MACHINE
Sheriff's deputies say two men are jailed Wednesday on charges of dealing a $1,000 sewing machine and selling it for $100. According to reports and arrest affidavits, the machine was taken from the Spring Hill home of Philip John Guptail's mother. Richard Arthur Reiter of Smithfield Lane in Brooksville allegedly acted as a broker with a friend who owned a sewing shop in the sale of the machine. The 30-year old Guptail and the 27-year old Reiter were charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property when they were booked into the Hernando County Jail on Tuesday.
FACEBOOK PAGE PROMOTES NAME CHANGE FOR BROOKSVILLE
A local man who describes himself as an "activist, raconteur and music industry weasel" has started a Facebook page called "Change the name of Brooksville, Fl to something a little less racist." Justin Lollie's profile picture for the page shows South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks caning Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate. Sumner, a pre-Civil War abolitionist, had offended Brooks with an anti-slavery speech, so Brooks beat him unconscious on the floor of the Senate, nearly killing him. Lollie makes a statement and asks a question on the page, "Brooksville was named for a Civil War-era pro-slavery congressman who beat the hell out of an anti-slavery congressman on the floor of Congress with his cane. Doesn't that just make your heart swell with pride?"
Lollie describes the page's mission as convincing the Brooksville City Council to rename the city, "or at least denounce the brutal, racist history that inspired the original name change" from the original Melendez. He says there are a number of renaming options, but "what shouldn't be an option is forcing future generations of Brooksville natives to carry the shame of being from a town named after a violent, racist thug."
So far, Lollie's Rename Brooksville page has two friends.
TUESDAY
ACCUSED BANK ROBBER COPS PLEA MOMENTS BEFORE TRIAL
A 38-year old man accused of bank robbery pleaded guilty moments before his Hernando County Circuit Court trial was scheduled to start Tuesday. The plea deal calls for a seven and a half year prison term for Andre Franklin. He's already served almost two years in jail awaiting trial.
Franklin was one of three men involved in two bank robberies in October 2008. The trio attempted a robbery in Hillsborough County and then came to Hernando where they held up the Brannen Bank branch on Cortez Blvd. Franklin was unhappy that he was not offered the same plea deal that the co-defendants got, including a three-year prison sentence. But prosecutors said they could not make that offer, because it turned out the deal was a mistake as being below sentencing guidelines.
Franklin and his attorney Grady Irvin agreed to the seven and a half year deal while a jury panel waited in another room in the courthouse for jury selection to begin. Franklin faced a sentence of up to 20 years on two counts, one for principal to robbery and the other for conspiracy, and that sentence could have been doubled to 40 years, had he been found guilty in a trial.
CONVICTED CHILD ABUSER HAS MOTION TO RECONSIDER SENTENCE DENIED
A woman convicted four years ago of child abuse and failure to appear for trial had her bid for a re-sentencing denied Tuesday by Circuit Judge Jack Springstead. Lori Allain, who was charged for withholding food from foster children in her care, says she shouldn't have been charged for failing to appear and received an additional prison sentence for it. She's already serving a 25-year term on the abuse charges.
She argued with Springstead about whether she had notice that the courthouse was closing due to a hurricane emergency on the day she was supposed to be in court. When Springstead convened the next day, Allain and her husband Arthur, who was also charged in the case, were nowhere to be found. They were later arrested in New Jersey and brought back to Florida to begin prison sentences.
Springstead showed patience as Allain, who was representing herself, tried to show with phone bills that she had been in contact with her lawyer and tried to find out when she was supposed to be in court. But his patience wore thin as Allain interrupted him several times to dispute what the judge called the relevant facts. Meanwhile, the lawyers who represented her and her husband listened from the back of the courtroom, and one offered his view of the phone bill dispute. The Allains have claimed that the two private attorneys provided ineffective counsel.
In the end Springstead denied Allain's motion to reconsider the sentence and listened calmly as she repeatted bias changes she's made before against the judge. Springstead also declined to enter an expedited order to have her transported back to prison. When she sought the special treatment to start work on an appeal of the case, the judge told her she would go through the regular process instead.
TENTATIVE CITY MILLAGE RATE UP 14 PERCENT FOR TRIM NOTICES
Brooksville City Council members decided better safe than sorry Monday night and voted for a tentative millage rate of 8.0, up nearly one mill from last year. The rate is subject to reduction when the city holds its September budget hearings and votes on a final millage rate. The TRIM notices to taxpayers go out in August, and taxing authorities set a preliminary rate that can be lowered later. The motion for the higher roll-up rate was made by Vice-Mayor Richard Lewis, and only Mayor Lara Bradburn voted no. The so-called roll-up rate is the rate that would generate the same amount of revenue as last year. Declining property values have put local governments in some budget holes, and Brooksville joins the Spring Hill Fire Board iin voting to put a higher mill rate on the preliminary TRIM notices to reserve the power to lower it later if they can fill those budget holes in other ways.
DRUZBICK STILL MAKING UP HIS MIND ABOUT ROLL-UP VOTE
County Board chairman John Druzbick said Tuesday he still hasn't decided what to do about a possible vote for a roll-up in county tax millage. Druzbick said in a radio interview that he is still waiting to hear what ideas his fellow commissioners have for trimming the county spending plan before he makes up his mind. He said he's looking at furloughs and other salary-saving ideas to keep 29 county workers on the public payroll. One concept he said he wants to explore is requiring employees to contribute something to the nearly $700 per month county subsidy for health insurance that is currently in effect. And Druzbiick said he's also waiting to hear from staff exactly how much those health insurance premiums will increase this year.
The county is facing a $1.2 million general fund budget shortfall. A one-third roll-up could bring in another $2 million in revenue and eliminate layoff possibilities. Two of five commissioners have said they will not vote for a millage roll-up, even though staff officials reported that declining property values would mean that even with a modest roll-up, three-quarters of all taxpayers would still see a lower county tax bill.
JAIL BUDGET DISCREPANCY CLARIFIED BUT CONCERNS REMAIN
County officials say they're still concerned that the proposed jail budget submitted by Sheriff Rich Nugent is inconsistent with an interlocal agreement pledging to hold the line on costs. They say they've discovered that a discrepancy spotted in last week's County Board meeting was caused by a budget assumption that proved incorrect, but the agreement still commits the sheriff to the same amount budgeted for last year.
The pact calls for the sheriff to run the Hernando County Jail with the same budget as private operator CCA for the past budget year. But commissioners spotted what looked to be almost a half-million dollar increase when reviewing budget documents and asked for an explanation. Budget Director George Zoettlein said after review that the discrepancy, which actually totaled $380,000, resulted from an incorrect assumption in last year's budget. The sheriff figured his budget based on the same CCA per day prisoner costs as used in last year's calculation. The county's jail budget was $380,000 less because officials had assumed a cost savings from implementing an ankle monitoring system which was expected to lower the jail population. But that program is still being reviewed and was never put into effect. Nugent has vowed to use the ankle monitoring once it's signed off on by Hernando's judges as a legal substitute for jail time.
Despite the clarification of the discrepancy, county staff say they will press for strict adherence to the sheriff's commitment in the agreement.
BROOKSVILLE BEAUTIFICATION AWARD GOES TO SHERIFF
Hernando Sheriff Rich Nugent was honored Monday night by the Brooksville City Council with a beautification award for the new sheriff's substation and community center on Martin Luther King Blvd. Nugent was joined by County Commissioner Rose Rocco, the chair of the south Brooksville Community Initiatives Team, in accepting the city's honors, along with Mayor Lara Bradburn and Beautification Committee chair Sally Sperling.
Ironically, the community center was closed Monday, with yellow crime-scene tape blocking the entrances. Nugent and city Public Works chief Dick Radacky said a mishap during a sewer line inspection had backed up wastewater into the facility. Radacky said the sheriff's substation was the only sewer customer affected by the problem.
CITY APPROVES CDBG GRANT APP OVER COMMUNITY CONCERNS
The city of Brooksville will apply for a $750,000 state block grant for new water lines and sidewalks in south Brooksville, despite a complaint that there was not enough input from residents of the community.
Community activist Richard Howell said the fast pace of the last-minute application didn't allow affected residents to review the plans for the money. He also accused the city of speeding through a public hearing process designed to ensure that input.
Mayor Lara Bradburn told Howell that Monday's night's formal hearing provided the opportunity for that input, but Howell complained that neither he nor other community residents had a chance to go over the application. The deadline for submitting the request is this week, and city Community Development Director Bill Geiger said engineering estimates just in showed the money might not pay for the full list of south Brooksville projects being planned.
Geiger was given the go-ahead to revise the application as necessary to keep the projects within the estimated costs. They told him to make new water lines the top priority, to improve fire flows in the community. The planned sidewalks along Martin Luther King Blvd. and Main Street could also be funded later by state transportation grants.
Some in the community have raised concerns about whether the city's late entry in the block grant competition could undercut a similar application from the county for other south Brooksville projects. That request was in the works for three months before the announcement of Brooksville's grant plans two weeks ago.
MONDAY
BROOKSVILLE RED-LIGHT CAMERAS WILL GO LIVE AGAIN
The Brooksville City Council voted 3-2 Monday night to restart its red-light camera fines as soon as four bids are evaluated and a new vendor selected. The vote came after a long debate with an endlessly looping video of a violent rear-end collision playing in the background. Police chief George Turner and Sergeant Jeff Brough presented their case for cameras with a presentation showing a 35 percent decrease in intersection accidents that they tied to camera enforcement of ordinance fines against red light runners. They also said they expect to net about $350,000 a year in revenue from fines when cameras go up at more intersections under a new state law that splits revenue among the state, local governments and camera vendors.
Council members Joe Bernardini and Richard Lewis voted to halt the camera program, but they were out-voted by Mayor Lara Bradburn and council members Joe Johnston and Frankie Burnett. Bradburn said again that the issue was safety, not money, despite protests from citizen speakers who said accidents were down because people aren't coming to Brooksville because of the cameras, that increasing yellow light times would have the same safety effect, and that studies show increases in rear-end collisions. All the while the video that ended the police presentation continued to run, showing a speeding Mercedes slamming into the rear of two cars stopped in the outside northbound lane of Broad Street at Martin Luther King Blvd.
CONTRACTOR BALKS AT FIXING BOAT LIFT, SAYS STRUCTURE COMPROMISED
County Administrator David Hamilton got a first hand look Monday at the Hernando Beach Boat Lift after the president of the group that operates the lift told him a contractor said the structure needed to be fixed before he could start work on rehabbing the lift mechanism. Don Bowers told Hamilton at the Coastal Hernando Initiatives Program meeting that delays in fixing the ailing boat lift have been frustrating dozens of boat owners in Hernando Beach South. Because of a 27-year old court order, the boat lift is the subdivision's only means of accessing the Gulf.
Hamilton and Bowers looked at the steel supports that hold the lift mechanism and confirmed that several are so badly out of plumb as to be plainly visible to the naked eye. Bowers also pointed out that the metal on the bottom of the boat cradle is scratching deep indentations in the concrete dam that separates the salt water canals of Hernando Beach from the brackish water in the south subdivision.
Hamilton said he would look into the situation with the contractor, who was supposed to have finished work by now but instead is refusing to sign the contract until a structural engineer confirms what to do about the lift supports. The boat lift is a county benefit unit, paid for by assessments on Hernando Beach South tax bills but operated under contract by Bowers' group.
C.H.I.P. REVIEWS DATA ON COASTAL PROJECT PRIORITIES
Water access and transportation needs are the two top priorities off Hernando coastal residents, according to a compilation of responses to a citizen survey at a visioning meeting last month. The Coastal Hernando Initiatives Program, better known as C.H.I.P., got a first look at the data Monday morning. The C.H.I.P. committee, chaired by Commissioner Rose Rocco, was told that the water access issues include not only the stalled channel dredge project, but also access problems for Hernando Beach South residents, who have concerns about an aging boat lift and a low bridge that keeps larger craft from getting to the Gulf.
Transportation priorities were topped by calls to widen Shoal Line Blvd. and for bike paths and sidewalks in the Hernando Beach area. C.H.I.P. team members will review the data and develop timelines for seeking project funding. They hope to have a progress report at the next community meeting in October.
SAGER PICKS UP ON NUGENT=SCOZZAFAVA MEME
In a media release headlined "Friends of Nugent, the Incumbents and Washington Elites," the Jason Sager campaign has followed up on opponent Rich Nugent's campaign finance report. The quarterly report showed nine contributions from Political Action Committees headed by current members of Congress. Of those nine, seven also contributed to the unsuccessful special election campaign of accused Republican "liberal" Dede Scozzafava last year.
Sager's release said that most of the "Leadership PACs" supporting Nugent also contributed to Scozzafava's campaign. Sager is quoted in the release as saying "[i]t appears that the Washington Elite think they know better than the good citizens of District 5 and are attempting to select our next Congressional representative for us."
Nugent said Monday night that he's proud of the 390 individuals who have donated about $86,000 to his campaign for Congress. He said many of those contributions were too small to require listing in the quarterly report he filed last week with the Federal Elections Commission. Nugent reacted after being told about an analysis of the report that showed parallels with the New York Congresswoman condemned by Republican opponents as too liberal in a special election last year.
The analysis by a member of the Restore the Constitution organization was posted at the Free Republic web site. The analysis shows that more than half of Nugent's contributions from political action committees came from PAC's headed by current members of Congress. Of those nine PAC donations, ranging from $1,000 to $5000, seven of the same PAC's contributed at least $1,000 to Dede Scozzafava, the Republican who was painted as too liberal when running in a special election in upstate New York last year.
The campaign finance reports for Nugent and his primary opponent for a congressional seat, Jason Sager, were released on the Federal Elections Commission website last week. They showed that Nugent had collected $145,000 in contributions during the April through June reporting period, compared to only $23,000 for Sager.
TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS SET PUBLIC HEARING ON WORK PROGRAM
Spending watchdogs may want to mark their calendars for next Tuesday afternoon. That's when county commissioners and the Brooksville mayor sitting as the Metropolitan Planning Organization hold a public hearing on a five-year transportation plan. In addition to the usual projects, such as advance right-of-way acquisition for County Line Road widening, the plan's fine print includes some eye openers for residents concerned with future budgets.
Page 79 of the agenda made public Monday lists five years of spending on a fixed-route transit system which totals more than three million dollars between now and 2015. And page 75 describes expenditures of $235,000 in the 2011 budget year for designing a trailhead facility in the Cypress Lake Preserve and $240,000 two years later to construct an access drive, parking, restroom, picnic pavillion and kiosk. The preserve is land in Ridge Manor that was acquired mostly with sensitive lands money.
Most of the rest of the agenda package is previously reported bad news, with actual construction on County Line Road and Cortez Boulevard between Mariner and the Parkway not included in the five-year program. Most of Cortez between U.S. 19 and Brooksville would get only resurfacing between now and 2015.
Sheriff Rich Nugent has asked his supporters to help him send a message of support to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. The Fifth District Congressional candidate says he wants that message to say that Floridians are behind Brewer and the people of Arizona "for standing firm on the important issue of immigration."
In an e-mail, Nugent says his campaign has set a goal of collecting 10,000 signatures voicing support for the Arizona immigration law and "sending a message to the Obama administration." Nugent says the lawsuit against the immigration check statute "is another in a long line of wrong decisions" by the Democrats.
Nugent says website visitors can sign the petition and then review his stand on immigration. He says he plans to ask for website input on other issues in the coming months, including the oil spill, the deficit and the economy.
DPW COMPOUND CLEAN-UP DELAYED FOR NEW PLANS
Interim Hernando Public Works Director Susan Goebel says clean-up of the DPW compound in south Brooksville has been delayed while a new engineer is hired to develop a revised Remedial Action Plan, or RAP. The
original contract with Creative Environmental Solutions to develop a
remedial action plan was finished two months ago, but Goebel says she wasn't satisfied with the plan's proposed fencing of the property with periodic monitoring of the soil.
The County has requested a time extension from state regulators that would put an October 7 deadline on submission of a revised plan to the Department of Environmental Regulation. Goebel said the new plan would be more consistent with the ongoing revitalization efforts for the south Brooksville community. A county media release says the revised RAP would offer greater land use opportunities for the site such as passive recreation.
Goebel said “The clean-up of the former Public Works compound is a high priority for the County, and we are steadily moving toward a resolution that will satisfy state requirements and the residents in the community."
COUNTY MOVING FORWARD WITH ODOR CONTROL FOR SMELLY SEWER PLANT
County officials say they can now get started on some steps to cut down on the odors from the Spring Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant. The oldest plant on the county system is due for replacement in three years. Until then commissioners are hoping that spending utility revenue on a new chemical filtering process and removal of sediment at the plant itself will make a big difference in odors that waft over the Commercial Way Wal-Mart and, depending on wind, all the way to Hernando Beach.
Using another county's contract for the sediment removal should get the process started quickly, according to Utilities Director Joe Stapf. The chemical process for the Quality Drive lift station is from a sole-source supplier, but Stapf says he's familiar with the product from using it in Michigan. Together, the two steps to odor control will cost county utilities rate-payers about $400,000. When in place by early fall, Stapf says the two "stop-gap" measures are expected to provide some relief until the wastewater can be routed to a newer plant at the Airport as a permanent solution.
HNS REPORTS---FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2010
SPRING HILL MAN CRITICALLY INJURED IN HIT AND RUN CRASH
Highway Patrol troopers said Friday that 27-year old Brian J. Mahon of Spring Hill was critically injured about 1:30 Friday afternoon when his Kawasaki motorcycle was hit by an unknown vehicle on Spring Hill Drive just west of Mariner Boulevard. A report says the motorcycle overturned and Mahon was ejected. He was airlifted to St. Joseph's hospital in Tampa where he was reportedly listed in critical condition Friday night. The report said he was wearing a helmet.
Troopers said they are looking for a light-colored Sport Utility Vehicle with damage to the left front. They asked anyone with information on the crash to contact the Florida Highway Patrol.
Add Comment
FOUR JUVENILES CHARGED IN NINE RIDGE MANOR BURGLARIES
Hernando County detectives arrested four juveniles they say were responsible for nine burglaries and a criminal mischief in Ridge Manor. Authorities said the suspects admitted to going ‘car hopping” between June 21 and July 7 taking property from homes and cars. They allegedly stole iPods, GPS, purses, wallets and money to name a few items.
Detectives caught up with the quartet, all between 12 and 15 years old, when an alert patrol deputy saw the four walking the neighborhood late at night. All four were arrested Friday. A 13-year old and a 14-year old were transported to Department of Juvenile Justice in Ocala. A 14-year old and a 15-year old were released to their parents. Detectives recovered two of the stolen iPods, but the suspects said most of the other items were thrown away. Authorities said all four lived in or near Ridge Manor.
Add Comment
AQUIFER LEVEL DROPPING, JULY RAINFALL RUNNING SHORT
Officials with the Southwest Florida Water Management District released the latest statistics on aquifer levels and rainfall, and the news is not encouraging for those who thought the four-year drought was over. According to the weekly figures, aquifer levels in the northern part of the district have fallen to levels below those at the same time last year. While still in the 0-3 normal range, this week's aquifer level of .93 is a 35 percent decrease from last month's level and is below the reading for the same time last year. Meanwhile, rainfall for the first three weeks of July is less than half the normal amount for the entire month, with only one week remaining.
Hernando County commissioners will hold a public hearing next Tuesday morning on a local ordinance to keep once-a-week lawn watering. The SWFWMD governing board voted to go back to twice-weekly watering last month, while county officials said they supported staying at once a week to reinforce the water conservation message they have been spreading during the drought.
Add Comment
EIGHTEEN LAWYERS APPLY TO REPLACE JUDGE SPRINGSTEAD
Eighteen lawyers from throughout the five-county Fifth Judicial Circuit have applied to fill the judgeship that will become vacant when Judge Jack Springstead retires on November 30. Five of them are from Hernando County--- County Judge Don Scaglione, assistant county attorney Jeff Kirk, and private practice lawyers Steve Toner, Jr., Tim Beasley and Michael Lamberti. The other names on the list are from Citrus, Sumter, Lake and Marion Counties. They are Weldon Mark Burnette, Lawrence P. Cartelli, Thomas W. Cartwright, Heidi Davis, Mary P. Hatcher, Denise A. Dymond Lyn, David Mengers, John E. Napolitano, Jonathan Olson, Rhonda Raulerson Portwood, Milan “Bo” Samargya, Anthony Michael Tatti and Clifford A. Taylor.
The Florida Bar's Judicial Nominating Commission for the circuit is seeking comments on the applicants from the public and members of the Bar. Comments are due before August 10 to local commission chair Meredith Kirste at 803 East Dixie Avenue in Leesburg, 34748.
Add Comment
MIXSON NAME-CLEARING HEARING ON TUESDAY AGENDA
The name-clearing hearing that fired County Engineer Charles Mixson requested last March has been scheduled for Tuesday. Mixson's attorney Bruce Snow requested the hearing so that Mixson could rebut public charges by County Administrator David Hamilton in the January termination notice. Hamilton said Mixson had mismanaged projects such as the Hernando Beach dredge and often seemed more concerned with the interests of contractors than the public. The hearing has been postponed twice at Snow's request, but county lawyers said so far Snow has not asked for any change to next week's scheduled session. After the first two postponements of the hearing, Mixson filed an age discrimination claim against the county.
Add Comment
FASANO SAYS HIGH SPEED RAIL MEANS JOBS FOR HERNANDO RESIDENTS
State Senator Mike Fasano said Friday that he expects construction of a High Speed Rail line between Tampa and Orlando will create "tens of thousands of jobs." Fasano was speaking at the Brooksville Ridge Kiwanis breakfast meeting and said he anticipates that people from Hernando will be hired to build the rail system over a period of years. The Pasco Republican, who represents most of southwestern Hernando County, said the federal tax dollars that will go into the rail construction project are dollars that should be coming back to Florida to make up for Florida tax dollars that go to other states. He said that once Congress voted stimulus money, he thought that Florida should get its share, since otherwise 15 cents of every Floridian's federal tax dollar goes to other states.
Fasano also responded to a question about his future plans when his term-limited time in the Florida Senate ends in two years. Fasano had expressed disappointment at the last minute decision by Representative Ginny Brown-Waite to pull out of her re-election race, since he would have liked the chance to run for the seat. But he said Friday that he's got no firm plans for post-Florida public service, describing himself as a "plodder" rather than a planner.
Add Comment
SHERIFF, CLERK URGE ACTION ON CCA JAIL EQUIPMENT REMOVAL
Sheriff Rich Nugent and a lawyer for Clerk of Court Karen Nicolai have urged county commissioners to take action to stop CCA from removing jail equipment it claims belongs to them. Nugent has cited the case of a $30,000 dishwasher CCA says is theirs. The contract they are terminating next month allows them to take personal property, but the sheriff says the county "should immediately exercise all appropriate legal measures to ensure that County owned property remains at the jail." And Tom Hogan on behalf of Nicolai says recovery of assets will be "problematic" if the company is allowed to continue taking property from the jail despite the failure of agreement on what property belongs to which entity.
Meanwhile, a CCA letter dated Thursday says CCA will continue removing its own property, but that certain items identified as belonging to taxpayers will be left in place until July 28. But CCA says some of that property is theirs and will be removed after that date if there's no agreement in place. The CCA letter also says the company would be glad to sell any of the items to the county.
Add Comment
ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDS OKAY FOR SHERIFF'S JAIL BUDGET
After 10 days of analysis of last year's CCA contract jail budget and the proposed sheriff's jail budget number of $10.9 million, County Administrator David Hamilton says he now "concurs with this number and recommends it." But Hamilton also says that "further reductions may occur based on continuing negotiations in the spirit of good faith and integrity" which led to the Interlocal Agreement pledging the sheriff to the same jail budget as last year.
Commissioners had spotted a discrepancy in the sheriff's numbers versus last year's budget and said they wanted an explanation. Sheriff Rich Nugent promised in the Interlocal Agreement that he would run the jail for the same amount as last year's CCA budget. But Nugent didn't include savings that commissioners anticipated from an ankle bracelet monitoring program they hoped would reduce the jail population. The program never got off the ground, and though some officials wanted to press for a lower amount, Hamilton's comments in an agenda memo to commissioners indicate that the controversy is apparently over.
Add Comment
ENGINEERING FIRM TO FILL STAFFING GAP AT COUNTY UTILITIES
Hernando County Utilities wants to spend almost $40,000 on outside engineering because former staff engineer Susan Goebel is now reported likely to remain as Public Works Director "for the foreseeable future." A memo to county commissioners for action at Tuesday's County Board meeting says HDR Engineering is needed to help the Utilities Department "on a temporary basis for multiple projects" and calls the work needed "due to Susan Goebel's continuing assignment as Interim Public Works Director." Goebel was a staff engineer in the Utilities Department when County Administrator David Hamilton named her to replace fired County Engineer Charles Mixson as head of Public Works.
The Utilities memo says the department has been given the go-ahead to advertise for hiring a replacement for Goebel's position and that HDR's services are needed through September while that hiring is in process.
Add Comment
COUNTY PARKS WORKERS JOBS SAVED WITH NEW FEES
As many as a dozen county Parks maintenance workers who faced layoffs because of funding cuts would be able to keep their jobs if a proposed fee schedule for park use is implemented. That's the message of a memo from Land Services Director Ron Pianta, who says in the report that fees would "minimize impacts to the park system and levels of service" and allow most of the park facilities previously targeted for closure to remain open.
The fee schedule would hike most building and pavilion rental fees by about one-third. Some athletic field uses that had no previous fees would now be charged on an hourly basis. Parking fees at Pine Island and Rogers Park would go up to five dollars in season, and a new off-season charge of two dollars would begin. New five dollar fees would be charged for using coastal boat ramps. A one dollar parking fee would be charged at the Spring Hill dog park.
Add Comment
NEW CONSULTANT ON DPW COMPOUND STARTS WITH $102,777 FEE
If county commissioners agree next week, a new engineering consultant will start working up options for finishing the clean-up of the contaminated former Public Works compound in south Brooksville. Interim Public Works Director Susan Goebel says Cardno TBE would be responsible for presenting alternate methods of dealing with the site in a revised Remedial Action Plan to state regulators. Though Goebel says regulators have urged that approach for some time, the previous consultant, Creative Environmental Services, reportedly declined a county request to include alternatives in a plan.
The new engineers will review state odes with a view to proposing three viable land development options for the site, based on level of clean up required and associated costs. Goebel says that possible options could include recreational facilities or commercial businesses more more consistent with south Brooksville community revitalization efforts.
Add Comment
MILITARY GRANT PROGRAM RUNNING OUT OF MONEY
County officials say a budget fund that pays for grants to families of active military personnel on combat duty to help with property taxes is almost out of money. The county approved the program five years ago, and since then annual cost has fluctuated from a high of more than $12,000 in 2006 to a low of less than $5,000 the next year.
Now Budget Director George Zoettlein says in a memo to the County Board that this year's $7,000 budget wasn't enough. Commissioners added $3,000 to the fund in March, but Zoettlein said two pending applications are being held for payment because they would put the fund over the revised $10,000 amount. He's asking commissioners to transfer another $3,000 from a separate fund that is running under budget. He says that would cover the pending applications and others expected before the end of the budget year in a little more than two months.
Add Comment
WEEKEND EVENT FROM NATURALLY HERNANDO.ORG
Saturday, July 24, 2010 - Sunday, July 25, 2010
FORMER MERMAIDS PERFORMANCE
| 12:00noon (Time subject to change without notice) WEEKI WACHEE SPRINGS STATE PARK, 6131 Commercial Way (corner US 19 & SR 50), Weeki Wachee. Regular Park hours: 10am-5pm. Enjoy a day at the Park and the performance of Former Mermaids, current shows, river tour, and Buccaneer Bay! Admission - Show Park Only (Mermaid shows, boat tour, animal show) Adults: $13.00; age 6 - 12: $5.00; 5 & under: Free. Buccaneer Bay (includes admission to Show Park): Adults $26.00; age 6-12: $12.00; 5 and under: Free. |
www.weekiwachee.com
HNS REPORTS---THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
NUGENT AND SAGER SQUARE OFF AGAIN, TALK ISSUES AND BUDGETS
Congressional candidates Rich Nugent and Jason Sager debated issues and budgets for an hour Wednesday night. Even though the latest debate was in central Pasco County, the Hernando sheriff's increasing budgets were a major point of contention. Moderator Tom Jackson posed the question of Nugent's operating budgets to the sheriff, and Nugent said the takeover of central dispatching and emergency management accounted for part of the increase.
He noted that the last two budgets he submitted were each three percent lower than the previous year, a move he described as "being conservative." And he cited a 15 percent decline in the crime rate last year and a 6.5 percent drop in newly released figures for the first half of this year.
Sager responded that the sheriff's budgets have increased 67 percent over his two and a half terms, in a county with a population increase of 26 percent over the same period. He also criticized the sheriff over the County Jail, saying Nugent "convinced the county to take over the privately operated county jail," and he said the sheriff claimed a need for the takeover "because government can do it cheaper." Sager told the 200 or so at the Central Pasco Republican Club that the sheriff's transition plan would put 40 people out of work and using the savings to give the remaining employees $7,000 raises.
Nugent's response was to note that the jail contract had never been rebid and that there was no alternative when private operator CCA told the county it was walking away from the contract. He said the county asked the sheriff to come in and that he planned to operate the jail for the same amount of money as CCA got last year, with a hope to return as much as a half million dollars at the end of the year. He also noted that CCA allowed the county's multi-million dollar jail buildings to "fall apart."
Sager said then, "It's a jail, they're prisoners, put them in tents with pink underwear."
A few other more or less familiar issues came up, with more or less familiar responses from the two candidates seeking the GOP nod in the Fifth District August 24 primary. Nugent was asked about an assault rifle ban he once supported, and he said he was having second thoughts, noting that he originally signed off on the position in the emotional aftermath of the Hank Earl Carr incident but that he now was a strong supporter of Second Amendment gun rights. And Sager, when asked about race relations, said he doesn't "see black, white, green, purple or yellow, just red, white and blue." The candidates agreed that race relations are for the people to work out and not a job for the federal government.
Add Comment
CANDIDATES ANNOUNCE ENDORSEMENTS
The Orlando Sentinel has become the first major newspaper to endorse a candidate in the Republican Congressional primary, and it's come down on the side of Hernando Sheriff Rich Nugent. The Sentinel serves Lake County communities on the eastern edge of the sprawling Fifth District.
An editorial Wednesday in the Sentinel says Nugent's entry into the race "stinks to high heaven," but it also called him "far more qualified than his GOP primary opponent...he at least has a realistic grasp on the issues he would face in Congress."
An announcement on the editorial from the Nugent campaign tactfully omits the editorial's comment on Nugent opponent Jason Sager. The paper's editorial board actually said: "[Nugent] speaks knowledgeably about taxes and energy policy, and he has dealt with the federal government in his position. Mr. Sager speaks far more authoritatively about sin than he does policy."
Asked about the endorsement at Wednesday night's debate, Sager said he thought voters should note that the same newspaper endorsed John Kerry for President in 2004 and Barack Obama in 2008.
Meanwhile, Sager's campaign released a letter from prominent Brooksville businessman Tommy Bronson, endorsing Sager as "young, energetic, intelligent, articulate, and passionate about the ideals that we hold dear" while saying of Nugent that his "record as a law enforcement officer has been outstanding—he’s a fine man, no doubt about that." But the former mining executive and current developer also said that "Washington is overrun with career, college educated politicians—look where it has gotten us. We’re ready for a change." Bronson's letter said that Sager "has more in common with the citizens of District 5 and therefore, can relate in a way that a retiring government employee can’t."
Add Comment
Listen to Nugent and Sager at the Sentinel editorial board interviews (20 mins.) >
Download | Duration: 00:19:40
SPRING HILL SOLDIER KILLED IN SHOOTING NEAR TEXAS ARMY BASE
A Killeen, Texas, TV station reported Wednesday that the shooting death of Sgt. Derek Peter Schicchi of Spring Hill Monday in Killeen is under investigation. The report said details of the shooting were not released. The victim was apparently stationed at Fort Hood, near Killeen in central Texas.
Schicchi reportedly joined the Army in February 2003 and had been assigned since July 2007 to the 1st Cavalry Division’s Company D, 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. He deployed to Iraq from August 2007 to January 2008 and from January 2009 to January 2010.
Investigators told other media outlets Thursday that the death did not appear to be the result of foul play.
POLICE CHARGE TEEN WITH STALKING FOR RACIAL SLURS, THREATS
Brooksville police said Thursday they arrested 18-year old Nicholas Nazar this week and charged him with aggravated stalking. Nazar, whose address was given as 3 Pine Street in Brooksville, allegedly threatened to beat up an unidentified juvenile and harassed the juvenile by "continuously making racial slurs." Police said the incidents were witnessed by the juvenile's mother and other family members. Nazar was reportedly arrested at his home after a judge signed an arrest warrant, and he was booked into the Hernando County Jail on an initial bond of $5,000.
Add Comment
TEENAGER ACCUSED OF SEXUAL BATTERY ON SEVEN-YEAR OLD
Sheriff's deputies said Thursday that they arrested a 15-year old Brooksville youth on 11 counts of sexual battery. An arrest affidavit said the suspect admitted to oral and vaginal penetration of the seven-year old victim on multiple occasions over a period of at least 18 months, beginning in 2009. The teen was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center in Ocala after his arrest earlier this week.
Add Comment
COUNTY PARKS WORKER ARRESTED, FIRED FOR GASOLINE THEFTS
A Hernando County Parks Department maintenance worker was cited by sheriff's deputies Wednesday for petty theft in connection with stolen gasoline, and county human resources staff confirmed that the suspect was terminated the same day. Sheriff's reports say 60-year old Gerlando "George" Caruana was seen on video surveillance filling a five gallon plastic container with gasoline from a county fuel tank in Delta Woods Park on two separate occasions. Parks supervisors installed the video after a tank measurement showed missing gas. When confronted with the video evidence, Caruana reportedly claimed he took the gas for a friend who needed it for a leaf blower but had no money.
County officials said Caruana was terminated from parks maintenance job on Wednesday.
Add Comment
DEPUTIES CHARGE MAN WITH INTENT TO SELL MARIJUANA
A tinted windshield led to charges of possessing marijuana with intent to sell after a deputy said that 23-year old John Andrew Wright of 9331 Bobcat Lane in Weeki Wachee had individually packaged bags of pot in his car and almost $500 in cash. An arrest affidavit says a deputy spotted the windshield tint Wednesday as Wright left a Portillo Road apartment complex in Spring Hill but lost sight of the vehicle. He later saw the vehicle again leaving the same complex and conducted a traffic stop. The affidavit says a bag with 28 grams of pot was found in the vehicle after Wright gave search consent. He was placed in the back of the deputy's cruiser but removed a few minutes later when he complained about tight handcuffs. The affidavit says the deputy then spotted another bag in the cruiser's back seat, with individually packaged smaller bags of pot. Wright allegedly had $482 in cash on him. He was booked into jail on the intent to sell charge, as well as a violation of probation on a prior cocaine charge.
Add Comment
ROWDEN BLASTS SCHENCK FOR "54-MINUTE WORKDAY" ON DRILLING
Though Spring Hill State Representative Rob Schenck said beforehand he would vote against a constitutional amendment to ban oil drilling in state waters, his top Democratic election opponent blasted him Thursday for "a 54-minute workday in Tallahassee ignoring the Gulf oil crisis." Diane Rowden said the incumbent legislator she hopes to unseat in November "is one of the poster boys for drilling off our coasts." Rowden called Schenck's actions in supporting the Republican-controlled House adjournment "a huge waste of taxpayer money and opportunity." She said when Schenck and fellow Republicans refused to debate the issue and agreed to "break for lunch without getting any work done," they left "Hernando County's seafood fishing and harvesting industries once again without a voice."
Schenck, whose office was asked to comment on Rowden's blast, said before the session that he was satisfied with statutory law that banned drilling in state waters and would not support a constitutional amendment to do what's already covered in law.
Add Comment
ROGERS PARK SWIMMING ADVISORY LIFTED
Come on in, the water's fine, according to the Hernando County Health Department announcement lifting a swimming advisory for coastal Hernando's Rogers Park. Signs went up at the park earlier this month after testing showed levels of fecal coliform bacteria higher than was considered safe. Health Department Environmental Manager Al Gray said Thursday that the latest test results now show the water quality along the Weeki Wachee River at Rogers Park is now in the acceptable range, and the July 7 advisory has been rescinded.
Add Comment
HUMANE SOCIETY DIRECTOR NOTES LESSONS FROM CAT'S PASSING
Nature Coast Humane Society Director Joanne Schoch announced Thursday that Chloe the cat died last week. Schoch said Chloe's story demonstrated how one person's love for a cat helped save many other felines.
Chloe was brought to the Society after her owner, Dorothy Huitfeldt, died. A veterinarian said the frail and incontinent elderly probably had only a few months to live. Because Huitfeldt was a Humane Society supporter and left the bulk of her estate to the Society's animal shelter, Schoch says the staff decided to care for the cat for the supposed short time she had left. That time turned into more than three years, when Chloe was given free reign over the shelter's cat cottage as "official greeter."
Schoch noted the pre-planning of Huitfeldt's estate made a big differnce in the lives of animals passing through the shelter over the past three years. And she says the Society staff chipped in for cremation and an urn for Chloe, who is still in her favorite sunny spot on the cat cottage copy machine.
Add Comment
HNS REPORTS---WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2010
NUGENT AND SAGER SET FOR ANOTHER ROUND OF DEBATE
Republican Congressional candidates Rich Nugent and Jason Sager will meet again Wednesday night for another session of point and counter-point in Pasco County. The Republican Club of Central Pasco is sponsoring the latest debate, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Groves development in Land o' Lakes. Sager's website calendar is calling for "team members and supporters" to arrive early with red shirts and campaign materials.
Meanwhile, Sager's media relations staff issued another news release Tuesday night, trumpeting a straw poll win for the Tea Party candidate in a straw poll of the East Pasco Conservative Club. The release says club members chose Sager over Nugent by a two-to-one margin but does not include actual vote totals.
Nugent seems to prefer blog posts on his website to media releases. In the latest, he calls for making English America's official language as part of a post on immigration. He repeats the theme from earlier appearances that securing the borders is the first step in dealing with immigration issues, followed by enforcement of existing laws and denial of entitlement aid to illegal aliens.
Add Comment
NUGENT WINS FIRST BIG NEWSPAPER ENDORSEMENT
The Orlando Sentinel has become the first major newspaper to endorse a candidate in the Republican Congressional primary, and it's come down on the side of Hernando Sheriff Rich Nugent. The Sentinel serves Lake County communities on the eastern edge of the sprawling Fifth District.
An editorial Wednesday in the Sentinel says that the story behind Nugent's entry into the race "stinks to high heaven." But it goes on to call Nugent "far more qualified than his GOP primary opponent...he at least has a realistic grasp on the issues he would face in Congress."
An announcement on the editorial from the Nugent campaign tactfully omits the editorial's comment on Nugent's opponent Jason Sager. The paper's editorial board actually said: "[Nugent] speaks knowledgeably about taxes and energy policy, and he has dealt with the federal government in his position. Mr. Sager speaks far more authoritatively about sin than he does policy."
Add Comment
DREDGE STILL STALLED, BUT COUNTY GETS GOOD WORD FROM STATE
Though there's no dredging going on at the Hernando Beach channel, county officials announced Wednesday that one milestone on the road to getting the project going again has been reached. Interim Public Works Director Susan Goebel says the Florida Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed that the Hernando Beach Channel Dredge Permit Application submitted in January is now "complete." The state regulators' letter says action on the revised permit is required by October 1. Goebel said permit action will be followed by a 21-day period for the dredge contractor to re-mobilize equipment at the worksite in preparation for resuming the project.
The permit application was needed to modify the proposed spoil dewatering methods. The project was halted in January because of excessive silt discharge which violated the terms of the original permit.
Goebel said in a media release that "[w]e are happy to have completed the next step in the permitting process with FDEP, and we are confident that FDEP will expedite processing the permit."
Add Comment
SEARCH ON FOR ARMED DIRT BIKE RIDER WHO FLED TRAFFIC STOP
A Florida Highway Patrol media release says a motorcycle rider fled from a traffic stop on his dirt bike and pointed a firearm at a trooper Tuesday. The release says Trooper Hartzig attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a 1982 Honda Motorcycle on Buck Hope Road near Cortez Blvd. in south Brooksville. The trooper said the motorcycle didn't have a license plate. The release says the suspect failed to stop and while fleeing into a wooded area the operator of the motorcycle pointed a firearm at the trooper. According to the release, the front tire of the motorcycle hit a piece of wood in some high grass. The collision caused the rider to be ejected from the motorcycle. After the suspect was ejected he fled further into the wooded area on foot. Trooper Hartzig lost sight of the suspect.
Troopers described the suspect as a white male approximately 5’ 9” wearing khaki shorts, and a plaid shirt, who should be considered armed and dangerous. The Florida Highway Patrol, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and Brooksville Police Department are currently looking for the suspect.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL MAN, 68, ARRESTED FOR SEX WITH UNDERAGE GIRL
A 68-year old Spring Hill man was arrested Tuesday after a 17-year old girl said he invited her into his home in February when she was 16 and offered her marijuana in return for oral sex. The unidentified victim told sheriff's detectives that John R. Hand 0f 9060 Eldridge Road later had consensual intercourse with her. An arrest affidavit says Hand was interviewed at the sheriff's office and initially denied any physical involvement with the victim. The affidavit says he later changed his story but admitted only to fondling and kissing the victim. Hand was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Add Comment
PAIR CHARGED WITH GRAND THEFT, DEALING STOLEN SEWING MACHINE
Sheriff's deputies say two men are jailed Wednesday on charges of dealing a $1,000 sewing machine and selling it for $100. According to reports and arrest affidavits, the machine was taken from the Spring Hill home of Philip John Guptail's mother. Richard Arthur Reiter of 7065 Smithfield Avenue in Brooksville allegedly acted as a broker with a friend who owned a sewing shop in the sale of the machine. The 30-year old Guptail and the 27-year old Reiter were charged with grand theft and dealing in stolen property when they were booked into the Hernando County Jail on Tuesday.
Add Comment
CONVICTED CHILD ABUSER HAS MOTION TO RECONSIDER SENTENCE DENIED
A woman convicted four years ago of child abuse and failure to appear for trial had her bid for a re-sentencing denied Tuesday by Circuit Judge Jack Springstead. Lori Allain, who was charged for withholding food from foster children in her care, says she shouldn't have been charged for failing to appear and received an additional prison sentence for it. She's already serving a 25-year term on the abuse charges. Sherry Byerly opposed the motion for the State Attorney's office.
Allain argued with Springstead about whether she had notice that the courthouse was closing due to a hurricane emergency on the day she was supposed to be in court. When Springstead convened court the next day, Allain and her husband Arthur, who was also charged in the case, were nowhere to be found. They were later arrested in New Jersey and brought back to Florida to stand trial.
Springstead showed patience as Allain, who was representing herself, tried to use phone bills to prove she had been in contact with her lawyer and tried to find out when she was supposed to be in court. But his patience wore thin as Allain interrupted him several times to dispute what the judge called the relevant facts. Meanwhile, the lawyers who represented her and her husband listened from the back of the courtroom, and one offered his view of the phone bill dispute. The Allains have claimed that the two private attorneys provided ineffective counsel.
In the end Springstead denied Allain's motion to reconsider the sentence and listened calmly as she repeated bias changes she's made before against the judge. Springstead also declined to enter an expedited order to have her transported back to prison. When she sought the special treatment to start work on an appeal of the case, the judge told her she would go through the regular process instead.
Add Comment
ANALYSIS OF CLASS SIZE MANDATE PEGS LOCAL COST AT $4 MILLION
Hernando County School Board members are being told that compliance with new class size requirements will cost $4 million for the new school year. Constitutional class size reduction mandates take full effect this year. Voters will have a chance in November to revise the amendment, as local school officials around the state have complained about costs of reducing class size.
Hernando officials told the board that putting full-time teachers in all classes to comply with requirements would mean almost 400 more teachers at a cost of more than $23 million. But the analysis made available Wednesday in advance of next week's workshop says local schools will include a number of strategies to keep down the cost of compliance, including some additional staff, extra class supplements, and use of long-term substitutes.
The analysis also noted that last year's student data showed 20 Hernando schools were out of compliance with the new requirements, and that without changes the district could be penalized more than $3.2 million. School Board members will review the analysis at a workshop next Tuesday afternoon.
Add Comment
SCHOOL COMMITTEE HAS PLAN FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED EVALUATIONS
Hernando school district officials are asking the School Board to approve a plan for evaluating teachers using student achievement. Officials say state mandates require performance appraisals of teachers and school-based
administrators to be "primarily based on" student performance. The state requirements are also part of the federal Race to the Top funding program.
An evaluation committee of teachers' union members, administrators and district staff will present their ideas next Tuesday at a School Board workshop. The plan calls for a new evaluation form for instructional personnel. Along with that, student performance data for teachers will be collected for research purposes only in the coming school year and would not be considered in the final evaluation. Once officials are sure that the process for collecting data works and everyone is familiar with the process, teacher evaluation for the 2011-2012 school year would be based on student performance data.
Evaluation forms have also been created for school-based and district administrators with a new goal-setting process. Student performance data would be the main focus for their evaluation this year. Officials say the board also needs a contractor to develop a system to collect and analyze the data required for teacher evaluation.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL FIRE SCHEDULES NEGOTIATIONS WITH FIREFIGHTERS
The Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District has scheduled a negotiating session between administrators and firefighters for 4 p.m. Thursday. This third session comes eight days after Fire Board members approved a new budget plan that not only hikes the millage rate for taxpayers but also eliminates five firefighter/EMT positions that are either vacant or subject to voluntary terminations.
Add Comment
HEALTH DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES BACK TO SCHOOL IMMUNIZATIONS
The Hernando County Health Department announced Tuesday that it will offer back to school immunizations each Thursday afternoon from August 5 through August 26. A media release says appointments are now being scheduled for the Spring Hill clinic location at 7465 Forest Oaks Boulevard and for the Brooksville clinic location at 300 S. Main Street. The number to call to make an appointment is 540-6800 (x 82299).
A department spokesperson says back to school immunizations require a parent or guardian be present with identification and the child’s current shot records. Recommended school vaccinations are free of charge for children through age 18 under the Vaccines For Children program.
The release says recommended childhood immunizations work to protect children from illnesses and death caused by infectious diseases. While the U.S. currently has record, or near record, low cases of vaccine-preventable diseases, the department release notes that the viruses and bacteria that cause them still exist. The department encourages parents to keep immunizations current and immunization records in a safe place.
Add Comment
FACEBOOK PAGE CALLS FOR CHANGING THE NAME OF "BROOKSVILLE"
A local man who describes himself as an "activist, raconteur and music industry weasel" has started a Facebook page called "Change the name of Brooksville, FL to something a little less racist." Justin Lollie's profile picture for the page shows South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks caning Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate. Sumner, a pre-Civil War abolitionist, had offended Brooks with an anti-slavery speech, so Brooks beat him unconscious on the floor of the Senate, nearly killing him. Lollie makes a statement and asks a question on the page, "Brooksville was named for a Civil War-era pro-slavery congressman who beat the hell out of an anti-slavery congressman on the floor of Congress with his cane. Doesn't that just make your heart swell with pride?"
Lollie describes the page's mission as convincing the Brooksville City Council to rename the city, "or at least denounce the brutal, racist history that inspired the original name change" from the earlier Melendez. He says there are a number of renaming options, but "what shouldn't be an option is forcing future generations of Brooksville natives to carry the shame of being from a town named after a violent, racist thug."
So far, Lollie's Rename Brooksville page has three members, including Lollie and his wife.
Add Comment
HNS REPORTS---TUESDAY, JULY 20, 2010
SEARCH ON FOR ARMED DIRT BIKE RIDER WHO FLED TRAFFIC STOP
A Florida Highway Patrol media release says a motorcycle rider fled from a traffic stop on his dirt bike and pointed a firearm at a trooper Tuesday. The release says Trooper Hartzig attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a 1982 Honda Motorcycle along Buck Hope Road near Cortez Blvd. in south Brooksville. The trooper said the motorcycle didn't have a license plate. The release says the suspect failed to stop and while fleeing into a wooded area the operator of the motorcycle pointed a firearm at the trooper. According to the release, the front tire of the motorcycle hit a piece of wood in some high grass. The collision caused the rider to be ejected from the motorcycle. After the suspect was ejected he fled further into the wooded area on foot. Trooper Hartzig lost sight of the suspect.
Troopers described the suspect as a white male approximately 5’ 9” wearing khaki shorts, and a plaid shirt, who should be considered armed and dangerous. The Florida Highway Patrol, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and Brooksville Police Department are currently looking for the suspect.
Add Comment
SPRING HILL MAN, 68, ARRESTED FOR SEX WITH UNDERAGE GIRL
A 68-year old Spring Hill man was arrested Tuesday after a 17-year old girl said he invited her into his home in February when she was 16 and offered her marijuana in return for oral sex. The unidentified victim reportedly told sheriff's detectives that John R. Hand of 9060 Eldridge Road later had consensual intercourse with her. An arrest affidavit says Hand was interviewed at the sheriff's office and initially denied any physical involvement with the victim. The affidavit says he later changed his story but admitted only to fondling and kissing the victim. Hand was charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Add Comment
ACCUSED BANK ROBBER COPS PLEA MOMENTS BEFORE TRIAL
A 38-year old man accused of bank robbery pleaded guilty moments before his Hernando County Circuit Court trial was scheduled to start Tuesday. The plea deal calls for a seven and a half year prison term for Andre Franklin. He's already served almost two years in jail awaiting trial.
Franklin was one of three men involved in two bank robberies in October 2008. The trio attempted a robbery in Hillsborough County and then came to Hernando where they held up the Brannen Bank branch on Cortez Blvd. Franklin was unhappy that he was not offered the same plea deal that the co-defendants got, including a three-year prison sentence. But prosecutors said they could not make that offer, because it turned out the deal was a mistake as being below sentencing guidelines.
Franklin and his attorney Grady Irvin agreed to the seven and a half year deal while a jury panel waited in another room in the courthouse for jury selection to begin. Franklin faced a sentence of up to 20 years on two counts, one for principal to robbery and the other for conspiracy, and that sentence could have been doubled to 40 years, had he been found guilty in a trial.
Add Comment
DRUZBICK STILL MAKING UP HIS MIND ABOUT ROLL-UP VOTE
County Board chairman John Druzbick said Tuesday he still hasn't decided what to do about a possible vote for a roll-up in county tax millage. Druzbick said in a radio interview that he is still waiting to hear what ideas his fellow commissioners have for trimming the county spending plan before he makes up his mind. He said he's looking at furloughs and other salary-saving ideas to keep 29 county workers on the public payroll. One concept he said he wants to explore is requiring employees to contribute something to the nearly $700 per month county subsidy for health insurance that is currently in effect. And Druzbiick said he's also waiting to hear from staff exactly how much those health insurance premiums will increase this year.
The county is facing a $1.2 million general fund budget shortfall. A one-third roll-up could bring in another $2 million in revenue and eliminate layoff possibilities. Two of five commissioners have said they will not vote for a millage roll-up, even though staff officials reported that declining property values would mean that even with a modest roll-up, three-quarters of all taxpayers would still see a lower county tax bill.
Add Comment
TENTATIVE CITY MILLAGE RATE UP 14 PERCENT FOR TRIM NOTICES
Brooksville City Council members decided better safe than sorry Monday night and voted for a tentative millage rate of 8.0, up nearly one mill from last year. The rate is subject to reduction when the city holds its September budget hearings and votes on a final millage rate. The TRIM notices to taxpayers go out in August, and taxing authorities set a preliminary rate that can be lowered later. The motion for the higher roll-up rate was made by Vice-Mayor Richard Lewis, and only Mayor Lara Bradburn voted no. The so-called roll-up rate is the rate that would generate the same amount of revenue as last year. Declining property values have put local governments in some budget holes, and Brooksville joins the Spring Hill Fire Board iin voting to put a higher mill rate on the preliminary TRIM notices to reserve the power to lower it later if they can fill those budget holes in other ways.
Add Comment
BROOKSVILLE RED-LIGHT CAMERAS WILL GO LIVE AGAIN
The Brooksville City Council voted 3-2 Monday night to restart its red-light camera fines as soon as four bids are evaluated and a new vendor selected. The cameras have been off-line since a contract with prior vendor ATS was allowed to expire June 30. The vote came after a long debate with an endlessly looping video of a violent rear-end collision playing in the background.
Police Chief George Turner and Sergeant Jeff Brough presented their case for cameras with a slide and video show claiming a 35 percent decrease in intersection accidents that they tied to camera enforcement of ordinance fines against red light runners. They also said they expect to net about $350,000 a year in revenue from fines when four to five new intersections get cameras under a state law that splits revenue among the state, local governments and camera vendors. Turner and Brough also cited statistics showing that 97 percent of violators getting citations under the camera program were non-residents of Brooksville.
Council members Joe Bernardini and Richard Lewis wanted to put a permanent halt to the camera program, but they were out-voted by Mayor Lara Bradburn and council members Joe Johnston and Frankie Burnett. Bradburn said again that the issue was safety, not money, despite protests from citizen speakers who said accidents were down because people aren't coming to Brooksville to avoid the cameras, that increasing yellow light times would have the same safety effect, and that studies show increases in rear-end collisions. All the while the video that ended the police presentation continued to run, showing a speeding Mercedes slamming into the rear of two cars stopped in the outside northbound lane of Broad Street at Martin Luther King Blvd.
Add Comment
SAGER PICKS UP ON NUGENT=SCOZZAFAVA MEME
In a media release headlined "Friends of Nugent, the Incumbents and Washington Elites," the Jason Sager campaign has followed up on opponent Rich Nugent's campaign finance report. The quarterly report showed nine contributions of $1,000 to $5,000 to Nugent from Political Action Committees headed by current members of Congress. Of those nine, seven also contributed to the unsuccessful special election campaign of accused Republican "liberal" Dede Scozzafava last year. The comparison was specifically noted in Sager's release.
Sager is quoted in the release as saying "[i]t appears that the Washington Elite think they know better than the good citizens of District 5 and are attempting to select our next Congressional representative for us."
Nugent said Monday night that he's proud of the 390 individuals who have donated about $86,000 to his campaign for Congress. He said many of those contributions were too small to require listing in the quarterly report he filed last week with the Federal Elections Commission. Nugent reacted after being told about an analysis of the report that showed parallels with the New York Congresswoman condemned by Republican opponents as too liberal in a special election last year.
The analysis by a member of the Restore the Constitution organization was posted at the Free Republic web site.
Add Comment
CITY APPROVES CDBG GRANT APP OVER COMMUNITY CONCERNS
The city of Brooksville will apply for a $750,000 state block grant for new water lines and sidewalks in south Brooksville, despite a complaint that there was not enough input from residents of the community.
Community activist Richard Howell said the fast pace of the last-minute application didn't allow affected residents to review the plans for the money. He also accused the city of speeding through a public hearing process designed to ensure that input.
Mayor Lara Bradburn told Howell that Monday's night's formal hearing provided the opportunity for that input, but Howell complained that neither he nor other community residents had a chance to go over the application. The deadline for submitting the request is this week, and city Community Development Director Bill Geiger said engineering estimates just in showed the money might not pay for the full list of south Brooksville projects being planned.
Geiger was given the go-ahead to revise the application as necessary to keep the projects within the estimated costs. They told him to make new water lines the top priority, to improve fire flows in the community. The planned sidewalks along Martin Luther King Blvd. and Main Street could also be funded later by state transportation grants.
Some in the community have raised concerns about whether the city's late entry in the block grant competition could undercut a similar application from the county for other south Brooksville projects. That request was in the works for three months before the announcement of Brooksville's grant plans two weeks ago.
Add Comment
JAIL BUDGET DISCREPANCY CLARIFIED BUT CONCERNS REMAIN
County officials say they're still concerned that the proposed jail budget submitted by Sheriff Rich Nugent is inconsistent with an interlocal agreement pledging to hold the line on costs. They say they've discovered that a discrepancy spotted in last week's County Board meeting was caused by a budget assumption that proved incorrect, but the agreement still commits the sheriff to the same amount budgeted for last year.
The pact calls for the sheriff to run the Hernando County Jail with the same budget as private operator CCA for the past budget year. But commissioners spotted what looked to be almost a half-million dollar increase when reviewing budget documents and asked for an explanation. Budget Director George Zoettlein said after review that the discrepancy, which actually totaled $380,000, resulted from an incorrect assumption in last year's budget. The sheriff figured his budget based on the same CCA per day prisoner costs as used in last year's calculation. The county's jail budget was $380,000 less because officials had assumed a cost savings from implementing an ankle monitoring system which was expected to lower the jail population. But that program is still being reviewed and was never put into effect. Nugent has vowed to use the ankle monitoring once it's signed off on by Hernando's judges as a legal substitute for jail time.
Despite the clarification of the discrepancy, county staff say they will press for strict adherence to the sheriff's commitment in the agreement.
Note---A previous version of this report said that county officials were "satisfied"...that report needed clarification itself, because they say they were "satisfied" that the source of the discrepancy had been pinpointed, not that they were satisfied with the sheriff's budget amounts.
Add Comment
TRANSPORTATION PLANNERS SET PUBLIC HEARING ON WORK PROGRAM
Spending watchdogs may want to mark their calendars for next Tuesday afternoon. That's when county commissioners and the Brooksville mayor sitting as the Metropolitan Planning Organization hold a public hearing on a five-year transportation plan. In addition to the usual projects, such as advance right-of-way acquisition for County Line Road widening, the plan's fine print includes some eye openers for residents concerned with future budgets.
Page 79 of the agenda made public Monday lists five years of spending on a fixed-route transit system which totals more than three million dollars between now and 2015. And page 75 describes expenditures of $235,000 in the 2011 budget year for designing a trailhead facility in the Cypress Lake Preserve and $240,000 two years later to construct an access drive, parking, restroom, picnic pavillion and kiosk. The preserve is land in Ridge Manor that was acquired mostly with sensitive lands money.
Most of the rest of the agenda package is previously reported bad news, with actual construction on County Line Road and Cortez Boulevard between Mariner and the Parkway not included in the five-year program. Most of Cortez between U.S. 19 and Brooksville would get only resurfacing between now and 2015.
Add Comment
BROOKSVILLE BEAUTIFICATION AWARD GOES TO SHERIFF
Hernando Sheriff Rich Nugent was honored Monday night by the Brooksville City Council with a beautification award for the new sheriff's substation and community center on Martin Luther King Blvd. Nugent was joined by County Commissioner Rose Rocco, the chair of the south Brooksville Community Initiatives Team, in accepting the city's honors, along with Mayor Lara Bradburn and Beautification Committee chair Sally Sperling.
Ironically, the community center was closed Monday, with yellow crime-scene tape blocking the entrances. Nugent and city Public Works chief Dick Radacky said a mishap during a sewer line inspection had backed up wastewater into the facility. Radacky said the sheriff's substation was the only sewer customer affected by the problem.
Add Comment
SIX DAYS LEFT FOR VOTER REGISTRATION, PARTY CHANGES
Voter registration books for the August 24 primary election will close on Monday, July 26, according to Elections Supervisor Annie Williams. Although most of the attention so far has been captured by party primary campaigns, there are also four nonpartisan races on the ballot for all voters. Fifth Circuit electors will decide on a new circuit judge in a race between Denise Lyn and Robert Hodges. The winner will likely sit in one of the circuit's other four counties. There are also three Hernando School Board races, and two of those with only two candidates will be decided in August. Incumbents John Sweeney and Dianne Bonfield are opposed by Nilsa Colon Toro and Keane Chapman, respectively. Incumbent Sandra Nicholson has two challengers, Cynthia Moore and Mike Bainum, with the potential for a general election decision if none of the three gets a majority in the AUgust 24 balloting.
Absentee ballots were arriving in the mail this week for most Hernando voters. Eearly voting doesn't begin until August 9.
Add Comment
HEALTH DEPT. OFFERS "FAST TRACK" SCHOOL PHYSICALS
The Hernando County Health Department announced its "Fast Track" program Monday. In a media release, department spokesperson Ann-Gayl Ellis said the annual program is designed to make getting back to school physicals quick and affordable. Fast Track will be open Tuesday, August 10, Wednesday, August 11 and Thursday, August 12 at the Spring Hill clinic location at 7465 Forest Oaks Boulevard. Appointment times are from 8:00 am until noon and can be made by calling 352-540-6800 (ext 82299). Callers should mention “Fast Track” when making appointments or leaving a voice message. Fast Track back to school physicals are $35.00. Cash, check and credit card accepted. No Medicaid, insurance or vouchers will be accepted.
Ellis said Fast Track school physicals are available for all children entering school for the first time for grades K thru 12 and are intended for children with no pre-existing medical conditions or prescription needs. Sport physicals are not offered through Fast Track. The Health Department continues to offer traditional school physicals for all Hernando County children throughout the year.
Add Comment