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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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