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