HNS REPORTS---TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010
GUILTY!
After two days of deliberation, a twelve-person circuit court jury returned a verdict of "Guilty" Tuesday in the first degree murder trial of Robert Jardin. He was charged in the 2006 slayings of Patrick and Evelyn DePalma of Marsaryktown. Jardin admitted being at the murder scene but denied in testimony Friday that he had anything to do with the brutal killings. Attorneys said they expected the penalty phase of the case to begin Wednesday. The same jury will recommend either life in prison or death as Jardin's punishment.
The verdict came after the jury had the cross-examination portion of Jardin's testimony from Friday read back to them on Monday night. After returning Tuesday from a night at a motel, the jury asked questions about lesser included offenses and the felony murder rule, which allows a murder verdict if the defendant committed robbery or grand theft when others actually killed the victims.
Add Comment
QUARRY PRESERVE WINS COUNTY BOARD APPROVAL
After more than two hours of presentation and debate among public speakers and commissioners, the County Board voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve the controversial Quarry Preserve development. Commissioners adopted a comprehensive plan amendment and development order for the so-called "new town." The development on U.S. 98 east of Citrus Way would cover 6.7 square miles and could eventually have a population of more than 11,000 in 5800 units. The project would also have a mix of business and industrial sites, along with two golf courses.
Lawyer Jake Varn said his client's project "raises the development bar" in Hernando County. A number of public speakers opposed the project and questioned the developer's owner saying that the project would pay for itself. In fact, as Commissioner Rose Rocco pointed out. the Quarry Preserve's "fair share" of transportation improvement costs would still leave the county needing millions of dollars to fund new roads, but Varn noted that those road plans are already part of the county's long-range planning. And on the final vote, even Rocco said she thought the project was "a good choice" for the county. Commissioner David Russell was the only "no" vote.
Add Comment
COUNTY PLANS HOLD-BACK FOR LAST CCA JAIL PAYMENT
County officials say they want to hold back more than $1.8 million due to Corrections Corporation of America for July and August. The recommendation says $34,000 has been spent on repairs to the jail facilities, as well as a $239,000 commitment for an engineering firm to see what other repairs are needed. A memo to commissioners says that the CCA jail contract provides for CCA responsibility for routine jail maintenance and asks that commissioners agree to withhold the last $1,858,056 due under the contract for the last two months. The funds would be paid less costs of taking care of repairs that may have been CCA's responsibility. A letter to CCA has already been sent by county legal staff.
Add Comment
COUNTY SEEKS MEETING WITH ORION TO NEGOTIATE DREDGE COSTS
Interim county Public Works Director Susan Goebel is asking officials of Orion Services to join county staff in a meeting later this week to negotiate the cost terms of Orion's contract under the modified state dredge permit. Orion says the changes required by the new permit, involving more and larger settling ponds and equipment needed for a coagulant to remove sediment from dredge spoil, will cost almost eight million dollars more than their original five million low bid for the dredge contract. County officials say the nearly $13 million total is more than the Hernando Beach dredge project budget. Goebel said in her letter that "it may still be in everyone's best interest to sit down , . . and negotiate a mutually agreeable 'change order'." She asked Orion officials to work on setting up a meeting later this week.
Add Comment
COMMISSIONERS APPROVE POWELL ROAD DEVELOPMENT
On the second try, realtor Buddy Selph won approval for a mixed-use residential development on Powell Road. The project with 252 apartment units and 12 single-family estate home lots failed two weeks ago when commissioners tied 2-2, with Jeff Stabins absent. With a full board Tuesday, Selph got his project approved, 4-1, with Rose Rocco voting no. While several public speakers and Rocco noted the current housing surplus in Hernando and wondered how the project could go forward with so many vacant homes on the market, Selph argued that his project was long-term thinking and that it likely would not start for several years. He and other realtors have said they are "cautiously optimistic" that current conditions will start to turn around and say developers want to have approved projects ready to go when the market recovers.
Add Comment
ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TO BE REVIEWED BY FLORIDA BAR GROUP
County commissioners voted Tuesday to have the County Attorney's Office analyzed by a Florida Bar group that specializes in advising private lawyers how to be efficient. County Attorney Garth Coller made the recommendation. He said the Bar group would have more expertise han having a local Chamber of Commerce focus group conduct a recommended time study. The County Board took no action on a set of sample proposals. Two weeks ago the board talked about puttiing out proposals for private law firms to represent the county, but board consensus in approving the Bar analysis was that the office review was needed first before determining what would go into a request for proposals.
Add Comment
STABBING VICTIM'S EX-GIRLFRIEND ARRESTED
Brooksville police said Tuesday they had made an arrest in the stabbing of a man last week at the Tanglewood Apartments. Police said 25-year old Tanisha Nicole Gibson of 27100 Roper Road in Brooksville was arrested Monday on a warrant for aggravated domestic violence. Police say she stabbed her ex-boyfriend, Fabian Avant last week and then fled the scene. Avant was treated at a local hospital, released, and then jailed himself on a charge of false report of a crime. He reportedly claimed the stabbing occurred as he tried to break up a fight.
Add Comment
BROOKSVILLE MAN FACES LEWD CHARGE FOR FONDLING 15-YEAR OLD
Sheriff's deputies arrested a Brooksville man Monday on a charge of lewd and lascivvious conduct involving a child. An arrest affidavit said 24-year old Duran Johnson of 12377 Old Crystal River Road was taken into custody after a 15-year old girl complained that he touched her clothed breasts despite being told not to. Deputies said there were two witnesses to the incident. Johnson was booked into the Hernando Couunty Jail on an initial bond of $15,000.
Add Comment
METH POSSESSION CHARGED, BUT SUSPECT SAYS IT'S FAKE DRUGS
A trainsient who was arrested after a substance in her purse tested positive for methamphetamine told deputies the substance was fake and that she planned to scam a buyer and "had blown methamphetamine smoke on it so it would react positive" if the buyer tested it. Deputies said they took 30-year old Veronica Nikole Jackson into custody after finding her in a trailer on Norris Bishop Loop that she had reportedly been evicted from last week. When they asked if there was anything illegal in her purse, an arrest affidavit says she replied she had some "fake drugs" that were really horse pills that she hoped to sell as methamphetamine.
Add Comment
HERNANDO HEALTH DEPARTMENT GETS NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The National Association of County and City Health Officials has recognized Hernando County Health Department for its ability to respond to public health emergencies.
According to a media release Monday, the local health department met the comprehensive preparedness benchmarks required by Project Public Health Ready, a partnership between the National Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Hernando department is one of only ten local health offices in Florida to get the recognition.
“Our staff has worked hard to establish plans and protocols to protect our residents from new and infectious diseases, bioterrorism, natural disasters, and other public health threats,” said Elizabeth Callaghan, Hernando County Health Department Administrator. “We will continue to exercise our response strategies to insure that our department is a strong partner of the local emergency response network.”
Add Comment
[Note---Due to an editing error, the following stories from Monday's HNS Reports were deleted after only a few hours of posting on the site and are being repeated Tuesday.}
RAINFALL HELPS CONTINUE AQUIFER REBOUND
Rainfall levels well above normal helped spur a continuing rebound in aquifer levels last week, according to figures from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. After falling to levels near the bottom of the normal range earlier in the summer, aquifers in the district's northern region, which includes Hernando County, were up again last week. The district's rainfall statistics suggested a good reason why: With almost a week left in the month at the time, last week's rainfall amounts for August were nearing a half-inch above the historic average for the month. Yearly rainfall for the first six months of the year totaled more than two inches ahead of normal, signaling at least a temporary hiatus in the three-year drought.
Add Comment
COUNTY BUDGET CUTS HIT PET SPAY AND NEUTER PROGRAM
County officials say that a program to get rebates for sterilizing pets is the latest victim of county budget cuts. According to a county media release, Hernando County Animal Services is discontinuing the Pet Sterilization Rebate Program effective September 20, "due to a lack of funding in the FY 2010 / 2011 budget." The program allows eligible pet owners to receive up to $50 back for spaying or neutering pets.
Animal Services manager Liana League said, "The Pet Sterilization Rebate Program has been very popular with our residents, and we regret having to discontinue it." Hernando County Animal Services will process all rebate requests received by Animal Services by 4:30 p.m. on September 20, but any rebate requests received after September 20 will not be processed regardless of the sterilization date.
Add Comment
OAK HILL HOSPITAL STARS OF MONTH REVEALED
Oak Hill Hospital has announced its Star Associates of the Month. Each month hospital associates are chosen in a process that involves nominations and voting by their peers, patients, patient families, and physicians.
This month’s Oak Hill Hospital “Stars” are Stephanie Diaz, CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant); Carmen Martinez, Environmental Services; and Cindy McWhorter, RNC (Registered Nurse Certified).
Add Comment
I'm so disappointed in this commission. Only Commissioner Russell is wise enough to see that Hernando County does not need another "city". Only Commissioner Russell had the guts to say "no". In the future, only Commissioner Russell will get a "yes" vote from me. As was so aptly said, this County is run by the developers, for the developers, to hell with the people.
Reply to this