HNS REPORTS---FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2010
MAN CHARGED IN CORTEZ BLVD. ROAD RAGE COLLISIONS
A Spring Hill man was arrested Thursday after a road rage incident in which he allegedly used his Jeep Cherokee to rear-end a Mitsubishi Eclipse and then followed the victim's car and hit it again. An arrest affidavit said 38-year old David Frederick Leopold of 11203 Linden Drive apparently was angered when Andrew Browning slowed his Mitsubishi before turning right from Mariner Blvd. onto eastbound Cortez and was talking with the occupants of another car. The affidavit says Leopold then rear-ended Browning's car and chased him east on Cortez to the Pinebook Medical Center, where Browning pulled in the parking lot and Leopold's Jeep allegedly hit Browning's car again. The affidavit says Leopold then fled west on Cortez and north on Sunshine Grove Road before he was located by deputies in a rural neighborhood.
Deputies said Browning's car had damage estimated at $500, and Browning complained of neck pain but did not go to a hospital. Leopold was charged with aggravated battery and driving while under the influence. He reportedly admitted drinking a pitcher of beer, and deputies also said they found a small amount of marijuana in a baggie in the Jeep's ashtray.
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BROOKSVILLE POLICE ARREST ALLEGED WAL-MART TV THIEF
Brooksville police said Friday they arrested a local man and charged him with grand theft in connection with "at least" three separate thefts of flat-screen TV's from the Wal-Mart on South Broad Street. A media release says 41-year old Michael James Burdick of 616 Erin Way allegedly entered the store on multiple occasions between July 30 and August 19. Police said Burdick would put the TV's in a shopping cart and exit the store through a fire, emergency or closed exit. A tip on the SUV spotted leaving the parking lot led to Burdick's arrest Thursday. Police said they found one TV in its original packaging while executing a search warrant at the Erin Way address. Burdick reportedly said he stole the TV's and traded them to support a drug habit. Police said the total value of the stolen property was almost $1800.
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SUSPECTED CHILD MOLESTER SKIPS TOWN
A 66-year old suspected child molester failed to appear in court Friday. Lawyers told Judge Jack Springstead they had heard from neighbors who said Guy Osman Gould of 7014 Daffodil Drive in Brooksville had left his residence this week and may have been headed out of the country via Miami, possibly to Aruba or the Caribbean. Brooksville police said they learned from neighbors he was last week on August 27 leaving his home carrying a small bag. Police and the Hernando County Sheriff's Office said Friday they are seeking further information on Gould's whereabouts.
Gould was arrested in February and charged with five counts of sexual battery involving teenage boys after a 15-year old disclosed Gould's sexual contact to a parent. Gould reportedly told police there was an additional child involved, which officers reportedly confirmed. Police say there were four separate incidents involving the other boy, who was 14 years old.
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GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS FOR S. BROOKVILLE GRANTS
South Brooksville Community Initiatives Team members learned Thursday night that one grant application for community improvements is virtually certain to get approved, while another won't. Hernando County's application for a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant has been ranked in the top ten of 42 submitted requests for funding. The money would go to first design and construction phases for a series of water and sewer improvements in the neglected, mainly African-American community.
County Community Services Director Jean Rags says she expects formal approval to arrive in the next ten days, but the high ranking is enough to proceed with preparing a bid package and requests for proposals from design firms.
City of Brooksville Community Development Director Bill Geiger had less encouraging news...the city's separate application for water and sewer improvements on the city side of Martin Luther King Blvd. won't be funded in this grant cycle, but he said he expects the city to submit a better application in the next cycle for this fall.
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DREDGE MEETING GOES INTO OVERTIME
County officials were tight-lipped Friday about the outcome of a meeting with representatives of Hernando Beach dredge contractor Orion Services. That meeting began Thursday afternoon and continued into Thursday evening in efforts to find some common ground on the cost of the project. About the only thing that could be learned Friday on the session was that the parties were talking to each other.
The dredge contractor wants an additional $7.8 million to finish the dredge project, because of what they call major changes in the scope of work. A modified dredge permit requires construction of additional settling ponds and more de-watering equipment to remove silt from the dredge discharge. Orion says the additional work is far beyond their original $5 million contract, and the parties met Thursday afternoon to try to hammer out some agreement on the change order that everyone agrees will be needed. County officials vowed to get the amount as low as possible to fit within the limited dredge budget, which combines three million local dollars and six million in state ports money.
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COME ON IN, THE WATER'S FINE
Just in time for Labor Day weekend, officials are saying it's okay to swim again at Hernando County's only Gulf beach at Pine Island. According to a media release Thursday, bacteriological test results received by the Hernando County Health Department indicate the water quality at Pine Island Beach is now in the good range. Officials said the swimming advisory issued on August 26 has been rescinded.
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JUDGE GIVES MAN 15-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE FOR SEXUAL BATTERY
47-year old William Jeffrey McCutchen was sentenced to 15 years in prison by Judge Jack Springstead Friday. McCutchen pleaded no contest to two counts of sexual battery involving a familial relationship. According to an arrest report, McCutchen sought and obtained sexual favors from a teenage girl who was staying with him. Though McCutchen's attorney and family said the alleged incidents occurred seven to eight years ago, the defendant and his attorney waived any statute of limitations argument in the brief court appearance. Prosecutors said the victim was now living in Montana and had agreed to the plea and sentence. McCutchen was also officially designated a sexual predator as part of the sentence.
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TRIAL OF BOYETT'S GROVE ROBBER FINALLY SET TO START NEXT WEEK
Lawyers said a final pre-trial conference in the Adrian House robbery case Friday cleared the way for trial to begin Tuesday in the case of the final of three men who allegedly robbed Boyett's Grove and shot the owner in a 2008 incident. 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.
The House trial had been postponed twice in August, first for a child porn case and then two weeks ago for the Jardin trial.
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DEATH PENALTY OFFICIALLY ON THE TABLE IN SARAH DAVIS MURDER CASE
Prosecutors have filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty in the first degree murder case of Byron Burch. He's charged in the May killing of 80-year old Sarah Davis in her south Brooksville home, The notice was filed Thursday shortly after Burch made a court appearance and had a pre-trial hearing set for November 5 in the case.
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ACTIVIST CHALLENGES S. BROOKSVILLE PLANS
A community activist who claims he and others in the south Brooksville community didn't know about two years of planning for improvements challenged some of those plans Thursday. At the South Brooksville Community Initiatives Team meeting, Paul Boston said people in the African-American community did not have enough notice of the sessions the Team has been holding for almost two years now. He also said the grants that Brooksville and Hernando County have applied for won't do enough to provide jobs in the community. Local government officials say their funding priority is for infrastructure improvements, such as water, sewer and roads.
Team chair Rose Rocco told Boston that public notices were given of all the open meetings of the team. She and city councilman Frankie Burnett said those notices brought more than a dozen community residents to most of the meetings, where they were accorded full voting privileges on the team, which has endorsed efforts for infrastructure improvements. Burnett said improving the community will attract investment and development, which will lead to more jobs. But Boston insisted that any contractors hired with grant funds should be required to employ community resident. Officials say that is contrary to state and federal guidelines on use of the money.
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CROOKS ON CAMERA---CREDIT CARD STOLEN IN SPRING HILL BURGLARY
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http://www.hernandosheriff.org/Tips/ You may be eligible for a reward up to $1,000.
STORY-TELLING IN BROOKSVILLE SATURDAY NIGHT
Hill House Bed & Breakfast will host an evening of storytelling from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Local author Jerry Cowling will share memories of his days in school, including his best teacher, the smells of education and the trauma of being forced to eat a Twinkie on Sadie Hawkins Day.
The evening of entertainment and refreshments is free. Hill House B&B is owned and operated by Pierre Desjardins. The address is 406 E. Liberty St., Brooksville. For more information please call (352)345-4466. Seating is limited.
WEEKEND EVENT FROM NATURALLY HERNANDO.ORG
Sunday, September 05, 2010
SPORTSMAN'S MACHINE GUN SHOOT
| 9:00am - 3:00pm HERNANDO SPORTSMAN'S CLUB, off US 19 - 9.5 miles north of SR-50. Spectator admission: $2.00; under age 15: free. Food and beverages available for purchase. |
www.hernandosportsmansclub.com
Paul Boston is not an activist. He is a dingbat who is constantly trying make himself look important. If he is such a great activist, show me anything he has done that has been successful.
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Paul Boston did successfully drop his pants in front of EVERYONE at a County Commission meeting.
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Yes, I like Boston. It's about time someone fought for the minority in Brooksville. Now, I hope he will help to keep them from being moving target's for the sheriff's deputies.
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It should be obvious to everyone who pays attention that a latecomer to the process (like Boston) is simply trying to jump on the bandwagon and takeover the reins to get credit for something with which he has had nothing to do.
He is just trying to hijack the credibility bus.
Now that it appears some money may be coming along it would probably also be a LOT more to his liking if he could somehow gain employment out of it, also.
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Without a single representative of the community subject to the decisions of the Community Initiatives Team I would say the credibility bus hasn't been boarded. This isn't rocket science, folks. You are making decisions about this community without any representative of the community. That is like the state of Florida making laws for us without us having a representative in the legislature. We fought a revolution over such.
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