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Hernando Today

2007 - Year In Review

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By HERNANDO TODAY STAFF

Published: December 25, 2007

Jan. 2

Vandals hit St. Frances Catholic Church

SPRING HILL Four statues at St. Frances Cabrini

Catholic Church were badly broken after vandals

attacked them and did more than $1,000 damage.

The damage was discovered by a priest arriving on a

Saturday morning to perform a wedding.

The vandalism sparked outrage from members of St.

Frances, the largest church in Hernando County.

Jan. 6

Pristine Place vows to fight Wal-Mart

SPRING HILL About 150 Pristine Place homeowners swelled

the small confines of their community center auditorium

to protest a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter near the

entrance of their community off Barclay Avenue.

Scores of residents who live in the 750-home community

vowed to fight the retailer.

Later in the year, the county approved the Wal-Mart

project.

Jan. 8

Brooksville mayor asks for police

department probe

BROOKSVILLE Brooksville Mayor David Pugh called for an

outside agency to investigate the city's police

department.

That action followed a letter made public accusing the

city's Human Resources Director Ron Baker of illegally

giving police Lt. Rick Hankins prescription drugs.

Baker denied the charges.

Jan. 9

Brooksville City Manager Anderson submits resignation

BROOKSVILLE Brooksville Mayor David Pugh made a

surprise announcement during the city council meeting

that City Manager Richard Anderson had submitted his

resignation, effective Feb. 9.

Jan. 10

County Commissioner Rose Rocco finally

gets installed

BROOKSVILLE Almost two months to the day since she was

elected, Rose Rocco was sworn in as county

commissioner.

While her swearing-in was strictly a formality — a

judge had already done so just before Christmas — the

board thought it appropriate she be afforded the

ceremony denied her after being sued by her election

opponent Nancy Robinson.

Jan. 13

Wild Brooksville city council meeting held

BROOKSVILLE The mounting tension in the city of

Brooksville finally erupted making for one of the

wildest city council meetings in memory.

Many members of the crowd that packed the chambers

heckled and jeered the council during a meeting

specially called to figure out how to investigate

allegations that rocked city government.

Jan. 16

High Point fire volunteers ramp up training

HIGH POINT High Point Fire Department volunteers ramped

up training and started other initiatives to satisfy a

state audit released two months previously.

The audit said the organization had made considerable

progress in their standard operating procedures and

firefighting techniques but could still make

improvements.

Jan. 20

Dispatch center in

its new home

BROOKSVILLE A new chapter at the sheriff's office began

when 911 dispatchers officially moved to their new

quarters on the second floor of the Emergency

Operations Center.

The EOC sits next to the sheriff's office off the State

Road 50 truck bypass.

Jan. 24

City Manager Anderson put on paid leave

BROOKSVILLE City manager Richard Anderson's career with

the city of Brooksville ended.

A divided city council voted 3-2 to put Anderson on

paid administrative leave.

The decision came just hours after Anderson reinstated

Police Chief Ed Tincher, Lt. Rick Hankins and Human

Resources Director Ron Baker, three central figures in

a feud that had sparked an investigation into alleged

misdeeds.

Jan. 26

Suspected food poisoning sickens

30 people

BROOKSVILLE A nasty outbreak of possible food poisoning

hit at least 30 people and grounded several county

staffers and government officials after they attended a

weekend workshop.

County Health Department Environmental Manager Al Gray

suspected the victims were hit with Norovirus, a

food-borne illness that is highly contagious and can be

spread by human contact.

The sick count continued to rise in the following days.

Feb. 3

Killer thunderstorms

hit Hernando

A line of killer thunderstorms plowed through Hernando

County knocking out power in some homes and tearing off

tree branches.

Power outages were scattered and no more than 200

people were without power at one time in the county,

according to a Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative

spokesman.

Feb. 4

Debbye Warrell named teacher of the year

BROOKSVILLE Debbye Warrell was named top teacher of the

year.

Warrell is the media specialist at Challenger K-8

School of Science & Mathematics. She was the only media

specialist among 19 other nominees.

Feb. 7

Old Brooksville hospital sells for $1.1 million

BROOKSVILLE After sitting vacant for 17 months, the old

Brooksville Regional Hospital in downtown Brooksville

sold for $1.1 million.

County commissioners approved the sale to a group of

Tampa investors who plan to renovate the building and

turn the former hospital into a mixture of assorted

uses: an assisted living facility, retail and

medical-professional office complex.

Feb. 8

New EOC opens

BROOKSVILLE The new Emergency Operations Center

officially opened for business.

A crowd of about 100 people attended the dedication of

the center, located next to the sheriff's office on

Cortez Boulevard.

Feb. 16

Coldest temperatures of the season hit Hernando

Hernando County residents were bracing for the coldest

temperatures of the season.

Temperatures were expected to drop to the low 20s and

stay there for hours, precipitating a hard freeze.

People were cautioned to bring in plants and wrap up

outside pipes.

Feb. 17

State asks county for more DPW testing

BROOKSVILLE State health officials asked the county to

conduct additional soil testing on sites downstream of

the contaminated former public works compound in

downtown Brooksville.

That testing included property owned by some of the

neighbors to the south of the site, as well as

county-owned property.

Feb. 22

School board adopts performance pay plan

BROOKSVILLE The Hernando County School Board votes 4-1

to impose a teacher pay performance plan called STAR,

or Special Teachers Are Rewarded.

It's a plan that has been met with controversy across

the state largely because of how state education

officials have "forced" the plan on school board

members, teachers and district staffers.

Feb. 23

Two fires leave

five homeless

Two separate fires destroyed two homes and left five

people homeless within 24 hours.

No one was injured in either incident.

The fires occurred on Lincoln Avenue, in Masaryktown

and on Farley Avenue, off Waterfall Drive in Spring

Hill.

Feb. 25

Housing permits

down 34 percent

BROOKSVILLE Single-family home permits in Hernando

County plummeted 34 percent in 2006, as the housing

slump continued to affect builders.

The county issued 2,787 single-family home permits for

all of 2006, compared to 4,271 in 2005, a

record-setting year.

Feb. 28

County buys homes

on Elgin Boulevard

BROOKSVILLE County commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a

consultant's recommendation to buy up 34 homes on the

north side of Elgin Boulevard — from Mariner Boulevard

east to Village Van Gogh — to make way for a new

four-lane highway, to be built in the next two or three

years.

March 3

Two-county drug bust worth $3 million

BROOKSVILLE A staggering $3 million in assets were

seized by the Hernando County Sheriff's Office from

five homes where police say marijuana was grown.

The seizures followed a month-long investigation that

unraveled a small, but highly profitable group of

growers in Hernando and Pasco counties.

March 7

Moving day for county health department

BROOKSVILLE County health department staffers finished

settling into their new offices at 15470 Flight Path

Drive, the former Innovative Technology building, at

the airport industrial park.

Having the extra space allows health officials to serve

more people in a more spacious location, said Ann-Gayl

Ellis, public information officer with the county's

health department.

March 8

School board squashes partial zoning of magnet schools

BROOKSVILLE The Hernando County School Board voted 3-2

to squash plans for partial zoning of partial zoning of

magnet schools.

The vote was accompanied by bickering among school

board members and ended months of debate.

March 9

Tempers flare at field trip workshop

BROOKSVILLE A school board workshop called to solidify

the district's policy school-sponsored, out-of-state

student field trips turned into a venting sessions

among school board members.

The heated workshop ended when school board attorney

Paul Carland agreed to formulate a school policy on

such trips.

March 12

Fifty-acre blaze engulfs Brooksville in smoke

BROOKSVILLE Fire, police and forestry units converged

on a 50-acre blaze west of the McIntyre Road

intersection as dry grass and high winds caused a

sprawling brush fire to spread to nearly 50 acres.

North Brooksville was engulfed in smoke.

March 15

DPW cleanup bill nears $2 million

BROOKSVILLE The price tag for cleaning up the

contaminated former public works compound in downtown

Brooksville neared $2 million.Re

The problem was first discovered in 1991.

March 16

Harry LaCava first

choice for school superintendent

BROOKSVILLE School board members started interviews for

school superintendent on a Thursday morning.

By the end of the day, three board members agreed that

Harry LaCava as their first choice. The other two

members favored Wayne Alexander.

March 17

Harry LaCava out

of running

BROOKSVILLE One day after school board members made

Harry LaCava their first choice for school

superintendent, questions arose about the appointment

and the situation changed.

LaCava bowed out and Wayne Alexander was now the

favored candidate.

March 21

City attorney announces his resignation

BROOKSVILLE Brooksville city attorney David La Croix

announced he will leave his position effective Sept.

30.

La Croix submitted his resignation letter to the city

council, citing a desire to "phase out" his full-time

law practice and retire.

March 22

Universal Microwave holds ribbon-cutting

BROOKSVILLE Universal Microwave Corp. held a

ribbon-cutting at its new 20,000-square-foot

manufacturing facility in the Cortez Crossing Business

Park, east of Brooksville.

The company makes radio frequency hybrid circuits for

wireless communications systems used in cellular and

satellite communications.

Read about more interesting local events in 2007 in the

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