Project1:Layout 1 6/10/2014 1:13 PM Page 1 NFL: Bucs beat Falcons to close regular season / B1 MONDAY TODAY CITRUSCOUNTY & next morning HIGH 64 Mostly sunny, LOW light winds and cool. 39 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com JANUARY 4, 2021 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 126 ISSUE 88 NEWS Year in REVIEW BRIEFS Trump: Citrus County SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFICIALS COVID-19 LOOK BACK ON 2020: ‘Find’ update According to the Florida Department more of Health, 71 positive cases were reported in Citrus County since the latest up- votes date. Nine new ‘a crazy year’ deaths were reported for a total of 283. To date in the President county, 6,903 people have tested positive (including 47 non- confronts Ga. residents). One new hospital- election chief ization was reported Sunday for a total of 529 hospitalized. JEFF AMY, Editor’s Note: For DARLENE a detailed chart re- SUPERVILLE AND garding coronavirus KATE BRUMBACK cases in Citrus Associated Press County, see the ATLANTA — President Sunday Chronicle Donald Trump badgered each week. and pleaded with Geor- Register for gia’s election chief to overturn Joe Biden’s win free fishing in the state, suggesting in clinic Jan. 5 a telephone call that the official “find” enough Registration will votes to hand Trump the open on Tuesday, victory. Jan. 5 for the 17th an- The conversation Sat- nual Kids Fishing urday was the latest step Clinic. This catch-and- in an unprecedented ef- release event will be fort by a sitting president from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to pressure a state official Saturday, Feb. 20, at MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle file photos to reverse the outcome of Fort Island Trail Park Lecanto Primary support staff member Kellie Redner hands out two iPads to a parent of students outside of the school a free and fair election in Crystal River. last year. Citrus County School District officials and staff were tasked with continuing education amid a pandemic, that he lost. The renewed Participants must launching new virtual classrooms, food distribution programs, sanitation protocols, mask mandates and policy intervention and the per- be accompanied by playbooks for athletics. sistent and unfounded an adult and each claims of fraud by the first president to lose reelec- child will receive a free tion in almost 30 years fishing rod and reel. Citrus schools students, parents, personnel adjust to changes come nearly two weeks Pre-registration is before Trump leaves of- required at apm. BUSTER THOMPSON fice and two days before activecommunities. Staff writer twin runoffs in Georgia com/citruscounty that will determine con- parks. t was as if school bells would trol of the Senate. Learn the basics of never ring again when COVID- Trump confirmed in a environmental stew- 19 shut down campuses across tweet Sunday that he had ardship, fishing ethics, IFlorida in March 2020. spoken with Georgia’s angling skills and Like their counterparts across secretary of state, Repub- safety. For informa- the globe, Citrus County School Dis- lican Brad Raffensperger, tion, call 352-527- trict officials and staff were tasked a day earlier. 7540. with continuing education amid a Audio snippets of the — From staff reports pandemic, launching new virtual conversation were posted classrooms, food distribution pro- online by The Washington POLL grams, sanitation protocols, mask Post. A recording of the mandates and policy playbooks for call was later obtained by Your choice ... athletics. The Associated Press “It’s been one of the most chal- from a person who was on It’s the first week of lenging and unpredictable years, the call. 2021. What goals do both personally and professionally, The president, who has you have for yourself in and probably since my tenure as su- refused to accept his loss to the New Year? perintendent,” said Sandra “Sam” the Democratic president- A. Improve my fitness Himmel, the county’s school super- elect, is heard telling and diet. New year, new intendent since 2004. Raffensperger at one point: “All I want to do is me. Himmel praised the school dis- trict, its students and their families this. I just want to find B. Get out of debt and for their understanding as they all 11,780 votes, which is one start saving. This is the Sandra “Sam” Himmel’s reacts to the unveiling of a sign Feb. 25, held by more than we have. Be- tried to navigate through a year of former County Commission Chairman Brian Coleman recognizing the Citrus year I pay off my credit uncertainty and additional rules. cause we won the state.” cards and live as I earn. County School District’s Superintendent as the Fl. 2020 School Superintendent C. Find love. I’d be See CRAZY/Page A2 of the Year. See VOTES/Page A6 ecstatic to share my life with someone new. D. Travel more. Adventure is calling my name. E. Explore a new hobby/ Circumnavigating the world, finding Ozello activity. There’s something I’ve been meaning to try, and this year, I will. Montana man on global adventure F. Quit smoking. G. Spend less time on BARRY SCHWARTZ prolific travelers, I was intrigued, and we agreed to meet at his my phone and live in the Special to the Chronicle campsite in Homosassa a few moment. So, you think it has been a chal- days later. H. Start volunteering, or lenging and exhaustive year? I brought some beer along as volunteer more. Charles Dickens may have the universal housewarming gift I. Clear out the clutter; summed it up best when he said, and talked with Michael Ladden, clean up, reorganize “It was the best of times, it was the 52. He helped found Drive the and redecorate the worst of times.” GLOBE about 25 years ago. house. All of this was running through For many years, he has been K. My 2021 goal isn’t my mind as I was on my daily walk traveling the world as an indepen- listed. I’ll write it in the with my highly energetic dog, dent overland adventurer — Skye. Crossing the Ozello cause- sometimes backpacking, but many comments. way, near the end of the trail, I times using Land Rovers to To vote, visit www. saw this orange tank like monster bounce around unconventional chronicleonline.com. of a vehicle parked with two peo- places with few roads. Scroll down the home ple on top, watching the sunset. Ladden learned many lessons page and look for the As beautiful as the sunset is, moving vehicles through interna- poll box in the right- this vehicle with a large “Drive tional borders in South America hand column. The GLOBE” on its side, is a and Africa, shipping cars across Results will appear showstopper. oceans, finding routes in areas next Monday. Find last I yelled up to the guy on top, with no roads, truck breakdowns, BARRY SCHWARTZ/Special to the Chronicle week’s online poll “Where have you been”? His re- contracting malaria, getting Michael Ladden, 52, helped found Drive the GLOBE about 25 years ago. results./Page A3 sponse was “everywhere.” But COVID happened and Barry Schwartz found him in Ozello, as almost My wife, Bette, and I have been See WORLD/Page A2 every border in the world is closed. Classifieds ............... B8 Crossword .............. B10 INDEX Horoscope ................A4 Movies ..................... B7 Comics .................... B7 Editorial ....................A5 Lottery Numbers ...... B3 TV Listings ............... B6 Extra Puzzles . .B5 Entertainment ...........A4 Lottery Payouts ........ B3 A2 MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE WORLD Continued from Page A1 caught in the Rwanda genocide tragedy and sim- ply navigating logistics of far-flung, off-the-beaten path places. He took these skills home to Montana and started helping others organize self-drive expeditions. Ex- tended overland travel is a complicated endeavor and he has been teaching workshops so others can organize overland expeditions. Eventually, Ladden sold his businesses and home in Montana and decided it is time to circumnavigate the world. I asked him why? His answer, “Explore. Inspire. Share. First and foremost, we hope to inspire others to get out, explore the world, meet new people and see unbelievable things.” He believes that by sharing his experiences as he travels the world, others will gain a new understand- ing of how much they in common with people from other cultures. The behemoth of a truck, which he thinks of as a giant attention-getting puppy, is a former Swiss Moun- tain Police Unimog made by Mercedes. He added an Army surplus Humvee trailer that he custom rebuilt as his 75-square-foot living quarters. He has enough solar panels to supply electricity to operate for four days, hot water shower, computers, MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle file photo Crystal River High School food services worker Jennifer Hurtado shows her fellow employees they are No. 1 Friday satellite phone and plenty of camping/cooking gear. morning as she and the others load school buses with coolers full of food for students May 1, 2020. Roughly speaking, the 220,000-mile plan is: North America to Central America, following the Pan Amer- ican highway to the tip of South America. Then visit just jumps in and makes a Good from adapting exchanges. Antarctica, ship the vehicle to Southern Africa and decision the first time we “It’s been great; we’ve complete a Trans-Africa crossing, ferry on to Europe Good things have come CRAZY see something.” had our hiccups here and and from there cross Asia and finally end in Continued from Page A1 from adapting to Mullen said one of there…but parents are Australia. COVID-19.