First victory: Every claims PGA Tour win at Bay Hill /B1 MONDAY TODAY CITRUS COUNTY & next morning HIGH 72 Mostly cloudy, LOW 50% chance of rain showers. 56 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com MARCH 24, 2014 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 119 ISSUE 229 INSIDE STATE NEWS: Flood rates Cook tackles biggest problem fast The Legislature moves MIKE WRIGHT But the soft-spoken Cook week he and Duke reached Commissioners were im- forward on a plan to didn’t interrupt as Greene, or agreement on not only the pressed that Cook was able entice private insurance Staff writer the attorneys, or the Duke ex- 2012 and 2013 contested as- to find settlement just two companies./Page A3 INVERNESS — Les Cook ecutives, or their lawyers, de- sessments, but also the 2014 months on the job. CITRUS COUNTY FAIR: always had a plan. bated the company’s 2012 assessment as well. “What you see is his ability Every time he joined his and 2013 taxable assessments The agreement ends costly to find a conclusion to this Fair coupon boss, Property Appraiser that the two sides were litigation and gives local gov- that is very beneficial to our Find the coupon for a Geoff Greene, in negotiations nowhere near to solving. ernments breathing room in community,” Commissioner discounted midway ride with Duke Energy over the So it came as a relief to Cit- knowing the largest taxpayer Joe Meek said. “Regardless Les Cook armband./Page A6 power company’s lawsuits rus County commissioners in the county has its taxable of the final figures ... in the Citrus County against the county, Cook ar- and school board members value locked in for the com- property QUESTION rived ready to talk. when Cook announced last ing budget year. See COOK/ Page A11 appraiser. OF THE WEEK Monday CONVERSATION BOCC to So long at the fair ponder buying Contribute! Like us at facebook.com/ center citruscounty CHRIS VAN ORMER chronicle and Staff writer respond to our Question of the INVERNESS — With 150 agenda pages ad- Week. dressing the due diligence Smartphone users: research of buying the West Citrus Government What are your Center, county commis- favorite apps? sioners have facts for de- Lotte Furlong ciding whether to take the Publix to order subs plunge or continue leas- and lunch meat online ing the office space. and Trip Advisor to find new places to go. The purchase proposal will come before Tues- Jasmine Jahnke day’s meeting of the Cit- GasBuddy and Wal- rus County Board of greens for practical purposes. Facebook and Candy County Commissioners Crush for passing time. (BOCC) as the first item on Maureen Barton the county administra- Bissonette tor’s agenda. In January, county com- I’m retired, no need for a smartphone and I don’t want missioners by a 3-2 vote one. They need to lower the instructed county staff to prices and maybe more people look into whether buying would have them. the Meadowcrest building Kelley DeMaio that houses the county Word for Android. government’s west side Makes it much easier satellite office would be to present contracts with my lG MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle advisable. in a professional manner, and Citrus County Fair manager Hal Porter will oversee the day-to-day workings of the Citrus County Fair, which avoids the hassle of taking a County Administrator laptop or tablet. begins today. Above, Porter is pictured with a plastic cow that replicates the milking process so visitors can Brad Thorpe brought the try milking a cow for themselves. Theressa Foster potential purchase to the My Fitness Pal. board because the current lease for the building con- Katy Apicello Manager Hal Porter knows his business inside and out tains the option to pur- Instagram, Facebook, chase the building for Pinterest, Pic Flow, CHRIS VAN ORMER CHRONICLE: How did your $4,050,000 before May 31, Zulily, Etsy, YouTube, Hobby FAIR SCHEDULE involvement with the fair 2014. Lobby. Staff writer See what happening at the expand? The research, available Citrus County Fair POLL al Porter, manager of PORTER: After I became old on the county’s website, the Citrus County today./Page A9 enough to join our local 4-H starts with an executive ONLINE POLL: Fair, has been a fix- program, I did very many proj- summary followed by Hture at the fair since $200 cash awards and sheep ects, from the horse project to many supporting docu- Your choice? he was an 8-year-old showing exhibitors. the dog project. Then in 1971, it ments for more In speculating on the calves. Serving on the fair board CHRONICLE: What did it feel was the first year that we had information. circumstances for many years, he’s learned like to show cows as an 8-year- the steer show here at the According to the execu- of the tragic every aspect of putting together old? county fair. The extension agent tive summary, the Mead- disappear- all the elements that comprise PORTER: It was tremen- at that time, Quentin Medlin, re- owcrest office building is ance of the fair, from agricultural shows dously exciting for us as chil- cruited some of us that he knew a 76,507 square feet con- Malaysia to entertainment to business dren, because we’d receive a might be interested. Myself and crete block building on Airlines Flight displays, dealing with all the ribbon and then the fair also Larry Rooks are still involved 9.4 acres of land. The 370, what’s your hunch? challenges attracting crowds supplements you with what they on the board and we were part building is divided into A. Either technical can present. While sticking with refer to as premium money. I of the initial people who six rental units, of which failure and/or weather showed fat steers here at the three currently are likely caused it to crash the traditional features of the might get a check for $10 or $15 leased: county govern- in the ocean. fair, Porter brings something for my work, plus I got to be county fair. So we showed steers B. My guess is that the new to each year’s event. This here at the fair all week and through the ’70s. ment takes 25,000 square pilots committed a year’s firsts will include a take care of my animal and be Then I graduated in 1977 and feet, SunTrust Bank takes terrorist act and gospel music concert, a youth part of all the excitement of the crashed the jet. public speaking contest with county fair. See MONDAY/ Page A9 See BOCC/ Page A11 C. I suspect terrorists commandeered the ■ WHAT: Citrus County plane, forcing it to Board of County crash. Commissioners D. I think the pilots meeting. disengaged the tracking ■ technology and safely Kids learn stroke signs in class WHEN: 1 p.m. Tuesday; public landed the jet at a pre-planned location Associated Press stroke and about 130,000 comments and and are holding the die. Some are caused by questions will be passengers hostage. NEW YORK — Andrea bleeding in the brain, but taken at 1:05 p.m. To vote, visit www. Esteban tried to smile the vast majority is ■ WHERE: Room 100, chronicleonline.com. with half her face, cross- caused by a clot that Citrus County Click on the word ing her eyes in the blocks blood flow, starv- Courthouse, 110 “Opinion” in the menu process, and her third- ing brain cells. The drug N. Apopka Ave., to see the poll. grade classmates giggled. TPA can dissolve those Inverness. Results will appear Matthew Velez struggled clots and reduce disabil- ■ next Monday. Find last AGENDA: Available to speak, “Luh, luh, uh, ity but only if it’s given on the county’s week’s online poll gronk,” and the kids within three to four hours results./Page A3 website, www.bocc. erupted in laughter. of the first symptoms, and citrus.fl.us, at the INDEX But the funny faces, the the sooner the better. Yet Lecanto Government gibberish and some arm only about 5 percent of Building or in the Classifieds ................B7 flapping were all part of patients receive it, in part commissioners’ suite Comics ....................B6 a serious lesson to help because many stroke suf- on the second floor Crossword ................B5 kids learn the telltale Associated Press ferers don’t get to the hos- of the courthouse in Editorial..................A10 signs of a stroke by imi- Third-grader Andrea Esteban tries to imitate the droopy pital in time for testing to Inverness. Entertainment ..........A4 tating them. The idea is smile of a stroke victim Feb. 25 at Montefiore Hospital tell if they’re a candidate. ■ Horoscope ................A4 to enlist children, partic- The early warning WATCH: The meeting in the Bronx borough of New York. The hospital teaches will be televised live Lottery Numbers ......B3 ularly those who may live signs include a droopy Lottery Payouts ........B3 children to recognize stroke and get victims to a on cable TV on with older relatives, as an side of the face, slurred Movies ......................B6 hospital quickly. Channel 622 on or strange speech, and Obituaries ................A6 army of eyes to help rec- Bright House and TV Listings................B5 ognize the warning signs, do,” said 10-year-old ical Center in the Bronx the inability to keep arms Channel 71 on get help for victims more Madison Montes. “Run to is aimed at the most cru- raised. Comcast. The quickly and hopefully the phone and call 911.” cial factor when it comes “There’s a pretty good meeting also can be save lives.