Project1:Layout 1 6/10/2014 1:13 PM Page 1 MLB: First-place Rays take on Twins /B1 SATURDAY TODAY C I T R U S C O U N T Y & next morning HIGH 90 Mostly cloudy LOW with storms likely. 72 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com AUGUST 14, 2021 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community $1 VOL. 126 ISSUE 311 NEWS BRIEFS FDOT cleans faulty drainage system compliance engineer, said he’s said. “They started erosion pro- Attorneys apply Teams up with SWFWMD to fix issue been told by FDOT it will hire a tection, water quality improve- for newly-created contractor in two months to finish ments in the stream that leads MICHAEL D. BATES Representatives from the De- the widening project. down to the Halls River. That is judgeship Staff writer partment of Transportation He said FDOT acted quickly to where the sediment and turbidity Several lawyers put (FDOT) and Southwest Florida address permit concerns and is was.” their names into the ring The faulty drainage system that Water Management District (SWF- confident the drainage problem is Powanda said the drainage resulted in untreated water find- WMD) are working together to ad- fixable. problems were a result of one of to fill a new job opening ing its way to the Halls River in dress the problem. “FDOT has begun to construct the pools on property that was of Citrus County judge. Homosassa is being fixed. John Powanda, SWFWMD best management practices,” he See FDOT/Page A5 Of the seven who ap- plied for the position, As- sistant Public Defender Edward Spaight and Se- nior Trial Court Staff Attor- ney Amber Thomas work in the county, specifically Flooding likely from tropical storm its courthouse in Inverness. According to the Judi- cial Nominating Commis- sion (JNC), other applicants included a U.S. attorney out of Ocala, and an attorney with the Florida Commis- sion on Offender Review out of Tallahassee. JNC members will in- terview the applicants Aug. 26. According to the JNC, the person appointed as judge must become a Cit- rus County resident by the time they assume office. A year after creating a second job opening for a Citrus County judge, Flor- ida legislators approved funding in 2021 for a third county judgeship, effective July 1. Candidates had until Thursday, Aug. 12, to apply with the JNC. Mark Yerman and Bruce Carney are the two other county judges. — Buster Thompson/Staff writer ‘Campus carry’ proposal re-emerges A long-debated pro- posal that would allow people with concealed- weapons licenses to carry MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle guns on state college and Homosassa resident John Boros shovels sand into a bag Friday morning, Aug. 13, at the Homosassa Area Regional Park. The sandbagging university campuses has station is located at South Grandmarch Avenue and is one of several similar stations currently open to help residents to protect their property re-emerged in the Florida from the impacts of the impending tropical storm that is expected to affect area weather this weekend. House. Management Director Amanda following self-serve sandbag Rep. Anthony Sabatini, County opens sandbag locations Woodward said. locations: R-Howey-in-the-Hills, on That also means flooding and, I Bicentennial Park, 501 N. Friday filed a “campus MICHAEL D. BATES resurface. given the saturated soil already, Baseball Point, Crystal River. carry” proposal (HB 6007) Staff writer “There’s still water in every- that is a concern. I Homosassa Area Regional for consideration during body’s yards,” he said. “We don’t “We’re going to get hammered Park (tennis court parking lot), the 2022 legislative ses- Tony Hilbert of Arrowhead need this.” by rain,” Woodward said. 4210 S. Grandmarch Ave., sion, which will begin in Estates has seen enough rain. At press time, Fred was pro- This should not be a wind Homosassa. January. Recent rains caused the ducing heavy rain while moving issue for Citrus County if the Both sites will be open from Backed by gun-rights Withlacoochee River to over- west-northwest at 12 mph along current track holds, she said. 8 a.m. Friday until further no- supporters, similar pro- flow its banks onto his property Cuba’s northern coast, the Na- Woodward said she is also tice. For more information, call posals in the past have off East River Road. Things are tional Weather Service (NWS) keeping tabs on Tropical Cy- the Citrus County Public Works been opposed by high- getting better now that the river said. clone #7 right behind Fred. department at 352-527-5477. I The county opened an addi- er-education leaders such is going down. The good news is that Fred That system, at press time, was But if Citrus County gets the took a slight turn west and away expected to approach the Lee- tional sandbag location at the as Florida State Univer- 4-6 inches of rain predicted from Florida on Friday. The bad ward Islands on Saturday and Spruce Drive boat ramp, 4863 sity President John from Tropical Storm Fred news: Citrus County is on the then the Virgin Islands and E. Spruce Drive, Dunnellon. Thrasher, a former House (which may be a Tropical Storm east (or dirty) side of the storm Puerto Rico Sunday night and That site will open at 9 a.m. and speaker and state sena- by the time you read this), then and that means lots of rain, Monday. remain open until further tor who is retiring from his the flooding issues will County Emergency Citrus County has opened the notice. university post and will be succeeded Monday by Richard McCullough. Sabatini has spon- sored the campus-carry Education: proposal the past three years but has not been able to pass it. In the School board talks first day, State board to meet 2021 session, House committees did not hear his bill, and a Senate ver- new programs on horizon over compliance sion was not filed. As of July 31, nearly HANNAH SACHEWICZ related issues. 2.34 million concealed- Staff writer “They can continue their schooling with mask rule weapons licenses had and it won’t be counted against them,” been issued by the Flor- Students and parents weren’t the only Kennedy said. RYAN DAILEY ida Department of Agri- ones excited about the 2021-22 school Citrus County School Board member The News Service of Florida year. The Citrus County School Board culture and Consumer Doug Dodd thanked Superintendent discussed the first day at their monthly Sam Himmel’s for her TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis and top Services’ Division of Li- meeting, Aug. 10. work implementing the state education officials are continuing to pursue a censing. The number is For the occasion, Citrus County School new house bill, “Mo- crackdown on school districts that don’t comply with up from 1.95 million in Board member Ginger Bryant opened ments of Silence in Pub- a new Department of Health rule January 2019. the meeting with a read- lic Schools.” requiring that parents be allowed to — From wire reports ing of “Sick,” a poem by Dodd suggested the opt out of student mask mandates INDEX Shel Silverstein. Many school board should fol- amid the COVID-19 pandemic. may recognize the begin- low suit and implement DeSantis issued an executive Classifieds . .B7 ning of the poem, “I can- Doug Dodd it in their meetings. order July 30 seeking to block mask Comics . .B6 not go to school today, Linda Powers, Citrus mandates for students, triggering the Crossword . .B10 said little Peggy Ann County School Board health department’s rule requiring Editorial. A10 district opt-out policies. Alachua and McKay…” chair, thanked district Gov. Ron Entertainment . A4 “I’ve heard encourag- staff for their hard work Broward counties are requiring Ginger DeSantis ing things about the start at the beginning of the doctors’ notes for children to be Horoscope . A4 Bryant Lottery Numbers . .B3 of the school year,” Citrus school year. “Every sin- exempt from wearing masks, a requirement that state Lottery Payouts . .B3 County School Board member Thomas gle person in this room officials contend is not allowed by the rule. Obituaries . A6 Kennedy said. “The emotional and social — your first priority al- The State Board of Education has scheduled an well-being of students is certainly para- ways and forever — is emergency meeting Tuesday “to consider the com- TV Listings. .B5 Linda mount on our minds.” the student,” Powers pliance of school districts, including Broward and Kennedy also commended the new Powers said. Alachua” with the rule and a new state law known as house bill, “Pupil Attendance Records “It shows in our classroom — our chil- the “Parents’ Bill of Rights,” according to a notice of for COVID-19,” wherein students will dren know this,” Bryant said. the meeting. not be counted absent for COVID-19 See FIRST/Page A7 See MASK/Page A7 A2 SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2021 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE 2022 TOYOTA 2021 TOYOTA 2021 TOYOTA 2021 TOYOTA COROLLA CAMRY LE RAV4 LE HIGHLANDER 0% APR LE 0% APR 0% APR 0% APR LE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE AVAILABLE MODEL#1852 MODEL#2532 MODEL#4430 MODEL#6946 LEASE FOR LEASE FOR LEASE FOR LEASE FOR $ ZERO $ ZERO $ ZERO ZERO - OR - - OR - $ 189 - OR - DOWN 209 DOWN 228 DOWN - OR - DOWN PER MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS PER MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS 298 PER MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS $309/MO. FOR 36 MOS. $325/MO. FOR 36 MOS. $349/MO. FOR 36 MOS. PER MONTH FOR 36 MONTHS $419/MO. FOR 36 MOS. 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