CITRUS COUNTY & Next 2013 Cadillac XTS Morning $ HIGH 20,125* See Page C14 84 Partly Sunny with LOW a Chance of Village Showers
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Governor signs bill outlawing Internet cafés /A3 THURSDAY TODAY CITRUS COUNTY & next 2013 Cadillac XTS morning $ HIGH 20,125* See Page C14 84 Partly sunny with LOW a chance of Village showers. 65 PAGE A4 000EM4E Cadillac www.chronicleonline.com APRIL 11, 2013 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 118 ISSUE 247 Couple School may face a Former jailed NFL after new Renaissance player fleeing School board busted to consider to Cuba options Charged with Associated Press MIKE WRIGHT drug possession TAMPA — Joshua Staff writer A.B. SIDIBE and Sharyn Hakken Staff writer seemed to have a LECANTO — No stu- dent wakes up one charmed life, doting Crystal River native morning hoping to on their two young and former National Foot- transfer from their boys, buying a comfort- ball League star Ricky school to the Renais- able home and build- Feacher was arrested sance Center. ing successful careers Tuesday on charges of as engineers. It all de- Students attend Ren- drug possession and flee- railed last year when aissance because they’ve ing from deputies, accord- police in Louisiana done something wrong: ing to the Citrus County found the family inside yelled at a teacher, Sheriff ’s Office. a hotel room with tossed a chair, possessed Feacher, of Northeast drugs, weapons and drugs or alcohol. Second promises from the par- They leave Renais- Street in ents to take “a journey sance only when that Crystal to the Armageddon.” behavior straightens River, was The couple is now out and they’re main- spotted in jailed on charges they taining a “C” average. a black kidnapped the boys Some kids stay at Ren- SUV, not from their grandpar- aissance a few weeks. A wearing a ents in Florida and few stay more than a seat belt, sailed to Cuba on a year. in a Ricky boat called “Salty” to The enrollment num- known Feacher elude U.S. authorities. bers change daily be- high-drug played for the The family arrived in cause of the constant traffic Cleveland Florida early Wednes- flux of incoming and out- area in Browns. day morning, accom- going students. On the city — 11th Street and panied by federal, Wednesday the enroll- Northeast Eighth, accord- state and local author- ment was 119 students — ing to the CCSO report. ities after being 53 high schoolers and 66 When the deputy acti- handed over by Cuban middle school children. vated his emergency lights officials. Four-year-old Because Renaissance and siren, Feacher report- Cole and 2-year-old offers all the core classes edly continued driving and Chase are now with of their home schools, made several turns onto their grandparents, the district employs 14 various streets before fi- and their parents teachers who must be nally stopping. He also ran are in jail, closing a certified for specific through every stop sign he bizarre ordeal that content areas. That encountered and would began with an makes class sizes partic- drive in the left lane while Amber Alert and ularly small — and Ren- making right turns, accord- ended with diplomatic aissance an expensive MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle ing to the report. Renaissance Center Principal Danita Eatman said developing relationships with intervention. school to operate. Investigators conducted students as well as the teachers and staff at the school is important. Friends of the cou- The average per- a K-9 search of Feacher’s ple said the family pupil cost at Renais- Kenny Blocker said. The Citrus County encourage a higher en- vehicle and found a half- seemed happy and had sance is $16,000 to That’s three times the School Board later this rollment, cut costs or full bottle of whiskey and no marital problems. $19,000, assistant super- per-student cost at Cit- month will discuss that share expenses with an empty one. Near the “This is a train that intendent of schools rus High School. expense and whether to See SCHOOL/Page A5 went completely off See ARREST/Page A2 the tracks, and I don’t have any explanation for how it can go off the track that badly basi- cally in a year and a half. It’s very bizarre,” CMHS: Hospital law doesn’t apply to us said Darrell Hanecki, who employed Sharyn MIKE WRIGHT Jim Kennedy, an attorney on a track that will eventually guise it’s required by Hakken for nearly a Staff writer who represents the Citrus lead to the hospital’s sale, law when it’s not, is decade at Hanecki Memorial Health Founda- lease or merger with another inappropriate.” Consulting Engineers. The law Citrus County tion, said the hospital board health-care organization. CCHB attorney Bill Grant Hanecki said she Hospital Board members are continues to say state law re- “It means they’re about to said that isn’t the case. He was an easygoing and relying on to further the sale quires the process it is using, expend hundreds of thou- pointed to another para- relaxed employee who or lease of Citrus Memorial but that isn’t the case. sands of dollars for this graph in the same law that worked from the home hospital excludes from the Kennedy said the CCHB process when they don’t have requires trustees to receive they owned in sunny mandated process hospitals could slow down or halt the to do it at all,” Kennedy said. proposals if the board “elects Tampa so she could Bill Grant that are already leased, process until both the founda- “For the trustees to move to sell or lease” the hospital. CCHB See JAILED/Page A5 which Citrus Memorial is. tion and hospital board agree independently ... under the See LAW/Page A2 attorney. INDEX Comics . .C6 Community . .C4 Crossword . .C5 Obama budget trims Social Security benefits Editorial . .A10 Entertainment . .A4 mocrats — with longer-term ent from a GOP plan drafted Horoscope . .A4 Includes new spending for roads savings from programs in- by House Speaker John Lottery Numbers . .B3 cluding Medicare and the Boehner. But it follows Janu- Lottery Payouts . .B3 Associated Press taxes on smokers and wealthy military. It promises at least ary’s bitterly fought 10-year, Movies . .C6 Americans and trim Social a start in cutting huge annual $600 billion-plus tax increase Obituaries . .A6 WASHINGTON — Mixing Security benefits for millions. federal deficits. that has stiffened GOP re- Classifieds . .C7 modest curbs on spending Obama’s 2014 blueprint The president pitched his solve against further tax TV Listings . .C5 with tax increases reviled by combines a $242 billion infu- plan as a good-faith offer to hikes. Barack Republicans, President sion of new spending for his GOP rivals since it incor- “I have already met Re- Obama Barack Obama proposed a road and rail projects, early porates a proposal he made publicans more than halfway, proposed $3.8 $3.8 trillion budget on education and jobs initia- to Republicans in December trillion budget. Wednesday that would raise tives — all favored by De- that wasn’t radically differ- See BUDGET/Page A7 000EI17 A2 THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2013 LOCAL/S TATE CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE Consensus building on LHS Senior Art Show early learning governance The News Service panel. “This year, team- and reported back. of Florida work took place.” O’Toole herself visited The 2012 effort had fol- the state Office of Early TALLAHASSEE — One lowed a disputed audit Learning in Tallahassee, Florida children’s advocate and saw five different bills where her business expe- calls the statewide early to reform early learning rience came in handy learning system “the Mid- governance. Lawmakers dealing with the Early dle East” due to its last year ended up Learning Information Sys- potential for con- with a compromise tem, or ELIS. The project flict. But this year, bill that was vetoed is long overdue and essen- following a series of by Gov. Rick Scott. tial to the accountability woes, a hard-won The year since required by this year’s bill compromise on hadn’t improved (PC EC 13-02.) early learning gov- matters, with some “It was dragging along,” ernance is taking early learning she said. “So we’ve had shape under the coalitions — local some private, confidential leadership of Rep. Marlene groups that run meetings with (Hewlett- Marlene O’Toole, O’Toole pre-school learn- Packard) to say, ‘It’s over Special to the Chronicle chairwoman of the House ing programs — 18 months late.’” Corey Collins looks at ceramic pieces made by the senior art students at Lecanto High School during the Lecanto School of Art Senior Art Show. The three-day show House Education Education losing huge chunks H-P asked to delay the started with an opening reception Tuesday evening in the conference center at the Committee. Committee of funding in a last- project again, until 2014, chairwoman. Citrus campus of the College of Central Florida. The annual program showcases the minute edict by the but O’Toole said no. The committee work of 26 graduating seniors who have completed advance art classes at the Tuesday passed a sweeping then-director of the state The governance bill school, working in mediums of painting, ceramics, sculpture and photography. Collins overhaul of the early learn- Office of Early Learning, depends on ELIS for is an art teacher at Lecanto Primary School and has a daughter who participated in ing system, with child care who has since resigned. many reasons, but most the program. The exhibit will remain open for viewing until Friday afternoon. providers and children’s O’Toole, R-Lady Lake, of all because the dis- advocates praising the bill was new to all of it, but the puted audits found what for promoting trans- retired IBM executive they called “potential BRIEF parency and accountability.