Pilot Dies in Plane Crash Citrus COVID-19 Update Twenty-Four New Positive Cases Were Reported in Citrus County Since the Latest FDOH Update
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Project1:Layout 1 6/10/2014 1:13Flair PM Page 1 for Food: NHL: Authentic Cuban in Stamkos returns for Old Homosassa /A10 Game 3 /B1 THURSDAY TODAY CITRUSCOUNTY & next morning HIGH 89 Partly sunny, LOW stray shower late. 70 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 125 ISSUE 352 NEWS BRIEFS Pilot dies in plane crash Citrus COVID-19 update Twenty-four new positive cases were reported in Citrus County since the latest FDOH update. No new hospitaliza- tions were reported; four new deaths were reported. To date in the county, 2,684 people have tested positive (in- cluding eight non-residents), 277 have been hospitalized and 92 have died. Register now to vote in election Every year millions of Ameri- cans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a reg- istration deadline or aren’t sure how to register. Don’t be part of this statistic. Contact the Citrus County Supervisor of Elections office today to check your voter status. Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3, 2020, general elec- MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle tion. To register online or find Workers with the Federal Aviation Administration investigate the scene of a single-engine aircraft that crashed Wednesday morning, additional information about Sept. 23, 2020, south of the Inverness Airport, killing the pilot. The aircraft came to rest upside-down under a hammock of thick oak registering to vote, go to www. trees before hitting the ground. votecitrus.com. Voter registration applications in English and Spanish are avail- Aircraft was conducting able on the website to print and deliver in person to the elections crop dusting flight office or mail to PO Box 1870 Lecanto, FL 34460. MIKE WRIGHT Voter registration applications Staff writer may also be obtained by calling 352-564-7120 or toll-free 800- Randy Berry was born to fly. 655-6645, or by visiting the Su- Not big jet airplanes, but small planes, the kinds pervisor of Elections Office that are used to provide aerial applications for ag- located at 1500 N. Meadowcrest ricultural uses, such as crops and hay. Blvd. Crystal River 34429. “It is true flying,” Berry’s wife, Beverly, said. “No autopilot, an agricultural pilot is on the entire Call the elections office for time. It’s very active flying.” additional locations to pick up a Berry, 67, was doing what he loved Wednesday voter registration application. morning, Sept. 23, 2020 when the single-engine Home & Outdoor plane he was flying crashed just 2 miles south of Emergency officials park adjacent to the scene of a plane crash south of the Inverness Airport, killing him. Inverness Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. Officials with the Federal Aviation Show scheduled Administration from Tampa arrived at the crash late Wednesday morning to The Chronicle’s Fall Home See CRASH/Page A2 investigate the cause of the crash. and Outdoor Show will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, in the new Inverness Depot at Liberty Park. More than 40 vendors with a wide variety of home services Facts about ID for and supplies such as flooring, Realtor: Seller’s cabinets, roofing, solar, land- scape, pest control, garage doors, gutters, paint, tractors, voting in person windows and more, will be pres- ent. Booth spaces are filled. market in Citrus SUSAN GILL Department of highway Masks are suggested for Special to the Chronicle Safety and Motor Vehicles. vendors and attendees. Hand MICHAEL D. BATES choosing to move, when given an op- 3. United States portunity or reason to rethink their There is some confusion sanitizer will be available. Staff writer passport. location and redesign their lifestyle,” on the acceptable For information, call Trista 4. Debit or The median sales price in August said Kevin Cunningham, broker/ photo IDs re- credit card. Stokes at 352-564-2946. of a single-family home in Citrus owner of RE/MAX Realty One. quired by Florida 5. Military Enjoy a free County was $194,000 — up 14.5% from Cunningham said it remains a Law to be pre- identification. $169,500 one year earlier. “very tight sellers market” in Citrus. sented when vot- 6. Student drive-in movie Active listings (inventory) dropped Other key indicators from the Au- ing in person. Per identification. County Parks and Recre- 50.4%. Last year, there were 1,033 list- gust report: Florida Statute 7. Retirement ation will host a free, drive-in ings, compared to only 512 this I The median time to a home sale 101.043, — Identi- center Movie in the Park at 7:45 p.m. August. was 76 days (faster than the 90 days fication at the identification. Those were two big takeaways last year). Susan Gill Friday, Sept. 25, at the Polls, voters are 8. Neighbor- from Florida Realtors new market I New listings were down 11.7% to required to pres- Citrus County Supervisor of hood association Homosassa Area Recreation report that came out Tuesday, 325, compared to 368 last year. ent one of the fol- Park, 4210 S. Grand March Elections. identification. Sept. 22, and they show the extremes I New pending sales were down lowing current 9. Public assis- Ave., Homosassa. Toy Story 4 of the Citrus County housing market. 24.4%, from 324 last year to 403 this and valid picture identifi- tance identification. will be the feature presentation. But overall, it shows a healthy vi- August. cations when voting in 10. Veteran health iden- Limited spaces are available. tality in the midst of the COVID-19 At RE/MAX Realty One, Cunning- person: tification card issued by For information, visit apm. pandemic. ham said he had only 512 active home 1. Florida driver’s the United States Depart- active communities.com. “The past few months has shown us listings as of Aug. 31, compared with license. ment of Veterans Affairs. citruscountyparks. the true value of real estate in Citrus 2. Florida identification — From staff reports County, a place where people are now See MARKET/Page A2 card issued by the See VOTING/Page A2 Classifieds . .B7 Crossword . .B12 INDEX Sports . .B1 Obituaries . A5 Comics . .B6 Editorial. A7 Lottery Numbers . .B4 TV Listings. .B5 Horoscope . A4 Entertainment . A4 Lottery Payouts . .B4 000Z128 A2 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 STATE/LOCAL CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE The crash happened on to the ground. Around the STATE acreage owned by Albert “That’s a dangerous CRASH “Bo” Rooks Jr., at the end business,” he said. Deputies: Child fatally shot Meanwhile Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSan- Continued from Page A1 of a cul-de-sac on South While the cause of the tis activated a loan program administered by Woodwind Point. Rooks crash is not yet deter- in Orlando neighborhood the Florida Department of Economic Oppor- The Berrys own Eagle declined to comment. mined, Chan echoed that ORLANDO — A young child was fatally tunity that has $5 million available for short- Vistas LLC, an agricultural Chan said three student observation. shot in an Orlando neighborhood on Tuesday term, zero-interest loans to businesses pilot flight school and pilots from Right Rudder “It’s one of the most dan- night, sheriff’s officials said. impacted by the storm. commercial ag sprayer. Aviation, which he owns, gerous forms of aviation,” A 911 caller reported shots being fired The Category 2 hurricane, which made The company, in operation were at the airport practic- he said. “It’s very unfortu- around 9:30 p.m. and deputies arrived at the landfall at Gulf Shores, Ala., unleashed close for 18 years, moved in 2018 ing takeoffs and landings nate. Our hearts go to Bev- when one saw the crash erly and his family.” scene a short time later. They found the child, to 30 inches of rain in parts of Northwest from Fort Pierce to Inver- ness, and was stationed at from the air. The pilot radi- Beverly Berry said her who had died at the scene, according to the Florida. Fried’s department estimated that up the Inverness Airport. oed the Federal Aviation husband was a third- Orange County Sheriff’s Office. to 100,000 acres each of peanuts, cotton and He was piloting the com- Administration directly generation pilot who had The agency hasn’t released the age or hay were affected, along with 10,000 acres of pany’s Piper Pawnee and reported the crash. been in the business of agri- name of the child, but news outlets reported corn and 4,000 acres on horse farms. Sea- around 8 a.m. Wednesday Word of Berry’s death culture flying for over that a woman was heard yelling, “they killed food, aquaculture, pecans, walnuts and tim- from the Inverness Airport spread quickly through 40 years. He was about to my baby.” ber are also expected to be impacted. to spray a field just south. Citrus County’s agricul- get recognized by the Fed- Neighbors told several Orlando television For unknown reasons, the tural community. eral Aviation Administra- stations that the child was preschool age. Trump supporter charged plane crashed into the “He was a good guy, an tion for his numerous No other injuries were reported. with hitting girl with flagpole tops of trees in a heavily asset to our community,” decades as a pilot and air- Investigators are still trying to determine ORANGE PARK — A man was arrested wooded area, catching cattle rancher Larry plane mechanic. fire, Citrus County Fire Rooks, chairman of the He had over 30,000 what happened. No additional details have last week after striking a 12-year-old girl in been released.