HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN Tuesday, January 7, 2020 VOL. 101 | NO. 007 | $1.00 YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER SINCE 1919 An Edition Of The Sun 2 Monday morning crashes 1 person dies in CR 621 crash By PHIL ATTINGER 70 and the driver survived along traveling south on the two-lane STAFF WRITER with two dogs and a cat. road when the front hit a hog COURTESY PHOTO/HIGHLANDS Florida Highway Patrol has that was in the roadway. The COUNTY FIRE RESCUE LAKE PLACID — A Harley- not yet released the name of motorbike rolled on its side and Highlands County Fire Rescue crews COURTESY PHOTO/GOOGLE Davidson rider hit a wild hog the motorcycle rider, pending started to overturn, reports said. work to extricate the driver of an over- MAPS early Monday morning on notification of next of kin. The The rider was thrown off and turned pickup early Monday morning An as-yet unidentified County Road 621 and died as a crash took place at 4 a.m. at landed in the southbound lane. along southbound U.S. 27, south of result. Harley-Davidson rider died as the intersection of CR 621 and As the rider lay there, an un- State Road 70. The driver was trans- a result of injuries sustained in Meanwhile, in an unrelated Cypress Isle Lane. identified vehicle “drove over” ported in stable condition, and fire a collision with a wild hog at crash, a pickup truck overturned An FHP crash report states crews also secured two dogs and a cat WRECKS | 5A 4 a.m. Monday on County Road on U.S. 27 south of State Road that the 2005 Harley was that survived the wreck. 621 at Cypress Isle Road. School Break is over district seeks to nix default judgment By MARC VALERO STAFF WRITER SEBRING — The School Board of Highlands County has filed a motion to vacate a default judgment against it in a negli- gence lawsuit related to a motor vehicle accident involving a school bus. The district claims there was “miscommunication and excusable neglect” on the part of then School Board Chair Bill Brantley. MARC VALERO/STAFF A complaint in a lawsuit filed on Oct. 24 states that on Hill-Gustat Middle School Principal Chris Doty meets Monday afternoon with his curriculum leadership team. Aug. 20, 2018 Marielys Diaz Luna was driving a 2010 Acura Ready to learn plenty in 2020 on Commerce Center Drive while the School Board allowed Dennis Stahl to operate a school By MARC VALERO bus, and he “negligently oper- STAFF WRITER ated the bus so that it collided with the vehicle driven by SEBRING — Call it what you want — Luna.” winter, holiday or Christmas break — it A summons related to the ends for students today with school case was filed Oct. 24 to be sent resuming. to Brantley. Teachers and administrators were A court document shows back at school on Monday with plan- a process server issued the ning, professional development and just summons on Nov. 8, which getting everything plugged in and ready specifies that a written defense to go. is required within 20 days or the Hill-Gustat Middle School pre-algebra defense (School Board) would teacher Kaneisha Hamilton was finishing be in default. grades on Monday. Attorney William H. Winters of “Some of the kids had to make up Winters & Yonker, Tampa, filed work if they were absent that last day, so a motion for default on Dec. 18 grades will be due later on this week,” against the School Board, “for she said. “I am trying to finalized it for failure to serve any paper on the the second nine weeks.” undersigned or file any paper as Hamilton has been setting up her required by law.” classroom and reorganizing to start off Attorney Allen C Sang, Winter the second semester. Park, responded on behalf of the Hill-Gustat Principal Chris Doty district on Jan. 3 with a motion said Monday, with the district’s energy MARC VALERO/STAFF to vacate the default judgment conservation program, first and foremost stating that the complaint was everything has to get plugged back in Hill-Gustat Middle School media paraprofessional Gloria Lindsay organizes books. apparently served on Brantley and everything is powered up to make on Nov. 8, however, the com- sure there are no technical or electrical were different professional development Doty met with his curriculum leadership plaint was served at his con- issues on the first day of the semester. sessions, he said. Some sessions were team in the afternoon. struction business. After a staff breakfast and presentation related to the new state initiative on the SCHOOL | 5A SUIT | 5A from the United Way on Monday, there social/emotional learning component. Request in for commercial land on Parkway County to vote on Interlake contract, ambulance certificates By PHIL ATTINGER public hearing in front of dwelling — including on-site expansions.. STAFF WRITER the County Commission hotel/motel — to B-3 Planning Supervisor this morning regarding business district. It’s also Joedene Thayer told the SEBRING — A local approximately 19.42 acres north of Sebring Parkway Highlands News-Sun grove owner’s request to on the northeast corner on the east side of Scenic on Monday that all of convert a piece of cleared of the intersection of Highway, but behind the these parcels would land at Sebring Parkway Scenic Highway and the 19.2-acre tract. have access to both the and Scenic Highway from Sebring Parkway. On that parcel, Bernie existing Sebring Parkway high-density residential It passed the County Little Distributors Inc. and Panther Parkway via to commercial develop- Commission in October plans to build a new Scenic Highway. COURTESY PHOTO/GOOGLE MAPS ment has cleared state and is now up for its sec- distribution center. Joe While the proposed review. It’s now up for ond hearing, as required Little, son of business Bernie Little site already A cleared grove on the northeast corner of Sebring Parkway and adoption this morning by law. founder Bernie Little has a site plan for access Scenic Highway in Sebring is set to go from being high-density by the Board of County The applicant has Sr., said at the October onto Scenic Highway, residential property to commercial property with a hearing Commission. already gotten a 4.2-acre meeting that the 48-year the parcels that front on today at the Board of County Commission meeting. The portion The owners, Kahn parcel of an approximate business has outgrown Sebring Parkway have to the top of the photo will include a future Bernie Little Citrus Inc. and L&H HC 15.2-acre tract changed the facility it built in 1986 Distributors Inc. distribution center. The portion toward Sebring Properties LLC, have a from R-3 multiple-family on U.S. 98, even after two REQUEST | 5A Parkway is being converted to sell in the future. Classifieds ......................B5-7 Sports ............................ B1 Viewpoints ....................... A6 Good morning To Comics ................A7-8, B9-10 TV Listings ....................... A9 Weather .........................A10 Jill Kenney Lottery ........................... B2 facebook.com/ twitter.com/ Thanks for reading! newssun.com newssun TheNewsSun A2 | HIGHLANDS NEWS-SUN | January 7, 2020 www.highlandsnewssun.com 5 THINGS Commission to set priorities for 2020 That Will Make You SMARTER Survey: Paving, Parkway, corridors in lead 1. Common sandpiper day. By PHIL ATTINGER without saying who voted of fi nding the best local - Using the fourth spends a lot of time on 4. Common sandpiper STAFF WRITER for what, to comply with routes for Multi-use penny of the local-option the ground. Its head and is an omnivore (it eats Florida’s Government-in- Corridors of Regional tourist tax, perhaps to rear part of the body both plants and meat). SEBRING — Highlands the-Sunshine law. Economic Signifi cance develop a family-friendly are constantly bobbing Its diet consists of County commissioners Creation of a road (M-CORES) including tourism asset. while it walks or feeds insects, spiders, crusta- would like to get a handle paving plan, which would east/west corridors into, - Working with county on the ground. This un- ceans, worms, tadpoles, on paving schedules and keep up with maintaining out of and through the administration in de- usual behavior is known frogs and seed. projects, and fi nally fi nish county roads and ad- county. signing and preparing a as “teetering.” 5. Common sandpiper the last phase of Sebring dressing requests for road Almost all other county administration 2. Common sandpiper collects food from the Parkway. paving or improvements policy items settled to succession plan. has stiff-winged style of surface of the ground. It That’s the prelimi- on non-county roads, the bottom of the list - Streamlining county flying. Its flight consists usually searches food on nary result of a survey gained three votes — the after those items, with bureaucracy to protect of rapid, shallow wing the sandy, pebbly and commissioners com- most of any category. only one vote each from and grow the economy, beats combined with rocky edges of the rivers pleted over the holiday After that, two com- commissioners. and encourage economic short glides. Common and nearby grasslands break, which they will missioners wanted to see Among the low-level development staff to sandpiper often flies and meadows. Common discuss today at their completion of Sebring priorities were: focus on grants to retain close to the ground or sandpiper cuts its prey 9 a.m. meeting at 600 Parkway Phases 2A and - Selling the Highlands and expand existing surface of the water. in smaller pieces before S. Commerce Ave. in 2B — the sections south Regional Medical businesses.