No magic touch: Orlando falls in Atlanta /B1 TUESDAY TODAY CITRUS COUNTY & next morning HIGH 75 Mix of clouds and LOW sunshine. Breezy and cool. 48 PAGE A4 www.chronicleonline.com NOVEMBER 20, 2012 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOLUME 118 ISSUE 105 Team OKs $100,000 port feasibility contract Systems senior termine if the estab- construction and repair. Officials say county getting tremendous value planner; and Frank lishment of Port Cit- The second task was to Schiraldi, vice pres- rus at or near the determine the role of Port CHRIS VAN ORMER dous amount of value for its we wring more out of ident at Hoyle, Tan- former Cross Citrus in trade lanes, how it Staff Writer $100,000,” said Ken Frink, agreements than you guys ner and Associates, Florida Barge could be competitive and deputy county administra- ever anticipated. This is a civil engineering Canal would be eco- what services it could offer. Offering a wide scope of tor and a member of the probably the high point of company. Schiraldi, nomically viable The third task was to work, TranSystems on Citrus County Port Author- the relationship,” he said who served Citrus and was further di- identify needed infrastruc- Monday secured an agree- ity’s negotiating team. jokingly. County as a commis- Ken Frink vided into four ture, and the fourth task ment for a contract to con- “There is a lot of work The team, headed by sioner from 1992-96, major task areas. would be the determina- duct and produce the Port deputy pushed into this and we’re Commissioner Rebecca will assist TranSys- administrator. The first task was tion of feasibility. If the first Citrus feasibility study. getting, in my opinion, Bays, included Port Direc- tems with the study to identify cargos phase found Port Citrus not “I’ve put together a lot of much more than our tor Brad Thorpe in addition as a subcontractor. and cargo shippers, to be feasible, TranSystems scopes on both the consul- money’s worth out of it.” to Frink and Wesch. They Ferrin presented an out- distribution centers and proposed to suspend the tant’s side and the county Port legal counsel met with Rick Ferrin, vice lined approach to the study other types of boating po- study. This phase would be side and in my opinion, the Richard Wesch concurred: president at TranSystems as a three-phase project. tential: recreational, com- county is getting a tremen- “If you work with Citrus, Corp.; Matt Gehman, Tran- The first phase would de- mercial fishing, ship See CONTRACT/ Page A2 NEWS BRIEF Office closed until Monday Rebuilding history The Citrus County Chronicle’s Inverness of- fice will be closed today through Friday and will reopen Monday, Nov. 26. INSIDE TOP HONORS: Paying off LHS senior is finalist for scholarship./Page A3 INTERNATIONAL: Diplomacy President Obama first U.S. leader to DAVE SIGLER/Chronicle visit Myanmar, Douglas Naylor, chairman of the Hernando Heritage Council, and John Grannan, president of the Citrus County Historical Society, review the Cambodia./Page A12 progress last week of the Historic Hernando School’s auditorium and stage restoration. The next task is lead abatement — removing old exterior lead paint — funded by $20,000 from the heritage council and $10,000 from the county. WALL STREET: Rising Group transforming Historic Hernando School into community center Stocks rise on CHRIS VAN ORMER hopes for “mothballing” it. Restoration help needed federal budget Staff Writer “The grants have dried up now, which is deal./Page A9 why we were going to put the building into re- ■ The Hernando Heritage Council seeks The group transforming the Historic Her- served status,” said Charlie Gatto, director, help to fully restore the Historic Her- nando School to a community center is push- Facilities Management Division of the nando School for community use again. MIDDLE EAST: ing the momentum in spite of evaporating county’s Public Works Department. “Then the The school is at the intersection of U.S. funds. Heritage Council came to us with the sugges- 41 and Parsons Point Road — across Hernando Heritage Council got tion for a plan to use the money we were going from County Road 486 — in Hernando. the Citrus County Board of County Commis- to mothball the building with added to their Contact Hernando Heritage Council, P.O. sioners to agree last month to work money and actually get the project moving Box 1411, Hernando, FL 34442 or call on the next phase of renovation of Douglas Naylor at 352-302-5565. the 1940s school building rather than See SCHOOL/ Page A5 Kids start new chapter in life Twinkies supply Groups scarce in county A.B. SIDIBE celebrate Staff Writer INSIDE: Hostess in No letup mediation with union./Page A2 Israel, Hamas continue adoption LeRoy Rooks said he is to trade blows while not really one for frivolity ERYN WORTHINGTON Egypt pushes for cease- when it comes to social had to share ...” fire./Page A12 Staff Writer networking, but Monday Rooks, the owner of morning he joined legions Skoors Fresh Produce HOMOSASSA — Four- across the nation lament- Market, said “It’s like, INDEX teen years ago, Linda Ar- ing the demise of an insti- Wow. Looks like an end of rington was a caregiver for an era. We don’t really eat Comics . .C8 tution — Hostess Brands. babies born in prison. Rooks had this com- white bread and I don’t Community . .C6 Wanting to help make a normally put stuff like that Crossword . .C7 ment accompanying a difference in a child’s life photo on his Facebook on Facebook, but this was Editorial . .A10 soon became heartache for different.” Entertainment . .B4 ERYN WORTHINGTON/Chronicle page: “The Last 3 WON- her. Horoscope . .B4 Tootie the clown paints Dharma’s face Saturday at the DER BREADS from Winn Hostess Brands Inc., the Lottery Numbers . .B3 When Jasmine was only a annual Adoption Celebration Picnic in Homosassa. Dixie in Inverness, FL. maker of Twinkies snack Lottery Payouts . .B4 day old, Arrington began Stephanie Rooks (his cakes and loaves of Won- Movies . .C8 taking care of her. She loved “We didn’t hear anything Arrington said she prayed wife) stopped by to pick up der Bread, filed for bank- Obituaries . .A6 Jasmine as if she was her for three years until her sis- and believed God would an- some things this morning ruptcy in late October and Classifieds . .C9 own. ter Jasenia was born,” Ar- swer her prayers. and the other bread com- last Friday asked a court TV Listings . .C7 Two weeks before her rington said. “Then when In October 2008, Arring- pany guys told Steph that’s for permission to go out of fifth birthday, Jasmine’s bi- Jasenia was six months old, ton received a phone it for this store. They also business after failing to ological mother took her Jasmine’s mother decided to call from Hillsborough told her they have heard reach a deal with its em- back into her own care and take her and join her with Twinkies were going for ployee union over wages Arrington was devastated. her sister. I was devastated.” See ADOPT/ Page A2 big $$$ on the street. Just See HOSTESS/ Page A2 A2 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2012 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE “We still have a few individual HOSTESS items, but the Twinkies are definitely gone,” Fleck said. Hostess agrees to mediation Continued from Page A1 He said future supplies are not ex- pected either. Fleck his store got its the maker of the spongy cake as to the logic behind this and benefits. A strike by union work- last supply of Hostess brands mid- Company to sit with the mysterious cream in strike,” said Judge Robert ers, who are about 30 percent of Host- week last week. the middle won’t go out of busi- Drain, who heard the case in ess’s employees, began Nov. 9. According to The Associated Press, ness yet. the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Since the announcement, there has a judge has ordered the two sides into down with union The news comes after the the Southern District of New been a run on Hostess products both mediation. Talks are expected to maker of Ho Ho’s, Ding York in White Plains, N.Y. “Not nationally and locally by a public begin today. Associated Press Dongs and Wonder Bread to have gone through that step seeking to continue its love affair with Should the talks fail, most of the last week moved to liquidate leaves a huge question mark in the sweet snacks. Texas-based company’s 18,500 work- WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — and sell off its assets in bank- this case.” Twinkies have especially gone miss- ers are expected to lose their jobs. Twinkies will live to see an- ruptcy court. The company The mediation talks are ing. Chronicle calls to several local There is also talk of companies step- other day. cited a crippling strike expected to begin Tuesday, businesses suggest something similar ping in to purchase all or parts of the Hostess Brands Inc. and its started on Nov. 9 by the Bak- with the liquidation hearing to just about zero Twinkies in the company. second largest union agreed ery, Confectionery, Tobacco set to resume on Wednesday. county. According to some reports, “I think it’s pretty unfortunate that on Monday to go into media- Workers and Grain Millers After Monday’s hearing, Jeff some auction sites like eBay were ask- all these people will be losing their tion to try to resolve their dif- International Union, which Freund, an attorney for ing up to $100 for a box of 10 Twinkies.