To the top: Gonzaga hoops new No. 1 /B1 TAKE YOUR TUESDAY PICK CITRUS COUNTY TODAY DURING OUR & next morning SAVINGS HIGH SPECTACULAR 72 Mostly sunny; LOW becoming breezy. PAGE A4 at VILLAGE TOYOTA 54 000E60L PAGE C10 www.chronicleonline.com MARCH 5, 2013 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 118 ISSUE 210 Price of oil drops below $90 New York Mercantile Ex- ary and February set a record billion automatically kicked in Drivers see relief at the gas pump change. Earlier, the price fell as for that two-month period. on Friday after President low as $89.33 a barrel. The price of oil declined as Barack Obama and Congress Associated Press over the weekend as drivers The national average for a markets continued to digest the failed to meet a deadline for catch a break after two months gallon of gas fell to $3.75 a gal- introduction in the U.S. of auto- striking a deal to avert or soften NEW YORK — Oil dropped of steep increases. lon Monday from $3.78 Friday. matic government spending the reductions. Negotiations on below $90 a barrel for the first Benchmark oil for April de- At one point this winter the cuts, which could hurt the Sunday ended in a bitter time this year Monday, and livery fell 56 cents to finish at price rose for 36 straight days. world’s leading economy. pump prices dropped 3 cents $90.12 a barrel in trading on the The 49-cent increase for Janu- Spending cuts of roughly $85 See OIL/ Page A5 Brain-based leadership Official resigns, then gets laid off County honors request for unemployment MIKE WRIGHT Staff writer CRYSTAL RIVER — A former Cit- rus County solid waste official re- signed in late January and was laid off — at the same time. County officials said they honored Randy Messer’s request he be laid off — even through he planned to resign anyway — so that Messer could file for unemployment. Assistant County Administrator Ken Frink said officials decided paying un- employment was better than paying Messer’s $52,710 salary if he chose to forgo resignation. “It was a business decision,” Frink said. Messer, former government affairs manager for FDS Disposal, was hired in January 2012 as the county’s programs manager for the division of solid waste. See RESIGN/ Page A2 Future uncertain for sinkhole site Associated Press SEFFNER — A backhoe chipped away Monday at the remains of a house where a sinkhole opened up and swallowed a man, but there was MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle little certainty as to what would come Lou Whitaker, principal at Pope John Paul II Catholic School, teaches a group of elementary school students about the next for the site of the freak geological power of the brain. Her primary responsibility at the school is being principal; however, Whitaker is a passionate teacher incident. and said spending time in the classroom recharges her batteries. Though thousands of sinkholes erupt in Florida each year, most are small, few affect homes, and even Catholic school principal says learning is all in the mind fewer cause deaths. The sinkhole in the Tampa suburb of Seffner, however, MIKE WRIGHT Children shout out the colors of the the brain. was different. Staff writer M&Ms that teachers had just handed “When you learn something, your Crews still were working to remove out. brain actually lights up,” she said. enough of the home to see more LECANTO — Lou Whitaker is Whitaker has two simple questions “It’s like a fireworks show.” clearly inside the hole and determine teaching the brain to 5-year-olds. of the children: The brain is more than a passing what steps would come after the prop- She doesn’t use fancy charts or “How did you know that? Where fancy for Whitaker. It’s turned into a erty is razed. There has been no defin- textbooks. does that information come from?” itive word as to whether the hole will M&Ms are her tool. She already has the answer: It’s See LEARNING/ Page A2 See SINKHOLE/ Page A5 Comics . .C6 Editorial . .A8 INDEX Lottery Payouts . .B4 Classifieds . .C7 Community . .C4 Entertainment . .B4 Movies . .C6 TV Listings . .C5 Crossword . .C5 Horoscope . .B4 Lottery Numbers . .B3 Obituaries . .A6 000E81A A2 TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE LEARNING Continued from Page A1 way of life. Whitaker, principal at Pope John Paul II Catholic School, has a brain-based curriculum that starts with the wee little ones and goes through eighth grade. A few years back, Whitaker came across a program called BrainWare Safari. The program uses video games to stimulate brain activity, teaching children of all ages and all skills to learn at a rapid pace. Last year, third-grade students were tested in cognitive skills before and after using the BrainWare program. Test scores grew in each category. Whitaker is convinced the key to student learning is less to do with specific lessons in reading or writ- ing and more with brain development. Parents of Pope John Paul students notice the MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle difference as well. Lou Whitaker, Pope John Paul II Catholic School principal, teaches about the brain and the basics of how it works. Krista Joseph’s daugh- ter, Ali, started PJP II at 4 of schools for the Archdio- such an opportunity to im- as a pilot program with 13 neuroscience-based using their imagination,” years old and now is the cese of Milwaukee in Wis- pact teachers.” children, who showed im- Teaching and Learning she said. “That part of the second grade. consin when she and her After two years, provement in their home- Award from BrainWare brain is not being acti- “My daughter came husband moved to Florida. Whitaker resigned to seek work and testing. next week during brain vated. It’s very difficult for home with all this knowl- She had planned to con- her doctorate, but came “Word got out and more awareness week. kids to express them- edge about the brain and it duct consulting workshops back after only a few parents wanted to be part Understanding how the selves.” was shocking,” Joseph for teachers and parents months. of it,” Whitaker said. brain works is critical in Whitaker said the key is said. “I feel we’re in the fu- and was doing that in “I missed the kids so It’s now part of the third- education, she said. focusing thinking in ways ture here. The kids at Pope Miami when someone much. I came back that grade curriculum. As students become that stimulate brains in a John Paul are getting from PJP was in the same year,” she said. “This Whitaker is such a be- more technologically positive way. something very special audience. is such a wonderful liever in brain-based savvy, educators are learn- “The formative years it’s here.” The Rev. Richard community.” learning that BrainWare ing the changes in their much more critical than It’s not how Whitaker Jankowski, then pastor at Whitaker, who received Safari and the Learning brain activity. Children we even realize,” she said. saw it when she took the St. Scholastica Catholic her doctorate while work- Enhancement Corp. who once spent their af- “I’m concerned what kids job 12 years ago. In fact, Church, convinced ing full time, oversees a named her outstanding ed- ternoons playing outside are being exposed to.” taking the job itself was Whitaker to take the prin- school of 185 students in ucator of the year in the now sit behind computers Contact Chronicle re- not in her plans. cipal’s job in Lecanto. early childhood through field of Neuroscience in or engage in video games. porter Mike Wright at 352- Whitaker had been an “God works in mysteri- eighth grade. the classroom and that “Kids have more diffi- 563-3228 or mwright@ associate superintendent ous ways,” she said. “It was BrainWare started out PJP II will receive the culty being creative and chronicleonline.com. WE’LL MEET OR BEAT ANY COMPETITOR’S PRICE $7,150, county spokes- owned by Citrus County president William Ray. woman Lindsay Ubinas Commissioner Scott Adams. FDS is the county’s largest The Savings Are Yours Because RESIGN said. According to Messer’s hauler and biggest landfill The Factory Is Ours! Continued from Page A1 “At the end of the day it personnel file, he left ACMS customer. FAUX WOOD BLINDS, TOP TREATMENTS cost the county much less in 2006 because of a change Frink said his there was DRAPERY, SHADES, SHUTTERS S Frink said Messer ap- than salary and benefits,” in company ownership. no connection. VERTICALS Frink said. Adams, who could not be He also said Messer’s proached his bosses late 2012 last year and said he Along with his back- reached for comment, is leaving the county is not wanted to resign in order to ground at FDS, Messer was highly critical of the solid connected with Adams’ 72 HOUR access his retirement fund. the county’s hazardous ma- waste division. He said he criticism of the solid waste division. BLIND FACTORY Frink said with Messer terials coordinator for nine believes the landfill is mis- BLIND TREETOPS PLAZA • 1657 W. GULF TO LAKE HWY • LECANTO years in the 1990s. He left in managed and its budget is “Absolutely not,” Frink leaving, officials decided to www.72-hourblinds.com 527-0012 eliminate the job. 2000 to become president of bloated. said. 000E3KU Messer, however, said he ACMS Inc., parent company He questioned last week would leave only if he was of several Sumter County whether Messer’s hiring terminated so that he solid-waste businesses co- was done as a favor to FDS could receive unemploy- ment benefits.