This year will probably be most remembered for Hurricane Irma which hit the county causing extensive damage on Sept. 11, 2017. This is one of a six stories we will revisit in the second part of our year in review. Several of these stories are ongoing and we will continue to follow. Read part one of our year in review
Hurricane Irma hits Hernando County
The storm knocked out power to a large portion of the county, with it taking more than a week for power to be fully restored. The storm also generated significant rainfall which led to weeks of flooding along the Withlacoochee River.
Hurricane Irma went over Hernando county as a category I storm. The path seemed to go directly over the county with the center of the hurricane on the September 11th 2am update listing its location at 28.2°, -82.2°, which is roughly around Zephyrhills, with winds at 85 MPH which made it a Category 1. The 5am update showing the location at 28.9°-82.6° in the vicinity of Crystal River with 75 mph winds. The location updates from NOAA are 3 hours apart during that time of night.
The county began to put their resources into action beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017 when they initiated the preparation process for accepting Hurricane Irma evacuees. Six schools opened their doors to those displaced by the impending storm. They accepted over 5000 evacuees between the six shelters. Numerous employees and volunteers stepped up to help out at the various shelters along with resources from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. Parrott Middle School and Nature Coast Tech accepted pets as well as people while Challenger K-8 functioned as a special needs shelter. Other shelters included West Hernando Middle School, Explorer K-8 and Hernando High School. Hernando High School and Parrott Middle School shelters reached capacity. Public Information Officer Karen Jordan stated, “Our school administrators and volunteer staff pulled 12 ,14 and 16 hour shifts and some stayed even longer! It was an incredible effort by many.” https://hernandosun.com/Recovery-along-the-Withlacoochee-River-after-Hurricane-Irma https://hernandosun.com/withlacoochee_20170922
Brooksville Looking at Options to Close Budget Shortfall
The city of Brooksville has been struggling with their budget. At their final budget hearing on Sept. 13, 2017 the city council voted to adopt the millage rate of 6.9763. This year’s budget did not include purchasing new vehicles or capital improvements which have been put off for a while.
The struggles with the budget have resulted in the calls for all options to be on the table in order to fix the budget for FY 2019. One of those options was finding a way to alleviate city taxpayers from having to pay for overlapping city and county law enforcement services. There has been discussion of trying to not pay for patrol and investigation services from the county or to allow the county to fully take over law enforcement. Both of these options face significant opposition. It will be something to watch in 2018.
https://hernandosun.com/fight-for-Brooksville-PD
Weeki Wachee Mermaid Park Turns 70
One of Florida’s oldest roadside attractions, the Weeki Wachee Springs Mermaid Park celebrated the 70th anniversary of its very first mermaid show.
The inspiration of Newton Perry in 1946, he saw the spring as an excellent business opportunity. Every day at the spring, 117 million gallons of 74-degree, crystal-clear water flows from the spring into the Weeki Wachee River and then 12 more miles into the Gulf of Mexico. His vision was to maximize the natural beauty of the spring with its crystal-clear water and create an entertainment attraction for all members of the family to enjoy.
In October 1947, after cleaning out abandoned junk and rusting cars from the spring, the very first mermaid show was performed. It was an immediate success and by the ‘50s, the mermaid show was a popular tourist attraction. https://hernandosun.com/Still-making-a-splash
Dr. Paul Farmer World Famous Humanitarian from Hernando
Bending the Arc is a documentary released in 2017 produced by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon about “How Three Young Activists Saved Millions of Lives. One of those three was Dr. Farmer.”
Dr. Farmer graduated from Hernando High in 1978, where he served as class president. By 1983, prior to entering medical school, he was in Haiti laying the groundwork for what would become a revolutionary way to bring healthcare to impoverished communities. He graduated from Harvard with an MD and a PhD.
Dr. Farmer practices what he preaches. He personally provided healthcare in the countryside of Haiti. He speaks Creole and earned the trust of the remote villagers. He currently splits time between Rwanda, Haiti, and other areas.
This important world figure has his roots in Hernando County. He grew up in a trailer park and now is one of the most well known people to come out of the county. He is held in high esteem by important figures from world leaders to celebrities. He is self described as “a poor people’s doctor.” He is working to improve the health care of the poor throughout the world. https://hernandosun.com/Paul-Farmer
Expanding Bendickson Reef
According to several members of the Hernando County Port Authority, the Bendickson Reef history began more than twenty years ago. The original planning and presentation stages for the reef began in 1993. In April of 1995, ten M60 Patton main battle tanks were submerged over an 11 acre area to give the initial form to the Bendickson Reef. The tanks are arranged in a scattered fashion, with no real shape or symmetry.
On August 25, 2017, 600 tons of concrete materials were added to the reef. These additions are destined to become homes for aquatic animals in the area including gag grouper, red grouper and gray snapper.
There was more to this operation than dropping the large cement structures into the water.
The whole planning phase took a year and half, with most of the planning centered around finding appropriate deployment sites within the 50 acre permit area. Several trips were made during this time to the reef site to map suitable areas. https://hernandosun.com/Expanding-Bendickson-Reef
County Fire Replaces Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department
On Feb 14, 2017 Hernando County Board of County Commissioners voted to terminate their agreement with Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department that had started on June 10, 2014. The termination came after substantial amounts of evidence of mismanagement surfaced. Given Hernando Beach’s location, relative to all of Hernando County, it proved difficult early on to provide services like fire and police to that area; and as a result, a volunteer fire department was created. Having a volunteer fire department also lowered the fire taxes in the area.
The vote allowed a 60-day transition period and directed the County’s Purchasing Department to take action to account for all inventory and documentation at the property. On Feb. 15, 2017 HCFR began operations out of the volunteer fire department facility with a fully staffed advanced life support engine on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
An open house of the Hernando Beach Firehouse was held in August of 2017, and featured some improvements in the property as well as lovely murals on the bay doors painted by community members.
This was not the end of the story, on Sept. 29, 2017 we received notification from the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office that three former Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chiefs were arrested on organized fraud charges. They include the City of Brooksville Fire Chief David Freda, a City of Brooksville Fire Captain David Murdock and Travis Morris, a current FEMA employee.
Their arrests stem from a 7 month long investigation of the volunteer department’s misappropriation of funds. The investigation began just as the Hernando Beach Volunteer Fire Department was dissolved. The former fire chiefs have pled not guilty. https://hernandosun.com/hbvfd_20170224 https://hernandosun.com/Former-volunteer-fire-department-chiefs-arrested-for-organized-fraud https://hernandosun.com/Hernando-Beach-firehouse-project-strengthens-community
As we transition to a new year we revisited some of the struggles we went through this past year, people from this area that continue to make a difference in the world, and attractions that the area holds. We had several big anniversaries including Weeki Wachee Spring Mermaids, Development of Spring Hill, and the headless dinosaur.
Next year holds a lot of promise.
Correction 1/2/18: to reflect that city residents are paying for overlapping law enforcement services between the city and county, not fire services.