By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — Highlands County Sheriff’s Office detectives are asking for the public’s help concerning the murder of a Sun ’N Lakes South woman on Tuesday.

The body of Ana Jaramillo, 36, of 140 Cumberland St., Lake Placid, was found in her single-wide trailer home by a female friend Tuesday after she did not show up where she was supposed to meet.

“The victim was at home alone when she was viscously attacked,” said sheriff’s Lt. John Chess. “She sustained major trauma to her upper torso.”
Investigators say the petite victim, who was 5-feet 3-inches tall and weighed 115 pounds, was killed sometime between 8 a.m. and noon Tuesday.
Her husband was at work at the time, which has been confirmed, and he is not considered a suspect, Chess said.

She had two children, ages 12 and 17 years old.

There was no sign of a sexual attack, Chess added.

Detectives did a neighborhood sweep talking with people in the community, but the crime took place in a segment of the community which does not traditionally report crimes or communicate with law enforcement.

“We want people to call us if they’ve come home and had someone going through their things or maybe woke up and found someone in their home,” Chess said.

Chess is hoping someone will come forward with information that will lead them to the killer or killers.

Detectives have gotten some new leads and were developing them at press time, he said.

Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Detective Anthony McGann at 863-402-7250 or Heartland Crimestoppers at 1-800-226-8477.

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By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — There have been seven victims of theft or burglary already reported to the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office by individuals working for race teams in the paddock area at Sebring International Raceway.
Sheriff’s Deputy J.P. Fane said Wednesday the thefts, that totaled about $3,000 in cash along with some credit cards, were first reported about 9 a.m. Wednesday by members of about five race teams.

Fane reported that the sheriff’s office, which is in charge of security at the track, has already made some adjustments in its coverage, moving deputies from unmarked to marked patrol vehicles for higher visibility.
Fane said the race team crews were warned in advance to secure their areas.
“There have been several briefings in the paddock area,” Fane said.“We once again encourage everyone to secure their things.”
No break-ins were reported in connection to these crimes, he said.

“They just got busy and laid it down, and that was it,” Fane said.
While everyone in the paddock area has credentials that allow them into certain areas, those credentials to enter the paddock can be purchased.
“This is obviously someone who looks like he fits in,” Fane said. “And obviously he doesn’t raise a lot of suspicions with them.”
Fane said a similar rash of thefts happened at last year’s race. That is why the warnings to the teams were issued.
“We’re trying to tie this in to last year,” said Fane. “But it may just be someone working the circuit.”

Daytona reported a lot of similar thefts, he said.
No such crimes have been reported in the open public areas, he added.

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By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — A 69-year-old man was taken off a southbound Amtrak train at 7:51 p.m. Tuesday and was attended to by Sebring Fire Rescue who responded to the 911 call before he was taken to an area hospital.

“A patient on the train was complaining of difficulty breathing,” said Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz on Wednesday.
Senior firefighter Darrell Carson and firefighter EMT/engineer Travis Cole arrived at the scene. They cared for the patient, who had identification from North Carolina, until he was transported by Highlands County Emergency Medical Services personnel.
The man was taken to Highlands Regional Medical Center, said Rick Weigand, EMS director.
Neither agency could release any information due to HIPPA privacy laws.

Amtrak media relations spokeswoman Karina Romero said Wednesday it does not release any information about its passengers.
“Amtrak train No. 91, the Silver Star from New York to Miami was delayed 43 minutes due to a passenger emergency,” said Romero.
No further information was available.

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By JOE SEELIG

LAKE PLACID — The town of Lake Placid is bracing itself for a possible lawsuit after a local psychologist requested electronic public records and was told he could only get hard copies, but claims it is his right to get them as e-files.
On July 31, 2006, Bruce Borkowsky asked the town to e-mail him a copy of its water utilities customer database. He’s been trying to get them ever since.
At Monday night’s town council meeting, Town Attorney Bert Harris III raised the issue telling the council to brace itself for a lawsuit.

Harris said he did not know Borkosky who, through his Attorney James F. McCollum, was requesting that the town comply with Chapter 119 of the Public Records Act.
Harris explained that the town offered Borkosky a hard copy of the database but he wants it in an electronic form.
In a letter dated March 2, McCollum noted that the town chose to automate its records by maintaining them electronically. In doing so, McCollum wrote the town must provide reasonable public access to these records.

“When the town designs or acquires its bookkeeping system it must consider whether the system is capable in providing the data in a common format, 119.01(2)(b),” McCollum wrote referring to Florida Statutes.
The town maintains it cannot cut and paste as attachments the documents and e-mail those records because it does not have the software in order to do so.
“Since May of last year Dr. Borkosky has been told that the appropriate software would be obtained within three months,” McCollum wrote. “That would have been by August (2006).

Tired of waiting, McCollum stated Tuesday he will file a lawsuit on his client’s behalf, if his client does not get the documents requested.
Borkowsky said Tuesday he is not prepared to say why he wants the records.
“I have my suspicions about our local government,” said Borkosky. “The Town of Lake Placid has been most egregious about violating our constitutional rights. Since May they have made dozens of different excuses about why they shouldn’t have to (provide the documents).

“One of the excuses they gave me is they don’t have the ability to provide that to me in an electronic format. I’m asking for an electronic record.”
Borkosky said the law he believes is applicable to the town went into effect in 1995 and the town got its software in 2000.
Council members at Monday’s meeting were not sympathetic to the doctor’s request when told a hard copy is available and he did not want to have to retype the information for himself.

“That’s his problem,” said Councilman Bill Brantley.
“Information is still information whether it’s paper or electronic,” said Councilman Charles Wilson.
McCollum said in October the town attorney offered to provide the information for $2,000. He said that was the cost of the software.
Borkosky refused, McCollum said, adding the town should pay that cost as it would benefit all future users as well.
“It could be dropped into an electronic file, it could be put on a disk or it can be e-mailed to him,” McCollum said. “It happens all the time in my office.”

County Also Contacted

Borkosky has made similar requests at Highlands County, for records which constitute utility records for Highway Park utilities, Placid Lakes utilities and any other utility records associated with the county.

The county has complied with much of that request, said County Public Information Officer Corine Burgess.
There are some records that will cost Borkosky between $160 to $200. Borkosky said Tuesday he was willing to pay that cost.
The doctor also requested all records which constitute the Highlands County Business Security Program. However he was told those records are in the care of the sheriff’s office.

A sheriff’s office spokeswoman said some of the records requested are for e-mail addresses. She printing about 100,000 e-mails and would require an individual review of each e-mail to redact confidential information. The cost alone of making copies would be more than $15,000, she said.
Borkosky said Tuesday he had not heard from the sheriff’s office, but said he would not pay that kind of money. He will consider redefining his request once he is contacted by the sheriff’s office. 

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Blackmon Murder Trial Postponed
WIFE ACCUSED OF KILLING HUSBAND

By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — When Highlands County 10th Circuit Court Judge Peter Estrada says he “never says never” he means it.
Estrada announced Monday he was delivering an order postponing the trial of an elderly Lake Placid woman charged with the second-degree murder of her husband.

Jury selection for Amelia Blackmon, 71, was originally supposed to begin this week. 
Defense attorney John Liguori told Estrada last week that not all witnesses scheduled to speak on Blackmon’s behalf can be in Highlands County when needed. He also said a homicide case in Polk County he’s currently involved with is demanding a substantial amount of his time. 

Estrada originally denied Liguori’s request, but still held out the possibility that the date could change. 
Any conviction for Blackmon would carry a minimum 25-year prison sentence.
Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies said they discovered Billy Joe Blackmon lying in a pool of blood in his Lake Placid living room in September 2003 after his wife called 911 and reported shooting someone. 

He was transported to Florida Hospital in Lake Placid where he died from two gunshot wounds, one to his chest and the other to his head. 
Amelia Blackmon was arrested later that night and charged with second-degree murder. 

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Suspect Refuses
Plea Deal
By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — An Avon Park man charged with attempted second-degree murder and aggravated child abuse has refused state attorneys’ offer of a plea in exchange for a lighter punishment.

Attorneys for Ronald Wayne Baker, 54, 3323 N. Horseshoe Drive, told 10th Circuit Court Judge Peter Estrada Monday that he would not plead to lesser charges of aggravated battery and attempted manslaughter.

They said it was Baker’s decision, and his alone.

It’s a gamble that may put Baker in prison for the rest of his life if it doesn’t pay off.

Jury selection for the trial began Monday.

The trial is scheduled to begin in Estrada’s courtroom Thursday.

Baker faces a maximum penalty of up to 30 years in prison for the aggravated child abuse charge if convicted. He faces a mandatory 25-year to life sentence if convicted of attempted second-degree murder.

Baker told Estrada in court Monday that he fully understood the potential consequences of not agreeing to the offered plea deal. 

The incident for which Baker was arrested and charged occurred in September 2005 when Highlands County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint of a person being shot in Baker’s Horseshoe Drive neighborhood.

Many of the details in Baker’s original arrest report are blacked out because of the child abuse charges. Sheriff’s deputies said the incident occurred because Baker was upset by the sound of a four-wheeler passing by his home.

It wasn’t clear in the report if a child was the one driving the four-wheeler as the name of the person driving it was blacked out.

Baker told deputies he had grown tired of the four-wheeler passing by his home and walked out to the road armed with a stick. Baker said he swung the stick against the driver’s chest once the four-wheeler came alongside him again.

The impact from the stick knocked the driver off the four-wheeler.

The sheriff’s report said the driver of the four-wheeler ran home and reported the incident to an adult in the house. That adult’s name is not being released by Highlands Today.

The adult told deputies he then walked to Baker’s home and tried asking why he hit the driver while he was riding his four-wheeler.

“According to Mr. Baker’s testimony, when he opened the door he was armed with a 32 caliber semi-automatic handgun,” the sheriff’s report said.

The report said that’s when Baker told the man to get off his property, but not before the other man pressed his chest against Baker’s.

The report said Baker fired one shot toward the other man’s chin, prompting the other man to flee back to his own residence and call for help.

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Three Charged With Robbery, Carjacking
By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — Meeting new people and making new acquaintances can be fun, but an 18-year-old Sebring man learned earlier last week it can also be dangerous.

The victim reported he was beaten and robbed after he went to hang out with three people he just met on the night of March 6.

He reported as he traveled to a residence on Dauphine Street and Porsche Avenue and began walking with two men and a woman, he was attacked from behind, then beaten repeatedly.

Once he was beaten up, he was stripped of his clothing and robbed of his money, authorities said. He was left in a wooded area near the intersection, and his 2005 pickup truck, including money in the truck, was taken, authorities added. He estimated the total cash taken was about $300.

Sheriff’s deputies are not saying how they came to identify the suspects except that the victim picked one of the suspects from a photo lineup.

Two of three suspects sought in connection with the robbery and carjacking of a Sebring man last week were in Highlands County Jail on Monday.

A third suspect was free on bail.

Deputies arrested Andrew Blanton Walterman, 19, of 1242 Melody Lane, Sebring, on charges of robbery without a firearm or weapon and carjacking without a firearm or weapon. He was being held on $20,000 bail.

Cory Vincent Roque, 19, of 730 Lakeside Drive, Sebring, was arrested at the jail, where he was already incarcerated on charges of obstructing a law enforcement officer, burglary, third-degree grand theft and petty theft.

According to reports, Roque was a suspect in the burglary of a neighbor’s home on March 9, and grand theft of the neighbor’s 2003 Honda. He was apprehended at the Lakeshore Mall after allegedly running from a deputy while walking on Crane Street.

Roque was then charged with robbery without a firearm or weapon and carjacking without a firearm or weapon. He was being held without bond.

Free on $20,000 bail was Shannon Nicole Sands, 18, of 1344 Oak Run, Avon Park, booked on charges of robbery with no firearm or weapon and carjacking without a firearm or weapon.

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LAKE PLACID - Less than 24 hours after Hardee High School announced their new football coach, Lake Placid High School principal Ruth Heckman elected to hire Fort Meade assistant coach Tim Grant as the next leader of the Green Dragon football program.

Grant replaces Shaw Maddox, who was ousted in December after three years and a 6-24 record. His proven track record –– Fort Meade won four district titles and advanced to the Class 1A state title game three times, winning it all in 2004, in his four years with the Miners –– helped Grant emerge on top of a list that included some 30 applicants.

“I’m excited. It’s a good move for our family, and I jumped at the chance,” Grant said Friday. “I heard that Lake Placid put it on Fort Meade back in the late ‘90s, so we know they have the kids. It’s a little bit thin right now, but we’ll see if we can fix that.”

Grant, 45, has gathered head coaching experience on the junior varsity level in New York, South Carolina and Florida on his ascension up the ranks. Offensively, he likes to spread the ball around the field and get everybody involved, using a no-huddle approach to speed up the game.

His overall philosophy –– both on the field and off it –– was exactly what Heckman wanted to hear.

“He has an outstanding record, his references were very impressive and his knowledge of football is exceptional,” Heckman said. “The rapport he has with students and parents is wonderful, and those are the kinds of things that we were looking for. He’s positive, encouraging, motivating –– those are the kinds of things that we were looking for and that’s what we saw in him.”

The hiring means no more gridiron coaching vacancies in the Heartland. Heckman had set herself a soft deadline of April 1 to act in order to coordinate spring football and the annual jamboree game in May. Hooking a candidate in time, however, was less important than finding the right person for the job.

Heckman did not have the final say in Maddox’s hire three years ago, and the relationship between the two was strained at best. This time, Heckman took painstaking measures to ensure the correct decision would be made –– employing an interview team to sift through the pile of resumes, meeting the final three face-to-face and checking upward to eight references on each.

The ultimate choice was a collaboration between the principal and a selection committee.

“I couldn’t find a negative comment about him in all the conversations I had with people,” Heckman said. “We want our kids to be involved and we want them to be recognized for their efforts. I want someone who knows the game, encourages more student involvement and will motivate the kids as well as teach them.”

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SEBRING — Jury selection in the second-degree murder trial of an elderly Lake Placid woman charged with killing her husband, will take place next week.

That’s despite of a request from Amelia Blackmon’s defense attorney that the jury selection process be scheduled for next month.
Blackmon is 71 years old.

Defense attorney John Liguori told 10th Circuit Court Judge Peter Estrada on Wednesday that not all witnesses scheduled to speak on Blackmon’s behalf can be in Highlands County when needed.

“Some witnesses said they didn’t want to be here unless they absolutely had to. Some didn’t want to set hotel reservations unless they absolutely had to. One of the witnesses who lives in Georgia said he’s putting his mother in a nursing home this week, for instance,” Liguori said. 

He also said a homicide case in Polk County he’s currently involved with is demanding a substantial amount of his time. 
But, Estrada denied Liguori’s request.

Estrada said the jury selection process would most likely have occurred in February had it not been for Liguori’s request last fall that the case be postponed until this month.

“And here I am, now being requested to issue another continuance. Everyone has had ample opportunity to get their cases together, so I’m denying the request,” Estrada said.

He also held out the possibility that the date could change.

“But I never say never because there may be a change in circumstances at any time, so I won’t close any doors until the last minute,” Estrada said.

No Plea Deals
Blackmon said in November that she has refused plea deals with state attorneys.

She said she fully understood the consequences if she were convicted of her husband’s second-degree murder.

Any conviction would carry a minimum 25-year prison sentence.
Highlands County sheriff’s deputies said they discovered Billy Joe Blackmon lying in a pool of blood in his Lake Placid living room in September 2003 after his wife called 911 and reported shooting someone.

He was transported to Florida Hospital in Lake Placid where he passed away from two gunshot
trial wounds, one to his chest and the other to his head.

A 38-caliber Smith and Wesson model 36, five-shot handgun discovered on the Blackmons’ kitchen counter was identified as the weapon used.
Amelia Blackmon was arrested later that night and charged with second-degree murder.

She told deputies her husband had become upset with her before leaving for the couple’s garage.

“Mrs. Blackmon having lived with her husband so long felt he was going to become violent and went and retrieved a gun from its hiding place in a guestroom closet,” deputies said in their report on the matter, adding she then put the gun in her coveralls pocket and sat on a living room couch.

Amelia Blackmon told deputies her husband returned to the house and began breaking their living room and kitchen telephones. She said she later stood behind the couch she had been sitting on while her husband stood on the couch’s opposite side, according to the report.

“Mrs. Blackmon told deputies her husband ordered her to pick up the phones’ broken pieces and then shook his fist at his wife. She then took the gun out and shot her husband twice,” deputies reported.

She put the gun down, walked to her home’s front door after calling 911 on her cell phone and was in an emotional state of mind, deputies said.
Mrs. Blackmon said she was tired when deputies asked why she didn’t leave her home after being confronted by her husband.

The couple was married 25 years and lived in a sprawling half a million dollar, four-bedroom, five-bath orange stucco home along Lake June for six of those years.

Highlands County Central Records said there had never been any other calls to that address prior to the 2003 shooting.
Blackmon posted a $200,000 bond later that week.

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Travis Hill III Charged With DUI Homicide
By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — A former Avon Park High School football starting quarterback was free Thursday on $102,000 bail, after being arrested and charged as the driver in a Dec. 30 rollover-crash that left a 16-year-old Coconut Creek girl dead.

After a two-month-long death investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol, Travis Kelton “T.K.” Hill III, 18, of 1728 Palm St., Sebring, was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) causing damage to property, DUI homicide — negligent vehicular manslaughter causing death to any human, and possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

Hill lost control of a Ford pickup traveling north on County Road 621 south of Charlie Drive at about 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30.

The truck traveled onto the east shoulder of 621 as it entered a sharp curve in the road. It rotated counterclockwise flipping several times before landing on a barbed wire fence.

Kristin Marie Dessingue, who was not wearing her seat belt, died when she was ejected along with Hill as the truck overturned. An 18-year-old friend, Jake Randolph Dressel, escaped the crash with minor injuries.

Hill is a senior and was the starting quarterback for the Avon Park High School football team in his junior and senior year.

He was transported from the crash scene in critical condition with injuries to his neck and back. Family members were concerned about his neck and spine, bruised lungs, and a broken collar bone.

Blood drawn at the hospital revealed Hill’s blood alcohol level was .179. The legal limit for an adult driver is .080. A driver under the age of 21 can have his license suspended for exceeding a limit of .020.

The District 10 Medical Examiner’s Office said Dessingue’s death was caused by a blunt impact to her head.

The Highway Patrol went to the State Attorney’s Office with its findings. A warrant was issued for Hill’s arrest and he was booked into the Highlands County Jail at 5 p.m. Wednesday.

By 9:45 a.m. Thursday, Hill was released on bail, after first appearance before Judge Anthony Ritenour, who ordered the defendant not to leave Highlands County, gave an 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and ordered that Hill not consume any alcohol and drive for business purposes only.
Hill’s arraignment date is set for 8:30 a.m. April 4.

The fatal crash came on the heels of Hill’s Dec. 16 arrest, when Sebring police Sgt. Greg Barlaug charged him with possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21.

At about 1:41 a.m. Dec. 16, Hill was a back seat passenger in a green 2002 Nissan that was stopped for going 54 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone on Lakeview Drive.

Inside the car Barlaug found two partial cases of Natural Ice Light beer and a partial case of Busch Light. All of the occupants were under the age of 21.

A crushed beer can was found in the seat pocket in front of Hill.

“All the occupants of the vehicle had an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from their breath,” Barlaug reported.

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By GARY PINNELL

SEBRING — There’s not enough traffic to support an east-west toll road through Highlands and Hardee counties, the Bradenton Herald is reporting.

Less than 20,000 vehicles a day would use the Heartland Coast-To-Coast highway in 2035, when it is built, the newspaper quoted Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise as saying.

The newspaper excerpted a two-page brochure dated Feb. 20, which was submitted by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise to the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization: “The results indicate that revenues generated from tolls would not cover the project costs of a corridor with an eastern terminus at the Turnpike and would cover less than 6 percent of the costs for a corridor extending (from Interstate 75) to Interstate 95.”

But economic developers in Highlands and Hardee counties are disagreeing.

The Other Side
Mike Willingham, executive director of the Sebring Airport Authority, was sitting in James Ely’s office on Friday when the executive director of Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise released the Future Corridors study.

“It was not a surprise,” said Willingham. “And I don’t think anybody is disappointed. We’ve done a lot of work, and this is a long-term project.”
The road must be built, not just with toll revenues, but with private sector donations from landowners in exchange for development rights,
Willingham said.

But the time to begin is today, not in five or 10 years when the need is critical, said Willingham. Future Corridors seeks to remake rural parts of the state with new toll roads that would accommodate future growth.

Willingham disagreed with a statement by Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday.

Crist said the state needs to “prioritize and have roads where the people are and where we need them. Right now, that’s South Florida, southeast Florida… I want us to expand I-75 south, I-95 south down to Miami and then I-4.”

That sort of reactive planning doesn’t work, Willingham said. State leaders must learn to be proactive, and build roads before they’re needed, before the needed rights of way disappear.

“We have to protect the ribbon of real estate to lay this asphalt on,” Willingham said.  “I don’t want what’s happening on the coasts to happen in Highlands and Hardee.”

Marcus Shackelford, who attends transportation corridor meetings and reports the results to the Hardee County economic development commission, doesn’t believe the turnpike authority’s estimate that only 19,500 vehicles a day will use the Heartland Coast-to-Coast turnpike in 2035.

“But when you get talking about what’s going to happen in 2035, who’s prove either of us wrong?” he asked.

The tollroad, he said, would open up the Heartland to future residential and commercial settlement, and it would become an important hurricane evacuation route.

“There are no good east-west highways though the Heartland,” he said. “I think there was plenty of justification for the road.” But politicians aren’t likely to act until it becomes an emergency.

“Somewhere down the line, we’ve got to address this thing,” Shackelford said.

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Golf Courses Green Despite Drought
By BILL RETTEW JR.

SEBRING — Although it’s the high season for golfers from out of state and the low season for rainfall, area golf course workers said Wednesday that the greens are still vibrant green.

The amount of valuable water used by many local golf courses to keep the links fresh is limited.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District (Swiftmud) limits or budgets how much water can be pumped onto many area golf courses.
Several local golf course workers said that although Swiftmud declared a Phase II severe drought in January, area courses are still in excellent shape.

David Bell is the golf course superintendent for both championship golf courses at Sun ’n Lake Golf and Country Club.

Bell talked about walking a tight rope while trying to judge when to best use water in the sprinklers versus how much to conserve, since Swiftmud usually caps water usage from six to 10 years in advance.

“It’s a huge burden,” said Bell. “This past summer we suffered a tremendous amount since there was not a normal amount of rainfall. We count on rainfall to subsidize, but are limited to what we can use.

“For the circumstances, we’re doing pretty well.”
Bell said golf courses are limited to watering the actual playing surface, including greens, tees and fairways which are all in excellent shape, but not the rough areas. During the wet summer, Bermuda grass takes over while rye grass is usually prevalent for the dry winter.

The superintendent said that he was thankful for several unanticipated winter rain storms, but still since Sun ‘N Lake is further restricted by the South Water Use Caution Act (SWCA), some areas of the golf course have suffered damage.

“Lots of areas are not irrigated at all,” said Bell. “Some areas are desiccated. But we should be getting more plentiful rain water soon, and some areas we’ll have to regrass.”

Michael Molligan is communications director for Swiftmud, which controls water use in much of Highlands County. He said that overall usage and recent lower-than-average rainfall have both contributed to the severe drought. 

“The real concern is that if we don’t get significantly above average rainfall, these lakes will continue to drop,” said Molligan.

Andy Desling, assistant golf pro at Sebring Golf, noted that the putting greens look good, but the rough is suffering since course owners decided not to reseed during the fall with rye grass seed.

Don Elwell is the general manager at the Kenilworth Lodge, which caters to hundreds of golfers yearly. He said that room rentals are up, with the number of golfers this year down slightly.

Elwell said the biggest month for golfing is April when the rates dramatically drop and golfers flock to Highland County. He said he’d recently heard nothing but good reports concerning the quality of area courses.

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Bear Shooting Suspect Rejects Offer
By CHRIS BUTLER

SEBRING — A man who admitted to killing one of Florida’s most endangered species late last year has decided to ignore an offer from state attorneys.

Defense attorneys for Norman Hatch, 64, 655 Highlands Lakes Drive, said their client is turning down an offer to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.

Hatch will instead take his chances with a jury trial.

Defense attorney Richard Pipkin told 10th Judicial Circuit Judge Peter Estrada Tuesday that his client doesn’t deny shooting a Florida black bear last November.

Pipkin said his client’s case will rest upon whether Hatch’s shooting and killing of the bear was an act of self-defense.

“Our client wants to go to trial in April if at all possible,” Pipkin said to Estrada.

State attorneys told Estrada that Hatch has already refused their offer to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser punishment.

Shooting a Florida black bear is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

FWC officials said they denied Hatch’s initial request for permission to shoot the bear after he called them. But they said Hatch shot the bear with his 45 magnum revolver shortly afterward anyway.

FWC officials said the bear wasn’t threatening Hatch in any way.

One Highlands Park Estates resident told Highlands Today before last year’s shooting that she and her family had seen several bears in her neighborhood. She later said one bear she photographed might have been the one who was shot.

She said the bear wasn’t a nuisance to them, although it once tried running off with her family’s garbage.

Hatch bonded out of jail on $1,000 bond shortly after his arrest.

Estrada said jury trial selection in Hatch’s case will begin April 9.

Meanwhile, people encountering bears are encouraged to call fish and wildlife at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922) to request help. 

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Trustee, City Work On Compromise
MONDAY’S HEARING POSTPONED
By MANDY SHEETS

SEBRING — Although no work is being done to the physical structure, officials say progress is being made that could eventually lead to a change at Harder Hall.

Ken Welt, Chapter 11 trustee from Hollywood, Fla., said he is working with city officials to reach an outcome that will be attractive to all parties.

The court appointed Welt as trustee after a Feb. 14 hearing, which determined that Marc Shenker, president of Joran Realty, which owns Harder Hall, was allowing one investment company to control the project. Appointing an impartial trustee gives all parties an equal opportunity to become involved with the project.

Welt is planning a trip to Sebring on Thursday to meet with officials and visit the property again. He is in the process of evaluating all aspects of the project, compiling information and moving forward with marketing the property.

The reorganization plan he submits will likely entail sale of the property, Welt said. Many prospective buyers have already contacted Welt, he said.

A hearing scheduled Monday at the Southern District of Florida U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami was continued until March 21. Marsha Rydberg, attorney representing the city, said attorneys involved in the case wanted more time to work toward a plan that could be approved by all parties.

“Bankruptcy is a negotiative process,” Rydberg said. “Right now we are trying to work together to find a plan that will be good for everyone.”

The city did not pursue its motion that would allow for foreclosure on the property, which was scheduled for Monday’s hearing.

Rydberg said the city would prefer to reach a joint agreement for a reorganization plan.

The city is the largest creditor and is owed $5.2 million for mortgage payments. The city also has paid $150,000 in real estate taxes and continues to foot the bills for security, electricity and insurance at the property.

“The city wants the hotel to be open, but the city wants the money it’s owed as well,” Rydberg said. “A lot of people who are owed money are city residents, and the city wants them to be paid, too.”

Welt said he hopes the sale of the property will result in enough money for creditors to be paid all the money they are owed. A previous reorganization plan, submitted Jan. 22 by Joran Realty, suggested paying 50 percent of all general unsecured creditors, who are owned more than $626,000. About 160 creditors have filed claims against the hotel, including 63 Sebring businesses and 11 businesses and contractors in Highlands County.

“The city is rightfully concerned with local merchants being paid,” Welt said. “We are working toward a plan that will pay creditors 100 percent of what they are owned.”

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Low Lake Levels Not Yet A Concern
DEEP LAKE FISHING
HAS GOTTEN BETTER
By DOUG CARMAN

SEBRING — Well, the lakes are low. Region-wide, they’re unusually low, even for the dry season.

Lake levels within the Lake Wales Ridge, which includes many of the lakes in Highlands County, have averaged 1.86 feet below what is referred to as the minimum lake management level, according to a water resource update from the Southwest Florida Water Management District. This is more than 3 feet lower than it was this time last year.

The MLM level is the five-year average annual low level for the lake recorded at the end of the dry season in late May.

Whether it’s a big deal or not depends on what you’re talking about.

Ecologically speaking, Highlands County Lakes Management Specialist Clell Ford said it is not a big issue, yet.

“It’s a healthy thing for lakes to fluctuate,” he said.

Ford did say that if the rain shortfalls continue into the wet season, it could create a serious impact, adding that he is expecting a further decline of 6 inches to a foot before June.

This won’t help the canals and waterways. Looking at the connector between Lake Jackson and Little Lake Jackson, the impact is rather obvious. This passageway is but a puddle under the southbound lanes of U.S. 27, dead-ending into a sand bar under the northbound lanes.

Recreationally, the local fishermen have been feeling the effects for a while.

Dave Douglass, the vice president of Save Our Source of Florida Lakes in Lorida, said the lowering levels will keep fish in the deep parts of the lakes. This is bad news for shore fishermen.

But he also suggested that there is a silver lining for the those willing to bring a boat out into the deeper parts. With the lack of competition from shore fishermen and the gathering of fish in the deep areas, the fishing would be much better there.

“People sitting and trolling will get fish,” Douglass said. “Fishermen needing something to look at and throw will be crying.”

Those fishing for speckled perch will simply be in tears.

“I don’t know if it had to do with lake levels or not, but speck and perch fishing has gone down hill this year,” said Steve Layton, part-owner of the Keepers Only Fishing Resort in Lake Placid.

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