Oesterle & Company  Accountants & Tax Consultants
407 NE 1st St. • Crystal River, FL 34429 • Behind Wendy’s & Across from Post Office
OPEN 7 DAYS at 9:00 am • CLOSE 5:00 pm WEEKDAYS & 3:00 pm WEEKENDS
PHONE 352-564-1898 E-MAIL: oesterle@tampabay.rr.com
as Low as $50!
Personal Tax Returns & E-File
Walk-Ins Welcome.
THE NEWSCASTER
THE NEWSCASTER
PRESORTED
PLEASE
RECYCLE
STANDARD
US Postage
Paid
Deborah Russell - Editor/Publisher
A Publication of
Inglis, FL 34449
Wednesday February 29, 2012
Tom Russell - Consulting Editor
Newscaster Publishing
Permit No. 14
Sally Price - Correspondent
Visit our website: http://thenewscaster.com
Mike Moore - Photojournalist
Squawk Box
Tribute To
Fannie Puckett
With Doug Johnston
The Golden Apple
Teacher Awards in Marion
County garner a lot of media
attention. Reading about the
Teacher Of The Year Award
always makes me remember
Fannie Puckett, the Citrus
High School math teacher
for many years.
Miss Puckett was one of four
sisters, three of whom taught in Citrus
County Schools. She never married, her
life revolved around her work. She was
dedicated to the teaching profession.
As a freshman at CHS I was on
top of the world. I played three sports, had
a pretty good social network, and even had
a part time job to provide me with a little
spending money. The only misery in my
life was algebra. Oh how I despised that
course. I really didn’t understand mixing
For many years man has made his living off these waters in Crystal River. This lone boat and 2 man crew are working their traps in the early
numbers with letters: It didn’t make a lick
morning mist, accompanied by pelicans that know if they hang around long enough they will be tossed a tasty morsel without having to work
of sense.
for it. The pelican's precision to fly next to the boats is unmatched. They can land on the moving boat and hitch a ride. Photo Sally Price
I conceded defeat. I decided that
CCSO Deputy
college was not for me if I had to master
Retail Theft At C.R. Mall Leads to
that stupid mathematical concept. I would
just take General Math and be done with
High Speed Chase & Arrest
Involved in
it. But Miss Puckett wouldn’t let me give
up. That bulldog of a woman stood over
me and tormented me every school day
Shooting
as white with gray hair, ap-
From Citrus County Sheriff Dept.
pounding algebra into my consciousness.
proximately 50 years old,
Oh how I hated that class. Then one day,
A report of a robbery at the Crys-
6 1” tall, weighing about
Man in critical condition
as suddenly and profoundly as a light be-
tal River Mall on Feb. 23 resulted in a high
200 lbs., and wearing eye-
ing turned on I got it. Algebra came to me.
speed chase and the apprehension of the
Dispatchers with the Citrus County
glasses. The entire incident
She would guide me through Algebra 2,
suspect by Citrus County Sheriff s Office
Sheriff s Office received a 911 call from a
was captured on video.
Geometry and Trigonometry the follow-
deputies. Harry Glen Whitney III, 51, 4233
Pine Ridge subdivision residence in Beverly
Sales associates followed
ing three years. I grew to respect and ad-
Gloucester Rd., Brooksville, was charged
Hill at 6:50 a.m., Feb. 23. When the operator
Whitney to the parking lot
mire her.
with felony retail theft ($300 or more), ag-
did not receive a verbal response from the
and witnessed him getting
Whitney
As a senior at CHS, like most se-
gravated assault or battery of a law enforce-
caller, a deputy was dispatched to the 2804
into a Dodge Dakota pickup
niors I was quite full of myself. Our home-
ment officer and aggravated fleeing/eluding
W. Beamwood Drive residence to evalu-
truck with Florida tag 168HRB. A “bolo”(be
room teacher was Fannie Puckett and her
a law enforcement officer.
ate whether or not help was needed. When
on the lookout) was issued for the man and
pride and joy was the many potted plants
According to the arrest report,
33-year-old deputy Laura Newton arrived at
the truck.
and flowers that lined the window sills of
sales associates at the Sears store said that a
the residence, she encountered a 30-year-
Whitney was seen traveling east on
her classroom. The plants were to look at
man had entered the store and removed two
old white male, later identified as Nicholas
State Rd. 44 in Crystal River. Deputies at-
only, no one dared touch them.
Samsung TV sets, with a combined value
Dinovo, in the driveway of the home he
tempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Whit-
One morning before class Miss
of $498, and took them to a truck without
Continued on page 3 - High Speed Chase
Continued on page 4- Man Critical
Continued on page 2 - Squawk Box
paying for them. The man was described