THE NEWSCASTER
THE NEWSCASTER
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Deborah Russell - Editor/Publisher
Yankeetown, FL
Tom Russell - Consulting Editor
A Publication of
Wednesday March 26, 2008
Permit No. 4
Mike Moore - Photojournalist
Newscaster Publishing
Sally Price Correspondent
Squawk Box
With Mike Moore
The Reason for the
Season?
One of my resident teens
asked the open question last
week, "what's the sense in this
Easter holiday anyway? Why should we cel-
ebrate over-indulgence of chocolate and
where'd the notion of a magic egg laying
bunny come from anyway?" Yes, another ex-
ample of the tough questions directed to my
attention here in teen-land. Being a respect-
able sage, I paused a bit and pulled on my
imaginary goatee before forking over the an-
swer. I could have responded with the stan-
dard party line about rising from the dead and
all that, but I didn't really think that would get
to the crux of the question; instead I fell back
to my own experiences and told her the real
reason we celebrate Easter: to hide and find
Easter eggs. Of course!
Somewhere else in this paper, either this
week or last, you'll no doubt find evidence of
this amazing ritual. Last Easter I personally
witnessed and photo captured the fervor that
Citrus County firefighters drag a line in to cool one of many ruptured propane tanks at the Rooster Crows Rd. fire near Inglis. The
is the great Homosassa egg hunt. I remember
abandoned structure which was used to store campground propane tanks caught ablaze when the wind blew a worker's trash fire into the
well almost being trampled by hundreds of
house. Newscaster Photo by Mike Moore
egg-hungry kids; at least 500 eggs were
Man's
`found' in about 35 seconds. Yes friends, I
Exploding Propane Tanks Fuel
cannot embellish this part of the story, Ho-
mosassa eggs are coveted by the masses.
Grand public egg hunting contests can-
Out of Control Trash Fire
Body
not diminish home grown events however.
Long ago there was a time when, as a child, I
By Newscaster Correspondent Mike Moore
was a pivotal player in our family style egg
At lunchtime on Tuesday March 18th,
Found in
hunts. I say pivotal because of our family
Richard Baker and his nephew John were tend-
structure. Being the oldest of the second gen-
ing to a fire they had started the day before to
eration meant my aunts and uncles were
clean up some of the trash outside the aban-
slightly older and cousins were all slightly
Gulf
doned mobile home located on Rooster Crows
younger; indeed, being a little too old for
Rd. in Inglis. The two men said the wind 'kicked
`such nonsense' yet having to be the leader
up' and blew the trash fire into the structure
of the younger hunters, I held the esteemed
Yankeetown_On March 21, 2008 at 9:40 A.M.
which soon caught. The dilapidated house, be-
Continued on page 3 - Squawk Box
Charter Captain Lance Calaverne of Crystal
longing to owner Mike Whitrow of Homosassa,
River located a white male deceased, floating
was used to store propane cylinders for the
Man cited with
in the Gulf of Mexico. Calaverne said he was
nearby campground, and was scheduled to be
on a day trip with his charter boat about 25
demolished.
The vacant building on Rooster Crows Rd.
r e t a i l theft at
miles out at the time when he spotted seagulls
The county received a complaint about burned uncontrolled for nearly twenty min-
circling overhead. He contacted the coast
the condition of the house last week. Nearby utes last Tuesday before firefighters arrived
guard and after a brief interview was on his
residents saw the smoke from the blaze and to extinguish the fire. Anxious neighbors were
F o o d Ranch,
way.
alerted the Citrus County sheriff dept. who no- alerted to the fire by exploding stored propane
The Coast Guard contacted the Levy
tified Inglis, Yankeentown and Citrus County tanks and called police as the three alarm fire
I n g l i s , Details
County Sheriff's Office in reference to a per-
rained down live sparks and ash on their ad-
firefighters.
son deceased. The deceased has not been
After 20 minutes a fully involved blaze joining property. Photo by Mike Moore.
identified and the cause of death has not been
on page 8.
brought the structure to the ground as Citrus County fire dept. rolled up to a series of explo-
determined at this time. The United States
sions as the tanks in and around the structure ruptured. Despite the brisk winds, the fire was
Coast Guard searched for any distress ves-
contained to the immediate area as crews extinguished the remains of the fire. The fire marshall
Continued on page 3 - Man's Body
was notified and the incident remains under investigation.