INSIDE: NOT JUST A TOY — PAGE 12
THE
Jan. 3- 9, 2020 Volume VI, Issue I
Hernando Sun
T E L L I N G
Y O U R
S T O R Y
I N
P R I N T
W E E K LY,
O N L I N E
ACADEMIA HERNANDO
Our predictions in 2019 did not work out very well. We would have been almost perfect, if we had chosen the opposite of our predictions. For our 2020 predictions we are going to make some wild predictions and some that are more likely to come true. This will be the year that the county government makes final plans for building the new government center at the airport. They will enter into a contract to build it. This will have negative consequences for downtown Brooksville has many of the government offices and people that depend on them transition to the See 2019 Page 17
GOOFY Rules of Convenience PAGE 23
Prediction number 1 is that the county will make final plans to build the new county governemnt center at the airport.
Giant tangerine drops from sky.
My name is Rex PAGE 22
Tradition revived after 11 years. It was a cold winter night for the New Year's Eve Tangerine Drop. It is not often that it gets into the 40s in Brooksville, so we are not used to being outside in those temperatures. A cadre of brave souls braved the cold and had a good time. The band that played from 9 to midnight were the veteran musicians Bill Creel and Joe Solomon. Bill and Joe run the popular open mic night at the Bistro in Brooksville. They enjoy working with other musicians and Enrichment Center Director Dell Barnes displayed his saxophone skill with solo sets, as well as playing sets together with Bill and Joe. Bill and Joe are not just musicians -- they are also Brooksville’s number one comedy duo. Farmer and the Dell Rustic events provided benches, tables and chairs, and games. Games on the field were; cornhole, chess with 2 foot chess pieces, checkers with one foot pieces, a giant Jenga game played on top of a large wooden wire spool, and Yahtzee (cleverly called Yardzee) and played with giant dice.
ABOVE: Maximo Maglio, 12, pulls the tangerine down at midnight marking the year 2020.
LEFT: Musicians Bill Creel, Joe Solomon and Dell Barnes looking dapper for the New Year's Eve Tangerine Drop.
The Hernando Sun offered handmade t-shirts, tangerine juice, and provided the giant tangerine balloon. The Hernando Sun also See TANGERINE, Page 18
Re-enactors bringing history to life BY MEGAN HUSSEY MHUSSEY@ HERNANDOSUN.COM
The forgotten battle that started a war. This is how Bill Gruber, park manager of The Dade Battlefield Historic State Park, describes Dade's Battle of 1835; a pivotal battle in American history that will be reenacted Jan. 4 and 5 at the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. "What I hope people will take away from this reenactment is a real appreciation of Florida history and American history," said Gruber. "Many history buffs never have heard of this battle, let alone the general public." Each year, the park works in conjunction with The Dade Battlefield Society to rectify this; presenting a wide-scale battle reenactment--including a cannon firing--that involves 100 reenactors portraying soldiers and Seminole participants in the battle that changed history. Soldiers firing at the Dade Battlefield re-enactment. Photos courtesy of Ross Lamoreaux.
WEATHER: FRI
HIGH
LOW
INDEX
LOCAL & STATE 2 OUT & ABOUT 7 SPORTS 12 BUSINESS & COMMUNITY 18 OPINION 21, 22 LEGAL NOTICES 23
See BATTLE, Page 19
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Susan Marie in the role of Erma Bombeck, supplied by Academia Hernando. BY MEGAN HUSSEY MHUSSEY@ HERNANDOSUN.COM
by ROCCO MAGLIO rocco@hernandosun.com
PLEASE TAKE ME HOME
hernandosun.com
The Arts
by ROCCO MAGLIO rocco@hernandosun.com
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2020 Predictions NATURE Rare finds at Christmas Bird Count
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The Storysmith is coming to Hernando County--and she comes accompanied by the spirit of a legend. Marking the first presentation in the 2020 program of Academia Hernando, a not-for-profit lifelong learning organization that seeks to inform, educate and inspire adult learners in this area through a series of weekly lectures, nationally known storyteller Susan Marie Frontczak will present "A Living History: Meet Erma Bombeck” 10 a.m. Jan. 17 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 2301 Deltona Blvd. in Spring Hill. Frontczak--also known as The Storysmith--will appear in character as author and columnist Bombeck, often called "The Woman Who Made the World Laugh" (https:// ermabombeckcollection. com/). She treated her column "At Wit's End," which appeared in 900 newspapers nationwide, and best-selling books like "I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression" and "The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank," as a microphone for the traditional housewife. Her presentation explores the origins of Bombeck's career as a humorist, and shares her witty but educated views regarding everything from marriage and children to the everyday performance of housekeeping and lawncare chores--all while trying never to break a sweat and to live up to society's ideals for the prim and perfect housewife. "Erma Bombeck understood that you have to be able to laugh at life to get through it," said Frontczak. "She said that journalists had “beats.” Some covered crime, some covered education, or politics, or sports. She covered the “utility room beat” - everyday experiences. I hope the audience allows themselves to recognize themselves, and have a good chuckle." Bombeck joins other luminaries such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary Shelley, See ART, Page 15