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EAST COUNTY FREE • Thursday, JANUARY 10, 2013
You. Your neighbors. Your neighborhood.
NEWS
Klauber assumes Alliance helm. PAGE 3A
COMMUNITY
NEIGHBORHOOD
Jewish Book Festival opens in Lakewood Ranch. PAGE 5A
‘Sunset Boulevard’ is latest in storied career of actress Jeanne Larranaga. PAGE 1B
NEW FACES
unsolved homicide by Pam Eubanks | Managing Editor
OUR TOWN
by Josh Siegel | Staff Writer
Newly elected board seeks unity
+ University Park club provides holiday cheer The University Park Women’s Club helped create a happier holiday for girls in Manatee County. At their annual holiday luncheon, club members brought games and arts and crafts supplies for Just for Girls of Manatee County and its Just for Girls Academy, which provides educational, development and prevention-based programming to disadvantaged girls in before-school and after-school hours. Additionally, the UPWC Outreach Committee bought and assembled gifts for the girls to give to their loved ones at Christmas.
Passions flared during the first meeting of 2013, as the board discussed dumpsites and a lake and wetland maintenance project.
Courtesy photos
Ina Gross, center, is pictured with her son-in-law, Dave Gerth, grandson Gabe Gerth, daughter, Ellen Gerth, and granddaughter Olivia Gerth.
O ne year lat e r :
+ CAC to host School Fair Parents: Want to check out the area’s private schools? Join Lakewood Ranch Community Activities Crop, as it hosts the “Rock your Robot School Fair,” from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, at the Polo Grill and Bar’s Fête Ballroom, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch. Parents can meet with representatives of more than 25 public and private Bradenton and Sarasota schools to see which is the best educational match for their child. Children can enjoy fun math and science activities while parents talk with school officials about programs. For more information, visit lwrcac.com.
+ Ranch Rotary donates books After being awarded a $1,000 Rotary District (6960) Grant, the Rotary Club of Lakewood Ranch donated hundreds of books to children at Orange Ridge Bullock Elementary School last month. Students picked out a book of their choice during the Dec. 17 event, which promoted literacy.
Ranch murder remains unsolved Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube remains confident the individual who murdered Lakewood Ranch resident Ina Gross last year will be caught. LAKEWOOD RANCH — Lakewood Ranch resident Ina Gross was never afraid to speak her mind. She was passionate, witty, wise and unwaveringly honest and had a strong sense of morality and justice. But Jan. 9, 2012, Gross, a beloved community member and local volunteer, was found murdered in her Lakewood Ranch home. Now, a year after her death, Manatee County Sheriff’s Office officials still have released few details surrounding Gross’ death, aside from calling it a homicide and naming her son, Thomas Gross, a “person of interest” in May 2012. However, Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube said he is confident Gross’ murderer
2012
will be brought to justice. Although much of the forensic evidence is in, detectives are still tracking down and sorting through bank records, computer and telephone evidence and other information. “We are still waiting on information that we’re trying to gather, not only on the person of interest, but on other people involved in the investigation,” he said. “We’re not there yet.” Steube said he wishes the case had been closed before the one-year anniversary of Gross’ death, but detectives are working hard to build a case that cannot be disputed. “People have to realize, in a lot of cases,
EAST COUNTY — New board members in the first completely resident-controlled Heritage Harbour South Community Development District called for unity and accountability during the first Board of Supervisors meeting Jan. 3. New board Chairman Joseph Jaudon vowed to change the face of meetings. He joins Joyce Sandy and Michelle Patterson, residents elected to four-year terms in November, and Richard Lane, freshly reelected to the board. Jaudon, a two-and-half-year board veteran, earned the chairman position with a 3-2 vote after Sandy nominated him. Former Chairman Lee Bettes dissented, saying he couldn’t elect a chairman “deficient in his property taxes.” Jaudon deflected criticism and focused on the new direction of the board. “(The property taxes) have nothing to do with my ability to chair this board,” Jaudon said. “I don’t like it, myself.
SEE BOARD / PAGE 4A
SEE HOMICIDE / PAGE 8A
important Dates in THE investigation
Jan. 9, 2012 Ina Gross found dead in the garage of her Lakewood Ranch home.
Jan. 10, 2012 Gross’ death confirmed a homicide; No forced entry to the home reported.
MAY, 2012 Gross’ son, Thomas Gross, is named a “person of interest.”
Joyce Sandy and Michelle Patterson, both Heritage Harbour residents, were elected to the HH CDD Board of Supervisors in November.
Sports................ 15A Weather............. 16B
Vol. 14, No. 2 | Two sections YourObserver.com
Jan. 25, 2012 Gross’ neighbors gathered to discuss how to improve safety in their neighborhood.
Josh Siegel
INDEX Business............ 15B Calendar............ 12A
Classifieds ........ 17B Cops Corner....... 14A
Crossword.......... 16B Real Estate........ 10B