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INDEX Church 5A Classifieds 7B Clubs/Parks 3B Crime Reports 8B Commentary 9A Community Calendar 2A Legals 8B Sports 1B, 2B, 3B, 4B & 7B T.V. Guide 9B Crossword Puzzle 8A Weather 3A Zephyrhills News SPORTS The Zephyrhills High football and volleyball teams returned to practice this week. The PPAL Jamboree gave the Zephyrhills Bulldogs a dry run for the upcoming season. ZHS alumnus Mike Smith to coach wrestling team. PAGE 1B COMMENTARY Columnist Dave Walters expresses his opinion that public safety cuts are not the solution to budget woes. Student columnist Lindsay Daughtry tells us how she and some of her Zephyrhills High classmates spent their summers. PAGE 9A Thursday, August 11, 2011 99th Year - No. 46 Y OUR H OMETOWN N EWSPAPER S INCE 1911 50¢ ONLY NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED IN ZEPHYRHILLS, “CITY OF PURE WATER” I’m For A Friendlier Florida SUMMER READING Barnacle Bess the Pirate Lady caps the Zephyrhills Public Library s summer reading program with an entertaining show on the treasures of reading. PAGE 4A Manhunt ends for trio that robbed Georgia bank A nationwide manhunt that lasted one week for three siblings who shot at a Zephyrhills Police Officer and re- portedly robbed a bank in Georgia is over. According to media reports, Ryan Edward Daugherty, 21; Lee Grace E. Dougherty, 29; and half-brother Dylan Dougherty Stanley, 26; were caught Wednesday morning in Colorado. A dragnet went beyond the scope of the Zephyrhills Police Department and Pasco Sheriff’s Office, who initial- ly pursued the case. The FBI and Bu- reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had joined the search. The Colorado State Patrol made the arrests after a high-speed chase and crash on Interstate 25 in south- east Colorado. By 10 a.m. the suspects were apprehended including one who ran from the scene. According to authorities, the 20- mile chase ended when the Subaru Impreza the suspects were in rolled. Lee Grace was shot in the leg and tak- en to a local hospital. The FBI reported that the Dough- erty Gang was trying to elude cap- ture by hiding out or camping in ru- ral areas. FBI agents descended on a Coloroado Springs outdoor recreation shop Tuesday where it was believed the trio had purchased a tent. The trio had been on the run since Aug. 2 when ZPD officer Kevin Wid- ener attempted to pull over a Subaru they had stolen from Ryan s girlfriend, according to the Pasco Sheriff’s Office. They fired at least 20 rounds with the chase that reached 100 miles per hour ending after a bullet punctured a tire on the police cruiser. Widener was not injured and returned to work that day. Pasco County Sheriff Chris Noc- co and ZPD Chief David Shears urged the suspects to turn themselves in to no avail. The trio reportedly used an AK- 47 assault rifle and machine pistol in a Valdosta bank robbery just six hours upon firing at Widener. A U.S. magis- trate had issued warrants for their ar- rest. The three reportedly stormed into a CertusBank and fired two shots into the ceiling. They all wore masks, hats, long-sleeved shirts and pants. Maj. Brian Childress of the Valdosta Police Department said this is the first bank Siblings who shot at Zephyrhills Police Officer caught in Colorado CRIME REPORTS Check out the reports from the Zephyrhills Police Department and Pasco County Sheriff s Office. PAGE 8B Council gets an explanation of the new budget Chamber to get increase while police and fire services positions cut Zephyrhills City Manager James Drumm explained the proposed $47.3 million budget page by page to the members of city council Monday night in a two-part budget workshop sand- wiched around the regular meeting. The budget workshop allowed Drumm to explain and highlight the accounts of the city budget, including the impor- tant $17.2 million general fund. In a year where cuts are the norm, council appeared to agree to increase the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce funding from $2,500 annually to $10,000. An additional $2,500 will come from the general fund revenue and $5,000 from Community Redevel- opment Area funds. Other non-profit groups who receive funding from the city remained the same as their allocation from last year. The Main Street Zephyrhills organization will receive $5,000 from the CRA and the Zephyrhills YMCA will continue to get its $10,000. We re in a position to up it a notch, said council vice presi- dent Ken Compton. “I’m not sure of the entire $10,000.” Drumm said he budgeted $2,500 because that is what it was in recent budgets. Council received a memo from the chamber asking for the increase. Drumm added that funds could be pulled from different ar- eas of the budget including the CRA. The chamber has done a great job in the past year and they have gone in a new direction, said councilman Lance Smith. They are doing a lot of great things in the community and I would be very supportive of their request. It was suggested to balance the funding out by allocating $7,500 to the chamber and cutting the YMCA funding to $7,500, but Drumm said the funding for both organizations could be at $10,000. ➤COUNCIL: See Page 2A BY DAVE WALTERS News Reporter KIDS ATTEND RAYS GAME Schoolchildren in the PLACE program at Zephyrhills schools attended an afternoon Tampa Bay Rays game at Tropicana Field. PAGE 7A Organizers train at a regional warehouse in Tampa Luckily, Tropical Storm Emily bypassed the Tampa Bay area last week. That left Florida residents, as well as those from Zephyrhills, mostly unaffected by the first wave of named storms for the 2011 hurricane season. In a case of coincidental timing, the Salvation Army last week conducted a two-day series of discussions and demonstrations on preparing for Emily and other storms that could make landfall on either of the state s coasts dur- ing the next few months. Hurricane season began in June and extends through November. Bringing these folks together helps the Salvation Army to strategize on the best communication methods to let people know when and where we are serving, said Kevin Smith, who oversees all disaster operations in Flor- ida for the Salvation Army and led the meetings at the Tampa warehouse off Fletcher Avenue. As for the timing of the conferences with Tropical Storm Emily s appearance, Dulcinea Cuellar, director of public relations for the Salvation Army s Florida Division, termed it coincidental. STEVE LEE Volunteer Telford Bernard and Steven Hartsook, assistant director for the Salvation Army’s Florida Division of Disaster Services, apply a hand railing to a tractor-trailer at the organization’s Tampa warehouse. Salvation Army makes plans for 2011 storms ➤SALVATION: See Page 6A BY STEVE LEE News Reporter U.S. Rep Rich Nugent stumps for a balanced budget A series of recent town hall meetings planned for U.S. Representative Rich Nugent landed the former Hernando County Sheriff at City Hall last Friday. That informal morning get-together in the City Council chambers marked Nugent s sec- ond appearance in Zephyrhills in 2011. The 5th Congressional District representative previous- ly showed up at City Hall for a public meeting in the spring. The most important part of this is the abil- ity to hear from you, said Nugent (R-Brooks- ville), who also spoke in Dade City last week. Constituents asked questions after being updated on various issues facing Congress. The primary topic, however, centered on the recent budget debt crisis and raising of the nation s borrowing limit. Nugent, who voted to raise STEVE LEE U.S. Representative Rich Nugent stopped at City Hall last week for a town hall meeting, his second in Zephyrhills. Like numerous congressmen, Nugent is stumping for a balanced budget. Congressman has town hall meeting in Zephyrhills ➤NUGENT: See Page 9A BY STEVE LEE News Reporter BY DAVE WALTERS, MEDIA REPORTS News Reporter ➤MANHUNT: See Page 7A
