The state Department of Transportation has paused plans to extend Florida’s Turnpike northwest from Wildwood after four potential routes drew local opposition, the agency said.

The Department of Transportation said in a news release that feedback turned up concerns with “portions” of all four proposed routes.

“The goal of every project is to ensure all needs are met, environmental concerns are addressed, and community characteristics are protected,” Department of Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue said in a statement. “The region and local community should be assured that as we continue to refine and develop viable corridor concepts for this area, it will include extensive engagement with community leaders and the community as a whole.”

The news release also said the department is dedicating resources to improvements along the Interstate 75 corridor. Transportation officials didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday.

The pause drew quick support from several groups that have worked to block the turnpike extension, which originated in a 2019 law that called for three road projects known as “multi-use corridors of regional economic significance,” or “M-CORES.” Major parts of the law were later scrapped, but the turnpike extension remained.

In an email to supporters, Vivian Young, communications director of the growth-management group 1000 Friends of Florida, credited local residents and elected officials “who clearly understand the many negative impacts of the proposed turnpike extension — and associated sprawling development — on their rural economies, water quality, environment and quality of life.”

Resolutions supporting a “no-build” option have been backed by the Citrus County Commission, the Levy County Commission, the Dunnellon City Council, the Inglis Town Commission, the Yankeetown Council and the Inverness City Council.

A steering committee of the No Roads to Ruin Coalition called the pause “the best news the No Roads to Ruin community has received since M-CORES reared its ugly head in 2019.”

“This ‘pause,’ whatever it may mean, is directly related to the mobilization of the Citrus, Levy, Marion and Sumter county voters who dared to refuse to take ‘toll’ for an answer,” the No Roads committee said in a news release.

The M-CORE plans in 2019 also included building a toll road from Collier County to Polk County and extending the Suncoast Parkway from Citrus County to Jefferson County.

The plans were scaled back in 2021. The Collier to Polk toll road was dropped. The proposed route running north from Citrus County was revamped to more weave along U.S. 19, connecting at Interstate 10 in Madison County.

The department had been working toward producing an end-of-the-year “status report” on the turnpike extension, with public meetings expected to be held during the first half of 2023.

Transportation officials have also followed a corridor-evaluation process that includes a project-development and environment study. In addition to the four routes, the process has included looking at a no-build option.

The study had a second quarter 2024 completion timeline.

The department news release didn’t spell out what the pause means for the timeline, only that “additional details will be available as we move further along.”

The No Roads to Ruin Coalition release interpreted the “additional details” line as a signal the project isn’t “dead.”

“Until FDOT makes its position crystal clear, we will remain vigilant and involved,” the coalition said.

Jim Turner reports for the News Service of Florida.

Copyright 2022 News Service of Florida. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

August 03, 2022

DUNNELLON — When Dunnellon resident Tangie Pate’s husband, Mike Davis, told her there was someone outside for her on Tuesday afternoon, she assumed the worst.

“At first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, is it my son?’ Because he's 18 and he just started driving,” Pate said. “I was like, ‘Oh God, please don't be like the cops or something.' "

Pate, 43, was pleasantly surprised to be greeted instead by a suited man, Dave Sayer, holding balloons, roses and champagne – and a giant check for $100,000.

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“Oh my God,” she said, squealing with excitement. “This is amazing. I literally just got laid off from my job like two weeks ago.”

'Someone has to win. Why not me?'

Sayer, who founded the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol, travels the country giving out prizes to unsuspecting residents who have entered sweepstakes or played games online.

“You haven't been entering our sweepstakes that long, according to our records, so it’s sort of beginner's luck,” he told Pate.

Pate said she has been diligent about playing online games to enter the sweepstakes every day since June, and Davis added that she has done so “religiously.”

While many people don’t believe that Publishers Clearing House truly awards the prizes as has been publicized on TV, the visit confirmed the legitimacy of the sweepstakes for Pate.

“I was kind of sort of one of those people, but I've always had hope, and I believe that whatever's meant for me will come to me,” she said. “Someone has to win. Why not me? And my great uncle always said you can't win if you don't try, if you don't play.”

Money for bills, home renovations and vacation

She had played one of the online games until it closed and the screen read that the winner was in Florida.

“Oh, please, let it be me,” she remembered thinking. “I just know they're going to drive down my driveway.”

Pate and Davis were both born and raised in Ocala. They got married last year and now live on 30 acres in Dunnellon in Citrus County. They both work in the mortgage business, and Pate has been processing mortgages on the side in the meantime since losing her job.

First, she said, they will use the money to pay some bills.

“And my brother and my sister(-in-law) are renewing their vows in Jamaica, and we had to cancel because I just lost my job and we didn't want to spend the money, but guess what? Now, we’re going to Jamaica,” she said.

Lastly, Pate and Davis said they would likely do some renovations on their house that they have been dreaming about.

About Publishers Clearing House

Winners are chosen at random, and it’s free to enter the sweepstakes, though Pate says she does buy a lot from Publishers Clearing House ads.

Publishers Clearing House was founded in 1953 as a multi-magazine subscription agency and now offers various products and services, according to a press packet.

The Prize Patrol, which notifies sweepstakes winners in person, was founded in 1989.

The company’s online game network has over 10 million unique monthly visitors, and Publishers Clearing House has awarded over half a billion dollars in prizes.

The prizes are funded by company revenues, and no purchase is necessary to win.

Individuals can enter at pch.com, through promotional mailings, apps, emails or mail.

Contact reporter Danielle Johnson at djohnson@gannett.com.

15 new food vendors will bring plenty of different options to try at the New York State Fair this year. From Maine lobster to Texas barbecue, there's sure to be something for every taste bud.

“This large crop of new food and drink providers will offer fairgoers a wonderful chance to try new things and find new favorites," State Fair interim Director Sean Hennessey said. "At the same time, faithful fairgoers will be delighted to return to food places that they only get a chance to try once a year, too. I’ve already started to plan my Fair meals.”

New Fair Vendors

There will be more than 100 vendors with fried food, sweet treats, and boozy drinks this year. Tully's is bringing back their famous chicken fingers and Thousand Island Winery returns too.

NYS Fair Food & Drink Vendors

Alivero’s, Camillus, NYAshley Lynn Winery, Mexico, NYBabcia’s Pierogi, Lancaster, NYBarb’s Sugar Waffles / Awesome Onion, North Tonawanda, NYBasilio’s, Canastota, NYBavarian Roasted Nuts, Milford, PABeak & Skiff, Lafayette, NYBig Kahuna’s, Rhinebeck, NYBosco’s at the Fair, Solvay, NYBubble Tea, Knightdale, NCButcher Boys, New Port Richey, FLByrne Dairy, Weedsport, NYCandy Country Warehouse, Johnston, RICarr’s Cove, Syracuse, NYChester’s Gators & Taters, Raleigh, NCCoco Bongos of New York, Perry, NYColossal Onion / The Tot Spot / Lemonade, Tampa, FLCountry Corner, Liverpool, NYCoyote Moon Vineyards, Clayton, NYDaniella’s Steakhouse, Syracuse, NYDang’s Café, Syracuse, NYDean’s Soft Serve Ice Cream, Taberg, NYDecapio Family Concessions, Marcellus, NYDippin’ Dots Ice Cream, Elma, NYDoug’s Fish Fry, Cortland, NYElm Street Tacos, Lafargeville, NYExpress Café, Marston Mills, MAFresh Mex Mexican Grill / Deli, Syracuse, NYFried Specialties, Springhill, FLGarlic Festival Foods, Redding, CAHenry’s Hen House, Syracuse, NYHoran’s at the Great New York State Fair, Liverpool, NYHouse of Beers, Liverpool, NYICEE / Candy Castle, Beech Creek, PAIt’s a Utica Thing, New Hartford, NYJack’s Fries / Tootsie’s Fried Dough, Ware, MAJim’s Fries, Colden, NYJimmy B’s / Charlie’s / Tommy C’s, Syracuse, NYJJ’s, Syracuse, NYKiki’s Authentic Greek Food, Camillus, NYKing David’s, Jamesville, NYKitchen Maid Candy, Churchville, NYLas Delicias, Syracuse, NYMa & Pa’s Kettle Corn, Liverpool, NYMerritt Winery / Wine Slush, Forestville, NYMontezuma Winery, Seneca Falls, NYMoose Joose Slush, Mooresville, NCNancy’s Fried Dough, Rochester, NYNY State Brew Pub & Distillery and Others, Jamesville, NYOmanni’s Lemonade Heaven, Spartanburg, SCOtter Creek Winery, Philadelphia, NYPapa’s Pizza / Pig & Pota, Jamesville, NYParadise Companies of NY, Syracuse, NYPat’s Fresh Popped Kettle Corn, Hamburg, NYPeachey’s Baking Company, Sarasota, FLPerry’s Ice Cream, Marcellus, NYPickle Barrel Sirloin Tips / Elephant Ears, North Liberty, INPolar Bear Homemade Ice Cream, Unadilla, NYPoparazzi Kettle Corn, Lindenhurst, NYPoutine Gourmet, Plantsville, CTP-Z-O’s, East Syracuse, NYRussell’s Concessions, Daingerfield, TXSantillo’s, Naples, NYSarita’s Food, Rome, NYScotty’s Hot Dogs, Rome, NYShamrock at the Fair, Fabius, NYSkippy’s Ice Cream, Liverpool, NYStephen’s Greek Cuisine, Liverpool, NYSterling Creek General Store, Pulaski, NYStix & Things / Sweets & Things, Liverpool, NYSundaze The Hard Soft Serve, New Hartford, CTSweet & Sour USA, Palatine, ILSweeties Bloomers / Fiesta Italiana, Depew, NYSyracuse Suds Factory, Syracuse, NYThe Bacon Bomb – Hammi’s BBQ, Central Square, NYThe Bake Lab, Syracuse, NYThe Baked Potato Express, Liverpool, NYThe State Fair Deli, Syracuse, NYThousand Islands Winery, Alexandria Bay, NYThree Brothers Winery Wine Slushies, Geneva, NYTikki Turtle, Syracuse, NYToss ‘n’ Fire Wood-Fired Pizza, North Syracuse, NYTully’s Good Times, East Syracuse, NYTwin Trees Pizza, Brewerton, NYWest End, Fayetteville, NYWild Bill’s Curly Fries, Dunnellon, FLWilson Enterprises, Brant, NYYE-Ero, Woodside, NY

The New York State Fair runs from Wednesday, August 24 through Monday, September 5. Get everything you need for this year's fair, including tickets, at NYSFair.ny.gov.

New York State Fair Butter Sculptures Through the Years

Take a look at the Butter Sculptures over the years at the New York State Fair.

Gallery Credit: Credit - Polly McAdams

Fried, Baked, Glazed & Slathered Snacks at 2021 NYS Fair

Check out the new wild food creations you can try at the New York State Fair this year.

Gallery Credit: Credit - Polly McAdams

The future of construction technology is in Dunnellon’s backyard.

In the spring, AeroAggregates, a manufacturer of a ultra-lightweight, foamed glass product, which boasts environmental and cost-saving advantages over traditional stone-based construction materials, opened its second plant near the Dunnellon Airport, east of Dunnellon.

The company opened its first plant just five years ago in Philadelphia, but the pace of demand and the company’s ongoing research into more uses for its foamed glass have it already looking toward future expansions at the Dunnellon location. The plant opened with 25 employees in April.

The property was formerly occupied by Flowmatic Systems.

AeroAggregates uses small bits of glass provided by materials recycling facilities (MRFs) – often referred to as “murfs” – which it dries, cleans and feeds through customized kilns (ovens). The tiny glass used would otherwise languish in landfills.

Bob Schoen, one of the founders and owners of AeroAggregates, said the company estimated it had converted around 500 million bottles of glass. He said around 70 percent of used glass ends up in landfills because of the intensive process required to clean glass for reuse.

“We use the small pieces of glass no one needs or wants,” Schoen said. “The bits of paper (one the glass pieces) are the biggest problem. It tends to fall off after it’s dried (at the AeroAggregate mill).”

As sheets of the foamed glass (cake) are outputted from the kiln on a conveyor belt, the outside air hitting the extremely hot sheets causes them to crack into “rocks,” which are so lightweight they can be broken by hand. However, when the rocks are compacted together, the material is strong enough to serve as embankment material under highways to prevent flooding, which is currently the main use of Aero’s product.

The foamed glass is lightweight like Styrofoam, but it can’t be lit on fire and it doesn’t dissolve from gas, oil or acid, making it ideal for construction material.

Archie Filshill was working as a geotechnical engineer in Europe when he was first exposed to the technology. He was curious, so he arranged to have some of it shipped back to the U.S. when he returned home. When he started a construction company, a lightbulb went off in his head.

“I started seeing a need for lightweight fills because of all of the bad soils people were building on as they built where they never built before,” Filshill said at the plant’s grand opening.

Filshill said Florida is a particularly good fit for the technology, due to its need for flood prevention and resiliency plans.

“When the storm surge comes, our materials can actually absorb it, and it promotes infiltration back into the ground. Nobody has done this before in Florida, especially in South Florida, where it’s a really big issue.”

Filshill said the fact the technology existed in Europe, especially in Scandinavian countries, for the past 20 to 30 years helped the company sell its benefits and feasibility to engineers and the Department of Transportation. Before building its Philadelphia plant, the company conducted years of research and assembled reports to help prepare for the education campaigns that were to come.

“We call it an eight-year overnight success,” Filshill said.

Aero is pursuing larger applications of the technology, such as for counters and floors and concrete alternatives. Its lightness, fire resistance, and insulation qualities make it a candidate for more uses, but Schoen said the company has paused those pursuits until it can keep up with the potential demand. The company learned from its Philadelphia site and built more capacity into the Dunnellon location.

AeroAggregates’ biggest project to date was at the Philadelphia International Airport, which covered 100,000 cubic yards and required “quite a few mountains of material,” Schoen said.

“We’re basically sold out for the year,” Schoen said. “We don’t have a lot of material leftover, but we’re still interested in (more uses), because it’s an enormous market. It’s a good problem to have, but we have to be careful not to surprise (our buyers). We’re focused mostly on the infrastructure market.”

The sudden late June resignation of head football coach Brett Munroe at Liberty High sent Athletic Director Lonnie Flores into a frantic mode to find a replacement, but the search came to an end on Thursday when he announced Antony Smith would become the program’s next head coach.

“Obviously July is not the easiest time of the year to find a competent head coach, but I am really excited about getting Coach Smith to lead our program. We had 11 qualified candidates but the philosophies and vision for our program that Antony provided during his interview was really impressive. He has coached at many schools that are very similar to Liberty and I believe he will be a great fit for the Chargers.”

While most high school coaching movement happens in the first month or two of the year, Liberty was left scrambling when Munroe stepped down. Even after the interview process was completed and the decision to hire Smith was made, he was not permitted to coach or be on the field until after his paperwork had cleared. That final approval came at 11 a.m. on Thursday, causing Smith to sit out the first three days of fall practice.

“I’m in my car driving to Liberty right now and I’m ready to jump in,” Smith said. “It’s going to be a steep learning curve for everyone, but I am so excited to take over this program. I met some of the players earlier and I had the opportunity to watch their spring game this year, so I have a pretty good idea of what we are going to deal with this year in terms of talent. The enthusiasm the players are showing for football is a huge plus and I was extremely impressed with the commitment of the administration. There are a lot of good athletes at Liberty.”

Smith described himself as an offensive-minded coach who planned on using variations of the Veer on offense. “Obviously we will make some adjustments based on the talent we have to work with, but we will try to move the ball around.”

Since Cory Johns left after a four-year stint (2013-16) as head coach, Smith becomes the school’s fourth head coach in the last six years – something Flores says he hopes will change with this hiring. “One thing that really stood out in his interview was when he talked about his plans for the future and his desire to stay at Liberty for a long time. We’ve had a lot of good players and some success here in the last five or six years but no stability at head coach. That’s something both I and Coach Smith would like to see changed.”

Because of his late start, Smith said he was thankful that most of the 2021 coaching staff was still at Liberty. “First, because of the situation, I am so glad most of Coach Munroe’s staff are still here and were working with the kids during the summer and first week of practice. I thought they did a great job last year and will certainly be an important part as we transition this year.”

Smith, who graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2017 with a degree in Science Education, also earned a Master’s Degree in educational leadership from Saint Leo University. He spent the last two seasons as head football coach at Anclote High in Holiday, Fla. He moved to Orlando and taught school in the spring semester at Colonial High.

Prior to his stint at Anclote, he was the offensive co-coordinator and head junior varsity football coach at Lake Weir High. In 2018, Smith helped guide the Hurricanes to an 8-4 record, one playoff win and a spot in the regional semifinals. Smith also had previous coaching stops at Chiefland, Umatilla, and Dunnellon High.

One thing that neither Flores nor Smith will worry about in year one is the final record. “It takes time to build a program and Coach Smith is stepping into an unusual situation,” Flores said. “My job will be to give him the time and resources he needs to build that program.” Smith added “The administration has been very supportive of athletics and I look forward to working with them. My goal is to teach responsibility, discipline and build leadership in our athletes so they will be successful both on the field and in life.”