BROOKSVILLE — A proposal to have Hernando and Citrus counties work together on an effort to provide mental health services to children hit a speed bump Feb. 28 at the Hernando County Commission meeting.

Vehement public comment expressing concern over Lutheran Services’ LifeStream Behavioral Center and its practices has led to Hernando County possibly withdrawing from the agreement, in which both counties would contribute $2 million each to build a facility supposedly for children committed under Florida’s Baker Act.

The Baker Act allows a person to be committed to a mental health treatment center for up to 72 hours if they display certain violent or suicidal signs of mental illness. The act allows time for a mental health evaluation to be performed and to de-escalate a crisis.

Hernando County children committed under the Baker Act now have to be sent to facilities in Leesburg, Lecanto, sometimes in Pasco County and sometimes even further away, including to Volusia and Manatee counties.

But Citrus County resident Sabrina Watson said the LifeStream agreement last fall between Citrus and Hernando counties was a “back door” deal that lacked transparency.

At the last Hernando County Commission meeting, she added concerns that the facility would not be on the border, but in Lecanto instead, so children would still be sent to Leesburg and elsewhere.

LifeStream is a $60 million for-profit operation with numerous filed complaints, Watson said. It offers no metrics to the county on its performance, saying the information is proprietary, she added.

Resident Diane Liptak of Hernando Beach added safety concerns, citing negative reviews and what she said was a lack of documentation about its rehabilitation efforts.

She said that County Commissioner Beth Narverud said the facility was needed because of the 45 children Baker Acted each month in Hernando County, and that the same number is true for Pasco and Citrus counties.

If it’s the same for the state’s 67 counties, that would be 36,180 youths being put in a Baker Act facility in one year, Liptak said.

Narverud said that none of the commissioners are financially benefiting from the LifeStream deal. “Mental health is needed for the youth in this community,” she said.

Narverud said she appreciated Watson’s point of view on LifeStream and would look into it further. “LifeStream was presented to us in a very different way,” she said, “and I did get a call from a commissioner in Citrus County that had talked to me about their concerns about LifeStream as well. That was something I was going to bring up today.”

There is a problem with children who have mental health problems and do need help, but she said she believes children are Baker Acted too often. There is a problem with home life, discipline, kids getting out of control and not being monitored, and seeing things online, then acting out in school, commissioners agreed in their responses and in commentary after the agenda was completed.

Narverud later said that kids need help with compassion, and that very few parents whose children are “committed” under the Act will have anything positive to say about the system because of the difficulties they have dealing with the system.

If a resource officer feels a child needs to be Baker Acted, we have to trust their judgment, she said.

The county was glad to see a possible solution with Citrus County, Narverud said, but they will look into LifeStream.

Commissioner John Allocco said they need to find places to address the situations, and that he’d hardly ever heard of a mental health facility that got high grades.

“People are in bad situations when they end up there,” he said, noting he knew little about the company and how its business model is run.

Administrator Jeff Rogers said the board told staff to work with Citrus County on the facility in that county, and partnered with the county to expand that vision of juvenile support, wherever it is. It would be good for the whole state, he said, and it’s a statewide system. It’s a distance, but the location would be a lot closer than UCF in Orlando or Leesburg.

Partnerships are needed to run it, or government must run it, Rogers said. Citrus County will have LifeStream and the county’s hospital board at its next meeting to talk about how the partnership is coming together.

“I’ve provided them a letter, and sent it to you, that basically states that if we don’t have an agreement shortly … that’s going to provide for a building of the facility and a financial plan of how this is going to work this year, I’ll bring back to you for further direction of what you’re going to do with your $2 million,” he said. “I’ve notified their county administrator and their board that our decision will come shortly if they can’t figure out how to make this work.”

Citrus’ administrator has to put this together, Rogers said, and Hernando is hoping to expand the mission, if possible, and they’ll find out more next month.

They have been working with BayCare on keeping kids out of the system, and focusing on prevention, Rogers said.

Neither Citrus County Commissioner Jeff Kinnard nor LifeStream chief executive John Cherry responded to requests for comment.

Airport hydrant

County Commissioner Brian Hawkins said he wants to reconsider a decision in the case of American Aviation at the Brooksville Airport, which had a request for compensation for moving a fire hydrant rejected.

Three bids have been submitted, he said, and the cost has fallen, and he wants the issue brought up again.

Allocco agreed with Hawkins, adding that he’d like the operator of American Aviation to come to a commission meeting and explain what a fixed-base operator (FBO) is.

It should return to an agenda in the second week of March.

In addition, Hawkins said, he got a call from a citizen who was told it would take 45 to 60 days to get a permit to make a fix on a piece of property. There are just two permit technicians on staff, the citizen said he was told, and some are saying it’s taking 90 days to get a permit.

Phillips said permits are not being delayed and that there are more than two permit technicians, even after promotions and lateral movies.

Commissioner Jerry Campbell said he’s also had conversations like that, and said he doesn’t know if it’s current reality or frustration from past issues.

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. — The Kunze family moved to Hernando County at the beginning of the school year. They live near a construction site and as a result, their 7-year-old son is constantly picking up things off the ground.

What You Need To Know

Last week, Shane Kunze said several students including his son found gun shell casings at their bus stop.

“They just didn’t know what they were,” said Kunze. "They thought they were cool little things that they found.”

When his son was caught with the casings at school, Kunze said things took a turn.

“The teacher's aide saw them and said these are bullets and that’s when the kids got scared,” he said. “The teacher took them away, and it escalated to the situation that we are in today.“

Kunze’s son had a one day in-school suspension and was written up.

The family says they were also told this was a level three offense in the Student Code of Conduct.

The Kunze family’s 7 year old was suspended for bringing to school a gun shell casing he found on the ground at his bus stop. They say the child was unaware of what the object was & want @HernandoSchools to update student code of conduct. @BN9 pic.twitter.com/bN47phMi1i

— Fadia Mayté Patterson, M.S. (@FadiaTVNews) March 13, 2023

“It is not a bullet or a shotgun shell. It was never a projectile,” said the mother of the 7-year-old boy, Amanda Kunze.

When the school contacted Amanda Kunze, she said she was told the items were confiscated from her son.

“I thought that was the end of it,” she said.

It was not the end of it, and she feels her son’s punishment was too harsh.

Amanda Kunze brought the issue to the school board and the Superintendent’s attention to advocate for her son.

“I think it’s concerning the school will punish a child before even talking to parents,” she said.

The family is now calling on the district to update the school Code of Conduct.

They said the policy of being in possession of “harmful objects” is too vague.

“They have the discretion to go beyond what the code of conduct says. We live in a society where words are important, laws are important,” said Shane Kunze.

The Kunze Family said they don’t want other children to have this experience.

“This was an opportunity for adults who are professionally trained in education to help him grow and learn from this, instead they went the route of punishment,” said Shane Kunze.

The family said their son was punished by being isolated and embarrassed in front of his classmates. They are now concerned this will have a lasting and negative effect on his educational experience.

According to the family, Hernando Schools has reached out and said they want to reduce the level of the offense included in that student’s referral.

However, the family wants it removed completely from his record.

When Spectrum Bay News 9 reached out to the school district, officials said they didn’t discuss specific details of a student’s punishment.

On Saturday, March 4th, hundreds of people showed up at the City on a Hill event sponsored by more than forty area churches. The purpose of this gathering was to create unity among the people of the community and to focus on the problem of families who need support and children in need of foster homes or adoptive homes. The all-day event included music, worship, and testimonies of people who have been involved in either fostering or adopting children. A number of agencies that advocate for families and children in various capacities had tents set up with information about their organizations.

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Marion Thomson with Fostering Hope Florida, along with Gloria West-Lawson, founder of the organization, were there to talk about its purpose. They partner with another organization, Kids Central, to find foster homes for children. An individual who wants to become a foster parent goes through a screening process and takes a 30-hour course.

Along with their regular foster care program, there is also a program called “first responders.” This is for people who aren’t sure if they want to be foster parents. These individuals take the child for thirty days. After that period, if they decide they don’t want to make the long-term commitment, the child is guaranteed a permanent foster home.

For more information on Fostering Hope Florida, call (352) 701-0001 or email Gloria@fosteringhopeflordia.com.

Leslie Hosmer, Community Relations Specialist, and Lauren Abate, representing Kids Central, explained the purpose of their organization. Kids Central is the lead community-based care agency for Hernando and several other counties. They recruit, train and license foster parents and also help to find adoptive parents, so children have permanent, loving arrangements.

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Ms. Hosmer stated, “We have fifty homes right now, but there is always a need for more. The greatest need is homes for teenagers and for sibling groups because it’s mandated that siblings be kept together. This is why some people take in more than one child.”

To learn more about Kids Central, email info@kidscentralinc.org or call 352-873-6332.

A New Generation is a woman’s crisis pregnancy center. They offer free medical services such as ultrasounds, counseling for birth mothers who have given their child up for adoption, abortion counseling, after-abortion help for men and women, and parenting classes for mothers who decide to keep their babies. They do not tell the woman what to do, but they provide the woman with information so she can make an informed decision. Last year they saw 367 new clients.

Cheryl Bennett, Executive Director of A New Generation, commented, “Our primary goal is to give them truth and love and show them all the options regarding their pregnancy and help them make a decision they can live with long term.”

For further details on A New Generation, call 352-544-0911 or email info@anewgen.org.

A Door of Hope is a Christian-based organization that works with other agencies in the area to help find homes for foster children. They also work with churches to share their needs with their members and hopefully get those people involved in fostering children. Call 727-322-7640 or go to www.adoorofhope.com for more information.

The Department of Children and Family Services (DCF) is the state agency that investigates reports of child abuse, neglect, or abandonment. Its goal is to keep families together, if possible, through counseling and other services. If that isn’t possible, then they network with Kids Central to get the children into foster care. Afterward, DCF tries to get them out of the system and back into the family when there is a stable environment.

Erica Nurse, Program Administrator for Hernando County, remarked, “When a child needs to be removed from the home, we attempt to find family or friends who will take the child in. If that isn’t possible, then we find a foster home for the child.”

To contact the local DCF office, call 352) 754-6640 or email info@dcfoffices.org.

Better Together is an organization whose mission is to keep families together by offering support and preventive services. Their goal is to keep children out of the foster care system. They step in when families are in some sort of crisis, such as homelessness, substance abuse, or medical emergencies. They find people who will temporarily “host” these children while the parents get through these crises. Host families take children into their homes for an average of fewer than two months.

Kayla Palacios, who works with the organization, stated, “The parents never lose custody of their children. We also connect the families with a mentor who helps them through this crisis, job coaches, and community resources.”

One of their success stories is Heather Stotler. She was on the brink of homelessness, so while she was getting help, her son, Brayden, was “hosted” by a family. She found a job and temporary housing and was able to get her son back.

For more information on Better Together, call 352-665-1884 or email kayla@bettertogetherus.org

Safe Families for Children is another organization that works to prevent children from going into foster care. They partner with local churches to develop volunteers who can give relational and practical support to families in need. This could be something as simple as giving a parent a ride to a job interview.

Jewel Photopulos, Chapter Director for Hernando and four other area counties, commented, “We’ve averaged helping about twenty-five families per month throughout the Bay area. In the three years that the local chapter has been operating, we’ve only had one child who’s been removed from their parent.

For more details on Safe Families for Children, call 913-703-0075 or email jphotopulos@safefamilies.net

Amanda and Omar DePablo spoke about their experience being foster parents and then adoptive parents. The DePablos already had a 14-year-old daughter and 11- an year-old son when they decided to foster not just one child but three children. They were siblings−two newborns and a toddler. Their own children were all in on the decision when the DePablos eventually decided to adopt in 2016. It was challenging starting all over with diapers, formula, etc., but the couple is enthusiastic in their role as adoptive parents.

“The most gratifying thing is to know that these children are taken care of and are flourishing and confident,” Omar commented.

According to Javen Mirabella, one of the organizers of the event, more than fifty families, so far, have signed up to foster or adopt or to become involved with pre-foster support.

“The numbers are still coming in,” Mirabella remarked.

The City on a Hill event is a stellar example of what can happen when people unite in a common mission.

Our fellow turkey hunters in south Florida have been in the woods busting beaks and filling skillets for a couple of weeks now. Reports are rolling in, filling up my inbox from many of my friends that the breeding season is in full swing down that way. Here, in our hunting zone, which is anywhere north of State Road 70, the birds are just beginning to fire up and that means big things are in store for our season opener, The 2019 season is kicking off this weekend with the two day youth season, which is a great gift to the kids from our Florida Wildlife Commission, to allow them to take to the woods for their own chance at calling in a gobbler for their family’s table, but without having to do so in competition with the adults. Happily, I get to take advantage of this weekend, sort of a dress rehearsal for me, by guiding a youth to his first tom.

Early season is always an exciting time as the birds are fired up and I’ll be firing up my box call to match that excitement to hopefully get a gobbler’s attention. Now, I make my own callers and have a new box call that I just finished sanding and tuning that is sounding perfect. I’ll be using it in the mornings as the turkeys fly down to try to bring in a big boss tom right off of the limb. If he doesn’t come on the run and gets henned-up with a harem it’ll be a few hours before he’s bred the receptive ones and breaks away in search of one last piece of tailfeather. These late morning birds are the most vulnerable. That’s when I’m trading up my ornery sounding box call for a a much more subtle pot and glass call made by Spring King calls.

I was contacted a few years back by Kevin Vaughn, owner of Spring King Calls and asked to use one of his callers in order to offer some feedback and I gave them a two thumbs up. It’s got a soft and subtle yelp which is an all-natural sound you won’t find on the shelves in one of the mass-market chain stores. So, for late morning gobblers, desperate for a hen, I’m going to let that King sing and having called in fourteen gobbler for clients with Kevin’s call over the last few seasons, I’ve plenty of reason to be confident.

If you haven’t tried calling turkeys, there are only three vocalizations you need to learn to be successful. Yelps, clucks and purrs. Yelps strung together five or seven at a time in a rhythm will mimic a hen searching for a mate. Clucks are simply a casual call as if to say, “Hey, I’m over here,” and purrs are the sound of content and feeding turkeys which when that big tom is hung up out of range, soft feeding purrs can bring him on in.

You can find digital recordings of these, as well as a full range of turkey talk on Youtube, just search for Scott Ellis’s Hunt Quest series of videos; he’s produced some remarkable turkey calling tutorials. As always, I’d love to hear about your own outdoor adventures and maybe see a photo or two of your successes at Toby@HernandoSun.com. God Bless and good hunting!

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Nearly a week after her family's home was severely damaged in a fire, Elizabeth Reynolds said they are still struggling to find a place for all of them to stay.

She said they've searched sites like Airbnb and Vrbo with no luck.

What You Need To Know

"There's just nothing there because it's spring break," Reynolds said. "As far as we can tell, we can't find anything available until April."

Reynolds said she was making dinner on March 9 when smoke alarms went off on the second floor of her home on Roundelay Drive. She said her husband, Scott, walked toward the garage.

"He said it smelled electrical, and he went and opened the door and got hit in the face with the hot fumes and whatever was burning out there," said Reynolds.

She said she ran out the front door to get fire extinguishers stored at the front of the garage and found it engulfed in flames. Her son, Jasen, 20, a student at Pasco-Hernando State College, was also home at the time.

"You never expect to hear your parents yelling that there's a fire, and everything just became so chaotic so quickly," Jasen Reynolds said.

The family, along with their three dogs and pet geckos, all made it out.

"We got to watch our house burn from across the street," said Reynolds.

Reynolds said her husband was hospitalized and intubated.

"It's mind-boggling that everything changed so quickly," Reynolds said. "We've lost everything. It's all either burned or smoke damage."

Reynolds' husband has come home from the hospital, but she said he continues to recover. The family also continues to pick up the pieces. Reynolds said her and her son's cars were destroyed, and her husband's was damaged. Then, there's been the challenge of finding a furnished place to stay for the whole household, which also includes sons Logen, 14, and Lucas, 18. Right now, Reynolds, her husband and one son are staying with her daughter, Kaleigh, 30, while the other two boys are staying with friends. Her dogs are boarding at a kennel.

"I just really need to get us all back together," she said.

Reynolds said her family is looking for a furnished rental for five people and three dogs in the River Ridge area, where Logen and Lucas attend middle and high school. She said anyone who knows of something available can contact the family through a GoFundMe set up for them.