As the story goes, three years before his death in 1226, Francis of Assisi had been visiting central Italy around Christmas time when he fell ill and asked a friend to build a grotto.

There, Francis created a Nativity scene: a straw-filled manger and two live animals.

Then on Christmas night, people from the surrounding area came by torchlight to contemplate the scene and its significance.

Over the years and all across the world, live Nativity scenes depicting the passage in the gospel of Luke, of Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus, the shepherds and their sheep, have been a part of the Christmas celebration.

“A live Nativity is something that all can come and see the story of Jesus,” said Steve Phillips, associate pastor at Gulf to Lake Church in Crystal River. “It all points to Jesus Christ. In a world that is broken and divided, Jesus brings it and holds it all together.”

This year in Citrus County several churches present opportunities to contemplate the birth of the Savior “wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12).

The Hills Church will host a “Drive-through Live Nativity” on Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 6-8 p.m. located at the church, 2 Civic Circle, Beverly Hills.

Christmas is right around the corner, and they want to help the holidays be the best they can be. Join them for two beautiful nights of the Bible story.

Stay comfortable in the car and watch as the actors portray the scenes from the Bible. All are welcome. For more information, call 352-746-6171.

Sheep, goats, camels, freshly baked cookies and a petting zoo are all part of Gulf to Lake Church’s Drive-through Live Nativity from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, Tuesday, Dec. 6, and Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the church, 1454 N. Gulf Ave. (off State Road 44 near Meadowcrest), Crystal River, FL 34429.

For information, call the church at 352-795-8077 or email info@gulftolake.com.

Living Waters UPC of Inverness proudly presents, “Journey to Bethlehem,” live Nativity experience.

The community is invited to this walk-through tour featuring live animals, hot cocoa, cookies, and holiday fun for the whole family, from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at Living Waters UPC of Inverness, 1201 S. Bea Ave., Inverness.

Come and experience what the town of Bethlehem may have been like on that holy night.

For more information, call the church at 352-419-4501 or go to their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ livingwaters.upc.

Chronicle reporter Nancy Kennedy can be reached at 352-564-2927 or by email at nkennedy@chronicleonline.com.

The wheels of government turn slowly, especially when it involves Florida’s rivers and lakes. But eight months after Inverness officials notified state water regulators the city wanted to build a beach on land the city already owned, there’s not been much progress.

Monday, Inverness City Manager Eric Williams said he will this week send the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFTMD) and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, a memo of exemption. That letter will point out that the city owns a strip of submerged land of Lake Henderson along Wallace Brooks Park and the city plans to dredge it.

Williams has been discussing the city’s desire with state regulators about wanting to build a beach at the site since February, but has little to show for it.

Currently, the remains of a beach still exist there, but sand has slid back into the water. The memo of exemption will cite a 1962 city document recording a public dedication by Florida of submerged lands of Lake Henderson to the city at Wallace Brooks Park and for the city to develop.

State water officials will have 30 days to respond and Williams said his plan is to start contacting dredging companies on day 31. His plan is also to have the beach open by summer for swimmers.

Williams is also changing the vernacular surrounding the issue.

He said the memo of exemption, stating that the city need not go through the traditional permitting processes, will also explain that the project is one of dredging and reclamation, not necessarily a beach.

“Since we own the land,” Williams said that the city will do a reclamation of the lake’s bottom along a 150-foot long section along the water’s edge.

Historical photos show sand on a relatively small section of the lake at Wallace Brooks Park and more recent photos show how the sand has slid into the lake.

“This is simply a restoration of the beautiful sand bottom of the lake ... traditionally used for decades (by swimmers),” he said.

If the city trucked in sand to the site and spread it along the ground by the water (like a beach), Williams said that sand would be considered foreign or non-native material to the lake and the city would have to build a retaining wall.

By simply using the existing sand, that won’t be a problem, he said.

The absence of the wall, and sidestepping other engineering work, will save the city about $100,000.

Hunter Springs Park in Crystal River is an example of a beach with introduced sand and a partial retaining wall, albeit some sand has made its way into the spring water.

When asked by the Chronicle about the popular Crystal River beach, Williams replied that since state water officials allowed Hunter Springs and its foreign sand, there’s no reason why they should see problems with Inverness’ plans, especially since the city already owns the submerged land along a section of Lake Henderson.

Asked by the Chronicle about the 1962 dedicated land under the lake, Williams said that such an ownership was unique in Florida.

Asked whether the submerged land dedication was a problem getting the beach done, he said SWFTMD could always try and take back the dedication.

Fred Hiers is a reporter at the Citrus Chronicle. Email him at fred.hiers@chronicleonline.com.

Find out how Florida hospitals were rated on the Fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grades report from The Leapfrog Group.

|Updated Wed, Nov 16, 2022 at 10:44 am ET

Updated: 10:43 a.m., Wednesday

FLORIDA — Several Florida hospitals have made improvements in protecting patients from preventable errors, accidents, injuries and infections while others have fallen short, according to the Fall 2022 Hospital Safety Grades report released Wednesday.

The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit health care watchdog group, used an academic grading scale with five letter grades to score nearly 3,000 hospitals nationwide on more than 30 measures of patient safety. Leapfrog says its hospital rating system is the only one in the country focusing solely on a hospital’s ability to protect patients from preventable errors.

In Florida, 72 hospitals received an A, 53 hospitals received a B, 55 hospitals received a C and three hospitals received a D grade. No hospitals received an F.

Here are the ratings, according to Leapfrog:

Find out what's happening in Sarasotawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A

B

C

D

With the release of its fall report, The Leapfrog Group has analyzed hospital safety data for a decade. Most hospitals have improved over time under more public scrutiny, Leapfrog Group President and CEO Leah Binder said in a news release.

“For a long time, the health care community tried to improve safety, but progress stalled,” Binder said. “The big difference over this decade is that for the first time, we publicly reported each hospital’s record on patient safety, and that galvanized the kind of change we all hoped for.

“It’s not enough change, but we are on the right track,” she said.

Notably, hospitals reduced what are called “never events” — accidents and errors that never should have happened, the release said. Incidents of falls and trauma and incidents in which objects were unintentionally left in a patient’s body during surgery were down 25 percent, the watchdog group said.

Also, according to the report, progress on the number of patients treated for health care-associated infections declined to pre-pandemic levels.

Nearly two dozen hospitals have received straight-A reports every year since the Leapfrog Group began its safety grades in 2012. They are:

Search for your hospital’s fall 2022 safety grade and read more about the methodology.

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Inverness City Council candidates are required to submit their first financial statements Friday, detailing their candidate war chests and who is helping to fund their campaign.

For the council’s two incumbents running unopposed, Linda Bega and Gene Davis, Friday’s submissions will be their first and final submission before November. Bega represents seat 5 and Davis seat 3.

Get more from the Citrus County Chronicle

Candidates that will face elections in November will be incumbent David Ryan for seat 1 and candidates wanting his council job Crystal Lizanich and John Labriola.

Also matching off in the November general election will be incumbent Mayor Robert Plaisted and his opponent Michael Schulman, seeking the mayor position.

While the first financial documents are due Friday, the candidates have already filed some information reporting addresses and sources of income.

Bega reported she received rental income from real estate properties, revenues from Apopka Marine in Inverness, and real estate sales from Landmark Realty, which she owns.

Bega listed more than 30 Inverness properties that she owned throughout the city. She listed no financial liabilities.

Davis listed primary sources of income as Accutax Funding, LLC, InverMed Properties, LLC, Nature Coast Land, LLC, and Citrus County land, LLC.

He also listed Truist Bank, director fees, and again Accutax, tax certificates/deeds as secondary sources of income.

He listed owned property on Highland Boulevard, Apopka Avenue, Hickory Avenue, and Suncoast Boulevard.

Ryan listed his federal retirement from the U.S. Department of Energy as income, as well as Social Security, and income from the city council. He also listed his wife’s retirement as income. Liabilities listed were an auto loan and Quicken loan.

Lizanich listed as her primary income coming from Advanced Urology Institute in Inverness. Her liability was the U.S. Department of Education.

Labriola listed Miami-Dade County, county government, as his primary source of income. The Chronicle contacted the county commission office and an employee said he no longer worked there. He listed an auto loan and Westlake Financial /Newrez LLC as liabilities.

Plaisted reported rental income, trust fund income, investments, Social Security benefits, and an IRA. He listed as owning 13 properties in addition to stocks.

He listed Suncoast Credit Union as a creditor.

Schulman listed as income military retirement, a US government civilian annuity, and Social Security benefits. He listed AnchorPoint Analytics, LLC as a secondary income source. The company sells guide books. He listed as owning a property on Arabian Way and two on North Schult Terrace, Citrus Springs.

No liabilities were listed.

Fred Hiers is a reporter at the Citrus Chronicle. Email him at fred.hiers@chronicleonline.com.

Road rage led a Beverly Hills man to allegedly open fire on another motorist before he was apprehended with over half-a-pound of marijuana.

Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies took 19-year-old Vito Joseph Scarangella into custody Tuesday night, Oct. 18, from a median turn lane roughly a quarter-mile west of State Road 44 and County Road 491, according to Scarangella’s arrest affidavit.

Prior to that, deputies were dispatched at around 8:57 p.m. Tuesday to a possible shooting near the intersection of S.R. 44 and North Independence Highway in Inverness, and the shooting victim was following the suspected shooter west on S.R. 44.

A responding deputy came across the shooter’s vehicle heading west on S.R. 44 at 106 mph, weaving in and out of traffic, and pulled it over west of S.R. 44 and C.R. 491.

Multiple deputies gave the vehicle’s driver, who was identified as Scarangella, multiple commands to exit the vehicle and surrender, but he refused until several minutes later, according to his arrest report.

After detaining Scarangella, the vehicle’s sole occupant, deputies searched his vehicle to find 304 grams of marijuana, a loaded .40-caliber pistol, and a digital scale underneath the driver’s seat.

According to the victim, who wasn’t identified in the arrest report, he and Scarangella got into an argument near S.R. 44 and Davidson Avenue because Scarangella was tailgating him.

As the argument continued, the victim told deputies, Scarangella brandished a firearm, aimed it at the victim and fired.

Both motorists followed each other to the intersection of S.R. 44 and Independence Highway, the victim said, where Scarangella drove through the parking lot of the nearby Reliance gas station and stopped on the northbound lane of Independence Highway.

When the victim turned onto Independence Highway, he told authorities, Scarangella fired another gunshot at him before driving west on S.R. 44.

Scarangella, according to his arrest report, gave deputies similar statements but said he fired from his vehicle because he was in fear for his life, and was driving at such high speeds to get to safety.

Deputies arrested Scarangella on charges of discharging a firearm from a vehicle near a person, illegally carrying a concealed firearm, driving recklessly, resisting law enforcement without violence, possessing a controlled substance, and two counts of aggravated assault.

Scarangella was jailed under a $25,000 bond.