2008-09-03

THE NEWSCASTER PLEASE

RECYCLE

Deborah Russell - Editor/Publisher Tom Russell - Consulting Editor Mike Moore - Photojournalist Sally Price Correspondent

Wednesday September 3, 2008

A Publication of Newscaster Publishing

PRESORTED STANDARD US Postage Paid Inglis, FL 34449 Permit No. 4

Squawk Box With Mike Moore

Pricing Gives U.S. Gas A couple of weeks ago, I told anyone that complained about $4.00/gal gas prices to shove off, well, because I’d just got done paying almost $120.00 to fill up a rental car I was driving in North Britain. Thankfully, no one has written in to tell me to go back to Britain. But one reader did write in and complain about the differences in gas prices here in our immediate area and THAT was worth squawking about… or at least I thought so. The observation was that gas between towns around our publication area can differ by $.18/gal or more. I thought it worthy enough a question (and so did the boss) that I set out on a little, yes, a little, (hey, gas is almost $4.00/gal for crying out loud!) trip around the county to see what was up. Gas prices indeed differ. We all know that. The individual retailer of gasoline in this country has very little control over the price of gas at the pump. There are many reasons for this, the foremost is that the wholesale pricing is determined by the some of the largest companies in the world (the energy giants like Texaco, Mobile, and Shell) and their smaller but effectively large cousins like Murphy. Then there are the distributors like Coastal, and Kangaroo, and finally the independents (that are very largely overshadowed by the big guys). “Ewing Oil” the make believe oil ‘giant’ in the Hollywood show “Dallas” would have been such an independent. Anyway, the world market sets the real price, the giants refine and set the wholesale price and the individual gas station charges an average of 7-11% over wholesale, and makes that the retail price for us, the Continued on page 3 - Squawk Box

Adopt A Pet Page 2

Homeowner defaces community entrance wall on Gospel Island, Inverness in protest to homeowners association decisions. Like Hatfields and McCoys, community relations are strained to the breaking point and ends in drastic measure. See full story below. Photo by Mike Moore

Copeland Park Shooter in Custody Actions of Homeowner Perplexes Neighborhood By Newscaster Correspondent Mike Moore Twin Lakes ,Inverness resident and homeowner John Potkul took matters into his own hands and defaced and damaged the entrance wall to his community over an land dispute with the community's association. He says the wall was on his property and was 'sinking into a sinkhole' and he had every right to do whatever he pleased to the wall. Police were called out on several occasions when Mr. Potkul started demolishing the structure, then piling leaves and other yard debris in Continued on page 4 - Neighborhood

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office responded to a call at 4:08 p.m., Aug. 27, a shooting in Crystal River in the 200 block of N.E. 9th Ave., a street bordering Copeland Park. The caller said that her brother had just been shot and that she and her brother would meet deputies at the Race Trac gas station. At the gas station, detectives and deputies spoke with 19-year-old Jesus Galarza, who was having difficulty breathing due to an obvious gunshot wound to his upper right chest. Galarza spoke with officers before he was airlifted to Shands Medical Center in Gainesville for medical treatment. According to Galarza, his sister and his sister's friend: Garlaza had called the girls, requesting that his sister pick him up at a residence near Copeland Park. After the girls picked up Galarza, Galarza's sister's friend received a call on her cell phone from 21-year-old Devore Laron Thomas, who made a comment to the effect of, "Why can't Galarza be a man?" She handed the phone to

Galarza, who then also spoke with Thomas. When the call ended, Galarza asked the girls to return to the park, so that he could speak with Thomas. Galarza's sister's friend told officers that she had dated Thomas in the past. The girls dropped-off Devore Thomas Galarza at Copeland Park, near N.E. 2nd St. Galarza, who had known Thomas for about three months, walked up to Thomas and asked him what the problem was between them. Thomas immediately pulled-out a handgun from his waistband and fired two or three rounds, and one round struck Galarza in the chest. As the girls drove away, they heard two gunshots. Fearing for Galarza's safety, they returned to the park, where they saw Thomas, armed with a small black handgun, chasing Galarza. When Continued on page 12 - Shooter in Custody