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Experienced neurologist Alexander Kiss, M.D., has joined Bayfront Health Medical Group. Dr. Kiss treats neck, back and facial pain, strokes, migraines, Alzheimer’s, dementia and more.
APRIL 12, 2017
Police unveil city’s crime stats
By Kevin Weiss
kweiss@lakerlutznews.com
A report generated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation finds overall crime and arrests decreased in Zephyrhills last year, but violent crime and domestic offenses went up. Zephyrhills police Capt. Derek Brewer presented the city’s 2016 uniform crime statistics, during a March 27 city council meeting. The figures were generated through the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), which the police department reports to semi-annually, to provide a useful barometer for addressing crimes citywide. The city’s total crime rate, which incor-
porates violent and property offenses, decreased 4.7 percent in 2016, the report shows. Violent crimes rose 3 percent (a total of 51 offenses). Property crimes fell 5.2 percent (a total of 879 offenses). Among property crimes, the city saw the largest decrease in burglaries and motor vehicle thefts. Burglaries were down 19.6 percent (86 actual offenses), and motor vehicle thefts were down 16 percent (21 actual offenses), in 2016. Meanwhile, the uptick in violent crimes,
Brewer said, is oftentimes attributed to narcotics offenses. (In the UCR Program, violent crime is composed of four offenses: murder and non-negligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.) To address the issue, Brewer noted the police department is taking a proactive approach toward narcotics arrests, using a special response team for surveillance and intelligence gathering “to attack the problem at a broader level.” “We’re going to focus on getting search warrants, as opposed to just controlled, See POLICE, page 15A
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‘UnCorked’ in Dade City Above, sampling the snacks and variety of wines, Dade City women, from left, Marsha Wooten, Alberta Wayland and Diana Greif share the moment with Wooten’s guest, Diane Ekberg, from Michigan. At left, Joe Teston plays his sax, with Dennis Alfonso in the background, during the Dade City Garden Club ‘UnCorked’ fundraiser.
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Pioneer Florida Museum makes film history By Kathy Steele
ksteele@lakerlutznews.com
The 19th century Overstreet House at Pioneer Florida Museum & Village aced the audition and got the casting call for its film debut. For two nights, the Dade City museum hosted actors and about a dozen graduate students from the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University. The front porch at the Overstreet House will be the setting for a climactic showdown of retribution and revenge in “The Terrible Trio.” The 12-minute live action short is the thesis film for Robert Eaton, director, screenplay co-writer, and FSU graduate student. His film will debut on campus at FSU, but Eaton anticipates also showing “The Terrible Trio” at small film festivals. The actors and FSU film crew came to Dade City to shoot their movie on museum grounds after hours. They blocked out scenes, ran cables, set up lighting, rehearsed and filmed scenes from late afternoon until past midnight on March 27 and March 28. It is the first time that anyone can recall the museum, and Overstreet House, being featured in a movie. The museum more often is a popular field trip for elementary students who like to end their day with a picnic on the grounds, said Stephanie Black, the museum’s executive director. But, she added: “It’s thrilling to have a film crew take over at night.” Black said she got an email from FSU asking for pictures of Overstreet House. Students then came down for a visit and an agreement was reached to allow filming. In return, the museum will receive a copy of the film, a screen credit, and an invitation to the screening. Eaton said Overstreet House competed with another local 1910 house.
KATHY STEELE
Students from the Florida State University’s film school set up lighting for night scenes shot at the Pioneer Florida Museum & Village, in Dade City.
But, Overstreet came closest to matching a 1870s “bachelor pad” for a character that Eaton describes as “the king of outlaws.” The house had simplicity and one irresistible feature - a front porch. The character, Ronaldo Rey, is of Mexican heritage, slick and intelligent, Eaton said. Rey (which means king in Spanish) and a gang of corrupt lawmen rob a trio of misfits of gold, furs and a horse. The theft strips them of their livelihoods. Eaton described his characters as atypical for a Western. One is a former slave and a Mandingo
fighter. Another is a Canadian fur trapper, and the last is Felicity Ford, the female protagonist and film lead. She is struggling to be a strong, independent woman in the Old West. However, the exact locale of the story is deliberately ambiguous. It could be the Deep South, but then Eaton said the story could unfold somewhere between Florida and California. The plot unfolds as the terrible trio bands together to reclaim their possessions See FILM, page 15A