The Citrus County Veterans Services Department is offering help for Veterans who have had their Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) claim denied.Veterans who have been denied within the past two years are asked to contact us to review your case and discuss your compensation/pension examination.All Veterans who have been diagnosed by the Lecanto VA Mental Health center and have been denied are encouraged to contact the Citrus County Veterans Office.

To schedule an appointment to discuss your claim, contact the Citrus County Veterans Office at 352-527-5915. You will need to have your denial letter and a copy of your compensation examination by Gainesville.You can get a copy of your exam either by requesting it through the VA medical records or from the primary care window in Lecanto.

For more information on Citrus County Veterans Office, log onto www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/commserv/vets.

Contact: Samuel Dininno

County Veteran Service Officer

352-527-5915

The area of the CR 486 and SR 44 Intersection will be experiencing significant traffic delays at various times during the week of June 17th due to a shift in traffic. This procedure will shift traffic from the old portion of CR 486 to the recently constructed roadway. Lane closures, throughout the week, should be expected on both CR 486 and SR 44 in this area. Please contact the Citrus County Engineering Division at (352) 527-5446 for additional information.

The Enterprise Zone Development Agency is currently accepting applications for one position. The agency was formed on December of 2012. Florida State Statute 290.0056(2) requires the governing body appoint a board of commissioners of the agency. The agency will require a varied interest of persons to discuss, review, and decide on specific items.

One vacancy on the Enterprise Zone Development Agency to represent the following entities for a two (2) year term that will expire on April 30, 2015:
• Local financial or insurance entities

The application form is available at http://www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/commissioners/advboards/advisory_board_application.pdf

Send completed application together with a recent resume to:
Citrus County Board of County Commissioners
ATT: Amy Pace
Planning Coordinator
Geographic Resources and Community Planning
3600 W. Sovereign Path
Suite 292
Lecanto, FL 34461
#352-527-5258
#352-527-5252 Fax

The Historic Resources Advisory Board is currently accepting applications for four positions. The agency was formed on October 28, 2003. The board requires a varied interest of persons to discuss, review, and decide on specific items.

Vacancies on the Historic Resources Advisory Board to represent the following entities for a two (2) year term that will expire on January 31, 2015:
• One Member-at-Large position
• One Archaeologist position
• One Historian position
• Two Alternate Member positions

The application form is available at http://www.bocc.citrus.fl.us/commissioners/advboards/advisory_board_application.pdf

Send completed application together with a recent resume to:
Citrus County Board of County Commissioners
ATT: Amy Pace
Planning Coordinator
Geographic Resources and Community Planning
3600 W. Sovereign Path
Suite 292
Lecanto, FL 34461
#352-527-5258
#352-527-5252 Fax

The Citrus County Port Authority will meet Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 9am at the Citrus County Courthouse, Room 100, to discuss the business of the Port Authority. The Port Authority will review and discuss Task#1 of the Feasibility Study being conducted by TranSystems. The Courthouse is located at 110 N. Apopka Ave., Inverness, FL 34450.

This meeting is open to the public. The agenda and back-up materials will be available online at http://citruscountyfl.iqm2.com/Citizens/Default.aspx prior to the meeting.

Any person requiring reasonable accommodation at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the Citrus County Administrator’s Office, 110 North Apopka Avenue, Inverness, FL 34450, (352) 341-6560, at least two (2) days before the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, use the TDD Telephone (352) 341-6580.

(Pictured Above: Laurie Diestler, Nature Coast Volunteer Center Supervisor; Andrew Meaders, Citrus County Fire Rescue; Julie Shutt, Home Depot; Chief Deputy Jim Goodworth, Citrus County Fire Rescue; Kevin Pappadouplos, Citrus County Fire Rescue)

Nature Coast Volunteer Center, which is part of the Board of County Commissioners, has been awarded the “Communities for a Lifetime” grant from the state of Florida Department of Elder Affairs. The purpose of this program is to provide and install smoke alarms throughout the month of June for seniors in need, age 60 and older. The goal is to help at-risk seniors age in place safely and independently.

This is a collaborative effort between Citrus County Board of County Commissioners, and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Division of Fire Rescue, with the support of Home Depot, the Citrus County Chronicle, and WYKE.

Funds are limited. Any senior who is in need of this assistance is encouraged to contact the Nature Coast Volunteer Center at (352) 249-1275 for more information.

One of the leaders on tourism in the Tampa Bay area will be the guest speaker at the next Tourism Development Council meeting Wednesday, June 12. Doug McClain, Vice President of Marketing and Tourism for Visit Tampa Bay, will speak to the TDC Board on issues such as destination marketing, branding, and economic development through tourism. McClain is a tourism marketing executive with 20 years of regional and national destination marketing experience.

TDC meetings are held at the Lecanto Government Building in room 166, at 9:00 a.m. The TDC is an advisory board appointed by the BOCC. The Tourist Development Council makes important decisions on the direction of Citrus County’s tourism industry, and the spending of tourism dollars. For more information about TDC meetings, call the Tourism office at 352-628-9305.

The Citrus County Veterans’ Advisory Board will meet on Thursday, June 13, 2013 in the Citrus County Resource Center, 2804 W. Marc Knighton Ct., Lecanto, Florida, 34461 beginning at 3:30 p.m.

Any person requiring reasonable accommodation at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact the County Administrator’s Office, 110 North Apopka Avenue, Inverness, Florida, 34450, (352)341-6560, at least two days before the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, use the TDD telephone (352) 341-6580.

For more information, please call the Veterans Services Dept. at #352-527-5915.

The Citrus County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday, June 18, 2013, at 5 p.m. in room 166 in the Lecanto Government Building. On the agenda will be Hardest Hit, SHIP, CDBG, NSP 1 & 3, Section 8, Shelter Plus Care, and Emergency Solutions Grant, among other items on the agenda.

This committee was formed to improve the housing situation in Citrus County by studying and developing projects, coordinating with county staff and by making recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners. The Affordable Housing Advisory Committee meets every third Tuesday at 5 p.m. in room 166 in the Lecanto Government Building.

If any person decides to appeal any decision made by the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee with respect to any matter considered at this public meeting or hearing, he or she will need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made which record shall include the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Any person requiring reasonable accommodation at this meeting because of a disability or physical impairment should contact Housing Services, 2804 W Marc Knighton Ct, Key #12, Lecanto, FL 34461 (352-527-7520), at least two days before the meeting. If you are hearing or speech impaired, use the TYY telephone (352) 527-5901.

The Chassahowitzka Springs sediment removal project being conducted by the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s (District) team of springs experts is already underway. Eliminating the sand and organic materials that have deposited at the bottom of the spring over time will improve the recreational, economic and ecological value of the Chassahowitzka waterway, resulting in a cleaner, more historic looking body of water.

The District contracted with Underwater Engineering Services, Inc. (UESI), a marine construction company based in Fort Pierce, Florida, to complete the sediment removal. The project is scheduled to be completed in September 2013. UESI divers will remove the damaging nutrient-rich sediments from the headsprings by using a pump that works much like a swimming pool vacuum. The sand and water mixture moves through hoses to fabric bags where clear water filters out leaving the sediments in the bags. The bags are then removed and the sediments are used as a soil supplement on nearby private property.

The construction for the Chassahowitzka project will begin Monday, June 3rd. Citrus County will begin by establishing survey controls followed by the installation of the asphaltic curbing, outfall structure, decant water settling basin, and discharge channel. This work is expected to be completed by Friday, June 7th. The project is divided into different phases, including several weeks for site preparation, a few weeks for the installation of piping, tanks and other machinery and 10 weeks for the sediment removal operations.

The Chassahowitzka headsprings are rich in both prehistoric and historic artifacts. To protect and conserve these non-renewable cultural resources, UESI contracted with Southeastern Archaeological Research, Inc. (SEARCH) to developed a plan to first survey the springs’ basin and then monitor the sediment removal operation. SEARCH will identify and evaluate any cultural resources discovered for their National Register eligibility. Once identified, the artifacts will be documented by SEARCH and cataloged by the Division of Historical Resources in Tallahassee. The items will then be returned to Citrus County for public display. SEARCH and the District will also conduct a Public Archaeology event at the Chassahowitzka Headsprings to educate participants about the resources encountered during the survey and promote preservation of cultural materials found in Florida’s springs.

For more information on the Chassahowitzka project, please call Philip Rhinesmith, Sr. Environmental Scientist for SWFWMD at 352-796-7211 ext. 4266 or Susanna Martinez Tarok, SWFWMD Public Information Officer at 813-985-7481 ext. 2008.