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WEEK IN REVIEW

Boy may walk with limp after being attacked by dog

ZEPHYRHILLS - A 4-year-old boy might walk with a limp after he was attacked by a family dog Monday, according to a Pasco County Sheriff's Office report.

Dylan Robert Medlock was at home with his uncle's girlfriend while his mother ran errands about 4 p.m., the report said.

Pamela Pelham, 27, told deputies she was walking Dylan toward the house from the front yard when Bo, the dog, got loose from his chain and ran to them.

The dog knocked down the boy and began playing with him, but the youngster kicked Bo, the report said, leading the dog to bite the boy. Pelham was not immediately able to get the dog away from Dylan, but when she did, she noticed the boy could not walk.

According to the report, Dylan had bites with punctures and bruising to his right bicep and right forearm. He had a bite on his lower left leg that tore the skin and muscle. His left leg was broken in two places.

The dog is expected to be quarantined for 10 days at the Land O' Lakes shelter, and will be observed for signs of rabies.

State-chartered utility looking to purchase more companies

NEW PORT RICHEY - About eight months after it bought troubled Aloha Utilities, Florida Governmental Utility Authority is negotiating the purchase of a half-dozen small water companies in western Pasco County.

The authority is also talking with the owner of Mad Hatter Utility in Land O' Lakes about a possible purchase.

The state-chartered utility is closing in on the purchase of 50-year-old Lindrick Service Corp., which serves several communities west of U.S. 19. The deal would be $16.8 million to buy the water company and $4.25 million to upgrade the system, less than the $23 million Lindrick's owners originally sought.

The others in FGUA's sights are Colonial Manor Utility Co., Virginia Cities, Holiday Utility Co., Pasco and Dixie Groves Utility Co. The authority is reviewing those systems and discussing a $4.25 million deal with the owner, FGUA attorney Brian Armstrong told Pasco County commissioners Tuesday.

Well ordinance questioned after code violation allegation

Dade City Commissioner Camille Hernandez made a motion last week to repeal the town's ban on private irrigation wells. She said it was about conservation and property rights.

It is wasteful to force homeowners to use the city's potable water to sprinkle lawns if they can afford to drill a well, she said. She was persuasive, getting a 3-2 vote to repeal a decades-old ordinance.

Hernandez left out one relevant detail: She had been accused of having a well on her Bougainvillea Avenue property that was in violation of the ordinance.

City Manager Billy Poe and engineer Lennie Naeyaert are investigating the allegation, which came to light after the vote.

The previous city manager and utility director apparently were aware of the possible code violation but had not dealt with it.

"I told staff they need to look into this," Commissioner Curtis Beebe said. "This was all pre-Billy and pre-Lennie, so they were not aware of the issue. I would like to think that personal issues are not affecting policy decision."

Officials in the water department turned up a letter from former City Manager Harold Sample, who retired on July 1, 2007, written on his last day in office. The letter, addressed to Hernandez's husband, David, indicates Sample had been aware of the well for six months.

"This is to confirm and document a conversation we had a few weeks ago concerning a non-City water source on your property," Sample wrote.

The Hernandezes had a separate meter for their sprinkler system but had it shut off in November 2005. The city became aware of the well after the couple asked the water department to move the meters as part of a landscaping project on their 1.8-acre property.

"We're researching whether it's an illegal well," Poe said. "It depends on whose side you listen to."