From restaurant violations to death: Top 10 Press Gazette stories in 2019

MILTON — A review of Santa Rosa Press Gazette stories written in 2019, found the most popular subject for our readers is restaurants, specifically restaurant inspection violations and death stories. Each of these subjects had three stories each in the Top 10. The remaining four stories had to do with a restaurant opening, drug arrest, a demotion and saving a child.

The SRPG compiled a list of the Top 10 stories of the year based on online views by our readers. Here are the results in order of popularity.

Milton eatery closes after roach discovery – 32,797 page views

Tastee Freez, located at 6511 Caroline St., received three high priority and 11 basic violations in May. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspectors closed the restaurant until the violations were corrected.

Inspectors reported seeing live and dead roaches and 11 live flying insects in the food preparation area. In addition there were high priority violations of raw animal food stored over ready-to-eat food. Raw chicken stored on top of cut onions and tomatoes in the walk in cooler. Inspectors also saw raw burgers over cut lettuce. Inspectors returned the next day, twice, to inspect and found the restaurant met standards and was allowed to open.

Students grieve Milton sophomore’s death – 22,042 page views

A popular Milton High School sophomore committed suicide in October. It led to counselors being provided to help other students and even teachers cope with the death, said Milton Principal Tim Short. “We have a lot of hurting kids right now,” Short said. “He was popular with the students, as well as the teachers.”

Short advised one of his teachers who was at a loss for words to tell his classmates about how the students suicide impacted the school and the community. He instructed the teacher to tell students to seek help from someone qualified to help them. “If we share that message, we can teach a life lesson about making a good, safe, sound decision,” Short said.

Milton High athletic director demoted after ‘egregious’ actions – 19,944 page views

In August, Santa Rosa County Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick demoted Milton High School Athletic Director Murray Rutledge for misappropriating thousands of dollars in stipends to coaches and failing to adequately supervise volunteers in the school’s sports programs. Wyrosdick called Rutledge’s actions “egregious” and “voluminous.” The school Board voted 5-0 to support the demotion.

“They are not just my peers, they are my friends,” Wyrosdick said about having to make the decision. Rutledge had worked for the school district for 37 years. Investigators uncovered violations going back 25 years such as payments to someone who did not perform any duties, boys’ and girls’ programs in the same sport given to one head coach and violations of the Jessica Lunsford Act, which demands that volunteers have the proper clearance to work with student athletes. Rutledge is now the adaptive physical education teacher for special needs students at the Douglas A. Dillon Center.

Crestview resident killed in ATV accident – 18,162

Bridget Allen, a 21-year-old woman was driving an ATV when she lost control and crashed; she was killed and her passenger Autum Cadenhead, 23, was seriously injured. Cadenhead was airlifted to Sacred Heart Health System in Pensacola, and was listed in stable condition.

According to Jacqueline Frymark, mother of Allen’s boyfriend Ethan Frymark, the incident occurred at around 10 p.m. Saturday at Boggs & Boulders LLC in Andalusia, Alabama. Allen leaves behind Frymark her boyfriend and their 3-year-old child Dawson.

Rodents, roaches force temporary closure of Pace restaurant – 15,585

A surprise inspection in September by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation led to a one-day closure of the Southern Pearl Restaurant, at 3601 U.S. Highway 90 in Pace.

Inspectors found four dead roaches and nine rodent droppings in the kitchen area, soiled floors, a dumpster hanging open and standing water in the air conditioning closet. Inspectors also found floor tiles were missing in the kitchen and the floor in the ice house was “caving” inside the door. The restaurant reopened the next day when the inspector returned. The restaurant is no longer in business.

Sewage on floor, bubbling out of toilets closes restaurant after inspection – 11,404 page views

In September Dunkin Donuts at 250 Gulf Breeze Parkway in Gulf Breeze was temporarily closed after inspectors found that the restaurant had no bathrooms available for employee or customer use. The inspector found the plumbing system was “in disrepair,” causing toilets to bubble when the sinks were running. Sewage was backing up through the floor drains and toilets. There was also sewage on the ground. They reopened the next day after fixing the plumbing problems and passing another inspection.

Middle school staff’s quick action credited with saving student – 11,196 page views

A local mother credited the fast responses of King Middle School staff for saving her son’s life. Sundae Wark, mother of 13-year-old Zander Jordan, said that if it had not been for the quick actions of teacher Lindsay Pharo and school health technician Debbie Busby things for her son could have turned out a lot worse.

Jordan has epilepsy and suffers seizures. Pharo knew of his condition, but this was different, he kept passing out. Pharo took him to Busby the health technician in the nurses station. Busby evaluated Jordan and immediately called his mother. Jordan was taken to his doctors office at Scared Heart Hospital and was admitted. After test were completed his doctor said Jordan had a transient ischemic attack (TIA), also known as a mini-stroke. The doctor agreed that the quick action by the King Middle School staff saved him. “Both of these lovely ladies went beyond what was expected of them,” Wark said.

Drug sweep puts 30 more behind bars, another 13 suspected dealers being sought – 8,312 page views

Operation Deal Breaker was conducted by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and it covered areas of West Volusia. It was a continuation of local law enforcement’s pursuit to reduce street-level drug dealing. Deputies arrested 30 suspects across West Volusia, completing an operation that kicked off during the summer, according to Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The West Volusia Narcotics Task Force and Deltona Narcotics Enforcement Team went out with search warrants and arrest warrants, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The search warrants led to the seizure of three handguns, a stolen motorcycle, 14 grams of fentanyl, 14.4 grams of heroin, 36 grams of crack-cocaine, 23.5 grams of methamphetamine, 1 gram of morphine and various prescription pills, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Motorcycle crash kills two Milton residents – 7,938 page views

According to a press release from the Florida Highway Patrol, two Milton residents died in a Sunday evening motorcycle crash on U.S. Highway 90 near its intersection with Wilkerson Bluff Road. At about 6 p.m. on Dec. 15, Charles Sillars, 40, was driving a motorcycle east on U.S. 90 with passenger Jennifer Morris, 40.

At about the same time, 21-year-old Gregory Geiger, of Holt, was parked at a stop sign on Wilkerson Bluff Road. FHP reported that as Sillars and Morris approached the intersection, Geiger pulled out onto the highway, where the two vehicles collided. Sillars and Morris were killed, while Geiger escaped uninjured.

Sonny’s sets date for Pace opening – 7,868 page views

Scott Frantz, president of ACG BBQ LLC, had a soft opening on Oct. 7, for the new Sonny’s restaurant located at 5145 Highway 90. The restaurant held their grand opening a couple of weeks later Oct. 21, and featured a ribbon cutting ceremony with Sonny’s BBQ founder Floyd “Sonny” Tillman. The 6,601 square-foot restaurant seats 175 guests and will feature its signature barbecue menu with all the trimming. This particular location will have a full bar the first for a Sonny’ restaurant. Frantz started his career at Sonny’s when he was 15 years old as a dishwasher and worked his way up.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: From restaurant violations to death: Top 10 Press Gazette stories in 2019