Update: Pasco Commission Chair Arrested

Ted Schrader faces domestic battery charges.

Update, Feb. 4, 4:52 p.m.: Pasco County Commission Chairman Ted Schrader has been released from the Land O' Lakes jail on $250 bond, according to jail records. Update, Feb. 4, 11:51 a.m.: Pasco County Commission Chairman Ted Schrader, 57, was arrested Feb. 3 on one count of domestic battery. According to a Pasco County Sheriff’s Office complaint affidavit, the incident that led to the arrest brewed over the course of the weekend starting with an argument on Friday night. Around 9 a.m. on Saturday, Schrader entered his wife Julia’s bedroom. When she turned “to her left side” to avoid confrontation, Schrader “grabbed the victim’s left wrist and left leg and pulled her towards him against her will,” the report said. The Schraders, who have …

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Mick

10:06 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Clay, really? This from a guy who has also spent time in the lockup?   more ›

Domestic Violence Vigil Sheds Light on Dark Subject

Pasco has lost three women to domestic violence in the past year.

The day was waning outside the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday as a crowd gathered by the front entrance. The subject that brought them to this spot was the dark matter of domestic violence, but folks held in their hands a little spot of light. The gathering was for the annual candlelight vigil in honor of domestic violence victims and to raise awareness of domestic violence. The light was from the candles that gatherers held. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and the Salvation Army Domestic Violence Program organized the vigil. There were 3,300 reported cases of domestic violence in Pasco last year, according to the sheriff’s office. That’s 5.8 percent lower than the year before. But it’s still a problem. Sheriff Chris Nocco spoke …

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Woman Arrested For Slapping Man Repeatedly

The Land O' Lakes woman was charged with domestic battery.

A Land O' Lakes woman used force to enter a home then slapped a man repeatedly, landing her in jail Monday. According to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, Laura Elizabeth Allison displayed "erratic and uncontrollable behavior" when deputies arrived at the home at 3005 Clover Blossom Circle, where she and the man she is accused of battering live together. Allison told deputies she and the man had been arguing, according to the report. Deputies noted that she displayed behavior consistent with intoxication and had an odor of alcohol. The woman admitted to "forcefully trying to enter the home," and repeatedly interrupted the investigation, the report stated. Allison, 24, of 3005 Clover Blossom Circle was arrested and charged with domestic …

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Letter to the Editor: 'Disrespectful' to Call Target Murder a Lovers' Spat

Michelle Crowder-Soellner of Sunrise of Pasco County responds to a recent story on Land O' Lakes Patch.

Though the details surrounding this tragedy are unclear, the fact is that two people are dead. Based on what has been reported so far, we are to believe that a person killed his partner because she no longer wanted to be involved with him. It seems unfair and disrespectful to call the death of two people a lovers spat. To call something so serious a lovers spat almost seems to suggest that it is justifiable to kill someone you love because you have a disagreement. Tragedies like this one are a stark reminder that we still have a long way to go to achieve a community with violence-free relationships. In 2011, Pasco County law enforcement responded to over 9,000 domestic and sexual violence-related calls. We must recognize that any violent …

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Bill Would Extend Protection to Pets of Domestic Abuse Victims

The law proposed by Sen. Mike Fasano was inspired by a dog that endured punches and kicks to protect his elderly owner from abuse.

A visit from a goggle-wearing dog with a dent in its head is the inspiration for a bill working its way through the state senate. The dog had been beaten while trying to protect its elderly owner from an abusive son.  The proposed law by state Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, extends legal protection to pets of an abuse victim and makes beating or abusing the victim’s pet grounds for violating a court-ordered domestic violence injunction. It also would make abusing a pet covered under an injunction a crime. The reason is that many abusers use the victim’s pet as a pawn or use the animal as another target for torment, said Greg Giordano, chief legislative aide for Fasano. The abuser can use threats to the animal as another tool to …

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Central Pasco Residents Invited to Stand Against Domestic Violence

Sunrise of Pasco County is hosting its 15th annual Candlelight Vigil on Thursday, Oct. 20.

As Domestic Violence Awareness Month continues, Sunrise of Pasco is calling on residents from all over the county to take a stand against this crime. The organization’s 15th annual Candlelight Vigil is planned for Thursday, Oct. 20, from 6-7:30 p.m. at Agnes Lamb Park in downtown Dade City. The park is located on the corner of Meridian Avenue and Ninth Street. “I encourage everyone to join us in this annual opportunity to salute our survivors, to grieve those who have been lost to violence and support the children impacted by that which they should never have had to witness,” said Penny Morrill, the chief executive officer of Sunrise. Sunrise provides support to domestic violence victims in Central and East Pasco. It also offers sexual …

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Residents Light the Night in Memory of Domestic Violence Victims

The vigil was organized in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

More than five years after her husband shot her, Margo Brandon spoke to a crowd of people from the steps of the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office in New Port Richey. They had gathered Thursday for a candlelight vigil for domestic violence victims planned in recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was organized by the Sheriff’s Office and Salvation Army of Pasco County. Brandon, of Hudson, was introduced as a survivor of domestic violence. But she only referenced briefly the day in 2006 that she was shot. She didn’t talk about spending roughly a month in the hospital after the shooting. She instead praised the services she received from the Sheriff’s Office and Salvation Army after the incident. “Without these two great …

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Sherri Lonon

9:19 am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Thanks for adding the video!   more ›

Pasco Remembers its Domestic Violence Victims

A candlelight vigil is planned for Thursday night.

Four Pasco County residents have died this past year due to domestic violence. That, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, is four too many. They and many others like them are the reason why the sheriff’s office is teaming up with Salvation Army of Pasco County to hold a candlelight vigil Thursday night. The observance is part of the county’s recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which continues through October. "This is a remembrance for all the victims of domestic violence and to remind the community that domestic violence still plagues us,” said Sheriff Chris Nocco. “Unfortunately, domestic violence is a learned behavior taught through generations and we must do everything possible to break this cycle."   …

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The Mom Adventure

Domestic Violence is Not Your Fault

There is hope and a way out!

Over the years I’ve encountered more cases of domestic violence than I’d like to remember while working with moms.  I was blessed to grow up in a home where that would never happen.  My father loved and respected my mother and was never anything but tender and loving with her. I’m blessed to be married to a man that loves and respects me and would never do anything to hurt me at all.  Unfortunately, there are women out there where this isn’t the case. Domestic violence used to be more commonly found among married women. Now it’s becoming a part of some dating relationships in older teens and college age and unmarried young women as well.  Let me share some of the stories with you that I’ve had the unfortunate luck to encounter. The first …

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About Town

The Connection: Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse

Is there practical help for pet owners in an abusive home situation?

Rosemary Lyons, our Pasco County education coordinator for animal services has a "heart" for animals. But much more than being knowledgeable as to what we need to do to be responsible pet owners, Rosemary has a degree in sociology and has studied criminology with a view to understanding how it impacts on domestic violence.  She stated, in regard to her studies, as well as in her work at the shelter, "I became even more aware of the link between domestic violence and animals. Domestic violence often breeds animal cruelty." Rosemary realized that with her better understanding of situations involving abused animals she might be able to make a difference in helping abused spouses, as well. In 2006, she joined the West Pasco Domestic Violence …

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