AROUND THE PANHANDLE: Panama City Woman Dies in Three-Car Crash

By Andy Meinen, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Feb. 4–INLET BEACH — A three-car accident Friday night injured two people and killed a Panama City woman. Ruth J. Lakey, 75, of Panama City, died shortly after 9:30 p.m. when her vehicle collided headon with a 2003 four-door Mitsubishi driven by Baheejah T. Jackson, 29, of Tallahassee, on U.S. 98, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release. Jackson was in serious condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, officials said. After the crash, Russell C. Mann was driving east on U.S. 98, and his car struck the back of Lakey’s 2001 four-door Buick, the release stated. Mann received minor injures, and emergency workers took him to Sacred Heart Hospital of the Emerald Coast. Charges are pending, said Lt. James Shaw, of the Florida Highway Patrol. New restaurant MEXICO BEACH Mango Marley’s, a new restaurant in Mexico Beach’s primary business area, will open in March after getting the go-ahead from city leaders. Partners in the new restaurant, located in the former Half Shells space at 3102 U.S. 98, requested a variance of 38 parking spaces in the mostly cityowned parking lot in order to qualify for a consumption-onpremises liquor license, allowing the restaurant to serve mixed drinks. Current state law requires a restaurant to have a minimum of 150 seats and one parking space for every four seats in the restaurant. Tim Kerigan, one of the restaurant owners and spokesman for the restaurant, argued to the Mexico Beach Planning and Zoning Board at a meeting last month that the parking spaces in the lot were public parking and could be used by anyone. The board disagreed, stating the parking spaces, 60 total, were to be used by all the businesses in the center and that the Fish House owned some of the spaces. But Mexico Beach City Administrator Chris Hubbard suggested the area might be deemed a shopping center because of the designation being used for years by local residents. The board agreed, negating the need for a specific number of parking spaces, and they passed the parking space variance 4-1, with David Jones dissenting, and a renovation request 5-0. At the city council special meeting Jan. 23, a development order and request for parking was approved for the restaurant 4-0, with Mayor Al Cathey abstaining. Florida Freedom Newspapers Pornography ruling CARRABELLE Law enforcement officials say a Carrabelle video store owner, under fire from residents at a recent Lanark Village Water and Sewer district meeting, does not appear to have violated the law. Carrabelle Assistant Police Chief Lt. Joe Ham said last month his department does not believe sales of pornography from Carrabelle Entertainment broke any law. Residents in Carrabelle and Lanark Village began talking after Don Lively questioned Sharon Thoman, part owner of the store and a Lanark Village water and sewer commissioner, during a Lanark commission meeting Jan. 22. Lively asked Thoman if he could return movies his sons had purchased. Lively, whose sons are older than 18, the legal age to buy pornographic material, said the movies were dirty and he wanted to return them. Thoman told Lively the store no longer sold such material but would take the movies back. In explaining the police department’s perspective, Ham cited Florida statutes which prohibit displaying or selling pornographic materials in certain ways and prohibit its sale to minors. He said he is not aware of any violations by the store. Major Chester Creamer, with the Franklin County Sheriff ‘s Office, said last week he hadn’t heard of any complaints against Thoman or her store and that no investigation was under way. Mayor Mel Kelly also said she was not aware of any formal complaint. Florida Freedom Newspapers Specialty grocer DESTIN A full-service bakery and meat counter, fresh seafood flown in six times a week, a European-style delicatessen and 100 new jobs will come to Destin when a new grocery opens Feb. 21. The Fresh Market, a specialty grocery store with 18 locations around the state, is one of two stores lined up so far in the Plantation Plaza shopping center on Commons Drive. The Fresh Market’s European-style delicatessen will include more than 200 varieties of imported and domestic cheeses. The store also will offer prepared foods including ready-to-serve entrees, rotisserie selections and fresh sushi. Craig Carlock, chief operating officer of The Fresh Market, said shoppers will get an experience unlike any other in the area. “The Fresh Market is a very modern store, grounded in oldfashioned values and designed for the senses,” he said in a news release. “While exploring more than 22,000 square feet, the customer has the feeling of strolling through several ‘fresh’ European markets all under one roof.” The company was founded in 1982 and has 65 locations in 18 states. Florida Freedom Newspapers

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Copyright (c) 2007, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

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