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Two hopefuls jump into School Board election

By Times Staff
Published February 20, 2006

Two more candidates have formally announced they will run for Pinellas County School Board this year, challenging two incumbents.

Jennifer S. Crockett, 33, will run in District 7, where incumbent Mary Brown has announced she will seek re-election.

Robert A. White, 26, will run for the District 6 seat, where longtime incumbent Linda Lerner plans to announce her candidacy soon.

With Crockett and White, the number of candidates for School Board now totals seven, including three incumbents. School Board races usually are settled in a primary election, which this year is on Sept. 5.

Crockett of St. Petersburg is a mother of three. Two of her children attend Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary, where she is a member of the School Advisory Council. She is the daughter-in-law of Barbara Crockett, who served three terms on the School Board in the 1980s and '90s.

"I've heard a lot of feedback that people would like to see more new faces (on the board)," she said.

White, who has served with the Army National Guard and now is with an Army Reserve unit, said he recently returned from a deployment in Kuwait. He said he has several relatives and friends in the school system and wants to serve in local government. Among the issues he would concentrate on: standardized testing and the budget.

GIBSONTON - Someone hit a pedestrian in Gibsonton early Sunday and left the body on the side of the road, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said.

The body of the 36-year-old man was found in a ditch at 8833 Nundy Ave. about 7:30 a.m., said sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter. She did not release the man's name because his relatives had not been notified.

Deputies said the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run was possibly a white GMC, Chevy or van. There may be damage to the front right of the vehicle and the windshield.

The body was found by someone in the neighborhood getting their morning paper.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200.

RUSKIN - A police dog bit a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy and a suspect he was trying to arrest Sunday, authorities said.

Deputy Woody Wright suffered a bite to his right hand and was taken to University Community Hospital, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

Carter said the bite to the deputy was an accident, and that the dog would not be required to undergo additional training.

Hank Alexander, 42, of 204 Sixth Ave. NW in Ruskin, was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment of multiple dog bites to his leg.

Alexander and Ralph Lee Strickland, 25, of 1522 Orchard Park Circle in Ruskin, were arrested on charges of grand theft auto.

Deputies say Alexander and Strickland stole a Suburban. The vehicle overturned in a ditch near 19th Avenue NW and Villemaria Road. Deputies responded after someone reported the accident.

Alexander was arrested in a nearby patch of woods after leading deputies on a foot chase. Strickland was arrested near the overturned vehicle.

Carter said more charges could come.

[Last modified February 20, 2006, 04:00:22]