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By TIMES WIRES
Published September 28, 2006

Citrus activist dies of cancer

HOMOSASSA - During the 30 years he lived in Citrus County, Ansel Briggs got used to being called a radical. He never denied it.

"Most people think a radical is just someone with long hair and a beard," Mr. Briggs, 67, liked to explain. "That's not true. It's actually a mathematical word. It means 'to the point.' "

And that's what Mr. Briggs, who died Tuesday (Sept. 26, 2006), was. Mr. Briggs was a born crusader. He stripped pretense from the most convoluted bureaucracies and fought tirelessly for the underdog.

Even when he received a grim cancer diagnosis in July, he didn't relinquish his role as community advocate. He shared his medical struggles, teaching others how to navigate one of America's most daunting bureaucracies: the health care system.

He is survived by his wife, Harriett Garrison.

2 accused in CSX theft

TAMPA - Investigators have accused two men of stealing copper wire along the CSX railroad tracks this month, forcing a temporary shut-down of the railroad route after they damaged the track's signal system.

On Tuesday, deputies arrested Michael Aaron Duncan, 41, and Michael Lee Schroeder, 40, both of Valrico, on charges of grand theft, tampering with railroad tracks, criminal mischief and trespassing, jail records show.

The men are accused of cutting copper wire along the railroad tracks near Mount Carmel Road and Front Street.

Repairs to the tracks cost about $3,800. Duncan and Schroeder were both released Tuesday on $6,500 bail.

[Last modified September 28, 2006, 01:03:53]