The Florida Department of Health works to protect and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state New- WIC Events Mom and Baby Group Virtual Breastfeeding Class Poster Eat Right Diabetes Womens Health WomensHealth.gov-Breastfeeding Florida Breastfeeding Coalition USDA-WIC U.S. Breastfeeding Committee Breastmilk Counts la leche league Smart Mouth WIC is a nutrition education and special supplemental food program for women WIC is a federally funded nutrition program for Women WIC provides the following at no cost: healthy foods and referrals for health care and community services we provide breastfeeding support for new moms through our certified lactation consultants and breastfeeding peer counselors It is recommended that infants be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives and that moms continue breastfeeding after solid foods are introduced We can help you work through common breastfeeding road bumps so you can be as successful as possible in meeting that recommendation We can also help you adapt your breastfeeding routine for returning to school or work WIC also offers a 7 day-a-week Infant Feeding Line to provide support for topics that include breastfeeding To be income-eligible for WIC, you must have a total household income that is equal to or less than the amounts listed in the WIC income guidelines and be a Florida resident You are automatically income-eligible if you are currently receiving any of the following: call the Lecanto WIC office at 352-527-8490, the Inverness WIC office at 352-726-5222, or call toll-free 1-800-342-3556 and ask to apply for WIC.  What to bring to your WIC certification visit: If you suspect someone is misusing or abusing WIC program benefits please call Toll-Free 1-855-283-5135.  identified as a Lecanto Middle School teacher was killed and her children were injured in a crash between a dump truck and a minivan early Wednesday morning The Florida Highway Patrol said around 7:03 a.m. a 34-year-old man was driving the dump truck on West Homosassa Trail was driving east on Homosassa Trail in a Dodge minivan when the dump truck attempted to turn left The dump truck then collided with the mini van suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to local hospitals Lecanto High School shared on Facebook that Crystal Jackson died in the crash Jackson was a social studies teacher with Lecanto Middle School and a former paraprofessional at Lecanto High School and I feel like that's part of where the system failed" Henry Betsey Jr. is facing charges for marrying three Florida women in three different counties at the same time. Now saying the system that handles marriage licenses kept them in the dark More Hernando and Citrus County News from ABC Action News Report a typo Recently, the Lecanto Panthers announced the following slate of games for 2025 including three notable contests against Nature Coast The Villages and 2024 Rural state champion Madison County Among other teams on the Panthers' schedule are Citrus Ocala West Port and on the road against Wiregrass Ranch Below is the Panthers' 2025 regular season schedule with official regular season game times all listed Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App -- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi ANDY VILLAMARZOAndy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007 writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings © 2025 ABG-SI LLC - SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER the Hernando High flag football team traveled north to Lecanto for a district tournament semifinal and didn’t enjoy the outcome The Leopards suffered a season-ending 44-0 loss to the host Panthers that night after falling 21-0 on that same field in a regular-season meeting But on Tuesday evening the tables had turned Hernando came into a District 2A-8 semifinal at Lecanto as the top seed against the fifth-seeded Panthers and looked the part “Lecanto has been the standard in our district and (the Leopards) came up big tonight,” Hernando head coach Tyson Ellis said “We had to overcome a hump and that’s beating Lecanto on their home field at their place These girls came out tonight and they came ready to play “I know Lecanto early in the year they didn’t have their quarterback They had their quarterback back tonight from when we saw them earlier in the year They executed defensively and offensively.” Hernando (11-3) had indeed already beaten the Panthers (7-9) 20-6 on Feb this one had a little extra meaning and may be the biggest win in the three-year history of the program sending the Leopards to Thursday’s district final against Nature Coast back at Lecanto “We’re really excited,” Hernando sophomore Alexis Sway said Hernando marched down the field on the game’s opening drive and went up 6-0 on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Carlie Grant to Sway The Leopards needed just two plays to score on their second possession thanks to a short pass from Grant that Sway took 55 yards to the house on the first play of the second quarter An interception by Johanna-Star Williams gave Lecanto a chance to get on the scoreboard before the end of the half The Panthers pushed into Hernando territory but a sack by Skyla McCorts on the final play before halftime left it 12-0 Lecanto also couldn’t cash in on the first drive of the third quarter despite getting across midfield for the only other time in the game the Leopards upped their lead on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Grant to Sway and Ava Montanez-Lehman hauled in the extra point to make it 19-0 Sway registered her fourth touchdown reception of the day in the fourth quarter Hernando’s Alexis Sway runs with the football as Lecanto’s Kyleigh Spradley and Trinity Converse pursue in Tuesday’s District 2A-8 semifinal at Lecanto [Credit: Chris Bernhardt Jr.]Then she ran in the extra point for good measure She finished with eight catches for 115 yards “There were a lot of gaps and holes and things we can improve on But I feel like overall we did a really good job.” “… I’ve known my quarterback since middle school where both she and McCorts recorded two sacks and three hurries Grant completed 14 of 15 passes for 164 yards to go with her four touchdowns to Sway Annabelle Chamberlain went 6 of 7 passing for 41 yards with an interception We didn’t allow the big play on a missed flag we didn’t let anybody behind us,” Ellis said I think I might have saw maybe one dropped pass tonight We just took what they gave us and moved the ball down the field.” The district championship game marked the third meeting between the Leopards and Sharks this season but lost 24-0 in the county tournament on March 27 It’s like I was telling (the players) before this will be the third time we’ve faced them this year we’ve got to execute just like we did tonight They’re well-coached and they’ve got a good quarterback Contact us: [email protected] but the Panthers did have at least some small reason to celebrate With a 17-yard toss over the middle to Delonzo Washington in the fourth quarter Tipton recorded his 21st touchdown pass of the season to set a new school record “It does mean a little bit to me but mainly I’ve got to thank my guys for that “It’s nice to set records but definitely those guys up front are the ones that helped me get there.” The previous mark was held by Travis McGee who threw 20 touchdown passes in his senior year of 2015 Tipton finished 17 of 30 for 167 yards and threw for two touchdowns in the game also connecting with Tez Joseph on a nice 29-yard touchdown pass down the left sideline in the first quarter dropping to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in District 4A-5 The loss could potentially prevent the Panthers from capturing the district title though they could still theoretically win the district via three-way tiebreaker if they defeat Leesburg and Gainesville beats Vanguard on Oct district tiebreakers come down to MaxPreps rankings Lecanto had been averaging 39.5 points per game with Tipton leading a pass-heavy offense Tipton admitted that having only one practice that week due to Hurricane Milton had an impact “We’ve got timing and everything changes weekly,” Tipton said But it definitely got us out of the loop.” Otherwise it has been a spectacular year for Tipton his third since coming to Lecanto from Seven Rivers Christian Through seven games he had completed 94 of 137 passes (68.6%) for 1,479 yards and has just one interception with 18 touchdowns against only three interceptions “That’s huge,” Lecanto head coach Antoin Scriven said of Tipton breaking the record “It just shows the growth in him and we’ve still got a ways to go He definitely deserves it because he worked for it every day Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news CHRIS BERNHARDT Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More — Patience is rarely a virtue when it’s feeding time on the farm Edwin Joseph wouldn’t have it any other way He not only loves farming but loves his holistic style of farming at Lecanto Pastured Poultry “It’s really predicated on the use of other animals,” Joseph said “Like the goats or the sheep or the donkeys.” which essentially means he uses the natural resources of his animals to fertilize his soil kill parasites and sort of curate a sustainable style of living He lives on about ten acres of land in Lecanto and runs Lecanto Pastured Poultry primarily dedicated to the meat of chickens “Every day you just drag them basically about the pasture and you move them on fresh grass,” Joseph said when discussing the enclosures the chickens are in that he uses to help fertilize his farm they can eat the bugs and the grass and all that kind of stuff They fertilize and then all the other animals that come behind them.” While most of the business is chicken meat “We usually get anywhere from 10 to 12 dozen a day,” he said Not only because he sells fresh products from chickens that aren’t confined to tight spaces but because egg prices at grocery stores have been extraordinarily high It turns out really good for us,” Joseph said “So that just brings in more of a customer base.” According to the USDA more than 17-million egg-laying hens died from bird flu they reported wholesale prices rose to roughly $8 a dozen With so many egg-laying hens dying from the bird flu Joseph says it has taken time for the market to come back down to Earth “It takes six months to get another chicken to lay eggs,” he said what happens if they cull the whole flock and then they have to wait six months to get the new ones it takes time for all that stuff to happen.” their approach to farming has been positive for his flock where none of his many chickens have gotten sick from the avian flu obviously we all know with the economy lately it hasn’t been the greatest thing the last couple of years the USDA reports the avian flu has killed more than 30 million egg-laying hens so far this year Looking back of some of the county's top players to ever come through may not be an extensive list but there's currently one player setting some records that might never be broken Lecanto junior quarterback JT Tipton had himself a performance he may never forget Tipton threw for a school record eight touchdowns in the Panthers' 59-20 dismantling of Ocala West Port in Week 1 The stat line Tipton put together in the rout of the Wolfpack was one to remember as no quarterback in Lecanto's history has ever thrown eight touchdown passes in a single game according to the Citrus County Chronicle's Matt Pfiffner Tipton ended the contest completing 21-of-27 passes for 353 yards and eight touchdowns The junior quarterback completed passes to six different receivers by the end of the night Tipton has entered his third season as Lecanto's starting quarterback having ample playing experience on the varsity playing level even dating back before becoming a Panther The quarterback also played at Seven Rivers Christian as a eighth grader As a sophomore signal caller for Lecanto last season Tipton really impressed folks in 2023 with a breakout year Tipton finished last season completing 140-of-216 passes for 1,908 yards and 21 touchdowns to just a mere three interceptions he ended up throwing for 624 yards and seven touchdowns Tipton has thrown for a total of 3,101 yards and 39 touchdowns By the end of Tipton's time at Lecanto he could end up owning every passing record in the program's history The junior is also an exceptional basketball player and has been on Lecanto's varsity team as a freshman and sophomore Tipton also played varsity basketball at Seven Rivers Christian (sixth grade through eighth grade) and has a high school basketball career scoring average of 16.2 points per game from 2019-2024 Tipton is up for voting in this week's SBLive Florida High School Athlete of the Week poll for his performance against Ocala West Port Follow SBLive Florida throughout the 2024 high school football season for Live Updates the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships -- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl OTHER FAN FAVORITES ALREADY OPEN AND MORE TO COME LECANTO, Fla., Aug. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ferber Company (Ferber) a privately held real estate development and investment company headquartered in Ponte Vedra Beach announces their full list of tenants at The Shoppes at Black Diamond at the intersection of North Lecanto Highway (CR 491) and West Norvell Bryant Highway (CR 486) climate-controlled self-storage facility developed by MV Investment Starbucks Coffee and Panera Bread are open for business All retailers are expected to be open by the end of 2025 and the new shopping area will serve as a hub for the entire county including towns such as Beverly Hills The Ferber project lead and 20-year team member shared that the project is his most challenging to date "It's important to note the sheer amount of dirt that was removed to make way for this project Approximately 900,000 cubic yards of dirt was moved before vertical construction could start." Champion adds perspective noting the dirt would fill more than 50,000 dump trucks stretching 232 miles roughly the distance from Tampa to Jacksonville "We are very pleased with how this project turned out We hope to do other projects in Citrus County as they have been one of the most cooperative counties I have ever dealt with," states Champion Citrus County Commissioners rallied around the project and cited an amended Land Development Code (LDC) which highlights safe and appealing design elements Citrus County Commissioner of District 3 stated "The Ferber Company shares the County's vision for how to best manage the growth that is coming to Citrus County and I especially appreciate their efforts to understand the intensions of our LDC and many features devoted to the safety of pedestrian traffic." Ms Schlabach added they are already feeling the positive impacts of the project with Target alone hiring over 100 employees "It's a great step forward in expanding the workforce With projects like this and partners like Ferber Real Estate Banking & Financial Services Commercial Real Estate Do not sell or share my personal information: BROOKSVILLE – The Hernando Leopards (2-0) took down the Lecanto Panthers (0-2) Flag Football team at Tom Fisher Stadium on Wednesday night but the home team would quickly turn the tide enroute to a convincing 20-6 victory After beginning the season without surrendering a score the Purple and Gold received a shock when the Panthers quickly marched down the field and put the first points on the board in no time flat it would not take them long to reclaim the lead they would claim the lead for good following With Lecanto driving near midfield while holding a six-point lead Freshman WR/LB Kenderlyn Hart stepped up for one of her multiple interceptions on the night Her forced turnover set her team up with momentum and excellent field position “[Kenderlyn] is a freshman,” said Leopards Head Coach Tyson Ellis She is great at outside linebacker and receiver A few chunk plays down the remainder of the field brought them down to the one before multi-talented sophomore athlete Alexis Sway completed the short toss to fellow Sophomore QB Carlie Grant over the middle for the score and accompanying extra point This gave them a 7-6 advantage that would only increase throughout the evening Coach Ellis also made sure to shout out his rushers for pressuring the quarterback and forcing her into tough situations Their efforts led to several more interceptions by the Leopards including one by Junior Keyasia Gaines on the ensuing possession that is great,’ but we want to make the quarterback throw the ball before they want to throw the ball She threw the ball before she did and we tell our defense ‘They are going to throw the ball right to you Hernando received possession of the football and made sure to take advantage of the opportunity A methodical nine play drive was capped off by another scoring play involving Sway (receiving) and Grant (passing) After forcing a Lecanto punt early in the final frame Hernando would ice the game on a five-play drive bookended by a pair of drive-making plays The first involved Sophomore Aajyrah Adams battling for a bobbled ball with a defender deep down the field The second saw Sophomore Ayana Kincade make the ever important touchdown catch on 4th down in the back left corner of the endzone Hernando’s head coach wants to his girls to communicate to continue to challenge themselves at practice and to “calm it down in our heads and make a play.” Fortunately for his team’s culture some of the young leaders are already making names for themselves for their competitiveness we do not want going against each other because they are going to hurt each other but it is that competitiveness we are trying to breed and start that culture here […]” Before opening the young season on a 2-0 start the Leopards showed how far they have come at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Girls Flag Football Preseason Classic In their two matchups at the Advent Health Training Center the Purple and Gold outscored Seminole and Bartow High Schools by roughly 80 combined points Coach Ellis’ team has “a lot of weapons” to work with “we are still learning,” the head coach continued Carlie Grant gets off a pass despite the rush by a Lecanto High defender in the home win Tuesday night [Photo by Joe DiCristofalo]Hernando High’s 7 ,Aajyrah Adams gets squeezed by Lecanto High defenders after a gain Tuesday night in a home match Skyla McCorts gets a flag pull to stop the advance of Lecanto High’s Elisha Bluford Tuesday night in Brooksville.[Photo by Joe DiCristofalo]Hernando High Keyasia Gaines tries to avoid a flag pull after her interception Tuesday night versus Lecanto High in Brooksville.[Photo by Joe DiCristofalo]Hernando High Annabelle Chamberlain reaches for extra yardage in Tuesday night’s home game with Lecanto High.[Photo by Joe DiCristofalo] Contact us: [email protected] LECANTO – Two of the better Gulf Coast 8 conference teams took the field on Friday night in Lecanto and Nature Coast showed off its all-around talent The Sharks used big scoring plays on offense and key turnovers on defense to win a battle of 2-0 teams They got three big plays on us which is great We hunkered down and got some big stops,” Nature Coast head coach Rob Kazmier said They’ve got a great coaching staff over here a dual-threat kid that can hurt you with his feet and his arm Coach (Charles) Liggett and the defense came up with a great game plan We did a lot of stuff to try to get pressure on them We were successful in that phase of the game Lecanto (2-1) delivered a quick blow with an explosive opening drive Tipton found Nathan Vonderhaar for a 62-yard pass down to the goal line The ensuing possession was in sharp contrast Nature Coast (3-0) used 16 plays to go 71 yards the last being a 3-yard rush up the middle into the end zone by Jasir Harvin to cap a drive that ate up over six minutes of clock Xavier McCullough ripped away the ball on a running play on the very next play from scrimmage and this time the Sharks needed just three plays to score on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Hoyt to Jacorrion Owens Nature Coast led 12-6 with 2:57 left in the first quarter A block in the back penalty stalled out the next Lecanto drive and Hoyt threw his second touchdown pass; this one a 55-yarder that running back Timothy Gaynor took to the house the Sharks were in front 20-6 less than a minute into the second quarter An 8-yard touchdown run by Moore cut the deficit to 20-13 with 7:54 to go in the first half Braylynn Moore then picked off a pass to give Lecanto a chance to tie or take the lead The Panthers got as far as the Nature Coast 26-yard line but penalties pushed them back before an eventual turnover on downs Matthew Chancalay hit a 35-yard field goal as time expired in the half to make it 23-13 at intermission The second half started on a bizarre play where Lecanto’s Raheim Rushing caused a fumble that was recovered by Eli Pace only for Gaynor to take the ball away and turn it into a 26-yard gain The Panthers had another drive end later in the half when the ball was taken away from a running back by Tyrae Jackson on a long run deep into Sharks’ territory “Their guys were fighting for extra yards and our kids were ripping the ball out they’re doing a good job getting the ball for us in big situations Getting turnovers there is keeping points off the board Nature Coast would eventually go up by as much as 37-13 this one from 2 yards out with 16 seconds left in the third quarter He also threw for a touchdown off a direct snap finding Grant Lanning on a 14-yard toss late in the fourth Lecanto scored with just 1:56 to play on a 44-yard pass from Tipton to Vonderhaar one of the few blemishes for the Nature Coast defense following the game-opening drive Harvin finished with 64 yards on 16 carries Hoyt completed 12 of 23 passes for 256 yards with the two touchdowns against one interception “I feel like we’re pretty good,” Harvin said Contact us: [email protected]