A look back at some of the biggest stories of 2021 in Leesburg and Lake County

LEESBURG — News-wise, 2021 was a busy year.

Of course, COVID-19 dominated the headlines yet again. But our journalists covered many other stories with lasting impact on our community.

As we move into 2022, Daily Commercial staff reflected on the biggest stories of 2021.

Here they are:

Groveland Four get full pardon

Probably the biggest story the Commercial covered was the official pardoning of the Groveland Four.

Circuit Judge Heidi Davis on Nov. 22 granted State Attorney Bill Gladson’s motion to exonerate the Groveland Four in what he described as 72 years of “a complete breakdown of the criminal justice system.”

It was over.

The four Black men accused of raping a white woman were officially pardoned.

Read more: ‘It’s been a long time coming’: Groveland Four win full exoneration on Monday

In 1949, former Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall arrested Ernest Thomas, Samuel Shepherd, Walter Irvin and Charles Greenlee after the woman claimed she was kidnapped and raped when her husband’s car broke down on a country road.

Thomas was indicted but killed by a posse before he could be arrested. Greenlee, who was just 16, was convicted but a jury recommended mercy instead of a death sentence, and Irvin and Shepherd received a death sentence.

The case against the men was so suspect that the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a new trial. Greenlee did not appeal his sentence because he would have risked being condemned. McCall, bringing the two men back to Lake County for a retrial, shot and killed Shepherd and wounded Irvin, claiming they tried to escape.

Greenlee was paroled in 1962 and Irvin was paroled in 1968.

In 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet pardoned the four men.

None of the men were alive to see their full exonerations, but family members packed the courtroom on Nov. 22.

Carol Greenlee, Greenlee’s daughter, wept uncontrollably when Davis dismissed the indictments, set aside judgments and sentences and corrected the record.

“It’s been a long time coming,” Carol Greenlee said.

COVID-19 surges in the summer

Lake County saw some if its darkest days of the pandemic during the Delta variant surge over the summer. Cases and positivity rates skyrocketed, as did hospitalizations and deaths. Numbers mellowed out going into the fall, but have begun creeping back up slightly as the Omicron variant makes its way through the United States.

Leveling off: COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Lake and Sumter stall at peak levels

The latest: COVID-19 in Lake, Sumter: Case count rises for second consecutive week

Firehawk helicopter crash kills four

On May 25, a Blackhawk helicopter crashed right outside of the Leesburg International Airport.

The firefighting helicopter, owned by Leesburg-based Firehawk Helicopters, was testing new equipment when it went down at the end of a runway.

All four on board died: Andrew Gray, 35, of Inverness; Caleb Kupersmith, 30, of Boise, Idaho; Ryan Ritchea, 35, of Ventura, California; and Robert Ray, 37, of Highland, Texas.

The preliminary report blamed a newly installed snorkel for the tragedy.

“Several days of ground testing and calibration were performed before the accident flight, which was the first flight after the [equipment] was installed,” it said.

The crash remains under investigation, which may take up to two years.

Read more: Leesburg Firehawk helicopter crash: IDs of all four victims released

Report: Witnesses say snorkel was 'violently' swinging before fatal Leesburg helicopter crash

Lake County schools adopts data-based mask policy

An explosive nationwide debate on masks in schools made its way to the Lake County School Board this year.

The board held multiple meetings on the topic. Each was heated.

Before an Aug. 24 meeting, two competing rallies were scheduled: The MaskUp rally, pushing for masks in school and the Freedom Rally, whose demonstrators were against masks in schools.

Protesters clashed and police responded as dozens rallied outside the Lake County School Board chambers before its Aug. 24 meeting — the majority of them demonstrating against mask mandates.

At a later meeting, the board unanimously voted for Superintendent Diane Kornegay’s proposed mask mandate, which would require students and staff at schools with a COVID-19 positivity rate of 5% or above to wear masks until the number of cases drops.

More: Mask mandate debate heats up at Lake County School Board meeting

Read about the policy: Lake school board approves mask policy, with parental opt-out options

Willis McCall's son found guilty, seeking new trial

Infamous former Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall's son stood trial in October.

Douglas McCall was charged with one count of lewd and lascivious conduct, two counts of showing obscene material to a child and 48 counts of possession of child porn.

Sheriff’s detectives said at the time they seized electronic storage devices described by the victim and found more than 15,000 images and more than 300 videos of children either engaged in sexual activities or in explicit poses.

She described them as “naked” people, some as young as 4 or 5.

The incidents allegedly took place at his home on what used to be called Willis McCall Road in Umatilla.

He was found guilty of lewd and lascivious molestation of a child and showing obscene material to a minor, but was found not guilty on the possession charges.

However, McCall's attorneys are seeking a new trial, claiming prosecutorial misconduct and error by the trial judge in his handling of the evidence.

Circuit Judge G. Richard Singeltary set Jan. 19 as the date for a hearing on the motion.

Found guilty: McCall facing life after jury finds him guilty of molestation, showing porn to minor

More: Lawyers for Douglas McCall, who was convicted in October, seeking a new trial

LCSO promotes first female captain

The Lake County Sheriff's Office made history this year.

In March, the agency promoted 22 officers, making it the largest promotion ceremony to date.

An even bigger milestone was the promotion of Captain Christie Mysinger, who became the first female captain at the department.

“It’s history in the making,” LCSO Sheriff Peyton Grinnell said. “Christie has her bachelor's degree and is a very hard-working employee. She has excelled in all the areas of the agency she has been assigned. Her last job was ensuring the safety of our students while supervising over 30 deputies assigned to the schools in Lake County. She thinks outside the box and is constantly looking for ways to improve efficiencies. She is very deserving of her new position and I have full confidence in her.”

Mysinger celebrated 30th year with the sheriff’s department in May.

She said knew she wanted to be an officer as a teenager and jumped in the first chance she got, setting a goal of one day becoming a captain.

“What’s significant to me is that the sheriff was willing to bestow this honor upon me and I can continue to work alongside some of the best men and women that any officer could request for,” Mysinger said. “This is a fabulous agency and I couldn’t have made it here if it wasn’t for the support of my family and the men and women I work with every day.”

'History in the making': Lake sheriff's office promotes first female captain

Peer charged for Wildwood teens' slayings

On May 12, the bodies of two Wildwood teenagers were found near the intersection of County Road 219 and State Road 44.

A truck driver discovered Isaiah Alexander Nelson, 17, and Preston Wayne Nixon, 16, shot dead and called 911.

“I pray for their souls,” the truck driver said. “I can’t believe this. I never thought I was going to see something like this.”

The families of the boy offered a $10,000 reward, begging for prospective tipsters to identify “the monster or monsters,” who shot the teens to death.

In June, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office investigators arrested Clarence “C.J. 3” Patterson, 15, for the “merciless killing of Isaiah Nelson and Preston Nixon."

'I pray for their souls': Audio released from 911 caller who found Sumter teens' bodies

More: 15-year-old Wildwood boy charged with 1st-degree murder in double homicide of teens

As Walt Disney World turns 50, we examined Walt's Lake county ties

Walt Disney World celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. In conjunction with the City of Leesburg's LakeFront TV, the Commercial explored Walt Disney's ties to Lake County.

Turns out there are quite a few.

Walt's parents — Elias Disney and Flora Call — got married here in Lake County. (Lake's Clerk of Courts Gary Cooney keeps the official marriage documents in his office for safe keeping.)

Walt's grandparents are buried here. And he and his brother, Roy, summered here as boys and beyond.

Cooney, along with George Taylor, a Disney historian and the county's library services director, helped expand on Walt's history here in Lake County in a Daily Commercial special report.

It's a small world after all: A look into Walt Disney's ties to Lake County

Katie Sartoris, the Commercial's local news editor, also hosted a special Disney edition of the Lake Report, a weekly magazine show and partnership between the two media outlets.

Mount Dora gets new mayor

Local bookstore owner Crissy Stile won Mount Dora's mayoral seat against incumbent Cathy Hoechst.

Stile received 2,159 votes, or 58.53% of the vote.

The election came amid fiery debates about parking and growth in downtown Mount Dora.

"My goal will be to involve our community in all of these important decisions," Stile told the Commercial after her win. "Many of our residents avoid downtown because of the parking challenges. It’s a missed opportunity to support our local businesses."

On the 2021 ballot: Hoechst, Stile face off for Mount Dora mayor

The results: Mount Dora Mayor-elect Crissy Stile talks the future of Mount Dora

Grandson confesses to mutilating grandfather in body cam footage

Kolby Parker has been charged with the murder of his grandfather, Ronal Wells Sr., 77. Wells was found in March lying on his DeLand front porch dead.

Standing beside him was his grandson, 30-year-old Kolby Allen Parker.

Parker told deputies the two of them had been smoking marijuana and got into an argument when his grandfather pulled out a kitchen knife “and came at me with it.”

He said he was able to disarm his grandfather and took the knife and stabbed him in the heart, according to sheriff's officials.

Parker had no wounds, but Wells’ were gruesome. He was covered in blood and had “partial degloving to the right forearm," according to the arrest affidavit.

As they investigated the scene, deputies sat Parker on the back of one of their trucks for questioning.

Body cam footage showed Lake County deputy Josh Mercer talking to Parker when he pulled his grandfather’s severed ears out of his pockets.

"What is that?" Mercer asked.

"Those are ears," Deputy Ryan Mally said.

More: 'Those are his ears.' Kolby Parker confesses in body cam footage to mutilating grandfather

Leesburg hosts ribbon cutting for new pool

The City of Leesburg earlier this month hosted a ribbon-cutting for the $5.5 million H.O. Dabney Aquatic Center.

The new pool, built on Pine Street, is more than just a recreation amenity for the city.

For many, it represents hope and unity.

The location of the pool was chosen intentionally. The old Venetian Gardens pool, which was demolished in 2018, had been segregated long ago.

And the Pine Street neighborhood, which had once had a thriving business district, had historically been neglected by the city.

“We were not able to go to downtown Leesburg,” longtime Pine Street resident Randy Hepburn said of the segregation days. "There’s a lot of history.”

A 1976 city study recommended extensive rehabilitation of houses, but nothing was done.

Finally, Leesburg got a federal grant to make improvements, but a city worker and two contractors stole the money, were found guilty and sent to prison in 1981.

Growing discontent took the form of a federal lawsuit in 1992, when the NAACP sued the city and Leesburg Regional Hospital, claiming those two entities conspired to take residents’ property so the hospital could expand.

"After herding its minority residents into segregated communities for most of this century - when minority labor served the local economy's interest in the citrus industry - the city has in recent decades turned its back on these segregated communities, and even affirmatively and unlawfully acted to hasten their decay, without lifting a finger to provide meaningful alternatives for the residents of those communities," the federal lawsuit claimed.

The suit was settled for $2.9 million in 1997.

At the ribbon cutting, Hepburn said he felt hopeful.

“I think it’s a great thing,” Hepburn said. “It’s going to bring more housing and more businesses.”

The pool is just one piece of a revitalization plan for the area.

City officials are also planning a $2 million revitalization of Pine Street, from Canal to Lake Street, with two roundabouts, pedestrian crosswalks, sidewalks and speed tables.

More: 'A big day, a big deal:' Leesburg hosts ribbon-cutting at new H.O. Dabney Aquatic Center

Lake deputy cleared in shooting of unarmed man

Lake County Sheriff's Deputy Brian Schneider was among the officers who responded on May 2 to calls of an armed man spooking two horses in a heavily wooded area of DeLand.

The suspect, 49-year-old Daniel P. Sayre, was eventually located lying on the ground, crawling away from deputies.

Schneider told Sayre to stop moving before he fired a single shot.

Sayre did not have a gun at the time he was shot. But a 5th Circuit State Attorney's Office report noted he "had dropped or discarded his gun in a wooded area across the street from the shooting scene, where it was later recovered by law enforcement."

According to the report, Schneider said he lost his balance in the pursuit and accidentally fired as he was falling.

"I have no recollection of forming any intent to pull the trigger," he wrote in his statement.

Ultimately, the state attorney's office declined to prosecute Schneider.

In his report, Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie explained why the shooting did not meet the statutory requirements for prosecution.

That law demands proof of “reckless indifference or grossly careless disregard of the safety of others.”

However, Forgie advised that the LCSO may need to review some of its policies, but didn't specify what those matters are.

The incident troubled Sayre's sister, Elizabeth Turner, who told the Daily Commercial her brother is bipolar. The report quotes her as telling deputies that he is schizophrenic.

“People with mental illnesses are constantly shot by police,” Turner told the Commercial after the shooting. “Enough is enough.”

More: New report, paired with footage, shed more light on Lake County Deputy-involved shooting

Notable deaths

We lost some local trailblazers this year.

Former Sheriff Gary Borders, who served as sheriff from 2006-2017 died at the age of 61 after a battle with cancer.

“It was an honor and privilege to work under Sheriff Borders as his chief deputy,” current Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell told the Commercial. “We made a great team, as he was a late-night person, and I am an early riser. He was more than a boss; he was a great friend and mentor. Lake County is a better and safer place today because of his dedicated service.”

More: 'Such a wonderful man:' Remembering Lake County Sheriff Gary Borders

Beloved Leesburg High School math teacher Tammy Jerkins also died this year. She fought lung cancer until her death June 9 at the age of 62.

Before she died, the community hosted a "π-rade" outside of Jerkins' home to honor her.

Cars paraded down her quiet street decorated with LHS' school colors: black and orange.

"LHS #1 FAN" one sign said.

"We love your Mrs. Jerkins!" another said.

One, which donned a pair of Leesburg High Yellow Jackets, said: "Teacher of the Universe."

More: Remembering the 'Teacher of the Universe': Friends, colleagues reflect on Tammy Jerkins' legacy

Dr. Ray Dominick, a well known doctor in Leesburg, died Aug. 20 after a COVID-19 diagnosis. He was 59.

“He was a beloved son, father, brother, doctor, employer, friend and compassionate to all,” read his obituary.

More: Friends, family, patients remember Leesburg's Dr. Ray Dominick, who died amid COVID fight

Leesburg's City Attorney Fred Morrison died at the age of 67 earlier this month.

“He was a lawyer’s lawyer,” said Phillip Smith, senior partner and director of McLin Burnsed. “In the office, the other attorneys would come to him to ask how to get something done.”

More: 'A lawyer's lawyer:' Remembering longtime Leesburg City Attorney Fred Morrison

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Daily Commercial reflects on 2021's biggest stories