A man charged with DUI manslaughter after his pickup truck collided with a golf cart Thursday had recently gotten his driver's license back following a second drunken driving conviction.

Keith Allen Shrum, 34, had been arrested for driving under the influence in 1997 and his license revoked for six months, according to court records. Two years later, Shrum's license was again suspended, this time for five years, for his second DUI offense.

Shrum had only just received his license again on Jan. 23, about two months before Thursday afternoon's incident, the records show. The collision on Del Webb Boulevard in Del Webb Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club south of Belleview claimed the life of 70-year-old retiree Donald Simrell.

The Florida Highway Patrol charged Shrum with DUI manslaughter.
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At 2:45 p.m. Friday, several hours after his first appearance in court, Shrum was released from the Marion County Jail on a bond of $52,000. Neither he nor the passenger of the pickup truck at the time of the accident, Dale E. Markel, could be reached for comment.

Spruce Creek officials said Shrum worked in the gated community with D.E.M. Drywall Inc. of Leesburg, a subcontractor for Frazier Drywall Inc. of Summerfield. Shrum and Markel are the corporate officers of D.E.M. Drywall, according to online records with the Florida Division of Corporations.

"Obviously, it's just a tragic accident," said Del Webb Division President Jay Thompson, referring to Simrell's death. "I would just want to focus on how sorry we are for his family."

Del Webb Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club officials said they believe Shrum had left work at 1 p.m. "We think he was coming back in to pick up the other guy's truck," said Vice President of Construction Jordan Sorchevich.

"We completely prohibit any kind of alcohol or drug use on the site, as well as speeding," Thompson said on Friday.

As for the status of Frazier Drywall, Thompson said: "We interviewed them this morning and will continue to just investigate the circumstances before we determine what action we might take with them."

Florida Highway Patrol troopers say Shrum and Markel gave conflicting statements to them about their whereabouts before the accident. Markel, who refused to answer some questions from troopers, reportedly told them that they were checking several job sites in the Spruce Creek area.

Shrum told officials that they had left one job site and had driven through the gated community's back entrance. He said they were on their way toward the front gate when the accident occurred. Shrum told officials that he's self-employed and hangs drywall. He also told them he was driving 40 mph.

Though the investigation is not yet completed - with the results of a blood test still to come and details of the events before and after the accident still unclear - troopers say residents told them Shrum may indeed have been driving 40 mph.
The top administrator and a bartender at a Petaluma Moose Lodge are facing misdemeanor charges after state investigators seized slot machines from a locked room off the bar, authorities said Friday.


Acting on a tip, three undercover agents went to Moose Lodge No. 475 last week, bought alcohol and were let into the room to play the slot machines.


"This is happening more and more often," said Marty Horan, special agent in charge of the Sacramento regional office of the state Justice Department's gambling control division.


Horan said agents recently seized machines from a Folsom used car lot that planned to give them away as part of a promotion. They also found them for sale in a furniture store in Oakdale. Elsewhere, he said, slot machines have been found in private establishments such as the Moose Lodge on English Street in Petaluma.


"We're getting more and more tips," he said.


State law prohibits slot machines and most other casino games, except on Indian reservations. Some card rooms and horse racing tracks are trying to qualify a ballot initiative that would allow them to have slot machines, arguing that Indian tribes have an unfair advantage.


Horan said the state is stepping up its enforcement efforts "because California is growing into such a gambling industry state."


Starting with the Petaluma lodge, he said state agents scrapped a policy of giving warnings and started issuing citations.


He said Keith Jones, the administrator of the Petaluma Moose Lodge, was cited for three counts of possessing an illegal slot machine. So was bartender Rachel Lea Breckenridge, Horan said.


They face up to a year in county jail and fines of $500 per offense.

As the NCAA tournament heats up on the court, students are gripping their remote controls as they eagerly watch games and hope for their picks to advance in the tournament.

However, it is not only college students clinging to the upsets and victories. Bracket fever is spreading across all ages, extending to social, work and online pools. And those are just a few of the places one can go to choose which of the 65 teams will advance each contest and win the national title. 

People can also visit Web sites, including ESPN.com and Games.Yahoo.com, and enter in a bracket contest to win money or prizes. At ESPN's Web site, people can enter their picks and become eligible to win $10,000. Yahoo allows people to do the same, but also features private groups in which the top finishers in each group win prizes.

Bracket pools work off a point system where points are awarded for every correct pick, and point values increase as teams get deeper into the tournament. 

Ryan Griffin, junior in business and president of Sigma Chi, said half of his 120-member fraternity participate in bracket contests online.

"It's nice because you can check your progress with virtual standings that are always updated," he said.

Griffin said he joins the contest every year because of the excitement of the entire tournament.

"You invest interest in every game," Griffin said. "You can't get away from the TV. (Close games) are what make the NCAA tournament great."

However, bracket contests are not always free. Some require entrance fees and become a form of gambling. 

According to Earl Grinols, an economics professor at the University, gambling is detrimental to the economy.

In his book Gambling In America: Costs and Benefits, Grinols wrote that gambling costs the economy nearly $54 million annually. The book discusses the costs, growth and financial hardships caused by gambling. 

Grinols said in an interview that only about 30 percent of people choose not to gamble. Of the remaining population, 10 percent of people were found to gamble on a regular basis, such as by wagers in a casino.

A March 15 poll by Copley News Service asked Illinois voters if casinos or the number of gambling positions on riverboats should be increased to provide more money for the state.

According to the results of the poll, 53 percent of voters rejected the idea of increasing the number of casinos to raise state revenue, 36 percent supported the idea and the remaining 11 percent were undecided.

The poll also showed that 39 percent of voters believed that legalized gambling has a negative effect on the quality of life, while 16 percent believed it had a positive effect. Seven percent were unsure and 38 percent believed legalized gambling had no effect.

"There are benefits of casinos to players, to owners and to citizens, and there are costs as well," Grinols wrote. "Identifying a winner or loser from the social perspective requires understanding the complete picture and knowing which components should be compared."

Grinols said when people choose to gamble at a casino or in some other form, they must be aware of the risks and costs associated with gambling.

"If there were no social costs caused by gambling, there would be no reason to object to it," Grinols said. "That is, when individuals understand risk and odds and want to gamble for the enjoyment as they would for any other form of recreation, there is no argument."

Jones, contacted Friday by telephone, said the machines were legal and predicted that the citations will be dismissed. He said the lodge was using them for bingo-style play.


"I don't think there's anything wrong and I haven't had my day in court," he said. "You're embarrassing an organization in Petaluma which does a lot of good."


He said Justice Department agents shouldn't have even been in the building because it is open to members only. "This is a private lodge these guys broke into," Jones said.


Horan said all the machines were illegal.


"If it looks and acts like a slot machine, it's probably a slot machine," he said. "Basically it's the same thing you would see at some tribal casinos."


At the Petaluma lodge, Horan said state agents seized two Pachislo slot machines and a pulltab machine, and seized $462 from the pulltab machine and the bartender's cash box.


Members would buy Moose club tokens from the bartender to use in the slot machines and any winnings could be spent at the club, Horan said.


"You're getting half the story," Jones said. "This is a private lodge. This was for our amusement only."


Just because it was in a private room doesn't make it legal, Horan said. "They can't have a private gaming room," he said. "Gambling is illegal in California."


Horan said machines can be obtained for about $300 each from online merchants.


Manufacturers sometimes try to "pull the wool over people's eyes by saying this is legal," claiming there's an element of skill in pushing the buttons to stop and start the rollers, he said.


Assistant State Attorney Robert Hodges said that, if convicted of DUI manslaughter, Shrum would likely be sentenced to anywhere from 10 to 15 years in prison.

Donald Simrell reportedly had on his way to the development's recreation center when the 1996 Dodge Ram pickup truck entered the golf cart lane. The right front of the truck collided with the left rear of the golf cart.

Simrell was ejected from the cart. The Vietnam veteran, a retired U.S. Navy senior chief who served for 27 years, was pronounced dead on the scene.

Grace Simrell, the wife of Simrell's brother William, described her brother-in-law as "happy-go-lucky."

"He wouldn't say no about anything," she said. "He was always game for anything."

Simrell was devoted to his family, she added. He was "the most wonderful family man you ever wanted to meet. He would do anything for his children and grandchildren."

Simrell enjoyed playing cards, bingo, bowling and taking trips on casino boats, William Simrell recalled. "He was outgoing."

Donald Simrell, affectionately called Don, had been a Summerfield resident since 2000. He was a member of St. Theresa Catholic Church, the Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club Veterans Association, and the Moose Lodge of Orange Park and Belleview.



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