Around the Region

<p><B>POLICE BEAT</p><p>Chase, crash leads to arrest</B></p><p>A Starke man was arrested Friday morning after Florida Highway Patrol officers attempted a traffic stop.</p><p>Eric Smith, 37, was arrested for driving with a suspended license, reckless driving and driving without a seat belt, according to FHP.</p><p>An FHP report stated two Bradford County detectives in an unmarked vehicle saw Smith's Chevy S10 pickup stopped in the middle of NW 177th Street in Starke and initiated the traffic stop. Smith reportedly sped away and crashed his truck into a ditch while trying to drive around the metal gate at the end of NW 29th Avenue.</p><p>Smith crawled out of the window, fled on foot and was caught and arrested.</p><p><i>— Christopher Curry</i></p><p><b>COMMUNITY</p><p>Student musicians win accolades</b></p><p>The Florida Bandmasters Association has selected 21 Alachua County middle and high school students for all-state bands and orchestras.</p><p>The students will be part of a performance at the Tampa Convention Center Jan. 10.</p><p>Two Alachua County high school students won the Florida Band Masters Bob Quatman Award, which goes to just one student in each of five divisions and includes a $400 scholarship. Ryan KirkConnell, a tuba player at Gainesville High School, won in Division 3A, and Scott Graham, a trumpet player at Buchholz High, won in Division 5A.</p><p>The school district's all-state selections were: Middle School Honor Band Grades 7 and 8: Patrick Crawford (Oak View) and Levi Riley (High Springs); Middle School Band: Alexander Ishov (Lincoln), Joshua Brownstein (Howard Bishop), Alexander Sinnot (Fort Clarke), Katie Karis and Grace Lee (Kanapaha). </p><p>High School: Concert Band: Jae-won Jang and Gabe Linn (Eastside), Caleb Hsu, Jeremy Liu, Logan Rutledge, and Laura Jamison (Buchholz); Symphonic Band: Youjin Jang and Ryan Sullivan (Buchholz), Ryan KirkConnell (Gainesville High); Orchestra: Sydney Hawkins, Scott Graham, Tammy Vaughn and Emily Shroads (Buchholz), Joseph Burleson (Gainesville High).</p><p><i>— Staff report</i></p><p><b>STATE</p><p>Firefighter jailed for shooting gun</b></p><p>DADE CITY —Authorities say a Polk County firefighter was arrested for shooting his 9mm handgun at various objects on the road and in the air while driving.</p><p>The Pasco County Sheriff's Office reports that 33-year-old Jeffrey A. Morgan was pulled over Wednesday afternoon after someone driving behind him called the police. A report says Morgan admitted to firing the gun out the window of his truck but that he stopped shooting when he saw a vehicle behind him.</p><p>Morgan was charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person.</p><p><i>— The Associated Press</i></p>