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Citrus slices
By Times staff writers Mosquitoes held raid of their own, on deputiesNo, that wasn't a strange dance that members of the Citrus County Sheriff's Office were doing last week during a predawn raid on a house on Carleen Terrace in Crystal River. All that stomping of feet and flailing of arms was to ward off the swarms of mosquitoes that were trying to feast on the deputies' flesh. Later, after two suspects were arrested on drug-related charges, reporters asked Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ronda Hemminger Evan to say something pithy about the effect of the mosquitoes on the raid. She surveyed the red bumps on her arms and smiled. "I think all the pith has been sucked out of me," Evan said. * * * NOT EASILY GROUPED: The Department of Children and Families held a meeting in Belleview last week so people could learn more about changes in the developmental disabilities program. One speaker was Carl Littlefield, one of the agency's top officials in developmental disabilities. Littlefield asked how many people at the meeting were service providers, clients, family members of clients or government employees. Most people raised their hands to identify with one of those groups, but a few people didn't claim membership in any category. The rest of you must be something else, Littlefield said. "What I meant," he quickly said with a grin, "is you are really something else." * * * YOU KNOW YOU MAKE ME WANNA SHOUT: Also attending the meeting was Dr. Sam Navarro, another top official of the Department of Children and Families who works with the developmental disabilities program. When answering audience questions, Navarro usually didn't worry about using a microphone. "I'm a mother of six," she explained, "so I'm used to yelling." -- Times staff writers Jim Ross and Carrie Johnson contributed to this report.
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