Comment was no crime
A Crystal River council member is off the hook for his words to a political opponent.

Salaries on School Board may even out
Also, the board approves a controversial choice for principal at Forest Ridge Elementary School.

Mother of imprisoned teen files lawsuit
INVERNESS -- While her son serves a 10-year prison sentence for stealing beer and escaping from a patrol car, Cheryl Bollenback is suing the city of Inverness over a different case. In a suit filed earlier this month, Cheryl Bollenback claimed an Inverness police officer used unnecessary force while taking her son, Adam, to jail on counts of battery and resisting arrest.

2 arrested in string of home burglaries
The man and the woman were picked up driving a truck Monday night in the area of most of the burglaries.

Boys soccer preview
Citrus

Pirates lose a leader
Matt Ryals, expected to control the defense from the sweeper spot, is out for the season.

Weather snuffs out last night
INVERNESS -- Though the drivers were eagerly awaiting the final night of action at Citrus County Speedway, it was the weather that decided the Late Model, Street Stock and Thunder Stock championships.

Citrus briefs
Two accident victims flown to Tampa hospital

Park envisioned as city entrance
Inverness officials want to create a stylish park at Cooter Pond to serve as a "gateway to Inverness."

Butterfly garden blooms with lessons
Citrus Springs Elementary students tend plants that attract butterflies. They follow the life cycle and see their work take wing.

Citrus High singers raise funds for Hawaii performance
The first major effort to raise $70,000 for the Pearl Harbor concert begins Saturday with a Quarter Mile of Quarters.

Citrus digest
Manatee count up

Editorial
Vulture cure: Will it be worse than the disease?
Vultures are a common sight in Citrus County, riding the thermals high above the treetops or tearing into some unfortunate roadkill on any of the county's increasingly busy thoroughfares.