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That smoke you saw was prescribed

By TIMES WIRES
Published January 11, 2007

The state Division of Forestry conducted a 240-acre prescribed burn in the Withlacoochee State Forest on Wednesday. Smoke and flames were visible to motorists on State Road 44 west of Croft Road in the afternoon. Forestry officials said it was an ecological burn to improve the habitat of the three red-cockaded woodpecker families in the area. The small bird is an endangered species.

Judge to decide if charges too late

The attorney for Robert L. Clevenger Jr. filed a motion Tuesday asking a judge to dismiss felony murder and battery charges because prosecutors didn't file them soon enough. The charges stem from a fight Feb. 19, 2006, in Floral City, but weren't filed until Oct. 25. Tia Florin, a senior at Citrus High School and two months pregnant, collapsed and died soon after she was choked and pushed by Clevenger while trying to break up the fight, authorities said. Prosecutors were preparing a response that the charges were filed in a timely manner. A circuit judge will hear the matter today.

Sky Development case going 'slowly'

Sky Development Group still owes the Deltona Corp. more than $1-million for property in Citrus Springs, according to 15 mortgage foreclosure complaints filed Wednesday in Citrus County Circuit Court. At issue is property Sky purchased from Deltona in June and September of 2005. The company's registered agent, Natalia Wolf, signed mortgage documents promising to pay more than $1-million for the property. But as of this fall, according to the complaints, Sky had only paid a fraction of that amount. The complaints are the latest in a string of legal actions filed across the state against the South Florida company, which is at the center of an FBI real estate fraud investigation. Detectives from the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and the North Miami Beach Police Department are also investigating claims that Sky forged deeds and sold millions of dollars worth of property it didn't own in Citrus Springs. Citrus County Sheriff's Detective Mike Kanter said Wednesday that his investigation was progressing "slowly." Wolf used her passport to enter Germany in October, he said, but investigators don't know where she is now. Kanter said German officials have told the FBI Wolf could not be extradited to the United States, but she could be prosecuted in Germany if detectives build a strong enough case.

Software to keep out offenders

Citrus schools will soon start using a software program that scans driver's licenses and checks if a visitor is a convicted sex offender. The School Board voted Tuesday to approve the purchase and install the technology at 22 school campuses. The software program called Raptor Technologies will cost $33,000. Mike Mullen, the district's executive director of support services, said the software will cut the wait time for parents who want to visit their children at school. In the past, front office staff manually entered the information on a visitor's photo identification into a computer to make sure that person was not a sex offender. The new technology checks sexual offender registries in 48 states and alerts a school resource officer if a sex offender attempts to get into a school. No date has been set by when schools will start using the software program.

[Last modified January 10, 2007, 20:09:53]