TURN TO PAGE C12 TO Standoff ends: Boy safe, abductor killed /A10 FIND OUT WHO IS TUESDAY TODAY CITRUS COUNTY & next HINT: HINT: morning VILLAGE VILLAGE HIGH TOYOTA TOYOTA 73 Partly cloudy. LOW PAGE A4 in CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 54 www.chronicleonline.com 000DYPD FEBRUARY 5, 2013 Florida’s Best Community Newspaper Serving Florida’s Best Community 50¢ VOL. 118 ISSUE 182 Mom charged with murdering baby cording to the arrest affidavit. tors she recalled when she pulled Autopsy reveals brain hemorrhaging, At around noon on Jan. 27, Arnett the baby out of the swing, the in- reportedly placed the baby in his fant’s head hit the swing. swing and in the following two According to the affidavit, Arnett a separated spine and broken ribs hours slammed the face of the in- said she knew the baby was injured A.B. SIDIBE rus County Sheriff ’s Office. fant into the swing tray. She admit- by the time her boyfriend got home, Staff writer Brittany Nichole Arnett, 20, of ted to investigators she also grabbed but was afraid to tell him or seek Robin Hood Road — who was ar- the infant by the rib cage and medical help. INVERNESS — A young mother rested Monday — was reportedly yanked him from the swing with When the boyfriend got home, the Brittany is facing first-degree murder upset that her boyfriend had left her such force it caused the baby’s head baby appeared to be acting normal, Arnett charges in the death of her 6-month- at home with the baby when she to snap back and forth without re- but was sensitive to touch and had arrested old infant son, according to the Cit- turned her fury on the infant, ac- sistance. Arnett also told investiga- See BABY/ Page A2 Monday. Manatees get first taste of the wild Sea cows released after rehabilitation A.B. SIDIBE Staff writer ON THE NET ■ For more information HOMOSASSA — It was a about the Manatee “Free Willy” moment Mon- Rehabilitation day near the spring head of Partnership, visit the Homosassa River. www.wildtracks.org/ But unlike the famous about. movie about the release of a whale into the wild, the first time on their own,” Yer- mammals here were mana- ian said as Laroc was getting tees, and they took their lan- ready to be unloaded from a guid time to slowly slide truck into a holding tank — through the gate into the the precursor to release into warm spring area of the the area known as the Fish river. Bowl. Temperatures in the The release of sea cows spring area remain a rela- Wooten, Laroc and Charlie, tively balmy 72 degrees year- after periods of rehabilita- round, which is why tion at various locations, was manatees are drawn there the first of its kind since the during the winter months. 1990s, according to Art Yer- Laroc, Charlie and Wooten ian, manager of the Ellie were transported in moving Schiller Homosassa Springs trucks and, once on site, Wildlife State Park. tagged with a radio monitor “They are what we call that hangs like a belt around naïve animals, which means the mammal’s flap area. they are used to humans and More than a dozen people are about to get out for the assembled around Laroc as he was slid down the truck’s Charlie, a young male plank onto layers of foam manatee, is released into and lowered into the holding the water Monday morning tank. Laroc flapped a huge at the Ellie Schiller splash as spectators ap- Homosassa Springs Wildlife plauded. Laroc joined State Park. The 700-pound Wooten and Charlie and, animal was orphaned after a after a moment, the gate to boat struck its mother. It the holding area was lifted. was cared for in Miami’s It took the manatees a while Seaquarium before being to eventually transition into moved to the Homosassa the river, however. wildlife park. MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle See MANATEES/ Page A2 County makes pitch for Board taking whack bigger sporting events at paddling rule families in — the type school board mem- TDC hopes to attract of people we’d like to No longer belongs in bers reviewed recom- have here.” mended code changes Tourism is joining last week, board mem- more business forces with the Parks school, says Himmel ber Thomas Kennedy CHRIS VAN ORMER and Recreation De- MIKE WRIGHT suggested getting rid partment to offer Staff writer Staff writer of corporal punish- sports facilities and to ment altogether. advance a plan of Getting sportier would attract more Kathy CRYSTAL RIVER — Rumps rejoice! Others agreed. sports marketing to Ginger events and more business. Pearson The “board of education” is headed for “I don’t think bring national tourna- Bryant “It’s something the tourism board has director of retirement. occasionally there’s anything we ments. The goal also is looked at, and we’re just trying to di- Community Citrus County School District officials used paddle. should condone about Services. to revitalize events res- versify our economic base here to said they’re ready to remove paddling paddling,” board idents already enjoy. promote our county,” said County Com- as a form of punishment from their stu- member Pat Deutschman said. “About a year ago, tourism was put missioner Rebecca Bays, chairman of dent code of conduct. Paddling was once considered an ef- under the Community Services Depart- the Tourist Development Council. “It’s Paddling has been on the books in Cit- fective form of punishment. ment,” said Cathy Pearson, assistant one of those avenues we can take to rus County for decades. But it hasn’t help promote Citrus County and bring See SPORTS/ Page A2 been used for several years, and when See PADDLE/ Page A2 Comics . .C8 Editorial . .A8 INDEX Lottery Payouts . .B4 Classifieds . .C9 Community . .C6 Entertainment . .B4 Movies . .C8 TV Listings . .C7 Crossword . .C7 Horoscope . .B4 Lottery Numbers . .B3 Obituaries . .A6 000DY3G A2 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2013 LOCAL/STATE CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE State BRIEF Astronomers meet Station in the lower Florida James Webb Space Keys. Telescope. in Florida Keys The 29th Winter Star Party Event founder Tippy D’Au- SCOUT KEY — Hundreds kicked off Monday and has at- ria said the Keys are one of of professional and amateur tracted almost 500 stargazing the few places in the contigu- astronomers are focusing tel- participants and guest speak- ous United States where the escopes on southern constel- ers, including Michael Menzel, Southern Cross and other ce- lations, stars, planets and NASA mission systems engi- lestial objects can be seen. even the International Space neer for the in-development —From wire reports to in- everyone left. They pad- school sus- dled me for not leaving for PADDLE pension. the fire drill.” Continued from Page A1 “It was Himmel said paddling never initi- no longer has a place in School board member ated by the schools. Ginger Bryant, who taught school,” “A lot of things that were 28 years at Crystal River she said. popular back in the day Middle School, said she “Always by are not so popular now,” occasionally used the pad- Sam parent re- she said. “For a lot of par- dle on unruly students. Himmel quest. And ents this is not their choice “In some cases it was all superintendent it was very of discipline. That should we could do to keep a child of schools. seldom.” be a parent’s choice.” in line,” Bryant said Superintendent of Deutschman, the board’s Monday. Schools Sandra “Sam” senior member, agreed. Student Services coordi- Himmel, who grew up in “Times have changed in nator Cherise Cernich, who Citrus County, said she re- the ways we discipline MATTHEW BECK/Chronicle spent about 15 years as an called being paddled in children,” she said. “This Charlie rests quietly at the edge of the water Monday morning before being released. assistant principal at kindergarten. is just a bygone era.” Lecanto Middle School, “There was a fire drill Contact Chronicle re- said paddling occurred only and I was finger painting,” porter Mike Wright at 352- South Florida Museum in Bradenton, when parents requested it Himmel said. “I went to 563-3228 or mwright@ MANATEES was on hand to see Charlie released. instead of sending children wash my hands while chronicleonline.com. Margold said Charlie’s mother was Continued from Page A1 struck by a boat in early 2011 and in Au- gust of 2011 Charlie was brought to the also may figure in the that and we thought we Monica Ross, who is with Sea to Shore museum for rehabilitation. future. could use our staff time to Alliance, which is part of the Manatee She said the MRP chose the Ho- SPORTS To open this avenue took take us into this new di- Rehabilitation Partnership (MRP), said mosassa River for the release of the Continued from Page A1 some work. rection to work with the hope is for a seamless transition. manatees based on criteria of optimal “We’ve really reorgan- tourism to help expand the “Hopefully, they understand it’s warm chances for transition into the wild. here (in the river) and it’s cold out there Yerian said Wooten, who came from county administrator and ized our Parks and Recre- tourism market with the (in the Gulf),” she said. the Columbus Zoo, was initially going to director of Community ation Department,” sports market.” Ross said the monitors tethered to the be released in the Orange River, but Services. “One of the Pearson said. “We want to For many years, the sea cows, which are like small floating things changed because of bacteria in things that we were seeing bring in a new field.” parks department has buckets with an antenna sticking out, aid that river.