Florida girl LOLs at her 35k texts in a month

CLERMONT -- After a 13-year-old California girl made national headlines this week for logging 14,529 text messages in one month, a Lake County family scoffed. Clermont 14-year-old Emilee Cox hit 35,000 monthly messages twice this past year, according to her family and confirmed by the Orlando Sentinel and Sprint.

"i don't like talking on the phone so i prefer texting people," Cox said in - what else - a text message to the Sentinel.

Cox tallied 35,463 messages in June, her peak month, which she said was because she was at cheerleading camp and had a lot of friends to text. That means she averaged over 1,180 texts a day, or 74 an hour, assuming she slept every night.

It's not even close to the world record, believe it or not. A man in India reportedly logged 182,689 texts in one month.

-- Emily Nipps, Times staff writer

Tough times for pot smokers

The brother of a man who was arrested after deputies seized marijuana plants from a house says his sibling's dilemma is the result of the bad economy, according to Wftv.com.

A sheriff's official says Daniel Urban of Clermont was arrested after a search of his house and another home revealed more than 160 marijuana plants and 32 guns.

"If you smoke pot, you've got to grow pot or else it's $400 an ounce to buy it," said Mike Urban, Daniel's brother.

Daniel Urban, who refused to comment, faces charges of drug trafficking and cultivation of marijuana.

Black bear on the loose in Leesburg

Here’s a story that would make Stephen Colbert cringe.
A Florida Black bear is on the loose in Leesburg, the Daily Commercial reports. Residents are recommended to secure trash and food that might tempt the 300 to 400 pound caniform. The bear was first spotted in a tree in Venetian Gardens Park, a city park west of downtown. The bear headed east and was last seen near Brittany Estates on Lake Griffin, a manufactured home community.
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In class today: how to roll a blunt

Some parents of students at South Lake High School in Groveland had some concerns about what their students were learning in English class, the Leesburg Daily Commercial reports, such as how to get vodka into a watermelon and "how to roll a blunt.'' Some porn tips, too. Teacher Armando Simon also advised the class "go for Goth girls because their low self-esteem makes them easier to get into bed.''  Confronted by a Lake County sheriff's deputy with 17 parental complaints, Simon said: "I already resigned. I'm invoking my rights and I'm not saying another thing.'' It's unclear if his students were as upset as the parents.

Children play with old bones in the cemetery

The old cemetery in Minneola, a tiny town in Lake County, is in such bad shape that children have been playing with human bones, the Leesburg Daily Commercial reports. Says the mayor, "The bones are believed to be very, very old. I think the first person buried in the cemetery was like in 1883." The mayor recommends that the city get the place cleaned up.

Nude photos cost fire chief his job

Officials say the chief of a small central Florida volunteer fire department was asked to resign after he e-mailed pictures that showed the exposed breast of a 26-year-old car crash victim, the Associated Press reports.

Umatilla Fire Chief Richard Shirk told city officials he e-mailed images of crash and the woman, who later died, for training purposes. Shirk told officials he did not notice the woman was partially nude in at least one of the photos.

City Manager Glenn Irby said Shirk initially sent the e-mail to representatives of three nearby fire departments and it was forwarded to other people.

Shirk was hired in October as the city's first paid fire official, earning $55,000 a year to oversee volunteer firefighters.

Irby said Monday that Shirk was being offered three-months pay in exchange for his resignation. He said he expected Shirk to accept the terms.

"Any comment from us would be inappropriate," said Shirk's attorney, Michael H. Hatfield.

He was suspended in late November after a paramedic who responded to the crash received the e-mail from an acquaintance and complained.

Irby said that if the photos had been kept for in-house training purposes, Shirk would probably not have been fired.

Umatilla is located about 40 miles northwest of Orlando and has about 2,600 residents.