The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • B3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: LOC DATE: 01-27-2006 EDITION: FLA ZONE: VL PAGE: B3.0 DEADLINE: 20.6 OP: apinkston COM POSETIME: 22.10 CMYK Orlando Sentinel FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2006 B3 VOLUSIA CENTRAL FLORIDA Officials: Cougar dies in breeding-site incident ed. "It's unfortunate when something like this happens," Hill said. "Things sometimes do go wrong when you keep big animals, and that's sad." In 2001, a 550-pound tiger burst through a rusted chainlink fence at Savage Kingdom and killed an animal trainer. A commission investigation later cleared owner Robert Baudy of any criminal wrongdoing in the death. According to reports regarding this month's incident, Terri Weaver, an animal keeper at Savage Kingdom, was cleaning out a feeding station when Mickey, the male cougar, slipped out of an adjacent stall through a divider door that had not been properly secured.

Mickey and the other exotic cats were already agitated by the loud chainsaws being used by nearby tree trimmers at the time, workers told investigators. When Weaver noticed the cat had escaped and was heading toward an open field, she tried to lasso it with a rope. Wayne Patenaude checks the fuel levels of a World War ll-era B-17 Flying Fortress during a tour of vintage war planes at the Leesburg Regional Airport on Thursday. A B-25 Mitchell also was a part of the display. The Collings Foundation, a nonprofit educational foundation in Stow, along with Skybolt Aeromotive Corp.

and Neil Fischer ERA Realty, both of Leesburg, arranged the display. Servicing history Hopes raised for missing woman Mickey chewed on the rope and then bit Weaver on her lower leg, causing a minor injury. She then called for the nearby tree trimmers and another facility worker to help her capture the cougar. The men managed to get two ropes around the cat's neck. But the animal then started to spin angrily on the ground, tightening the ropes around its neck, according to reports.

Martin E. Comas can be reached at mcomasorlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5927. STEPHEN M. DOWELLORLANDO SENTINEL Orlando Detective Glenn Gause (right) walks with Rob Allen of Fort Lauderdale, the boyfriend of Jennifer Kesse (above), on Thursday. RED HUBERORLANDO SENTINEL Kesse was about 10 p.m.

Monday, when she called Rob Allen, her boyfriend, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, friends and police said. On Thursday afternoon, Cari McKibben, who roomed with Kesse for five years, Allen, Peppers and about 20 of Kesse's relatives and friends from as far as Boston gathered at her condominium to wait for news from police. Many were UCF 2003 graduates, who described her with the same terms of determination, intelligence and ambition that followed her since elementary school in Tampa when she received straight As. At Gaither High School in Hillsborough County, where she belonged to the Fellowships of Christian Students and the Spanish Honors Society and graduated in 1999, Principal Brenda Grasso told The St. Petersburg Times, "She left us with a very high GPA What an awful shame." Information from The St.

Petersburg Times was used in this report. Henry Pierson Curtis can be reached at 407-420-5257 or hcurtisorlandosentinel.com. offender urge Brevard officials to comply with the provisions governing the federal-grant program. The suit seeks to have the work done on Houston's home as well as unspecified damages. Brevard's policy barring felons extends beyond just the homeowner.

It also requires that if any household member is a felon, he or she must have their civil rights restored or have been pardoned to receive assistance. Laurin Sellers can be reached at 321-795-3251 or lsellersorlandosentinel.com. investigation into whether the Sumter County facility broke state and national standards in keeping exotic animals. "Strangulation is a miserable way to die," said Lisa Wathne of PETA. "Any time you have an animal that is strangled, you need to investigate it.

But Joy Hill, fish and wildlife spokeswoman, said a commission investigation on Jan. 1 1 determined that the cougar's death was a result of human error rather than any policy violation and Savage Kingdom was not cit MILES 10 VOLUSIA DeLand Deltona Tavares Sanford SEMINOLE LAKE 'Orlando ORANGE Kennedy Space Center Kissimmee Haines City POLK BREVARD OSCEOLA Map area ORLANDO SENTINEL legations raised by two girls, ages 3 and 4. One girl, now 5, testified last week after Circuit Judge Mark Hill found her competent as a witness, meaning she understood the difference between right and wrong. Assistant State Attorney James Kershaw, who prosecuted Bryant, said the children were guests at Bryant's home, where he sometimes baby-sat them during his days off. The parents of one of the girls alerted detectives.

Kershaw said evidence against Bryant included incriminating statements he made to detectives, admitting inappropriate contact with the children over several months. But Bryant says he is innocent and contends he was tricked and pressured into confessing, said Za-chary Stoumbos, an Orlando attorney leading the defense. Stoumbos said the father of one the girls is a deputy sheriff and promised Bryant they would handle the matter as a family and not press criminal charges if he confessed. The deputy denied making such a promise. Stoumbos also said Bryant's wife had threatened to leave him and keep their children from him unless confessed.

She testified for Bryant in his trial and remains his wife. Court records show Bryant was accused of first-degree sexual assaults on a minor that carry maximum penalties of life in prison without parole. He was convicted Jan. 18 sexual battery on a child after a two-day trial. He faces a second trial next month on allegations that he committed similar sexual acts with another girl.

TAVARES Stormwater pond to be smaller The Lake County Water Authority has approved a revised plan from Mascotte to clean up storm water running into Sunset Lake. City officials originally had planned to build a retention pond to capture rain runoff on a third of an acre they purchased near the lake south of State Road 50. But they later decided a large pond full of water was not appropriate in an area that could be used for recreation. Mascotte and the authority then reached a compromise, calling for a smaller pond that would not retain water for long periods. The revised plan could save up to $22,000 in construction costs.

Kristen Reed, Stephen Hudak Robert Sargent of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. federal suit requisite that prohibits Houston and other convicted felons from participating. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the suit in Orlando, say that policy violates federal law. Brevard leaders, however, refused to back down. "We only have so much money to go around, maybe $10,000 or $20,000," said Brevard County Commission Chairman Ron Pritchard.

"The list of applicants far exceeds the amount of money, and I'm not about to By MARTIN E. COMAS SENTINEL STAFF WRITER CENTER HILL A cougar strangled itself with a rope at Savage Kingdom after workers lassoed the thrashing animal to keep it from escaping the breeding facility, wildlife officials said. The Jan. 10 incident came to light on Thursday when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent letters to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture urging an The Area i in Brief DELTONA Body found in Lake Monroe is identified A body found floating in Lake Monroe has been identified as that of 20-year-old Daniel Swierczek, sheriff's officials said Thursday, but investigators still do not know how he ended up in the water.

The Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the death and an autopsy Thursday did not reveal any visible signs of trauma. Officials are waiting on toxicology reports. Swierczek of DeBary was reported missing Jan. 1 8 by his family. Family members said he suffered from bipolar disorder but was not taking medication for the condition, sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said.

The man's mother said she had not seen her son since Jan. 16, according to a missing person's report. It listed his mental condition as "highly volatile" and said that he drank alcohol. A fisherman saw the fully clothed body Wednesday afternoon, and deputies recovered it about 100 yards from the shore near Lake-shore Drive and Broadway Street. EDGEWATER No one hurt in space-heater fire A portable space heater likely ignited a blaze that consumed a mobile home in Edgewater, county fire officials said Thursday.

The fire destroyed the Lewis Street home where two families lived. No one was injured in the blaze. Fire officials said smoke detectors in the home did not set off an alarm. Firefighters were able to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to an adjacent mobile home, which suffered minor smoke damage. SEVILLE County lifts boil-water alert The county has lifted a precautionary boil-water notice issued earlier in the week for Pine Island residents in the Seville area.

For more information, call Volusia County Water and Utilities at 386-822-6465. TAVARES Ex-firefighter appeals verdict An ex-firefighter sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of molesting a young girl will appeal the jury's verdict, his lawyer said Thursday. Michael Steven Bryant, 36, resigned from the Clermont Fire Department while Lake County sheriff's detectives were investigating al- NO THOMAS Mike Thomas is taking a break. His column will resume soon. Brevard faces By LAURIN SELLERS SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Brevard County was sued in federal court Thursday because it refused to weatherstrip a convicted sex offender's home.

Raymond Houston, 45, of Cocoa, who is disabled and living on a fixed income, meets all of the requirements for the Weatherization Program, a federally funded energy-conservation effort. But Brevard officials added a pre 0 of he of and The Orlando resident's car is discovered not far from her condominium 3 days after she disappeared. By HENRY PIERS0N CURTIS SENTINEL STAFF WRITER The discovery of a missing Orlando's woman car Thursday morning raised hopes that she might still be found alive, three days after she vanished. By midafternoon, Jennifer Kesse's father spoke to more than a dozen TV, radio and newspaper reporters from throughout Florida before delivering the same message on national TV. "She's out there.

She's strong. She's smart," Drew Kesse said. "Just hang in there. We're close. And we'll get you." The mystery of her disappearance grew within an hour of the car's recovery at 8:10 a.m.

not far from Kesse's residence. Orange County sheriff's bloodhound Bo took a sniff of the driver's seat and pulled handler Sgt. Jeff Brown at a loping pace for a mile. The scent led straight to the front door of Kesse's home in Mosaic at Mil-lenia, an upscale, gated and fenced condominium complex with 24-hour security on Americana Boulevard. The trail bypassed the complex's only entrance and led to a stretch of fence separating the public sidewalk from its private grounds.

Once the 6-year-old bloodhound entered the grounds, the dog picked up the scent inside the fence and went directly to a staircase leading to Kesse's second-floor condominium. Orlando police homicide detectives would not speculate on who abandoned Kesse's Chevrolet Malibu near the intersection of Americana and Texas Avenue and then walked or ran back to her home. "Obviously, we get more concerned as time passes but we certainly are going to keep our hopes up," said Sgt. Barbara Jones, the department spokeswoman. Missing-persons cases are relatively common in Central Florida, with more than 3,000 listed at least briefly each year in Orange County alone.

An impromptu search for the 24-year-old financial analyst began Tuesday when she failed to go to work at Central Florida Investments or answer her cell phone. Extremely responsible since childhood, her uncharacteristic absence alarmed family members in Bradenton and more than a dozen former classmates at the University of Central Florida. By Tuesday night, they began distributing posters asking the public to help find the 5-foot-8, 135-pound blonde with green eyes. "She's got the whole package. She's just one of those girls you go to for anything," said friend and college roommate Jenny Peppers.

"She's got street smarts and book smarts." The last time anyone heard from partment of Community Affairs said Houston's prior conviction should have no bearing on his request for assistance. The federal Energy Conservation and Production Act offers help to low-income residents to encourage conservation. The U.S. Department of Energy mandates that qualifications for assistance be based solely on income. The ACLU's Howard Simon said the lawsuit was filed in U.S.

District Court in Orlando after repeated attempts by Houston and the ACLU to on weatherstripping for sex use scarce resources on somebody who was convicted of such a heinous crime." Houston, who wants his doors weatherstripped and a water heater replaced, was convicted in 1994 of lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 16. He was sentenced to 42 years of probation. "There was a house party, she was underage, and I was stupid," said Houston, adding that he has been off probation for six years. ACLU attorneys and the state De.