THE ISLAND'S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD <l 't \l"\» - 30, 2OO5 SAN 1 BEL & CAPTTVA,FLORIDA VOLUME 32 NUMBER 13 24 PAGES Rogers and Zimomra Planning denies Periwinkle development th By GARY PHILLIPS lauded at COTI's 30 [email protected] How much is too much? That question regarding By Renny Severance Sanibel development was the focus of Tuesday's plan- [email protected] ning commission meeting as they conducted a public hearing and debated a proposed development permit Bruce Rogers, who recently retired as director of and preliminary plat appro\al for 7.9 acres at 1881 planning for the City of Sanibel. was honored by the Periwinkle Way. The property is adjacent to the for- Committee of the Islands at their 30th annual meeting mer site of the Old Schoolhouse Theater and was pre- on Friday, March 18 at the Sanibel Congregational \iously occupied b\ Sanibel Landscape Company, a United Church of Christ. nursery business. Rogers was presented with a Lifetime Achievement The application, submitted by owners Spring and Award by COTI in the form of a large glass \ase etched Ronald Rosen, proposed dividing approximately 2 6 by noted Sanibel artist Luc Century. acres into seven lot1- for single family dwellings, to be clustered near the "front"' of the property along lJ/H>to In Gc,r\- Pk'dhp* S«*«' PLAINi\ING Ronald Rosen uses an aerial photo at Tuesday's plan- ning commission hearing. Sanibel School winners at History Fair By GARY PHILLIPS Kortegast and Matt Wener. and Amelia Wright, Corrina [email protected] Nedell. and Maria Cruz. and JENNY BURNHAM Maura Dowling and Kelsey Gates took first prize in the [email protected] Group Documentary competition for their work on "Protest Songs of the 1960s and "70s."' Ten students at the Sanibel School took prizes in the 12th They chose the project because that was the music their Annual Lee Coumy History Fair, held March 12 at Dunbar parents grew up listening to, and they were interested in the High School. topic. The theme for this year was "Communication in History: Okay, Maura, who was the best: Peter, Paul & Mary. Bob The Key to Understanding.'" The students won in categories Dylan, Pete Seeger? ranging from Documentary to Group Performance to "My favorite was Neil Young," Maura said Historical p;;tv and Fxhi'xi. Also winning in the Group Documentary category were : MlCitilc Ss.rkiOi . .,_ k/.fhy .TO::C-> i; i»:J po J})"- •..p Kernels; aiid M -U \V;ncr. Sunj and Matt did not need advisor. to give a lengthy explanation lor the inspiration behind their "The students started work on their projects back in project. "National Hurricane Center: Saving Lives Through November, so they'-,? hiisJ uoout four months to perfect Communication."" They freely admitted that the 2004 storm Rogers worked for the city from 1978 until this past them." Jones said. season influenced their choice. Sam and Matt went right to the big time and loured the National Hurricane Center in January. During this time he has been instrumentally The winners were Carl Von Harten. Britt DcGenarro. Miami: they then created a PowerPoint presentation for involved in a great many of the issues and decisions Tyler Cruikshank. Maura Dowling and K.eisey Gates. Sam faced by the city since its incorporation. •»•; Left: Tyler Cruikshank, rcpi-.i! Ris-hl: Britt Di'Cjfnjrm, Loc I'uurm COTI also presented their Outstanding Citi/en of the 1- 1 winner in the Lee Couf:. > H«stor\ Fji H:xt<>r\ Foif Hf-t i'l.uo v.iiiiu-r in tin Year award to City Manager Judic Zimomra for her Individual Documentary i.ili'uoiv :"<» Hisidrn.ij PIIJIM <,i!i-i;sir\ 'or "NAZI acclaimed work and planning for the city and the island his video "Understandis before, during and after Hurricane Charley last August. Americans of Florida." As we go to press, Zimomra is preparing to fly to New Orleans for a national hurricane conference where she will also receive an award and make a presentation later this week. _./ "J Zimomra was unable to attend the COTI meeting in person but was presented a similar Luc Century vase in absentia by Wayne Ponader, past president of COTI. jfs Reached for comment on Tuesday, she said "It's always nice to be recognized — I always appreciate it, but I only accept such awards on behalf of the entire city team." Zimomra also stressed that she is going to the con- ference in New Orleans "not to brag — we're going to \ learn. You don't do this sort of thing to earn awards — you do it to make this a better community."' Following a brief review of the past year and recent election results, the secretary and the treasurer pre- sented their annual reports. The committee then elect- ed new directors and Carla Benninga and John Harries became the newest members of the board, replacing Andrew Reding and Past President Wayne Ponader. Herb Rubin and John Liljequist continue on the board Photos by Jenny Burnham See COTI (L-R) Maria Cruz, Corrina Nedell, Amelia Wright, Sam Kortegast, Matt Wener, Carl Von Harten, and Maura page 3 Dowling, all prize winners in the Lee County History Fair. videotape. Winners in the Group Performance category were Amelia Wright, Corrina Nedell, and Maria Cruz, who pie- • LETTERS page 6 Cast your vote City Council & Events at the sented "a skit" on Braille, said Amelia. Why Braille? "We've always been interested in the way people can • Vox Poi'ULl page 14 Planning meet Wildlife Refuge read just by touching dots," explained Corinna. "And my cousin works with the blind," added Maria. • DATELINE page 15 CROW can use your help Council and the planning Coming: A Sprankle art Tyler Cruikshank was a repeat winner in the documen- • TV LISTINGS page 16 so cast your ballots for commission held a joint retrospective and a tary contest for his work on "Understanding Native your island favorites. meeting to discuss EAR. lecture on Everglades Americans of Florida" Tyler, an experienced videographer, • OBITUARIES page 16 restoration. took a trip to the Miccosukee reservation in the Everglades • POIICE BEAT page 18 to make his film. "We took a boardwalk tour," he said. "There were a lot of • CLASSIIIHDS page 2.0 — See page 7 — See page 3 - See page 22 See SCHOOL • SPORTS page 23 page 14 2 • Week of March 24 - 30, 2005 • ISLAND REPORTER is§ii&^ ^ ^.^^^-.-,-^'»?----'-- ' :;.:';- -•. Take the extraordinary style of Robb & Stucky home with yxmt : We now offer white-glove delivery anywhere in the continental United States! ^STUCKY INTERIORS FREE SEMINAR: Stanley Furniture with Dion Thornton FREE SEMINAR: Rugs as Art Thursday, March 24 at 10:30am Thursday, March 31 at 10:30am Join Dion Thornton, a Senior Territory Manager from Stanley Furniture Company, Inc. and American Art Rug is a local manufacturer of custom floor coverings. This unique company specializes Design Consultant Joni Middleton, as they explore the quality and value of the Stanley furniture in carving designs and creating intricate bordered rugs, using various combinations of fabric, yams, product. 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Sanibel City Council met with the planning commis- as do Tom Gilhooley. president, Jill Dillon, vice presi- Planning Commissioner Patty Sprankle said it's largely sion in a special session Wednesday, March 16 to discuss dent, John Kramer, treasurer, and Bernie Lubetkin, a matter of putting the EAR in a DCA-compatible format. changes and improvements to the city's Evaluation and secretary. "The professor (Piawah) has said "this is what f want' Appraisal Report (EAR). The report is required by state Bruce Rogers was the guest speaker for the event and and it's loud and clear." Sprankle said. "All you have to do law to be submitted to the Department of Community for about 45 minutes he delighted his audience with is put it down and give it back to him in the format."' Affairs (DCA) every seven years. The deadline to have a some oi' his "reflections." Having been on the job for Public input was welcomed by the council and planning final version of the EAR to the DCA is May 1. the past 27 years, he is in the rare position to explain to commission near the end of the meeting.