23 Days to Fishing the Florida Keys Reversing the trend Coral Shores, coming off two straight There’s plenty of action at the humps — losses to Marathon, upends the the blackfin tuna are nearly jumping into Dolphins in both teams’ football the boat. Captain’s column, 1B Sept. 30 - Oct. 2 season openers. Story, 1B WWW.KEYSNET.COM WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER 7, 2011 VOLUME 58, NO. 72 ● 25 CENTS MONROE COUNTY Budget knife still slicing By RYAN McCARTHY Gastesi said he plans to The 4.2173 tax rate adjustments for most non- [email protected] unveil plans to merge the $200,000 more cut from the county, would be a drop from the union county employees. county Engineering and administrator says more is coming approved rate of 4.2267. At Gastesi said doling out the Told by the Monroe Project Management depart- 4.2173, the owner of a raises — which would be County Commission last ments into the Public Works jobs. One was senior direc- $78.7 million. $300,000 home would pay their first in five fiscal years month to cut his proposed Division. He said doing so tor and one was a senior Gastesi said he plans to roughly $1,265, or $4.2173 — would cost $782,000. $78.9 million 2011-12 budg- will save $201,000 annually. director for special projects. propose a 4.2173 property for every $1,000 in assessed The only employees et, County Administrator is “We’re doing a reorgani- They’re both $80,000-plus tax rate, which is 3.9 percent taxable value, in county excluded from receiving coming back this afternoon zation of Public works, salaries,” Gastesi said. below the current year. It property taxes. The tax rate raises are the 18 in the with some of those cuts. Engineering and Project Gastesi said a foreman would raise roughly $78 is aggregate and does not Deferred Retirement Option At a public hearing at Management. We’re going position would also be elim- million in property taxes. apply to all residents; some Program, or DROP. 5:05 p.m. today at the to propose to consolidate inated. The senior director “That’s what we’ll pres- live in special taxing dis- Under DROP, government Murray E. Nelson them functionally in order to jobs are currently vacant, he ent [today], expecting it to tricts. employees can retire after 30 Government and Cultural reduce overhead costs. We said. go down some more,” he The budget still includes Center in Key Largo, were able to eliminate two ... That brings the budget to said. 5 percent cost-of-living ● See Budget, 3A DIGGING INTO A NEW MUSEUM BROOKS WHITE, 1948-2011 Friends: White left a big legacy al in 1997. Each year since, He was behind the group has added paving AIDS Memorial, stones bearing the names of those who died from AIDS political races complications the previous year. The memorial now has By SEAN KINNEY more than 1,000 names. [email protected] Joe Pais, deputy director of AIDS Help, remembers White Aside from being a big as “a good person” who would behind-the-scenes player in be sorely missed.” Keys politics, friends recalled “He took it on because it that Brooks White, 63, was was something that had to be deeply passionate about the done,” Pais said of White’s effect of AIDS on Key West work on the AIDS Memorial. and, more importantly, resi- “He was a good organizer; he dents living with the disease. was a person who paid atten- White, found dead in his tion to every detail of every Catherine Street home on project he was ever associat- Saturday, was the driving ed with.” force behind the Friends of the But also “was always in Key West AIDS Memorial, a the background doing the group that worked to establish the White Street Pier memori- ● See White, 2A SPORTS Photo by ANDY NEWMAN/FLORIDA KEYS NEWS BUREAU Scores of onlookers watch as ground is broken Monday on the Irving R. Eyster Museum of Florida Keys History at mike marker 82.1 oceanside.The museum with conference center will be named for Eyster,93,considered one of the deans of Keys history. It’ll be 15,300 square feet and is planned for a spring 2012 opening.The Matecumbe Historical Trust, of which Eyster is president, is the driving force behind the project. MONROE COUNTY SCHOOLS Keys teacher pay far This is the Ted Williams stamp that’s coming out next year. exceeds the state average Splendid Splinter et crisis that resulted in cuts over the five years. raise, and delayed perform- To counter of more than $9 million. These are annual average ance pay until next year. ‘attacks,’ Dick “These people complain, salaries — highest in the “The union leadership is getting a stamp ‘Give me my raise.’ Nobody state — for Florida Keys trying to rally people up to unveils numbers has done what we’ve done teachers: $50,775 in 2006- complain,” Dick said, adding stamps to be released next for the teachers. I knew that 07; $54,083 in 2007-08; that he has received 14 e- Baseball great year features Williams along By SEAN KINNEY other districts weren’t giving $56,272 in 2008-09; mails on the subject just since Williams also a with Joe DiMaggio, Larry [email protected] raises, but I didn’t know it $56,674 in 2009-10; and Sunday. “If we don’t have the Doby and Willie Stargell. was this bad,” he said. $57,798 in 2010-11. money, we just don’t have Keys fisherman “Ted Williams deserves a In response to what he Drawing from numbers The budgeting cycle the money. But when I see stamp for more than just calls “personal attacks” from maintained by the School began last year under the what we’ve done in the past By KEVIN WADLOW baseball,” said Islamorada members of the United District and state watch of then-Superintendent five years and they’re com- Senior Staff Writer fishing guide Gary Ellis. Teachers of Monroe, John Department of Education, Joseph Burke and at one plaining about us?” [email protected] “He was a great American.” Dick, chairman of the Dick detailed that since the point featured a three-year UTM President Holly Williams remains best Monroe County School 2006-07 school year, the transition to performance pay Hummell-Gorman explained A longtime Islamorada known as one of the finest Board, is conducting a histo- average teacher in Florida from automatic raises. why Monroe County teach- resident who loved to tell hitters in baseball history, ry lesson of sorts. has received raises totaling Now, facing the bleak ers earn what they earn: fishing stories on local and in 1941 hit .406 — the Hours before the board $427, with a salary fluctuat- reality of the budget picture, “The reason we experienced docks gets honored with his last time any Major League was expected to adopt a final ing between $45,296 in 2006 Superintendent Jesus Jara a line of fairly successful own U.S. Postal Service hitter topped .400. budget for fiscal year 2011- and $45,723 in 2010. has mandated seven teacher negotiations, which resulted stamp in 2012. Williams — nicknamed the 12 on Tuesday, Dick unveiled Compare that to their furlough days — essentially in a long past-due correction Ted Williams played a lit- Splendid Splinter — played numbers that he says illus- counterparts in Monroe a 3 percent pay reduction — between the cost of living tle baseball, too. his entire Major League career trate part of the reason the County who, on average, reversed Burke’s planned A set of four Major School District faced a budg- received $7,023 in raises 1.5 percent across-the-board ● See Schools, 3A League Baseball All-Stars ● See Williams, 2A INDEX Printed on 100% Classifieds . .2B recycled Learning Past rap newsprint Living . .3B the ropes CONTENTS © 2011 sheet Business . .5A KEYNOTER PUBLISHING CO. Monroe County Mayor The only suspect in Obituaries . .2A Heather Carruthers a Friday Key West and School Board Opinion . .4A homicide has done member Robin Smith- Sports/Outdoors . .1B state prison time for Martin go to politics grand theft. Story, 2A Crossword . .4B 7786790 22222 school. Story, 4A 2A Wednesday, September 7, 2011 KeysNet.com Keynoter NEWS BRIEFS CRIME FRONT Hernstadt to hear sewer-work concerns Murder suspect Marathon City Manager has planned a meeting for has prison record Friday with Grassy Key resi- dents upset about the curb of getting pulled over in it in Orlando. stops and coral rocks installed Helfrich did him back He was booked into the as part of new central sewers. two-plus years down Orlando jail a little after 6 Those who want to address here,” p.m. Saturday. their concerns can meet up for grand theft Crean said. Crean said detectives are with Hernstadt from 1:30 to At this awaiting lab analysis of evi- 2:30 p.m. at the east end of By SEAN KINNEY point, dence gathered from the Morton Street to discuss pos- [email protected] Helfrich is homicide scene. sible options for ground-level charged “When there’s a serious infrastructure protection. Tod Geofrey Helfrich, HELFRICH with fraud- charge like this, they want the only suspect in the ulent use of a credit card, to be sure everything is in Course teaches Friday homicide of 66-year- grand theft auto and theft order,” she said. old Key Wester Carl Eric stemming from his use of Local law enforcement pain management Johanson, is no stranger to an auto, credit card and cell was working with the U.S.