Pigskin Picks Winner named in Islander contest 8A 05WALQ001 1 i SANIBEL L II: : • 770 0UNL0P KD 3395.7 IB EL mI111 VOL 33, NO. 38 TUESDAY, SEPT. 20,1994 2 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES 50 CENTS Beach cleanup a big success By Anne Bellew Islander Staff Writer Congressman Porter Goss joined thousands of vol- unteers around Lee County and more than 100 on Sanibel and Captiva in scouring the beaches and shoreline for litter and marine debris during the annu- al Florida Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 17, the beginning of National Coastweeks Celebration. Participants ranged in age from pre-schoolers to great-grandparents. The cleanup, which is organized by the Center for Marine Conservation, is coordinated locally by Keep Lee County Beautiful, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, the Citizens Association of Bonita Beach, and the Environmental Education Department of Lee County Schools. See CLEANUP, page 4A Planners postpone cases to review information By Steve Ruediger Downes said that did not give the Planning That something they did was to postpone all three Islander staff writer Department staff time to review the information and hearings for two weeks and to set a deadline on the The Sanibel Planning Commission has decided to did not give commissioners sufficient time to study it. receipt of information. The first case was the application of West Wind crack down on applicants supplying additional infor- "We need to do something to stop material coming mation at the last minute by not hearing those cases Inn for conditional use approval and a development in at the last moment and the applicant thinking he until city staff and the commissioners have had suffi- See PLANNERS, page 5A cient time to review the new information. will be able to carry it forward," said Downes. On that basis, hearings on two beach chair and one dock case were continued for two weeks at the Tuesday, Sept. 13, Planning Commission meeting. All three cases were continued until the Sept. 27 PANTHER ON THE PROWL? meeting. Also, it was directed that if any additional information on any of the cases is to be supplied it Sanibel sightings not certified must be at the Planning Department by Tuesday, li> Anne Bt-Hcw islands Sept. 20. Islander Stuff W riU-r AiLoulmg: tn fii\ lronmiMilai \pcuulitts .u hi>lh Prior to the hearings Tuesday, Planning J N Oing' bailing NationJI Wildlile Commission Vice Chairman Dick Downes pointed Despite several import-., (.ountlcss lumois frunt Sanibel (apti\.i C onset\ dtinn out that information from the applicants in three of pjf>? coverage by another island newspaper, (here 'Biolnt-isls do not .inept any .sighting until there is that day's cases had been received either the day has been u\ yci no cunlirmed lighting of a f lnnd.i a phcuugrjphic record made on the scene (i e , not a before, Monday, Sept. 12, or at the end of the day the panther ./WM concolor coryl on Sanibel or Cuptiw previous Friday. Sept. 9. See PANTHER, page 3 A Vegetation amendment tentatively approved Arts & Leisure 4B By Steve Ruediger construction. owner for a discussion of city vegetation Business 9A Islander staff writer Dee Serage of the Sanibel Vegetation standards in respect to that property. Cityside 6A A greatly trimmed down, non-contro- Committee said it was viewed as simply The checks would include making versial descendent of last year's pro- an educational opportunity to start new sure there is continuing compliance with Classifieds 8B posed vegetation amendment was given homeowners off on the right foot. Brazilian pepper and melaleuca Commentary 10A initial approval Tuesday, Sept. 13, by Currently there are inspections prior removal, the:minimum 75 percent native Crossword 11B the Sanibel Planning Commission. to a certificate of occupancy being landscaping requirement and, if applica- Police Beat 2A The hearing was closed and the issue issued. ble, vegetation buffer integrity. It would will be brought back for final approval But at those inspections, it is usually also check on pre-construction trans- Recreation 8A Tuesday, Sept. 27. the builder or developer who is in con- plant survival. Weather Watch 4A All this latest version of the proposal tact with the inspector. From 1A What's Playing 5B does is establish a follow-up inspection The new inspection will put the city of vegetation six to 12 months after new representative in touch with the home- See VEGETATION, page 7A 2A THE fSLANDER Tuesday, Sept. 20.1994 •:*>:•:.. Tuesday. Sent. 20.1994 THE ISLANDER 3A All of the following information came directly from Sanibel Police Department reports. A wallet was lost in the Sanibel Lighthouse park- POLICE ing lot Sept. 11. Panther An 8- to 10-foot-long alligator was stuck in a sewer on Albatross Road Tuesday, Sept. 13. Police BEAT A Sanibel man reported receiving threatening From page 1A and Assistant City Manager Bill Mills managed to get phone calls Sept. 11 from a person with whom he is the reptile loose and relocate it. in a financial dispute. studio shot), a pronounced track sighting (and, hopefully, photographed) and/or scat (animal Sandra E. Salter of Tampa was charged Mad Hatter's Ronald Ivan Huffman of Fort Myers was charged droppings) found." Wednesday, Sept. 14, with going 70 on the Sanibel Sept. 11 with going 58 mph on the Sanibel Causeway. Refuge Ranger Jennie Vasarhelyi commented, Causeway. burglary "Bobcats look more like panthers than people Jose Fernando Carballo of Fort Myers was charged expect - particularly in the headlights of one's Sept. 11 with going 61 mph on the Sanibel Causeway. A Sanibel woman told police Sept. 13 that she was car or in a quick sighting at the side of the road. not the victim of domestic violence as first reported no'tea but had hit her head getting out of a car. There was a scuffle on Lindgren Boulevard Sept. "The color on the back is similar and, at dusk BJL Steve Ruediger • . *tjC J 11 between a woman's current boyfriend and her ex- or in the flash of headlights, the indicative bob- Susan E. Acier of Lawrence, Kan., was charged Islander stair Writer^ 4 *' *4> boyfriend. The ex left before the fight was reported to cat markings become blurry and indistinct. Sept. 13 with careless driving after being involved in A burglar wtth an apparently "powerful (hirst police. "However, the kittens of the two cat species an accident on Periwinkle Way. entered the Mad Hatter Restaurant Tuesday are similarly marked and have obvious tails." night and mad&off with 30 bottles of wine and About 10 confused hatchling sea turtles were Of course, it is not impossible for there to be a A woman threatened a Sanibel employer Sept. 13 champaign, according to police reports. found in the parking lot of the Casa Ybel Resort Sept. panther on Sanibel. There have been sightings over a cut in her boyfriend's pay. The threatener was Sanibel police found the rear door of the 11. They were reported to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Mad Hatter Restaurant open the evening of reported for years, including some from respect- told by police to stay away from the employer. Service ("Ding" Darling). Police also advised that ed naturalists. Sept 13. The restaurant was scheduled to be lights that can be seen from the beach should be off closed for vacation from Monday, Sept. 5, to But even the professionals are reluctant to An organizer book, black in color, was lost Sept. during turtle season because they disorient the hatch- Wednesday, Sept. 21. state unequivocally that they have seen a panther 13 near the 7-Eleven east. lings. Missing from the restaurant were 30 bottles without additional corroborating evidence. of vdne and champagne and an old cash regis- Bobcats, like the one pictured here, are often mistaken for Panthers. Robert J. Vadeboncoeur of Fort Myers was ter, - . - * ^ Loud music on Buttonwood Lane was turned down charged Sept. 13 with going 60 mph on the Sanibel It was later reported that the home of Mod Sept. 11 after police paid a visit. Police Causeway. Hatter owner Brian Baker had been burglarized Jose Ignacio Ruiz of Orlando was charged Sept. 11 earlier that night. Among the items taken from From page 2 specific person, a man, Richard Michael Blau of Tampa was charged with going 55 mph on the Sanibel Causeway. Gulf Drive near Casa Wednesday with going the home was a brief case containing, among A staghom fern worth There was a complaint whose driver's license is Monday, Sept. 12, with going 73 mph on the Sanibel Ybel. Gleyder Manuel 65 mph on the Sanibel other things the keys to the island restaurant $600 and 10 orchids Wednesday of trucks suspended, to operate a Causeway. Dominguez Baker's home is on Lake McGregor Drive in It was reported Saturday, Sept. 10, that on Friday, worth a total of $400 blocking Wulfert Road. tractor to do grading on of Cape Causeway. Fort Myers and that burglary was. reported to Sept. 9, mother and daughter tourists had parked their were missing Wednesday Police found trucks his Sanibel property. He A sick cat was picked up Coral was charged Police called the U.S. Coast Guard Sept. 12 to tow the Lee County Sheriff's Department, at the Sanibel Lighthouse beach. Their purses were from a yard on Rue Belle unloading pallets of tile. was calling to find a way by police on Sanibel and secure a boat that had drifted in a high wind into Sanibel police suspected foul play when, in left in the trunk of the car.