•••••»*.•* * __ CAR-RT SORT + i POO"* a.ilBEL Li L'f 7,f llfl 77 u DIJNLO1 PD ~Y i. 1 lr, L F L •MmMWW' Arts for Act p 10 m LiJ J Week of August 22-28,2002 SANIBEL&CAPTIVA, FLORIDA VOLUME 29, NUMBER 33, 20 PAGES 75 CENTS fi TIE 1E1S Clam Bayou makes the cut for emergency permit Oo the ballot By Erik Burriss tions were supposed to arrive Wednesday by Staff Writer C lass-size amendment overnight mail, Loflin speculated that they womsome to goveinoi likely include having the U S Fish and While the city now has a permit to make an Wildlife Service sign off on the work He was emergency cut to relieve high water m Clam unsure how long it would take to get final —See page 6 Bayou, the backhoe can't roll just yet approval from the feds The permit came in Tuesday, Natural "We're going to do it by the book We're not West Mile virus Resources Director Rob Loflin said, but it going to do it until it's legal," Loflin said "As includes unspecified conditions to be met before the work can begin While the condi- With detections come See BAYOU pi ecautions page 13 —See page 2 San-Cap Road under renewal Sanibel triathlon Verizon lion men to fund-raiseis —See page 3 gets to build Planning back on New island bank banks Lease, permits next step on peimit to build By Erik Burnss -Q^c p ue 4 Statf Writer With leg. \\ opnium n\ hav\iA s ivmi U mj>^ juivey's in Giowth, traffic No l for a 149-foot laonopble, suppor —See page 2 equipment and fenced-m, 50-foot by 50-foot aiea to house it all at th& Wulfert Road Wastewater Treatment Michael Piitella photo Plant The project still iequires approval of a lease, development per- Island gardening The city of Sanibel's paving and widening of the San-Cap bikepath from Tarpon Bay Road to mit and building peimit Inspectois scurry in Rabbit Road is scheduled for completion by Sept. 29. Acting City Attorney Ken Cuylei search of the mealybug met with lawyers for Verizon Personal Wireless Communications, LP, and the —See page 8 Sanctuary Homeowners Association before coming to the conclusion that a Aquatic toxins impact on health under study 12-year-old settlement does not pre- vent the Council from approving the •NED PAGE By Dawn deBoer known In Australia, some who tower Neaiby property owners had Managing Editor came m contact with water argued that, under the settlement, the State politico where the bloom was active city was barred from approung com- An algae undei the micro- came down with rashes stom- meicial uses in propeity formeily Hun icane Andiew, scopic eye of Florida's De- ach cramps and othei gastioin- owned by the Sanctuar>'s developer lessons learned partment of Health and Mote testmal symptoms which lasted Howevei. unlike settlements that Marine Laboiatoiy biought 80 for days, while otheis walked invohe compensation, the city is not —See page 5 researchers and scientists from away unaffected bound to keep certain /onings in place, Austiaha, Gieat Bntian and There are no leports in Culyer said Canada to Saiasota last week to Florida fiom people getting "'Zoning poweis are such that you review findings and effects of • 'Black water' page 16 sick here tiom playing in lake cannot agree to do certain things, and the bloom on public health watei oi dunking water wheie you certainly cannot agree to do them Calendar of days when found thnving in river causes slime layeis on freshwa- and lake waters tei lakes and ponds but how See AQUATIC See VERIZON The toxin-pioduung algae toxic die tiie toxms is not yet page 16 What's buzzing aiound page 6 San-Cap these days'' —See page 9 Wood's woes heavy on mind, heart By Anne Bellew theatrical assets," Stone said "For about Associate Editor $225,000 a group could come in, give us the money and we would give everything "Chapter 7 bankruptcy is our last to them Their payment would be used to o OBITUARIES page 3 lesort," said Jana Stone, piesident of the eiadicate our debt and acqune the con- • POLICE BLOTTER page 3 J Howard Wood Theatre's board of direc- tents of the theatre " • PhRMITS&DEEDS page 3 tors "But if we have to do it, we will " Without rehashing history, suffice it to « OP-ED PAGE page 5 It's the last resoit because, once say that previous boards have made disas- Chapter 7 is filed, all the propeity the the- trous decisions about the management of • LOOKING BACK page 6 atre owns (the contents of the building — what used to be known as The Pirate • ENVlRONMFNr page 8 seats, costumes, lights, scenery) becomes Playhouse The name of the theatie was • DATELINE page 9 the pioperty of the court and can be auc- changed to leflect the magnificent dona- tioned off to the highest bidder to settle tion made by Mis J Howard Wood in • BUSINESS page 11 Renny Severance photo debts • TVIISTINGS page 12 "Ideally, someone will come in and See WOOD The J. Howard Wood Theatre, formerly known as the • CLASSIFILDS page 18 take it over as a theatre and use all those page 7 Pirate Playhouse, closed its doors last week. 2 • Week of August 22-28, 2002 • ISLAND REPORTER SANIBEL BRIEFING SAN-CAP COUNTY & State • Dawn deBoer City • Michael Hannan Labor Day hours Ladyfish extravaganza West Nile in Florida Sanibel Recreation Center will 7 year old breaks the record National problem spreads; be open Monday, Sept. 2, from detections serve caution 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Info 472-0345 By Dawn deBoer Managing Editor Recent detections of the mosquito- borne (aroviral) West Nile virus in ani- , Blazing balls of fire hen a 7-year-old French girl mals by the Lee County Health Depart- What to do when it flares up catches a really big fish, ment serve as due warning to area resi- Chet Sadler of the Sanibel dents and visitors. While 85 cases of the Each year for about the last 20 Fishing Club doesn't hold back. virus have been reported in Louisiana years, the Sanibel Fire Department "Your fish is bigger than ours," he told with seven deaths, its ill-effects are pre- has offered free classes in an effort the family of Charlotte Boillot, who ventable. to raise the public's awareness about Wednesday last week hooked herself a • Avoid outdoor activities at dusk and fire prevention and what to do if — fishing club record-breaking ladyfish at dawn when mosquitoes are likely to be in spite of your best efforts — you 26.75 inches. active and biting. do have a fire. In two hours fishing the waters • Cover up: Wear shoes, socks, long When we think of fire safety, most between the Sanibel Causeway and the pants and long-sleeved shirt. of us think about smoke detectors in island's east end, the Boillot family were • Use mosquito repellant with DEET. our homes and/or remember the fire pulling in trout and grouper left and • Eliminate stagnant water in bird drills we experienced as kids in right. That's when the little lady pulled in baths and receptacles where mosquitoes school. But businesses need to be a ladyfish to beat the island's own fishing might breed. aware of fire hazards as well, not just club record. Clinical signs may include headache, for obvious reasons, but also because When Charlotte pulled it in, they fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness and the Occupational Safety and Health weren't exactly sure what it was, except confusion. People 50 and older are at Administration (OSHA) requires big. They thought it was a ladyfish, but it Dawn deBoer photo the greatest risk of having severe dis- them to provide fire-safety training was way bigger than the one they had ease reactions from an arbovirus infec- for their employees and to provide caught earlier that evening. It was so usu- In from France and Spain to fish the bay, tion. yearly refresher courses as well. ally big, they doubted mother matriach, 7 year old Charlotte Boillot brings in a Lee County Mosquito Control con- Failure to comply with this mandate who called it right from the start. 26.75-inch ladyfish to break the Sanibel ducts countywide surveillance for can result in a fine, which however But regular fishers that they were, Fishing Club record for the species. arboviruses, including West Nile, EEE steep will be much cheaper than the they pulled out the book, which put the (equine encephalomyelitis) and SLE (St. human and property loss an Honda record ladyfish at 4 pounds, 10 here regularly, islanders now for eight Louis Encephalitis). The bureau hotline unchecked fire might cause. ounches. Their fish was a 4-pounder at years. is (888) 880-5782 for information. The Sanibel Fire Department is 26.75 inches. "For longer holidays, we always come currently offering free classes (until Back on land, the Boillots called the here. Always," said Mrs. Boillot. n Growth, traffic No. 1 their budget for this item is depleted) Sanibel Fishing Club to get the scoop. Family and friends first discovered the Survey pulls in top concerns to businesses to educate their The fishing club record, set in July 1999, island 40 years ago. employees about what to do if there was 25 inches. "We didn't find the island by our- Lee residents generally have a high is a fire, how to use a fire extinguish- "We fish regularly, but it was the 7 selves.