] t5 I: - - ' , - - A " • - '. A special affair, page 21 Week of Nov. 21-27, 2002 SANIBEL & CAPTIVA, FLORIDA VOLUME 29, NUMBER 46, 32 PAGES 75 CENTS fi THE 'MEWS Tomlinson Sanibel's chief Thanksgiving message By Erik Burriss States and of Florida and the laws "1 plan to continue our Sam'bei Staff Writer and charter of Sanibel and to over- tradition of practicing true com- see he 43-member department. munity policing," Tomlinson said. Ecumenical, interfaith Mackenzie Hall was awash in Since joining the department in "With the support of City Council annual program blue Tuesday morning as members 1985 as a police aide, Tomlinson and the involvement of our resi- of the Sanibel Police Department has risen through the ranks as an dents and businesses, we collec- —See page 2 witnessed Acting Police Chief Bill officer, sergeant, emergency man- tively work to keep our city safe Tomlinson shorten his job title. agement director, and a bureau and to protect the natural environ- Financial affair Tomlinson became the city's commander. He became acting Karen Nelson photo fifth police chief, pledging to pro- chief Feb. 25, following the retire- See CHIEF Investing in the Chief of Police sworn in Tuesday tect the constitutions of the United ment of Chief Lew Phillips. page 29 post-boom era —See page 9 Bay rescue SCCF nominees City Aveiy, Hillebrandt, Schwab and Weissbach courts up for board of trustees —See page 2 Sundial Resort tennis fills the gap Goals for Sanibel By Erik Burriss Staff Writer City of Sanibel formulates its objectives. Due to construction at the Sanibel School, the —See page 4 city's tennis courts will close next month, but a temporary replacement has been found. The city has signed a Yellow Geigers contract with Sunctial Beach Resort to allow More shrub-like than islanders to sign up to use their orange cousin die resort's courts. The resort will charge $8 an —See page 12 hour for use of a hard- surface court and $12 an hour for a clay court. "We had to come up with an alternative be- iP-ED Dawn deBner photos cause of the renovation of Weather challenge of wits the school facility," city Paradise found recreation director Pelting rains, driving winds and three- to five-foot waves Helene Phillips said. Welcome home, it's been Saturday postponed until Sunday the first Olympic-class Finn "It at least offers the awhile, my friend Regatta off the Sanibel Causeway — a pre-trail run for the general public an oppor- 2003 regattas in Finn competitions for the 2004 Olympics in tunity for court time," —Sec page 5 Athens, Greece. With up to 30-mile-per-hour winds still The two-year agree- blowing, stormy weather demasted one boat and derigged ment goes into effect another before the San Carlos Bay regatta was cancefled Dec. 18, the same day the with one race of six mastered. See story, page 3. courts at the Recreation Complex are scheduled to close. The school Calendar of days board-owned land where Economic Summit Plugging into the city's courts are locat- ed will become a staging Island arts are unveiled, the future area for equipment and see pages 14 and 22 will become a parking By Erik Burriss lot. —See page 19 Staff Writer During the develop- ment process of the city's One may not think the parks and recreation mas- Defending county elections office an ter plan, participants in a nation ironic kind of the city's seniors tennis D Air National Guard place, but program were adamant Maj. Gen. Richard according to about the need for public the elections • BUSINESS page 9 Platt discussed the role tennis courts. The con- supervisor it is tract leaves open the pos- • CLASSIFIEDS... page 27 of the National Guard and Reserves in — literally. sibility of future pro- • DATELINE page 19 defending the nation An iron grams at Sundial, but • ENVIRONMENT page 12 and future of the was the key piece of tech- stops short of establish- nology for timely count- ing any. • LOOKING BACK page 7 organizations at Benny Severance photo ing of the absentee ballots "Our intention is that • OBITUARIES page 3 Monday's meeting of Q Sanibel-Captiva's Economic Summit came the Military Officers together Wednesday at Schein Hall to delve into the cast for the Nov. 5 general they would be providing • OP-ED PAGE page 5 of America held at the economy of the islands. Strategist John Tuccillo, election, Lee County a clinic for adults and s PERMITS&DEEDS page 3 Dunes. • In depth story above, one of four scheduled speakers looked into See YOUNG youth in the near future," Phillips said. ® POLICE BLOTTER page 3 in next week's Island future trends. • In depth story, see next week's edi- page 29 • TV LISTINGS page 23 Reporter. tion of the Island Reporter. 2 • Week of Nov. 21-27,2002 • ISLAND REPORTER ISLAND • Dawn deBoer & STATE • Dawn deBoer Message of Thanksgiving West Nile virus Islanders gather Nov. 27 Who let Santa Rosa reports 22th case The family Thanksgiving Eve the rain The Florida Department of Health program 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. out? reported two individuals — a 43-year- 27, at the Sanibel Community Center old Brevard County resident and a 54- goes out to Sanibel-Captiva from Two water year-old Santa Rosa County resident — Steve Greenstein, executive director of pumps started as having West Nile virus, bringing the the San-Cap Chamber of Commerce. early Sunday state total this year to 22 human cases. This ecumenical, interfaith program is at Billy's Bike DOH Secretary John O. Agwunobi also held annually the eve before Thanks- Rentals after placed Santa Rosa County on medical giving with members of local congre- Saturday rains alert. Brevard has been under medical gations participating. The program seeped into alert for WN virus since Aug. 29. consists of Psalms and hymns and spe- the shop, These cases and recent ones in Palm cial music followed by cider and overflow from Beach County mandate diligence in tak- cookies. Costumed Pilgrim ushers ankle-deep ing precautionary measures to prevent walk the aisles, and quill pens are on waters held by being bitten by mosquitoes, despite the hand for children to experience using surrounding cooler mid-November temps, Agwunobi firsthand. • Chair setup and homemade low grounds. said. cookies are tasks waiting for commu- Valdy Gedviias Thirty-seven counties, including Lee, nity volunteers. To assist, call 472- are currently under medical alert for 0673. manned the pumps. mosquito-bome diseases. Statewide surveillance for arboviruses Human Service award to Janes Dawn deBoer photo — West Nile virus, Eastern Equine Encephalomyelitis and St. Louis Lee County Commission Chairman Encephalitis — is ongoing. Bob Janes received the 2002 Most Oil li?1 Nov. 23 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23, at Jaycee Park • For more information, visit the Outstanding Public Official Human at the East End of Beach Parkway in " DOH Bureau of Epidemiology's website Service Award for his leadership in <www.doh.state.fl.us> or call local A Standing Watch rally in opposition Cape Coral. Cape Coral City Manager establishing Southwest Florida's first Terry Stewart scheduled to counter how county health agencies or the Bureau's to proposed government regulations hotline (888) 880-5782 for recorded proposed manatee regs impact the local See SANIBEL effecting dock permitting, property information. rights and boaters' rights, 9 a.m. to 11 economy and boaters' rights. page 11 With Our Elegant Selections KIBW s t ^ ^ _: Family Owned 8k Operated CARPET » TiLE • WALLCOVERINGS WINDOW TREATMENTS SERVING THE LEE COUNTY COMMUNITY FOR OVER 14 YEARS. JOIN OUR LONG LIST OF SATISFIED CUSTOMERS. CONVENIENT LOCATION FROM SANIBEL & FT MYERS BEACH LARGE SELECTION OF WICKER & RATTAN WE HAVE A WIDE SELECTION OF QUALITY MANUFACTURES TO CHOOSE FROM: Simmons • FlexSteel • Cartoon Chrome Craft • Stanley Lexington • Capri & More (one mile N. of SummerBin) ny.fyrnityre-woricS.riet« QPEM 7 BMYS A WEEK ISLAND REPORTER J Week of Nov. 21-27, 2002 J 3 lightning Myrtle Srwin THE U.S. OLYMPIC FINN & RE strikes Myrtle S. Irwin, 87, of Florida parks lack plan Sanibel died Friday, Nov. 8, in Bowie, Md., while visiting her Florida's notorious lightning daughter. season conflicts with playtime as She was born Jan. 24, 1915, most of the municipal park and in Coral City to Peter and recreation departments in the state Pauline (Engen) Simenson. lack written emergency plans to She attended Coral City deal with these sudden flashes of Elementary School and electricity, a new University of Whitehall High School and Florida study recently found. served in the U.S. Navy Florida was chosen for the Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Dawn deBoer photon study because of its high inci- She was a first class aviation dence of lightning and lightning- machinist mate. Ten skippers follow the race circuit in competition for the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team. related injuries and deaths. A path While in the Navy, she met that runs through the central por- Hugh M. Irwin, whom she later Olympic hopefuls take on the bav tion of Florida known as married. "Lightning Alley" records more Winds, rains don't stop than 100 days of thunderstorms See IRWIN annually, the most in the United page 11 By Dawn deBoer States. Managing Editor The majority of 125 park and recreation directors responding to Wallace Corliss Dayton Windsurfers were bayfront by 7 a.m. a survey last year said they per- Sunday to catch the northwest winds of a ceived a high or very high proba- Wallace Corliss Dayton, age cold front that rolled in on the heels of an bility of lightning striking their 81.