Sebastian Sun Articles a digital text archive The Sebastian Sun April 4, 1997 c 1997 Treasure Coast Publishing Inc. President: Darryl K. Hicks. Executive Editor: Larry Reisman. Editor: Louise Phillipine. Advertising Manager: Ellen Smith Account Executive: Doreen Dowell. (USPS) The Sun is published weekly by Treasure Coast Publishing Inc., a division of Scripps Howard Inc., 1801 U.S. 1, Vero Beach, FL 32960. c 1997 Treasure Coast Publishing Inc. All correspondence, including news copy, should be addressed to 717 Coolidge St., Sebastian, FL 32958. Phone: (561) 589- 6616; Fax: (561) 978-2386. News deadline, 5 p.m., Friday. All display advertising should be addressed to 1801 U.S. 1, Vero ach, FL 32960. Phone (561) 978-2383; Fax:(561) 978-2297. Advertising deadline, 1 p.m., Monday. FROM THE ARCHIVES TOP STORY FROM A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK: Public Works Depart- ment employee Ken Schmitt was pro- moted to code enforcement ofticer for the city of Sebastian. Schmitt, who worked for the city for six years, was chosen from 10 in-house applicants. To begin his new duties, he resigned as vice president of the city’s largest union, Communications Workers of America Local 3180. Sebastian City Council narrowed its list of candidates hoping to pro- vide the city’s legal services. The city attorney, Clifton McCleIland of Pot- ter, McClelland, Marks & Healy in Melbourne, resigned because the workload was too great. Attorneys from as far away as Coral Gables applied for the job and none of the five candidates was local. CITIZEN OF THE DAY NAME: Rita Karr. AGE: 48. OCCUPATION: Cosmetologist at Emporium Hair Design in the Roseland Plaza. BIRTHPLACE: Fort Wayne, md. MOVED HERE: November 1983. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Member of the Riverside Church. HOBBIES: Sunbathing, home schools her 10-year-old son Jason. FAVORITE AUTHOR: God (The Bible). WHY I LIKE MY NEIGHBOR- HOOD: I live along Riverside Drive in Sebastian. I like being on the water. It’s beautiful, it’s fresh, it’s God’s country, the people are friendly and nice. They know who you are. WEEKEND PICKS The Sebastian Lions Club Steak Cookout fund-raiser will be held 2:30-6 p.m. April 5 at Riverview Park, County Road 512 and U.S. 1. Donations are $9 per person. For tickets, call Jim Sandmeyer at 589- 0619. Tickets also will be sold at the park. Earlier in the day, the Craft Club of Sebastian will hold its spring craft show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the park. A variety of crafts, jewelry, T- shirts, fabric and wood crafts will be offered. The raindate is April 6. WHAT DID HE SAY? “It’ll be too costly to go in as an individual and sue. But if there was a group suit, this way we’d all get into it and costs wouldn’t be so great.” — William Jesberger (Jesberger, of Valkaria, made the statement after learning the U.S. Su- preme Court has ruled property own- ers who own lots deemed as habitat for the endangered scrub jay may sue the federal government under the Endangered Species Act if they suffer economic hardship because of it. Jes- berger owns two lots in Sebastian that are deemed scrub jay habitat and he is barred from developing those lots.) Life would be pretty dull without area’s snowbirds By DREW DIXON Of The Sun Every year they come. Every year they go. Every year the arrival and departure of snowbirds has a dramatic impact on their own lives as well as per- manent residents in the Sebastian area. “We just love it here,” said Whispering Palms mobile home park resident Betty Dempster, who winters here every year with her husband, John. “We’re very, very active.” The Dempsters are involved in a multitude of activities here such as social clubs in Whispering Palms. So, by the time of their departure at the end of April, “We have mixed emotions,” Mrs. Demp- ster said. “It’s a little bit tough to leave,” said John Dempster, who also is the director of the Indian River County Good Life Games and plays softball on the Vero Beach Codgers team. “When I get back (north), I’m not quite as active. We have to make our own activities.” “We hate to part from our good friends we make here,” Mrs. Dempster said, “but we’re anx- ious to see family and grandchildren we don’t see all winter. It’s a different life up north.” The Dempsters northern residence is just about as north as snowbirds can get. They hail from Cal- gary, Alberta, Canada and also travel as a snowbird should—they fly. More traditional earthbound snowbirds make the annual migration on land. Ralph and Evelyn Powers winter in Barefoot Bay for four months each year and return to their northern home in Cape Cod. Mass., right after Easter. Photo Caption Ralph Powers packs a suitcase as he prepares to leave his winter residence in Barefoot Bay to return to his home in Cape Cod, Mass. “I would say it’s a bittersweet departure be- cause of the people and you don’t want to leave the nice warm weather,” Powers said. “We miss the weather, but it’s good to be back in your own surroundings," Mrs. Powers said. The migration is “worth the trouble because we travel by vehicle,” she added. “You can stop whenever you want.” The Powerses travel north up Interstate 95 and often visit friends along the way and their journey can last as long as a week with stops and visits. They drive only during the day as well. It’s also convenient because they rent in Bare- foot Bay, meaning they don’t have to worry about securing a home or what happens to it over the summer. They travel light with clothes and linens only. For Phyllis and Phil Baker of Whispering Palms, the eventual departure for their northern home in Colton, N.Y., is a relief. The Bakers are among the last snowbirds to leave the area in late May. “By the time we leave, we’re anxious to get back because most of our friends have already gone,” Mrs. Baker said. “Our sad time comes when eyeryone else leaves.” "You get used to different people, they’re from all over the country,” Phil Baker said. “We miss those friendships, but I’m ready to get back” up north. The biggest concern for the Bakers is the home they leave behind in Whispering Palms. “We’re al- ways concerned about what might happen when we’re gone. There are storms and you have to secure the home,” Mrs. Baker said. She said they try to keep as little as possible in their Whispering Palms home while they’re up north. “We’d cry a little if some of our personal things got lost in a storm, but we didn’t put every- thing in here.” And once the snowbirds have flown the coop, there’s a big difference in communities such as Barefoot Bay and Whispering Palms. About 30 percent of the nearly 5,000 homes in Batefoot Bay are occupied by seasonal residents, according to Flo Canham, president of the commu- nity’s Homeowners Association. “You can see the difference when they leave,” she said. “All the clubs are quiet. They don’t hold sum- mer meetings. It would be pretty dull (year round) without the snowbirds,” she said. At smaller communities such as Whispering Palms, the absence of seasonal residents is deaden- ing. Paul Fuller, manager of the community, said about 75 percent of the 320 homes in the park are occupied by snowbirds. “Most of the activities day and night are only during the period when the snowbirds are here,” Fuller said. “When they go, it changes the whole atmosphere around the park.” Fuller admitted the break in activity is some- what welcomed though, because the off-season al- lows for capital improvement and repairs to take place. “It’s nice to have things quiet down,” Canham agreed. “On the other hand, it’s nice to have them here too, because they bring life back into Bare- foot Bay. They’re appreciated.” Employees stay on the ball at Sebastian golf course By DREW DIXON Of The Sun Their jobs at the Sebastian Municipal Golf Course include keeping the greens green, the fairways fair and the play putt-putting along. “Our number one mission is to pro- mote the game of golf and that helps the Sebastian Golf Course and, in turn, that helps the city,” said Greg Gardner, head golf pro of the course. The mission is accomplished, according to Gardner, by friendly em- ployees and a welcoming atmosphere. “There’s no room for arrogance here,” Gardner said. From the golf cart attendant to the person who makes sure play keeps roll- ing at a good pace, the idea is to make the game enjoyable for all who visit. One of the primary employees at the course, Gardner said, is the golf cart at- tendant. “They’re very important,” he said. “A golf cart attendant can be the first person customers see and they have to be very attentive.” Jerry August, who works three days a week at the course as a cart attendant, enjoys and relishes the role. “You get a chance to hang around a golf course and get paid for it,” said Au- gust who is a retiree. People coming to the course “are here to have a good time and everyone has to do their part in order for them to do that,” he said. “But most people are in a good mood anyway and they antic- ipate having a good time.” However, he said, it’s like the Sebas- tian sign that welcomes visitors to town, “there are a few grouches.” It’s the job of the course rangers to take care of the grouches or anyone else who gets a little carried away on the course. “I take it very seriously,” Ed Brambrick said of job. A ranger basically roams the course, looking for golfers who are playing too slow or maybe getting too rowdy on the links. “If you start being lax, it can get out of hand,” Brambrick said. “There has to be rules that have to be followed. I keep 'em moving along as fast as possible and point out consideration for others. “A few times we get some younger people and people who start drinking at 7 or 8 o’clock in the morning and they start racing carts around,” he explained. “But 90 percent of the people have golf etiquette. And most people, if you ask them once to abide by the rules, they’ll do it.” The initial pace and etiquette is of- ten set by what is called a starter. The starter checks to see if the players paid their greens fees and cart rentals at the first tee. “I set the starting time and we let 'em go. I try to keep the tee full as much as I can,” said Bob Graham, yet another retiree who works the starter’s booth three times a week. “This is a city course and some peo- ple think they can get away with any- thing, but most people play by the rules,” he said. All the workers are knowledgeable in other positions beside the one they hold for the day. Graham, for instance, can one day be working as a starter, but the next day, he may be needed as a ranger. Others share in the duties as cart at- tendant, which also includes collecting balls in a contraption that looks similar to a piece of farm equipment and is de- signed to pick up balls on the driving range. That jack-of-all-trades rule goes for the course pro as well. Gardner said he often will work as a cart attendant, starter or ranger in addition to his re- sponsibilities as the pro. With as many as 300 people playing the course daily during peak season, it’s a necessity. “I like it,” he said. “I like getting our and you’re not confined to one spot.” Photo Caption Jerry August enjoys his job as cart attendant at the Sebastian Municipal Golf Course. Part of his duties is to collect the golf balls on the driving range. All the spotters, rangers and course managers are employed by the city. The grounds crew, which are all full-time employees, are contracted out through Interna- tional Service System. Those employees are responsi- ble for keeping the grass cut and maintaining the physical appear- ance of the course. “I love what I’m doing,” said Rob Whitford, who mows the fairways and greens. It’s a job that runs in his blood. His father was a groundskeeper for a golf course in Norwich, Conn. “I learned from him and I’m proud about keeping it in the fam- ily,” Whitford said while perched on top of a tractor he uses to trim the course. “It’s satisfying to me.” A similar assessment comes from another groundskeeper, Pe- dro Almanza. “It’s something that makes me happy. It’s a nice place to york,” he said while clearing some brush from under a patch of trees just off the 11th hole. Almanza said he enjoys the gar- dening aspect of the work and likes to take care of the trees and palms. “He’s trimmed nearly every palm tree on the course,” Gardner said. It’s the combination of attitude and willingness to make the Sebas- tian course as accommodating as possible, that keeps the place growing, Gardner said. “Not everyone can be a great player necessarily, but everyone can have fun,” he said. It is difficult to tell, however, who’s having more fun. The people who come to play or the people who work at the course. “It is a good job,” Brambrick said. “They’re going to have to carry me out of here. The worst part about it is the tan line from my socks.” Golf store owner back in swing of fitting clubs By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Photo Caption Ed Mall of Vero Beach gets a little help with his golf swing from Discount Golf’s owner Bob Victor. When Bob Victor moved to Se- bastian in 1995, he planned to retire after 10 years of selling golf prod- ucts in his two Fort Lauderdale stores. But the lure of selling golf equipment proved to be too addic- tive to set aside permanently, he said, and in December, Victor opened Discount Golf USA on North Central Avenue in Sebastian. Although he’s still running a business, Victor said, he still con- siders himself in retirement since his new business draws a lot fewer customers than the businesses he ran in Fort Lauderdale. He has tailored his current shop for golfers who want custom- ized clubs and want to test them on the store’s practice tee or in the bunker behind the shop. This “retirement,” as he calls it, provides the perfect opportunity for local novice golfers to learn about it from a 10-year golf veteran. Store hours are from 10 a.m to 4 p.m Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Satur- day. Although he does not give golf lessons, he can recommend the type of equipment needed for all occasions and conditions, Victor said. At the store, clients can match up clubheads by various makers with club shafts measured for the clients’ own precise requirements for club length, flexibility and grip. Victor can put them together while the customer waits. “I’ve got clubs made up in just about every configuration for any- one to try out,” he said. Victor’s complete line of custom golf clubs and putters are competitively priced, he said. Discount Golf also carries golf accessories such as bags, sun- glasses, shoes, gloves and other golf items. Victor also has recycled golf balls, including Top-Flite, Pinnacle and Titleist, available by the dozen for $8.95. Most of the balls were re- trieved from the lakes near the greens of some of the finest Bro- ward County golf courses, he said. “You won’t find a thing wrong with them. They’re all like new,” he said. Victor allows buyers to tee off inside a netted practice cage, which he will soon outfit with a rain and sun awning, he said. The awning also will protect sensitive electronic equipment that Victor expects to add so golfers can~ get an idea what they are doing right and wrong in their golf swing, he said. By mid-April, Victpr will add the swing analyzer to his practice cage. The device is approved by the Professional Golf Association and the printouts from the device are standard and known to golfing instructors all over the nation, he said. The device uses motion sensors to give a printout of as many as five factors related to the golf swing, in- cluding angle and speed of the clubhead when it meets the ball. The device can also predict the speed and direction of the ball af- ter it has left the club, he said. “I used this in my other stores and for me, it really has been a si- lent salesman,” he said. The downside of having such a device is that everyone wants free golf lessons with their printouts, he said. Victor plans to refer golfers to golf professionals at area courses so they can get the kinks worked out of their game. "All the pro has to do is take a look at that printout and he can tell you what you’re doing wrong with your swing,” said Victor. Victor and his wife, Elise, sold their stores down south when they moved to Sebastian in the hopes of getting out of the fast-paced, south Florida golfing business. But Victor said he kept the op- tion of opening a smaller store in a quieter community in mind, just in case he felt the urge to get back in the business. He confided this to his real-es- tate agent while he was closing on his residential property in the Se- bastian Highlands. “She called me up and said ‘I have perfect little property for a business,’" Victor said. The building, just east of the Sebastian Volunteer Fire Station on U.S. 1, was built in the 1950s. Even though the building is small, the lot is large, he said. "It’s perfect for my needs. I’ve got the bunker out back with a net around it and there’s over 200 feet of space between me and the next guy. Even if one ball gets over the net, it’s not going anywhere but on my property,” he said. Diamond shines at running Sebastian River Area Little League By Drew Dixon Being a former homemaker and constantly involved with her chil- dren’s activities has primed Nancy Diamond for the post of president of the Sebastian River Area Little League. “I’ve always been involved with my children,” Ms. Diamond said. Having two daughters and one son provided a diverse sampling of interests. “Be it Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts or 4-H Club, I was always a (par- ent) leader,” she said. Now she leads every boy and girl who wants to play in the local Little League baseball organization. She’s held the president’s post for the past seven years. She moved to Sebastian with her children in 1989 after living in Middletown, N.Y. for about a dozen years. Outside of running the youth baseball league, Ms. Diamond is the manager of the Holiday Village mobile home park in Vero Beach. But it’s the baseball job, a vol- unteer effort, to which she com- mits most of her time. “It’s a lot of work,” she said. “I’m (at the baseball fields) almost every night except Sunday. It takes a lot of your time but it’s very re- warding.” Photo Caption Nancy Diamond, right, speaks with 11 -year-old Chrissy Schoonmaker at the Barber Street Sports Complex recently. Diamond said she enjoys running the Sebastian River Area Little League because it keeps her in touch with children. The rewards come from seeing the children grow, according to Ms. Diamond. “There are a lot of kids where their parents don’t par- ticipate. They want you to watch. “To us (adults) it’s not a big deal, but to them it is,” she said of children learning to play baseball. Even a bigger deal, Ms. Di- amond said, is parental involve- ment with children, no matter what the organization. “I think if you’re involved with your children, you know where they are and they’re less likely to get into tiouble. It doesn’t have to be little league, it can be any~ thing.” Birthdate:Oct. 3,1956. Birthplace: Hackensack, NJ. Education: Graduated from Paramus High School, Paramus, NJ. Family: Daughters Heather, 21 and Courtney, 14; son, Michael, 17. The best part of my job is: Working with children. What I like the least about my job is: Irate parents. The most recent movie I saw in a theater was: “Forrest Gump”. The book I’d recommend ev- eryone to read is: Any book by Danielle Steel. Of everyone in the world, the person I would most like to meet is: Pope John Paul II. My favorite food is: Shrimp scampi. If I were going on a trip to the moon, I would take along: My children. When I was growing up, I al- ways wanted to be: A mother. If I were president of the United States, I’d: Do more for the youth in education. When I want to get away from it all, I: Go to bed. The person I admire the most is: My mother. My proudest moment was: When my children were born. My favorite sports team Is: The New York Yankees. My favorite television show iS: I don’t watch TV, I don’t have time. On my last vacation, I vis- ited: St. Augustine. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is: Take a shower. The type of music I enjoy the most Is: Country and rock-n-roll oldies. If I could do something over again, I’d: I have nothing I want to change. People who know me the best know I: Have an excellent person- ality. The most exciting time in my life is: Right now. Barefoot Bay Billiards Club racking up friendly competition By DREW DIXON Of The Sun Most visions of pool halls and billiard rooms conjure up a haze of smoky fluorescent lights and sharks pitted against each other. Not so at Barefoot Bay. The men’s Billiards Club at Barefoot Bay is much more invit- ing. The crack of racked pool balls is just an ice breaker to friends who share a common love for the game. “It’s friendly and never in- tense,” said Roy Eskesen, president of the men’s Billiard Club. “No- body’s looking to monopolize the tables.” The Billiards Club “is very im- portant to me,” said~ 69-year-old John White. “I’m a widower and it makes my day. I have someone to talk to. “I have a lot of friends I’ve made here,” White said. “If I hadn’t had this (club), I probably would have moved away after my wife (Hazel) passed away” in 1993. White is a typical member of the Billiard’s Club. He’s had a life- long appreciation for pool. He started playing when he was 14 at a combination pool hall and bowling alley in his hometown of Pompton Lakes, NJ. “They had a pool room upstairs and a bowling alley on the first floor. If you set (bowling) pins, you got to play pool for free,” White said. Similar stories often are shared in the billiards room in the Com- munity Center of Barefoot Bay. The room is open for pool every day from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and “is usu- ally packed,” according to Eskesen. The Billiards Club has been in existence for 15 years and now has 45 dues-paying members. But any- body who lives in the community is welcome to play. “It used to be a lot more com- petitive. But it’s a lot more casual now,” Eskesen said. Homer Speer, who’s been play- ing the game for 50 years, is one of the club members who enjoys the slower pace of shooting pool with his pals. “It’s very important to me,” Speer said, as he sunk a solid ball in the corner pocket during a game of 8-ball. “I meet a lot of friends and, for an old man, it keeps me pretty sharp,” Speer, 70, said as another solid shot dropped into a side pocket. Finally missing on another attempt, he surrenders the table to his opponent. “It’s important socially,” he said. “And it definitely makes me appreciate the game and I’m al- ways trying to get better.” And that points to the level of talent that often banks off the three tables in the billiards room. “The talent? Oooh yes, some of the players are real good,” Eskesen said. “Some guys can’t be beaten. But there’s no big hustling.” While the talent can be pretty impressive, “there are guys that just come to play because they like the game,” he said. The club tries to keep the play- ers moving. Sometimes there can be as many as 25 people waiting to get on the tables, Eskesen said. To pre- vent long waits, each team of two people must vacate the table if they lose to another in a game of 8-ball. They can’t play sets or prolonged challenges beyond one rack. It costs $5 a year to become an official member of the Barefoot Bay Billiards Club. Eskesen said the money goes toward two picnics held for club members each year. Anyone interested in joining can call Eskesen at 664-3724. Photo Caption Homer Speer lines up for shot during a game of 8-ball. He said he likes the Barefoot Bay Billiards Club more for the social aspects than the game itself. CLUB NEWS WOWS group plans program The WOWS group of widows, widowers, divorced and separated persons will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday at St. Sebastian’s Parish Hall, U.S. 1, Sebastian. Brevard Home Care officials will speak and snacks for this non- denominational group, followed by cards, a social and planning a boat trip. For information, call 589-1193. Eric Duncan to entertain British The British Heritage Club, Bare- foot Bay, will hold a Scottish Night at 6:30 p.m. April. 8 in buildings D&E. Singer Eric Duncan and the Brevard County Country Dancers will entertain. Refreshments and a cash bar will be available. Participants are asked to wear something Scottish. Call 664-1390 for information. Family flute concert offered April 20 The Space Coast Flute Choir will present a free family concert at 3 p.m. April 20, at Eastminster Pres- byterian Church, Melbourne Cause- way and South Patrick Drive, Indialantic. The first part of the program will include “Rondo,” the theme from PBS’s “Masterpiece Theatre,” “Hebrides Overture” and the over- ture from “La Forza del Destino.” Ricky Lombardo’s new “Adven- tures in Space” — fanciful impres- sions of “Moonwalkin’ “and other extraterrestrial travel — will be performed with all-county flutists. The second part of the program will consist of short pieces espe- cially for children. Families with small children can arrive about 3:30 if they wish, while the choir regroups. Selections will include “Baby Elephant Walk,” “Pink Panther,” “Golliwog’s Cakewalk” and a med- ley of children’s favorites, such as “This Old Man” and others. Stu- dents of choir members will join in “Teddy Bears’ Freakout,” six alto flutes will perform “The Aspen Rag” and “Clowns” will recall the excitement of the big top. Any flute player of any level is invited to bring their flute to play with the choir in Sebastian Bach’s “Air” the traditional final piece for flute events. Adult flutists above high-school level are invited to join the choir at any time. Rehearsals are at 3:30 p.m. the last Sunday of each month in the auditorium of Brevard Coin- munity College South Campus, North Melbourne, near the King Center. For further information, call Pat Harbach at 407-723-7145. 55 Alive class slated for April The 55 Alive Mature Driving Pro- gram of the American Association of Retired Persons will be offered at 9 am. April 15 and 18 in Sebas- tian. Attendance is required both days. The class focuses on the basic changes that occur as a driver ages, on interacting with traffic and on accident avoidance and preven- tion. The cost is $8 per person. Res- ervations are required. For more information, or a res- ervation, call Otto Mauke at 589- 1227. Henderson wages battle against cancer, blindness By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Photo Caption Dode and Neal Henderson of Sebastian share a moment with their doggie pals, Sooner and Lady Di. Although some people turn and run away from a fight, Neal Hen- derson of Sebastian isn’t one of them. Henderson has made defeating two of man’s toughest opponents, blindness and cancer, his personal mission. Henderson can often be seen standing outside area supermarkets collecting donations in the fight against blindness or at meetings of the American Cancer Society. As the secretary of the Sebastian Lions Club, Henderson often shoulders the burden of making sure a job is done, Sebastian Lions Club Vice President John Ellis said. Henderson, 63, volunteers his time and energy despite constantly being in pain, the result of hip sur- gery he underwent to remove bone cancer diagnosed in April 1993. The cancer resulted in 15 weeks of chemotherapy, surgery and three months in a body cast, but the fight against the disease gave him another cause, defeating cancer. He and his wife, Dode, are on the board of directors of the Ameri- can Cancer Society’s North Indian River County Chapter. Mrs. Hender- son is the president of the group. And if he’s not working at raising money to fight the disease, he’s working for the Lions Club, raising money or testing school children for eyeglasses. Carrying on despite pain and fatigue is not new to Henderson. Even on his high school foot- ball team n North East, Pa., the Grape Pickers, Henderson showed the capacity to work hard and adapt. During the 1951 season, he said, he played just about every po- sition on the team. His drive and talent and earned him a trip to the state’s all-star game. The gme was also his first contact with the Lions Club International because the or- ganization hosted the event. Henderson said the name of the club impressed him at first. The name had more strength than his football team’s moniker. Henderson said his wife still ribs him about his high-school foot- ball team’s name. “The other teams in the area had names like Lions, Tigers and Bears and who were we, the Grape Pickers,” said Henderson. He met Dode just after gradua- tion. After he spent about five years in the Air Force as a radar re- pairman, they decided to move to Florida. They arrived in the Pompano Beach area in 1965 and Henderson went into business briefly with his father-in-law. In 1971, he joined the Coconut Creek Fire Department and for 12 years, worked his way up to the de- partment’s top slot. He retired as fire chief in 1984 and moved to Se- bastian. “I retired too soon. I always tell my friends if they are going to re- tire, find a hobby before they do. I found myself watching afternoon soap operas with my daughter six years ago and I said, ‘hey, I can’t be doing this,’" he said. So Henderson took a job at the Sebastian Municipal Golf Course as a golf course maintenance worker. His career in the sunshine was cut short, however, when he was diagnosed with cancer, he said. So far, the disease has not reappeared, be said. “It makes you truly aware of what life really is and how you should be spending it,” Henderson said. The cancer sparked a desire to serve the community that grew into a bright flame as he recovered. “I wasn’t really a joiner before the cancer; now I am,” he said. Henderson said he would not have come through the cancer had it not been for his wife. “She’s a very strong woman. She is very involved in the Ameri- can Cancer Society and also in women’s issues,” he said. CLUB NEWS Theater group meeting April 15 The next meeting of the Little Theater will be on Tuesday, April 15 in building A at 7 p.m. Election of new officers will be held. All members are urged to at- tend. Ladies Guild holding sale The St. Luke Ladies Guild will hold its rummage and bric-a-brac sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 18 at the St. Luke Parish Cen- ter, 5055 Micco Road, Barefoot Bay. Refreshments and light lunches will be sold. Welcome Wagon meeting April 8 The Welcome Wagon Club of Se- bastian will hold its monthly lun- cheon meeting at 11:30 am. April 8 at Ophelia’s, 2625 34th Ave., Vero Beach. The new slate of officers will be presented for the following year. Members are asked to bring canned fruit (not fruit cocktail) for donation to the Lord’s Table. Newcomers to the Sebastian area are invited to join the club. For information or luncheon reservations contact Clara Baldwin at 664-9450, or Carolyn Falin, 388- 1989. Property owners to meet April 7 The Sebastian Property Owners Association regular monthly meet- ing will be held at the North Indian River County Library, County Road 512, Sebastian, 7:30 p.m. April 7. The speaker for the evening will be Sebastian Police Depart- ment’s Shawn Daley. His subject will be “A How To for Home and Local Security.” Time will be provided for ques- tions and answers. Refreshments will be served. Those attending are to bring cans of food for the needy. Musicians back for refill at Coffee House By DREW DIXON Of The Sun The inaugural season of the North Indian River County Library Coffee House comes to a close April 4 with a sampling of six musi- cians who performed at the monthly get-togethers. “Each will perform some of their own material and then they will jam together for the last hour,” said Ramona Widman, library cir- culation supervisor and founder of the Coffee House concept. The musicians will include singers and guitarists Al Scortino, Bill Sansbury, Steve Brown and Suzy Parker. Also performing will be Rich Mermer, who plays steel guitar, mandolin and acoustic gui- tar, and Brad Keeler, a blues and bluegrass singer who favors the harmonica. The Coffee House begins Fri- day at 7 p.m. at the library and will open with the regular poetry read- ings that launched every event, Widman said. The sessions were held on the first Friday of each month for the last seven months. She said she had no idea what to expect as far as interest in the Coffee House performances in the first year of the events that in- cluded free gourmet coffee and pastries to complement the artistic performances. “I expected about 40 to 50 peo- ple and the first one we had, there were about 90,” she said. “It’s been terrific. We’ve averaged about 100 people every time. Somedays (people) were sitting in chairs halfway into the lobby.” According to Widman, the per- formers enjoy the setting as well. “The players absolutely love it be- cause they’get to play in an alco-. hol-free enVironment and people can hear what they play,” she said. The biggest surprise in the Cof- fee House series for Widman, was the acceptance of the poetry ses- sion. “I put the poets first and the comments I got were, ‘I never really liked poetry until now.’ Now we have about 10 to 15 poets at ev- eryperformance,” she said. The poets, as well as the audi- ence, span a diverse age range, as well. She said many of the poets are students at Sebastian River High School and the audience va- ries from people in their teens, a large majority in their 40s or SOs and some retirees. “I think next year I’ll try to get in contact with poetry groups at the high school,” she said. For the most part, next year’s Coffee House season, that will be- gin in October, will follow most of the format of this year’s, Widman said. “I hope it’s a tradition.’ “It’s gone over well and every- body seems to like it,” she said. “It’s a lot of work but it’s worth it and it’s enjoyable.” LETTER TO THE EDITOR Micco resident offers poem for preparing for the open road The time is fast approaching, when the snowbirds must start pre- paring for the long trek up north. One important point to remem- ber is to make sure the car is in mint condition for the roads ahead: Dear mechanic, you must hear my song, I’m taking this car on a trip so long. So look it over, make no omission, Be sure there is fluid in the transmission. Check the brakes and check for leaks, Fix everything that rattles and squeaks. The power steering must work to perfection And blink lights show in every direction. The tire pressure must be up to par, Otherwise, you know, I won’t get too far. Grease all joints with vasoline and fill the tank with gasoline. Then I shall give a standing ovation to the clever boys at the service station. Jorgen Sabinsky Micco News briefs Ohio Club holding picnic April 12 The Ohio Club of Barefoot Bay will have its annual picnic starting at 5:30 p.m. April 12 in Buildings D&E. Chef Ken Kern will be in charge of the grill. Meat will be fur- nished. Please bring a dish to pass and table service. Brevard Sheriff speaking in Micco Brevard County Sheriff Phil Wil- hams will be the guest speaker at the April 10 meeting of the Micco Homeowners Association in the South Mainland Library. Williams will address questions regarding Micco and Little Holly- wood law-enforcement situations. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. Micco homeowners picnic set for April 12 The spring picnic of the Micco Homeowners Association will be held at noon April 12 at Micco Park. Members and their houseguests are invited to bring a covered dish, salad or dessert large enough to share. Please bring lawn chairs and place settings. The association will provide hot dogs and soft drinks at no charge. Non-members are welcome to attend the picnic by calling Wally Kramer 664-5003. Palm Bay teen wins contest Scott S. Wilson of Palm Bay High School won the Voice of Democ- racy contest sponsored by the Bare- foot Bay Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4425. Wilson, of Palm Bay, was pre- sented with the award by past Commander Leo Carroll and past President Adele Carroll, co-chairs of the contest. Ladies Auxiliary holding craft show A flea market and craft show sponsored by the Micco Volunteer Fire Department will be held from 8 am. to noon April 12 at the fire- house. Call 664-8416 for informa- tion. The auxiliary will hold a card party at 7 p.m. April 5 in Buildings D&E in Barefoot Bay. A $2.50 dona- tion is being sought. Call 664-0302 for tickets or information. Week In Review Inlet extension plan takes dive Six months ago, Sebastian Inlet Tax District officials were so confi- dent they would get permission to clear the path between the Intra- coastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean they started discussing going to bid on the project. Today, the wheels have fallen off the effort so completely those same officials are talking about scrapping the project. “I still would very, very much like to see it get done,” district Ad- ministrator Ray LeRoux said. “But I don’t see as strong support from the commission as I have in the past.” The project is commonly re- ferred to as a channel extension but involves no dredging. Instead, a sand bar that has accreted in the channel would be removed and markers placed to show boaters the 4½-foot-deep route. The project had seemed to be well on its way to frui(ion after re- ceiving state permission last fall, and it is one of the few things dis- trict officials have pursued that has not been controversial. But it ran into two formidable stumbling blocks,. LeRoux said — a shortage of cash and tough federal environmental regulators. In October, the state granted permission to remove 900 cubic yards of sediment from the sandbar if the district agreed to pay for pro- jects to make up for the environ- mental damage. That’s where the problems be- mission jointly, LeRoux said. This time, federal officials re- ceived no information on the pro- ject, and when district officials asked separately for their approval, they said they came up with a dif- ferent list of projects for the inlet district to pursue. District commissioners ex- pressed frustration at the process at their March 25 meeting. Commis- sioner Tom Lawton suggested for- getting about the entire extension concept. Instead, officials will likely drop it for the next year and try to find money from the state in 1998 to pay for all the extra projects, Le- Roux said. Sebastian Middle may change classes A seven-period day may be a thing of the past for students at Se- bastian River Middle School. Principal Greg Pearsaul said he is considering changing from 45- minute classes to a block schedule, in which students have three or four classes for longer periods of time, similar to what students now do at the two county high schools. The length of the school day won’t change under the plan, but the move will provide a smoother transition when students leave to attend high school, he said. One of the goals of middle school is to prepare students for high school, he said. By staying with seven classes a day, students are not being adequately prepared for block schedules, he said. Students go through a difficult transition when they first start mid- dle school because they are used to having just one or two teachers each day, he said. With block scheduling, they may get only three or four teachers at a time, much different then the six they may get with the seven-period day. The idea is still in the initial planning stages. Pearsaul still wants to meet with faculty mem- bers and a committe of staff and teachers has been appointed to look at the idea. That committee is schedulaed to meet for the first time April 7. No schedule for next year has been proposed yet, he said. But Pearsaul siad he plans to make a fi- nal decision before the emd of the school year. Pearsaul said he thinks longer classes will provide a better learn- ing environment for students, pro- viding a stability needed by that age group. Also, 45-minute classes aren't always long enough to in- clude a hands-on activity for stu- dents, such as group projects to enhance a teacher’s lesson for the day, he said. Students will have more oppor- tunities to break into groups to work together on projects and tea- chers may have a better chance to combine subjects with other tea- chers if they know they have a longer block of time, he said. While no other middle school in Indian River County offers block scheduling, there are a few others in Florida that have such programs. Pearsaul said staff may visit some of these schools to see how their pro- grams work. Photo Caption SEBASTIAN SPECIAL OPERATIONS OFFICER WILLIAM JURSIK doesn’t usually have to worry about getting a drunken driving case to hold up in court. He relies on the videotape. Right now, Jursik is the only Sebastian police officer whose patrol car is equipped with a spedal video camera that can record traffic stops. But department officials are expecting an $11,112 grant from the state Department of Community Affairs to help buy more cameras for the department. Jursik’s camera was given to the department about a year ago by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Department, he said. Jursik said having a video of the DUI traffic stop makes the case “solid as a rock” because it provides a picture of what the officer sees and proves probable cause to initiate the traffic stop. Sebastian hires new public works director A former deputy commissioner of public works from Broome County, N.Y., has been hired as Se- bastian’s new public works direc- tor. Sebastian City Manager Thomas Frame told City Council March 26 he had hired Patrick J. Brennan, of Castle Creek, N.Y., for the position. He is scheduled to begin work April 14 with a starting salary of $46,500. The city has been without a Public Works director since Janu- ary, after Frame fired Richard Vo- tapka without cause, saying he wanted to change the direction the department was headed and get someone with more professional public works experience. Frame said the city got about 18 applications from all over the country. A three-member commit- tee consisting of Frame, Commu- nity Development Director Bob Massarelli and Human Resources Director Phil Bowers interviewed applicants from Missouri, Texas, Florida and even Germany, Frame said. Frame said he was impressed with a portfolio Brennan had pre- pared for his interview that high- lighted some of his achievements during his career. The portfolio was an indication of Brennan’s or- ganizational skills, Frame said. The committee also liked his mannerisms and approach to man- agement style, he said. “We thought he would fit best with what we needed to have,” he said. From 1995 to 1996, Brennan was facilities management director for the Broome County govern- ment in Binghamton, N.Y., in which he administrated a $5.9 mil- lion annual operating budget and was in charge of the county’s facili- ties planning, engineering, build- ing operation, building maintenance, telecommunications and fleet vehicle management de- partments. He began working for the county in 1985 and served 10 years as dep- uty commissioner of public works. Frame said Brennan was seeking employment after he lost his job when a new Broome County exec- utive was elected and subsequently terminated many of the county managers. Brennan has a bachelor’s degree in geography and urban planning from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He has an as- sociate’s degree in math and sci- ence from Broome Community College in Binghamton. Snug Harbor to take over community It’s only a matter of time before residents of Snug Harbor Village and Lakes are handed the reins of their own community, its devel- oper said Thursday. According to a 1989 state man- date, the developer is required to turn over control of the devel- opment to the homeowners within three months of 90 percent of the lots being sold or three years after 50 percent have been sold. So far, of the 492 lots in the man- ufactured housing community, 84 have been sold in the Village sec- tion, which was established in 1983, and 228 have been sold in the Lakes section, which was started about two years later, said Vicki Dorado, general manager for Snug Harbor Lakes Development Inc., Micco. Snug Harbor’s developer, Robert Roth, said residents can be sure the transaction will occur. “My intention is that sometime later this year, the community will be taking over,” Roth said. Once the change takes place, Roth said, the residents would es- sentially be in charge of the com- munity’s budget and regulations, as well as its facilities. Dorado said the change was sup- posed to be in July, but most likely won’t happen until November to give residents more time to pre- pare for it. Sebastian River High School site of cancer group’s fundraiser By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Raising money for cancer in North Indian River County is no longer a question of getting thrown in “jail” and asking for family, friends and business associ- ates to bail you out with donations, said Sebastian River Medical Center Marketing Director Daisy Knowles. “We did very well in the North County with Jail and Bail but we just thought it would be better to do. something different this year, Mrs. Knowles said. From April 18-19, sponsored teams of walkers, runners and jog- gers will participate in the Ameri- can Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life,” at Sebastian River High School’s track. In the event, about 20 teams of 10 walkers each will keep a mem- ber moving on the track from 6 p.m. Friday until noon Saturday. Each member will take turns for rest and refreshments. The first lap of the event will be taken by local cancer survivors and their family members. At 10 p.m. Friday, there will be a candlelight ceremony honorIng those who have died of cancer or currently are fighting it. Runners and walkers will be re- minded of the reason for the event with every turn on the track, Mrs. Knowles said, as luminary memori- als will be placed around the track’s perimeter. Each luminary bag will have a small light inside it and the name of a cancer victim on the outside. They will be available during the event for a small donation, said Mrs. Knowles. Each team is asked to pledge $100, raised in $10 donations, to be a part of the event, said Knowles. “That way every team should bring in about $1,000 during the event,” Mrs. Knowles said. The idea came about, Mrs. Knowles said, from an effort to make the American Cancer Socie- ty’s annual fund-raiser a bit more solemn. Last year’s Jail and Bail raised about $3,000 for cancer research and services for cancer sufferers living in the North County. With the projections of how many teams have already been lined up, 15, this year’s event could raise more than $10,000, said Mrs. Knowles. “The tone will be a little bit more serious, but we will also have some fun and get some exercise,” she said. For more information about getting on a team, making dona- tions to the cause or dedicating a luminary to someone with cancer or a cancer survivor, contact the American Cancer Society in Vero Beach at 562-2272 or call Annie Wilson at 589-9925. Girl Scouts need leaders The Palm Glades Girl Scout Council is looking for volunteers to make a difference in the lives of girls ages 5-17. Built on the strong foundation provided by the Girl Scout promise and law, Girl Scouts has been mak- ing a difference in the lives of girls for 85 years. Girl Scouting welcomes the challenge of helping girls believe in themselves and become contrib- uting members of society. Volunteers are needed in Fells- mere, Gifford, Sebastian and Wa- basso; the Palm Glades Girl Scout Council needs volunteer adult leaders for all age levels. A training session will be held during the May 17 Spring Fling at Indian River Community College. After interview and orientation, two adult leaders, giving about two hours a week, will be prepared to further the growth and the devel- opment of Girl Scouting in our community. To learn more about being an adult volunteer leader and making a difference in Indian River County, contact the local Girl Scout council office at 388-3194. Photo Caption SEVENTEEN-MONTH-OLD JAMES COPPOLA, left, of Connecticut, and his 3-year-old cousin, Colleen Coppola, of Vero Lake Estates, share their Easter egg-citement with the Easter duck March 30 at the Sebastian Women’s Club’s annual Easter egg hunt at Sebastian Elementary. Baby beauties to compete in May By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Photo Caption Zica-Varie CaIdwell of Micco and Rebecca Walleshauser of Barefoot Boy will compete in coming Florida Little Miss Hawaiian Tropic competition and talent search. What does it take to be a beauty queen at the age of 2? Just ask Zica-Varie Caldwell of Micco and her friend, Rebecca Wal- leshauser, of Barefoot Bay. Zica-Varie, a 22-month-old named after an Italian designer, and Rebecca, 2, have been selected for their poise, beauty and winning smiles to compete in the Florida Little Miss Hawaiian Tropic compe- tition and talent search, May 2-4 at the Holiday Inn/Sunspree Resort in Daytona Beach. The girls will be among about 200 children from all around the state competing for the chance to advance to the Little Miss Hawaiian Tropic International Competition, held this summer in Ixtapa, Mex- ico. Both Rebecca and Zica-Varie’s parents hope the girls do well enough to give them a free trip to Mexico for the event. Being se- lected by Hawaiian Tropic could also grow into paid advertisements for Hawaiian Tropic or in par- enting magazines said Debbie Caldwell, Zica-Varie’s mother. The girls advanced to the state competition by placing well in their age group in several catego- ries during a preliminary competi- tion held March 1 in the Orange Blossom Mall in Fort Pierce. Rebecca won first-place overall in the 2-year-old division and also won awards for her hair, smile and personality. Zica-Varie won for pre- ttiest hair, best swimsuit, best pho- tographic composite and overall runner-up in that division. Mrs. Caldwell said the competi- tion is fun for the girls. The Ha- waiian Tropic competition does not allow make-up, high heels, hairspray in the contest, she said. She and husband, Jerry, are not forcing their little girl to compete. “As long as she’s having fun, she’ll be in it. The moment she doesn’t want to do this anymore, we’ll pull her out,” Mrs. Caldwell said. Last year, Zica-Varie managed to place high in the preliminary rounds of the Hawaiian Tropic event but did not advance to the state runoff. She was only 12 months old at the time, said Mrs. Caldwell. This year, her daughter is more aware of what the competition is, Mrs. Caldwell said. “This year, she knows what she’s doing,” Mrs. CaIdwell said. Joan Walleshauser, a day care worker from Barefoot Bay, said her daughter and Zica-Varie have been chums for as long as she and Mrs. Caldwell have been friends, about a year. She heard about the contest from Mrs. Caldwell. “Rebecca seems to love this,” said Ms. Walleshauser. Ms.Walleshauser said if her daughter is able to gain prize money or is selected to appear in magazine advertisements, posing on the runway might not be a bad way to start a college fund for her. Area athletes bring home gold, silver and bronze Bjll Valyo Riverside Park’s tennis courts are a perfect setting for some se- rious tennis playing and the area was the scene for the Senior Good Life Games’ competition a couple of weeks ago. Racket wielders from Barefoot Bay settled in and took home a bunch of hardware as the contin- gent from up the river went to the winners table to pick up 16 medals in a mixture of events. Tennis Director Bill Pickett, also from Barefoot Bay, said, “It was a record turnout for partici- pants this year,” and “the squad from the Bay shoved some find form out there in the competi- tion.” Pickett has been running the tennis part of the successful se- nior athletic event for five years now. Bob Lewis took a bronze in the singles and a silver in the mixed doubles. Roz Byers, a perennial winner. in past seasons, came home with a gold in her singles event along with a silver in the doubles and mixed-doubles com- petition. Len Wisner and his wife, Alice, won a gold medal in the mixed doubles for their age group. Woody Woodward, whose name really sounds as if he should be coaching football in the Big 10, garnered a silver in the men’s doubles. Jan Handington saw to it the silver medal in the doubles event went back to Barefoot Bay. Betty Bartkowiak, another big winner in past years, picked up two sil- ver awards in the women’s dou- bles and the mixed doubles, Gold was the reward for Clair Pym and Liz Walling in the wom- en’s doubles event while Joe Lee took home a silver in the mixed doubles. Sebastian tennis followers also can point to Jim Cantrell and say, “he won a medal in the Senior Games.” Jim took two bronze medals in the men’s singles and doubles competition. Sebastian’s softball team won the gold in the diamond compe- tition while Barefoot Bay’s squad came in second with a silver medal. This writer doesn’t know which route these fine senior athletes took home after the games were competed, but the glitter from all the loot should have caused traffic to slow down a bit. Soccer team hoping for fairy tale finish By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun It’s not a Cinderella story yet, but the record of the Sebastian United Soccer team, one of the two new teams from Sebastian to enter the East Coast Soccer League this year, was good enough to please its players and Coach Lou Montal- bano of Vero Lake Estates. United is looking for a miracle, however, to pull off a win in an up- coming league tournament, that begins 1 p.m. April 6 at Palm Bay Regional Park. Sebastian United began its sea- son ranked last in the lowest divi- sion of the adult men’s league, but finished the season third in the rankings of the top group, Division 1, with a respectable 11-3-2 record. This exceeded the expectations of league officials and other area teams, said Montalbano. The league’s regular season ran from November to March 22, with games played from Titusville to Port St. Lucie. Competition pitted as many as 20 adult men’s teams in the region against one another in three divi- sions, said Montalbano. Montalbano said chances are not high for Sebastian United to win the cup in the upcoming Divi- siop 1 tournament, but it should be fun to come and watch them try anyway. Sebastian International, Sebas- tian’s Division 2 team in the league, is coached by Robert Giam- banco of Sebastian, Both teams were born out of the Sebastian Soccer Club, which entered the league during the 1995/96 season under Montalba- no's leadership. But after Sebastian Soccer’s los- ing record, Giambanco split and formed Sebastian International. Montalbano kept the majority of the players from the old team, added some new blood and called it Sebastian United. Sebastian International finished this year with a record of 5-9-4, ranked fifth in Division 2. Meanwhile Sebastian United quickly battled its way out of Divi- sion 3 as it defeated all the teams in that division. It even topped Se- bastian International, 4-0, when the teams met in November. By January, Sebastian United had advanced to Division 1 play af- ter losing only one game in Divi- sion 2 play. But the team lost to America of Fellsmere 7-2 on March 2 and to Belag of Vero Beach, 8-0, on March 9. “Both Belag and America are really good. I don’t think we can beat them,” Montalbano said of his chances in the coming tournament. “Belag has a lot of young guys from Florida Tech playing for them,” he said. United's team manager, Paul Szafarz, said America is a team of veteran soccer players, many of whom are originally from the soc- cer-loving nation of Mexico. “The guys on America have also been playing together for a long, long time; they’re very tough,” he said. Montalbano said his team’s rel- ative success can be attributed to conditioning and the mix of young legs and experienced talent of his squad. Sebastian United midfielder, Stuart Clift, is a native of Scotland. Clift, 17, also plays on the Sebastian River High School varsity soccer team . He’s come a long way Photo Caption Adrian Crowley of Sebastian United advances the ball up-field during a recent gdme against Universal Supply of Palm Bay. in his game this year, said Montal- bano. “He’s really developing as a midfielder. He’s going to be a ter- rific player if he keeps up what he’s been doing,” he said. Montalbano also used 37-year- old Alan Lattie at midfield during the regular season. When he was in his 20s, Lattie played for the Jamaican National Team, Montalbano said. Szafarz said he credits Sebas- tian’s international flavor and a positive attitude. Teamwork and high morale saw them through a successful season, he said. “Even when we lost, we stuck to- gether. It’s fun because we really stuck together as a team. We’re tea- mmates, but we are also friends, which makes it nicer,” he said. Both Giambanco and Montal- bano said there is no animosity be- tween their teams. Giambanco said all of his players are amateurs and none have played the sport at the international level as has Lattie. Whereas Sebastian United’s chances of winning the cup against America and Belag may be doubt- ful, Sebastian International could pull off a cup win in their division, Giambanco said. Both teams will take a break for about a month, before holding in- formal games at Hobart Park and Sebastian’s Barber Street Sports Complex. Montalbano is also organizing a summer tournament, he said, which will pit six-man teams against one another in a field smaller than standard size. Hopefully this will bring out a new crop of talent as well as keep player skills honed during the off season, Montalbano said. League proves basketball not just a winter sport By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Basketball season is over, but the game doesn’t stop for area teen-agers wanting to improve their skills in preparation for next winter. The Vero-Beach/Indian River County Recreation Department is hosting Senior League Basketball for middle- and high-school students who enjoy playing the game and want to hone their skills. Games and practices will be held Monday through Thursday evenings from April 7 until the end of May at the Sebastian River Middle School, County Road 512, or at the Sebastian River High School gym- nasium, County Road 510, said Mike Redstone, a rec- reation supervisor for Indian River County. Registration costs $20. Athletes can sign up throughout the season from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the In- dian River Recreation Department facilities at Hobart Park in Wabasso, or at Leisure Square in Vero Beach. There is not enough space for additional com- plete teams to enter the league, said Recreation Leader James Willhoff. Individual players, however, can continue to reg- ister even after the season begins. “The teams are pretty much set, but we can regis- ter individual players until about mid-way through the season; after that there won’t be that many games for them,” Willhoff said. Currently, 10 teams have already been formed in the North County, Willhoff said. Redstone said the league is split into two divisions. One division will be for athletes of middle school age, 11 through 13. High school athletes, ages 14 and older will make up the other division. Currently, the Sebastian River Middle School gym- nasium is holding open gym from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday so youngsters can prepare for the games and work on their skills, Willhoff said. Recreation department employees Matt Simms and Willhoff will the help run the league in the North County and officiate when the games begin. Redstone said the recreation department has been holding Senior League for more than 10 years. The focus of the league has been to involve teen- agers in sports after school by allowing them to pick the teams and participate in setting the games sched- ules themselves. As with all recreation leagues, players are guar- anteed time on the court, he said. For additional information contact the Recreation Department at 770-6500. Photo Caption Jamoal Knowles goes for the slam as he gets ready for the Vero Beach-Indian River County Recreation Department’s Senior League. Sports awards sometimes earned for more than athletic ability Matt Grimison Sports awards banquets usually have about as much suspense as a political convention. Athletes receive their letters, then the best player on the team gets the Most Valuable Player award and everybody goes home. But Sebastian River’s dinners honoring winter sports athletes had a couple of surprises. Both boys and girls basketball MVP awards went to players who did not quite fit into the common mold as the one scoring every other point for the Sharks. The awards went beyond the bean-counting surface to reward not only skill on the court, but character, commitment and class. The most drama came at the girls banquet; when forward Mich- elle DeBlieck shocked her former teammates by showing~ up for the festivities. DeBlieck had not been in town for several months and many of her friends did not expect her to at- tend. The reason behind the surprise was one of the most heart-breaking stories of the year — she had to leave the team in the middle of the season. What made the departure so tough for her teammates and coach Terrie Rogers was that it was not due to a reason they could get an- gry or frustrated at such as poor academic performance or a dispute with players or coaches. In fact, DeBlieck is an excellent student and probably the most popular player on the team. She left simply because her family moved back to her native Wisconsin. DeBlieck rolled back into town just in time to collect the MVP award for the season, even though she was only around for half of it, saving Rogers some postage. Rogers said the award did not come just because of the 13 points and eight rebounds DeBlieck con- tributed each game — Tasha Swaby averaged more in each category. DeBlieck’s value came with her leadership, usually by exam- ple, her mental toughness and her motivation to her teammates. “Even those stats don’t begin to match her mental attitude and apti- tude," Rogers said. DeBlieck’s departure was dev- astating to the Sharks in terms of scoring and leadership, Rogers said, even though the team used her absence as something of a ral- lying cry for the rest of the season. But DeBlieck herself joined a team at a small school in Wiscon- sin that was loaded with talent and eventually went on to become state runners-up. But even that success did not make leaving Sebastian any easier, Defllieck said. The boys' side did not have the same drama, but MVP Chris Jeffer- son was chosen along the same lines as DeBlieck. Jefferson, one of few seniors on the team, was a big-body who was also a three-point specialist. He was not the Sharks’ leading scorer, but he was a team leader not only by virtue of his years, but his steely determination and ability to get the team up for games even when the season was going rough. In the final game of the season, a first-round district loss to Rock- ledge, Jefferson got up at half-time and cajoled his teammates into giv- ing the heavily-favored Raiders a run for their money. They did, getting within four points in the fourth quarter before running out of gas. But the MVP award was per- sonal for coach Jack Hodge. It was a send-off for the kind of player coaches dream of guiding; a young man who is not only a good athletes, but a good kid. Jefferson accompanies Hodge on trips to elementary schools to motivate kids to ignore the tempta- tions of drugs and crime and make something of themselves in schools. He also was on Hodge’s teams since ninth grade at Sebastian River Middle School, moving over to the high school with his coach when it opened in 1994. “It’s hard to imagine coaching a team without Chris Jefferson,” Hodge said. Coed volleyball starting at SRMS The Vero Beach/Indian River County Recreation Department will be starting an Adult Co-Ed Volley- ~ball League in April. Matches will be held Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. at Sebas- tian River Middle School. Four nights of open gym for prospective players and teams to practice will be held on April 8,10, 15 and 17 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. The cost fbr these practice sessions will be $1 per person per night. Games are scheduled to begin April 22. Registration forms are available and will be accepted at Leisure Square, 3705 16th St., The Recre- ation Administration Building, 1725 17th Ave. and Hobart Park Of- fice, 5350 77th St. For more infor- mation, call Cliff Hoose at 589- 4785 or 567-2144. Little League Sebastian River Dr. Adan 5, Dayspring 1 Winning pitcher A. J. Hyland held Day Spring to just one run March 26 as Dr. Adan was victori- ous in minor league action. David Krupa singled, doubled and drove in a run for Dr. Adan. Jonathan Kubacki also provided a key hit. Jeremy Sackett, Josh Mangan and Justin Kelly each singled for Dr. Adan. Nick Lagges singled for Day Spring. Cj. Stubbs scored Day Spring’s only run. Daniel ElectrIcal 16, Tozzolo Brothers 4 Bobby Carberry struck out six and posted a two-RBI triple as Dan- iel Electrical defeated Tozzolo Brothers 16-4 March 21. John Finch had four singles and three RBIs, while Ryan Steward had a doubel and two singles and Randy Grant had two RBI singles in the winning cause. For Tozzolo, Steve Feeley had two doubles and a single, while Tim Troisi hand one double and two singles. Dayspring 11, Commercial Title 1 Nick Lagges homered and earned the win on the mound as Dayspring beat Commercial Title March 29. Jim Mattingly had two RBIs for Dayspring. Michael Touhey took the loss. Hale Groves 10, Fischer Force 3 Eric Roux homered twice and Ryan Lavender drove in three runs as Hale Groves beat Fischer Force 10-3 March 21. Lavender had three singles nad a double, while Richie Eisenmann added a double, two singles and two RBIs. Jeffrey Gantner struck out seven in earning the win. Eddie Majcher doubled and sin- gled while driving in two runs for Fischer, while Steven Mackey added a double. John Lloyd Builders 24, Ameron Homes 0 Matt Cutrey, Justin Boyd and Jay Canty combined to throw a no-hit- rer as John Lloyd Builders defeated Ameron Homes 24-0 March 31. Brandon Sims homered and doubled in the winning cause. Boyd and Jason Covington had three singles each, while Autrey and Jason Correz each added a double and a single. Mark Gibson was the pitcher of record for Ameron. Sebastian Senior John Lloyd Builders 9 Ameron Homes 0 Matt Autrey and Justin Boyd combined on a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts as John Lloyd Builders blanked Ameron Homes. Autrey also hit one double and a pair of singles for John Lloyd Builders.) Brandon Sims doubled and sin- gled, while jared Tabbert and Boyd added two singles apiece. Jay Cantu and John Heath each singled once. Jesse Morgan singled for Ame- ron Homes’ only hit. Softball Sebastian River Med. Center 15 Dole Citrus 4 Allison Lee allowed just three hits and Valerie Trio went 4-for-4 March 24 as Sebastian River Medi- cal Center beat Dole Citrus, Lee struck out seven batters in 4½ innings, and she helped her own cause with a two-run single. Michelle Mitchell recorded the final two outs, including one strikeout. Trio hit three singles and a double for Sebastian River Medical Center. Kim Kent singled three times and drove in a run. Tiffany Brice ht a two-run sin- gle, Shannon McCarthy added two singles and an RBI, Jamie Ungue- buhler singled and drove in a run, while Kelsea Minotty also singled. Beth Powell hit two singles and Shayna Snyder singled once for Dole Citrus. Snyder also pitched and posted seven strikeouts. SRMC 12, First National Bank 11 Michelle Mitchell struck out 13, also went 4-for-S with a double and an RBI as Sebastian River Medical Center defeated First National Bank 12-11 in eight innings March 26. Jamie Unguebuhler singled twice and drove in two runs, while Emily Neely posted an RBI triple and Laura Caudill notched an RBI single. Sara Bess singled twice and Allison Lee sacrificed in a run. Holly Davis struck out seven in five innings, also singling twice and driving in a run. Megan Lembo drove in three runs with a double and a single, while Mandi George doubled twice and drove in a run. TC Refuse 19 KSM Engineering 6 Amber Engle tripled and Court- ney Walker doubled to lead TC Re- fuse’s hitting attack in the March 27 victory over KSM Engineering. Leah Mossali was the winning pitcher for TC Refuse. Kay Stuart and Kathy Lehto pro- vided hits for KSM Engineering. Golf Barefoot Bay Men’s Association March 19, Two-Man Best Ball, Champion: Art George and Jim Es- kew, minus-lO; Fran Peterson and Ralph Delessandro, Al Gray and Lou Wehner, Bob Dunne and Al Balash, minus-9. Flight A: Warren Pinter and Bob Wannop, minus-12; Shorty Bartlett and Allison McIntyre, minus-11; Tony Giordano and George Price, minus-lO. Flight B: Marvin Ross and Ed Sul- livan, minus-11; John Auty and Fran Furino, minus-lO; Andy Bee- son and Gene Trainor, minus-9. Flight C: Harold Engold and Joe Mirro, minus-16; John O’Connor and Bruno Mistron, minus-16; Andy Vitzthum, minus-15; Paul Lindner and Bill Simberlund, minus-13; Ed Trameri and Joe Schulz, minus-13. March 26, scramble: Champion- ship flight: Bob Greene, Dan Little, Jim Eskew, Ed Baxter 8 under; John O’Connor, Hank Templar, Bob Va- ras, John Higson 7 under; Al Lukos, Joe Hems, John Atta, Armando De- Vivo 6 under. Flight A: John Engehard, Shorty Bartlett, Al Glashauser, Phil Baker 5 under; Ray Luzar, Art McCormick, George Price, Gene Murray 4 un- der; Matt Trygar, Bob Calise, Ed Rizzo, Don Griffin 3 under. Flight B: John Auty, Frank Calise, Ken Unger, Bob Pape even; Dick Dennig, Steve Cote, John Lund- berg, Ed Sullivan even; Bill Mallon, Wayne Enright, John Chiaro, Woody Hughes 1 over. Flight C: Dick Broccoli, Hank Albers, Don Tarantion, Joe Schuls 1 over; Chuck Simpson, Ed Kelly, Rod Anderson, Ed Trameri plus 2; Bernie Schreiber, Fred Womlke, Hugh Ewing, Dick Degraff plus 2. Barefoot Bay Ladies Association March 25, Low Gross, Low Net: Flight A: Low Gross: Betty Bartko- wiak, 70. Low Net: Enid Jones, 55; Pat Anderson, Helen George, Susan Fields and Joyce Lamb, 58. Flight B: Low Gross: Helen Hang, 81. Low Net: Doris Cataldi and Bid Scamehorn, 58; Polly Courchene, 59. Flight C: Low Gross: Edna Koh- nen, 82. Low Net: Wilma Speer, 56; Margie Price and Elma Skelley, 59. Flight D: Low Gross: Jackie Nuen- berger, 84. Low Net: Marcella Thomson, Peg Coryell and Mary Jane Boyden, 58; Johanna Sigouin and Pat Cooper, 59. Sebastian Women’s Association March 25, Most Pars Or Better, Flight A: Eileen Harding, 16; Alice Good, 14; Angela Viveiros and Dot Murphy, 13. Flight B: Bert Jackson, 15; Hilda Wangler, 14; Rita Tapasak, 13. Flight C: Jo Barker, Jane Proko piak and Claire Whiteman, 16. Flight D: Ann Vukovich, 12; Pam Gingrich and Viv Miller, ii; Sunny Bowers, 10. Sebastian Men March 26, low net: handicap 0- 14: D. Crocka 64, D. Melia 65, F. LaConte 66, E. Meyer 67, B. Entrup, D. LaDucer 68, B. Clinton 69, H.R. Thompson 70. Handicap 15-18: A. Nordquist 62, J. Gilman; R. Wood 66, F. Stieler, J. Thompson, V. Jackson 67, J. Sta- checki 68, T. Zamparello, J. Proko- piak 69. Handicap 19-23: R. Andrews 64, L Maglione 65, B. Mahoney 67, B. Cotton, H. Morgan 68, G. Beaton, W. Miller, A. Murphy, M. Vukovich 70. Handicap 24-34: P. Morris 62, B. Eyre 64, K. Roth, R. Parent, P. Rich 66, J. Clark 67, P. Gustafson, J. Jor- dan,J. Scanlan 68. Obituaries Raymond Pierce Raymond E. Pierce Sr., 78, of Barefoot Bay, died March 28, 1997, at Palm Bay Community Hospital in Palm Bay after a prolonged illness. He was born March 19, 1919, in Lowell, Mass., and moved to Bare- foot Bay nine months ago from Leominster, Mass. Mr. Pierce was a disabled U.S. Army World War II veteran, and a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American Veter- ans. He retired from Fort Devens in Ayer, Mass. Surviving are his wife of 51 years, Agnes; two daughters, Diane Ro- mani, of Barefoot Bay, and Patricia Lovell, of Westminster, Mass.; one son, Raymond E. Pierce Jr., of Shir- ley, Mass.; and 10 grandchildren. At the family’s request, there will be no repose or visitation. A memorial service will be held at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Lowell at a later date. Mr. Pierce was a member of the Indian River Cremation Society. Patricia Grant Patricia L. “Patty” Grant, 19, 4880 Lakewaterford Way W., Mel- bourne, died unexpectedly March 27, 1997, at Orlando Regional Med- ical Center after an automobile ac- cident in Orange County. She was born Nov. 8, 1977, in Chester, Pa., and had lived in Se- bastian from 1980 to 1993. Ms. Grant was a senior at Palm Bay High School and she worked as a drive-through clerk at Burger King on Babcock Street in Palm Bay. She is survived by her mother and stepfather, Emily Louise and William B. Cobb, of Melbourne; three sisters, Jennifer Anne Grant and Sylvia Erin Cobb, both of Mel- bourne and Shawn Hubinski of East McKeesport, Pa.; and grandpa- rents, Richard and Emily F. Haarde, of Sebastian, and Forest and Sylvia Cobb, of West Melbourne. Friends may call 5-8 p.m. Tues- day at Brownlie-Maxwell Funeral Home, Melbourne. The funeral will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the funeral home. Peter Grunzweig Peter Adam Grunzweig, 54, of Sebastian, died March 29, 1997, at Sebastian River Medical Center af- ter a brief illness. He was born May 30, 1942, in Wilkesburg, Pa.,and moved to Se- bastian seven years ago from Read- ing, Mass. Mr. Grunzweig was employed with Tropicana, Fort Pierce, for seven years. He was a member of St. Sebastian Catholic Church, Se bastian. Surviving are his wife of 33 years, Sally; two sons, Peter A. Grunzweig Jr., of Swampscotr, Mass., and Ke- yin Patrick Grunzweig, of Royal Oak, Mich.; one daughter, Jennifer Grunzweig, of Somerville, Mass; his mother, Elizabeth Grunzweig, of Melrose, Mass,; one brother, Mi- chael Grunzweig, of Stoneham, Mass.; four sisters, Margaret DiTra- pano, of Sebastian, Barbara Russell, of Reading, Betty Ann Newton, of Stoneham, and Suzanne Moore, of Las Vegas, Nev. A memorial Mass was celebrated April 2 at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, Sebastian. In lieu of flowers, the family sug- gests donations be made to the American Heart Association, North Central Florida Area, 237 E. Marks St., Orlando, Fla. 32803 in Mr. Grunzweig’s memory. Strunk Funeral Home, Sebastian, was in charge of arrangements. END Sebastian Sun Articles a digital text archive The Sebastian Sun April 11, 1997 c 1997 Treasure Coast Publishing Inc. President: Darryl K. Hicks. Executive Editor: Larry Reisman. Editor: Louise Phillipine. Advertising Manager: Ellen Smith Account Executive: Doreen Dowell. (USPS) The Sun is published weekly by Treasure Coast Publishing Inc., a division of Scripps Howard Inc., 1801 U.S. 1, Vero Beach, FL 32960. c 1997 Treasure Coast Publishing Inc. All correspondence, including news copy, should be addressed to 717 Coolidge St., Sebastian, FL 32958. Phone: (561) 589- 6616; Fax: (561) 978-2386. News deadline, 5 p.m., Friday. All display advertising should be addressed to 1801 U.S. 1, Vero ach, FL 32960. Phone (561) 978-2383; Fax:(561) 978-2297. Advertising deadline, 1 p.m., Monday. FROM THE ARCHIVES TOP STORY FROM A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK: Indian River County commissioners agreed to buy 56 quarter-acre lots in Sebastian for $225,000. The property was a hab- itat for endangered scrub jays. The county's share of the cost would be $120,000 based on a 50 percent match from the state Florida Commu- nities Trust. Commissioners requested that the county staff talk with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials to find out if the 56 Sebastian lots purchased from Atlantic Gulf Communities would serve as mitigation for other scrub lots the federal agency wanted pro- tected. Edna Willey, a member of Sebas- tian Golf Course, offered to donate money to fix up four fairway rest- rooms to include white ceramic floors and walls, marble thresholds and painted interiors. CITIZEN OF THE DAY NAME: Nancy Donahue. AGE: 85. OCCUPATION: Retired business- woman. BIRTHPLACE: Amagansette, N.Y. MOVED HERE: 1982. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Member of the Ladies Auxilary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Sebastian. HOBBIES: Knitting, crochet and bingo. FAVORITE AUTHOR: I don't know. WHY I LIKE MY NEIGHBOR- HOOD: I live in Riverview Mobile Villa. I love it, it's lust like home. Everybody is so nice. I moved out twice and then moved back. WEEKEND PICKS The spring picnic of the Micco Homeowners Association will be held at noon April 12 at Micco Park. Members and their houseg guests are invited to bring a covered dish, salad or dessert large enough to share. Please bring lawn chairs and place settings. The association will provide hot dogs and soft drinks at no charge. Come, share good food, good fellowship, music and entertainment. Non-members are welcome to at- tend the picnic by calling Wally Kramer 664-5003. WHAT DID HE SAY? "I'm going to be the first one hit with it because I've got signs and bill- boards. If you don't make it restric- tive, you're never going to get it like an old fishing village. I'm willing to do it if everybody else does." — Tom Collins (Collins, owner of Captain Hiram's and chairman of the Sebastian River- front Committee, made the statement after a fellow committee member said he was concerned that restrictions proposed for businesses along the riverfront are going to hurt the busi- ness district.) Baby brother spawns birth of math project for SRHS junior By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun When Sebastian River High School student Car- rie Hendricks found out she was going to be a big sister again, she also found a great idea for her school math project. A junior in the International Baccalaureate pro- gram, Carrie, 16, saw her mother's pregnancy as an opportunity to test the economics of having a baby and complete a requirement for her pre-calculus class at the same time. For her project, Carrie compared the expenses of having a baby against taking the money and investing it in certificates of deposit. The study, which will make up 20 percent of her lB grade in pre-calculus, currently is being graded by a panel of international mathematics tea- chers in Singapore. Since the lB students are graded on an interna- tional point system, some of their independent re- search and studies are graded in other countries. She won't know until July what the international panel thought of her work, Carrie said. Her lB grade will determine if she can test out of her first year of college pre-calculus. The idea of the study was simple. Carrie wanted to get an idea of the average ex- penses incurred during nine months of pregnancy and compare it to a shrewder financial option; investing the money in certificates of deposit over an 18-year period, or the amount of time invested to raise a child to adulthood. Photo Caption Carrie Hendericks used the birth of her brother, Cameron, as the basis ot a math project. The baby is held by her mother, Sherry. Including medical expenses and the costs of raising a child in her study would have meant too many variables, she said, because those costs vary so greatly from child to child. She said it was sim- pler and more effective to stick to the basic costs leading up to the birth, since those were about the same for most families in the area, she said. Carrie listed all her parents' expenses leading up to the birth of brother, Cameron, who arrived March 7 at the Woman's Clinic in Stuart, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. Her list included all secondary purchases such as a rocker, stroller, bottles, clothes and blankets. The pending birth made this part of her research easy, she said. The items were stored throughout her home and the price tags were still on most of them, she said. It turned out her parents, Ed and Sherry Hen- dricks, spent almost $5,642 in preparing for Cam- eron's arrival. She took the same list of products her mother purchased and researched prices at a West Palm Beach infant-needs superstore and several other lo- cations to give her an average for how much these items cost. She found that the average family could spend $6,702 in the months leading up to the baby's birth. Carrie then checked with 14 area banks to de- termine the average interest rate and the best rate of return on certificates of deposit at local banks. She selected SunTrust of Vero Beach as the site of the amount of money her parents spent because its 5.4 percent annual interest rate was the best rate of return she could find, she said. She then came up with an average rate of return for certificates of deposit in just about any of the local banks. Carrie found that if her parents had invested the money they spent on the new baby in a CD at SunTrust, they would have had $14,469, including interest, after 18 years. If the average family would invest what they spent on baby products, they'd earn $16,811 from a certificate of deposit, her study found. Mrs. Hendricks said she was "a bit taken aback," when Carrie told her what she was doing for her paper. "There are 11 years difference between Cam- eron and our middle child, Kyle. We were all a little surprised when we found out I was pregnant. I think Carrie's initial concern was that all that money wouldn't be going to help her with college expenses," Mrs. Hendricks said. But Mrs. Hendricks said she realized there might be a deeper reason for the study. She said she and her husband married when they were se- niors in high school and had Carrie a year later. "When I thought about it, it made me proud that a girl this young was even thinking on this level; that she was showing kids her own age the reality of how much it costs to plan for a baby and that there might be other things they could be planning on," Mrs. Hendricks said. "I wouldn't recommend that any girl in high school, or even the first or second year of college have a baby, not until they get out on their own a while and find out who they are and what they can do," Mrs. Hendricks said. Carrie learned another lesson after the arrival of her little brother. "You can't put a value on human life," she said. She said, despite what some might think about her study, she loves her baby brother and she often baby-sits for him. Carrie's career ambitions lean toward psychol- ogy or neurology but aside from her scientific lean- ings, she has a humanitarian side. Carrie developed a program that allows local middle-school children to get together once a month and talk about their problems at the Indian River County Main Library. She created the group in memory of a SRHS graduate and former track star, Juruncius Crawford of Wabasso, who was shot, and killed last summer by a young man allegedly paying back a two-year old grudge for a school-yard slight. "When you think that a person can die becausc of something so stupid and immature, it makes yot realize there is a lot of rage and anger in kids," she said. Carrie has her eye on Duke University. Sebastian resident recalls night Ashley Gang died By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun As a teen-ager, Helen Gude of Sebastian had heard about the Ashley Gang. At the time, she didn't know all the de- tails of the gang's 13-year crime spree in Florida that included running rum, robbing banks and stealing cars, all under the lead- ership of John Ashley. But she would soon learn about the gang. And she will never forget the night the members met their deaths on the Se- bastian River Bridge. Ms. Gude had been out on a date with Morris Braddock of Sebastian on Nov. 1, 1924. They were driving around in his Buick convertible. It was a warm evening, but the mosqui- toes hadn't been that bad, she remembers. It was about 10:30 p.m. when the couple heard a commotion, so they drove up to the south end of the bridge. There, they learned the Ashley Gang had been trapped on the span, stopped from leaving what was then St. Lucie County and escaping into Brevard County. At the bridge, a chain had been pulled across the road and a lantern was dangling from its center. The roadblock, meant to trap the gang, had worked and a deadly battle allegedly had taken place between St. Lucie County sheriff's deputies and the outlaws had just ended. The gangsters were dead. The battle was the official story. But Ms. Gude said things weren't as they seemed and the scene she saw on the bridge con- flicted somewhat with reports. For one thing, none of the deputies ap- peared hurt; they were calmly stacking bodies into a patrol vehicle. She could see one of the gang member's legs jutting out from the side of a car. "His legs were just sticking out from the side of the car like he had just been thrown in there. I remember the chain across the road and a lantern hung in the middle of the chain," she said. She returned to her family's inn, the Se- bastian Hotel, and was told by her father, Henri Gude, that St. Lucie County Sheriff Jr. Merritt had been shaken up after bring- ing down the gang and he wanted to stay over in the hotel. That night, Ms. Gude said, she didn't sleep at all. Some of Ashley's relatives were still alive. Were they coming for the sheriff, she wondered. Were there more gang members who had escaped and were hid- ing in the woods near town? It's taken more than 72 years for some of the details of that night to be cleared up for her, she said, and the answers were pro- vided by Ada Coats Williams, a Fort Pierce historian. Photo Caption Author Ada Coats Williams, left, and Helen Gude share an interest in the Ashley Gang, outlaws who met their end on the Sebastian River Bridge in 1924. Ms. Gude and Mrs. Williams met April 2 at the North Indian River County Library, when Mrs. Coats presented her book, "Florida's Ash- ley Gang" during a presentation exploring Indian River County's history. Mrs. Williams said more than 10 years of research and eyewitness testimony have led her to believe the gang had been stopped at the bridge without a fight and that all of them were handcuffed when shooting started. She bases this on eyewitness accounts and the testi- mony of a deputy who had taken part in the killing. Ashley, who had escaped nu- merous Florida prisons, and who had reportedly killed several peo- ple during his lifetime of crime, apparently made a sudden move forward and dropped his hands to- ward a deputy who had a gun trained on him, Mrs. Williams said. The deputy fired his gun, kill- ing Ashley. The other deputies shot the entire gang dead in the confu- sion which followed. The bodies of Ray Lynn, Clarence Middleton, Handford Mobley and Ashley re- portedly were riddled with bullets, she said. Merritt ended up being praised for his courage during the shoot- out and re-elected in 1925 because of his actions. But he wasn't a hero who had survived a shoot-out, Mrs. Williams said. He had watched the killing of handcuffed prisoners. A sheriff too shaken by what had happened, who was afraid of revenge for his frontier justice, might be a logical explanation for why he stayed at The Sebastian Ho- tel and did not return to a hero's welcome in Fort Pierce that night, Ms. Gude said. The shootings were actually the end of a blood feud, Mrs. Williams said, between Palm Beach County Sheriff Bob Baker and Ashley. Mrs. Williams said Baker had told Merritt of the gang's planned route through St. Lucie County, which formerly covered all of what is now Indian River and St. Lucie counties. They had reportedly been making their way out of Florida. Merritt, Mrs. Williams said, had been intent on using any pretext, even a sudden, nervous movement of the gang leader, to kill Ashley and his men. Two young men from Sebas- tian, S.0. Davis and Ted Miller, even reported seeing members of the Ashley gang alive and hand- cuffed at the bridge before the kill- ings. Their accounts later were den- ied by the St. Lucie County Sheriff's deputies. The department held to its story of justifiable homicide, maintaining for years that Miller and Davis had exaggerated, or had been unsure of what they had seen. Now Merritt's stay in her family hotel — now Sebastian Hardware at the intersection of U.S. 1 and Main Street, — makes more sense, Ms. Gude said. "He spent the night right there in our hotel. It seemed so weird," she said. "That was the most tragic thing I had ever seen," she said of the bodies being stacked into the pa- trol car. She remembers conversations she had with a longtime Sebastian resident, years after the event. Ms. Gude was good friends with "Fat" Davis, as he had been known in town. She also had dated Miller for a brief time. Miller and Davis are dead now, Ms. Gude said, and she drifted from Sebastian soon after the events moving to Illi- nois with her mother when she was 18 after her parents got di- vorced. She moved back to Florida dur- ing the Depression and received her high school diploma in Jack- sonville. For more than 35 years, she worked for the state Depart- ment of Health in Melbourne and Fort Pierce, retiring in 1972. She moved to Miami Springs, but decided to come back to Sebas- tian in 1994. "I wanted to get out of Miami Springs," she said. Some things in the area are similar to how they were in the 1920s, she said. Ms. Gude said she still can recognize Main Street from those days, but the quiet country solitude of the area is gone. San Sebastian Woods sales on upswing By DAVID KEARNS 0f The Sun Photo Caption John Lloyd, right, goes over house plans with Chip Landers outside a model home in San Sebastian Woods. Sebastian builder John Lloyd said he gave good advice to the de- velopers of San Sebastian Woods in Micco in 1995 when he told them to get out of the manufactured housing business and into concrete block homes. It was so good, he said, he de- cided to invest in the 100-acre, wooded subdivision just south of Barefoot Bay when the developers followed his advice. So far, 31 of the 150 lots, rang- ing in size from quarter- to half- acre parcels, in the community are developed. Lot prices range from $11,900 to $29,000 and John Lloyd Builders offers 22 models, costing from $75,000 to $130,000 within the subdivision. San Sebastian Woods originally was developed in 1990 by George and Bill Howard and Charles Bu- channan, all of Melbourne, as a manufactured-home community. When slow sales prompted them to seek Lloyd's advice in 1995, he told them to make the switch to concre- te-block homes. They did and the market responded, Lloyd said. In November, Lloyd invested in the community and became its de- velopment manager. Since then, he said, sales and inquiries have tak- ing off at the sales office on U.S. 1. Lloyd has a model home on the site that he expects to finish by the end of the month. Four other homes, ranging from the planning to groundbreaking stages, also are in the works. Lloyd said three factors make the community an attractive invest- ment: high ground makes the land cost effective to build on; the quiet, wooded area makes Micco appealing to buyers from South Florida; and deed restrictions allow boats and recreational vehicles to be stored in special sheds on the home sites. San Sebastian Woods property owners rely on wells and septic tanks for water and sewer service, but underground service for phone and electric are in place for each home, Lloyd said. The community clubhouse and pool came with San Sebastian Woods' original design as a man- ufactured-home and retirement community. Property owners can use the fa- cilities for a small monthly fee, Lloydsaid. Lloyd, who has been building in nearby Indian River County for the last 13 years, said concrete block is the best way to build, al- though he also builds wood-frame houses. "When you look at all we deal with here in Florida, termites, high temperatures, hurricanes, concrete block just makes the best sense," he said. Lloyd, along with his compa- ny's general manager, Chip Landers, supervises home con- struction for customers. With the help of sales profes- sional Ida Gwinn, who works out of the Micco office, the team also can sell lots to customers who want to choose another builder, said Landers. Aside from having a real-estate license, Landers also has four years experience in construction. Lloyd said his best advertise- ment comes from satisfied custom- ers. "The main thing we want to emphasize is the fact that we cus- tomize all our models to the taste of the individual home buyer. Even though I have 22 models to choose from, we will make this a commu- nity of homes tailored to each buyer," Lloyd said. New planner ready to help Sebastian grow By DREW DIXON Of The Sun Young blood has entered Sebas- tian City Hall in the form of Tracy Hass, the new city planner. Hass, 25, enters a city govern- ment surrounded by seasoned pro- fessionals and residents who have lived in the area for years. "I think there might have been some uncertainty because of my age at first," Hass said of his arrival at City Hall last month. "But now, they seem to wel- come the enthusiasm and young blood, I've had several people say that 'it's good to have some young blood in the building.' The recep- tion has been good, so far," he said. Hass is still in the honeymoon stage of his job. He was hired to fill the post of city planner after it had been left vacant last October when former city planner Bob Massarelli was promoted to community devel- opment director. Photo Caption Tracy Hass is the new kid on the block in Sebastian's City Hall. He recently began working as the new city planner. This is the first job out of col- lege for Hass and he is enjoying it. "I couldn't be any more pleased with the position and the potential that it holds. One thing about working in a small town like this, I get a wide variety of experi- ence," he said. The biggest variety in his posi- tion is marked by the wide variety of growth facing the Sebastian area. He said he is becoming involved in "site-plan reviews and staff reports with potential development in the community. We have codes to out- line the future growth." Hass is from the Atlanta, Ga., area, where he not only grew up but went to college at Georgia State University. He said the Sebastian area is a welcomed change. "I love the diversity of the area. I live in Palm Bay, but I like the natural beauty of the (Sebastian) area, too. That's one of the things that attracted me here," he said. Hass is still settling into the job, as well as the area. He has a passion for golf and believes he's come to the right place to continue that interest. Although, he ad- mitted, "I haven't had the chance to try any area courses yet." He said he's committed to en- during in the job of city planner. "I know I'm here to help the city grow, and I hope to have a long lasting relationship with the city and the public," he said. Birthdate: Dec. 15, 1971. Birthplace: Atlanta, Ga. Education: Bachelor of sci- ence degree in urban studies and aviation from Georgia State Univer- sity, 1996. Family: Single. The best part of my job is: Looking at the growth potential of the city. What I like the least about my job is: The bureaucracy involved. The most recent movie I saw in a theater was: "The Rock." The book I'd recommend ev- eryone to read is: "A Road Less Traveled," by M. Scott Peck. Of everyone in the world, the person I would most like to meet is: Gregory Feith, an investi- gator with the National Transporta- tion Safety Board. My Favorite food is: Spa- ghetti. If I were going on a trip to the moon, I would take along: My golf clubs. When I was growing up, I al- ways wanted to be: A pilot. If I were president of the United States, I'd: Try to balance the budget. When I want to get away from it all, I: Go bicycle riding. The person I admire the most is: My mother, Janet Hass. My proudest moment was: When I graduated from college. My favorite sports team is: Atlanta Braves. My favorite television show is: ''Jag.'' On my last vacation, I visited: Avon Park. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is: Make my bed. The type of music I enjoy the most is: Top 40. If I could do something over again, I'd: I don't think there's anything I'd do over. People who know me the best know I: Love aviation. The most exciting time in my life is: The present. Fun soars to highest height for members of airplane club By DREW DIXON Of The Sun The wild blue yonder is only a remote-control device away for the Air Masters Club. The organization specializes making and flying their own re- mote control airplanes and heli- copters. It also fosters friendships and appreciation for a shared inter- est in soaring into the skies while keeping your feet on the ground. "It's a great group of guys and it's extremely friendly," said Air Masters member Richard Mazou- rek, who lives in the Sebastian Highlands. "It works as a hobby club as well as a social club." The intense interest and involvement in the club of about 100 members is apparent, as a drive to their "airport" proves. The club can usually be seen taking to the skies virtually every day, weather permitting, at a field just south of the Indian River County Fairgrounds on 58th Avenue. The airfield has all the ameni- ties for the enthusiasts. A miniature hanger that doubles as a shelter has been built; safety fences have ibeen put up along the runway; and there are cdncrete marks where the re- mote control pilots can stand safely and operate their planes. Those are just the facilities for the remote-control planes and their pilots. The planes are equally sophisticated and impressive, according to club member Bob Ryan of Sebastian. "You have to have confidence and good eye-hand coordination" to operate the planes, Ryan said. The planes have virtually the same working parts—wing flaps, tail rudders and a dangerous propel- ler—just like a full-size airplane. They cost anywhere from $300 on up and range in wing span from 32 to 96 inches. "These are not toys," club member Jerry Green said. "These are actual aeronautic aircraft. If they were 100 percent scale, you could get in it yourself and fly." The owner also has to take great care of the plane right from the start. "Generally, they have to put these things together," Ryan said. "A simple one can take 14 to 15 hours to assemble and that's just for a basic kit. It can take 300 to 400 hours on the more sophisti- cated ones." All the members agreed, once a remote-control plane owner puts all that time into just preparing the aircraft, the time to actually fly it can be tense. "That's what we call high ten- sion," Ryan said. Their nerves are so on edge, some of the flyers will opt for a more-experienced pilot to fly their new plane's maiden voyage when they bring it to the field, Ryan said. "If you don't want to smash it, don't fly it. Something's bound to go wrong eventually," said Green who lives in Vero Beach and is one of those remote-control veterans many new pilots turn to for help on early flights. "I think everybody who has an idea, we share that. If there's a problem or whatever, the more ex- perienced modelers help out," said Joe Kazakavage of Sebastian. "This is a terrific club. Every- one's very helpful," Kazakavage, who's been flying remote-control planes since the 1960s, said. "They let me fly as a guest for a couple of months before officially joining. It's very well organized, more so than a lot of (remote control) clubs." Organization and supervision is key. While many of the members of Air Masters are retirees, they en- courage younger members to join. They do try to keep small chil- dren from getting involved too early, according to Ryan. "It gets a little dangerous. These propellers can cut a finger off," Ryan said, pointing to a 3-week-old propeller wound on one of his own fingers. The real threat can be seen on the safety fence that's made of thick plastic mesh. Sometimes, when the plane is being brought in for a landing, the pilot may simply lose control and the plane slams into the fence. There are several visible gashes through the fence from past crashes. The act of operating the planes among Air Masters is strictly mon- itored as well. In the hanger, there are tags lined up in sequential or- der to let each pilot know if a radio channel is being used. If two pilots were on the same remote radio channel, for instance, one pilot's maneuvers could affect another pi- lot's plane. Air Masters is open to anyone in the Indian River County area. The club meets the second Monday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at the North Indian River County Library on County Road 512. Dues are $55 a year and the money goes to help pay for the air- field and maintenance. Anyone in- ter~sted in joining can call Jack Curry, a member of the Air Masters board of directors, at 664-8828. Photo Caption Joe Kazakavage is one of the veteran flyers who have joined the Air Masters for regular remote-con- trol flights at the club's airfield just south of the Indian River County Fairgrounds. Performing Arts Series has some 1998 shows waiting in wings By DREW DIXON Of The Sun Photo Caption The St. Petersburg Ballet from Russia will make a repeat performance in Sebastian next year during the Performing Arts Series held at Sebastian River High School. The curtain has fallen on this year's Sebastian River Performing Arts Series and organizers are giv- ing a thumbs up to the perf or- mances and the audiences who attended the events. "I think more and more people are talking about it," said Gary Parr, executive producer of the se- ries. People "are more involved in the series and we had more stu- dents attend this year." There were five performers who took to the stage at the Per- forming Arts Theater at Sebastian River High School in the second year of the series. All were of world-renown cali- ber, Parr said. "We stepped up the quality from last year," he said. "One of the things that we were complimented on is the vari- ety we had," Parr said, adding that kept interests high in the series. The range of performers was diverse. It included the Chanticleer choir in January; classical pianist Fabio Bidini in February; Bale Fol- clorico Da Bahia, a Brazilian dance troupe; and the Treasure Pops Or- chestra, appearing separately in March; and the series' finale earlier this month, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra. This year's string of perfor- mances has established the series as a tradition in the Sebastian area, according to Parr. "Even the people who only got to one or two events talk about it as if it's part of their community. They try to make it part of their schedule," he said. The scheduling may indeed have been one of the only draw- backs to this year's series, Parr said. He pointed out there were no com- plete sellouts in the entire series this year. Turnout "was less than we expected. "We're going to try and steer away from Monday evening (when two of this year's performances took place) and concentrate more on Saturday evening and Sunday af- ternoons next year," he said. Parr said organizers initially wanted more Monday perfor- mances because they felt that would avoid conflicts with other weekend events. "This level of entertainment deserves full houses," he said. "We sell tickets for less money than most places (where the acts per- form). Very few people groused about the price." In fact, season ticket sales for the series increased 25 percent over last year's series, he said. Meanwhile, work already is un- der way for next year's Performing Arts Series. Parr said the St. Petersburg Bal- let from Russia, one of the perfor- mances already slated for next year, also performed in the inau- gural season. The Treasure Pops Orchestra, which performed this year, also is committed for next year. With more acts yet to be booked, Parr said the 1998 series will strive to provide the same vari- ety as what has been seen in the first two years. The series currently is in the midst of a sponsorship drive to help pay for the cost of bringing in performers. Parr said he's hoping to raise $50,000 by the end of May from area businesses to help fund the series. The fund-raiser just started at the beginning of this month. Any- one wishing to contribute can con- tact the Sebastian River Performing Arts Series at 388-3200. NEWS BRIEFS Smoothies Club holding dance The Smoothies Ballroom Dance Club will hold a dance from 8-11 p.m. April 24 in Building A with music by the Bob Dale Duo. Singles and couples dance les- sons will be offered from 6:30-7:45 p.m. before the dance by Bob Sara- fini. Barefoot Bay residents and their guests are welcome to attend but must show their badges to get in to the dance. For more information, call 664- 2946. Theater group to elect officers The next meeting of the Bare- foot Bay Little Theatre will be at 7 p.m. April 15 in Building A. Elec- tion of new officers will be held. The theater welcomes new members. Help is needed in sev- eral departments: props, back- ground, drawing, acting, etc. 55 Alive class offered drivers The 55 Alive Mature Driving Pro- gram of the American Association of Retired Persons will be offered at 9 am. April 15 and 18 in Sebas- tian. Attendance is required both days. The class focuses on the basic changes that occur as a driver ages, on interacting with traffic and on accident avoidance and prevention. The cost is $8 per person. Res- ervations are required. For more information, or reservation, call Otto Mauke at 589-1227. Micco auxiliary lists agenda The last flea market and craft show of the season for the Micco Volunteer Fire. Department's Ladies Auxiliary will be held 8 am. to noon April 12 at the firehouse. Call 664-8416 for information. The auxiliary's spring luncheon will take place at noon April 17 at the Crow's Nest. The group's April pancake breakfast will be held 8 am. to noon April 20 at the firehouse. Tickets are $2.50 in advance, $2.75 at the door. Auxiliary members have tickets for sale. The next meeting will be at 9 a.m. April 24 at the firehouse. Barefoot Bay gardeners to participate in cleanup The Barefoot Bay Garden Club has received a request from the "Adopt a Shore Program," a subsid- iary of Keep Florida Beautiful Inc., asking for volunteers to maintain Golden Sands Beach on a periodic basis for the next year. Twenty-eight members volun- teered to help at the club's March meeting. A discussion followed about the maintenance df Barefoot Bay's private beach. It was decided to in- quire whether volunteers would be helpful there, as well. A discussion about beach fo- liage and its identification was held and Gene Fair, educational services chairman, said the Envi- ronmental Learning Center in Wa- basso hold workshops periodically on foliage identification. He urged attendance at some of the work- shops. The Sharing Table had many items — glory bushes, young citrus seedlings and orchid tree seed pods. Assorted gardening literature was also available. The Horticultural Show Table awards this month were: Class 1: Herbs, Fruits and Vegetables: first place, avocado, Mary, Anne Hostet- ter; second place, mulberries, anonymous. Class 2: Floral Arrangement: first place, roses, July Nichols-Lang; second place, bougainvillea and roses, Marion Butts. Class 3: Holiday Floral Arrange- ment: first place, St. Patrick's Day, Verna Glock. Class 4: Blooming Plant: first place, Busy Lizzie, Jack Timber- lake. The program this month was "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Roses" by Don Whit- taker, president Of the Vero. Beach Rose Society. He provided solu- tions to some of their long-stand- ing problems. Helpful literature on rose. culture, obtained from Bre- vard County Extension Service, was also distributed, to those present. The next gathering April 16 will be the annual picnic at Fisher- man's Landing. Ted Ansink and his electronic keyboard; and vocalist Frank Moyer will provide entertainment. Each person attending is to bring a spe- cial covered dish. Hamburgers, hot dogs and beverages are supplied by the club. For the May 21 meeting the topic will be "All About Herbs" by Sue Welper and Cheryl Tesnow of Greens and Things of Vero Beach. They will cover the many culinary, aromatic and medicinal uses of herbs as well as how to grow them. They will also bring along potted herbs, literature and products. Photo Caption MARILYN BROWN, LEFT, AND DANA SAKALAS, of the Indian River County Medical Center Alliance, hand over a videocassette recorder to Sebastian River Medical Center's Executive Director Steven Midkiff and emergency room physician, Dr. Rudy Lindner. The Alliance donated the recorder April 1 for use in staff training programs. Residents should offer opinions to help guide Sebastian's future WALTER BARNES, Mayor of Sebastian "Whither goest Sebastian?" I imagine every person elected to City Council, as any other Sebastian organization, has pondered this question. Where are we going and how do we get there? What can we do to help? I personally view the city as be- ing at a crossroad in its history. Se- bastian was a small town but is moving quickly toward becoming a major entity in Indian River County. In the near future, there will be many decisions being made that will guide us toward our vision of what kind of city we will be. The question is, and always will be, what do you want it to be? Have you attended any River- front Committee meetings to give input on your vision for the area? Many of you have done so, and that's encouraging. Those of you who don't partici- pate probably have some good ideas. Don't tell your neighbor, tell the committee. Many people I meet express a hesitancy to stand up at a meeting and speak in pub- lic. Fair enough, but you can put your thoughts in writing and sub- mit them in that format. You could call a committee member. Hope- fully, all of us who are on the coun- cils and committees are open to citizen input. I personally can attest that on at least three occasions, I came to a City Council meeting prepared to vote in a certain way and changed my vote based on citizen input at the meeting. Many critical items on our agenda go through with no public comment. That's a shame. Florida law stipulates public input, public meetings; all discussions on issues occur in public. What good is that if the public is not there? The whole point is that we have the ability to participate. That's democracy in action. The City Council consists of your neighbors and friends. You elected us to be represent you. The next part of the equation is to let us know what's on your mind before we take action. The same goes for the various committees, boards and associations in the city. Your views are important to us. The City Council shortly will announce the date for an open fo- rum. Our intent is to give any resi- dent, young and old, an opportunity to ask us questions, tell us your opinions, give us your ideas, and, generally, commu- nicate. Only a fool believes he/she has the answers to all of our problems. What do we do about budget prio- rities, drainage, road paving, the riverfront, commercial devel- opment, planning and all of the other issues we face? Many of you have ideas; let's hear them. In other matters, we are working toward reviewing quite a bit of Our, land development code proce- dures. This is a time-consuming ef- fort- that must be done in conjunction with the 5-year review of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The review is a necessary pro- ject that brings the two documents into agreement. This is one exam- ple of the rather unglamorous work that is much easier if its kept up to date. The city is playing catch-up. The walkway along Indian River Drive is being reviewed by the state Department of Transportation and, hopefully, construction will begin this year. When completed, I feel confident it will get a lot of use by all of us in Sebastian. For now, enjoy the good weather and be good to one another. News Briefs River friends sponsoring trip The Friends of St. Sebastian River are sponsoring a canoe trip April 13 on the South Prong of the St. Sebastian River. This will be a combined river cleanup/pleasure trip. Those who wish to help pick up debris from the river are invited to do so but this is not a requirement. The group will meet at 8 am. at a loca- tion to be announced. Canoes are available for rent at $10 per person for members. Those who have their own canoes are invited to participate as well. Reservations are required and may be made by calling 589-6287. Ohio Club holding picnic April 12 The Ohio Club of Barefoot Bay will hold its annual picnic starting at 5:30 p.m. April 12 at in Building D&E. Chef Ken Kern will be in charge of the grill. Meat will be fur- nished. Please bring a dish to pass and table service. Ladies Guild holding sale The St. Luke Ladies Guild will hold its rummage and bric-a-brac sale from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 18 at the St. Luke Parish Cen- ter, 5055 Micco Road, Barefoot Bay. Refreshments and light lunches will be sold. Bay Democrats meeting April 24 The Barefoot Bay Democratic Club will celebrate its eighth anni- versary with a party April 24 in Building D&E. Dinner will be served at 7 p.m. Reservations can be made with meal selection by April 17 by call- ing Ruth Mistron, 664-3895. Members' guests are welcome. Entertainment will be provided by the Barefoot Bay Baytones. Connecticut group meeting April 12 The next gathering of the Con- necticut Yankees of Brevard will begin at 11 am. April 12 at Stacey's Buffet on Babcock Street, Mel- bourne. Welcoming and entertainment will begin about 12:15-12:30 p.m. All former and current resi- dents of Connecticut are welcome to attend this strictly social event The club meets on the second Saturday of each month. For more information, call Pres- ident Lucy DelBene at 636-5294 or Treasurer, Helen Roberts at 724- 5824. DAR group meeting April 19 St. Sebastian Chapter NSDAR will hold its April meeting. at noon April 19 at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club. Reservations for the lun- cheon are $12. Checks should be mailed to Doris McNutt by April 12. A program on the book "Jona- than Dickinson's Journal" will be presented, in costume, by John Reis. Among the honored guests will be Christopher Boss and his par- ents. Boss is the recipient of a St. Sebastian Chapter DAR Scholarship Award. Also, the Rev. Dr. Chris Zorn of Sebastian Presbyterian Church, will attend. Officers for the 1997-98 year will be installed by Ora Braxton, chaplain. They are: regent, Aba Lorton; vice regent, Virginia Fischer; chaplain, Braxton; record- ing secretary, Constance Pearson treasurer, Doris McNutt; registrar, Marian Hunt; historian, Elizabeth Garvin; librarian, Lucy Jacoby; and honary regent, Bettie Bock. Pet Adopt-Athon set for May Hundreds of pet adoption cen- ters throughout the United States and Canada are teaming up for Pet Adopt-athon '97, an event designed to unite animal-loving families with homeless animals in need of quality homes. Pet Adopt-Athon '97, sponsored by the lams Co. and North Shore Animal League, is a 36-hour event scheduled May 3-4 that aims to link thousands of dogs, cats, puppies and kittens with good adoptive families. Pet Adopt-Athon will kick off May 3. Special activities are sched- uled at the shelters. For more specific shelter infor- mation, call Susan Davidson, Hu- mane Society of Vero Beach, 569- 6030. Week In Review City Council looks to oblige public Sebastian councilmen wanted City Hall to be more user friendly April 2 as they discussed holding informal public workshops and gave tentative approval to changes clarifying the city's Land Devel- opment Codes. Mayor Walter Barnes said he wanted to see workshops held on at least a quarterly basis where resi- dents can air concerns they have about the city or any of the depart- ments. City Manager Thomas Frame said the council's seating arrange- ments could be changed so that council was seated off the dais, bringing members to an even level with residents. This might be less intimidating for residents to ap- proach the council, he said. Council members tentatively agreed to hold the meetings. A review of the city's meeting procedures resolution at the work- shop resulted in a few suggestions for changes: • Council meetings may begin an hour later in the future after council members discussed chan- ging the 6 p.m. meeting. The council now meets the sec- ond and fourth Wednesday of the month, with meetings beginnfng at 6 p.m. If a workshop is scheduled for that day, the meeting begins at 7 p.m. and the workshop starts at 6 p.m. The first and third Wednesdays are usually reserved for workshops and/or quasi-judicial hearings. These meetings also start at 6 p.m., but also may be changed. Before making the changes, council must approve a resolution. • Council member Louise Car- twright also suggested eliminating the sign-up sheets that residents who want to address an item on the agenda must sign if they want to speak during the meeting. After hearing many residents complain, Mrs. Cartwright said the council could ask people to raise their hands if they want to speak about an issue on the agenda. City Clerk Kay O'Halloran said if the sheets are discontinued, she would like to see a requirement that people who speak at the po- dium not only say their names but also spell them so that the tran- scribed record is accurate. • Council waded through sev- eral ordinances in the city's Land Development Code. Most of the changes were minor and were mainly to make the ordinances clearer, Community Development Director Bob Massarelli said. The city is trying to get the codes more consistent with state law and the city's comprehensive plan, he said. NOW that council has gone through the proposed ordinance changes and given tentative ap- proval; the ordinances will come back during a regular meeting for final approval. Veterans plan 900-mile walk Chris Hamrick has seven brace- lets; each bears the name of a ser- viceman who is either a prisoner of war or missing in action. One of those bracelets is for 30- year-old Capt. Gary Dillon, of Lime, Ohio, a Marine Corps pilot in De- sert Storm who is still missing in action. "He has not been accounted for. And I will wear Capt. Dillon's bracelet until he comes home and I can give it to him personally," said Hamrick, 30, a resident of Vero Lake Estates and veteran of Desert Storm. But Hamrick is doing more to call attention to the plight of POWs and MIM than just wearing his comrades' bracelets. He's organiz- ing Operation Thunderstorm — a month-long, 900-mile march be- ginning in Melbourne on April 20 at the end of the 10th Annual Flor- ida Vietnam Veterans reunion. The march will end in Wash- ington D.C., on Memorial Day weekend in late May. The purpose of the march, he said, is to call attention to veterans issues, primarily POWs and MIAs, and health concerns such as veter- ans dealing with the effects of Agent Orange and Gulf War ill- nesses. So far, more than 200 veterans and supporters have signed up for the march, Hamrick said. Of those, about half a dozen are local resi- dents. Veterans from as far away as California, and about 12 Norwegian students who are interested in studying U.S. military history and its war veterans, will join the march, Hamrick said. He said the students learned about the march through his web site on the Inter- net (www.users.redrose.net/ gulfver/lastpatrol html). "Because we have a website, this has become international," Hamrick said. He said all along the way, orga- nizations such as the National Guard, Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and ladies' auxiliary groups are donating places where the marchers can sleep and provide them with food and drinks. A veter- an's organization in the Bronx, N.Y., also will provide marchers with a 40-foot medical mobile unit. He said the marchers will aver- age 20-30 miles a day. Not every- one will walk the 900 miles. He said people will take turns walking during the march. Hamrick said this type of march was first done by The Last Patrol, a veterans advocacy group that has organized more than 30 different marches all over the country for the same purpose. The first march, Hamrick said, was held in 1985 when veterans walked more than 300 miles from Dallas, Texas, to the Alamo in San Antonio. Photo Caption DEBORAH HETSOER WETS DOWN HER HOUSE at 255 Englar Drive during a large brush fire that scorched 150 acres near a residential area in Sebastian April 2. Indian River County fire officials said the fire almost certainly started when wind blew an ember from an earlier fire into dried-out woods. That conclusion means two young boys playing with a lighter in the woods north of Englar Drive and west of Harris Drive indirectly are responsible for the fire, which came very close to five homes on Englar Drive but did not cause any damage. The two boys, both age 6, admitted to lighting the earlier fire, that burned an area 20-by-40-feet behind the 100 block of Harris Drive. The two will begin a fire education program with officials from the Indian River County Fire Department designed to address fire behavior in youngsters who have set fires. Wild hogs put preserve in limbo Roving vandals are hitting the St. Sebastian River Buffer Preserve un- der the cover of night, tearing up vegetation and crowding out ani- mals with bullying behavior. But police or security guards will do no good against these de- linquents — the offenders are wild hogs. While the issue may evoke images of Porky Pig, running through the woods, preserve offi- cials are not laughing at the serious problem they have on their hands. "They're destroying the native plants and, as a result, impacting other species: birds, small mam- mals and little invertebrates," Pre- serve Co-manager Rich Mermer said. "It's the equivalent of us bul- ldozing an area each night." Preserve officials are' battling back against the hogs with a solu- tion that may seem harsh to some. They're killing them. The hogs are not a part of the natural ecosystem of the preserve, Mermer said, even though they are widespread. The preserve straddles the Sebastian River in north Indian River and south Brevard counties. A species of pig was native to the area, he said, but the current hogs are a mixture of those and an alien species that contributes noth- ing to the habitat, and in fact dam- ages it. Officials do not hunt the hogs; all hunting is strictly prohibited in the preserve. But an employee of St. Johns River Water Management District, who lives on the preserve, traps hogs as part of his regular tasks, Mermer said. If he finds one or more hogs in the trap, more often than not he shoots them and leaves them for scavengers, as Department of Envi- ronmental Protection rules dictate. Those rules prohibit employees from benefiting directly from the possession of hogs, Mermer said, such as selling the hogs' meat, or having a cookout themselves. There is a way the hogs can be used without going to waste, Mermer said. Rules allow the donation of the hogs to nonprofit organizations. Under that provision, preserve officials have doled out dozens of the hogs to many organizations in the county, Mermer said, including churches and clubs. If there were a way to control the population so it was in check with the rest of the habitat around it, he would be all for leaving the hogs there, he said. Mermer acknowledged there may be animal lovers in the com- munity opposed to the slaughter of a wild creature. But his hands are tied. Barefoot Bay lots going up for auction For as little as $5,000, you, too, could be the proud owner of a lot in Barefoot Bay, courtesy of an auc- tion happening there April 12. Avatar Properties Inc., the Miami developer of Barefoot Bay, will be auctioning off the last 225 lots it has available in the community. The first 125 home sites will be sold to the highest bidders and there will be no minimum bids set for these lots, said Jim Gall, presi- dent of Jim Gall Apctioneers Inc., of Miami. Depending on the amounts bid on the first 125 lots, Avatar will consider selling the rest of the lots, said Gary Carlson, senior vice pres- ident and strategic developer for Avatar. Although no minimum bid has been set on the remaining 100 lots, Avatar may decide the bids are too low and pull the lots ott the auc- tion block, he said. He said Avatar is auctioning off lots of 4,000 square feet and 10,000 square feet throughout the commu- nity. People will be allowed to bid on either one lot, or a group of lots, Gall said. Normally, 4,000-square-foot lots would sell between $10,000 and $12,000 each, depending on the lo- cation, said Ray Butti, associate and manager of Barefoot Bay Realty. A 10,000-square-foot lot, he said, would most likely sell for at least $20,000. He said he hoped all the lots would be sold by the 12 auction. To date, there have been about 4,775 lots sold in Barefoot Bay, Carlson said. Already, Butti said, he's had 15 people who have placed initial bids on lots. Restaurant owner wins award for community, customer service By DAVID KEARNS Of The Sun Hurricane Harbor Restaurant owner Jack Eromin has been nomi- nated by the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce to receive the Sam Walton Business Leader Award. The award, presented to Ero- mm in a private ceremony April 8 at his Indian River Drive restaurant, is sponsored by the Wal-Mart Foun- dation. The Walton Award is given ev- ery year to about 750 business leaders from around the United States. It honors those who best represent the ideals espoused by Sam Walton, founder of Wal-Mart. Those ideals are community service, customer service and fairness to employees. A plaque was given to Eromin during the luncheon and $500 was awarded to the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce in Eromin's name. "I'm really thrilled about this award. I can't tell you how much," said Eromin. "There are so many business people who this could have gone to and for them to give it to me, I mean it really is thrilling," he said. Eromin, 55, is a familiar figure near the front door, or hostess sta- tion, of his restaurant. He and his wife, Linda, can often be seen greeting, seating or serving cus- tomers. Eromin said a relaxed maritime atmosphere prevails at Hurricane Harbor, and he prides himself on the quality of the menu and cus- tomer service. Originally from Berlin, Eromin immigrated to Canada in 1961. He met his wife while managing the seafood restaurant "La Poisson- neire" in Montreal. The Eromins moved to Miami in 1981, but soon found out through a friend about the former Bob McCane garage and rum-run- ning building, then called Hurri- cane Harbor Restaurant, being for sale in Sebastian. The digs were somewhat mea- ger. The building, constructed in the 1920s, was crumbling. Eromin added the outdoor pa- tio and a dock, which is leased to a fishing-charter business. "I took one look at it (the building), and I knew it would work. I knew I wanted to buy it," he said. "Sebastian, we fell in love with it right away," he said of the com- munity. Jack and Linda have been run- ning the business since 1983; some of 21 his employees have been with him for almost a decade. "I guess I treat them all right, when you consider that this busi- ness has the, highest turnover of any business, " he said. "We are dedicated to the cus- tomer. We take pride in our food and the pleasant atmosphere," he said. The chamber learned of the award through Wal-Mart Manager Bruce Bennett. Chamber board members were asked to consider a business leader who personified Walton's ideals, said Chamber Ex- ecutive Director Virginia King. "A name that kept popping up was Jack Eromin," said Ms. King. "Jack and his wife, Linda, are the first to greet customers and go out of their way to make customers feel welcome," she said. "His staff, for the most part, are long-time employees. People don't stay somewhere if they aren't being treated well. His employees are al- ways pleasant. It shows," she said. The chamber also touted Ero- mm's public service in its nomi- nation. Ms. King said Eromin has opened his business, and his wal- let, for causes such as The Ameri- can Cancer Society and numerous other local charities. "He is unfailingly generous to community causes," she said. Photo Caption No job is too small for Hurricane Harbor owner Jack Eromin, who recently won the Sam Walton Busi- ness Leader Award. Above, Eromin hands a dish to waitress Vicki Santana of Sebastian. Brevard County veterans set reunion in Melbourne park The Vietnam Veterans of Brevard County will hold Florida's 10th An- nual Vietnam Veterans' Reunion April 18-20 at Wickham Park, Mel- bourne. The nation's largest veterans' reunion, supported by the Vietnam Veterans of Florida Inc., also will feature the Moving Wall from April 13-20. The reunion will feature live music, food, military vendors and displays, and ceremonies for pris- oners of war and those missing in action. No coolers, glass bottles or pets will be allowed in the reunion area. For more information, call (407) 632-4928 or (407) 453-7498. The following is a tentative schedule of events: April13 10 a.m. — Wall escort from Ra- mada Inn, Cocoa, to Wickham Park 41:30 a.m. — Covered-dish pic- nic and Wall set up April 14 7 p.m. — Opening ceremony at the Wall April 18 4 p.m. — Shane Terrell 6 p.