Florida Today from Cocoa, Florida • Page 2B

2B TODAY, Wednesday, December, 1171 News, and Features fl From Florida's Space Coast 1 IromranmnB 1 The Space Coast Trooper's 'Gifts' Not Accepted Graciously Police Search For Robbers Bv TODAY Mff wetitrt Tltusvllle police Tuesday continued (he search for three men Involved in two unrelated armed robberies over the Christmas holidays i Two men described as being in their early 20s and wearing brightly colored ski caps were sought In connection with the Monday morning robbery of a 24 hour automatic bank machine In Miracle City Mall in Titusville Tltusvllle police said the men escaped with an undetermined amount of cash, checks and receipts from the Flagship First National Bank "24 hour Jack" machine They (ought off two bank employees, grabbed the money bags the employees were picking up from the depository, and ihen fled the scene in a customer's car, police saiC The stolen car was abandoned In a wooded area about a mile from the mall, police said It was not known if the robbers fled on foot or in a waiting vehicle In a second incident, Titusville police made no arrests Tuesday in connection with an armed robbery Sunday of Poor Old Mac's Union 76 Station in that city Police said a man armed with a revolver entered the South Hopkins Avenue gas station Sunday night, ordered the clerk to place the money in a paper bag, and fled with about 4,000 in cash Cab Driver Fair A cab driver shot in a Cocoa Beach restaurant Sunday night by an unidentified man was listed In fair condition at Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach Tuesday. Cocoa Beach police Tuesday continued the search for the suspect who shot Bill Costello twice as the 35 year old cab driver entered the Mousetrap Restaurant to pick up a passenger The gunman Is being sought for attempted murder He is described as a black man, 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing 220 to 240 pounds He was wearing a dark shirt, a dark blue wlndbreaker and blue jeans Police said they believed the motive was related to a dispute between Costello and a female passenger who did not pay her fare several weeks ago Woman Injured in Crash A Miami woman was hospitalized in fair condition at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Mel bourne Tuesday morning following a one car accident on I 95, authorities said A Florida Highway Patrol spokesman said Celia Singer, 20, of 5770 Second Terrace, was injured when the car she was riding in overturned on the interstate The driveV of the Chevrolet station wagon, Irma, Qulnteror38, of 2150 NW Ninth St and a second passenger, Qryear old Marlena Quintero of the same address, yere also taken to the'Melboume hospital but released, a hospital spokeswoman said. The Spokesman said Quintero was driving north when sheX lost control of the vehicle about a mile north of Wjckham Road near Melbourne Tale Walk With Nature The Recreation and Parks division of the De pa rtmenrjbf Natural Resources has some interesting activities available for those who enjoy the outdoors, At tW Sebastian Inlet State Recreation Area north of Vfro Beach on SR A1A, experts explain the intricacies of castnetting The classes are held every Saturday from 2 3pm The group meets at the dockVon the south side of the inlet, just across the Brevard County line Every Saturday at 8 at the Sebastian campfireyircle, a ranger presents a slide program or movle Learn a New Language Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce is offering conversational German, Italian and Spanish. Italian conversational class from 8 10 30 begins Jjh 10 at 3209 Virginia Ave The instructor is Loisa Bales', who is fluent In six languages The registraton fee is $5 Spanish classes taught by Gertrude Aviles will be held Qvice a week beginning at 1 Jan 8 in thePor(St Lucie Community Center The fee is $5 Barns will conduct a class in German beginning Jan8 to run from S.30 8 in room 204 at the mainampus. The fee is 15 Registration is open now and for further Information Call 567 7132.

Loans Suspended Gordon Cavanaugh, who is the administrator the Farjners Home Administration of the Department of Agriculture, has announced the temporary suspension of new housing loans and grants because legislative authorization for the program expired NoV. 30 Programs affected 'are the section 502 low to moderate income home ownership, section 515 rural rental housing and section 523 technical assistance grants and self help site loans For further information contact Lloyd Hoberg at 305 465 8370 They Said It Explaining that his union's ranks are made up of somft teachers who badly need better benefits and working conditions, Brevard Federation of Teachers President Gene Armstrong said, "If you look at our roster list, It's a 'who's who' of (teachers who work for) the worst principals In the system Describing community activities the department undertakes, such as its recent benefit bingo for an ailing Florida HlghwaPatroI trooper, Fouc Communities Volunteer Fire Department Association President Billy Wilson said, "It's only one of themany jhlngswedo." By DAVID BAILEY TODAY VwH Writer On Christmas Day, Richard May was giving away gifts that no one wanted free tickets to speeders A day earlier, May and other Florida Highway Patrol troopers here gave more than 100 such, gifts to motorists cruising through Brevard on I 95 Not many people said thank you. But May insisted that the score or so of tickets that he wrote over the weekend were indeed gifts "Sometimes I call them prescriptions," said May as he sat In his patrol car where Christmas carols from an AM radio blended with police chatter on the emergency band "It's an unwelcome gift," said May, "no doubt about It They expect you to stop them, tell them to slow down arid then Just let them go, being Christmas and all When I start writing, they usually say, 'You're not going to reaiiy give me a ticket, are you i mean not today?" "I Just tell them it's my job and keep writing, 'Well, and Merry Christmas to sometimes they come "May said. And thanks to the generosity of the federal government, 30 'roopers and 50 Brevard County Sheriff's deputies were extra busy over the Christmas holidays giving away tickets to motonsts who were In a hurry traveling through Brevard "It's an attempt by the federal government to slow everybody down so they won't be killing each other and burning fuel up," said FHP Sgt Edward Crawford The holiday project here cost taxpayers better than $3,000, plus the 25 that each speeder had to pay for his or her ticket. Crawford said most troopers put in 10 hours of overtime on the project The program was a Joint effort by the FHP and the sheriff's department to keep traffic deaths to a minimum during the 78 hour Christmas week which began at 6 Friday.

By Tuesday night, the FHP reported that 33 people had died on Florida roads two below the predicted 35 for the period ending midnight Tuesday. There were no' traffic fatalities reported in Brevard. So the, project is apparently working, Craword said. I guarantee you afterwe get through running this it will be two weeks before they pick It back up again," he said Two weeks? Is the American motorist's love for speeds above 60 mph so ardent that it can only be tamed for two weeks at a time? "It's just a piece of paper to a lot of people I give tickets to," said May. "I mean especially your northerners and Canadians They look at It and they sayTwenty five doL la rs Is that all?" May said people will keep speeding as long as tickets are so cheap After all, for some people $23 is less than the price of a tank of gas According to an unofficial survey, TODAY found that few motorists are heeding the 55 mph limit.

About 100 cars whizzed by a reporter driving a steady 55 mph during 240 miles of driving on 1 75, the Florida Turnpike and I 93 And most of this driving was during the early hours of the morning In November 1978, a reporter driving' a steady 55 mph from Cocoa to Melbourne on I 95 was passed by 20 vehicles Tuesday, 19 motorists whizzed by a reporter covering the same ground "We might do something if the traffic laws had some teeth," Crawford said "All it is now is shuffling paper (H 'l' LssssssssssssH jgr; 'f l'MsssssssssssB QiiiH SsrCii vssssssssl ijijijijiVijijijijijijVjijijijijk r) aiiHHsLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLsl aaaawaaVQaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaV aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaW aaBaaaflF "aLaaaaaaaalea a 'lSflaaaaaaafl H1.I.HIHH HI.HHA :i.H saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaV l' Joy of Holiday Shines Bright TODAY P1Mt bv lUlff HIS CHRISTMAS DINNER OBVIOUSLY PLEASES CHARLES HARRIS Christ Is The Answer Mission in Melbourne Served Turkey and Extras By JERE MAUPIN and DAVID BAILEY TODAY tMfWrllm Christmas Day dawned sunny and warm along the Space Coast Tuesday, adding to the joy of reunited families and the comfort of lonely people brought together in 'peace and charity While their northern counterparts shivered through freezing temperatures, Brevard celebrants had 70 degree weather to accom 'pany package opening and turkey basting rituals. For some, human companionship was the only imperative of the day. More than 40 men and women gathered at the Christ Is The Answer mission in Melbourne for charity holiday meals "Christmas is a bad time for these people," said mission director Helen Ellison "They don't like to think about the memories, so the temptation is to go off drinking CITA is an alternative For people with no place to go and no one to embrace, the words "Smile, God loves you" above the CITA entrance say all that needs to be said about Christmas and man kind They ate turkey and cranberry sauce And they prayed among themselves and perhaps met friends to make next Christmas a less lonely affair than this one Christmas also turned out happily for Burton and Dorothy Wells of West Melbourne Earlier this week, Mrs Wells posted a sign on her front lawn twitting whoever stole the lights off her family's outdoor Christmas tree "We would like to wish the thieves who stole the lights off this tree Merry Christmas," the poster said "I was just so aggravated that anybody would do such a thing," Mrs Wells said Christmas Day West Melbourne Jaycees stopped at the Wells' home and offered to give her a new set of lights, but she refused "It was such a nice thought, but I'm sure that there are many other people who need them more than we do," she said She added that the family got exactly what it wanted for Christmas, the return of her husband from his job in the Cayman Islands "The day was just perfect, a very good Christmas If variety is the spice of Christmas, then a good time indeed was had by many adventurous people They sunbathed and played with Frisbees on the beach Slightly less athletic were retirees who waded in shallow water along Cocoa Beach "See these feet," Edgar Cardiff said with a delighted smile "Me and Emma left Brooklyn three days ago Look they'd be Ice up there Sue Jacobsen of Cape Canaveral said she was determined not to be outshone by vacationers from the sunny Caribbean "It's pretty windy, but there's a lot of sun out here," she noted "This way, I'll get a tan and my husband Is happier that I bought him a watch instead of me a trip to Puerto Rico 9cm, nm LBtwScgw Enrollments, Education Reflect Changing Times By SARENE MARKS TODAY StaH Writer Change in student en rollments and attitudes, employee relations, personnel and programs was the word in Brevard County edu cation during the 1970s Public school enrollment skyrocketed with the blast offs from the Cape in the early part of the decade But by the latter half, declining enrollment forced some schools to close Higher education boomed Mom and Dad sent their children to local universities and colleges as the fa ciluies improved, and out of town schools outpriced themselves in inflationary times The state in 1974 allowed public employees to bargain collectively Teachers and other school personnel formed unions, adding another dimensiqn to employee relations Programs were redesigned as fast as theories In the right way to teach chil dren changed Open space concepts disappeared in the back to basics movement When Brevard County schools opened their doors in August 1970, enrollment peaked at 60,500 students But by 1979, enrollment had dropped to 48,810 School board meetings became heated and crowded Roaa Mike Shankle Melbourne youth who over a five year period fought for his life while waiting for a kidney transplant, died Jan. 6 at age 21. as parents spoke out against losing their neighborhood schools Nonetheless, the board closed Rockledge, Whispering Hills (Titusville) and Patrick elementary schools in June 1977, Parkway Middle School (Titusville), Stephenson (Merritt Island) and Old Dixie (Titusville) elementary schools in June 1978 and Normandy School (Titusville) later in 1978 Meanwhile, population growth in South Brevard brought out portable classrooms at Palm Bay Elementary and Meadowlane and University Park elementa nes in Melbourne School administrators now look forward to the opening of the new, $3 3 million Port Malabar Elemen See EDUCATION, IB IB aaaaaaaaKflaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw 1 Sky lab Soars, POWs Arrive By BERNARD WIDEMAN TODAY llaH Writer The year 1973 brought Watergate Investigations, the launching of Skylab from Kennedy Space Center, and the return of Brevard's POWs It was aso the year of the first energy crisis to touch the county, as Mideast oil producing countries cut off supplies in efforts to support Egypt and Syria in their war against jlsrael.

Among the big local news events of the year were the following: Prisoners of War Come Home. The POWs began coming home in February. Air Force Lt. Col. Lawrence Guarino and Lt William Arcuri were the Jirst in Brevard to come home to their wives in Satellite Beach.

Air John Fuh lay of Satellite Beach fol lowed in March, and in April Brevard's last POW, Air Force Maj Bill Elander of Cocoa Beach, came home Crime Shakes Up Brevard. Fear was pervasive in North Brevard after the bodies of five young women turned up in shallow graves in a North Brevard orange grove. A Mlms electrician's helper named Bernard Giles confessed to the murders and was sentenced to six life sentences Even non violent crimes lilt the headlines when authorities arrested a Cocoa couple In January on counterfeiting charges Paul Path, 34, and his wife Laura, 26, were charged In Tennessee in what authorities described as the "largest ever" seizure of bogus $20 bills Space Industry Employment Lags. The slowdown In the space program was felt along the Space Coast, In March, NASA announced that jobs would hit a low of 9,600 in 1976 In September It said 1974 employment would be 10,000, down from 12,000 for theyear quite a. change from the peak year of 1968, when NASA was employing 26,000 at the Cape.

ERA Loses First State Battle. One of the.most explosive battles of the 1973 Florida Legislature focused on the Equal Rights Amend Fearful of finding more bodies, authorities enlisted the aid of NASA in using aerial infra red photographs designed to detect hot spots created by decomposing bodies. mlt lltfc mSsEHf if EJaaaaaaaaKaBaaafl BERNARD GILES during 1(73 arrest BERNARD GILES 1977 prison photograph Mass Murder 5 Bodies Found in Grove; Giles Confesses He's Killer By JOAN REUS TODAY lloH writer With each new discovery of a decomposed body, Brevard's most grisly murders unfolded and the terror gripping North Bre vard grewworse. Someone was killing young women hitchhikers and leaving their bodies in secluded orange groves and wooded areas north of Titusville. It started on Nov 25, 1973 with the discovery of Paula Hamric's body.

The 25 year old Titusville mother of two had been strangled eight days earlier. Before lt was over, searchers would find the bodies of Nancy Gerry, 18, Carolyn Jan Bennett, 17, Sharon Wimer, 14, and Krlsta "Melton, 14. Fearful of finding more bodies, authorities enlisted the aid of NASA in using aerial infra red photographs designed to detect hot spots created by decomposing bodies Bernard Eugene Giles, of Mlms, was arrested Dec. 11, 1973 and charged with Gerry's murder. Public outcry, mostly from the victims' families, and extensive press coverage prompted Giles' trial to be moved to San ford Giles maintained his Innocence for several months, but on April 23, shortly before the trial was to begin, he pleaded guilty to Ihe Gerry slaying At ihe end of April he was charged with Hamric's death.

On July 11, he confessed not only to that killing, but to stabbing, shooting or strangling the three other victims and to robbing a 19 year old Cocoa girl and attempting to rape two other teen agers A quiet electrician's helperlvith no criminal record, Giles was sentenced to six life terms'and a 15 year term for the attempted rapes after spending two years In a state mental institution. He is to serve 123, jrears without hope of parole, Now Giles faces another 15 year sentence for a daring prison break this year In which he and two cellmates escaped from Florida State Prison in Starke by cutting cell window bars. The trio of prisoners diverted guard dog with a homemade smoke bomb and dodged gunfire from prison guards. Giles was recaptured five, miles from the prison 26 hours after the October 1979 escape. 8 1 i I.