The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 17

The Palm Beach Post SC Homicides up 45 percent in Palm Beach County in 2003, 4B MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2004 PsimBeachPost.com mVpffij hurt when fair ride catches voir The incident was the second on a ride this year. Meanwhile, rain dampens the crowd figures. By J. CHRISTOPHER HAIN and WILLIAM M. HARTNETT Palm Beach Post Staff Writers a support beam, but a state inspector found nothing wrong with the ride.

State ride inspectors visited the Orbiter on Sunday. The 50-by-50-foot ride has six arms that spin on a central point At the end of each arm are three cars that also spin. Valued at $100,000, the ride sustained an estimated $50,000 in damage, according to fire inspectors. The ride is owned by Lauther Amusements, which subcontracts through Conklin Shows. It will be shipped back to the U.S.

representatives of its European manufacturer for further inspection, Pringle said. Sunday afternoon, the Orbiter's charred arms were visible behind yellow screens. At See FAIR. 2B After a rainy closing weekend, attendance was expected to surge on the fair's final day yet fall short of the fair's 2002 record, fair spokesman John Picano said. Sunday morning's fiery accident began about 12:30 a.m., as a ride called the Orbiter was slowing down.

With 20 to 25 people still riding, leaking hydraulic oil caught fire on heated parts of the ride, according to the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Department. It was "quite an extensive fire," said Howard Pringle, director of operations for Conklin Shows, the company running the fair's midway. Several people jumped off the burning ride as it slowly spun to a halt, said Teresa Grimail, 21, of West Palm Beach, who was on a ride next to the Orbiter. "That was my next ride I was going to go on," Grimail said. The sight of flames leaping into the air from the Orbiter will make her "think twice before I can get on another ride," she said.

Three people received minor injuries, and two of them were taken to Palms West Hospital for treatment, according to Pakn Beach County Fire-Rescue. Sunday's fire was the second ride-related incident at this year's fair. A 37-year-old Lantana man broke his arm and wrist on the Doppel Looping roller coaster on Jan. 17. Bob Kelley said he had his armed raised above his head when it struck A whirling amusement ride at the South Florida Fair burst into flames early Sunday morning, sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries and prompting some riders to jump from the ride's spiderlike arms.

But the fair's second amusement accident this year didn't deter crowds Sunday. I. George Bennett Politics A I -A I h'wh- 1 Democrats insist their campaign for strong mayor nonpartisan mm j. r. I cvv- KA A UMA SANGHWStaff Ptiotopapt Muslims celebrate Eld al-Adha Ujala Ahmed, 8, of West Palm Beach walks past other chil- of Palm Beach County mosque in suburban West Palm dren, including Sijal Tayyab (far right), 8, of Lantana during Beach.

The holiday, for the prophet Abraham's willingness Eid al-Adha celebrations Sunday at the Muslim Community to sacrifice a son, includes prayers and kids' gifts. Story, 3B Private-school training money riles board Several school board members are upset that tax dollars go to the program, while they cut budgets. last week at having to make a federally required transfer of $569,000 to five consulting companies that will train 1,136 private school teachers. The teachers hail from 45 schools in Palm Beach County. All but she are religious schools, according to district records.

"It's your tax dollars and mine going to situations where accountability is not in order yet" Benaim said. "We know who's standing in front of the kids in the public schools; we don't know who is in the private." A federal grant, issued under the No Child Left Behind Act provides all of the money for the training, in keeping with the 2001 law's requirement that private school students receive equitable services to those offered to their public school peers. The federal law dictates that "a public agency shall administer the funds and property" it allocates to private schools. Census counts of the numbers of school-age children in a household, and the families' incomes, determine how much Title EC grant money Palm Beach County receives annually. "The law says that money generated for these grants comes from taxes and it should be available to all students," said Kay Scott, federal grants director for the district.

"That's the way it's set up." See MONEY 5B Their early efforts have been derided as a Democratic power grab or a golden parachute for Democratic state Sen. Ron Klein, but backers of a countywide "strong mayor" insist their campaign will be nonpartisan, non-personality-driven. "It needs to be a nonpartisan process. If it isn't a nonpartisan process, itU fail I frankly need to reach out to some Republicans," says former county Democratic Chairman Monte Frfedkln, a participant in early strong-mayor powwows. Supporters want to collect 49,993 signatures to put the mayor issue on the November ballot.

Friedkin vows the campaign will have Republican and Democratic co-chairs. He's asked Republican lobbyist and money-man Tom DeRlta to join the team. "I'm doing a little research on it," says DeRita. "If it becomes partisan, they can count me out8 Harold Ostrow and Martin Ellis of the nonpartisan Voters Coalition are involved. Republican consultant Randy Nielsen is "helping," but not professionally, and says "in due time you'll see some prominent Republicans come out in support of this." So far, though, the most prominent figures involved are bigfoot Dems such as Klein, Friedkin, County Commissioner Burt Aaronson and local AFL-CIO President Pat Emmert.

Democrats have a 45-to-33 percent registration advantage countywide, so a Democrat would have a big edge in a mayor's race. County GOP Chairman Sid Dinersteln labels it "a highly partisan effort" and "The Ron Klein Employment Act." Klein says his interest is in creating a better form of county government. He also doesn't deny the job is something he might 1 run for. Even some Dems have seized on Klein's role. Attorney Mikel Jones, top aide to U.S.

Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, warned the effort could be perceived as "The Ron Klein For Mayor Show." "What are we trying to do here? Just make a job for Ron Klein or make a better form of government? Maybe both," says retiring Clerk of Courts Dorothy Wilken, a Democrat and potential mayor candidate. The only person in Palm Beach County to hold a strong mayor's job now is Lois Frankel of West Palm Beach. Would she be interested in a countywide post? "Call me in about eight years," Frankel says. "I'm very content being mayor of West Palm Beach." Elections supervisor candidate Arthur Anderson, who raised a paltry $425 in his first two months as a challenger to Theresa LePore, hopes big-name Dems will attract money.

A March 22 Anderson fund-raiser is to be hosted by Democratic U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings, Robert Wexler and Peter Deutsch. Look for Sheriff Ed Bleluch to show more evidence of a reelection campaign now that he's hired Democratic operative Kartlk Krlsh-nalyer as his consultant With fund-raising confined primarily to sheriffs employees and doughnut emporia, Bieluch raised only $22,020 through Dec. 31.

Krishnaiyer hopes to help Bieluch raise at least $200,000. Challengers Ken Eggleston and Rlc Bradshaw already have socked away at least $148,495 and 107,058, respectively. "He believes he's the front-runner in this race," Krishnaiyer says of Bieluch. "Of course, there's the concern of two (other) candidates having a lot of money." After a few months as a Democratic congressional candidate, Jupiter pharmaceutical business exec and West Point grad Patrick McNamara has abandoned hope of ousting U.S. Rep.

Mark Foley, R-West Palm Beach, and his $2.6 million campaign war chest. "The big-money Democratic contributors didn't want to put money into a race that didn't look like a good opportunity for a pickup," McNamara said after talking to Dems locally and in Washington. He has thrown By CYNTHIA K0PK0WSKI Palm Beach Post Staff Writer More than $500,000 in tax money is fun-neled through the Palm Beach County School District to pay for training of private school teachers, and that angers several school board members who had to cut their budget to make ends meet Board members Monroe Benaim, Sandra Richmond and Debra Robinson balked Photographer makes Haiti, merchants his business i.r Developer's West Palm plan could be costly for city By THOMAS R.COLLINS Palm Beach Post Staff Writer WEST PALM BEACH The city has a Bentley of a developer interested in redeveloping Banyan Boulevard. But it may not be able to afford the deal. Dacra, a Miami Beach development company, has proposed a $250 million SLf Td" "Two downtown miniums, shops, mi-f- townhomes, pt zas and a new hotel.

But Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Nancy Graham said the price may be too steep, raising the possibility that the city might entertain other developers' offers. Among those interested, she said, are Kenco Communities, a residential developer that has a contract to buy the Helen Wilkes Hotel, a key parcel in the project, The Related Group, a partner in the CityPlace project; and WCI, a major Florida homebuilder for whom Graham used to work, See BANYAN, 5B By GARI0T L0UIMA Palm Beach Post Staff Writer BOYNTON BEACH In front of Manny's Music World, the Haitian compos streams out to the parking lot where Jack Sweet leans forward in conversation with the store's owner. Wearing all black except for his blue beret he strolls into the music shop as if he owns the place. He points up to the photographs of green hillsides, beaches and mountain resorts pasted to the walls. They are pictures of Haiti taken by Sweet on visits there from 1983 to 1991.

Sweet says he fell in love with Haiti and its people on those visits. After his last trip, he began selling prints to Haitian-Americans from Miami to Orlando. Along the way, Sweet said, he grew to admire the resiliency and resourcefulness of the Haitian immigrant community. Sweet seems an unlikely ally of the Haitian community. He's a stocky 62-year-old Irish Catholic who attended private schools through college, Photo by Randi Mustef Close travels far WELLINGTON Actress Glenn Close, whose film credits include Cruella de Vil in two Dalmatians movies, focuses on horses instead of dogs for weekend trips from Bedford, N.Y., to Wellington for the 32nd Winter Equestrian Festival.

Her daughter, Annie Starke, 15, won the Children's Modified Jumper Championship Sunday. Close pitched in with grooming duties. nib suppui i iu jeiuey risnoi ui vt cuiiigiuii. georgebennettpbpost.com.