News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 23

0 Beach sewer plant figures in resignation LOCAL STATE fm i Lee County Environmental Protection Services Director Bob French submitted bis resignation Wednesday, a day after his department was criticized for not warning the county commission about serious problems with the Fort Myers Beach sewer plant. French said he was resigning to open his own management consulting service. The commission on Wednesday banned for 15 days any new hookups to the plant, which is reaching its capacity and has percolation ponds in danger of overflowing. Beach residents led by Mike Yakubik are pushing the commission to ban new hookups from outside the original district and for tighter supervision of the plant's costs and operations. AP ALVAREZ Bar asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to allow couples to divorce by simply filing notarized application forms.

The costs of attorneys could be eliminated, according to the bar. Only couples without children, married less than five years, with assets of less than $10,000, who do not own land and who are Flroida residents could use the forms. Huge gold theft prompts huge reward A $250,000 reward is a lot of money, but it's a trifje compared to the $11 million in gold it is meant to help recover for a North Miami jewelry wholesaler. The reward was offered Monday by the wholesaler's insurance adjuster. The gold, weighing about 875 pounds, was snatched from Golden Door Jewelry Creations on Feb.

10 by two masked gunmen. One adjuster called their deed the largest gold heist in U.S. history. Lawmen goof, but come out winners Federeal authorities were embarrassed after arresting the wrong woman at a lavish baby shower in Charlotte chooses four prison sites Charlotte County commissioners chose on Tuesday four sites that they consider the best for building a state prison In the county. The commission originally refused to consider having a prison In the county, but changed its position when the state threatened not to buy certain recreational and coastal lands for preservation If the county did not cooperate.

Wind storm damages Lehigh Acres homes No one knows for sure whether it was a tornado that struck Lehigh Acres Thursday, but it is known the wind caused lots of damage. At least eight homes were harmed, a church nearly lost its roof, large trees were snapped and uprooted and power lines were broken. "It's a miracle someone was not injured," said Vincent Vecciarelli, head of the National Weather Service's Fort Myers office. "Civil defense people have estimated the damage in the Lehigh Acres area alone at $100,000," he added. Lovers Key future foggier after offer Florida's plans to purchase Lovers YAKUBIK Rains flood Lake Okeechobee South Florida water managers fretted through a drought two years ago, but last week their problem was too much water in Lake Okeechobee.

Unusual winter rains forced the lake level to 17.6 feet above sea level or about three feet above normal. South Florida Water Management District officials ordered the water released into canals leading to the Everglades to the south and the Ca-loosahatchee River leading to the Gulf of Mexico to the west. Officials tried to balance the discharge with the threats a rapid release would pose to deer herds, nesting birds and vegetation in the Everglades and along the river. Orlando planning aquifer refreshment The Floridan Aquifer, a source of drinking water for many Floridians, will be replenished with treated sewage from a new treatment plant to be built in Orlando this summer. Orlando Public Works Director Robert C.

Haven said the treated sewage meets or exceeds 29 state and federal drinking water standards. Haven said the plan also has the approval of state and federal environmental protection agencies. Enough water, 15 million gallons when the $75 million plant reaches capacity, will be injected into the aquifer to serve the daily needs of a city of 100,000, Haven said. Bar asks court to simplfy divorce On behalf of couples with little other than their marriages, and who want to get rid of those, the Florida Booked Miami policeman Luis Alvarez leaves Dade County's central regional police station Thursday after he was booked on a manslaughter charge. He was charged in connection with the Dec.

28 shooting death of Nevell Johnson which touched off two days of violence in the city's Overtown section. If convicted, Alvarez could be imprisoned for 1 5 years. Witness says Cuba encouraged drug ring Mario Estevez Gonzalez said Monday that he rode the 1980 Mariel boatlift to the U.S. as a Cuban agent sent to encourage the expansion of illegal drug trade in the U.S. Estevez related his story throguh his testimony in Miami during the drug federal trial of seven men charged with conspiring to bring methaqualone and marijuana from Columbia into Florida through Cuba and with the help of four Cuban officials.

Cuba has denied the charge that it is involved. said the body of a woman found under the east side of the Cape Coral Bridge by three youths on Saturday was that of Michelle Hart, 20, of Fort Myers Beach. On Thursday, the Glades County Sheriff's Department identified Alesiha Bryant, 19, of LaBelle as one of two bodies unearthed Wednesday near Muse by authorities acting on a tip. The other body is that of an unidentified man. A first-degree murder warrant was issued Friday for Michael Ray Lambrix, an escapee from the Lakeland Correctional Center in connection with the slayings.

Fort Myers Police broke a long-running investigation of a man they labeled "one of the biggest dealers of marijuana and ocaine in Southwest Florida" by arresting Carlos Ramos, 39, on Sunday. velopment programs if the state does not come up with a better offer. Gov. Bob Graham's office confirmed that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into a possible $50,000 bribe offered by Black Island developer Floyd Luc-key to State Sen. Frank Mann of Fort Myers to get Mann to stop delaying the state's purchase of the islands.

Luckey said he told Mann he would donate the money to the Lee County Nature Center, where Mann's wife is president of the board of directors. Luckey said the donation was meant to show the owners of the island wanted to negotiate in good faith with the state. Variety of crimes keep lawmen busy Three bodies and a suspected drug dealer's arrest kept area lawmen busy last week. Lee County officials on Sunday Miami last weekend, but saved face Monday when they announced the woman they caught was wanted as a fugitive for jumping bond of about $1 00,000 on state cocaine charges. Authorities created a stir at the baby shower when they arrested Lilia Reyes on the belief that she was Martha Libia Cardona, who forefeit-ed $1 million in bond and apparently fled to Colombia after she was charged with federal gun and drug offenses.

A fingerprint check revealed the mistaken identity. Key and Black Island hit rough water when owners of the property balked at a new state offer totalling $11.25 million. The state originally offered $17 million, but withdrew that when it learned Lee County had appraised the property for $10 million less. Negotiations have not broken off, but the property owners are threatening to move ahead with their de- WORLDWIDE NATIONAL Marshals search for tax militant Lawmen spread out into the North Dakota countryside last week in search of anti-tax militant Gordan Kahl, 63, a federal probation violator involved in the fatal shootings last Sunday of two federal marshals. The U.S.

Marshal Service is offering a $25,000 reward its largest reward offer yet for Kahl's apprehension. The marshals, and three others who were injured, were felled by automatic weapons fire when they approached a car thought to be Kahl's Super snowstorm snarls Northeast The Northeast struggled early last week to recover from the punch of a blizzard that packed 50-mile-per-hour winds and dumbed one to three feet of snow along the mid-Atlantic seaboard. The storm killed 48 people, including 24 men on a coal freighter that broke up in Monday's pre-dawn darkness off the Virginia coast. Weather and city officials in many cities called the storm the worst they'd seen in decades. Thousands were stranded in airports closed by the snow.

Others who could get transportation had to endure lenghty delays. School, business and sports schedules also were disrupted while the region dug out. Mfe -41 t. km Jir O-Wv Vx UPI Khadafy warns U.S. about presence in gulf Tensions rose near the Middle East last week when U.S.

aircraft carrier Nimitz and its battle group sailed near the Gulf of Sldra in response to a buildup of Libyan troops along that country's border with U.S. ally Sudan. The U.S. also sent AW ACS radar planes to nearby Egypt to keep tabs on Libya's forces. Libyan leader Moammar Khadafy said the gulf will be turned into a "red gulf of blood" if anyone tries to sail through it by force.

Khadafy said that entering the gulf would constitute an invasion of Libya. Massive fires devastate Australian states Winds, tinder-dry brush and fire combined last week in Australia to kill at least 71 people and destroy 3,000 homes in seven towns. The raging fires were described by Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser as more damaging than "a panzer division." More than 4,000 fire fighters were struggling against the fires last week. The fires have burned more than 2,600 acres, injured more than 900, left 8,000 homeless and damaged property worth $500 million. An unemployed 19-year-old youth has been charged with setting one of the fires.

Japanese agree to keep limit on auto exports Japanese automakers have agreed to limit exports to the US. to 1.68 million units for the third straight year, Japan's top trade official Sadanori Yamanaka announced last week. Yamanaka said the decision was a voluntary one made by the Japanese government No assurances were given on a fourth year of limitations. Japanese officials said they also have agreed to limit exports of video-tape recorders to the European Economic Community for three years. Fire kills 64, hurts dozens in Turin theatre A tragic fire in Turin, Italy claimed 64 lives and injured dozens last Sunday when it filled the Statuto Cinema with smoke and poison fumes.

The fire, which also Injured dozens, caused the fumes when it burned plastic coatings on the theatre's seats. Authorities said the fire most likely was started by a short circuit. Police launched an investigation into reports of locked emergency exists and arrested the theatre's manager for manslaughter. The 1 cinema was about half full at the time. Jordan-Palestinian state acceptable to PLO The multi-factional Palestinian Liberation Organization has united to support the idea of a Palestinian state linked with Jordan, it was learned last week.

The agreement marked the first time that the PLO has accepted the principle of confederation after fighting for years for an independent state. King Hussein of Jordan now has authority to negotiate peace agreements with the Israelis under U.S. auspices. Since the U.S. and Israel refuse to negotiate directly with the PLO, prominent Palestinian leaders not associated with the PLO will be members of the Hussein delegation.

Hit the beach at a roadblock. Five others have been arrested, Including Kahl's wife and son. Voters re-elect Gramm to House Former Democratic Rep. Phil Gramm of Texas, denied a seat on the House Budget Committee by Democratic leaders because of his support for President Reagan's economic policies, began the week as a Republican representative. Gramm resigned his House seat to run in a special election as a Republican.

Reagan eases stance on 'superfund' files President Reagan agreed Friday to steps that will allow a House subcommittee to see sensitive documents related to the Environmental Protection Agency's administration of its 1 .6 million superfund for toxic waste cleanup. Subcommittee chairman Rep. Elliott H. Levitas, D-Ga guaranteed to keep the documents secure to avoid jeopardizing any EPA suits against violators. He also said he was willing to ask the House to drop its December contempt citation against EPA chief Anne M.

Gorsuch, who had refused to produce the documents under orders from Reagan. Sen. Hart enters presidential race Sen. Gary Hart, launched his campaign for the 1984 Democratic nomination for president Thursday from the steps of the Colorado state house. Tough economic choices face the nation, which must chose between "national renewal or national decline," Hart said.

Hinckley recovers from suicide attempt John W. Hinckley who shot President Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel last March, recovered this week from a suicide attempt. Part of his recovery was spent on a respirator. He was found unconscious in his room Sunday. The incident was the third apparent suicide attempt by Hinckley since he shot Reagan and three other men near the hotel.

U.S. Marines tank crews splashed off of landing craft Monday and headed for a Beirut beach to relieve troops serving as part of a multinational peace-keeping force in Lebanon. The Marines began patrolling a larger portion of the city's Christian sector on Saturday. Forget the past, Nazi Barbie urges French Klaus Barbie, the "Butcher of Lyon," on French television Sunday said the world should forget his behavior as the head of the Gestapo in Lyon from 1942 to 1944. Barbie is accused of having 4,000 people executed, thousands more tortured and deporting 7,500 French Jews to detention camps.

"I did my duty," said Barbie, 69, who is charged by the French with "crimes against humanity." He has been sentenced to death twice in French ourts in absentia, but the death penalty no longer is used. When asked about the death of resistence hero Jean Moulin, whom Barbie is accused of beating to death personally, Barbie said, "That was part of the war." India's feared 'bandit queen' surrenders India's bandit queen, Phoolan Devi, wanted for the cold-blooded killings of 60 people, surrendered last week to authorities during an elaborate ceremony after a three-year career of terror. Police used 800 men to control the crowd at the arrest site in Bhind. In love, money and diamonds MILESTONES hundreds of dollars when cars using the weaker bumpers are involved in accidents. married more than 50 years.

Fred and Grace Larson, who have been married 61 years, renewed their wedding vows before the group. "I think true love is the main thing and you also need trust and sharing," said Grace, 82. Fred, 83, added, Everything has to be 50-50. There can be no secrets. You have to share." i i North Augusta, S.C., and he will as the day that started a slide th'at ended last week with a conviction for shoplifting.

He was found guilty of trying to steal a $12 pair of tennis shoes for his son. In 1972, Wills was working as a security guard in Washington's Watergate hotel and office complex. He discovered a burglary of the Democratic National Committee offices and subsequent investigations led to the Watergate downfall of President Nixon. "I've been turned down (since then) for many jobs because some people blamed me for what happened to the president," Wilson said. The bad news is more tornadoes than usual hit the U.S.

In 1982, but the good news is only 64 people died Instead of the annual average of 111, the National Weather Service reported last week. There were 1,022 tornadoes last year, which was second only to 1973 when 1,103 funnels dipped to the earth. Getting lost in a big city is one thing, but not being able to find the city in the first place is another. Yet 55 percent of the 128 geography students who took a pop quiz at the University of Miami were unable to find Chicago on a map, and a startling 8.5 percent couldn't even pinpoint Miami. Another 7.8 percent couldn't find the North Atlantic Ocean and 29.7 perc ent couldn't locate the South Pacific.

Forty-two percent may never find their way to London. "The numbers generated were pretty disgusting," said their professor, David Helgren.last week. "These results are of national significance. It's not just the University of Miami. Americans don't seem to know where things are in general." Died: The Rev.

Eric Dance, 76, minister for 36 years at the First Christian Church on McGregor Boulevard. Wednesday of heart failure at his home. Dance was instrumental in forming the local Salvation Army chapter, which he served as a director for 40 years. Died: Catherine Yasinchuk, 86, mistakenly committed to a state mental institution for 48 years because she spoke no English. Monday at a suburban Philadelphia nursing home.

In 1968 officials discovered that she understood only Ukrainian. She was released from the institution in 1969 at the age of 71 under the care of a guardian. Died: Sam Cowling, 69, a gag writer and comic on radio and television and a featured performer on Don McNeill's "Breakfast Club" on ABC radio until the late 1960s. Monday in a Fresno, hospital. He played the role of a heckler and foil for McNeill's barbs.

Died: Helen Winfree Demorest, 90, who gave piano lessons to Ronald Reagan In the 1940s. Sunday in Berkeley, after a brief illness. She gave voice and piano lessons to several stars of the entertainment industry. Died: The Rev. Ryokel Onishi, 107, the sixth oldest person in Japan and the oldest Japanese Buddhist priest.

Tuesday in Kyoto, western Japan, of a cerebral hemorrhage. Onlshl was called a "Living Buddha" by Japanese Buddhists. He took Buddhist vows at 15 and was elected an archbishop at 24. He was appointed chief priest of Kiyomizu Temple in 1914. UPI PASSENGER FLORENCE COSTELLO calls husband, hurt hands leaving jet Bellyflop landing no big deal A jammed landing gear forced Eastern Airlines Pilot Capt.

Richard Curti to land a Boeing 727 with 74 people aboard on its belly at Miami International Airport on Tuesday. Curti landed the plane safely and became a hero in the eyes of the nation. President Reagan even called to congratulate Curti for his performance. Curti, who once flew a hijacked plane to Cuba, shrugged off the praise. "A belly landing is not all that big a deal.

I don't want to sound mundane about It, but we were Just doing the Job," said Curti, 49. There seems to be a redistribution of wealth resulting from the government's decision to relax standards for automobile bumbers last year. But consumers won't benefit. Instead of paying carmakers for bumbers capable of withstanding 5-mph crashes, consumers can pay higher auto repair costs now that the bumper standard has been lowered to 2'j mph. The insurance industry reported last week that auto repair costs are rising by Naples jeweler Stephen F.

Zboya must have had a sparkle in his eye when his $900,000 bid for the Ill-carat Earth Star brown diamond was accepted Jan. 21. But that's past now. Zboya couldn't come up with the financing for the purchase and the jewel has been returned to its owners in New York. All you need is love and there was plenty of it last Monday, Valentine's Day, in Lehigh Acres.

A group of 52 couples met to celebrate the 2,837 years of marriage they have accumulated. All have been June 17, 1972 should have been a day to remember for Frank Wills, 34, ot.