News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 24

28 NEWS-PRESS, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1989 Injured child gets help Prnhlflmsfr0mpageB FUND I encJ-a-Hcind been left to Cape Coral's new police chief, Lynn Rowe, to explain to the public what happened. The grand jury's investigation resulted in the indictments of Lt. Norman Marlow and former narcotics officer David Middleton. Marlow was charged with official misconduct and with making a false report to law officers. He was suspended from the department pending the outcome of his trial.

Middleton was indicted on perjury charges and is awaiting trial. enforcement, there has to be a significant amount of discipline that has to be used by the people meeting the public," he said. "You pick your people pretty well, and if something goes awry, you adjust." Vines ran Cape Coral's police department for 1 '2 years before leaving in July 1988 to become chief in Dallas. However, much of the alleged misconduct did not come to light until after Vines departure. It has The Cape narcotics division in 1988 was a "rogue unit" where detectives mishandled drugs in evidence, spent tax money and had sex with one informant and used drugs with another, a Lee County grand jury said in November.

The grand jury blamed the unit's troubles, in part, on weak command. But sometimes the problem lies with the people at the bottom, said Vines. "The thing of it is that in law A young child had been injured in an accident. Short-term physical therapy was needed to prevent permanent damage, but the family had no insurance and could not secure help from any other source. Lend-A-Hand was able to contribute $200 for the needed therapy for the child.

What is Lend-A-Hand? Lend-A-Hand is a charity fund administered by the News-Press. Its purpose is to help needy Southwest Florida families faced with one-time emergency needs not covered by other sources. How to help You or your organization may give to Lend-A-hand in the name of someone on your Christmas list, in memory of a loved one, or as a personal gift. With a contribution of $25 or more before Dec. 25, you will receive a 1989 collector's Christmas ornament made of crystal-clear acrylic.

Make your tax-deductible contribution by check or money order and mail to: Lend-A-Hand Fund, News-Press, 2442 Anderson Fort Myers, 33901. Contributors' names will be listed in this column daily. Please do not contribute material items, as Lend-A-Hand has no storage space. The following people have made donations to Lend-A-Hand: Dr. John and Lois Bald; Sarah Barrie; Ruth Cardwell; Margaret Fischer in memory of my husband Gilbert; Walter and Aleze Fullerton; William and Genevieve Groome; Ruth Hons; Tom and Wanda Huron; Harvey and Winifred Jones; Maria Kronquist; John and Maria Nolan; Beatrice Mattsen; Debra Nordgren; Vernon and Marjorie Schwaegerle; Michael and Audrey Smandra; Frank Sperl; Leonard and Joann VanRamshorst in memory of Mr.

and Mrs. N.C. Wooton; Eunice Wicke; Allen and Mary Wilke; Joseph and Catherine Winner; George and Hilda Worden in memory of Louise Ruckel. mr ji 1 1 we imnornv a Kin pAnnrii pciitcd "THE HIBISCUS PLACE" Fired police trainee admits drinking By CHRIS BURBACH News-Press Staff Writer STUMPED FOR A GIFT? Consider: A Citrus Tree A Shade Tree A Rose Bush A Christmas Cactus A blooming Azalea A blooming Bougainvillea A Gift Certificate An Orchid, and many colorful plants to numerous to mention. Beautiful, Florist Quality Poinsettias plus 10" pots or hanging baskets and standards Many Colors Prices $2.95 to $49.95.

NEWI An 8" pot of Dwarfed Hibiscus many blossoms Single Red 6 10 to 12 plants per pot $9.95 We will be closed: Dec. 24th, Dec. 25th New Year's Day 3575 Gladiolus Drive drive versus this other person who was drinking and driving?" Millican said. Kupersmith, who was a student in the top 5 percent of his Southwest Florida Criminal Justice Academy class, said he told his superiors without being asked that he had one or two drinks that night. He said Wednesday that he drank one beer at the house of a friend and fellow student, Lee County sheriff's trainee Alan Moudy, at about midnight.

Kupersmith said he was not impaired by alcohol when he chose to stop the woman, who later was given a ride home by a deputy and was not charged with an offense. Her name has not been released. The woman was slumped over the steering wheel of her car while stopped at a green light and then drove through a red light, nearly colliding with two cars, Kupersmith said. As Kupersmith followed her in his car, her car swerved several times and she again stopped at a green light and slumped over her steering wheel, he said. That Kupersmith was drinking was a major impetus in the decision to fire him last week, said Millican, who added the department received about 25 telephone calls from people upset about the firing after Wednesday's News-Press story on Kupersmith.

"Who is this guy to drink and An officer-in-training fired by the Fort Myers Police Department for making an off-duty, out-of-uniform traffic stop of a suspected drunken driver had been drinking himself, police Major John Millican said Wednesday. Kraig Kupersmith told superiors he had a drink or two before he stopped a woman who was driving erratically at about 2 a.m. Dec. 10 on U.S. Highway 41 in south Fort Myers, Millican said.

Kupersmith said he stopped the woman by flashing the high-beam headlights on his personal car. Gift cards, pot covers and foil wrap available. 1170 Lee Blvd. fern) Lehigh Acres, FL lw1! Phone 369-5005 mISm Fort Myers, FL Phone 481-1402 8-5 8-5 CSh 3 Ah E3i CP) V3 XXiV). rv, Lee stalls on landfill BARON'S ART GALLERY GALLERY WIDE! 10o-50o DISCOUNTS Judah said that because of the time constraints and the necessity to purchase the land, the option price shouldn't delay the acquistion.

One of the early fears when the county was searching for a site with Hendry County was that a landowner might not be willing to sell at all, or that A. Duda Sons, a large agribusiness firm opposed to the joint landfill site, might buy and hold onto the land. Kelly could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Judah and Commissioner John Manning voted in favor of the purchase, while Fussell and Commissioner Don Slisher opposed. Commissioner Charles Bigelow did not attend the meeting.

The commission will consider the issue again in January. bought the property. Kelly now is offering to sell the county his option on the tract at the same $1,750 an acre he paid plus $30,000 for the sale of the option. Fussell said there is no reason the county should pay Kelly $30,000 to buy the option on property it had publicly announced would be bought for a landfill. The county has the power to condemn the property and buy it at a fair market price, but County Attorney James Yaeger pointed out that court costs, appraisals and land surveying probably would exceed $30,000.

"By obtaining the option, Kelly prevented an exorbitant increase in land price," said Commissioner Ray Judah, who voted in favor of the purchase. BySHARON KENNEDY News-Press Staff Writer The Lee County Commission stalled on a proposal to buy land for a Hendry County landfill after Com-; missioner Bill Fussell charged that the county might be taken for a ride by real estate speculators. In June of this year after Lee County announced its intention to buy 1,734 acres for a landfill in south Hendry County three miles east of the Lee County line Fort Myers real estate broker D. Wayne Kelly GREAT SELECTION OIL PAINTINGS SOFA SIZE Area Medicare death rate 'expected' FRAME INCLUDED 2 YEARS EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE ON OIL PAINTINGS 12165 South Cleveland Ave. Across From Casa Lupita f0(2 AA12 OPEN MON.

to SAT. U.S. 41 yOD-UUlO By JUDITH NYGREN News-Press Staff Writer "The information in this release in not intended to be, nor should it be used as, a direct measure of quality of care. The information is best used as a 'screening Despite its shortcomings, some hospitals do use the government's statistics as one indicator of what is going on in the industry. "We use it as one measurement of quality of care," said Randy Smith, spokesman for Southwest Regional.

"This is one indicator this is bottom line. Our (mortality) rate is something this hospital is very proud of." compared to 14.2 percent at East Pointe Hospital in Lehigh Acres. The mortality rates were released Wednesday in a Health Care Financing Administration report. The study showed 32 hospitals nationwide had higher-than-ex-pected Medicare mortality rates, including Coral Reef General Hospital in Miami. No Florida hospitals were listed among the four medical facilities with lower-than-expected mortality rates.

Along with its report, the administration issued a consumer warning: RETAIL MANAGERS Teen gets 12 years By CHRIS BURBACH News-Press Staff Writer Raymond plans to speak at area churches and to civic organizations and individuals who've expressed interest, he said. Raymond began his vigil Thanksgiving when he parked a monastery-owned car outside the old Veterans of Foreign Wars building on the corner of Lafayette Street and Grand Avenue in Fort Myers. But a few days later, Fort Myers City Code Enforcement officials told the monk, from St. Leo Abbey north of Tampa, that he couldn't continue sleeping in his car without nearby access to a bathroom. Then Raymond was fingerprinted and his picture was taken at the Fort Myers Police Department so he could get a solicitor's license to collect money for Samaritan House.

After that, the monk parked his car in the parking lot from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. to bring attention to the homeless situation, but he slept elsewhere. Samaritan House would serve as transitional housing for homeless families only, Raymond has said. His idea is to help families get back on their feet and into mainstream society by giving them a place to stay while they work to get permanent housing.

i A three-year federal study of deaths among hospitalized Medicare patients shows Southwest Florida hospitals fall within "expected" mortality rates. Actual mortality rates in 1988 ranged from 9.4 percent at Southwest Regional Medical Center in Fort Myers to 11.7 percent at St. Joseph Hospital in Port Charlotte. In 1987, Southwest Regional had mortality rate of 8.9 percent as Monk ends fund drive By SUZANNE D.JEFFRIES News-Press Staff Writer Brother Eric Raymond stopped this nearly four-week money-raising vigil for a proposed homeless shelter Wednesday, but the Roman Catholic monk said he'll continue working to make Samaritan House a reality. i So far he has $5,600 in donations, Raymond said, and they ranged from 50 cents to one gift of $1,000.

Raymond has said he'll need $200,000 for Samaritan House. That includes buying the property, renovations, repair work and start-up money for the first few months of operations. "It was a very empowering thing for me," Raymond said of staying in his car as many homeless people must do while he collected money for the shelter. "It upped my awareness of what people are going through." Dead woman identified as transient By DEVI SEN News-Press Staff Writer Through fingerprints, Lee County sheriff's deputies have identified the murdered woman found Sunday in a A Fort Myers teen-ager who committed an armed burglary two months after being released from jail on a manslaughter charge was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison and 1 0 years of probation. Craig Zigler, 18, of 2604 St.

Charles received the sentence from Lee Circuit Judge James Thompson, who had been lenient the first time Zigler came before him. Last year, Thompson ordered Zigler jailed for a year for manslaughter after Zigler admitted shooting 15-year-old Pearl Wheeler of Fort Myers. But not long after he was released, Zigler broke into the Fort Myers home of Willie Jackson and grabbed a knife when Jackson accosted him, prosecutors said. LOOKING FOR STABILITY AND GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES? Wlaison Blanche IS EXPANDING IN FLORIDA IN 1990 If you are experienced in retail management in: Store Management Loss Prevention Merchandising Visual Merchandising Department Management Personnel Management Operations Management We'd like to hear from you. In addition to career growth stability, we offer: complete benefits package attractive compensation program locations throughout the West Coast, Central North Fla.

Interested? Send your resume income history to: Haison Blanche P.O. Box 48242 St. Petersburg, FL 33743 Manatee death puzzles officials News-Press staff Egland's last known address was the Lee County Jail, Graziano said. She was released Nov. 13.

Egland had served time in connection with charges of grand theft auto, retail theft, solicitation for prostitution, violation of probation, uttering a forged instrument and possession of paraphernalia, records show. "They think she was a transient," Graziano said, "The fact that she'd been around here for awhile (makes) sense when you look at her criminal history. But she had no permanent address." When Egland's body was discovered under palmetto bushes about 200 yards east of an Interstate 75 rest area near Daniels Road, investigators said, it had been there for at least a week and was badly decomposed. At the time of her death, the blond-haired, green-eyed, 5-foot, 8-inch woman weighed 120 pounds and was wearing a wedding ring, investigators said. Graziano said the sheriffs department "has no idea" about suspects or motives in Egland's death.

wooded area near Environmental protection officials said Wednesday that they are puzzled as to why a male manatee, found Tuesday in a canal south of the Port of the Islands resort east of Naples, died. The Department of Natural Resources performed a necropsy on a 5-foot, 300-pound young male manatee Wednesday but could not find any evidence of why it died, said Kipp Frolich, DNR spokesman. There were no wounds on the sea cow and no visible signs of injury, Frolich said. The manatee's internal organs were too badly decomposed to determine anything, he said. Lee County has not reported a boat-related manatee death in more than 14 months.

Southwest Florida Regional Airport as a 25-year-old transient named Coleen Marie Egland. Sheriff's department officials released the results of their testing Wednesday. Egland v. '4 Li. EOE MFH "hung around" Fort EGLAND Myers for some time but had no permanent address, said Robert Gra-ziano, sheriff's spokesman..