News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 1

A num fnr unur net iippvpq nnlnhinc Rune in final tiinmm v. -y CTlS1 -n vr )7 It's not too late to change your dog or cat. Lifestyles 1 Teams will square off tonight in Tamoa. Sports 1 r---: BONITANAPLES EDITION o)1 FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 1996 FORT MYERS, FLORIDA 25 cents 35 cents in Collier County chools SAT aweraoi But Lee County's test scores still lag behind U.S., state figures SAT SCORES Here are the average SAT scores of Lee County Sjy. students as compared to the state and the nation for iSS 1993-1996.

VERBAL 1993 1994 1995 1996 Lee 491 481 486 493 Florida 493 490 497 498 Nation 500 499 504 505 MATHEMATICS Lee 486 487 488 489 Florida 492 492 496 496 Nation 503 504 506 508 Note: Each year's figures reflect new scoring system. on the Scholastic Assessment Test, but the gap slowly is closing. have only started our concentrated efforts to improve student performance in Lee County," Superintendent Bobbie D'Alessandro said Thursday. Results released Thursday on the college entrance exam showed Lee's average score this year was 982, up from 974 last year. The national average was 1,013, while Florida's average was 994.

A perfect score is 1,600. But, for the first time in several years, school officials were encouraged by the increase on the verbal See TESTS back page this section "We have only started our concentrated efforts to improve student performance in Lee County." Bobbie D'Alessandro, Lee schools superintendent By WENDY FULLERTON News-Press staff writer Lee County's college-bound seniors showed bigger gains in their average SAT scores this year than their counterparts in Florida and across the nation. Local overall scores still were 30 points behind the national average SHELDON L. SNEEDNews-Press SOURCE: Lee County School District DOLPHINS DIVE IN TO HELP HANDICAPPED LOCAL RESPONSE I Clinton will approve bill K' i jglf t- The Associated Press "I think the new law is great because nicotine is a drug. I know for a fact because I smoked for four years before I actually quit.

i -J If Mike Farkas, Fort Myers The kids don't need to be smoking. should be in other activities. I doubt the law will do much good, because kids will find a way to get cigarettes." Photos by K.T."WARNKENews-Press THERAPEUTIC LEAP: John Healy tests the leap of Alfonz the dolphin in Key Largo. Healy, 14, who has brain damage, earned his swim by improving his speech for educational therapist Donny de Castro, right, at the Dolphin Human Therapy Center. TCneirapy cecntieir heads to Lee Karen Banta, 28, Fort Myers WASHINGTON President Clinton is about to reverse centuries of U.S.

tobacco policy, declaring nicotine an addictive drug in hopes of preventing some 500,000 teenagers a year from smoking. Tobacco still will be less restricted than any other drug the government has labeled addictive. And even if the Food and Drug Administration's ambitious regulations work, it would be years before the nation sees a drop in the 400,000 annual deaths attributed to tobacco. Clinton is expected today to declare nicotine an addictive drug and unleash the FDA to regulate cigarettes and smokeless tobacco as devices that deliver nicotine. Anti-tobacco leaders have been invited to an afternoon ceremony in the Rose Garden where Clinton also will address reporters.

The FDA aims, within seven years, to cut in half teen-age smoking through far-reaching restrictions designed to eliminate tobacco's appeal as sexy and fun, as well as its availability to minors. Teen smoking already is illegal, yet 3,000 teens a day pick up the habit and 90 percent of all smokers start before age 18. The tobacco industry also has sued to block the FDA rules, insisting it doesn't encourage teens to smoke and that nicotine is not addictive. Welfare legislation 18A "It's easy for us kids to get cigarettes. Sometimes I can buy them myself.

I don't think it's right to tell kids they can't smoke. It's our life." Proposed dolphin center site Studies show marine mammals stimulate kids Zolon Moreno, 16, Fort Myers Bunche Beach Rd. tJ A Sa7 a Caros vA i Bay -v. "We're all for it. Tobacco companies are so powerful right now that they are basically above the law.

We're like David fighting Goliath." Kurt Goerke, Lee County beach park kj 1 MILE By KEVIN LOLLAR News-Press staff writer KEY LARGO Scooting through the warm water with the help of Alfonz, a bottlenose dolphin, John Healy grinned a grin as bright as his red Irish hair. Such contact at the Dolphin Human Therapy Center helped the 14-year-old from County Donegal speak his first words since he was stricken at the age of 2 by meningitis. The center's treatment for mentally and physically handicapped children is based on interaction with specially trained dolphins. But the center has outgrown its temporary home. And drawn by easy access to hospitals and an international airport, as well as other amenities lacking on Key Largo, director David Nathanson American Lung Association CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Srivignesh Sukumar, 6, of London swims with educational therapist Diane Sandelin and Alfonz in his third day at the Dolphin Human Therapy Center.

WZVN-TV prepares for ownership shuffle News-Press ity in the world, bar none," Nathanson said. "This place will have enough stature to get the interest of top scientists from around the world. It will bring to Southwest Florida a whole cultural and scientific imprint that will be quite remarkable." See DOLPHINS 4A psychologist, hopes to be operating in Lee County on a limited basis by May 1997. "We want to become the most significant marine mammal education, therapy and research facil- plans to move his operation to Lee County. That's despite objections from some local environmentalists.

If he can get all the required permits, Nathanson, a renowned She said the FCC is aware of her connection to Waterman, but she sees no conflict of interest. "I'm my own individual," Kunkler said. "I'm doing this for me and for the opportunity to be a small business owner." FCC rules currently being reviewed by Congress prohibit any entity from owning two TV sta Grand jury indicts 3 accused of hijacking j' tions in the same market. The FCC refused comment on the WZVN sale. "If Congress acts, there would be a very strong probability Waterman would seek the license of WZVN," said Steve Pontius, INSIDE Ann Landers 10C CRIME: American neo-Nazi Bridge 2D Gary Lauck was convicted and Business 1 2 A sentenced to four years in prison." Classified 3B, 7-18C Story 2A Comics 5D, 15C Crossword SD, 12C HEALTH: Two new studies Dear Abby 2D disagree on a possible link Deaths 6C between cancer and calcium Horoscopes 2D channel blockers.

Lottery 2A Story 7A Movies Gulf Coasting News from the North 4A UP NORTH: A man and his Opinion 1 6-1 7A crew are hoping to bring part of TV 6D the Titanic into the New York Copyright 1 996, the News-Press Harbor from its watery grave. A Gannett Newspaper News from the North 1 0A By LARRY A. STRAUSS News-Press staff writer Local ABC television affiliate WZVN will have a new owner next month but not for long. Those owners then plan to sell the station to a local company formed by the goddaughter of one of WZVN's competitors, NBC affiliate WBBH. Here's how it transpired: In July, Raycom Media Inc.

received Federal Communications Commission approval to purchase Ellis Communications, owners of WZVN. The deal should close by mid-September. Meanwhile, Ellis had agreed to sell WZVN to Montclair Communications, a new company formed by Fort Myers resident Lara Kunkler. Raycom is honoring the sale, and FCC approval is pending. Kunkler is station manager for both WBBH and WZVN.

WBBH, owned by Waterman Broadcasting, took over management of WZVN's daily operations in 1994 as part of an operating agreement. Kunkler also is the goddaughter of Waterman Broadcasting owner Bemie Waterman. If the deal is approved, Kunkler said she plans to resign from Waterman Broadcasting. KUNKLER at the Sarasota County Jail. Asked why he left Cuba, Puente said, "We wanted to escape Castro's regime." The pilot of the plane, Adolfo Perez Pantoja, has returned to Cuba, according to his wishes, McClenny said.

The Cuban government had asked that all four be returned. "This is another way for the United States to pay back the efforts of the Cubans who are trying to gain freedom for their country," said Pedro Prado, president of the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Cuban American National Foundation. He asylum for the hijackers. This is the first time in recent memory Cubans have faced criminal hijacking charges in the United States. The Associated Press and Knight-Ridder News Service contributed to this report.

By MIRIAM PEREIRA News-Press staff writer FORT MYERS A federal grand jury indicted three Cuban nationals who allegedly hijacked a plane near Havana and crash-landed 30 miles southwest of Sanibel. Adel Regalado Ulloa, Leonardo Reyes Ramirez and Jose Roberto Bello Puente were charged with criminal hijacking, said Lee McClenny, a State Department spokesman. "They will remain here and are being held for prosecution," McClenny said. If convicted, they will face a minimum mandatory sentence of 20 years and a maximum sentence of life in prison, he said. Ulloa and Puente are being held for federal marshals at the Lee County Jail, while Ramirez remains Waterman Broadcasting executive vice president and general manager.

"That is our ultimate desire." "It's not a given that I will sell to Waterman," Kunkler said. "It really depends on the market conditions at that time. Right now it's really going to be a partnership with Waterman. I'm in there for the long term." Pontius said changes "won't affect the fact that Waterman still operates the station. The viewer at home is not going to see any difference." WEATHER: Partly cloudy.

60 chance -of rain. Weather Watch 18A HIGH LOW 90s LOW UPPER 70s li 3.