News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 1

Teacher feature PROFILES: Each week we'll tell you about three a NEWS: Each Tuesday we report on the good things happening in our classrooms ADVICE: Experts give advice for parents and students on education and coping Lessons innovative teachers KAREN FAUQUHER, AL VA MIDDLE SCHOOL 3 xruiu wo 1 Tim FINAL EDITION 50 CENTS LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1 7, 2002 ALL NEW: School life inside today wm smss rotaapoii odd Embattled nation complies after warning For breaking news, go to: WEATHER 8B High 91, Low 75 Partly cloudy Rain chance: 30 percent II LOCAL Starlight bankruptcy lawyers want off case IB Water, sewer rates to rise for Fort Myers residents meetings between Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and top officials in his Baath party and his Cabinet "I can confirm to you that I have received a letter from the Iraqi authorities conveying this decision to allow the return of inspectors without conditions to continue their work," Annan told reporters. "There is good news," Sabri said moments earlier. The Iraqi foreign minister refused to comment further and left UN. headquarters after a day of negotiations on the text of the letter. members of the Security Council, which includes the United States, to "respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Iraq." The letter further said that Iraq was responding to an earlier appeal by Annan for Baghdad's compliance with Security Council resolutions calling for unfettered access to inspectors, and to an appeal by the Arab League and other Islamic countries.

Annan forwarded the letter to all 15 members of the coun- cil and to the chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix. It was not clear when the council would meet to consider the letter, a first step before sending inspectors back. Blix has said he could have inspectors on the ground within days, but it would take his teams several months to set up on the ground before they could start monitoring Iraqi sites. In Baghdad, there was no word of the news on state-run media, but the letter was released after high-level its decision concerning the return of inspectors on its desire to complete the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions and to remove any doubts that Iraq still possesses weapons of mass destructioa" The end to four years of stalemate came days after Bush addressed the UN. General Assembly debate and said that Iraq must comply with Security Council resolutions or face a military strike Alluding to talk of a possible attack, Iraq called on the letter he gave to UN.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who announced the decision Monday night White House officials called the Iraqi offer "a tactical step by Iraq in hopes of avoiding strong UN. Security Council actioa" "As such, it is a tactic that will fail," the White House said in a statement In the letter addressed to Annan, Iraq said it had "based The Associated Press UNITED NATIONS -Iraq agreed Monday to allow the return of UN. weapons inspectors without conditions a spectacular turnaround coming days after President Bush warned Baghdad to comply with UN. resolutions or face military actioa Iraq's Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said Iraq agreed to unrestricted inspections in a Smuggler Overcrowded jails await relief in drug rinj I It ff's I i sentenced l' W-f; 4iS2r-i'i rskMiM MMMMTlMMi'llI 1 11 ftlffMl --III I Lm tm 'Illllljll ilMMfl illlllUMlKllllB Cocaine operator gets 12-plus years By MIKE H0YEM Thomas Ruck said goodbye to his Ferrari, gold coins, sunken treasure and freedom Monday as he was sentenced to UV2 years in federal prison for smuggling cocaine. Ruck, 62, was a member of what may have been the biggest drug smuggling operation in Southwest Florida history an organization that flew nearly 6,600 pounds of cocaine from Columbia to North Fort Myers from 1988 until 1992, when an anonymous tip led to the ring's demise.

US. District Judge John Steele could have put Ruck behind bars for almost 20 years, but he agreed to go along with Assistant US. Attorney Robert P. Barclift's recommendation and give Ruck less time because of his cooperation with authorities. Ruck who stayed in hiding for nearly, eight years Photos by CLINT KRAUSEThe News-Press INMATE WAIT: An inmate in Cellblock 13 North in the stockade area of the Lee County Jail uses a telephone while another rests on his mattress Monday afternoon.

Because of overcrowding, some inmates must sleep on the floor until the new facility is completed and staffed. Staffing problems delay opening of new facility until early next year I SPORTS Earnest Graham UF's Graham ready for Tennessee game 1C Spurrier's Skins sputter; Eagles roll 37-7 1C II LIFESTYLES J. Mechanic's role in TV 'war game' to air IE Fall fashions seem to be all over the map this year IE CORRECTIONS "The percentage "of boaters receiving formal boating instruction has gone down in the past three years: 181 percent in 2001, 24 percent in 2000 and 263 percent in 1999. The numbers were incorrect in a graphic with a 1A story Monday. The Richard Jacobs Group's plans to build a regional mall at Alico Road and Interstate 75 have been approved.

The status of approval was unclear in a story on Sunday's page 1A. If you see an error in The News-Press, contact Jeff Roslow by calling 335-056Q or by e-mail at Corrections appear on the first page of the section in which the error was made. INDEX Annie's Mailbox 5F Comics 4E, 4F Crossword 4E, 5F Horoscopes 2E Lottery 2A Movies 3E News from the North 4A Obituaries 5B Opinion 6-7B TV 5E 1 DELIVERY For home delivery or customer service, call 335-0233 from 6 am to 5 p.m. weekdays and 7 to 11 am. on weekends.

For new subscriptions, call 335-0233 or subscribe online at Copyright 2002, The News-Press A Gannett Newspaper 39279" 10050' I nk i k. 1. i- JAIL FACILITIES Downtown: 458 beds, full Stockade: 400 beds, 479 inmates Sprung Instant Structures: 448 beds, 287 inmates On Monday, there were L367 inmates in the Lee County Jail compared to 1J.86 inmates one year ago, records show. An extra 79 inmates crowded into the 400-bed stockade. The downtown jail, which holds the county's most violent offenders, is at its 458-inmate capacity-Only the Sprung Instant Structures, where the least violent inmates involved in programs are held, have extra room.

See JAIL 6A passed last Thursday without a request by Reno. The state canvassing commission agreed and on Friday rebuffed the Reno campaign's request for a hand count of all overrates and undervotes cast in the primary. "I feel comfortable we're in good shape," said McBride, who has yet to name a running mate. He has until Thursday to do so and indicated he wouldn't name the person until Wednesday, although he hinted Monday he has a candidate in mind. Voting mistakes 1B 1 1 Detained men claim prejudice before being caught in Hawaii in October 2001 apologized to the court and the public for his crimes.

He pleaded guilty in March, telling Steele he helped organize and carry out the smuggling operation headed by Daniel Doumis of North Fort Myers. The operation flew the drugs aboard a twin-engine plane into the Pine Shadows Air Park off US.4L Doumis whose "Double ranch was sold by the government for $L1 million used a shoestring to commit suicide in 1997 while serving a 27-year sentence. The possessions Ruck forfeited ranged from $315,263 in cash and $40,000 in certified funds to a 2001 Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a 1989 Ferrari sports car, a Swiss bank account containing $150,000 in gold coins and Spanish treasure from sunken ships, including a pair of gold bars weighing more than 4 pounds apiece. See RUCK 6A we already said it" he added. The men denied that they mocked the anniversary of Sept 11 or talked about using bombs.

They questioned Stone's listening ability based on her comment that they spoke Arabic. "I'm the only one who speaks Arabic," Gheith said. Michael Prieto, an attorney representing Stone who also was a guest of King, said the three are making Stone out to be a bigot to protect themselves. "She did exactly what we'd ask all our citizens to do and she's being penalized for it," Prieto said. "They are just trying to cover their own actions." The men repeated that their goal is to become doctors and that they have no intention of committing terrorist acts.

"We just know we didn't say these things," said Omar Choudhary, 23. The men have not been charged. Georgia officials are considering charges but have reached no decision. Neither federal nor Florida authorities have announced charges against the men. Internship rejected 6A Investigation defended 6A III NOT YET SET TO SERVE: Facilities at the Lee County Jail's newest building are almost complete, but will require about 40 new employees before it can open.

salary for a corrections officer is $30JJ7. The starting salary for a civilian employee is $21,700. The delay comes when the jail's population is By SHARON TURC0 Seventy-nine Lee County Jail inmates spent the weekend sleeping on the floor, but relief from overcrowding won't come for at least another four months, officials said. The jail's newest addition which will have 356 beds in it was expected to open next month. Jail officials say the earliest it will house inmates is January or February.

Construction is completed, but there are not enough employees to staff it "We just don't have the staff we need," said Lee County Sheriffs Office Chief Mark Levens, who oversees the jaiL Eighty-eight employees 48 certified officers and 40 support staff are needed. About half have been hired and are in training, Maj. Lavanda Bailey said. The starting annual McBride's Reno will not oppose By PAIGE ST. JOHN and V.J.

EPSTEIN The News-Press Tallahassee Bureau Floridians today will finally find out who the, contestants will be for the November gubernatorial election, and Democratic hopefuls Bill McBride and Janet Reno say they will accept the outcome. Votes for Reno were still showing up Monday in Broward and Miami-Dade counties as today's 5 p.m. deadline drew near for counties to certify their counts to the secretary of state. lead narrows as deadline looms Trio allege heritage makes them suspects By DON RUANE One of the three men detained last week on Alligator Alley said Monday that they were suspects the minute they walked into a north Georgia restaurant for breakfast After the men left the Shoney's in Calhoun, Eunice Stone, who was sitting in a booth next to them, called authorities to -report she believed the men were planning a terrorist attack The trio said they are used to dealing with prejudice since Sept. 11, 200L The men, who are of Middle Eastern descent appeared Monday on "Larry King Live," a nationally televised talk show on CNN.

"As soon as we walked into the restaurant we were suspects," Ayman Gheith, 27, told King. "By whom?" King asked. "Obviously by this womaa" Gheith replied. Even the media didn't consider the possibility that they said none of the things Stone reported, Gheith said. "It was a given thing that I reaching record highs.

Over the weekend, the jail's population reached 1,400 one of the highest populations ever, Levens said. MCBRIDE RENO mally enough to trigger a statewide recount under new election laws. However, the delayed collection of votes in South Florida where support for Reno is strongest may keep her from getting a recount Secretary of State Jim Smith contends the deadline for requesting a recount 1 iswe '1 I today's final tally McBride held the lead, but his campaign estimated it narrowed to 5,685 votes over the weekend after Miami-Dade officials found an additional 231 votes for Reno. More votes were found in a Pembroke Pines election precinct after county officials determined they had not been collected from its iVotronic touchscreen machines. The new tally reduces McBride's margin of victory to less than half of 1 percent of the votes cast in last Tuesday's primary nor- riiJf if if Fiillif I iliiKi 'mwm iH KITCHENS Locally Owned and Family FT.

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