News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 1

FGCU IN DIV. II FINAL UF TOPS BUTLER Eagles play for national championship vs. Southern Connecticut State tonight; watch ESPN2 at 7. Gators hold off Bulldogs and keep their dream alive for a second straight national title. SPORTS, CI To)To)1 JUL SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 2007 PUBLISHED SINCE 1884 FINAL 50(t THINGS TO DO i 4 i-rrf nt A rf 1 1 INDIA FESTIVAL The India Association of Fort Myers u.

JOHN DAVID EMMETTTHE NEWS-PRESS Former Secretary of State Colin Powell speaks Friday at Alico Arena. Powell brings message to FGCU Ex-secretary of state tackles Iraq, terrorism jjH) ill (I (j 'f, inn ii i i A will host the 20th annual India Festival from 11a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Alliance of the Arts, ED JOHNSONTHE NEWS-PRESS Fort Myers police map a grid search in a wooded area where the skeletal remains of eight people were found Friday. The location is off an unpaved section of Arcadia Street in east Fort Myers.

Fort Myers police seek clues in deaths 10091 McGregor Fort Myers; Cost: $4. 994-0547. Authentic Indian food, yoga demonstrations, dancers in full costume and more. CHARITY GAME BY MATT CONN Mistakes made by the United States after the invasion of Iraq created conditions that allowed an insurgency to develop into a civil war, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday night. Powell made the comment in answer to a question after a speech at Florida Gulf Coast University.

He told his audience the Bush administration doesn't like for him to news-press. com extras Readers forum: What role do you think that Powell played in the U.S. involvement in the Iraq war? The East vs. West Firefighters Charity Hockey Game today pits firefighters from Cape Fort Myers Coral, Fort Myers, Estero and other a 5 Arcadia St local Police called in Heather Walsh-Haney, a forensic anthropologist from Florida Gulf Coast University, to help with the investigatioa She could not discuss the case, but a forensic anthropologist can help1 determine the gender and approximate age of a deceased person through bone measurements and analysis, said Charlie Mesloh, an assistant professor of criminal justice at FGCU and a former police officer. Those are the first steps in making an identification of a victim.

'And getting a victim identified is the first step toward learning what happened to them," he said. It's too early to tell whether the bodies had been dumped at the scene, See SKELETONS A3 BY ED JOHNSON The skeletal remains of eight people were found Friday in a wooded area about 25 feet from an unpaved section of Arcadia Street in east Fort Myers. Police are handling the deaths as homicides unless they find evidence to the contrary, Lt Brian Phillips said. The location was kept under police guard Friday night, and investigators are expected to continue their investigation today, police spokeswoman Shelly Flynn said. Investigators estimate the bodies have been in the woods for several years, police said.

No skin or clothing was left on the remains, Phillips said. No trauma was evident, he said. Where human departments remains were found WMHE THE NEWS-PRESS use the term "civil war." During his speech Hnrto before about 4,000 saWeiy: people at Alico Arena, FGCU hosts Powell said pulling out Colin Powell of Iraq before a solution to that nation's problems See POWELL A2 Readers forum: You be the CSI: Where did the skeletal remains come from? against an east coast team of their brethren from Miami, Dade, Pembroke Pines and Fort Lauderdale to benefit the family of the late Estero Fire Lt Paul Tyler Reynolds. Doors open at 4:30 for the 5 p.m. event.

The $14 admission includes the Everblades game afterward. Germain Arena, Estero. EGBMSSDAKD "It certainly sounds like a dump site. But having said that, you would now have to determine whether they were murdered and dumped, killed at that location and left there or just bodies illegally disposed of Charlie Mesloh, assistant professor of criminal justice, Florida Gulf Coast University, and a fonner police officer House votes to exit Iraq starting in '08 McClatchy News Service WASHINGTON The House of Representatives voted Friday for the first time to withdraw all US. The all-star brass and percussion ensemble, Brass Band of Battle Creek, will INSIDE combat troops from Iraq by Aug.

31, 2008, and sooner if Iraq's govern A4 perform at 8 p.m. Sunday ment fails to meet cer 1 Baseball bridges 2 worlds in Lee Dominican team visits on local tab More on the House vote. at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Naples. $39; 597-1900. tain benchmarks for progress.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, called the vote "one great giant step" toward ending the war and said the public has "lost faith" in Bush's management of it and that "their voices have 5 Politi cal accommodation lost Washington enters a season of BIGPAPI PAYS A VISIT Boston Red Sox star slugger David Ortiz, a native of Nigua, Dominican Republic, visited the La Victoria team on Tuesday afternoon as the players were preparing for their game against the North Fort Myers High School junior varsity. Ortiz gave each of the 26 players new black Reebok cleats, hats and T-shirts. He gave the team new catcher's gear the same equipment Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek uses. Ortiz's visit wasn't just about gifts. He spoke to the kids for about 15 minutes about how he grew up in the Dominican and the importance of education.

The kids were stunned when "Big Papi" showed up. "He told us to have a lot of discipline and to stay away from drugs and crime," said Yunior Estefan, a 15-year-old catcher. "He said to put as much effort into our studies as we do baseball." Chris Umpierre been heard." Nevertheless, the INDEX Annie Business Comics measure won't become -F1-8 -E18 INSIDE WEATHER High 88 Low 63 Very warm, no chance of rain; forecast B12 law anytime soon. The Senate will debate a sim ilar measure next week, JOHN DAVID EMMETTTHE NEWS-PRESS La Victoria pitcher Alberto Claris throws against North Fort Myers in a baseball game at North Fort Myers High School on Wednesday. Several Rotary Clubs paid to have the team from the Dominican Republic travel to Fort Myers.

DearAbby E16 Horoscopes E16 Heloise E8 Lottery B2 Moviesi E17 Nation A4 Obituaries B6 BY CHRIS UMPIERRE After playing baseball against each other, the teams from disparate countries and cultures met in front of home plate for a group photo. American teenagers from North Fort Myers High School mixed with counterparts from the Dominican Republic as they stood shoulder to shoulder with their arms around each other. Fort Myers resident Tom Dougherty couldn't help but smile as he snapped the photo. but it faces dim short-term prospects there. Bush also pledged anew Friday to veto the legislation should Congress send it to him.

Bush denounced the vote as "an act of political theater" that set "an arbitrary date for withdrawal" and "has no chance of becoming law." The House attached its troop-withdrawal language to a $124 bil-lion spending bill that primarily would fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. in B10-11 E19 Opinion TV A Fort Myers-based 14-and-under traveling team the Linesiders co-coached by Dougherty and Baker See BASEBALL A3 Also see, where the La Victoria team is from A3 It had taken five months of planning, visa headaches and significant fundraising on the part of Dougherty and Russ Baker, but then-idea to bring the Dominican team to Southwest Florida had finally come to fruition. The News-Press, A Gannett Newspaper Copyright 2007 MP Yl i. IMmatt Home Gtveawiy.