South Florida Sun Sentinel from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 14

Sun-Sentinel Friday, Aug. 24, 1984 Officials ride the rails for Amtrak's Silver Palm an A mm in -ill f- v4 people of this state. It's important to the future of this state. We must educate the public to the convenience, comfort and safety of the Silver Palm." The train begins its daily run at 8 a.m. in Miami and arrives in Tampa five hours later, after stops in Fort Lauderdale, Delray Beach and six other cities.

It cuts a swath through the middle of the state, rolling along at 80 mph, through a scenic melange of cities large and small, rural enclaves and vast expanses of open farmland. Despite a slight increase in the number of passengers, the 21-month-old Silver Palm is a balance-sheet boondoggle, operating at a loss of (181,206 in May, the last month for which statistics are available. In the first eight months of 1984, the passenger total is 40,509 a 2.8 percent increase over the same period in 1983, according to Amtrak officials. "This is not a problem with Amtrak," company spokesman Shirley Tellander said, explaining the By Michael Romano SUf Writ ABOARD THE SILVER PALM It was a whistle-stop tour of an entirely different sort, a lumbering, rumbling railroad ride designed to foster a future for Florida's troubled intrastate train route. Somewhat late if not entirely too little, state officials Thursday began a hard-sell promotional drive to save the Silver Palm, an underused but overbudgcted Amtrak line that will be derailed Nov.

21 unless ridership increases dramatically. And so Lt. Gov. Wayne Mixson and a host of other officials rode the rails between Miami and Tampa, taking time during each station-stopover to create a "public awareness" of the financially troubled Silver Palm. "We can't afford to lose this train," Mixson, a true cheerleader, proclaimed again and again during press conferences.

"It's important to the low passenger counts and huge deficits. "It's just that people are not aware of what this has to offer. There has not been a lot of advertising." The Silver Palm is designated as a 403B demonstration project, a state-sponsored line for which funding was guaranteed over its first two years of operation. A state allocation of SI. 8 million has been primarily responsible for fueling the line, which receives 65 percent of its funding from the state and 35 percent from Amtrak.

The initial subsidy also will keep the Silver Palm in operation through Nov. 21 but not a day longer. In a last-minute compromise during this year's session, state legislators allocated another $1.1 million for a third year of operation providing that 60 percent of the train's operating costs are covered by passenger fares. "That is not going to happen," predicted Jim Please see AMTRAK, 6B Suit pkoto fey ROBERT AZM1T1A Lt. Gov, Wayne Mixson in Winter Haven during Silver Palm ride.

On the edge Brink's guard charged in heist By Dao Christensen rrrrrrprrr I I I i 4 1 'T! in si r- i' 1 CLEARANCE 14' J' it i -1 1 37 i aMwIW" 1 i I 1 A uMT T4 i 'M'" tu 1 fl5 SUff WriUr FORT LAUDERDALE A Brink's guard and his lifelong friend, who police said "badgered" the guard for months to rob his employer, were in jail Thursday charged with staging a $63,000 armed robbery at the Galleria mall on Sunday. Craig Earl. 22, a Brink's guard since October, and Ricki Gibbs, 23, both of Miami, were charged with grand theft, police said. No money has been recovered, but both men have given full confessions, police said Police initially had estimated the robber's haul at $124,000. "Ricki was working as a truck driver, his wife is a legal secretary, and they have three kids," said Detective Ron Range.

"He wasn't making enough money and things were tough, so he badgered Craig for some time and Craig consistently put him off. But Ricki badgered him and badgered him and finally wore him down Police have said that Earl and Brink's armored truck driver Edward Deitenck, who was not involved in the crime, had arrived at the Galleria on East Sunrise Boulevard shortly before 12 30 p.m. Sunday and parked in an outside lot. Police said Deitenck waited inside the truck while Earl went into Burdines to pick up the previous day's receipts, including cash, checks and credit slips. Earl reportedly told police that as he was returning to the truck he was thrown to the ground by a man who stuck a handgun to the back of his head, took the money sack and fled.

Earl fired a shot into the air as dozens of midday shoppers watched, police said. "It was just a shot to make it look good," said Detective Ralph Parente. Said Detective Range: "Earl told us at first that he didn't have it in him to shoot another human being, but later he said it was part of the scheme." Parente said detectives were suspicious about Earl's story. riease see ARRESTS, 6B Suff pkolo by NICHOLAS VOS ST ADEN A tractor-trailer hangs over Hollywood Boulevard rear of a second northbound truck. He then drove his wood Boulevard and State Road 84 was rerouted for after an accident Thursday morning on Florida's truck onto a bridge railing, police said, although they about three hours while the accident was cleared.

Turnpike. Police said Mark Causey, 27, of Winter said the tractor-trailer was not in danger of falling Causey, the only person injured in the incident, was Garden fell asleep while driving north and struck the from the overpass. Turnpike traffic between Holly- treated at the scene. School Board may scuttle plan to display its votes solve. She said board members interested in how others voted could simply turn around and check how the votes fell before casting their own vote.

"Then what are we going to have, 20 minutes of discussion about why somebody didn't push their button on time?" she asked. "Are we going to be up there every other week yelling at each other for not pressing our buttons on time?" Samuels said the problem is caused by Higginson. "I think the chairman has the responsibility to get members to speak up," he said. ber Marie Harrington. "The public in the past has said they didn't know how the board voted because they couldn't hear them." However, an official who studied the plan has estimated that such a display would cost between 1.200 and $1,500.

At least three board members Chairman Bill Higginson, Vice Chairperson Toni Siskin and Don Samuels say the cost is too steep. Superintendent William Leary is steering clear of the issue, saying it's a matter for the board to decide. Board members are expected to discuss the proposal at a meeting on Sept. 4. "I don't think it's necessary myself," said Higginson.

"I really do think it's a waste of the taxpayers' money." The electronic voting panel would require board members to simultaneously press a button and vote without knowing how other board members had voted. Mrs. Harrington called for the study after repeatedly expressing concern that some board members might be "counting votes" or following the lead of others before casting their own vote. She recently asked Higginson to ask for a roll call vote on all policy questions to make sure all members voted and were held accountable to the public. Mrs.

Siskin, however, predicted the plan would create more problems than it would By Rick Pierce EdwatiM Writer Plans to construct a voting scoreboard to display School Board votes for the public may short-circuit because some board members are shocked at the high costs. The scoreboard would be similar to the one used by the state Legislature, which lists each member's name beside a green and red light. A "yes" vote triggers a green light, a "no" vote a red light. "We may need a yellow light for indecision," joked board member Jan Cummings, who supports the plan along with board mem Symphony merger receives go-ahead Diplomat arson suspect pleads no contest to reduced charges control program for four years, followed by probation. Community control is a strict form of probation comparable to house arrest.

After reviewing a background report about Haver, Fleet will sentence the former hotel employee on Oct. 12. Until then, the 58-year-old Holly, wood man remains in a community release program. Haver, who had been a low-key, dedicated banquet porter at the hotel for nine years, was accused of setting fires in a storage room with a cigarette lighter on June 12 and June 14. The fires were contained in the room, but smoke and water damage totaled about $3,100, Gordon said.

Haver, of 1715 Plunkctt was By Diane M. Goldie Suff Writer Harold John Haver told a Broward judge Thursday that he would not challenge arson charges lodged against him for setting two fires at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood. In return, the State Attorney's Office agreed to reduce the two counts of first-degree arson, which carry a maximum 30-year prison penalty, to second-degree arson, which carries a maximum 15-year penalty. Prosecutor Marc Gordon and an attorney representing the hotel did not recommend a penalty. Gordon said, however, it is likely Circuit Judge Leonard Fleet, who accepted Haver's no-contest plea, will place Haver in the community Boca Raton Symphony board, and lxonard Farber, president of the Fort Lauderdale Symphony board, have indicated an interest in involving other South Florida orchestral groups in the merger.

Farber said Wednesday that "the desirable goal is to have one outstanding orchestra for all of South Florida A new name is expected to be chosen shortly for the merged orchestra, which will be made up principally of Fort Lauderdale Symphony musicians, who already are in the second year of a three-year contract. Representatives from the Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton symphonies will be chosen to work out various technical details of the merger, including the rescheduling of the Boca Raton Symphony's previously announced eight-concert subscription scries at Florida Atlantic University By Tim Smith Mm Whirr The board of directors of the Boca Raton Symphony Orchestra voted unanimously Thursday night to merge with the Fort Lauderdale Symphony Orchestra. The decision follows a similar unanimous vote Wednesday by the Fort Lauderdale Symphony board of directors. The executive committees of both boards have been instructed to move with "all possible speed" to complete the negotiations for the merger in time for the start of the 1984-85 season. The merged orchestra is expected to have a budget in excess of $2 million, the largest in South Florida.

The Boca Raton board's resolution describes the merger as a move toward "a higher artistic level, which requires the broad financial base of the three-county area Both Pat Thomas, president of the also questioned about other fires at the Ocean Drive hotel, including one in October 1983 that caused $5 million in damage and injured 24 people. Haver, however, was not charged in connection with the other fires, which remain unsolved, Gordon said. Psychological tests support contentions by Gordon and fire officials that Haver torched the hotel for personal gratification. "He's a psychologically disturbed elderly gentleman; not the type to do state prison time," Gordon said. "There was no financial gain for him and he had no ill feelings toward the hotel." Psychological tests also revealed that Haver could have been easily persuaded by police to confess to the crimes.

Haver's attorney charged that be- Harold John Haver cause his client was pressured into a confession by police, the statement should be inadmissible in court. Although the judge had not decided the issue, Gordon said there was a 50-50 chance that the confession would be thrown out and he opted for the plea offer rather than take the risk. Gary Stein's column resumes Monday. Inside Vendor restrictions approved Rules limit Hollywood purveyors to prepared foods 9 competing for 3 judgeships Restrictions limit candidates' discussion of issues Page AB Page 3D.