The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • Page 215

K-2 The Orlando Sentinel, Sunday, February 15, 1998 SE2 7A Sanford's founders spied on opposite sides in war Mom always chose the best for us. Seminole's past JIMROBISON wiM them for war supplies and capturing blockade runners. He worked behind the scenes to prevent France and England from selling weapons to the Confederacy. At the time Sanford was sabotaging Confederate efforts in Europe, Tucker, who had been a politician and newspaper editor in South Carolina, Alabama and Missouri, was striking at the Union by sinking river ships hauling troops and supplies. Tucker, working as an agent of the Confederate Secret Service on sabotage missions approved by the rebel government in Richmond, was part of a network of spies in the North and in Union-occupied territory.

They would blow up the boilers of Union steamships by disguising themselves as dock-workers and sneaking onto wharfs, docks or other spots along rivers where fuel was stored. They left hollowed-out coal or wood packed with gunpowder and covered with tar. Union military documents confirm that explosions burned or sank at least 60 Union ships in 1863-1864 along the Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers. Union Col. J.H.

Baker noted in one of his reports that he suspected Tucker's agents were responsible. "There can be little doubt but the greater portion were fired by the above or similar emissaries of the rebel government." The Sanford Museum, first opened as a research library for the eclectic collection of books and letters of city founder Henry Shelton Sanford, was built on the northern edge of historic Tuckertown. Joseph Wofford Tucker, one of Henry Sanford's land agents and business partners, developed Tuckertown on about 50 acres south of Lake Monroe and west of Mellonville. Sanford legend credits Tucker's teenage daughter, Louisa Tucker, with suggesting the name Sanford for the new town that absorbed Tuckertown and Mellonville. Sanford and Tucker were more than business partners.

They were both lawyers whose lives took them far from the courtroom. They both used honorary titles. Sanford never served in the military, but a Minnesota militia unit gave him the rank of general for his gift of cannons during the Civil War. Tucker is often called "Judge" in historic records, but he never was in the judiciary. Also, they were both saboteurs during the Civil War, but they were on opposite sides.

Over the years, Seminole's Past has devoted many columns to Sanford's life in public and private affairs in Europe, Africa and Latin America as well as his citrus and land interests in Florida, where he spent his winters. However' recent research by Lincoln historian James 0. Hall has uncovered another chapter in Sanford's life. Hall has turned over documents to Sanford Museum curator Alicia Clarke that show that Tucker was a Confederate spy who blew up Union ships at the Now choose the best for Her! This is the first of three columns on espionage and entre-preneurship. Today: Sanford's founder organizes the American secret service in Europe during the CMI War while his future business partner joins Confederate saboteurs.

same time Sanford was using his wealth and influence to defeat the South. Somehow these two enemies put the war behind them for enterprise. Sanford, who was President Abraham Lincoln's first foreign service appointment and his "trusted friend" in Europe, organized the American secret service in Brussels. While U.S. minister to Belgium, Sanford's wealth grew.

He was the only heir to a Connecticut manufacturing and stock fortune growing from war profits making shells for Union guns and uniforms for the Union soldiers. Sanford spent much of the Civil War buying Belgian guns and raising money for the Union, according to many historians. He used a network of Union agents to spy on Confederate agents, sabotaging their military contracts by out-negotiating 24 Hour Professional Staff 1 Medication Assistance Management 1 Emergency Response System in Each Apartment 1 On-Site Rehabilitation Therapy 1 Three Gourmet Meals Served Daily Social Activities Wellness Programs Bringing You The Best In Assisted Living at Affordable Rates! Next Sunday: Tucker from the United States to avoid capture at the close of the war and later returns to help his former enemy found the city of Sanford. Scheduled Transportation MERRILL GARDENS At Orange City 500 Grand Plaza Drive Cl( 77 1 Li8 Orange City, FL 32763 JX1!" J3jO Facility Lie Rev. Bernice King will speak at Seminole prayer breakfast By Maria Orem SENTINEL CORRESPONDENT The Rev.

Bernice A. King, daughter of Coretta Scott King and the late Martin Luther King acy of addressing racial tensions and working toward racial reconciliation, Koach said. "Another reason we brought her in was to help quell some of the racial tensions in Seminole County, particularly in the Sanford area," he said. "We felt she could help unify citizens, the various organizations, government and church officials." Tickets are $15. For information, call Geoff Koach, (407) 333-0600, Ext.

2243. ple, said Geoff Koach, spokesman at Strang Communications one of several organizations and companies sponsoring the prayer breakfast, now in its seventh year. "This year, with the Rev. Bernice King speaking, we expect to see a lot more people of color there," he said. Ordained in 1990, Bernice King is assistant pastor at Greater Rising Star Baptist Church in Atlanta.

King carries on her father's leg will be the keynote speaker at the Seminole County Prayer Breakfast Wednesday at 7 a.m. at the Sanford Civic Center. Hosted by Christian Life in Lake Mary, the event is expected to draw about 700 peo News underscores importance of plants A batch of recent newspaper clippings gives an interesting overview of what editors consider newsworthy. When you read them, you realize how important plants are in our daily lives for our health, our wealth and our well-being. Some of these stories were locally written by Orlando Sentinel staffers, and others are from the Associated Press, other newspapers and other news services.

Here are brief summaries of some of the recent stories. How to diagnose plants' problems This article managed to take the reader through a number of questions that may point to a solution. It's important to keep notes about p. problems affecting your 1 Milt plants because if an expert is 1 needed, these notes may help, lire Watering practice gets a big play and with good rea NOTICE OF INTENT TO USE UNIFORM METHOD OF COLLECTING NON-AD VALOREM ASSESSMENTS The City Council of Winter Springs, Florida (the hereby provides notice, pursuant to section 197.3632(3) (a), Florida Statutes), of its intent to use the uniform method of collecting non-ad valorem special assessments to be levied within that portion of the Tuscawilla PUD located within the incorporated area of Winter Springs (less and except the Tuscawilla Trails and Oak Forest Subdivisions), for the cost of providing neighborhood improvements including road resurfacing, neighborhood park improvements, beautification and maintenance of rights-of-way, subdivision wall construction and maintenance, subdivision entranceway construction and maintenance, and street lighting commencing for the Fiscal Year beginning on October 1, 1998. The Council will consider the adoption of a resolution electing to use the uniform method of collecting such assessments authorized by Section 197.3632, Florida Statutes, at a public hearing to be held at 6:30 p.m., February 23, 1998, in the Commission Chambers of City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida.

Such resolution will state the need for the levy and will contain a legal description of the boundaries of the real property subject to the levy. Copies of the proposed form of resolution, which contains the legal description of the real property subject to the levy, are on file at the Office of the City Clerk of Winter Springs, Florida, 1 126 East State Road 434, Winter Springs, Florida. All interested parties are invited to attend. In the event any person decides to appeal any decision by the City Council with respect to any matter relating to the consideration of the resolution at the above-referenced public hearing, a record of the proceeding may be needed and in such an event, such person may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the public hearing is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence on which the appeal is to be based. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, persons needing a special accommodation or an interpreter to participate in this proceeding should contact the Personnel Office at (407) 327-1 800 at least seven days prior to the date of the hearing.

son. Many plants decline because they receive either too much or not enough water. In fact, when a plant is declining HANK VELDMAN phia are experimenting with fruits and vegetables as vehicles for delivering vaccines against diseases as varied as rabies and HIV In October 1997, researchers were ready to test their first edible vaccines in people. They will see whether genetically altered potatoes will protect people in the study against common traveler's diarrhea. It's not Just medflies invading our state An interesting and well-researched story reported on invaders from other continents who have hitched rides to this country on ships or planes.

It's not just the medfly. Fire ants, hydrilla weed, cowbirds, kudzu vine and melaleuca trees are all destructive invaders thriving in our state. This list is by no means complete. The big worry is the invasion is likely to continue. The number of visitors and goods from other areas of the world is staggering, and each arrival might be a vehicle for an invader.

A plant under attack can send out an SOS The victim: a corn seedling. The thug: the beet ar-myworm caterpillar. The action hero: a wasp named cotesia. A chemical in the caterpillars' saliva triggers a process in the plant that produces a wasp-luring aroma. The wasps arrive and annihilate the caterpillars.

And you thought gardening was dull. Bacteria send pests on the run Particularly effective against caterpillars, Bt (short for Bacillus thuringiensis) is a bacterium that causes lethal disease. New strains are effectively toxic to the larvae of blackflies and mosquitoes, as well as the Colorado potato beetle. This organic pesticide is harmless to people and animals and breaks down quickly. However, the following is an excerpt from another article on Bt.

Worries grow about organic pesticide Bt Just as with the widespread use and overuse of antibiotics in humans where certain bacteria are becoming resistant, so, too, plant pests are on their way to developing resistance to Bt. This organic pesticide has been in use for several decades but has only recently moved from back yards and organic farms to large mainstream producers. It's not by any means without controversy, with scientists being divided as to how real the threat actually is. Hanfc Veldman is a graduate of the Uniuersitu of Florida master gardening program. Gardening questions should be addressed to Plant Life, 4580 S.

U.S. Highway 17-92, Casselberry 32707. To ensure a response, please include a return address and telephone number. and looks sick, incorrect watering is the culprit more often than not. Growers fight pests, nurture environment Two articles covered pest control practices by Orlando area nurseries and professionals.

The articles described Integrated Pest Management, which allows growers to rely less on chemical pesticides and more on "good bugs," pest-resistant plants and avoiding over-watering and over-fertilizing. The integrated approach is not only a bonus to the environment, but it also decreases production costs. Weed study may unearth tastier tomato The fascinating report focuses on efforts by University of Pennsylvania scientists to identify every gene 20,000 of them in the cells of the plant arabidopsis, a common European weed naturalized in the Eastern United States and known as mouse-ear cress. Because the genes of weeds are very similar to genes of food crops such as corn, wheat and tomatoes, as well as ornamental plants, once the "gene map" of arabidopsis is complete it can be adapted to the food crops. It holds the promise of creating wheat that is drought resistant to the point of producing a sizable harvest in the desert, roses that won't wilt for weeks, new plants that produce plastic without environmental damage and even plants that soak up toxic waste and heavy metals.

Cooking up a tossed salad of, vaccines Researchers at Jefferson University in Philadel DATED this 29 day of January, 1998. CLERK OF WINTER SPRINGS By Order Of: i 4- 4r.