The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • B3

Orlando Sentinel: PRODUCT: OS DESK: LOC DATE: 05-30-2005 EDITION: MET ZONE: MET PAGE: B3.0 DEADLINE: 0.24 OP: mangle COMPOSETIME: 00.46 CMYK Orlando Sentinel FINAL MONDAY, MAY 30, 2005 B3 CENTRAL FLORIDA STATE DeLand museum to get F-14 fighter jet By KEN MA SENTINEL STAFF WRITER DELAND When Ed Carson was a teenager, he was fascinated by Navy dive bombers and the young pilots who trained at the former DeLand Naval Air Station to fly the aircraft during World Warll. One of those pilots was Dale Alexander, who arrived in the west Volusia city in 1944 with his bride. Although Carson and Alexander never met during the war, their love of naval aircraft would unite them many years later in a common cause: to bring a Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter plane to the DeLand Naval Air Station Museum. After years of fruitless labor, the two men, who are now directors at the museum, succeeded in getting the Navy to lend the museum one of its F-14s the sexy fighter jet featured in the movie Top Gun so it can be put on permanent display. The plane is scheduled to arrive at 12:50 p.m.

Tuesday at DeLand Municipal Airport, where the museum is located. A ceremony will celebrate. "We have been trying to get this plane for 11 years," said Alexander, 83, as he sat with Carson at the museum Friday. The Navy "called up one day and said they have a plane coming on the 31st. That threw the whole museum in an uproar." After learning the museum was going to get the fighter jet, which was built in 1981 by the Grumman Aircraft Corp.

and used in the Gulf and Iraq wars, Carson said it felt like his boss was giving him a raise. "We were enthused," said PHOTO COURTESY OF DELAND NAVAL AIR STATION MUSEUM The Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter plane was featured in the 1986 movie Top starring Tom Cruise. DeLand Naval Air Station Museum is getting one on long-term loan after 1 1 years of trying. The F-14 is scheduled to arrive Tuesday at DeLand Municipal Airport. materials are removed.

Jim Curry, aircraft collections manager for the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, said the Navy has lent about 50 Tomcats for display in museums and veterans memorials throughout the country. In addition to showcasing the Tomcat, the DeLand museum has plans for a $500,000 display hangar that will have a library and computers and be able to house up to six aircraft, Alexander said. So far, the museum has raised $21,000 forthe project. Ken Ma can be reached at 386-851-7914 or kmaorlandosentinel.com. As they sat on a table draped with patriotic stars inside the museum, Alexander and Carson recalled their efforts to get the F-14 and their plans to expand the museum.

They had initially asked the Navy for a World War II-era Navy dive bomber, the type of plane Alexander flew during the war. Both thought having the dive bomber a propeller-driven plane that played a key role in winning the battle of Midway, a turning point against the Japanese during the war on display at the museum would be significant because the former DeLand Naval Air Station was used as a training ground for dive-bomber pilots. The air base was in service from 1944 to 1946. The Navy, however, did not have dive bombers to lend. "We were going to have to get one on our own," Alexander said.

Instead, the Navy was able to lend them a torpedo bomber, which was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan. But the bomber, also known as an Avenger, will take five years and $50,000 to restore. The F-14 Tomcat, however, does not need to be restored, and will be ready for display once its engines and classified Carson, 74, a Navy communications technician during the Korean War. The plane will be temporarily displayed on a ramp across Biscayne Boulevard. Funds from DeLand and private donations will pay for a pyramid-shaped platform, which will eventually display the plane, said Keith Riger, the city's public services director.

The $30,000 platform, expected to be ready by the fall, will be along International Speedway Boulevard or Biscayne Boulevard. "I think it the F-14 will be a really nice addition to the airport," Riger said. The Area i in Brief LAKE COUNTY Man killed when pickup runs into pole A man driving in a remote section of Lake County was killed Sunday when he lost control of his pickup and ran into a power pole, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The accident, about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on Bear Lake Boulevard just east of Lake Mack Drive, caused a power failure in the area, said FHP Sgt.

Jorge Delahoz. Power was restored several hours after the crash. The driver was identified as Teo-dor G. Delgado, 46. Delahoz said Delgado was from Mexico and living here illegally.

Delgado lived in the Paisley area, near the crash site. Delahoz said he was traveling northwest and ran off the right side of the road in a curved section of Bear Lake Boulevard. Delgado overcorrected, drove across to the left side of the road, and struck and snapped the power pole. The pickup overturned on impact, and Delgado was partially ejected, Delahoz said. He was not wearing a seat belt.

DELAND Crash kills motorcyclist A Mount Dora man died after crashing his motorcycle early Sunday morning just west of DeLand, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Kevin Fisher, 40, was on West Beresford Road near Alexander Drive just after midnight when he crashed his 1994 Suzuki motorcycle, FHP said. OSTEEN Driver, 20, hits tree, dies A Deltona man died Sunday morning near Osteen in a single-car accident, the Florida Highway Patrol said. John O'Brien, 20, was driving west on Murray Street about 10:45 a.m. when he drove onto the right shoulder and into a tree, said FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller.

The accident is under investigation. O'Brien was not wearing a seat belt, Miller said. DAYTONA BEACH SHORES Shark bites Miami swimmer A Miami man became the first shark-bite victim of the season during the holiday weekend. Alfonso Garcia was swimming in the surf about 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Daytona Beach Shores when some kind of small shark bit his foot.

Beach Patrol officers say it was a minor bite but required stitches and a quick hospital visit. Volusia County had three shark bites last year down from 13 the year before. FORT PIERCE Boyfriend charged in slaying A 72-year-old man was charged Sunday with killing his girlfriend, whose badly decomposed body was found inside a suitcase snagged by a fisherman, officials said. Francis Shevlin of Fort Pierce was arrested and charged with homicide, said Mark Weinberg, spokesman for the St. Lucie County Sheriffs Office.

Shevlin was being held without bail at the St. Lucie County Jail. Joanne Banks, 45, of Port St. Lucie was stuffed into her suitcase and thrown into a nearby canal, The Palm Beach Post reported. Her body was found Saturday by a fisherman in a canal west of Fort Pierce.

Kenneth Snow, 36, saw a suitcase floating in the area, unzipped the large, soft-sided case and found the remains, said St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara. BROWARD COUNTY Man dies in 1-75 barrier crash A man was killed late Saturday afternoon when his car went out of control and struck a concrete barrier on Interstate 75. Daniel Nejia, 18, of 1337 Presidio Drive, Weston, was northbound on U.S. Highway 27 and passing beneath 1-75 about 6:10 p.m.

when his Nissan Maxima hit the barrier, according to spokeswoman Liz Calza-dilla-Fiallo of the Broward Sheriffs Office. Making a splash NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE OF ZONING CHANGE The City Council of the City of Maitland, Florida, proposes to adopt an ordinance to rezone the land within the area shown in the map within this advertisement. The ordinance is entitled: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MAITLAND, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP, A PART OF CHAPTER 21 OF THE MAITLAND CODE OF ORDINANCES, BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF PROPERTIES DESCRIBED HEREIN, FROM RS-1 (SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL-1) TO RS-1A (SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT) AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Public hearings regarding the proposed ordinance will be held by the City Council of the City of Maitland, Florida, on Monday, May 23, 2005 at 7:30 P.M., and on Monday, June 13, 2005 at 7:30 P.M., or as soon thereafter as is reasonably possible in the Maitland City Hall Council Chambers, 1776 Independence Lane, Maitland, Florida 32751. The purpose of the PUBLIC HEARINGS is to take public comment, both written and oral, concerning a ZONING AMENDMENT presented by the City of Maitland, 1776 Independence Lane, Maitland, Florida 32751.

The City of Maitland, Florida proposes to REZONE PROPERTY described herein from RS-1, Single-Family Residential to RS-1A, Single-Family Residential District, legally described as: Lots 1-32, Block Delroy Park, as recorded in Plat Book Page 82, Public Records of Orange County, Florida; Lots 1-10, Block Delroy Park, as recorded in Plat Book Page 82, Public Records of Orange County, Florida; Lots 1-8 Block Delroy Park, as recorded in Plat Book Page 82, Public Records of Orange County, Florida; Lots 1-9, Block Delroy Park, as recorded in Plat Book Page 82, Public Records of Orange County, Florida. mm "i sar: i. jJ dxm 'If Sf i it 4tiKpi fr ilf'V III! rwir MKK MINNEHAHA JOE KALEITAORLANDO SENTINEL Michael Decker, 8, of Winter Springs sits Sunday in the middle of the fountains in the splash pad at Torcaso Park in Winter Springs. Michael was enjoying the park with his dad, Mike. The splash pad at the park is a 30-foot diameter concrete flat surface with automated underground water jets.

'Dangerous' Heathrow fire rages jfj "51 LAKE MAITLAND City of Maitland Winter Park At one point, firefighters were using so much water they had to ask officials at the Heathrow Water Treatment Plant to increase pressure to the hydrants. It wasn't clear how the fire started or how much damage it caused. About 80 golf carts were stored inside the building along with the chemicals used to treat the golf course. Harris said the damage could reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. More than 30 firefighters from Seminole County Fire Rescue and the Lake Mary, San-ford and Longwood fire departments responded, Harris said.

Firetrucks parked on the paved golf-cart paths. Engines, tower trucks and hazardous-materials vehicles were on the scene. Firefighters diked off the water runoff and covered storm drains to prevent possible groundwater chemical contamination. "The fire is going to burn into the morning," Harris said. "It's a very dangerous fire with a lot of chemicals that have mixed.

The fire is not spreading, which is good." Anthony Colarossi can be reached at acolarossiorlandosentinel.com or 407-420-6218. By ANTHONY COLAROSSI SENTINEL STAFF WRITER A large fire at the Heathrow Country Club consumed a maintenance facility filled with golf carts, fertilizer, pesticides and other chemicals late Sunday. Firefighters considered the fire so dangerous and potentially explosive that they took a defensive position, shot water on the blaze from a distance and hoped the flames would burn themselves out, said Alan Harris, a Seminole County Public Safety spokesman. The fire was called in at about 8:13 p.m. It was still producing flames and thick plumes of black and billowing smoke more than three hours later.

"There was a potential for an explosive environment. It could be a bomb-type scenario," Harris said. "The fire is continuing to burn. We still have chemicals and fertilizer inside. We're not letting it spread.

It will probably be an all-night type of operation." Firefighters were concerned about a neighborhood about 200 feet from the scene, but winds late Sunday blew the smoke up and away from the homes, Harris said. A complete copy of the ordinance may be inspected by any interested person, Monday-Friday, 8:00 A.M.- 5:00 P.M., in the office of the City Clerk, Maitland City Hall, 1776 Independence Lane, Maitland, Florida. Interested parties may submit written comments at or before the public hearing or attend the public hearing to be heard by the City Council of the City of Maitland, Florida. Questions concerning the notice of public hearing may be directed to the Community Development Department at (407) 539-6212. The hearing may be continued from time to time.

Any person who desires to appeal any decision made at this meeting or hearing will need a record of the proceedings and, for this purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made which includes testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Persons with disability needing assistance to participate in any of these proceedings should contact the City Clerk's office (407) 539-6219, 48 hours in advance of the meeting. CITY OF MAITLAND DONNA L. WILLIAMS, MMC 5 CITY CLERK Anthony Colarossi and Christopher Sherman of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Information from WESH-Channel 2, The Associated Press and South Florida Sun-Sentinel also was used.

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