Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 45

is TIMES WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8. 1982 Chewing tobacco checked as clue in fatal hit-run Owner of ring left in restaurant restroom sought By DAVID HENRY Cleerweter Times Staff Writer Clearwater Time Staff Wrher Wally Blankenship, a driver who. works for the same firm as Miller did, said he found a block of Day's Work brand chewing tobacco in Miller's wrecker after the accident. Blankenship said he turned the tobacco over to police. He added that he spotted what appeared to be tobacco juice on the hood of the suspect's vehicle.

"I would say chances are nine out of 10 that Monroe was chewing tobacco that night (of the accident) because he usually chewed it at night," Blankenship said. Police have been unable to speak with the man who is believed to have been driving the hit-and-run car, Kaminskas said. His attorney has advised him not to talk with police. The station wagon was located in the High Point area after a citizen, whose identity has not been released, reported it to police, Kaminskas said. Kaminskas said the suspected tobacco stains are not a key part of the investigation but would help string together any other evidence tying the suspect's vehicle to the accident.

It may take "at least" several weeks before the department concludes its analysis, Kaminskas said. Meanwhile, investigators are following up other leads. found on the station wagon with Miller's blood type, skin and hair. I "We want to have them (department laboratory technicians) tell us if the vehicle we have is the vehicle involved in the accident," Kaminskas said. Kaminskas said the man believed to have been driving the station wagon has been identified, but prosecutors will make the decision whether to charge him.

"This is a tricky case," he continued. "We need the FDLE's lab analysis to be sure we have the right vehicle." Miller, 56, was killed early Aug. 28 when a hit-and-run driver swerved 12 feet off U.S. 19 and struck the veteran tow truck driver as he worked to help a motorist. He was buried Thursday, and dozens of admirers turned out for his funeral and burial.

Twenty-one wreckers with black ribbons on their mirrors escorted his body to the cemetery. CLEARWATER Police are attempting to locate the owner of a diamond ring found Aug. ft in the restroom of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in Clearwater. Detective Jim Little said the ring probably is worth between $500 and $1,000, but anyone wishing to claim it must identify several distinguishing characteristics. A woman identified as Sadonna Wingaard of Largo found the ring in the bathroom of the restaurant at 1300 Missouri Ave.

in Clearwater, Little said. Anyone wishing to claim the ring should contact Little at 462-6051. CLEARWATER Police are following up several clues in the investigation of the hit-and-run accident that killed popular Clearwater tow truck driver Monroe Miller. One of the most unusual involves comparing suspected chewing tobacco stains on the vehicle believed to have struck Miller with tobacco found In his wrecker "I don't know if (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) can tell tobacco brands, but that's one of the things we're waiting to And out," said Sgt. Ray Kaminskas.

The department's laboratory in Tampa is examining several dark stains found on the hood of a white station wagon that police believe killed Miller on Aug. 28. Although the stains appear to be tobacco juice, police are unsure. KaminHkas said the department laboratory also is trying to match suspected blood stains and pieces of hair and skin Bogus $100 bill used to pay restaurant check Cleerweter Timea Staff Writer -fx ivy 1 i CLEARWATER Two women paid for their check at a Clearwater restaurant and lounge Sunday afternoon with a counterfeit $100 bill, police said Monday. However, the women were not arrested because they told police one of them received the bill as a birthday present and didn't know it was bogus.

Employees of Bennigan's Tavern, 2640 Gulf-to-Bay were suspicious about the bill and called police. An agent with the U.S. Secret Service office in Tampa was caUed in to examine the bill, and he said it was counterfeit, police said. A police report of the incident did not state what was wrong with the bill. Officials from the U.S.

Secret Service did not return a telephone message left by a reporter. Police took fingerprints and photographs of the women, who were from Tampa and New Port Richey. They were then released. a. Jiw l.

in ii Hi AW a 4. Horse show Sunday Harris Stables in Largo will be open to the public Sunday for its Third Annual Summer Horse Show. Bud Gray will judge the 23 events, frorn 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring 1 00 beginning and advanced riders on Quarter, Morgan, Tennessee walking, American Saddlebred, thoroughbred and other breeds of horses. The free show will include bareback riding and horse-drawn carts, similar to this one pulled by Superior Moments, an American Saddlebred, carrying stable owner Phyllis Harris.

Food and beverages will be available throughout the day. The stables are at 1291 1 Starkey Road, south of State Road 688. Largo-Saminol Tim DAVEPIERSON A Man stable after crash that took life of brother Cleerweter Times Staff Writer CLEARWATER David N. Hamilton, injured Sunday in a two-car accident in which his brother died, was in stable condition Tuesday, at Clearwater Community Hospital. The 21-year-old Bartow man's condition was improving, said hospital nursing supervisor Joyce Hefter.

If he continues to improve, he can be moved this week from the hospital's intensive care unit, Mrs. Hefter said. Police suspect that Hamilton was drag racing at 3 a.m. Sunday on Courtney Campbell Parkway when his car hit the rear of a car driven by Frankie H. Shroyer of Clearwater.

Shroyer and three passengers in his car were treated for injuries at Clearwater Community Hospital. Hamilton's brother Wayne, 22, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. He was the only passenger in the car. No charges have been filed, pending an investigation that may take a week or more, said Clearwater police Lt. Wayne Sibbert.

Sheraton World sends a refund and an apology weather '1 I I 1 7- HELP Today's forecast Partly cloudy. High in lower to mid 90s. Low in mid 70s. Southwest winds 10-15 mph. Rain chance 30 percent.

TUESDAY Largo 72 87 FEIUIER i Consagra from Page 1 manager in Tampa, who said he would look into. it. Still no answer. Will you be so kind as to help me with this matter? Christo CONSAGRA ALSO alleged that he confessed to the murders because his attorneys convinced him that, if the case went to trial, he would be convicted in spite of his innocence and sentenced to death. But in a move last Monday that surprised both Fogle some of whom have been known to alter fees.

(3) Your parts of the forms were incomplete, and you did not specify which policy belonged to which family member, which contributed to the delay. (4) He has filled out his last insurance form for you. The irate dentist also tells us all of your forms in his possession have been sent to the insurance company, and the matter is now between you and it. Glad we could help. Feedback: What we couldn't do in 4Vi months you accomplished in less than a week.

Unbelieveable! Fantastic! We are very grateful. We received the Panama ceiling fan but are very disappointed with it. It has only one speed slow. We are sending it back for a refund as promised in the ad. (We may be yelling help once again to get our money back.) Thank you so very much.

Grace and Alex P. Grandt Jr. HELP aniwirl question, opant government door and fight comumar battle for all reiidentl of the Suncoaat. Given sufficient information we process or refer every serious inquiry, but we cannot guaren-tee response. Requests will be accepted only by mail.

We cennot be responsible for returning personal documents, so please send only photoetatic copies. the complaint concern a mail order, we will need copiea of both aide of the cenceled check. Upon request, nemos will be omitted from items used for publicetion. Address your letter to HELP, Clasrwafr Timet. P.O.

Box 1698. Clearwater. Fla. 33517 In early July, our family stayed at Sheraton World, Orlando, while on vacation. We paid for three nights, but because our funds were running low, we only stayed two nights.

We were told we would receive the refund for the third night within 10 days. To make a long story short, despite subsequent long distance calls, we have not received the $55.60 due us and will appreciate your help. Francis O'Kane To make a short story shorter, you have the Sheraton's check and its apology for the delay. On Dec. 16, 1 applied for health insurance with Prudential and gave the agent my check for $174.50, which was one month's payment for my wife and myself.

About a month later Prudential sent me its check for $174.50 with a letter stating I could not be insured because I had not resided in Florida for one year. I refused to accept this reasoning so I called the agent. He said to send him the letter and the check and he would look into the situation. 1 followed his instructions, but to date have heard nothing. I have called and visited his office and am told someone will be in touch.

I finally called the branch the cooling system began to malfunction. I wrote to the dealer in New York requesting warranty papers. Instead, I received a letter stating I could go to any Chrysler dealer for service. Wrong. When I presented the letter, at Pasco Chrysler, the service manager informed me he has two dozen such letters for which payment has not been made by Chrysler Corp.

My van is under warranty until Oct. 30. If the vehicle is not registered on the computer, I will have to pay for parts and labor. I spent well over $10,000 for this van so I could enjoy traveling during my retirement. Since subsequent letters to the dealer and to customer relations in Detroit have brought no response, could you help a newcomer who loves every bit of this area? Ernest Quinones You have your warranty papers, the van has been serviced, and you're as happy as a Florida clam.

And if you're happy, we are. Footnote: To Mrs. A. M. Toen: Your complaint struck a raw nerve with your dentist.

He tells us: (1) He does not complete the insurance papers until he completes the dental work (and yours isn't finished yet). (2) He does not return forms to patients, and Meissner, Assistant Public Defender Stephen Everhart withdrew the motion for post conviction relief. Everhart refused to tell the Times why he did so and declined to say Tuesday whether he planned to refile the motion. Meissner, however, has accused public defenders of leaving prosecutors "swinging on a rope with the clear impression that we had sent an innocent man to prison." Meissner had requested Tuesday's hearing to ask Fogle to require testimony from Consagra's three former defense attorneys Grant Halliday, Thomas Granahan and Seymour Honig. The prosecutor said he wanted to ask the attorneys, all now practicing lawyers in Tampa, about Consagra's charges that they persuaded him to plead guilty and whether he You still don't have insurance, but you do have your money back.

Your original application was denied because you do not meet the firm's underwriting requirement of residing in the United States for one year. Your agent pealed, but the original rejection decision was sustained. And that's the last the home office heard of or from you until you wrote to us. The mystery is, what happened to Prudential's check? It has not been cashed, so the local sales manager (your original agent) has hand-delivered a replacement in exchange for a lost check statement. In October, I purchased a 1981 Dodge Ram.

van from Future Jackson Heights, N.Y. I came to Florida in December. In June, Editor's note from Page 1 'admitted guilt to them. MEANWHILE, the state has reopened its investigation into Consagra's conviction. Steve Porter, a detective with the Pinellas County Sheriffs Department, has spent more than a month looking into the confession.

A woman who went to sheriffs detectives slightly more than one month ago and confessed to the murders was given a polygraph test by the sheriffs department, which she neither conclusively passed nor failed, Porter and Detective Brian Daniels have said. The woman was taken to the sheriffs department by Steven Millwee, a private investigator from Tampa who has been paid by a relative of Consagra to look into his convic- -tion. Millwee has said that in addition to the woman's "confession" he has conclusive circumstantial evidence to prove that Consagra had nothing to do with the murders. The bloated bodies of Miss Holmes and Douberly were found tied to a motorboat engine near the spoil island in St. Joseph Sound April 19, 1978.

The night of April 16, Consagra and the couple had rented a motorboat from a fish camp and headed to a spoil island for a night of fishing and beer drinking. Consagra swam to the camp the next morning and said Douberly and Miss Holmes had left him. at the people's homes. She even needs volunteers, maybe a service club of young men, to help move people participating in SPAIR. I SAID IT last September and I'll say it again now the idea makes so much sense.

If an elderly couple or an elderly individual is in relatively good health but just wants some live-in companionship, maybe someone to help with household chores, maybe someone to help pay the household bills, maybe someone just to keep an eye on a person who shouldn't be left alone, SPAIR can find that person so the couple or individual can stay in their home rather than have to move into a nursing or retirement home. If an individual living alone, possibly in an apartment or rental unit, would enjoy the companionship of another individual or family and maybe is having a little trouble making ends meet on his or her own, SPAIR can try to make a match to benefit all concerned. What do you think? both sides understand the living arrangement. A trained counselor will follow up each match to make sure it's working out and to help solve any problems that may arise. "We are not Cupid' Ms.

Hill emphasized. SPAIR's role is not to play matchmaker for lonely widows and widowers. Many of those matched probably will be widows. AT THE OUTSET, Ms. Hill believes, there will be more people with homes wanting someone to move in than there will be people looking for a home.

So what she recently did was write to about 100 persons on the waiting list for Barbee Towers. This is the downtown Clearwater high-rise for low-income retirees. She reasoned that some of these people might be ideal candidates for SPAIR. If you want to learn more about the program, you may try to call Ms. Hill at 461-0504.

1 say "try" because, based on the response to my columns last fall, her phone may be very busy for several days. You also may stop by the Community Service Foundation office, 111 Garden Ave. in downtown Clearwater, between 9 and 5 daily to obtain information about SPAIR. However, you'll need an appointment if you want to be interviewed as a formal applicant. Ms.

Hill also needs volunteer help. She needs volunteers to help explain the program to people calling or stopping by. She needs volunteers to conduct the initial interviews people are paying for one set of utility bills instead of each paying their own. In, some cases, the person moving in may be paid a fee for helping to keep house or care for someone. In other cases, the "fee" may simply be free room and board.

The idea, plain and simple, is that two persons now each living alone may be a lot better off financially and emotionally living together. In some cases, of course, it will be one person moving in with a couple. The foundation explains the need for SPAIR this way: "THERE ARE thousands of elderly persons who own their homes in Pinellas County. In many cases, lack of companionship, rising costs and fear of being alone make it difficult to cope. Others in our community need a place to live in exchange for housekeeping chores and shared expenses." SPAIR will attempt to match them up, at no charge.

Interested persons will apply to the Community Service Foundation. There will be interviews, research, a screening process during which SPAIR will try to come up with "a match based on common interests," Ms. Hill explained. Persons who might get along well will be brought gether for a meeting; Ms. Hill has her very first such meet- ing this week.

A simple contract will be prepared so that EMS from Page 1 IS jfWfc I if it tiU Xf 'I Vx' J) I lect paramedic and equipment, Knight said. All the fire chiefs interviewed by the Times did not want their fire departments to start transporting any greater number of injured people, though. If that happened, and it has been suggested in the area EMS council, officials said they would have to institute a fee for the extra wear on rescue equipment. There would also be arguments from ambulance companies robbed of business, officials said. And, whereas ambulances are now required to carry even people who can't pay a bill, officials added that the companies might start leaving all those to the fire department a patient receiving "advanced life support," fire officials said.

"Advanced life support" includes medical attention such as- oxygen, electronic monitoring or intravenous injections. Only Clearwater rescue vehicles routinely carry three persons to an emergency call. EMS squads from other fire departments have only two personnel, usually one paramedic and a lesser-trained emergency medical technician. So the injured usually wait for an ambulance. And if "advanced life support" is needed, the fire department paramedic will ride along with the patient.

Meanwhile the rescue squad remains tied up on the call, following the ambulance to the hospital to col paramedics decided not to wait. Although having room to carry a patient on a stretcher, Largo's four rescue squads, like those in Clearwater and the rest of Pinellas County, are not really equipped to serve as lances, Knight said. Licensed ambulances have special air conditioning systems, special door latches and other features not needed on a rescue vehicle. In addition, most rescue squads are not staffed sufficiently to serve as ambulances. STATE LAW requires that two persons one at least a paramedic ride in the back of an ambulance with i I 1 1 1 nl I It 1 el.