The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 75

is THE TAMPA TRIBUNE IZ3 U' 0 Section Monday, May 21, 1984 At home with the animals Zoo keeper says Lowry Park post is one he always wanted By BRUCE DUDLEY Tribune Staff Writer h- fit i 'j I a if I 1 1 i I ir-. 1 ill 1 I I i.inn,,,, in zoology. Even more important, Porter got a part-time job as a monorail driver "at Busch Gardens. Later he was transferred to the horticulture division at Busch Gardens. And then, finally, he began working "in the animal end of things." That was the beginning of a zoo-keeping profession, which according to Porter has finally landed him the job he always wanted zoo superintendent at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo.

He began his new job last weekr He is particularly pleased to be filling the newly created post just as the city is launching an initial $5 million face-lift as part of an eventual $10 million zoo renovation plan. Back when Porter was at USF' and working at Busch Gardens, the St. Petersburg Times ran a story on zoos in its now defunct Sunday magazine "The Floridian" and Porter was prominently featured. The 34-year-old zoo chief was 22 then, just at the threshold of his new career. He was hefting hay to the hippos.

He was hearding elephants from daytime pens to night He was ferrying fruits and vegetables across the chimpanzees' moat. More important, the 1972 newspaper article quoted Porter about his concerns on the future of the nation's zoos. Many city zoos were being abolished at that time, and it appeared others might be sacrificed in budget "We need zoos to educate people about conservation and ecology," Porter is quoted as having said. "More and more people are living in cities, and most city dwellers don't get a chance to see animals except in zoos." Now, Porter has bolstered that commitment with experience that he hopes to put to work at the Lowry Park Zoo. After working at Busch Gardens as a zoo keeper, he left Tampa in 1973 to take a job with the Metro Toronto Zoo in Ontario, Canada, as a senior keeper.

"I had never seen snow before the climate was brutal," he said. But Porter worked his way up to zoo foreman at the Toronto facility before he left in 1979 to become curator at the Louisville Zoological Garden in Louisville, Ky. That's the job he held until last week when he became Tampa's zoo superintendent. His salary is just about the same as he was -paid in Louisville, but Porter said he made, the job change "because of the challenge." "I can develop some of my own See ZOO, Page 2B Lanky, 6-foot-8 Douglas Porter looks more like a basketball player than a zoo superintendent In fact, he played basketball at Boca Ciega High School in St. Petersburg.

And he played so well that he got a basketball scholarship to Mercer University in Macon, Ga. But during his sophomore year in college a trip to the Atlanta zoo changed Porter's life. He discovered he was more at home with animals i than on a basketball court making I hook shots. Porter said he had majored in biology, thinking he would be a teacher some day. But after the zoo trip he changed directions.

In his senior year at Mercer in 1970, Porter gave up his basketball scholarship and transferred to the University of South Florida to major Tribune photo by PHIL SHEFFIELD Douglas Porter, new chief of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, stands before Sheena the elephant, one of the many animals Porter is. becoming acquainted with at the zoo. Hope remains for purchase of B6er Tract "I guess you might call it a last resort," said Sen. Betty Castor of pending legislation that could lead to the state purchase of 1,585 acres on Old Tampa Bay. Steve Otto cm By PATRICE FLINCHBAUGH Tribune Staff Writer Pending legislation has resurrected ecologists' hopes that the Bower Tract on Old Tampa Bay will become a state preserve.

amendments tacked onto bills by Sen. Betty Castor and Rep. Helen Gordon Davis would authorize the state specifically to condemn the property for conservation purposes. Castor said the owners "would be agreeable" if the state used its eminent domain powers. "I pess you might call it a last resort," said Castor in an interview.

"If we don't make this last attempt to acquire the Bower Tract, we may regret it later. It's a tremendous parcel of property, and in my estimation it would be such an advantage with the county park being so close by." Earlier this year, a stalemate over purchase prices all but dashed plans to buy Upper Tampa Bay Park's neighbor through "Hopefully we could get it higher on the list," she said. "The chances look good. Hillsborough County has never had a prop- erty on the CARL list purchased." Last year, the Legislature authorized the Florida Department of Natural Resources to acquire certain properties using CARL funds through eminent domain. Castor's amendment inserts the Bower Tract in this year's of the bill.

More than 10 years ago, the county purchased 409 acres of Bower Tract land which it converted into Upper Tampa Bay Park. Former owners of the park land had deeded the property to the Tampa Port Authority after the board decided to sell ad-' joining submerged lands to a development firm. 3 -Those developers talked of building high-rise and garden apartments plus commercial facilities to serve 70,000 people. A federal judge, ordered restoration of nine acres of tidal marsh that had been illegally filled. the state's CARL (Conservation and Recreation program.

Because of the squabble the owner had asked $6 million, the government could scrape together about $3 million the Bower Tract's ranking on the CARL acquisition list of 50 proposed purchases had plummeted to 28 from much higher slots, saia Castor. It once was tied for seventh place. "We had given up," said Rob Heath, a Hillsborough County Parks Department staff member who monitors the Bower Tract issue for two local ecology groups. "I'm glad to hear that (the Castor-Davis amendments). I hope it goes It's a classic acquisition.

The land is pristine and there is only one owner," said Heath in an interview. Heath said the Bower Tract is valued by naturalists for its ability to protect and nurse marine life. Also, American bald eagles, the national bird, have been known to feed on the property. i Encroaching development north of the property on Hillsborough Avenue threatens to cut off a natural barrier between the marshland and urban bustle, Heath and Castor said. In a recent letter to the Hillsborough County delegation, Castor urged local legislators, if the amendments pass, to lobby county commissioners and civic groups to generate pressure to move the Bower Tract higher on the list.

Why they built the Crosstown, and other trivia Free rides bring out thousands to opening of Miami Metrorail If you saw Sunday's big feature on Tampa trivia you might think that if there was anything trivial in the Big Guava, we covered it Well we came close, but frankly we left out just a few questions. As a result, I've been asked i by the management to include a few leftover trivia questions that didn't make yesterday's story. I'm told it was because they didn't have enough space, but I suspect there were other reasons and that will become obvious. You don't have to clip them out, and if anybody asks 'you don't remember where you saw these questions. Why did they build the Crosstown 'I Expressway? Someone thought Tampa should have its own wilderness trail.

The billion-dollar rapid transit system linking the suburbs to downtown Miami is the first such systeni in Florida. i miji i.iju.iiijjjuiiiiiw,imj,j.i,,iJ!Uujjiii)i i i ijmnuppnp mmm i nmwiw, JH vv i I fit fi I i I I 1 ft i i jif i i i i I i MIAMI (AP) Thousands of people turned out Sunday for a free opening-day ride on Miami's new Metrorail, a $1 billion elevated rail system that was 25 years in the making. Officials had expected 40,000 to take advantage of the day's free ride and gala dedication party at each of 10 south-link stations. They got more than they bargained for. "About 40,000 an hour! There's been a great number of people," said Charles Modisette, with the Metro-Dade Transportation Administration.

Balloons and party favors were passed out and sandwiches and beer were hawked before an afternoon' dedication ceremony attended by Gov. Bob Graham, U.S. Sen. Lawton Chiles, D-Lakeland, and a host of congressmen and county officials. "None of the people here can prophecy what the development of this Metrorail will have on our state," the governor told about 600 listeners at the Dade Cultural Center.

"One thing we do know. Miami, South Florida and the state of Florida will never be the same after May 20, 1984." "If you want to be a world-class city, you have to have a world-class rapid-transit system," said U.S. Rep. William Lehman, D-Fla. "Today, Miami has become a world-class city." Old and young, rich and poor, native and newcomer stood on line under sunny skies for the sleek and shiny Cars running 11 miles from suburban Kendall to downtown Miami.

The new riders fumbled getting tickets through turnstiles, peered gingerly over the edge of the above-ground track and packed into train cars designed to hold 166 people each. Terry Hopkins caught the first train at 6 a.m. He was still riding, back and forth, four hours-later. See FREE, Page 2B AP photo Attracted by opening-day free rides, thousands of people packed into the new trains making up Miami's Metrorail system. When will Amlea finish uglying up Hyde 'Park? Nobody knows, but it is already being called the Jekyll Island of Hyde Park.

1 What is one answer to overcrowding in county jails? Government consolidation. What's the quicfeest way to get to I Get a designer loan. What do you call a councilman with a shag toupe? y. A customized Vann. What's the difference between a mart the new performing arts center? One allows shopping carts.

How many anchor persons does it take to do a Channel 8 newscast? t' None. South Dakota has Mount Rushmore but whose faces are carved on the side of the Road landfill? i Pick a county commissioner. How many times has Manhattan Avenue been torn up this past year? So often the 7-Eleven had to change its name to the Tuesday-Wednesday. I Why is Tampa called the Big Guava? What would you prefer the Big Pothole? I What kind of car do Carrollwoodians need I to drive to work in on Dale Mabry? A stationary wagon. r.

Who was Jose Caspar? I Only the first If Tampa and St. Petersburg build domed stadiums and get no team, what will they be I called? The twin pities. Man touts subliminal smoking cure Inside Poison center saves lives The Tampa Bay Regional Poison Control Center at Tampa General Hospital receives 20,000 calls each year; many of the calls concern children who have swallowed something that could hurt them. Joel Robert Witmer's stop-smoking program has drawn praise, but his credentials and background have been questioned. By ALEXIS SIMENDINGER Tribune Staff Writer Joel Robert Witmer of Clearwater is in the business of helping people quit smoking.

His goal, he says, is to reach as many smokers as possible in Florida and other states with his six-session program based on subliminal persuasion. To date, his program developed in Tallahassee in the mid-1970s has brought him from the state capital south to Gainesville, Ocala and the Tampa Bay area. Questions about his credentials and his background have followed Witmer as we'll. He currently is offering his money-back-guaranteed sessions in Tampa and Clearwater, and he recently concluded programs at the Jack Eckerd Corp- and Honeywell Inc. for their employees.

try in California called Universal Life Church Inc. In 1983, Witmer was ordained by mail as a minister, said Diane Earheart, who maintains church records. In 1983 and 1984, Witmer paid a total of $65 for two honorary doctorates, Earheart said. Witmer said his mail-order degrees are legitimate and said people misunderstand if they believe he is a psychologist. "I tell people I'm a counselor," he said.

"I think many people will confuse1 things." It was public scrutiny of his credentials and his Tallahassee arrest record that' prompted him to move to Gainesville from Tallahasee in 1980, Witmer said. In 1979, he was charged with extortion for allegedly threatening a student, according to Leon County Circuit Court records. He was found guilty of the charge and sentenced to two years in prison, but his case was overturned on appeal because the court ruled the introduction of a rebuttal witness was prejudicial, court records state. Witmer denied that he issued a physical threat to the student director of the FSU organization that sponsored his non-credit courses, which was the basis of the extortion See SMOKING, Page 23 "I think it's the best thing Eckerd ever did their employees," said a woman who smoked for 25 years and quit through the program. Witmer, 41, a slight man with a direct gaze and a monotone voice, boasts that 92 percent of those in the program quit smoking on the fourth class session, as designed.

Eighty-seven percent still aren't smoking seven days later, he said. And that's the Witmer definition of success: if they make it through that first week, the course has been successful. Mel Ardelean, 34, is one of 23 smokers at Eckerd who recently participated in the sessions and one of 20 who said he had quit when interviewed a week after the program concluded. Ardelean, who quit smoking for five years before lighting up again 18 months ago, had high praise for the program but said neither Eckerd nor Witmer made Witmer's credentials and background clear. Witmer, who has a bachelor's degree in history, humanities and psychology from Florida State University, advertises In his promotional material that he has a doctorate in divinity and a Ph.D.

Actually, he has no doctorate in philosophy, and his D.D. is from a mail-order minis- Who will be indicted this week? This one is multiple choice, but you have to choose. What do the Ashley-Kennedy intersection and the County Commission have in common? 5 Total confusion. How is a gypsum stack like the county 'courthouse? You have to put them somewhere. Fire started in.

Ocala forest 6. Two thousand acres in the Ocala National Forest were ignited Saturday by "dummy rockets" that caught fire during target practice at a Navy bombing range..