The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 21

WWWWWBBIWjH WBM bwb jwh I'll THE TAMPA TRIBUNE Friday, October 9, 1987 Section Pamda panr deffneitely vh 'IS I xj Steve f.f Otto j2l 4 on me way C7 Hi Giving time, talent is her Golden Rule Colleen. Now there's an evocative name. It's Gaelic. It means "a sweet and soft maiden." Wonder why we ignored it for so many years? If you were to go back in the clip files of Mother Trib, you would see envelopes stuffed full of stories about "Mrs. Wayne Bevis" does this, or "Mrs.

Wayne Bevis" does that. Of course those stories were written years before the feminist movement crept across the news pages and we tried to decide if someone was a Miss, a Mrs. a Ms. or just the wife of. they want to give the pandas at least two weeks of privacy before opening the exhibit.

Joseph Fincher, general manager of Busch Gardens, said the display in the bird garden is state of the art and should be completed on time. Gerald Lentz, zoo manager at Busch Gardens, said the display area is an excellent approximation of the pandas' natural environment, a combination of natural and synthetic components designed by an artificial-landscape firm in Arizona. The 120-foot-long structure includes separate sections for the animals that will be kept at a constant 70 degrees. The two pandas are not compatible one is a "sub-adult." Visitors can ride a "sidewalk conveyor," capable of carrying 2,000 people each hour and passing within six feet of the pandas. A shallow moat separates the conveyor from the den, and visitors also can view the animals from a veranda in the rear of the room.

"This is no doubt the finest panda exhibit in the world," Fincher said. "It's our most sophisticated display." The pandas will be kept indoors during visiting hours and can roam See BUSCH, Page 10B By KURT LOFT Tribune Staff Writer TAMPA Busch Gardens officially pulled off its big coup by signing a pact to rent two giant pandas from the Chinese government, it was announced Thursday. The rare, black-and-white pandas Ling Ling and Yong Yong will leave their temporary home at New York Zoological Park between Nov. 1 and 5, and Busch Gardens plans to open its multimillion-dollar exhibition space by Nov. 17, officials said.

Although there will be no extra charge to see the pandas, the public will have to pay the regular $19 Busch Gardens admission. Some zoo directors have criticized Busch's admission fee because it is considerably higher than the nominal fees charged by traditional zoos. Fincher would not disclose what Busch Gardens paid the Chinese, but officials at the Bronx zoo said the cost in New York was more than $1 million for the six-month loan. Ling Ling and Yong Yong will make their Tampa trip aboard a regularly scheduled airliner, their cages specially fitted into the first-class section. Officials at Busch Gardens said 4 New York Zoological Society photograph Busch Gardens will soon become the tempo- Ling Ling, two rare, giant pandas, it was an-rary home for Yong Yong, pictured above, and nounced Thursday.

Panelists want conservative ads for state lottery iff" 'V. Multimillionaire Jack Eckerd, who successfully led the battle against casino gambling, has written Paul and the lottery commissioners a letter suggesting they not "entice" the public to play. But Paul and her top staff, who have been praised for running a successful lottery in Illinois, are unlikely to follow suggestions offered by Eckerd or the Lottery Commis-. sion, which is merely an advisory board. The first public maneuvering over what kind of advertising campaign will hype the lottery, scheduled to begin Jan.

15, was played out here Wednesday. Commissioners fretted over how the lottery will be promoted, tried to figure out how to get a closer look at some of the day-to-day decisions before they're made, and suggested that Paul hear Eckerd out. Paul bristled. She pursed her lips. She stiffened.

Her answers were pointed. UJ I 1 1 Figueredo f- i Jl i si a It's too bad, because Colleen sounds a lot nicer than Mrs. Wayne Bevis. Maybe that's because I know Wayne Bevis. He owes Colleen Bevis me a lunch.

He was a big cheese at Eastern and got involved in a lot of civic" projects. He's a good guy, but he only has one folder down here and Colleen has two. Then again, how many people do you know who have more than one building or school named after them? There are some really exceptional people around here. Colleen Bevis is one of them. You cannot adequately measure dedication.

Time and effort are good guideposts, however, and so let me show you how Mrs. Wayne Bevis stacks up. Her list of organizations and jobs include: Hillsborough Community College trustee, the League of Women state president of PTA, the United Way, the Florida Department of Education, the American Field. Service, Friends of the Library and the Continuing Education Council. She has won so many wooden plaques, the environmentalists have blacklisted her.

Just a few include: "Service to Mankind," "Communicator, of the Year," "Public Citizen of the. Year," "Citizens Award for Prevention of Child Abuse," "Volunteer Service Award," "Hillsborough Constituency for Children Leadership Award" and "JC Penney Golden Rule Award." The list could fill up a dozen columns. Most of them are given for some part of her lifelong dedication to children. I mentioned that Golden Rule award last because that's what we're talking about today. I was fortunate, enough to be one of the judges for the 1986 contest, which picked Colleen to receive the award that is given annually to a handful of people from hundreds nominated from throughout Central Florida who have given freely of their time and talents for good causes.

Colleen Lunsford Bevis is one of five chosen for a national award this year and she will go on behalf of the Florida Mental Health Institute. Last year I got invited to a big shindig to celebrate Wayne's 80th birthday and their 45th anniversary. They are a close and special family. "It's a big family," said Wayne, "but I suppose for Colleen it reaches out to include all of Florida's children, and I find that very special and rewarding." So should we all, as well as give thanks and congratulations to a marvelous and giving woman. 4.

I I JU A yV Frey Morrison But she kept her opinions to herself. It's the kind of jousting that goes on in corporate boardrooms every day, Bob Morrison, chairman of the Lottery Commission, said later. "It may appear less than friendly, but I think it's simply taking care of business." Frey, who supported Martinez after his own bid for governor Griggs was charged with 24 counts of unlawful removal of escrowed funds, grand theft of more than $20,000, organized fraud and violation of the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, arrest reports show. Griggs started developing the 481-acre Prairie Oaks subdivision and country club off County Road 635 west of Sebring in late 1984. He sold the development in 1985 to Roland Harris of Tampa amid allegations that dozens of deposits had disappeared, leaving home buyers without their deposits or their In 1 1 Paul Eller Z'' 1 i -1- A By MARILYN KALFUS Tribune Staff Writer MIAMI People who aren't crazy about the Florida Lottery don't want the state to go crazy promoting it.

And Gov. Bob Martinez is trying to make sure it won't. Martinez, who didn't want a lottery in the first place, promised to keep conservatives near the controls. He made good on that promise by appointing J. David Eller and Lou Frey to the five-member Lottery Commission.

They're full of advice for Florida Lottery Secretary Rebecca Paul especially when it involves how to advertise the games. Eller likes to relay how, when he was appointed to the commission, he reminded Martinez's chief of staff, J.M. "Mac" Stipanovich, that he was a lottery opponent. "That's why the governor wants you on there," Eller quotes Stipanovich as saying. And they aren't the only ones giving Paul free advice.

Developer By DAVE NICHOLSON Tribune Staff Writer SEBRING The original developer of the Prairie Oaks subdivision near Sebring was arrested Thursday on 27 criminal charges ranging from organized fraud to racketeering, authorities said. He is accused of stealing about $100,000 in deposits from 24 potential home buyers, according to state authorities. Larry C. Griggs, 57, who once sported a lavish lifestyle that included Rolls Royces and jet helicopters, was arrested at the modest wood- Ex-nurse takes Woman fights for Vietnam veterans By STEVE HUETTEL Tribune Staff Writer CORAL GABLES He wore a denim cowboy hat and a T-shirt with Jane Fonda's face and the message "Frag Hanoi Jane." Translation: Send a hand grenade with the pin pulled. In a bow-tied blue blouse and sweater, Mary Stout looked more suited for a PTA meeting than a Veterans of Foreign Wars meeting hall Tuesday night.

Former helicopter pilot Jim Shaffer said he can't forgive Fonda for her anti-war protests. Former MASH nurse Stout said Fonda's husband, Tom Hayden, now fights for veterans' rights in the California House. The first woman president of the Vietnam Veterans of America or any national veterans service group didn't win over Shaffer on that is Stout sue. But the intense 43-year-old mother of three didn't lose any respect among the two dozen vets in the first Florida visit since her election in August. "She saw as much action, or more, than we did," said Ken Kei-del, Miami chapter president.

"She certainly has the right to represent us." Her message to the Miami group, the VVA's 30,000 members and all 9 million Vietnam War-era vets was simple: The government has an obligation to vets disabled or put at a competitive disadvantage by their service. Vets have an obligation to take leadership roles in their communities. The time is now, as America learns about the war through movies and even prime-time television. "Now's our window of opportunity," Stout said in her rapid-fire, staccato. "This is the time to take advantage of what's available." The vets had a few questions for her.

How is the VVA's relationship with the bigger, more traditional national vet groups like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars? Good sometimes, she said, but not on issues like the inability of See FORMER, PageB harqe Ill .1 n. I accused of stealing Rhodes failed, wasn't at Wednesday's meeting. But he cautioned Paul at a commission meeting last month in Tampa that the advertising campaign should not prey on the poor. "You don't want a sign in the ghetto saying, 'This is your ticket A billboard in Chicago that said See LOTTERY, Page 11B deposits homes. Thursday's arrest ended a two-year investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the State Attorney's Office and the Highlands County Sheriff's Office into Griggs' handling of Prairie Oaks escrow funds, officials said.

The list of victims included former Lake Placid Mayor Lionel La-Grow and his son. Ken, the arrest records state. The state alleged Griggs used "a pattern of racketeering" and "fraud or misrepresentation," to divert deposit money. frame home where he had been living in Wildwood, authorities said. Late Thursday, Griggs was booked into the Highlands County Jail on $100,000 bond, Griggs Griggs refused com ment on the charges.

I i 10 must pay fines for Sunshine Law violations Jackson, who serves as the committee's secretary and was the only person who attended all the meetings, five counts; and Police Chief Dean Longo, one count. "I want the people of Auburndale to know there was no intention on my part (to do anything wrong) and I don't think on anyone's part," Jackson said Thursday. Jackson said she pleaded no contest because she realizes now that they were in violation. Jerry Hill, state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit, which includes Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties, said the violations stemmed from meetings held by the board Dec. 18, 1985; July 16, 1986; and May 4, May 7 and Aug.

24 of this year. Hill said the meetings were not publicized in accordance with Florida statutes. didn't want the penalty to be so severe that it would discourage the average citizen from serving on such boards. Young also withheld a formal declaration of guilt against the defendants, meaning they will have no record of the infraction. Assistant State Attorney Chip Thullbery said the state had no position on what the defendants should have been fined or whether they should have been declared guilty.

He said civil infractions are punishable by only a fine and no jail or prison time. "I'm glad it's over," said Auburndale Mayor Jack Stambaugh, a current member of the police retirement board who was fined $75. "I still say it was no individual's fault," Stambaugh said. "The administration of City Hall had not informed civilians (on the Police Pension Board) about what's involved." By BETH FOUSHEE Tribune Staff Writer BARTOW Ten current and former members of Auburndale's Police Pension Board pleaded no contest Thursday in Polk County Court to violating Florida's Govern-ment-in-the-Sunshine Law during the past three years. Each was sentenced to pay fines.

All 10, charged with the civil infractions last week, were sentenced to pay $25 per count against them. They faced fines of up to $500i By pleading no contest, the defendants weren't admitting guilt but were giving up their right to fight the charges. Polk County Judge Robert Young imposed the sentence, saying he wanted to make it clear that people should follow the Sunshine Law. BuC at the same tinfe the judge said he The Auburndale Police Pension Board never has informed the public about its meetings out of "ignorance" of the law, Stambaugh said. Stambaugh added that he and Auburndale City Attorney Adrian Gabaldon are coming up with a policy to inform all committee members in the city of their obligations regarding the Sunshine Law.

Former members of the Police Pension Board charged with violating the law were former Mayor Bobby Green, two counts; former Police Chiefs Ben Cox and John Knapp, one count and three counts, respectively; and former police Officers Charles King and Jerry Richardson, one count each. Current board members charged were police Officers Jeff Gary and Jimmy Carroll, three counts and two counts, respectively; Stambaugh, three counts; City Clerk Sandra.