The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 59

fit Lakaland V-I Mf Hn I Lk Barlow WtlM I i Countywide coverage THE TAMA TRIBUNE Wednesday, November 24, 1993 2 sought 1981 slayings Third suspect was arrested last week in Georgia MARY TOOTHMAN By KENNETH A. HARRIS I Tribune Staff Writer WINTER HAVEN Authorities are searching for two men wanted in the gangland-type slayings of two men 12 years ago, which stemmed from an investigation into an auto theft ring. Two of the three men remain at large Tuesday afternoon, officials said Tuesday. The third man Grady Lee Wilson, 42 was arrested Friday near Sylvester, Ga.f where he had fled following the deaths. Wilson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Thomas Eldridge Chambers and Onton Jimmy Crumley.

Gerald L. Voyles, 38, of Polk City and Kenneth Wayne Ayers, 38, of Campbell City in Osceola County, also were charged with two counts of first-degree murder in an indictment unsealed Tuesday. Investigators believe Voyles and Ayers are still in Polk County and may be working as welders. Investigators from the sheriffs office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Florida Highway Patrol worked jointly in the investigation, which was re-examined in April. "Sometimes we're like elephants, we never forget," said Sheriff Lawrence W.

Crow Jr. "I've been a cop for 31 years; if you have some idea what occurred, it's easier to investigate (homicide cases) after some years. "People begin to talk. Some get careless. Somebody gets in a bar and gets to drinking and it gets back to us." On Sept.

30, 1981, two children who were fishing found the bodies of two men floating in about five feet of water a quar- See SUSPECT, Page 2 Left, Gerald L. Voyles; upper left, Kenneth Wayne Ayers, and top, Grady Lee Wilson are suspected in the slayings of two men. Residents don't want boot camp next door Chance to fight proposed site comes in Jan. 12 zoning hearing '44. i By BILL HEERY Tribune Staff Writer BARTOW A proposed boot camp for hard-core juvenile offenders ran into its first road block Tuesday when residents living near the proposed site objected.

Elmer Dixon, president of the Bartow branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, told county commissioners that no one approached neighboring residents to ask their feelings. The proposed site is 20 acres owned by the county in southeast Bartow adjacent to the county jail annex and near the county's juvenile detention center. The site is southeast of Polk General Hospital, two nursing homes and a predominantly black neighborhood. "I am sure that if this camp was proposed for any other community, these same concerns we are voicing would come before you," Dixon, who was accompanied by four other residents, told commissioners. Dixon asked commissioners to give more thought to the site and contact residents in the area.

"Even now when someone escapes from the county jail," he said, "our area is flooded with patrol cars and helicopters." "I would like to think the folks put through the boot camp are not as dangerous as the ones in the jail," Commissioner Neil Combee responded. The 5-year-old jail annex houses 963 inmates. The boot camp initially would house 40 juvenile offenders. That capacity would be doubled sometime in the future. The youths would be housed in 8-by-l 0-foot rooms that would be locked at night.

"I don't care if it is close to the jail" annex, Delores Corbett, another resident, said following the meeting with commissioners. "The jail shouldn't have been there in the first place." Combee said neighbors will have a chance to speak out when the county's zoning advisory board holds a public hearing on a zoning permit for the site. That hearing is planned for 9 a.m. Jan. 12.

In the meantime, he said, someone from the sheriffs office should meet with Dixon and other residents. Sheriff Lawrence Crow, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, has said having the boot camp next to the jail annex would remind the youths where they likely will end up if they don't straighten out. a See RESIDENTS, Page 2 After all that concern, no building? LAKELAND After all that fuss about making sure its design would fit into downtown Lakeland's style, the big old government has gone and given the ax to plans for the $4 million Lawton M. Chiles Federal Building. Hmm.

Wonder what that implies about our governor, having a proposed building to be named after him get the boot? Does this mean the next building on the books will be named after Chiles? Does this mean Chiles has missed his chance to have a building named after him? Does anybody give a hoot? Anyway, back to the building and its life story. Or, rather, the story of its non-life. It coulda been somebody It used to be a big deal, this topic of having a federal building constructed in downtown Lakeland. It once was an issue that brought a gleam into the eyes of local officials who hoped to give the city's depressed downtown area a boost. Now, it's not only a canned project it's a canned project nobody's even mourning all that much.

No big deal, they're saying. But several years ago, this building was a big deal for Lakeland because the downtown area really, really needed it to get respect and a fiscal shot in the arm. When downtown officials were really pushing for its construction, it would have made a ma-; jor difference In whether downtown Lakeland survived or not Fortunately, now that it has been Canned, it's apparently not going to kill the effort to rejuvenate downtown Lakeland. Would have The Lakeland Downtown Development Authority's marketing director, Dawn Griffin, said enough new business has come to town in the past five years to keep the area afloat on its own. "The impact isn't nearly what it would have been five years ago, when, had they scrapped the project, it would have really hurt downtown," she said Tuesday.

At least canceling the building's construction was for a good cause, they say to cut the federal budget deficit. It will save the government some bucks all right, canceling this plan. It was supposed to cost $4 million to build, and now we can assume the money will go to getting the United States out of debt. We do wish, however, that we had the bucks everyone spent on planning this rascal. After all, government types have only spent about seven years yapping about building this thing.

Heaven knows how many memorandums, meetings, telephone conversations, conference calls, government-financed trips and headaches went into its planning. Trashed and over And now it's in the trash heap. To help get us out of the red. This is a good cause, but did they have to get so thrifty here? Shoot. After all of that to-do about making the government bend its design plans so the building would fit into Lakeland's eclectic style now we don't even get to see the thing built? Man, that's no fun.

It was a good, rousing fight, too. The big guys up in Washington had designed a fan-, cy, modern-as-all-get-out building and planned to land it right in the middle of downtown Lakeland's old-fashioned area. It essentially would have ruined the mood of the area, which local officials have worked so hard to ensure retained its old-fashioned, charming style. When local officials realized what was in the works, they objected loudly and asked that the plans be redrawn. But the big guys In Washington balked, and for awhile it appeared the fancy building was going to be built anyway.

But, to make a long story short, Lakeland officials won and the plans were reworked so the proposed building would reflect the style of Lakeland's downtown district It was really nice winning that battle, and Lakeland officials got the pleasure of feeling as if their input counted. We even got several decent columns out of it. One of the ironic twists is that the General Services Administration folks were arguing at the time that if they changed the design plans It would what? Delay the project; What a hoot. Yeah, it was a nice debate, all right, but look what has happened in the end! Now there's not going to be a building at all! Isn't government lust wonderful? TV program focuses on Lakeland murder PATRICK DENNISTribune photo Fruits of thanksgiving Sean Thomas, 3, opens wide for a big bite of apple during an outdoor Thanksgiving feast enjoyed by about 150 Beymer Memo- Unsolved mystery Anyone with information on the location of Melissa Jo Sermons should contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 5330344 or 1-800-534-0344 rial United Methodist preschoolers. The children got into the spirit of the holiday by dressing as Indians and Pilgrims.

By KENNETH A. HARRIS Tribune Staff Writer LAKELAND Melissa Jo Sermons, sheriffs detectives say, may have been the last person to see Elwin Lawrence "Larry" Costine alive. For 1 y2 years, investigators have been searching for Sermons and clues in the shooting death of the 31-year-old Lakeland man. Tonight, NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" will feature the case and launch a nationwide search for 27-year-old Sermons. State OKs $470 million toll road Proposed dn Sfftr Polk V-ft fl County y7 I jin Parkway fA Toll plaza Tq ZTTjf-fe5 I Lakeland -fJ- "5J JO I every 8 miles.

"At some point in time people start to ask questions about convenience and cost and wear and tear on their vehicles," said state Rep. Dean Saunders. The Lakeland Democrat has been a backer of the road, saying it makes getting The show, which airs at 8, will include a dramatization of what authorities believe might have happened the night Costine was murdered, facts surrounding the case and Nichols said two detectives will be in NBC's Burbank, studio to answer calls from viewers about the case. In addition, four detectives will be in Lakeland fielding telephone calls. On May 4, 1992, authorities discovered Costine's body at his mobile home at 12636 Moore Road at about 10:30 p.m.

Sheriffs investigators said Sermons, 27, also of Lakeland, attended a rodeo in Dade City with Costine. Joannah Costine, a cousin, said Larry Costine was a modern-day cowboy and rancher who had won a rodeo event during the same outing with Sermons. "He was one of the best cowboys that ever lived," Joannah Costine said. "He just grew up in By STEVE NEWBORN Tribune Staff Writer BARTOW State officials Tuesday gave the green light to the Polk County Parkway, paving the way for construction to begin in 1996. The estimated price tag: $470 million.

The first cars won't travel on the toll expressway looping around Lakeland until 2001. And what can motorists expect for their half billion dollars? A quicker trip from south Lakeland and Bartow to Interstate 4. Also, the booming south Lakeland area can expect to become even more attractive for develop-ers. But are motorists willing to shell out $3 to travel the entire 25 miles? That comes out to $1 for Sermons interviews with friends and family of Costine and Sermons. "We hope that 'Unsolved Mysteries' can find Melissa Jo and she can tell us what happened," said Joe Clifton Costine, the victim's cousin.

"We miss Larry." Sheriff's spokeswoman Kim to 1-4 more convenient and it gives visitors easier access to Lakeland. Whether motorists would be willing to use a toll road was one of the questions asked on a feasibility study conducted by the state Department of Transportation. The roadway had to pay for half the cost of operations in 15 years and half the cost of bonds after its See 25-MILE, Page 3 See LAKELAND, Page 2 Eagle Lake to be home to Polk's newest high school By GEORGE CORYELL Tribune Staff Writer traffic flow situation in the county for a high school right now." Eagle Lake Vice Mayor Anne McGovern at the board's Nov. 9 meeting." At that work session, areas under consideration were narrowed to two locations, the Eagle Lake site south of Winter Haven and a site west of Winter Haven on County Road 540. The Eagle Lake site Is 110 acres bordering the northeast side of Eagle Lake off U.S.

Highway 17. The rejected site on C.R. 540 is a 90-acre tract a mile east of Spirit Lake Road. School Board Chairwoman Ruble Wilcox, whose district will be served by the new school, and board member Andrea Whiteley voted against the Eagle Lake location. But the remaining board members, Hollis Hooks, Dan L.

Moody and J.J. Corbett, decided that the existing roads and utilities at the Eagle Lake site made the location too good to pass up. "I feel like the kids who attend the school will come primarily from Winter Haven," Wilcox argued. "They're not going to buy into the school, I don't think." Weldon said Wilcox's statements were a slap in the face to Eagle Lake, which has traditionally sent its students to Winter Haven. "It sounds like Eagle Lake isn't good enough," Weldon said.

"I thought the presentation on Nov. 9 was very slanted for the C.R. 540 site. We've probably have the best BARTOW The county's next high school will be in Eagle Lake, school board members decided In a split vote marked with some dispute. "I think it'll give us some identity," said Eagle Lake City Manager Linda Weldon.

"The odds were against us. I felt there was a lot of information that wasn't presented Weldon credited Weldon with swaying the school board's decision. In addi See SCHOOL, Page 1 I.