The Tampa Tribune from Tampa, Florida • 24

4 METRO FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30. 2007 THE TAMPA TRIBUNE TBO.com DEATHS PUBLIC SAFETY Deputy Dies Of Gunshot1 Wound 7e was like the guy on the white horse. He was fantastic, a total Southern gentleman." MADGE BOWERS Wife of Richard Bowers, who died Thursday of an aneurysm after a life of selfless achievement (ham Athletics pioned USF owers Marianne Pasha said. "He will be missed by his colleagues, and they are feeling the loss today," she said. An autopsy was planned and an investigation was un-, der way, the sheriffs said.

Bryant's personnel AUTHORITIES THINK HE SHOT HIMSELF By JOSH POIXILOVE The Tampa Tribune LARGO A Pinellas County sheriffs deputy has died of a gunshot wound that authorities think was self-inflicted. Deputy Clouster Bryant II, 43, was found just after 5 p.m.. Wednesday at Wall Springs Park, 3725 De Soto Boulevard, Palm Harbor. Several witnesses reported hearing what they thought was a gunshot, detectives said. Deputies found Bryant in a wooded area behind Shelter No.

4 with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. Bryant, a 16-year veteran of the sheriffs office, was assigned to the civil unit. He was off duty when the shooting occurred. The Clearwater native and Countryside High School graduate is survived by his parents and two children, Lauren, 17, and Marcus, 2. His marriage ended in December.

Bryant's father described him as a "super young man" who liked fishing and pretty cars. He said he was unaware his son was upset. "He's the only son I've got, so I can't talk no more," Clouster Bryant said. Members of the sheriffs office who knew Bryant well weren't feeling up to speaking with the media today, sheriffs office spokeswoman late Wednesday about the Gold Shield Foundation's annual fundraiser. Bowers was excited about booking Joe Gi-rardi, newly hired manager of the New York Yankees, as keynote speaker.

USF softball coach Ken Erik-sen played baseball at USF when Bowers was the athletics director. "I was struggling with a computer class and he walked to the class with me, sat down with my professor and said, 'What can this young man do to get better with this Eriksen recalled. "He was definitely the epitome of an old-time AD, he knew everyone's name, he was involved with everything." Sun Dome Inc. President Steven knew Bowers for more than 25 years. "If you met him, 30 seconds later you weren't just a friend, you were either a really, really close friend or a close friend," Oscher said.

"He was frankly a mentor, not just to me, but to so many graduates over the years." Besides his wife and son, Bowers is survived by his daughter, Delisa; two grandchildren, Casey and Carissa Alfonso; and his sisters, Alberta Frank and Kathryn Henry. Bowers Said you can do Rv a lot of good if IV 1 you don't care i who gets credit him, his son said. "His life was full," Rick Bowers said. "He enjoyed playing golf and he went to all the sporting events around town. He helped start the USF football team 11 years ago and he went to all those football games." Bowers' widow, Madge, said, "He was like the guy on the white horse.

He was fantastic, a total Southern gentle-man." She added, "He had a favorite quote: 'You can do an awful lot of good in the world if you don't care who gets the and Dick never wanted credit for anything." Gold Shield Executive Director Joe Voskerichian said the news of Bowers' death was devastating. They knew each other for 30 years. "We lost a great friend," Voskerichian said. "He was a great friend to the community and to me, Gold Shield and the university." The two attended a friend's" funeral Monday and last spoke Bowers was a retired Army captain and graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in physical education from the University of Tennessee. He received his doctoral degree in education from Vanderbilt-Peabody College.

He taught at King College in Bristol, where he met his wife, and both traveled to Burma to teach at the University of Rangoon on a Ful-bright scholarship. He then taught at Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va., before moving to Connecticut to teach at Central Connecticut State University. In 1963, Bowers m6ved to Tampa, where he assumed the USF athletics director position and held it for 19 years. He resigned that post to become director of development in the university's college of business, a position he held until his retirement four years ago. In lieu of flowers, mourners are asked by the family to send donations to either the Gold Shield Foundation or the Richard T.

Bowers Scholarship at USF's College of Business. Reporter Brett McMurphy contributed to this report. Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorellitampatrib TALBOTT of Sumners Bowl task force, and Shakespeare in the Park. A graduate of Arizona State University, he earned a bachelor's degree in business management and accounting and a master's degree in counseling and student personnel. Sumners battled a number of health problems over the years, including prostate cancer and a heart ailment In the late 1990s, while driving his convertible on the Florida Turnpike, he lost control and crashed.

He awoke after 16 days in a coma to find his right arm had been severed. Reporter Kurt Loft can be reached at (813) 259-7570 or klofttampatrib.com. Led Arts Center In Tough Times Information Sought In Halloween Beating "He was one of the founding fathers of our very young industry. made available this after-' noon, shows mostly positive, comments from supervisors and Pinellas County residents. The supervisor during his most recent evaluation, Keith W.

Somers, wrote in June that Bryant completed his ments in a thorough and timely manner and kept an orderly work area. Bryant ak so was knowledgeable about, procedure and policy, Som-ers wrote. However, Somers wrote, Bryant "continues to max out his comp time and vacation' time putting his supervisors in an un-workable In 1995, Bryant was sus-' pended five days because of payroll irregularities. Richard N. North, a supervisor for Bryant's 2006 evaluation, wrote that Bryant has an easygoing personality, related well with the public and did a good job diffusing potentially volatile situations.

"Deputy Bryant is easy to, supervise and will do whatev-i er is asked of him," North wrote. TBO producer Beth Gaddis contributed to this report. Re- porter Josh Poltilove can be jt reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilovetampatrib.com. because about 30 or 40 teenagers had gathered in the street. People in the crowd started yelling obscenities at San Martin and someone kicked the vehicle, officials, said.

When San Martin got out of his vehicle and tried to persuade the crowd to let him pass, he was attacked, -the release states. Someone pulled off his watch, and San Martin and several attackers fell into a ditch. San Martin tried to get back into his vehicle and someone hit him on the head with a baseball bat, causing serious injuries, the release states. McGrath said S.an. Martin suffered a skull frac-.

ture that required surgery. "It was random," McGrath said. "He was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Information can be left anonymously at www or 1-800-873-8477. Saturday, Dec. 1 3-8 p.m.

Hundreds of pre-1980 cars on display Shopping Food and fun Klassix Tunes by Starvin' Darvin 'Shops and restaurants will have extended hours. The Dade City Cruise-In benefits various area nonprofit organizations. For information, call 352-567-3769. SUPPORTER OF MANY CHARITIES DIES AT 77 By KEITH MORELU The Tampa Tribune TAMPA Richard Bowers, who helped to build the athletic programs at the University of South Florida and threw himself into charitable endeavors afterward, died unexpectedly Thursday morning. He was 77.

Bowers, of Temple Terrace, died with his wife of 48 years and two children at his side. Bowers was athletics director at USF from 1963 through 1982, and later made a name in the community as a fundraiser for several area charities, including the Museum of Science and Industry and the Gold Shield Foundation, which raises money for families of fallen police officers and firefighters in seven West Central Florida counties. The cause of death was an aneurism, said Bowers' son, Rick. It happened at home. When paramedics arrived, Bowers was unresponsive.

They moved him to University Community Hospital, where doctors were able to re-establish a pulse but could not save Sumners FORMER DIRECTOR DIES IN ARIZONA By KURT LOFT The Tampa Tribune TAMPA The Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center today ranks among the country's most prestigious, and Warren K. Sumners helped raise the curtain on its success. Sumners was executive director of the $57 million complex during its darkest days, battling a tide of deficits and poor attendance that were an inevitable part of the city's cultural growing pains. He undoubtedly would have been proud of the turnaround in Tampa, and some say his early efforts to keep the center afloat haven't been forgotten. Sumners died Nov.

14 in Arizona. He was 70. "As a new organization, there were a lot of issues with the arts center, but Warren built the infrastructure," said Judith Lisi, the center's president since 1992. "Overall, it was a very challenging time. But he was a high-quality professional." Sumners came to the center in 1989, two years after it opened to great fanfare on the banks of the Hillsborough River downtown.

He replaced Da- if I 'V An equal opportunity empbyerprogiam. WARREN K. SUMNERS Bom: Sept 14, 1937, in Laquna Beach, Calif. Died: Nov. 14, 2007, in Scots-dale, Aru.

Survivors: Mother, Billie, of Tempe, Ariz; wife, Rose, of Chromo, A son, Steven and his wife. Shannon, of Port St Lucie; daughter, Kathryn Maguire and husband, Jason Maguire, of Chesapeake, and grandchildren Mitchell and Evan Maguire. vid Midland, the center's inaugural director, and absorbed plenty of troubles. Neither were able to generate the synergy needed to attract and build a core audience. As a result, the center bled red ink from the onset, losing $2.5 million the first year and $630,000 by the time Sumners resigned, in 1991.

The late H.L. Culbreath, former chairman of TECO Energy served as interim chief until Lisi's arrival. "It's an uphill struggle to build your audience and a good financial situation," Sumners told the Tribune at the time. "It appears that the MAN WAS BASHED ON HEAD WITH BAT A staff report TAMPA A reward is being offered for information on the Halloween night beating of a 27-year-old man at North 50th Street and East Serena Drive. Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering up to $1,000 for information that leads to the identification and arrest of anyone responsible for the attack on Louis San Martin at about 9:50 p.m.

San Martin was riding home after a night of trick-or-treating with his family, according to a news release. His girlfriend was driving a gray 2003 Mitsubishi Galant, and her 5-year-old son was a passenger, according to Tampa police Detective Jeff Mc-Grath. The car was forced to stop i THE GREATER DADE CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESENTS DADE CITY CRUISE-IN JOHN W. A colleague public isn't supporting as much as the hall can do." Today, the complex operates in the black on a $35 million budget, and has amassed a $30 million endowment. Such success hinges on the initial work that gave it momentum, said John W.

Talbott, a colleague of Sumners at Performing Arts Consulting Associates in Adanta. "He was one of the founding fathers of our very young industry," Talbott said. "He knew the industry, and he knew it well. He devoted his life to it. He was my mentor and close friend." Before coming to Tampa, Sumners served as managing director of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center from 1979 to 1989.

He also worked as a design and construction team member for the development of new and renovated arts facilities valued at $750 million. In Tampa, he helped coordinate the annual Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, the Super EmployFlorida.com 1-866-FLA-2345 TTY via Ftorwta Relay Seok 711. MvKjuals with dlsatHlitw. OispwuNe en bpafiol. tot of btlvQ 1 discovered at the emrploy Florida Marketplace rs r.

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