The Bradenton Herald from Bradenton, Florida • 13

1 FLORIDA NEWS Rapist's location worry neighbors, B-3 Gator hunting applications issued, B-3 The Bradenton Herald, Tuesday, June 21, 1988 LOCAL SECTION I Deputy's fast fingers may have saved his life At large HOWARD HALL Folk singers, arts and crafts not worth keeping Two things in this world that we can well do without today are arts and crafts and folk singers. I know that this is practically unAmerican. And I must admit that my dislike of arts and crafts and folk singers is of a fairly recent origin. I used to love arts and crafts and folk singers. But arts and crafts got too big for their hand-made boots and folk singers began showing up in Carnegie Hall.

In short, success ruined arts and crafts and folk singing. In the 1960s arts and crafts moved from the back woods to auditoriums, glitzy malls and convention centers, where the products were passed off to the rubes as the real thing. Today, lots of arts and crafts items are as shoddy as mass produced goods. What caused the decline of arts and crafts in the first place wast the fact that city folks took over. Remember all those stories in the '60s about the Wall Street stockbrokers who earned hundreds of thousands a year and went to Vermont to work in leather, carve little elephants out of teakwood, handpaint pottery, write poetry, engrave belt buckles, study Islamic art and generally go for baroque? Everybody in the '60s was going back to the land, rediscovering their roots and acting in general as if it was the 18th century again.

It was a reasonable reaction to the ennui and boredom created by technology. But, as with many good things, it went too far. Now Vermont and New Hamshire are full of former corporate managers who run cottage industries in converted barns, turning out lamps, trays, bowls, bookends, tables, chairs, handbags, billfolds and costume jewelry. Some of those who fled the city for the simple life got so rich from their handicrafts that they have moved back to New York and now reside in the Trump Towers. They have traded in their jeans and are back in Brooks Brothers suits and Gucci shoes.

Now the movement in Vermont and New Hampshire is to chuck it all and go back to the corporate jungle, where people are sincere about making money and doing it to the other fellow before he does it to you. This is a healthy sign, of course, especially with the Reagan era waning. The folk singer era bloomed with the back to nature movement. In the beginning they were the real thing and a delight to listen to. But this was before Joan Baez, the Weavers and saints Peter, Paul and Mary.

I liked to hear Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley as much as anyone else, because it was authentic and not overdone. But when you had to sing along with If I Had A Hammer for the time with a trio of millionaires, it gets a little too much. Those guys make enough to buy more hammers than they would ever need. In fact, I'd like to take a hammer to them myself. I still get queezy when I hear a folk singer invite an audience to sing along with This Land is My Land, This Land is Your Land yet again.

I feel sort of the same way when I have to join in on a couple of choruses of He's Got The Whole World in His Hands. Folk singers used to be guys who wrote their own songs and hopped freights when they had to go somewhere for a performance. They wrote good music, sang it well and starved. They weren't recognized until they had been dead for 10 years. But today's pretentious folk singers travel in limos, have agents and often vote Republican.

A lot of them took a beating in the October stock market crash, although you won't hear them singing any songs about it. They'd rather sing about how poor and put down they are. I prefer pure old country music, like the songs of the "Singing Brake Man" Jimmy Rogers, who earned his living working for the railroad, or Hank Williams to the modern crowd. Even Tex Ritter was better than your typical Carnegie Hall and Boston Pops folk singer of today. BART GREENWALD Herald Staff Writer Sheriff's Deputy Joseph Bernhard stared death in the face Sunday.

A convicted felon pointed a loaded .357 Magnum pointed at Bernhard's chest. Then he pulled the trigger. Acting out of shear terror, the 22-year-old deputy grabbed the gun, held on to the cylinder and put his finJones ger behind the trigger. The gun didn't fire. Benjamin Jones, 36, of 305 15th Ave.

is being held without bond in the Manatee County jail. He is charged with attempted murder, resisting arrest and trespassing. Hours after the arrest, Bernhard reflected on the ordeal that almost cost him his life. Drug-bust charges dropped Circuit Judge Scott Brownell had ruled that the cocaine was illegally seized and could not be used as evidence. JOHN ALLARD Herald Staff Writer Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a suspected drug dealer after a judge ruled the Manatee County Sheriff's Office illegally seized 1 10 pounds of "crack" cocaine from Johnson's apartment.

Assistant State Attorney Dennis Nales said Monday he had no choice but to drop the charges against Dominic Johnson, 25, of Dania. Circuit Judge Scott Brownell ruled last week that the cocaine, the only evidence against Johnson, could not be used in a trial. He said Det. John Kenney and former Det. Robert Ricciardo illegally searched Johnson's apartment at Palm Place Apartments, 7734 Alicia Lane.

"I believe the judge's decision was a correct one based on (prior cases)," Nales said. Johnson has never confessed to detectives about the drug bust, which was one of the largest in county history. Johnson had been charged with trafficking in cocaine, possessing cocaine with the intent to sell it and manufacturing a controlled substance. If convicted, he would have been sentenced to a mandatory term of 15 years in prison without parole. Undersheriff A.E.

"Gene" Hambacher said he does not believe the detectives intentionally made an illegal search. DROP To B-2 "All I knew was that if I let go of that sucker, he was going to shoot me." Joseph Bernhard, sheriff's deputy "I was terrified. It seemed like three days, but it was probably only about five seconds," Bernhard said. "All I knew was that if I let go of that sucker, he was going to shoot me." The deputy said he responded to a trespassing call at 1119 Seventh St. Court E.

about 9 p.m. and saw several people standing in the yard. After talking to them, he saw a man, later identified as Jones, standing at the back door of the house. Bernhard asked the man to leave, but Jones refused, claiming he lived there. Bernhard brought Jones to the front of the house, where the owner said he wanted the man arrested for trespassing.

Jones still claimed that he lived at the residence. Acting on the arrest request, Bernhard said he was going to take Jones to jail. "He said, 'I ain't going to Bernhard said. Then Jones rushed the deputy and tackled him. During the scuffle, Jones took Bernhard's gun from his holster and held it to the officer's chest.

In a split second, the officer grabbed the gun with his left hand and held the cylinder in place so it couldn't rotate and fire. He then put his middle finger of his right hand behind the trigger so Jones couldn't pull the trigger all the way back. Three times Jones tried to pull the trigger and three times Bernhard held tight. The officer then managed to grab his radio and call for help. Forty-five seconds later, Bradenton Police Department backup arrived.

JENNIFER Herald FIGHT CAN FLOORING AL Herald Mansion getting a 'floorlift' Gamble Mansion is closed for a facelift. Crews from Ted L. Dawn Flooring Inc. of Sarasota began sanding and refinishing wooden floors Monday in seven of the Ellenton mansion's 10 rooms. An oil-based finish will make the floors look like vintage 1840s, when the mansion was built.

Park Manager Robert open to picnickers and visitors, until July 7. He said the project $2.50 per square-foot. Body-hauling bids mired in legal morass MARC PERRUSQUIA To B-2 Deputy Joseph Bernhard's finger saved his life. Herald Staff Writer They jokingly call it "The case of body snatchers." But it's a legal nightmare that could be costing Manatee County taxpayers thousands of extra dollars this year. This is no science-fiction tale.

It's a true-to-life story about the fierce competition among firms that sell I body bags to the county and transport the deceased victims of murders, suicides and other tragedies. The twisted tale has as many subplots as it has accusations. One of the charges involves a claim of conflict of interest against two Manatee County sheriff's deputies who formed their own body-hauling firm and tried to underbid the county's current contractor. Other fingers have been pointed at the Manasota Enterprises the company currently providing the service to the county. With competitors stymied by legal red tape, the firm bumped up its prices over vain protests by county officials.

And taxpayers may be losing money to a series of legal obstacles during the past eight months that have enabled Manasota Enterprises to conduct $25,000 in business with the county without a contract and without competition from other firms. Manasota Enterprises' contract expired last October, but it has been extended amid a court challenge and bid protests filed by three different firms. Other firms have offered substantially lower bids than Manasota, but all claims have become mired in the legal morass. Perry said the grounds remain but the mansion is closed costs about $4,800, or about Camera crew to shoot murder re-enactment ent The James Burnside case will be shown on the America's Most Wanted TV show. NICK MASON Herald Staff Writer A woman will be stabbed to death late this morning in a Bradenton parking lot.

A man will be shot in the stomach. The killer will get away. Police officers will watch the crimes. They Burnside, 51, is charged with murdering Most Wanted show. will stand by to prevent anyone from inter- his estranged wife and with attempted mur- Producer Joanne rupting the scene.

They will not arrest the der of Otteni. A grand jury indicted Burn- Fish said the segkiller. side two weeks ago. ment will be broadThis time, the terror is staged. Burnside eluded deputies after the actual cast July 3.

The Actors will re-create the Feb. 17 murder murder and has been a fugitive since. Sher- half-hour program of Annette Burnside, 24, and attempted iff Charlie Wells thought national television can be seen locally murder of her co-worker, David Otteni, 44, exposure might help, so Wells and his staff at 8 p.m. Sunday today at De Soto Center, 600 U.S. 301 Blvd.

will help the actors today. nights on WTOG- Burnside A The performance has a police purpose Freelance crews from Fox Broadcasting TV, Channel 44. to help Manatee County sheriff's deputies Network are preparing a 5-6 minute report find James Burnside. about the Burnside case for the America's WANTED To B-2 Palmetto law to crack down on landlords of drug houses Herald Staff Writer PALMETTO Landlords, take note: By month's end, the city can board up your property for a year if it's considered a drug hang-out. Voting 2-0, the city council approved an ordinance Monday night that will hold landlords responsible for drug-related nuisances on their property.

Council member Ron Witt was chairman of the meeting and did not vote. Mayor Don Olmstead was on vacation. "The chairman would vote 'aye' if he could," said Witt, explaining that the law will address an ongoing drug problem in Palmetto. This is no science fiction tale. It's a true-tolife story about the fierce competition among firms that sell body bags to the county County purchasing director Sim Smith said he has never seen anything like it.

"You can imagine all the joking that's going around," said Smith, whose co-workers have tagged the matter "The case of the body "In the 30 years I've been in this business, this is the first one that's ever gone beyond my head," Smith said. "The whole thing is rather bizarre," said Charles Hague, a former sheriff's deputy who quit the force three months ago after the conflict-of-interest charge was leveled. "I was flabbergasted. How can they give somebody that kind of money?" Charles Stenza, a partner in Manasota Enterprises, disagrees, saying his firm's price of $156 per trip and $68 per body bag is not out of line. "That may sound like a lot of money, but it's not," said Stenza, who also challenged the county's approach to paying by the body.

"That's a cold approach to begin with," he said. "I know, it's a cold BID To B-2 Burnside Public can review plan for jet noise reduction JOHN ALLARD are affected by the blast of jets, Herald Staff Writer including Bayshore Gardens Manatee County residents and Trailer Estates. will have a chance today to get Modify the left-hand turn their first look at the plan to departure route for northern curb jet noise at the Sarasota- bound jets by delaying the point Bradenton Airport. where pilots make the turn after Members of the Sarasota- takeoff so that they fly over Manatee Airport Authority mostly undeveloped areas. hold a public workshop on a Encourage airlines not to draft proposal to reduce jet schedule departures from the noise at 9 a.m.

today in the airport between 10 p.m. and 7 Jeanne McElmurray Auditori- a.m. by charging an impact fee um at the airport. that would be 10 times greater The noise-reduction plan for flights departing late at would: night. Provide updated maps showing additional areas that AIRPORT To B-2 To B-2 STACEY FRANK Known as the nuisance abatement ordinance, the law is designed to rid the city of "crack" houses, places where people go to buy or use crack cocaine.

The mayor will appoint a fivemember panel in the next week to hear complaints filed by Police Chief Herb Van Fleet. The board will be comprised of the mayor, vice-mayor, two members from the code enforcement board and a member of the planning board. Witt is vice-mayor. Van Fleet has said repeat drug offenders who frequent the same places are a problem for the city. "These people are back in business a day or two after they get out of jail," he said.

"The property owners really don't care. All in collect- Witt they're interested is ing their The ordinance is modeled after laws in other Florida cities, including a similar one passed last month in Bradenton. The nuisance board would give a property owner two weeks notice before a hearing, and in some cases, the landlord would have the opportunity to correct the problem. PALMETTO To B-2.