the sun - april 30 2014

Anna Maria Island, Florida The Island’s award-winning weekly newspaper www.amisun.com

VOL 14 No. 27 FREE April 30, 2014

INSIDENEWS 4OPINION 6SuN SurvEy 7OuTdOOrS 26-27TOWN crIEr 29rEal ESTaTE 34-39POlIcE rEPOrTS 40claSSIfIEdS 44-47

CuStOM design is the name of the game at laPensee Plumbing & Pools. 16

FOOD & WINE on Pine comes to aMI on Saturday. 3

Paid parking plan debated in Holmes Beach. 5

No answers yet in boating fatality off Egmont Key

U.S. Supreme Court to hear fisherman’s appeal

the court will consider whether a statute prohibiting disposal of records to elude justice was properly applied to the disposal of three undersized fish.

BY CINDY LANESuN STaff WrITEr | [email protected]

CORTEZ – What does a dead grouper have in common with a falsified financial document?

That’s the question that the U.S. Supreme Court will consider when it hears the appeal of commercial fisherman John Yates.

The high court announced Monday morning that it would con-

BY TOM VAUGHTSuN STaff WrITEr | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – Officials are waiting for word from the District 12 Coroner’s Office as to the cause of death of Henry West hicks, 60, a Tampa attorney who lived in Anna Maria and died apparently while retrieving the anchor to his 27-foot boat approximately three miles west

see APPEAL, page 38 see FATALITY, page 38

Jewel of an Island

PHOTOSFROMTHEAIR.COM | SUN

From the air, Anna Maria Island really does look like a jewel upon the sea, as shown in this image by Sun contributing photographer Troy Morgan. In the center is Bean Point at the Island’s north end, while Egmont Key is visible in the upper right and what’s left of Passage Key lies between the two.

HicksMaggIe FIeLD | sUN

local fisherman John yates has taken his case all the way to the u.S. Supreme court.

2 THE SUN www.amisun.com APRIL 30, 2014

www.lapenseeplumbing.com 778.5622 * 401 MANATEE AVENUE , HOLMES BEACH

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DTV Prompt Showering System

APRIL 30, 2014 www.amisun.com THE SUN 3

The food and wine star at Food and Wine on Pine

Enjoy a variety of fresh, local Florida foods from 25 restaurants and a selection of wines, beers and craft beers.

BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – As the name suggests, food and wine are the stars at the annual Food and Wine on Pine event set for Saturday, May 3, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Pine Avenue in Anna Maria.

Visitors can eat and drink their way down Pine Avenue, enjoying a variety of fresh, local Florida foods provided by 25 restaurants, 30 varietals of wine from various sup-pliers and a selection of beers and craft beers sponsored by JJ Taylor.

Food• Arts and Eats, Bradenton:

sesame noodles, spring rolls, lotus chips;

• Blue Marlin, Bradenton Beach: lobster and shrimp cevi-che, oysters;

• Two Scoops, Anna Maria: waffle wedges, strawberries with whipped cream, raspberry sorbet;

• The Feast, Holmes Beach: lob-ster salad, coconut shrimp, Feast chimichurri;

• Slims, Anna Maria: lobster mac and cheese, gazpacho;

• Moore’s Stone Crab, Long-boat Key: shrimp scampi, crab and lobster bisque;

• Sandbar, Anna Maria: red curry swordfish, Cajun oysters and hot dogs;

• BeachHouse, Bradenton Beach: sautéed shrimp with a fried risotto cake;

• Mar Vista Dockside, Longboat Key: gourmet tater tots, shrimp and grits and chicken fingers for kids;

• Duval's New World Cafe, Sarasota: chicken salad wraps, lobster salad wraps, pineapple spice sparkler;

• Pizzica Italian Imports, Safety Harbor: skewers of mountain grass-fed lamb;

• Island Spice, Bradenton Beach: chicken tandoori, Indian vegetable combo, samosa;

• Riverhouse Reef and Grill, Pal-metto: kickin’ shrimp, Green God-dess shrimp, lobster corn chowder;

• Ezra's, Bradenton: Israeli couscous and quinoa salad with chilled shrimp, triple chocolate chip cookies;

• Anna Maria Oyster Bar, Bradenton: seafood fondue with crusty baguette;

• Soma Creekside, Bradenton: Hawaiian chicken sliders and conch and lobster fritters with spicy remolaude;

• Stonewood, Bradenton: fresh garlic and rosemary lamb chops, short rib sliders and house-smoked salmon;

• Manatee Technical Institute,

Games and activities for kids will be in the parking area across the street from Roser Church.BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – Youths will have a great time at Food and Wine on Pine in the kids’ area across the street from Roser Church.

“There will be Nickel-odeon style games including eating chocolate covered donuts off a string, water-melon grinding, blowgun marshmallow shooting, grubbing and fishing, guess the gross item, plastic darts, ball throwing games and a bell ringing game,” said Pas-tor Ed Moss, of CrossPointe Fellowship, which sponsors the game area.

“We’re trying to offer old-fashioned type games.

Activities at Food and Wine on Pine

We’re trying

to offer old-

fashioned type

games.”

Pastor Ed Moss CrossPointe Fellowship

SEE Food, PAgE 43 SEE activitiEs, PAgE 43

Chief defends mayorRecently, a resident complained that city workers

took a sump pump to Mayor Carmel Monti’s house to aid in pumping out his sinking boat. At last week’s city commission meeting, Police Chief Bill Tokajer defended the action.

“We go out of our way as a city to help all citizens,” Tokajer stressed. “In a quick check of reports today, I found three other times where we brought a pump to people’s boats. It’s not some-thing we did because he’s the mayor.

“We had a call last night were a lady couldn’t get the power on in her house. We go the extra mile for all our citizens. The mayor got what everyone else gets – exemplary service from the police and public works departments.”

In addition, Code Enforcement Officer David Forbes investigated an anonymous complaint about the mayor’s vehicle with advertising on its side parked at his house in Key Royale. Forbes said because the mayor has a business license in Sarasota, it is permitted.

February visitationCountywide tourism in February 2014, the most re-

cent month for which statistics are available, was up 5 percent over February 2013, with 61,100 visitors.

Countywide occupancy was 89.3 percent in February, up 4 percent from the previous Febru-ary, and room rates averaged $175 a night, up 8.2 percent from the previous year.

Direct expenditures were up 10.8 percent over the previous February, totaling $67 million for the month.

Visitors from the Northeast were most numer-ous, followed closely by the Midwest with Florid-ians coming in a distant third.

On Anna Maria Island in February, occupancy was 89 percent, up 4 percent from February 2013. Room rates averaged $169 a night, up 7.1 percent from the previous year.

Center renovation to being soonPhase I of the Island Community Center’s

planned renovation will begin soon, Executive Di-rector Dawn Stiles told board members last week. The plan is to swap the locations of the work out room downstairs with the administrative offices upstairs. Stiles said a donor is funding the work, which will begin sometime this summer.

Panel seeks Island repThe Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning

Organization seeks one transportation-minded Island resident to serve on its volunteer Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC). Meeting eight eve-nings per year near the Sarasota-Bradenton Inter-national Airport, the CAC provides valuable citizen input on regional and local transportation projects and gives citizens a say in how state and federal transportation dollars are spent.

4 THE SUN ISLAND NEWS APRIL 30, 2014

IN brIEf

Visit our website, www.amisun.com.

Scan this code with your smartphone to go there.

Pier bids openedThe pier reconstruction project is expected to begin in early June.

BY JOE HENDRICKSSUN CORRESPONDENT

BRADENTON BEACH – The sealed bids for the city pier reconstruction project were opened on Monday, April 21.

Taking place in the Tingley Memorial Library meeting room, the bid opening process conducted by City Clerk Jamie Anderson took less than less than 10 minutes, with the bids ranging from $1.2 million to $1.8 million.

Miami-based PAC Comm Inc. submitted the lowest bid, at $1,202,140; followed by Tampa Bay Marine, at $1,237,487; and Pembroke Park-based Shoreline Foundation Inc.; at $1,258,543.

Sarasota-based Duncan Seawall bid $1,309,452 and Houston, Texas-based Russell Marine bid $1,854,625.

Representatives from Duncan Seawall, Russell Marine and Tampa Bay Marine attended the bid opening, joined by ZNS Engineering represen-tative Karen Wilson, Building Official Steve Gilbert and City Commissioner Jack Clarke, who serves as the commis-sion’s Pier Team liaison. PAC Comm and Shoreline Foundation were not represented at the meeting.

After the bid documents were opened, the three construction repre-sentatives left without comment.

Wilson then explained that ZNS, as the firm contracted by the city to create

the request for proposal (RFP) and the invitation to bid, would review the bids and make a recommendation to the Pier Team. The Pier Team will then review the ZNS recommendation and make a recommendation to city com-missioners for their approval.

“We’re looking at about a week to 10 days,” Wilson said of the ZNS evalua-tion process.

The next Pier Team meeting is sched-uled for Wednesday May 7.

Gilbert said contractor-suggested value engineering and other factors could result in a contracted price that differs slightly from the bid submitted. The signed contract will also include provisions for change orders and other potential cost variations.

Wilson said price is a primary consid-eration, but construction experience, history with the city, the geographical location of the contractor and subcon-tractors, and the bidder’s estimated date of completion will also factor into the ZNS recommendation.

“It’s lowest, best, responsive bidder,” she explained.

“The process of awarding the win-

ning bidder is to determine who’s the best contractor to do this particular job for us. We got five bids back, and I think from those five we should have a quali-fied contractor that will do a good job,” Gilbert said.

According to Gilbert, the $1.2 mil-lion price range quoted by three of the bidders is about what city officials expected.

Work on the pier is expected to begin in early June. Gilbert and Wilson both pointed out that the project is weather dependent and coincides with the start of hurricane season.

The RFP created by ZNS on the city’s behalf did not include a desired comple-tion date.

“Time is of the essence, and we asked the contractors to plug in their pro-posed completion date,” Wilson said.

The city will receive up to $1 million in matching funds from the Manatee County Tourist Development Council and the city’s share of the costs will come from the Community Redevelop-ment Agency fund that currently has a $1.6 million balance.

Near left, City Clerk Jamie Anderson opens the sealed bids for the pending pier reconstruction as ZNS representative Karen Wilson makes notes.

joE HENdRIckS | SUN

PHoToSFRoMTHEAIR.coM | SUBMITTEd

The city will receive up to $1 million in matching funds for rebuilding the Historic Bridge Street Pier.


Zaccagnino presents parking planThe commissioner wants the city to take control of Manatee Public Beach and rezone it.


HOLMES BEACH – Commissioner David Zaccagnino presented a parking control plan last week that includes taking control of the public beach and issuing parking passes to all Manatee County residents

“It’s clear the public wants something to be done,” Zaccagnino stressed. “I’m fed up with the TDC (Manatee County Tourist Development Council),” which he said has funded sports tournaments, a power boat race and a film festival, but has ignored the Island cities’ re-quests for help.

He said Phase I of his plan includes taking control of the public beach by rezoning it from recreation to preservation.

“I want whatever’s there to stay there,” he said. “I don’t want to see any expansion unless this commission approves it. That piece of property be-

longs to the county. They can do what-ever they want as long as it follows our building code.

“This will ensure that Holmes Beach decides the future look of Manatee Beach, not a bunch of county commis-sioners and administration from out east looking to maximize profit.”

Phase IIHe said Phase II of his plan is to issue

$24 annual parking passes to all county residents, including Island residents, and $120 annual parking passes to non-residents. Golf carts and motor-cycles would be half price.

“This would protect all our Manatee County friends, and out of county resi-dents might start using beaches closer to them,” he pointed out.

Parking areas would include all city rights of way and beach accesses. People parking on private property, such as businesses, would be ticketed. The public beach would still be free.

“This is about revenue and if the county and TDC are not going to help us, we have to be proactive and take control of our own des-tiny,” he declared.

“We have begged and pleaded for

years to no avail. We all have to get together and beat the county to the punch.”

He said the money would be split between all three cities, which all must coordinate on the plan. The money could be used for clean up, traffic enforcement, code enforcement, infra-structure improvements and the like.

CommentsCommissioner Jean Peelen asked

who owns the public beach.“The county by deed,” City Attor-

ney Patricia Petruff replied. “We can regulate what happens on the beach and other county recreation property. We have some control through our zoning ordinance and our comprehen-sive plan.”

Zaccagnino asked Public Works Supervisor Tom O’Brien what limits there are on property designated as preservation. O’Brien said any change to the property would require a com-prehensive plan amendment, while a recreation designation allows facilities to be developed.

“It would be difficult to put it in preservation because it’s already been developed,” O’Brien said.

“I would have heartburn about clas-sifying it as preservation because it has been used for recreation all these years.” Petruff agreed.

“My suggestion is to look at the requirements in your public recreation district and strengthen them. That would be a zoning code change and not a comprehensive plan change.”

Chair Judy Titsworth agreed with Zaccagnino and said it would give the city more control over the beach.

However, Peelen pointed out that the county would still have control no matter what the city did with the zon-ing and added, “Don’t fix what’s not broken. I don’t see the county impos-ing anything.”

Peelen who sits on the TDC, thanked Zaccagnino for his Island parking pass plan and said the TDC wants the Island cities to come to it united and not as individual cities.

Commissioner Pat Morton thanked Zaccagnino for presenting his ideas.

Mayor Carmel Monti said when he polled commissioners at a recent meet-ing, they all said they opposed paid parking. He asked if they have changed their minds, and Zaccagnino and Peelen said they had.

6 THE SUN OPINION APRIL 30, 2014

Mike Field, editor and CEOMike & Maggie Field, publishers

Island Sun Plaza, 9801 Gulf Drive P.O. Box 1189 Anna Maria, FL 34216-1189Phone: (941) 778-3986

e-mail: [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected]

EDITORIALConsider river race carefully

The Anna Maria Island Sun is free. Six copies or more are 25 cents each.Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon.-Fri.

The Sun StaffRicardo Fonseca, layout; Pat Copeland, Cindy Lane, Tom Vaught, reporters;

Louise Bolger, columnist; Rusty Chinnis, Outdoors editor; Chantelle Lewin, advertising director; Chris Boniberger, advertising assistant; Bob Alexander, clas-sified advertising; Elaine Stroili, Jocelyn V. Greene, Ricardo Fonseca, graphics; John Reitz, accounting; Bob Alexander, Keith Isner, Tony McNulty, distribution.

ContributorsSteve Borggren, Tom

Breiter, Scott Dell, Troy Morgan, Joe Hendricks.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Ban the leaf blowersIf this were a press release, I guess

the headline would be something like, "Anna Maria residents report lawn service firms to Bradenton Sheriff's Office."

My family and I live in Anna Maria and we're sick and tired of the roar-ing leaf blowers that descend upon us each weekend. The noise is un-bearable, and it drove us to vacate our home yesterday while work on neighboring properties was in prog-ress. We're now starting a campaign to curtail this and the traffic problems (and violations) caused by lawn ser-vice firms here.

To that end, we've filed a report and complaint to the Sheriff's Of-fice, asking them to take action. We'll also present the issue to city officials and representatives with the goal of bringing about a change of local rules. These weekend raids are only sched-uled to meet the needs of vacation rental companies with total disregard of the wishes of permanent residents. The powers that be have to stop kowtowing to commercial interests in these and other tourist-related issues.

During a period, our family lived in the city of Belvedere in Marin County, California - a paradise equal to Anna Maria. With one big difference: all

gasoline-powered tools and equipment were banned - electrical only - and work could only take place between nine and five on Mondays through Fri-days. Something Anna Maria should adopt, post haste.

We are, mildly put, irate. And others with us.

Steve TrygAnna Maria

Horn honking prompts ticketWhen crossing the Key Royale

Bridge, a Homes Beach police officer stopped me and said I had blown my horn on my auto as I had crossed over the bridge. The police chief, Bill To-kajer, stated that per a Holmes Beach ordinance, his officers can enforce excessive noise violations, Sec 30-51 This is a police state!

Omer Trolard Holmes Beach

Hey residents - get involvedThe Holmes Beach City Commission

talks a lot about respecting residents, protecting neighborhoods, and reduc-ing traffic. But talk is cheap and their actions speak louder than words. In the past year, the commission has cre-ated a special committee to find more

parking for tourists, the mayor wants a gondola to bring more tourists and now they want to upgrade the Holmes Beach ball field, not for residents, but to bring more tourists to Holmes Beach.

Island residents already have access to baseball, the community center of-fers baseball for kids and softball for adults. The teams that would use the improved Holmes Beach ball field are not Island kids; they come from all over the area, and have no ties to the Island. The only group that benefits from the upgraded field is Island busi-nesses and the group that suffers is residents with more traffic and noise.

It's time for the Holmes Beach com-mission to stop talking and take action to improve the lives of residents. Island businesses are doing great, it's Island residents that are an endan-gered species. We are losing residents every week, they are moving off the Island because of traffic, noise and too many tourists.

Please contact your city commis-sioners, attend the meetings or work sessions and get involved. It's the only way we residents can take back our city.

Ellen StohlerHolmes Beach

A recent rescheduling of the 2015 Bradenton Area River-Fest Regatta from January

to February in the Manatee River might help protect manatees, be-cause fewer are likely to be in the river the colder it gets.

Tourism promoters who created the event also are featuring a “Save the Manatees” 5k fundraising run, and although they have not speci-fied who will get the funds, it’s a nice gesture to the endangered ma-rine mammal that is the namesake of the Manatee River and Manatee County.

But if county officials allow this event, they must insist on a com-prehensive plan to protect marine life, and keep the pressure on at full throttle until the regatta is over.

Manatee County commissioners are scheduled to vote in May on al-locating $175,000 in county tourism funds to the event, and they have a lot to consider.

Consider that a February race date is no guarantee that all mana-tees will have traveled to warmer waters by then; aerial surveys by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have shown manatees in the river in February.

If promoters use helicopters to spot manatees, which was men-

tioned as a possibility at a county Tourist Development Council meet-ing this month, powerboats travel-ing more than 100 mph may not get the word in time – or be able to stop in time – to avoid a colli-sion. Such an incident surely would not be beneficial to the county's hard-earned, well-deserved green reputation as an eco-tourism desti-nation.

Simply obtaining a permit for the event does not ensure the safety of manatees, sea turtles, dolphins and other wildlife in the river.

A sailboat regatta, a kayak re-gatta or a paddleboard regatta, or all three, might be better suited for

SEE EDITORIAL, PAgE 7


mark your calendar

on the agendathe sun survey

Should Holmes Beach remove the speed cushions on Key Royale Drive?

• Yes,they'rejustanuisanceanddon'twork.

• No,leavethemin-theyforcemotoriststoslowdown.

• TakethemoutandreplacethemwithWhoopeecushions.

THIS WEEK’S SURVEY

to vote, gotowww.amisun.comorscanthiscodetovotebysmart-phone.Butdon'tjustvote–letusknowwhatelseyouthink.Sendyourcommentsaboutthisweek'stopictonews@amisun.comorposttheminthecommentssectionofourwebsite.Results are printed on this page every week in the Anna Maria Island Sun.

AnnA MARIA10005GulfDrive

5/6:PlanningandZoningBoard,6p.m.

5/7:CityCommissionworksession,6p.m.

For information, call 708-6130.

BRAdenton BeAch107GulfDriveN.

5/1:CityCommissionmeet-ing,6p.m.

5/5:ScenicWaves,3p.m.5/7:Capitalimprovement

Projects,10:30a.m.5/7:PierTeam,11a.m.5/8:CityCommission/De-partmentheadmeeting,1p.m.


holMeS BeAch5801MariNaDrive

4/30:CharterreviewCom-mission,9.m.

5/7:ParksandBeautificationadvisoryBoard,55p.m.


edItorIal

NoTe:eveNTSarefreeuNleSS

iNDiCaTeD.

WedneSdAyaPril30

Program on “Florida Shipwrecks,”islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,4p.m.Sunset starlight paddle, Robinson Preserve, 99th Street North-west and 17th Avenue Northwest, Bradenton, 6:30 to 9 p.m. reserve to 941-742-5757, ext. 7.

thuRSdAyMaY1

Knitting class, Island Branchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,2p.m.

FRIdAyMaY2

Forty carrots program forbabiesandchildrentoage5,islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,10a.m.

Intermediate computer class, islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,2p.m.

AMI night at McKeckinefield,withtheMauraders,Bradenton.CallislandCom-munityCenterat778-1908forpackageandpriceinformation.

opening reception for “fernando,aWorldoffun-tasy,”TheStudioatGulfandPine,10101GulfDrive,annaMaria,6to8p.m.

SAtuRdAyMaY3

AMe School Golf Tourna-ment,iMGacademy,Bradenton,noon.Call941-730-9392forinformation.

naturalist-led 60-minute wagon tours,robinsonPre-

serve,99thStreetNorthwestand17thavenueNorthwest,Bradenton,9to10a.m.,firstcome,firstserved.

Food and Wine onPine,food,wine,beer,art,music,performances,activities,Pineavenue,annaMaria,11a.m.to6p.m.

SundAyMaY4

Beach Market, coquina Beach,BradentonBeach,10a.m.to4p.m.

MondAy MaY5

chair yoga, Anna Mariaislandartleague,5312Hol-mesBlvd.,HolmesBeach,1to1:[email protected].

tueSdAyMaY6

children’s story time, islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,10a.m.

yoga with lucy, aMiartleague,5312HolmesBlvd,HolmesBeach,10:30to11:30a.m.,$6.Bringamat.

Program on “new toMedicare,”islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,2p.m.

WedneSdAyMaY7

tween Book club, islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,6p.m.

thuRSdAyMaY8

lifelong learning program on“eastMeetsWest,”islandBranchlibrary,5701MarinaDrive,HolmesBeach,2p.m.

FRoM PAGe 6

the river venue than a powerboat race. Or, how about staging the event in the Gulf of Mexico, where mana-tees are less likely to be?

During this year's aerial survey, 4,831 manatees were spotted from the air in Florida waters. Last year, 829 manatees died in Florida waters, a 40-year record, according to the FWC.

If this race is allowed, the manatee that is the highlight of the vacation for a family from London or St. Paul or Pittsburgh may not be there for the next visitor.

And if we continue to choose eco-nomics over the environment, one day the only manatees that tourists will see here will be in the aquarium.

7% Bad idea. A waste of money.

41% A 'Welcome to the Island' sign would be better. 32% Good idea but they should

also direct motorists to available parking.

LAST WEEK’S QUESTION: Whatdoyouthinkofputtingelectricsignsonthebridgeswarningwhenbeachparkingisfull?

19% Great idea, espe-cially if the county pays for them.

1% Don't like it. Just more sign pollution.

hoW to Send uS A letteR to the edItoR

Gotanopinion,acomplaintoracompliment?istheresomethingyouneedtogetoffyourchest?Sendusalettertotheeditorandhaveyoursay.Thereareseveralwaystomakeyouropinionknown.

visitourwebsiteatwww.amisun.comandclickonthe“contactus”linkatthetopofthehomepage.or,e-mailTheSundirectlyatnews@amisun.com.ifyouprefertheold-fashionedwayyoucanmailalettertousatTheannaMariaislandSun,islandSunPlaza,P.o.Box1189,annaMaria,fl34216.

lettersshouldbekeptto300wordsorlessandshouldcontainyournameandthecityinwhichyoureside.Personalattacksandobscenelanguagewillnotbeprinted.lettersalsomaybeeditedforlengthandcontent.


Police officers issued 41 speeding tickets and warnings in two hours on Key Royale Drive last week. BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

HOLMES BEACH – Residents of Key Royale expressed their anger at not being consulted about the instal-lation of a speed cushion on Key Royale Drive in front of Mayor Carmel Monti’s house.

“Forty-one people were stopped today in two hours, which proves that the speed bump is not working; your presence is,” Piroska Planck said to Chief Bill Tokajer. “The residents were never notified.

“It’s creating more problems because someone passed a driver who was driving slowly over it. We want more tickets. Take out the speed bump.”

Tokajer confirmed that officers is-sued 41 tickets and written and verbal warnings to speeding drivers and the highest speed was 49 mph. The street is marked 25 mph, and that is the speed approved for the speed cushion.

“We’re trying to educate people,” he explained. “People have told me they don’t have a problem with it, but it’s in the wrong location. I’m going to move it a block to the west, and that would keep them from getting up to the high speeds.”

He also said drivers have been honk-ing their horns as they go over the speed cushion to annoy the mayor and that officers stopped three people for violating the noise ordinance – exces-sive and unnecessary and honking of horns, a $75 fine.

Speed cuShion location“We put it in front of my house so

I could take the heat,” Monti pointed out. “I do think it works. It does slow people down. We can’t have a police-man there all the time.”

Tokajer confirmed that and added, “I put it there to get daily feed back. I would rather bother the mayor than a citizen.”

Chair Judy Titsworth said although their intentions were good, they should have notified the residents. She sug-gested installing a flashing light that tells the driver his/her speed.

However, Commissioner Pat Morton said that was tried in the past and “kids

were speeding to see how fast they could go.”

Tokajer said he would reach out to the homeowners’ association to get a larger consensus.

Andy Sheridan, vice president of the Key Royale Homeowners’ Association, said he met with the chief about the speed cushion prior to its installation and informed the board of directors be-cause the only meeting the association has is an annual meeting.

“I did not get any negative feedback from our board,” Sheridan said. “They all know we have a speeding problem.

Key Royale residents vent about speed cushiondear Mr. and Mrs. planck,

I write this letter with much sadness. I took the time to re-spond to your letters in a timely and respectful fashion, as you yourself stated in your response letters to me. I then find out that it was you that wrote an e-mail to members of the Key Royale subdivision to beep their horns in protest at my house due to the speed hump being installed.

Not only is this against the noise ordinance and therefore illegal, but it is a very immature and disrespectful manner in which to handle your objection. Now we have many neighbors that are not able to sleep through the night due to your e-mail.

It is a travesty that people can-not simply go the speed limit in a 25 mile an hour posted street. I see people going over the speed hump at 20 to 25 all the time. You do not need to go 5 miles an hour. My police chief staked out the street for two hours and, as you know, there were 41 infractions, of which only three were ticketed.

He has been trying to manage the situation without a heavy hand, but I guess that all that is going to be respected is ticketing both the noise makers and the speeders. We have a speeding problem, which translates into a safety problem, and we are go-ing to address it, unlike the past administration.

Regards, Mayor Monti

PAT COPELAND | SUN

Holmes Beach officials installed this speed cushion on Key Royale Drive to slow motorists down.

SEE Speed, PAGE 43


Board members said the building does not generate enough money to sustain itself.BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – It was a remark by Executive Director Dawn Stiles that precipitated a serious discussion of finances at the Center’s board of directors meeting Friday.

During a review of a new animal policy, Stiles remarked, “I find it interesting that there’s so much at-tention paid to this and less attention paid to financials.”

This prompted Holmes Beach Com-missioner David Zaccagnino to ask, “Is there a problem with the finan-cials we should know about?”

“I’m concerned about the cash flow and the fact all the revenue estimates are under budgeted,” Stiles replied. “Only one event exceeded our esti-mate – the mystery dinner theater.

“We’ve always depended on dona-tions rather than earned income. We need to flip that and not just rely on donations. We need to bridge that

gap.”Treasurer Stewart Moon Jr. said

the budget is currently at a nega-tive $166,568, and the recent Island Affaire made less that budgeted. Chair Scott Rudacille pointed out that donations also are down $51,000, and Stiles said some long time donors are moving off the Island and donating elsewhere.

Rudacille asked about the mortgage payment, and Assistant Executive Di-rector Scott Dell said since last year, they have only been paying the inter-est of $8,600 per month. Zaccagnino noted that there is a balloon payment due in 2016 and suggested that they refinance.

New ideas Needed“This building doesn’t generate

nearly enough money (for what it needs to operate),” board member Jason Sato said. “We have all these empty rooms that aren’t doing any-thing. I’d like to see a million new ideas to bring in money.”

Moon said Stiles is working on a plan of action. Stiles said she is look-ing at the past five years to try and

identify the successes and problem areas, and Program Director Jennifer Griffith is developing new programs such as dragon boat team, paddle boat and paddle board building classes and senior programs.

Dell pointed out that the Center awarded $326,000 in scholarships in 2012-13, and one of its mottos is that no one is turned away for inability to

pay.“We don’t have a product to sell; we

have a service to sell, but our pro-grams and activities have never been able to generate the surplus we need to operate,” Dell said.

“Looking at the overall finances, I don’t think the building will ever totally sustain itself if we’re going to keep true to our motto and give this many scholarships away. If you take away the people who get schol-arships, there won’t be programs because the instructors will not have the numbers they need.”

Board member Blair Schlossberg said part of the problem is that most of the board members are younger and raising families and don’t have as much time to devote to the Center as others had in the past. He said they must cultivate new donors and board members for fresh ideas.

Board members agreed to hold a special meeting at 8 a.m. on Friday, May 30, to discuss the financial well being of the Center. Stiles said she would have her plan of action, and Moon and Schlossberg said they would explore refinancing options.

Community Center facing financial troubles

I'm concerned about the

cash flow and that all the

revenue estimates are

under budgeted."

dawn stilesCenter executive director


Scholarships availableThe National Kidney Foundation

of Florida is accepting scholarship applications for The Richard K. Salick Scholarship Fund for Com-munity Service.

The program, established in 2013 in memory of former Anna Maria Island resident and pro surfer Rich Salick, recognizes students who give back to their communities. The program's goals are to provide college tuition assis-tance to students who are making a positive difference in their com-munities, and to inspire others to do the same.

Graduating high school or homeschooled seniors or students currently enrolled in accred-

ited universities who exemplify Salick’s qualities through active volunteer community service are eligible for the program, presented by the Elebash Family and Re-gions Bank.

An appointed board of NKFF do-nors, volunteers and board mem-bers will select the winners. The number of students selected and the amount of money awarded to each will be determined based on the number of eligible applicants.

Apply by visiting www.NKFsurf.com. The deadline for submissions is June 27.

If you are interested in donating to the 2014 Rich Salick Scholarship fund, e-mail [email protected].

Robinson wagon rolls SaturdayThe Robinson Preserve covered

wagon rolls again on Satur-day, May 3, from 9 to 10 a.m. A naturalist guide will explain the preserve's history, resident

wildlife and flowers and describe preserve highlights. The 60-min-ute trip is suitable for all ages. Please arrive 15 minutes in ad-vance, as seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. A second tour will begin at 11 a.m. if more than 12 people are pres-ent. Robinson Preserve’s main entrance is at the western end of 17th Avenue Northwest off 75th Street West in Bradenton.

BoatWorks seeks volsThe Florida Institute for Salt-

water Heritage (FISH) Boat-Works program seeks volunteers interested in boat building and vessel restoration. Wooden boats are the primary focus, but donated fiberglass boats are also restored and sold to benefit the non-profit organization. To volunteer or donate an unwanted boat, contact Rick Stewart at 941-580-1036.

in brief


BY CINDY LANESUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

May 1 is the start of sea turtle nesting season, but shorebirds are stealing the spotlight, two by two.

No nesting turtles have been sighted yet, but least terns, black skimmers, royal terns and laughing gulls are nesting on the beach across Gulf Drive from the Circle K in Bradenton Beach, seaward of a vacation rental construc-tion site.

Recent flooding from the construc-tion hasn’t appeared to affect the nesting, said Suzi Fox, director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, adding that the site historically has attracted least terns, which are a threatened species in Florida.

Birds mating on the beach need to build up calories so they can sit on their nests, Fox said, requesting that beachgoers walk around birds, and prevent children from chasing them.

TurTle TimeAny day now, the first sea turtle of

2013 will lay its nest on Anna Maria Island.

Last year’s record number of turtle nests – 370 – could be met and bested this year, Fox predicted, partly because of the newly renourished beach.

“We are providing a better home for them,” she said.

Because of the wider beach, nesting turtles will be going up to the vegeta-tion line to nest because the new sand is still wet and will feel too cool to them for nesting, Fox said.

For that reason, this year it is even more important for beachfront prop-erty owners to be meticulous about removing all objects of any kind from the beach each evening, all the way up to wherever concrete begins at each property, she said.

The renourishment changed the contours of the beach, and Manatee County Parks staff has been busy grad-ing sand escarpments created by wave action at the shoreline to make it easier for the turtles to get up onto the beach, she said.

TurTle TidbiTs• Miller Electric is donating four

turtle friendly fixtures to any resident or business owner who will pay for in-stallation, Fox said. Call 941-778-5638 to apply.

To be considered turtle-friendly, lighting must be LED amber, shielded, and low to the ground, she said. Both nesting and hatching sea turtles can be disoriented by light; nesting turtles may leave the beach without nesting

and hatchlings may fail to reach the water.

• WMNF-FM (88.5) in Tampa has committed to adopt 18 sea turtle nests, and will kick off turtle season on the Florida Folk Show on Saturday, May 3, at 9 a.m. Fox will be a guest on the program, and discuss beach etiquette.

Nesting season begins

CREdIT

Clockwise, from top: Nesting black skimmers in Bradenton Beach, a species of special concern; nesting laughing gulls in Bradenton Beach; and nesting royal terns in Bradenton Beach.


FOR THEPLANET

Patagonia will donate $10 to Sarasota Bay Watchfor every pair of Patagonia shoes you buy at AMI Outfitters

ADVOCATE WEEKSApril 26 - May 11

505 Pine AvenueAnna Maria

941-254-49967 days 9 - 6

www.amioutfitters.com

photo credit Heather Merriman

photo credit Rusty Chinnis

Mayor addresses traffic studyStudy reveals between 10,000 and 14,000 vehicles traveled in and out of the city of Anna Maria on any given day.


ANNA MARIA – A traffic study conducted in the city of Anna Maria provided Mayor SueLynn and city commissioners with detailed infor-mation on the number of vehicles traveling to and from the Island’s northernmost city.

The study took place between Tues-day, March 4, and Tuesday, March 11, on Gulf Drive, between Peppertree Lane and White Avenue, at the city’s southern boundary. The Manatee County Traffic Design Division pro-vided the study at a cost of $433.

SueLynn addressed the study at last week’s Island Transportation & Plan-ning Organization (ITPO) meeting.

She preceded her report by say-ing, “The city commission has confirmed their desire to implement

paid parking for the entire city and are going to take that upon them-selves as to how to do it.”

The first four days of the study, Tuesday through Friday, indicated a peak traffic period between 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. During the second four days of the study, from Saturday to Tuesday, the peak period moved up an hour, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“For the first four days, the aver-age number of people going in and out of the city (combined) was 12,439. The average for the second four days was 13,410. There was thousand vehicle increase for the second four days of the study,” Sue-Lynn said.

“We have a population of approxi-mately 1,500 people,” she added.

The busiest day was Saturday, March 8, with 14,053 combined trips in and out of the city. The slowest day was Thursday, March 6, with 10,807 combined trips.

During the study period, 90 more vehicles left the city than entered. The data provides no explanation, but SueLynn suggested it might be

attributed to service calls or vaca-tioners departing the city.

“We’re wondering where our resi-dents were during that time. I talked to a lot of them, and they said they stay home. They pick and choose when they come and go,” she said.

“I don’t know what conclusions you can draw from this except that there are a lot of people that came in and out of our city, and there’s that much wear and tear on our roads.”

She then addressed parking. “I don’t know where those 7,000

people parked on any given day. It’s great for business if they’re park-ing and going to our restaurants and our retail stores, but we don’t have that many parking spaces in the city. If you count every conceiv-able space where you can park, we only have a little over 3,000 parking spaces available,” she said.

“I don’t know where these people go, I just know they came and went, and that’s documented. Again, it con-firms that we’ve got a problem, and that’s only the people coming all the way into Anna Maria,” she added.

Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Mon-ti noted that most of the vehicles mentioned in the study would have also passed through Holmes Beach. He said Holmes Beach commission-ers are unanimously opposed to paid parking in their city, but there is some support among residents.

SueLynn concluded her report with a final comment on paid park-ing: “It’s going to be a real tough nut to crack in terms of implemen-tation, but the commission seems adamant,” she said.

I don’t know where those

7,000 people parked.”

Mayor SueLynn


The city commission voted to keep the ban beginning May 1, although it is working on a way for businesses that feel they need such a sign to get a special exception.BY TOM VAUGHTSUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – City staff is work-ing on a way for business owners that feel they need a sandwich sign to draw customers to get a special exception to a ban that goes in effect May 1, but the ban will likely precede the remedy. That’s the result of action during a city commission meeting on Thursday, April 24.

When the ban came up on the agenda, Commissioner Nancy Yetter said she had done some investigation

of claims by business owners that their businesses rely on the sandwich signs to draw customers.

“I feel the only business that needs such a sign is the Art Space, above the post office,” she said.

Commissioner Doug Copeland asked if city staff had made any progress on a procedure to allow business owners to apply for a special exception, and he was told that City Planner Alan Garrett has it ready for first reading, but the commissioners would not be able to ap-prove it until their first meeting in June. Copeland then moved to delay the ban until they have an ordinance, but the motion died for lack of a second.

Yetter moved to keep the May 1 deadline and it passed, 3-1, with Co-peland voting no. Mayor SueLynn said the businesses would have to remove the signs by May 1, but it might be a few days after that before the city

started enforcing the ban.After the city commission instituted

the ban because some felt the signs looked out of place and were often lo-cated in the rights of way, storeowners used more than one sign and the signs often stayed out after hours. When the business leaders learned of the com-mission’s move, they protested saying they were not part of the process and could not attend city commission meet-ings in the height of season when they are busy running their businesses.

The commission also heard the first reading of an ordinance that addresses traffic signs in the city.

The far-reaching ordinance ended the exemption of construction worker vehicles, tradesmen and other similar vehicles from parking regulations, and extended prohibited parking to Blue Heron Circle from South Bay Boulevard to the circle’s terminus and

Crescent Drive, from Pine Avenue to the Lake LaVista Bridge. That would end parking on the circle on Blue Heron and across the street from the city’s maintenance garage. It would add stop signs at Gulf Drive and Coco-nut Avenue and prohibit through truck traffic from Pine Avenue to Spring or Magnolia avenues in response to large delivery trucks going down Pine and then returning to Gulf Drive via those residential streets.

The ordinance sets pedestrian cross-ings along Gulf Drive at Magnolia Avenue, Oak Avenue, Peppertree Lane, Pine, Spring, Palm and Palmetto avenues plus North Bay Boulevard at Lakeview Drive, North Shore Drive at Newton Lane, Magnolia Avenue at Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue at Roser Church and South Bay Boulevard.

The ordinance will come up for sec-ond and final reading in May.

Sandwich sign ban looms

The Manatee High School Bands and Sugar Cane Dance Team are now taking pre-orders for their annual Mums for Mom fundraiser to benefit all band/dance activities. Volunteers also will be selling mums at various locations from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. May 10. Foil-wrapped 8-inch mum plants are offered at $9 each, according to Lynn Walsh, Head Mum, who is coordinating the sale.

Volunteers will deliver any pre-order of 10 or more plants on May 9, in time for Mother’s Day.

“They make great thank-you or promotional gifts,” Walsh said. Pre-orders must be arranged by May 1.

Band/dance team members will sell mums directly to the public May 10 outside Anna Maria Elementary School, Jessie P. Miller Elementary School, the Bank of America location at 75th Street and Manatee Ave., and the First Manatee Bank at 51st Street and Cortez Road.

For further details, contact Walsh at 941-704-7151.

Mums for Mom returns

Carving demonstrationAt right, Bruce Weaver will demonstrate the process of carving and painting decoys at a free, public program on Monday, May 5, at the Church of the Annunciation at 45th Street and Second Avenue in Holmes Beach. Social time begins at 6:30 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Artists' Guild of Anna Maria Island. For more information, call 941-778-6694 or visit www.amiartistsguild-gallery.com. During the summer Artists' Guild artists will display works in the gallery window based on a selected theme. Turtles will be displayed in May.

SUBMITTED

Island Gallery West is honoring Nancy Law as the featured artist for May. Law is an established, prize-winning artist and teacher whose acrylic paintings are found in private collections throughout the U.S.

Law knew she was on her way to success as an artist when two of her paintings were stolen from her display.

Her love of flowers has followed her in her travels around the world, and that love is reflected in the renditions of floral arrangements on display for art lovers the gallery, 5368 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach.

Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. For more informa-tion, call 941-778-6648 or visit www.islandgallerywest.com or facebook.

Law featured at Island Gallery

16 THE SUN BUSINESS APRIL 30, 2014

BY LOUISE BOLGERSUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

Except for maybe cookies, no one likes cookie cutter anything, especially when it comes to our homes. Custom designed is the name of the game. We all want to commission our projects to a particular specification that reflects our personalities and lifestyle, so why would building a pool be any differ-ent?

LaPensee Plumbing & Pools has been servicing its customers on Anna Maria Island for almost 30 years. Its grown from a small family business to a big family business with 36 employees still headed up by Karen LaPensee and her son, Greg. But they’re not willing to sit on their laurels. They’re in the business of building their business, and now they’re also building swimming pools.

In 2007 LaPensee added a successful pool service division offering mainte-nance services, repairs and rehabs to both residential and commercial cus-tomers. Tom Sanger, the commercial pool contractor for the LaPensee Pool Division, helped build this business from four employees to today’s 14. He has a commercial pool contracting license from the state of Florida, which is the top ranking license in the state for pool work. In fact, at one time he was the youngest person in the state to hold this level license.

In January, the LaPensee Pool Divi-sion added pool construction to its long list of pool services making it a true full service pool division. Sanger says his goal is to design pools, not just install pools, with an eye to making them function and making them last. He says he builds pools for the yard the client has and doesn’t try and fit an off the shelf pool into space that won’t accom-modate it.

Sanger works with a sophisticated software program to design a custom pool for your needs providing you with choices of tile and finishes. And if you’re into automation, you can activate your pool lights, cleaners, pumps and heaters from your iPhone. In addition, a variable frequency drive (VFD) allows you to pro-gram the pool pump so that it throttles back adjusting the pump speed based on

your family’s usage. Since the electric-ity required for a pool pump is one the biggest users of power next to your air conditioner, a VFD can save you a lot on your electric bill.

LaPensee Pools is the authorized dealer and warranty provider for Pen-tair pool equipment one, of the most energy efficient manufacturers of pool pumps. Karen pointed out that Pentair

pumps last up to 10 years, almost twice as long as other pool pumps. In addi-tion, Sanger’s preferred pool finish is Pebble Tec, which wears better than other finishes and offers a more solid dense surface that is resistant to stain-ing.

LaPensee Plumbing & Pools has had a quick start up to their pool construc-tion division with many residential

pools in the works since January. In addition, its residential service and repairs are growing as well as its com-mercial customers. It has done work with Sarasota County, many condo complexes and sub-divisions updating and redoing pools as large as Olympic size.

And let’s not forget that LaPensee has a full menu of plumbing services, including the only 24-hour emergency water truck on the Island, installation of tankless water heaters and irrigation. One of its newest lines is digital shower controls activated with a touch pad manufactured by Kohler and Moen.

LaPensee Plumbing & Pools wants all its customers to be happy, and Sanger, in particular, wants his pool customers to be happy. He thinks they will be with the quality of workmanship provided and LaPensee’s commitment to stand behind its work.

There’s nothing cookie cutter about a company that’s been in business as long as LaPensee Plumbing & Pools, and the newest addition to their its of services is no exception. Make your yard happy. Buy it a pool designed for its unique size and shape, just like a well designed suit.

LaPensee Plumbing

& Pools

401 Manatee Avenue

Holmes Beach

941-778-5622

www.lapenseeplumbing.com

Monday – Friday

8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Weekends

By appointment

American Express,

MasterCard, Visa

& Discover Cards accepted

LaPensee pool division going swimmingly

LOUISE BOLGER | SUN

Karen LaPensee and Tom Sanger offer a full complement of pool services.


TOM VAUGHT | SUN

Historical location

The Anna Maria Historical Society hosted the monthly Island Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange on Wednesday, April 23. There was great food from Society members and drinks from mustachioed bartenders Nev-ille Clark and Dave McCor-mick. Above, Chamber Board member Ellen Aqualina poses with Historical Society mem-ber Irene Pearman.

CINDY LANE | SUN

Welcome inGrayhawk Systems hosted a ribbon cutting and reception for area chambers of commerce last week at its showroom, 6008 Cortez Road W., Bradenton. The business offers services including doors, windows, hurricane shutters, screen repair, kitchen and bath remodeling and mobile home remodeling. For more information, call 941-487-2964.

TOM VAUGHT | SUN

Pond Cypress for Holmes BeachLeft to right: County Commissioner John Chappie; Lise West, Jerry West and Melissa Snyder, of the Holmes Beach Parks and Beautification Advisory Board; Holmes Beach Mayor Carmel Monti; Bob Longworth, of the Holmes Beach Parks and Beautification Advisory Board; Keep Manatee Beautiful board member Tammy Kovar; Florida Forest Service Officer Mike Keegan and Bob McDuffy, of Woodmen of America, that donated the pond cypress to the city.

Roundabout trees

Members of numerous local agencies and organizations participated in the Bradenton Beach Arbor Day celebration.

jOE HENDRICkS | SUN

TOM VAUGHT | SUN

Two trees for Anna MariaFrom left to right: Bill Bors, Manatee County Commissioner John Chappie, Florida Forest Service Officer Mike Keegan, Manatee County Property Management Operations Manager Carmine DeMilio, Keep Manateee Beautiful board member Tammy Kovar, Anna Maria Public Works members Rick Percycoe, John Pouris, Gary Thorpe, Peter Pier and Steve Stott and Keep Manatee Beautiful Executive Director Ingrid McClellan with one of the two live oak trees they installed at Bayfront Park.


Mainsail marina parking plan approvedThe site plan for the larger project should come to the commission within 30 days.BY PAT COPELAND SUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

HOLMES BEACH – Commis-sioners approved a Mainsail marina parking plan that shows eight spaces by the modular build-ing and 25 spaces in the grassy area where the main project will be built.

Public Works Supervisor Tom O’Brien said he counted the boats and number of passengers each carries and the total number of seats is in the 80s. The two largest boats are the Minnow with 20 seats and the Island Pearl with 40 seats.

“They found an area inside the perimeter of the rebar that can accommodate 25 cars,” O’Brien said. “It’s on grass that’s well established. In addi-tion to that, the exiting facility has eight parking spaces.

“The existing marina office provides the necessary rest rooms

and is handicapped accessible. We feel its OK for the first phase of the development.

Chair Judy Titsworth asked if showers are required, and O’Brien said no. She asked if the trailer is permitted.

“It’s not a trailer,” O’Brien ex-plained. ‘It’s a modular building. It’s set up to meet code requirements.

“It’s like a modular classroom. It’s temporary, but not transient. It’s there until a permanent facility is built.”

He said the parking places will be striped on the grass, and the construction area will be cordoned off when work begins.

Titsworth asked if the rusty rebar is a safety issue for people walking from their vehicles, and O’Brien said there’s a clear area where they can walk through the grass to the sidewalk.

Commissioner Jean Peelen asked what happens if more rent-als are added, and O’Brien said parking spaces would be added.

City Attorney Patricia Petruff said the parking plan must be ap-

proved by resolution and asked if commissioners wanted to add any stipulations. Mayor Carmel Monti asked her to supply a list of items that should be addressed.

O’Brien said the site plan for the larger project is being devel-oped, and the building department would review it in two weeks. It should come to the commission with 30 days.

The existing marina office

provides the necessary

rest rooms and is

handicapped accessible.”

Tom O’BrienPublic works supervisor

Charter group decides on density languageThe group meets next on Wednesday, April 30, at 9 a.m., and members will discuss ballot questions.


HOLMES BEACH – After an hour-long discussion on what lan-guage to add to the charter to limit density, charter review commis-sion members agreed on a simple statement.

Chair Bob Johnson had provided 41/2 pages of draft language de-scribing the purpose and intent and allowable densities of each zoning district. However, City Planner Bill Brisson the language doesn’t need to be included because it’s in the comprehensive plan.

“Your comprehensive plan can-not be changed by referendum or limitative,” Brisson explained. “All your zoning code – the districts, the densities – are included in the comprehensive plan and that can be changed by ordinance as a comp plan amendment.

“If they are in the charter, you would not be able to change your zoning. I see nothing but prob-lems when you incorporate your

zoning code into your charter. You shouldn’t put something in your charter that can’t be changed by ordinance.”

City Attorney Patricia Petruff agreed and added, ‘Sometimes it’s necessary to change the boundar-ies of zoning. Don’t tie the hands of future city commissions.”

She said recommended a simple statement and said they could state that the maximum density in the city is 10 units per acre. An-other choice would be to state that the maximum density in R1AA and R1 is 5.8 units per acre and the maximum density in the R2, R3, R4 and A1 is 10 units per acre.

WOrsT case scenariO“Your worst case scenario would

be if the golf course goes out of fashion and they sell it to a devel-oper,” Petruff explained. “Then the developer asks for a comp plan and zoning change to change the density of the property. It’s prob-ably around 80 to 100 acres, and they want the maximum density.

“If the maximum density is 10 you give them an argument to ask for the change. But that presup-poses you have a commission that would be in favor of the changes and a community that is compla-

cent or in favor.”Commissioner Jean Peelen

said she prefers to do it by zon-ing districts because otherwise “you are raising suspicion. The scenario of the golf course has already occurred in terms of an offer to buy it.”

They agreed to state the districts and their maximum densities.

Mayor Carmel Monti questioned a Section 12.03 (b), which states, “The city commission may, by a unanimous voted ordinance, amend this charter to abolish a municipal department provided for in the charter.”

“Isn’t that the mayor’s job?” Monti asked.

Johnson said it’s a new section and is required by Florida Statute.

“If the commission wants to do away with the police department and go with the Sheriff’s Office they can,” Petruff added. “It’s a policy decision.”

“That’s a very radical change,” Monti remarked.

Johnson said that authority rests with the legislative branch of the government.

The group’s next meeting is Wednesday, April 30, at 9 a.m., and members will discuss bal-lot questions.


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The city commission will investigate how to handle the request, which did not appear to have much support, and discuss it at a May 7 work session.

BY TOM VAUGHTSUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – The owners of 114 Tern are seek-ing a variance from the newly enacted living area ratio (LAR) restrictions saying they need to install an elevator and expand the second floor of the residence due to the woman’s osteoarthritis.

Mark McLean and Katherine Hayes, who are en-gaged, attended the meeting on Thursday, April 24, and for a while, it looked like they would likely get the variance because her needs stem from a medical condition, but nothing is certain and the request has been continued until the May 7 work session.

According to McLean and Hayes, they want to remodel the second floors so they could install an elevator and so she would be able to handle a wheel-chair or walker in their bedroom.

According to City Attorney Jim Dye, the city could be obligated to allow the variance if they find that the homeowners were able to expand before the ordinance limiting the size of homes in respect to the size of their lots was passed last year. If they could and the city does not allow the expansion, they might be able to seek relief from the Bert Harris Property Rights Act, according to Dye. He passed out an out-line of the process for the commissioners to ponder.

Dye also said they might be obligated to allow the variance since Hayes has a medical condition, which he said would be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He called it a “no brainer.”

Commissioner Nancy Yetter said she had no prob-lem with the elevator, but she has a problem with the expansion being as large as it is. McLean said the day they bought the home, they knew they would be able to expand it to accommodate an elevator. He said they have the right to expand their home, which would be eight percent over the allowed area for the second floor, for up to a year after the city passed the LAR restrictions. Hayes said this is their dream home.

Commissioner Doug Copeland made a motion to allow the variance, but it died for a lack of a second. Instead, they agreed to continue the hearing until the May 7 meeting.

In another decision, the city commission approved

Homeowners apply for living area

ratio exemption

SEE LAR, PAgE 25


Cortez picnicThe Cortez village commu-nity potluck picnic at the Miller/Few dock earlier this month, organized by the Cortez Village Historical So-ciety, featured monologues by Dr. Steve Marshall's American History class at Manatee School for the Arts, created from oral histories taken by students in NOAA Fisheries’ “Cortez: Voices from the Fisheries” project. Funded by a grant from NOAA Fisheries, the purpose of the program is to train students how to conduct oral histories and learn about differ-ent aspects of the marine environment.

CINDY LANE | SUN


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Streetlight project pendingLocal leaders clamor for turtle-friendly lighting that has not yet been approved.BY JOE HENDRICKSSUN CORRESPONDENT

BRADENTON BEACH – Florida Power & Light (FPL) will soon replace the streetlight poles along Gulf Drive, but the attached lighting fixtures will not be the turtle-friendly LED (light-emitting diode) fixtures envisioned by elected officials and sea turtle activists.

During last week’s Island Transporta-tion & Planning Organization meeting in Bradenton Beach, FPL representative Don Sayre discussed the streetlight hardening project and FPL’s efforts to develop its own LED streetlight.

“Hardening is our term for strengthen-ing our power lines so they’ll stay up in air during a storm. It doesn’t mean the power won’t go out, but it’s a lot quicker to get the power back on if the poles are still up in the air,” Sayre explained.

Getting underway in May, prior to the June arrival of hurricane season, the project involves larger light poles being installed at a deeper depths along Gulf Drive from Longboat Pass to 26th Street North.

Existing high-pressure sodium vapor cobra head lights and fixtures determined to be in good working condition will be transferred to the new poles; those in need of replacement will be replaced with the same type of light.

The fixtures will be tilted slightly down-ward to minimalize their visibility to nesting sea turtles, who become disoriented by the cumulative effect of lighting near their beach breeding grounds.

Similar FPL-funded projects will take place in Holmes Beach later this year, and in Anna Maria next year, as part of the com-pany’s ongoing efforts to harden critical power lines throughout Manatee County.

The quesT for LeDWhen Mayor Bill Shearon learned of the

hardening project, he consulted with Public Works Director Tom Woodard and Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch & Shorebird Monitoring Director Suzi Fox about the possibility of installing LED lights instead of sodium vapor lights. In addition to being more potentially turtle-friendly, LED lights

would cost less to operate because they use significantly less electricity.

Echoing comments he made at the April 16 Coalition of Barrier Island Elected Offi-cials (CBIEO) meeting, Shearon said, “For FPL to put in all these new lights, and then a year from now we have to come in and take them all out, somebody would have to pay for that, and it would be redundant.”

Sayre acknowledged that FPL is work-ing with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to de-velop its own certified LED streetlight, but said the challenge is to develop a light that meets FWC standards, while also meeting FPL standards for durability and resis-tance to corrosion caused by the salt air.

Sayre said retrofitting municipalities with LED streetlights is a significant un-dertaking because FPL lights the majority of Florida’s coastal communities. He also pointed out that the lights, once developed, have to be field tested before they are made available.

Turtle-friendly, FWC certified LED streetlights do exist, including the solar powered fixtures on Bridge Street that were manufactured locally by Beacon Lighting and installed at the city’s expense, but FPL does not yet have a LED model of its own.

Shearon said 50 of the 70 Gulf Drive streetlights in Bradenton Beach are in close proximity to potential turtle nesting areas, and he asked Sayre to offer Braden-ton Beach as a future test site.

When asked to speak, Fox mentioned the recent beach renourishment project and the need for turtle-friendly streetlights.

“We’ve added a lot more nesting habitat for the birds and the turtles, and we need to come up with a better light,” she said.

“We are working on it, but it’s a long process, and unfortunately we’re not there yet,” Sayre said, noting that he could not provide a timetable as to when FPL would offer LED streetlights.

“We’ll continue to work on developing the lights, and I’ll keep plugging for Anna Maria Island the best I can,” he concluded.

At the CBIEO meeting, Longboat Key Vice Mayor Jack Duncan said he would urge the ManaSota League of Cities and the Florida League of Cities to get more involved in the push for LED streetlights. Duncan serves as president of the Mana-Sota League.


Respect WildlifeLive like a local

Please recycle your old fishing line so I don’t get tangled up in it.

Brown pelican

Anna Maria Island Sun, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring


Cortez reliCsWhen something in Cortez stops working, it becomes a work of art. A former tackle box, for example, looks like an impressionist painting, while a Tropicana box car serves as a mural at the docks. Here then, are some Cortez relics that have taken on new meanings in this working fishing village.

Clockwise from above, becoming unhinged is not necessarily a bad thing in Cortez. A wooden rain barrel is an architectural prop at the Florida Maritime Museum. A box car serves as a mural. Crab traps become a sculpture. An impressionistic tackle box. A Johnson SeaHorse motor is yard art. A propeller decorates the A.P. Bell Fish Co. parking lot.

PHoToS by CINdy LANE


The bridge rehabilitationproject drew a light turnout at a public information meeting last week.BY TOM VAUGHTSUN STAF WRITER | [email protected]

A public information meeting at Kirkwood Presbyterian Church drew little more than three-dozen people on Tuesday, April 22, just prior to the project. Work crews are now setting up for the $4 million Florida Department of Transportation project that will add 10 years of life to the nearly 60-year-old drawbridge.

Built in the heyday of concrete bridges, the structure has weathered well, although it sits in salt water and requires maintenance.

According to Ben Loeser, a project engineer, the project is expected to run through early spring of next year. They will be fixing or replacing deck-ing, piling sleeves, some of the beams, seawalls, electrical controls.

Boon Chong, a designer, said the bridge outlived its projected life by seven years, and it remains structurally strong.

“Essentially, we’re buying time because there already is a study on repairing or replacing the bridge, and when that is finished, we’ll be closer to knowing the future of the bridge,” Chong said.

There will be some lane closures during the project, but they will occur

between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. and they closure won’t take too long. Extended closures will occur between midnight and 5 a.m.

From May 10 through Nov. 23, the bridge will open a single leaf for ships on demand. There will be a four-hour notice required for double-leaf open-

ings.Former Bradenton Beach City Com-

missioner Jim Kissick was at the meeting, and he still feels the answer to Island traffic problems lies in the construction of a new bridge to Anna Maria Island, starting from 53 Avenue on the mainland. The bridge would

have minimal impact on sea grasses and wildlife, he said, and it could service Longboat Key so residents there can avoid the Bradenton Beach roundabout when they leave for the mainland.

Bridge tenders attended the meeting. They agreed it would be nice to have an updated control room.

Cortez Bridge project begins

CINDY LANE | SUN

Some of the repairs to the Cortez Bridge will involve work on the concrete support pilings, visible here beneath the deck on both sides of the center span. The project is expected to run through early spring of 2015.

FROM PAGE 20

the first work permit appli-cation by private landown-ers near Gulf Front Park to pay for removing exotic plants and trimming plants on the beach.

The applicants, Dick and Beth Mason, appeared at the meeting and agreed to make removal of the exot-ics a priority over trim-ming back the landscaping. Yetter voted against the permit, saying she felt the city would be taking money with strings attached, like it did on the ill-fated bath-rooms and parking spaces at the six-lots park. She said the city could ask for volunteers to remove the exotics, but Copeland said

they need professionals.Once again, old records

by the city and county have caused confusion about a requested replat for Ban-yan Tree Estates, located along Park Avenue, south of South Bay Boulevard. According to Ricinda Perry, the attorney representing Banyan Tree Estates de-velopers, they are asking a shift to follow the lot line. She said she found an inac-curate description of the property from a 1953 city resolution, but she said she found where the property was vacated by the city.

Dye said there was some confusion. He said they need more author-ity through research. City Commissioner Chuck Webb

said he wanted a resolu-tion to amend the original resolution.

Perry said the construc-tion control line permit is set to expire within the first two weeks of May and they need a plat in place. Everything else is done, she said.

Webb asked Dye if he

could have a resolution ready by May 7.

“The city caused this problem, and we should bend over backwards to fix it,” he said.

Webb suggested they approve the replat pend-ing the discovery of evi-dence. Perry asked if she could get Leo G. Mills, the

original surveyor on the plat, prepare an affidavit to resolve it and he said it would.

They will address the situation during the May 7 meeting.

Finally, accountant Randy Dillingham discussed the annual audit of the city’s finances and how it handles them. The report showed the city is in good shape, thanks to collecting more than expected and spending less during the fiscal year.

“Getting a clean bill of health is (Finance Direc-tor) Diane Percycoe’s responsibility,” said Mayor SueLynn, as the commis-sioners and audience ap-plauded.

LAR: Homeowners apply for LAR exemption

The city caused this problem, and we should

bend over backwards to fix it."

Chuck WebbCity commissioner

26 THE SUN OUTDOORS APRIL 30, 2014

The Sister Keys are a shining ex-ample of the possibilities we have to enhance and save critical areas

of the bay for future generations. If you haven’t had the opportunity to see a naturally functioning habitat resur-rected from uplands chocked with invasive species, here’s your chance to see first-hand the restorative power of nature. The Sister Keys have the distinction of being the largest undevel-oped group of islands between Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor.

If you participate in The Sixth An-nual Sister Keys Clean-Up you’ll see the transformation first hand and you’ll also enjoy lunch by the water at the Mar Vista Restaurant. If you don’t have a kayak or boat, you can catch a shuttle to the islands aboard the Kathleen D, a sailing catamaran.

Hosted by Sarasota Bay Watch, Mar Vista Dockside restaurant and the town of Longboat Key, the event is slated for Saturday May 17. This is a great opportunity to be a part of the effort to

protect and enhance Sarasota Bay; The Sister Keys were protected in

1991 through the efforts of a coali-tion of citizens named the Sister Keys Conservancy partnering with Long-boat Key. In 2007-08 a one million dollar mitigation project removed all invasive floras, replacing them with native species and created a two acre wetland. The islands are now one of the best examples of a thriving native marine environment on the west coast of Florida.

In 2010, Sarasota Bay Watch adopted the Sister Keys through an agreement with the town. Yearly clean ups have been conducted since 2009 and plans are being formulated to work with the

town to maintain the islands natural diversity.

To appreciate the changes that have taken place on the Sister Keys, partici-

pants can compare them with Jewfish Key, just to the north. The Sister Keys

Sister Keys clean up May 17ReelTime

RUSTY CHINNIS

RUSTy cHINNIS | SUbmITTEd

The Sister Keys now has productive wetlands where Australian pines once grew.

SEE Reel TIme, PAgE 27


Day Date A.M. HighTime Feet

A.M. LowTime Feet

P.M. HighTime Feet

P.M. LowTime Feet

SunRise Set Day Date A.M. High

Time FeetA.M. LowTime Feet

P.M. HighTime Feet

P.M. LowTime Feet

SunRise Set

Wed 4/30 1:23a 1.46 5:49a 1.01 11:49a 2.49 7:34p -0.23 6:52-8:03 Sun 5/4 4:55a 1.33 7:59a 1.22 2:25p 2.26 10:42p 0.06 6:49-8:06

Thu 5/1 2:13a 1.39 6:15a 1.08 12:20p 2.49 8:17p -0.206:51-8:00

Mon 5/5 5:52a 1.37 9:01a 1.27 3:21p 2.10 11:37p 0.136:48-8:06

Fri 5/2 3:05a 1.34 6:43a 1.13 12:56p 2.45 9:02p -0.136:50-8:01

Tue 5/6 6:47a 1.44 10:38a 1.29 4:29p 1.936:47-8:07

Sat 5/3 3:59a 1.32 7:17a 1.18 1:37p 2.37 9:50p -0.056:50-8:01

Wed 5/7 7:34 1.53 12:32a 0.28 12:21p 1.22 5:50p 1.776:47-8:07

tide chart for anna maria city pier april 30-may 7

FROM PAGE 26were also covered with Austra-lian pines before the restoration in 2007. By removing the pines, the shade and acid forming straw were eliminated, creating a healthy and robust environment.

The planting of native flora and the creation of a wetland (one of the most important and productive habitats in nature) shaped the en-vironment you’ll see where diverse species from fiddler crabs to ibis and roseate spoonbills abound.

The waters that surround the keys are filled with shallow sea grass beds and are one of the most important habitats in Sarasota Bay. These areas are a nursery for fish like the snook, redfish, sea trout and flounder. They provide a home, protection and a food source for countless other species like shrimp, crabs, oysters, scal-lops and even manatees.

Clean ups not only help maintain the natural diversity of the islands, but also give participants a way to learn about the bay and get invested in the continued health of the resource. The success of events like the Sister Keys Clean-Up shows that the public is eager

to get involved with the health of the bay. When you give citizens an opportunity to get their feet wet they gain a new appreciation of the resource.

Sarasota Bay Watch was formed in 2008 to foster just this kind of community involvement. Its mis-sion continues to be the protection and restoration of Sarasota Bay's ecosystem through community education and citizen participa-tion.

Projects like the Sister Keys Clean Up provide an opportunity to network with partners like, Mote Marine Laboratory, the Chil-es Group, Save Our Seabirds, the Sarasota Yacht Club, the Sarasota Sailing Squadron, the Longboat Key Garden Club, Audubon, the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast and many more.

Now is a great chance for you to join in the cause. Where else can you get a morning on the water, lunch by the bay and the feeling that you’re helping to preserve the natural diversity of Sarasota Bay. Sign up by visiting www.saraso-tabaywatch.org or by calling Sara-sota Bay Watch at 941-918-2700.

REEl tiME: Clean Sister Keys Anglers find variety of fishCAPtAin RiCk GRAssEtt

Anglers fishing with me on my Action Craft flats skiff the Snook Fin-Addict, out of CB’s Saltwater Outfit-ters on Siesta Key, caught and released reds, snook, trout, bluefish and flounder in Sarasota Bay on flies, DOA Shrimp, DOA Deadly Combos and CAL jigs with shad tails during the past week.

Mark Wayde, from Michigan, fished with me on Tuesday. We spent some time in the coastal Gulf scouting for false albacore (little tunny), tripletail and tarpon. Although sea conditions were good, we had very little visibility and didn’t find anything. We came back into Sarasota Bay and worked deep grass flats on both sides of the bay where he caught and released trout, Jacks and bluefish on an Ultra Hair Clouser fly.

Steve Ritter and his son, Bryce, from Wisconcin,

fished Sarasota Bay with me on Wednesday. We fished deep grass flats on the west side of the bay where they caught and released trout to 19 inches and a flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails.

Mark Nichols, owner of DOA Fishing Lures, fished Sarasota Bay with me on Friday. We fished shal-

low water, scouting for the Sarasota CCA Photo All Release Challenge fishing tournament which was held on Saturday. We had good action on shallow flats on both sides of the bay, catch-ing and releasing several reds and snook on CAL

CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT | SUbmITTEd

Mark Nichols, owner of DOA Fishing Lures, caught and released reds and snook on the new DOA swimbait while fishing Sarasota Bay with Captain Rick Grassett.

SEE CAPtAins, PAGE 28


jigs and shad tails, DOA Shrimp and the soon to be released DOA swim bait, a larger version of the CAL shad tail.

Mark and I fished the tournament with Capt. Andy Cotton on Saturday. We caught and released a 29 inches red, several snook to 22 inches and trout on DOA Shrimp and weedless-rigged CAL shad tails. Although not good enough to win anything, it was a good day and it’s always good to have an opportunity to fish with friends. All fish were immediately photographed and released to fight an-other day. DOA Fishing Lures has been a long time donor

to this event which is a catch, photo and release fishing tournament that benefits CCA’s conservation efforts.

Tides will be good as we approach a new moon on April 29. Look for reds, snook and big trout on shallow flats or edges of bars in Sarasota Bay. Fishing deep grass flats for trout, blues, flounder and more should continue to be a good option. In addition to Spanish and king mackerel, false albacore (little tunny) and tripletail, tar-pon should start to show any time now in the coastal Gulf depending on conditions.

captains: Watch for tarpon in the Gulf

CAPTAIN RICK GRASSETT | SUbmITTEd

Bryce Ritter and his dad, Steve Ritter, from Wisconcin, had good action with trout to 19 inches and flounder on CAL jigs with shad tails while fishing with Capt. Rick Grassett.


Buried since WWII, artifacts unearthed on beach

Non-profits unite for Giving ChallengeFour of Anna Maria Island non-profits

have joined forces for the upcoming 24-hour, online giving challenge to be held from noon May 6 through noon May 7.

All online donations for the 100 partici-pating charities will be matched until all the $501,000 matching dollars are gone. Donors are asked to make a minimum donation of $25. Donate at www.giving-partnerchallenge.org.

The Anna Maria Island Community Center, Anna Maria Island Concert Chorus & Orchestra, Anna Maria Island Histori-cal Society and the Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island are participating.

These four groups volunteer untold hours annually to ensure that residents and visitors experience the ambience of the Island’s arts and culture, sports and activi-ties for body and mind. They are part of

the fabric of the Island community and are asking for your help.

The Giving Challenge, hosted by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, the Patterson Foundation, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, and the Manatee Community Foundation, encour-ages philanthropy in the community.

Center hosts Anti-Bully NightThe Island Community Center and Gulf

Coast Giving invite Manatee County stu-dents and parents to come out to Love4Ac-tion Anti-Bully Night on Thursday, May 8, at 6:30 pm.

This is a free cyber bullying awareness prevention and intervention program that will be presented at the Center, 407 Mag-nolia Ave., Anna Maria. Gulf Coast Giving volunteers will show youth that you reap what you sow.

Gulf Coast Giving’s Bailey the Bee will teach the younger youth how to spread seeds of love to earn their blue stripes. Teens will be motivated through the arts, creative activities like video contests, men-

tor programs, volunteering and peer and social norming.

Learn to build a paddleboardThe Island Community Center and the

Florida Maritime Museum are offering a new class, Build Your Own Paddleboard, at the Center, 407 Magnolia Ave., Anna Maria.

The five-day program begins June 12 and continues June 13, 14, 18 and 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. except June 14, which is from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $500 per board.

The registration deadline is May 16, and space is limited. The class is subject to cancellation if there is not enough interest. To register, call 778-1908 or drop by the Center.

Board members appointedHomes Beach city commissioners reap-

pointed Ted Geeraerts to the code enforce-ment board for a three-year terms expiring April 1, 20017. He has been on the board

since 1998.They also appointed Alexandra (Zan)

Fuller as an alternate on the beautification board for a two-year term expiring Aug. 1, 2016. Fuller is a retired RN and restaurant owner.

Board sets summer meetingsHolmes Beach city commissioners

agreed on their meeting schedule for June and July. They plan to meet on Tuesday, June 24, and Tuesday, July 22, both at 6 p.m. Both also will combine the commis-sion’s meeting and work session.

Board OK’s contractor registrationHolmes Beach city commissioners

approved on first reading an ordinance providing for a voluntary contractor regis-tration procedure. Public Works Supervisor Tom O’Brien said it allows contractors to provide certain documents as required by state law for the city to keep on file, so contractors don’t have to show them each time they apply for a permit.

World War II ammunition casings discovered in Bradenton Beach are now property of the local historical society. BY JOE HENDRICKSSUN CORRESPONDENT

BRADENTON BEACH – When Rich-ard Beldman returned to Ontario after his month-long stay at the Runaway Bay resort, he left behind a collection of World War II era ammunition casings he unearthed from the renourished beach across the street.

The majority of Beldman’s discoveries are now the property of the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, as Beldman felt it was only right that the artifacts remain in the community where they were found.

The Canadian construction contrac-tor discovered the buried munitions in March, using his Garrett A1 Pro metal detector. He believes the .50 caliber bullets were fired from military aircraft during offshore training exercises that took place in the mid-1940s. Identifica-tion numbers found the on the casing bases reveal the number 43, which, ac-cording to Beldman, indicates they were manufactured in 1943.

The casings were likely submerged offshore, vacuumed from the sandy bottom by beach renourishment equip-ment, and recently redeposited on the beach.

The few casings Beldman took home with him will join the collection of military and native Canadian artifacts

he has been gathering for the 30 years. His collection includes arrowheads, musket balls, bullet casings, tokens, military uniform buttons, settler’s coins and more.

Unlike some metal detector users, Beldman has little interest searching for lost jewelry and other items that can be sold for a quick profit. He prefers to use his detector for historical purposes instead.

“I love the old coins from 1812 to 1820. It’s not the value, it’s the historical value I’m interested in,” he said.

When asked what his greatest discov-ery has been to date, the 60-year old motorcycle enthusiast said, “My belief in Jesus Christ.”

Joined by his wife Nelly, Beldman has been making his annual pilgrimage to the Island since 1984.

joE HENdRIckS | SUN

Primer casing indentifications number indicates that the .50 caliber bullets were manufactured in 1943. Island visitor Richard Beldman displays the .50 caliber bullet cas-ings he found with his metal detector.

in brief


Knit one, purl twoLearn to knit or just have fun knit-

ting with others at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, on Thursday, May 1, at 10 a.m. Call 778-6341 for more information.

Parenting programThe Island Branch Library, 5701

Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, presents Forty Carrots, a parenting program based in Sarasota, on Fridays, May 2 and 9, at 10 a.m. This is a new program where kids from mobile babies to five years old and their parents experience new activities, join in circle time fun, spend time with other families and get valuable parenting information.

The program is free and you can get a ticket for this session at the library desk. Space is limited to 12 families. For more information, call 778-3986

Computer class setThe Island Branch Library, 5701 Ma-

rina Drive, Holmes Beach, will host an intermediate computer class on Friday, May 2, at 2 p.m. Registration is re-quired. Call 778-6341 for information.

Wagon train though RobinsonThe Manatee County Department of

Parks and Natural Resources will host a naturalist-led wagon tour of Robin-son Preserve on Saturday, May 3, from 9 to 10 p.m. The tour guide will explain the preserve’s history, wildlife, flowers and highlights.

There will be one trip per day unless at least 12 people are present at 11 a.m. This program is suitable for all ages. Please arrive at least 15 minutes in advance. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Catch problems in timeYou could be alerted to possible

stroke or other health problems by tak-ing Prevention Plus Stroke and Vascu-lar Screening offered Monday, May 5, at the Anna Maria Island Community Center, 407 Magnolia, Anna Maria.

The screenings are being offered at reduced prices. They include stroke/carotid ultrasound for $40, abdomi-nal aortic aneurysm for $40, arterial disease test for $40, thyroid ultrasound for $40, abdominal ultrasound for $95 and heart scan-echocardiogram for $95 or all six tests for only $179. Blood tests, liver, cholesterol, PSA and TSH tests are also available. To register, call 888-667-7587.

Explore your rootsThe Manatee Genealogical Society

meets on Tuesday May 6, from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Manatee County Central Library, 1301 Barcarrota Blvd. W., in Bradenton. A panel of genealogy practitioners and experienced re-searchers will offer, “Ask the Experts,” fielding questions and concerns about individual research projects

Submit questions in advance to [email protected]. or ask at the meeting. The next meeting will be Oct. 7. For more information, log onto, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~flmgs/

It’s story timeMisty Wright, the children’s librar-

ian, reads stories on Tuesday, May 6, at 10 a.m. Kids between toddler and five years of age are welcome, as are their parents, at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach.

Learn about MedicareThe Florida Department of Elder Af-

fairs’ SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) Program presents “Welcome to Medicare, Happy 65th Birthday” at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, on Tuesday, May 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. This program will provide detailed informa-tion on the basics of the Medicare pro-gram, including Medicare supplement insurance, Medicare Advantage plans, and financial assistance programs.

SHINE volunteers will also be avail-able to answer questions and provide enrollment or benefit application assis-tance. To RSVP or to learn more about

the SHINE Program, call the local Elder Helpline at 1-800-963-5337.

Full moon over city skylineJoin the Sierra Group on Tuesday,

May 13, for the South Lido Park pot luck dinner at 6:30 p.m., followed by a walk through restored Florida coastal habitat to reach a viewing spot to see the full moon over the city skyline.

Bring a dish to serve eight plus your place setting and drink. Wear closed shoes and insect protection is sug-gested. This event is sponsored by the Manatee Sarasota Sierra Club and a $5 donation is requested. Reserve by May 7 with Mary Sheppard at 941-752- 3200.

Mana-Tweens discuss bookThe Mana-Tweens Book Club dis-

cusses “Bud, Not Buddy,” By Christo-pher Paul Curtis, at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, on Wednesday, May 7, at 6 p.m. This club requires pre-registration. Call 778-6341 for more information.

Explore Alaska’s National ParksAnne Castellina will provide an

overview of the national parks and preserves in Alaska that make up over half of the total acreage in America’s national park system at Manatee-Sara-sota Sierra Group’s general meeting on Thursday, May 8, at 7 p.m. at the Sarasota Garden Club, 1131 Blvd. of the Arts.

Castellina served as superintendent of Kenai Fjords National Park, located in Seward, Alaska from 1988 to 2004 and was privileged to make visits to

all of the Alaska parks during her time there.

Join the Sierra Club and bring a snack to share at the social afterwards.

Exchange student families neededInternational Fellowship, Inc., is

looking for families and local represen-tatives as host families for high school exchange students. They also need vol-unteers to secure host families for high school exchange students. For more information, log onto www.internation-alfellowships.org or e-mail [email protected]. You can also call the 24-hour, toll-free line at 1-800-647-8839 or the 24-hour line at 1-716-326-7277.

Volunteer advocates NeededFlorida’s Long-Term Care Ombuds-

man Program needs volunteers to join its corps of dedicated advocates who protect the rights of elders who live in nursing homes, assisted living facili-ties and adult family care homes. The program’s local councils are seeking additional volunteers to identify, in-vestigate and resolve residents’ con-cerns. Special training and certification is provided.

All interested individuals who care about protecting the health, safety, welfare and rights of long-term care fa-cility residents, who often have no one else to advocate for them, are encour-aged to call toll-free 1-888-831-0404 or visit the program’s website at http://ombudsman.myflorida.com.

SHINE Program needs volunteersThe Florida Department of Elder

Affairs and the West Central Florida Area Agency on Aging need volunteers to join the award-winning SHINE team to help the elderly make decisions on Medicare, health insurance and pre-scription drug plans. For more infor-mation or to volunteer, call the Elder Helpline at 1-813-740-3888, Ext. 5593.

Have a heart for a childCamelot Community Care is looking

for therapeutic foster parents to care for abused and neglected adolescents and children. Call 941-708-9764 to find out if you would make a good thera-peutic foster parent.

Alzheimer’s care givers meetSue Fox, a representative of the

Sarasota Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, will host a program for caregivers of people with memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, on Friday, May 9, at 2 p.m. at the Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach. The program is free. Call 778-64341 for more informa-tion.

TOWN CRIER

Relay For Life is backRelay For Life of Anna Maria Island returns beginning on Saturday, May 17, at 4:30 p.m. and ending Sunday, May 18, at 6 a.m. at Coquina Beach Gulfside, 2650 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach.


Idol competition a rewarding experience

Island resident’s participation in senior talent show reminds him that win-ning isn’t everything.


HOLMES BEACH – Bob O’Brien joined eleven other 55 and up Bright Star Senior Idol finalists on the Ruth Eckerd Hall stage in Clearwater last week to compete for the title of Senior Idol 2014.

Winning was the goal, but the joy of performance proved to be the real prize.

“The venue was awesome, and we had close to 2,000 people in the audience. It was a once in a lifetime experience,” the Holmes Beach resident said.

O’Brien discussed Tuesday night’s competition a few days later, after learning that Pinellas County resident Danny Helou won, according to ballots cast by audience members.

Looking back on the evening, O’Brien said, “To me, it’s like the song that I sang when I was there: I wanted it, I needed it and I loved it. I really wanted to win, but I’m really happy about the entire experience.”

O’Brien did have the honor of being asked to kick off the show.

“They wanted to start the show off with a bang,” he said, not-ing that his act was the only one to feature a choreographed introduction.

Introduced by the master of ceremonies as being “74 years young,” O’Brien stepped on stage wearing a black leather outfit, a gold scarf and Elvis’s signature sunglasses. The musical theme from “2001: A Space Odyssey” set the stage for a performance mod-eled after Presley’s 1968 come-back special, presented as if Elvis had returned from the afterlife seeking one last hurrah.

Impersonating Presley, O’Brien, said, “Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen,” followed by some comedic remarks about being on loan from the great beyond.

He then sang his first number, “Love Me,” which was greeted with hearty applause and a few vo-cal swoons from the ladies.

“As far as comebacks go, tonight brings it to a new level,” O’Brien said, before his spectral Elvis character sang a spirited version of “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You” that included Presley’s infa-

mous hip gyrations, much to the crowd’s delight.

After singing his final line, “I want you, I need you with all my heart,” O’Brien exited stage right, accompanied by Presley tradition-al outro music. When he was out of sight, the announcer said, “Elvis has left the building.”

O’Brien said his Idol participa-tion has rekindled a desire to per-form his one-man shows locally.

“The publicity has led to a lot of people recognizing me, and when I approach different places about performing I can point to this experience,” he said.

His Idol performance is available online by entering “Bob O’Brien Florida Senior Idol Finals” into your computer search engine. To contact O’Brien about perform-ing, visit www.bobobrien.wix.com/musicman.

An edited version of the Se-nior Idol show will be available to Bright House customers at on-demand Channel 999 May 5 through Aug. 5.

Sponsored by Bright House Networks, the annual competi-tion raised more than $10,000 for Tampa Bay area organizations, including Meals on Wheels PLUS in Manatee County.

O'Brien


Tickets go on sale May 5 at the box office, 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria or call 778-5755.BY TOM VAUGHTSUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

The Island Players present their final performance of the season, “And the Winner Is,” by Mitch Albom May 15 through 25.

The plot centers on Tyler Johnes, played by Talley Reeve, a self obsessed movie star who finally gets the nomina-tion for an Oscar, but he died the night before the awards. He is furious about the timing, so he asks the heavenly gatekeeper if he can return to earth for his big night so he can hear those words, “And the winner is…”

Island favorite James Thaggard directs Reeve, Jim Faltot as Seamus, Pamela Hopkins as Sheri, Herb Stump as Teddy, Michael Eddy as Kyle, Jen-nifer Eddy as Serenity and newcomers Mitcheal Pearl as Tony and Kristina Klein as Emmy.

Plays are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets

are $20 each. The box office opens on Monday, May 5, from 9 to 1 on Mon-days hrough Saturdays. On perfor-mance nights, the box office opens at 7 p.m. and for Sunday matinees, it opens at 1 p.m. Visa, MasterCard or Discov-ery are accepted.

For reservations or for information, call the box office at 778-5755 or go to the website, www.theislandplayers.org.

Next seasoNThe Island Players have released

the names of the plays for their 66th season schedule.

“Tribute,” by Bernard Slade, Oct. 9 through 19 (auditions Aug. 24, 7:30 at the theatre).

“Regrets Only,” by Paul Rudnick, Dec. 4 through 14.

“Dearly Departed,” by David Bottrell and Jessie Jones, Jan. 22 through Feb. 8, 2015.

“Becky’s New Car,” by Steven Dietz, March 26 through April 12, 2015.

“The Murder Room,” by Jack Shar-key, May 21 through 31, 2015.

More information will be available soon on the Island Players' website.

Final curtain call of the season

Police Chief for the DayEvan Christenson joined Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer as Police Chief for the Day on Wednesday, March 26. The pair went on beach patrol and checked for parking violations, Evan learned radio proce-dure, and the chief introduced Evan to citizens, city staff and police officers.

PAT CoPELANd | SUN


Lotsa makoThis 692-pound mako shark was caught last week aboard the charter boat Double Nickel, owned and operated by the Froelich brothers, Capt. Nicholas Froelich, far right, and Capt. Will Froelich, center. The anglers, left to right, were 12-year-old Sam Von Duhn, of Cleveland, Ohio, Ryan Roberts and Tony Musca. The fish was caught 25 miles offshore in 100 feet of water, and weighed at Cortez Bait and Seafood. “We’re live baiting for big sharks,” Froelich said, adding that it was the second mako caught from his boat this year. “We’re pleasantly surprised to see a mako this late in the year.” The crew released a great white shark on Feb. 17, he said.

MELISSA SMILEY | SUBMITTED

34 THE SUN REAL ESTATE APRIL 30, 2014

As indicated in last week’s column, the sale of vacation homes is soaring in the country, and, of course, the same

is true on Anna Maria Island. But does owning a vacation property prevent you from perusing your dreams of traveling? If you own property on Anna Maria Island, you’re sitting on a very desirable vacation location that can also help fulfill your vaca-tion dreams.

House swapping has been around for a long time and can be the perfect fit for second homeowners who want to put their property to work for them without outright renting. Let’s say you have a beachfront cottage on Anna Maria and you want to travel to Europe or South America or California, but don’t want the expense and inconvenience of staying in hotels. By joining one of the more than 20 home exchange groups, it’s possible to find a home in the location you want and the time frame that interests you. In exchange, you would make your cottage available at

the same time.Aside from the obvious financial ad-

vantage to house swapping there are lots of other reasons to give it a try. Living in someone’s house is essentially trading lifestyles with them, experiencing a new culture and instantly being immersed in the area’s everyday life. Sounds easy – right, but there are plenty of caveats to be aware of before diving in.

First of all you have to be comfortable with the home exchange concept. Al-though a vacation home may not be your primary residence it still is your family’s home which contains a lot of personal and perhaps valuable possessions. If you’re

particular about your stuff, you may have to either get over it or lock it up. According to the major house swapping websites, se-curity is almost never an issue. You have a mutual trust with the people in your home as they have with you.

Second, it could take a fair amount of re-search before you find the group you want to work with and then the property within the group you’re willing to exchange with. Think coordinating your adult kid’s work schedules for a family get together. Also, if you can’t coordinate your travel time with the person you’re swapping with, it may be possible to set up a non-simultaneous exchange, especially if you’re both swap-ping second homes.

Home exchange sites for the most part are not free and the more reputable ones charge users a membership fee to list and search for homes and to get in touch with members. Fees are across the board and can be as little as $39 for swaps within the United States or $159 for an annual fee

anywhere. Some even have monthly rates, and chances are you’ll be able to find the right fit for your needs.

Some of the more well known sites are HomeLink.org, HomeExchange.com and Intervac-homeexchange.com. I have no personal knowledge of any of these, but their websites are easy to surf, and you can spend days looking at all that is available.

Third, if you’re expecting Ritz Carlton quality accommodations, you’re probably going to be disappointed. Although you can tell a lot from pictures and conversa-tions with the owners, you’ll be setting yourself up for disappointment if you aren’t flexible.

House swapping is a unique way to take advantage of what your vacation home has to offer. It can be a great experience and an economical way for you to do some extended travel. And while you’re walking the ancient streets of Rome, your exchange partners are enjoying Anna Ma-ria’s beaches. What could more perfect?

House swapping in paradiseCastles inthe Sand

Louise BoLger


Billy Malfese worked for the Anna Maria Public Works Department and serviced as chairman of the Environmental Enhancement and Education Committee.BY TOM VAUGHTSUN STAFF WRITER | [email protected]

ANNA MARIA – Billy Malfese no longer lives in Anna Maria, thanks to a good job offer on the other end of the county.

Malfese, who lived on the Island since he was 4 years old, has taken the position of Manatee County’s Re-cycling Program Coordinator. He was looking for a job at Keep Manatee Beautiful, a job that would appease his desire to help the ecology of Manatee County.

“I couldn’t be happier,” he said. “I’ve chaired EEEC (Anna Maria's En-vironmental, Education and Enhance-ment Committee), and I’ve partici-pated in three hazardous household waste and electronics recycling col-

lections on the Island, and I’m ready to make a difference.”

One thing that won’t be different is working at the aforementioned

Island recycling collection. He will be involved next year as a county employee, not a city of Anna Maria volunteer.

Malfese said the job he took, which is located at the county landfill, made him decide to change his address. For the first time since he was 4, he lives off-Island to keep his commute shorter.

Malfese said his new job is aimed at reaching recycling rates set by state statute.

“The statewide goal by 2020 is 75 percent,” he said. “It’s now at 49 percent, so it will be a very enormous task.”

He said his job involves education and marketing.

“My biggest problem is the com-mercial entities,” he said. “Businesses have had to pay for whatever they recycle, so it’s harder to convince them to recycle more.”

Malfese said the county is already exploring ways to get energy from the landfill.

“We are using the methane gas that is produced by the trash in the land-fill to power the wastewater facility,” he said.

Anna Maria resident takes a dream position

TOM VAUGHT | SUN

Former Anna Maria Public Works employee and Environmental Enhancement and Education Committee Chairman Billy Malfese at a festival where the county's recycling efforts are on display. He moved off the Island to follow his dream job as Manatee County's Recycling Program Coodinator.


ANNA MARIA – The Anna Maria Island Historical Society presented scholarships of $2,000 each to two Island seniors at the AMI Chamber’s Business Card Exchange held at the Island Historical Museum complex last week.

Winners were:Chelsea Perez is the daughter

of Gary and Donna Perez, of Anna Maria. She is a member of the National Honor Society and several school clubs as well as a youth leader in her church, Saints Peter and Paul.

She first felt the calling to be-come a teacher when she assist-ed in an on-campus prekinder-garten class and found a “natural ease and excitement in it.”

She said the role of an educator is not only to instruct, but also to teach children “to be patient, to share, to collaborate with others, to be organized, to respect oth-ers, to handle problem situations and other important social con-cepts. We instill promising moral values at an impressionable age.”

She plans to major in elemen-tary education at the University of Central Florida.

Konstantina Lardas is the daughter of Lisa and Steve Lar-das, of Holmes Beach. Her great grandparents came to the Island in the 1950s.

She has been an active mem-ber of the Community Center, volunteered and now works at the School for Constructive Play, volunteers at Roser Church and at the annual surf camp spon-sored by the West Coast Surf Shop and has achieved academic excellence in school.

She said while she grew up surrounded by the natural beauty of the Island, she never thought it could be in danger until the BP oil spill.

She said, “It was then that I realized that events far from my Island home could have serious and long-lasting environmental effects,” and she realized that she could “make a difference in protecting this beautiful environ-ment.”

She plans to major in marine biology at Florida International University.


Contact Us Today!Rentals@IslandVacationProperties.comwww.IslandVacationProperties.com

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Two awarded Historical Society scholarships

PAT coPELANd | SUN

Above, Lisa, George, Konstantina and Steve Lardas and, below, Gary, Chelsea and Donna Perez celebrate the Anna Maria Island Historical Society's scholarship awards at the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchange at the Island Historical Museum complex last week.


FROM PAGE 1

sider Yates’ appeal of his 2011 conviction in Fort Myers federal court of disposing of evidence to prevent seizure and destroying evidence to impede or obstruct a federal investigation.

Fisheries officers testified at trial that in the 2007 arrest, they boarded the “Miss Katie” in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, found 72 undersized red grouper and told Yates, then 59, to leave the fish on board as evidence and return to Cortez, where the fish were to be seized.

Three fish were missing when the catch was counted at the dock, accounting to court records.

The U.S. Attorney’s office prosecuting the case charged Yates under a federal statute prohibiting destruction of evidence. The statute was passed in response to the corporate accounting fraud of Enron, which led to its bankruptcy and infamy as the “Enron scandal.”

“Yates was charged under a corporate fraud statute intended to safeguard investors in public corporations,” said Yates’ attor-ney, John Badalamenti, adding that there is no distinction in the law between 69 and 72 undersized fish, and therefore no reason to dispose of three.

In granting Yates’ writ of certiorari, the court said it will con-sider whether Yates was notified by the officers that destroying fish would be a violation of the statute, which states: “Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsi-

fies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, impris-oned not more than 20 years, or both.”

Yates served 30 days. The court’s decision to hear the appeal “is an excellent devel-

opment for Mr. Yates,” Badalamenti said on Monday.The primary issue is whether the term “tangible object” ap-

plies to fish, since the term was not defined by Congress when it wrote the statute, and appears in reference to recordkeeping, not fishing, he said, adding that the lower court ruled that fish are “tangible objects.”

“The case is really about when Congress doesn’t define a term; do you look at the dictionary or do you look at it in the context of the statute?” he said. “Fish are not like documents, they’re just fish.”

Yates said he was advised by his attorney not to comment on the proceedings. He maintained at trial that the fish were not measured correctly.

His wife, Sandy Yates, said that if the appeal is successful, they plan to sue for wrongful prosecution.

The case will be scheduled for hearing in October or Novem-ber, Badalamenti said.

APPEAL: Fisherman’s appeal to be heard

FROM PAGE 1

of Anna Maria Island on Saturday, around 4:15 p.m.According to officer Baryl Martin, from the

Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Hicks was with his wife, Christine, when the incident occurred. His organization won’t issue a final report until the coroner’s office releases the cause of death, and a person at the coroner’s office said the report might take days to be issued.

A North Carolina native, according to his busi-ness website, Hicks owned a real estate law office in Tampa specializing in residential and com-mercial real estate. He also owned Titlemark of South Florida LLC, a title insurance agency. He had practiced law in the Tampa Bay area for more than 30 years. He was a 1978 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, according to his LinkedIn page.

According to Manatee County records, Hicks bought his canal-front home in the city of Anna Maria in 2001.

FATALITY: Noanswers yet

A Bradenton momcreates art as a means to help pay her daughter’s medical bills. BY JOE HENDRICKSSUN CORRESPONDENT

BRADENTON BEACH – The con-clusion of the Sunday Bridge Street Market season does not signal the end of the “Furniture Art 4 Moriah” fund-raising campaign that is based on Jan Goode’s efforts to raise money needed to pay for her adopted daughter’s medi-cal treatment.

Goode uses wood burning and paint-ing skills learned in her youth to trans-form wooden furniture into custom art, with the proceeds dedicated to Moriah’s ongoing care.

Goode had been displaying her work at the Bridge Street Market. The mar-ket provided additional exposure for Goode’s work, but many tourists told her that shipping costs and other logis-tical challenges prevented them from making a purchase.

Goode is now taking her fund-rais-ing campaign online with the recent creation of www.FurnitureArt4Moriah.weebly.com, as part of her efforts to ex-plore new means of marketing art that is truly a mother’s labor of love.

Five years ago, Moriah Hope Goode, now 15 years old, was diagnosed with lupus, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Two rounds of stem cell treatment recently received overseas have led to a current state of remission,

but the fundraising efforts continue in order to help pay for previous treat-ments and to provide for Moriah’s future health care needs.

Having previously spent time at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Moriah is now being home-schooled at

her parents’ home in Bradenton. For more information on purchasing

Goode’s furniture or donating to Mo-riah’s cause, call Jan at 865-207-0068.

PHOTOS | SUBMITTED

This table, created by Jan Goode, is an example of the of the Furniture Art 4 Moriah items recently on display at the Bridge Street Market. The art is sold to help raise money needed for medical treatment for her ad-opted daughter, Moriah, right.

A mother’s Goode deed

HOLMES BEACH – Prospec-tive brides and grooms will be on hand Sunday, May 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the Seventh Annual Wedding Festival. There will also be a grand finale party at the beach across from Tortuga in the pergola at 6 p.m.

Wedding planners and vendors will be plentiful as the people wanting a beach wedding in paradise will be able to book their services.

Organizer Deb Wing, who is also the Anna Maria Island Cham-ber of Commerce vice president, said there would be drawings for one of five gift baskets. Last year, the baskets offered merchan-dise and services worth between $5,000 and $8,000.

There will five stops where visitors will be able to meet with wedding professionals and get a look and taste of what some of the concessionaires offer. Trans-portation will be provided to the stops.

There’s still time to sign up for this event. The cost of entry is $7 until Sunday, when it goes up to $10.

For more information, call the Chamber at 778-1541.

Wedding Festival Sunday


AnnA MAriA4/11, 4 a.m., burglary to unoccupied resi-dence, 200 block of Lakeview Drive. The home was burglarized and depu-ties are processing the evidence.4/15, 10:14 a.m., burglary to a dwelling, 200 block of Oak Avenue. A burglar broke into the residence and stole a military style rifle.4/19, 11 p.m., criminal mischief, 100 South Bay Blvd., Anna Maria City Pier. A party or parties unknown broke a table base and burned a hole in a wooden plank.4/22, 6:29 a.m., information, Spring Avenue and Tarpon Street. The subject fell and hit her head on the sidewalk, causing a laceration. The deputy said he could not find any areas on the side-walk that may have caused the subject to trip. She was transported to Blake Medical Center and her husband was informed of her accident while playing golf and joined her there.

HolMes BeAcH4/5, 8:21 a.m., driving with a suspended license with knowledge, possession of marijuana, possession of parapherna-lia, window tint violation, 300 block of 63rd Street. The officer stopped the female driver for window tint too dark. When she rolled down her window, he could smell the aroma of burning mari-juana. Her license came up suspended. She said her license was suspended for a camera traffic light ticket she had not

paid. She also admitted to having mari-juana and a pipe and prescription pills, which she said belonged to her live-in boyfriend. The officer ticketed her.4/5, 12:06 p.m., lewdness, 4500 block of Gulf Drive. The officer responded to a complaint of a naked man sunbath-ing in his yard. He found the man who said he thought nobody could see him, but there was a complaint. The officer talked to the man who complained who wanted the subject to know he would soon have renters in his condo and the man should not sunbathe nude any-more.4/5, 12:45 p.m., traffic. 200 block of South Harbor Drive. While observing traffic at Anna Maria Elementary School, the officer saw a vehicle drive through an area that said was no through traffic and the window tint appeared to be too dark on her vehicle. She admitted her license was suspended because she had not paid all the expenses of a past traf-fic accident. A computer check showed she had six suspensions in two years. He issued her two tickets.4/6, 9:18 a.m., driving with a suspended license, possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, 300 block of 63rd Street. While observing traffic near the border near Anna Maria, the officer stopped a vehicle with window tint that appeared to be too dark. Upon coming to a stop, the officer observed the driver make furtive movements by reaching over to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. When he got to her window, he smelled an “overwhelm-ing” aroma of marijuana. He also found out her license was suspended for not attending driving school after receiving

a ticket. He asked her about the smell of marijuana and she started to cry, saying it was in her purse. She handed him a bag under four grams and a pipe. She was ticketed.4/6, 2:04 p.m., traffic violations, 3100 block of Gulf Drive. The officer ob-served the suspect’s car where nobody appeared to be wearing seat belts, in-cluding children. There were a number of open containers of beer in the car, with kids around. When stopped, the driver said he only had an ID. A com-puter check showed four suspensions in one year. He asked one passenger how old he was and he said 20. When asked his birth date, the passenger gave the wrong year and was immedi-ately handcuffed. He finally gave the officer his real name and the computer showed he had a warrant for his arrest. The driver was arrested for driving without a license with knowledge. The officer had the remaining adults dump out the beer, and he found out there were no licensed drivers in the car. He allowed them to summon a licensed driver to take the car home. He also ticketed the remaining adults for seat best and open container violations.4/7, 7:09 p.m., burglary, 500 block of 65th Street. The complainant said a burglar damaged the center console of her car while ransacking her car for valuables. Money and a change purse were taken.4/9, 8:20 a.m., driving with suspended license without knowledge, driving without a registration, 4800 block of Gulf Drive. The officer was observing traffic and ran the subject’s license plate through the computer. It showed the driver’s license of the owner was

suspended. The officer stopped the subject who said he did not have his registration with him. He also said he didn’t have a proof of insurance be-cause he just renewed it after having it lapse. The officer told him that’s likely why his license was suspended. The driver was ticketed.4/9, 10:26 a.m., burglary, 6400 block of Holmes Beach. The victim said some-one took a jar she with a number of valuable rings in it. She said her cos-tume jewelry had been picked over, but nothing taken. She said the only people in her house were contractors working on it.4/9, 2:12 p.m., burglary, 3900 block of East Bay Drive. The victim said some-one stole his iPhone that he left in his car while shopping at Publix.4/9, 3:47 p.m., driving without a license, window tint violation, 200 block of 73rd Street. The officer stopped the subject for dark window tint. The driver did not have a license and was not a US citizen. He was ticketed.4/9, 5:53 p.m., larceny/theft, 4000 Gulf Drive, Manatee Public Beach. The vic-tim left her backpack on a picnic bench while she went swimming, and it was missing when she returned. It con-tained clothes and the keys to her car.4/10, 7:29 a.m., driving without a license, attached tag not assigned, 5900 Flotilla Drive. The officer stopped the driver after a computer check showed the li-cense plate on the car was not assigned to any car. He found out the driver’s license was suspended for not paying fines. He was ticketed.

Bonnie collins Fort strang

Bonnie Collins Fort Strang, age 70, died on Monday, April 21, at her son’s home in Lake-land, Fla. surrounded by her loving family. She was born in Bartow, Fla., on July 19, 1943.

She was preceded in death by her daughter, Sandra Groover; parents, Rev. Law-rence and Nila Collins; and her brother, Wallace Collins. She is survived by her son, Jeffrey Fort (Penny), Lake-land, Fla.; grandsons, Billy (Jessica) Groover, Bartow, Fla., and Cody Groover, N.C.; grandaughter, Scottie Fort, Texas; four great-grandchil-dren, Mercedes, Kayla, Cale, and Autumn of Bartow, Fla.; sisters, Evelyn McClelland, Laura Hall Smith, Doris Tharp, Alice McCaleb, Sally Kendrick,

and Jane Gardner; brothers, M. L. Collins and Bob Collins; four step-grandchildren, Alicia, Katie, Heather and Josh Herndon, Lakeland,

Fla.; four step-grandchildren, Alicia, Katie, Heather and Josh Herndon, Lakeland, Fla..

Bonnie struggled with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) for over five years and taught us all how to live and die with faith and grace. Even though she suffered greatly, she always managed a smile and a thumbs up to all. Bonnie requested that we not have a funeral but a celebration of life before her death. We did that on Easter Sunday with family and friends showing their love for Bonnie, and Bonnie show-ing her love and bidding us all farewell until we meet again. Bonnie was multitalented. She entertained us for years with her music, especially, the piano, and awed us with the beauty of her art. Recently, with limited use of her hands, she painted a

beautiful picture of her view of Lake Bonny.

She lived on Terra Ceia Island and Bradenton for years where she owned and oper-ated several beauty salons. She was a successful realtor in Se-bring, Fla., and owned Breton’s Restaurant in Bartow, Fla.. She moved to Toronto, Canada, in the late 80s and led the Gospel Choir at St. John’s York Mills Anglican Church. She painted beautiful murals in many homes in Canada and in her mother’s home in Bartow.

Bonnie will be cremated and has requested that we “have a party” and scatter her ashes on the beach at her beloved Anna Maria Island where she lived for many years. The family requests that any donations be made to ALS, Bartow Fire-walkers, 3242 Parkside Center Circle , Tampa, FL 33619-0907. Condolences to family at www.whiddenmcleanfuneralhome.com.

BEACH BEAT

OBiTuAriEs Sail awayThe new Whisper, a 25-foot sharpie built by Geoff Kendrick from a late 1800s Cedar Key design, launched this month to offer interpre-tive tours of Cortez and Anna Maria Island. Built to sail in shallow water, the two-masted craft holds six, and is based at the N.E. Taylor boatyard in Cortez.

PHOTO | SUBMITTED

Across1 Big-eyed birds5 Spanish house9 Witchy woman14 Toy in the sand15 For whom the memo is intended: Abbr.16 Window sticker17 Frozen breakfast brand18 *Pre-performance audio test20 Zap, as leftovers22 Carnival city23 Bunny features24 Gallery display25 *Area marked with police tape28 New England white-fish30 Pipe joint31 “Huzzah!”33 Singer Ronstadt36 Puddle-bottom earth39 Objects of worship

40 Historic timespan41 Theater platform43 Bench for flock members44 Zapped while resist-ing arrest, say46 Turbaned Punjabis47 Quick hellos48 Concur50 *Disturbing potential, as of a gory film scene54 Lbs. and ozs.57 “All __ Jazz”58 Crew blade59 Spread out ungrace-fully61 *Best possible poker hand64 Athletic shoe brand65 Many a low-budget flick66 Bassoon cousin67 Steam outlet68 Horror or romance, e.g.

69 Sunbeams70 “Understood”

Down1 La Scala production2 Put money (on)3 *Lasers at a rock con-cert, e.g.4 Gin flavoring5 Fidel or Raúl of Cuba6 From __ Z7 __ und Drang8 Sharpshooter Oakley9 Atlanta-based health org.10 Fix, as a shoe11 Humpback whale’s home12 Mother-of-pearl13 Lodge fellows19 Supplied medicine to21 Word puzzle that involves a quotation26 Waits at a light, say27 School reunion organizer29 Swindle31 Shrill bark32 Star pitcher34 Wrath35 Eight-time French Open champ Rafael36 Cause a sensation, or what the first words of the answers to starred entries may do37 “Blech!”38 __ Moines42 Bit of business attire45 Demand from

47 Windbag’s bagful?49 Overdoes the praise50 Glistened51 “Surprise Sympho-ny” composer52 Heroic behavior

53 Vacation island off Venezuela55 Package-fastening rope56 Fine-grained rock57 Math course with

sines and tans60 Sitarist Shankar62 “Do the Right Thing” director Spike63 __ milk

Answers to04-23-14

Crossword Puzzle.

APRIL 30, 2014 FUN IN THE SUN THE SUN 41

42 THE SUN SPORTS APRIL 30, 2014

BY SCOTT DELL AND AMY TALUCCISPECIAL TO THE SUN

Paul Hayward has been a positive influence to children and adults, not only with soccer, but in life. His posi-tive disposition, despite having exten-sive stage four cancer for many years, has been an inspiration to everyone he crosses paths with.

Many Island residents, friends and teammates of Hayward are organizing a charitable 4 v 4 soccer tournament to be hosted at the Anna Maria Island Community Center on May 17. “Smile Deep,” named after one of his many peace loving phrases, will help raise much needed funds. While Hayward and his family are poised to meet the many challenges brought on by his next phase of medical treatment, they need help.

All net proceeds from the Smile Deep soccer tournament benefit the Joe Doirin in Trust – A Helping Hand for Hayward Fund. All sponsorship, donations or entry fees will go to this fund and be managed by the Hayward family to help pay costly medical bills. This trust has provided Hayward with financial assistance since 2011.

For those who have not met Hay-ward, he has played professional soccer and coached at so many levels in his career. He has touched so many lives through his passion of soccer. He has coached collegiate soccer, held workshops and soccer camps at the Community Center and coached St. Stephens’s boys’ soccer. What he has given to the sport of soccer and the encouragement to the kids, not just on the Island, is nothing compared to how he spreads happiness and positivity to all who are around him.

The center of Hayward’s universe though is not soccer but his 3-year-old

son.Amy Talucci said it best, “Everyone

who has ever met Paul, hopes that he can receive the treatments needed to live as long as possible to watch Jack-son Kai grow! We all want Jackson to know his father!”

A local parent, Dina Franklin also said, "One night he was sitting up against the building while Tyler was

playing a soccer game. As I walked by, Paul stopped me and introduced him-self and said that he often comes to the Center to watch Tyler play. Paul says to me, he has always noticed the way Tyler walks and carries himself.

"He said that Tyler's manner of step is a sign of an excellent soccer player and that he would love the opportunity to work with him. I was excited, as I

had known of Paul through a very good friend of mine, Joe Hutchinson, whose son Joey worked closely with Paul in soccer and received a Division I college scholarship to play.

"To put into words my thoughts of Paul Hayward is hard as there is so much good to say and describe. I do know this; Paul is one of the most brave, honest, kind hearted man I have ever met. Other than of course his son, I feel I know Paul enough to say soccer is his passion. Soccer is also my son Tyler's passion.

"To know this man would literally take the time to come to games to specifically watch Tyler play soccer, as a mother that is such a major compli-ment. I am so honored and happy that my Tyler has been able to have the op-portunity to learn, play and work with such a wonderful teacher and friend, Paul Hayward. People, you don't get any better than him!"

Paul is currently recovering in his Anna Maria Island home from a recent and challenging surgery due to current com-plications from fourth stage renal cancer.

The Smile Deep 4 v 4 soccer tour-nament will be a celebration of his passion for soccer and a fun way to raise money for his cause. For more information on how to donate or enter the May 17 tournament, call Commu-nity Center Athletic Director Matt Ray at 941-778-1908, ext 9205, or visit the tournament's Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/ events/461288620670451/ ?ref=2&ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming=

If you would like to learn more about Hayward and donate to the trust, go to the Helping Hand for Hayward Face-book page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/613172152109623/ permalink/613642875395884/

'Smile Deep' soccer tournament

ScoTT dELL | SUbmITTEd

Island Soccer enthusiast Paul Hayward has been teaching and sharing his passion for the game to Island youth for years.

Horseshoe players claim bragging rightsAction on April 23 saw four teams

meet in a playoff. In the first of two tight matches, Jerry Disbrow and Norm Good edged out Hank Huyghe and Dave Lansaw 21 to 19, while Gary Null

and Adin Shank took out Art Kingstad and Rod Bussey 21 to 20 on a game ending six-pack by Shank. In the final, Disbrow and Good earned a trip to the winners circle with a 23 to 13 victory

over Null and Shank. On April 26, three teams moved on after pool play, Rod Bussey and Adin Shank drew the bye, while Bruce Munro and Gary Null ham-mered Dom Livedoti and Sam Samuels

21 to 3 to move into the final. This time it was Munro and Null coming up on the short end of the stick with a 21 to 3 loss to Bussey and Shank who claimed bragging rights for the day.


FROM PAGE 3

Culinary Arts: chilled soup trinity and seared scallops with a citrus beet vinaigrette;

• Melt & Co: gourmet grilled cheeses and homemade lemon-ade;

• Old Heidelberg Bakery, Sara-sota: pretzels, puff pastry, Danish pastry, muffins, cookies;

• Sugar Cubed: colossal choco-late chipped cookies, key lime tarts, iced teas, iced coffees;

• Paradise Gardens: jams, jel-lies, hot sauces and honey;

• Pop Craft: gourmet all natural popsicles;

• Soiree Wine Jellies: wine, beer and cocktail jams and jellies.

CRAFt bEERsJDubs, Sarasota; Cigar City,

Tampa; Sam Adams, Boston, Mass.; Sierra Nevada, Chico, Calif.; New Belgium, Fort Collins, Colo.; 10th & Blake, Colorado and Wisconsin.

WinEs• Southern/Transatlantic:

Roederer Estate Champagne, Trefethen Riesling, Cotes De Provence Rose;

• Premier/Noble: Martini Rossi Asti, Murphy Goode Cabernet, Murphy Goode Merlot, Gruner Veltiner, Cambria Pinot Noir, Cambria Chardonnay;

• Stacole: Lola Pinot Noir, Lola Chardonnay, Lola Riesling;

• Republic National: St. Suprey Sauvignon Blanc, St. Suprey Chardonnay, J. Lohr Cabernet, Robert Hall Viognier, Robert Hall Merlot;

• Johnson Brothers: Louis Martini Cabernet, Copper Ridge Pinot Grigio, Copper Ridge White Zinfandel;

• Masciarelli: Montepulciano, Gavi Di Gavi, Minini Pinot Grigio.

thE EvEntThe entry fee is $2 with chil-

dren under 12 admitted free. Tickets for food and bever-ages are $1 each. Wines by the 6-ounce glass and 12-ounce craft beers are available for five tickets each. IDs are required for alcohol

purchase.The Rotary Club of AMI and

Bright House Networks sponsor a Kentucky Derby tent, aka Pine Avenue Downs, at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Shore Drive. It will have big screen TVs showing a live simulcast of the events leading up to the race, chance betting and a bar with signature Derby drinks.

There will be a Derby Hat Con-test sponsored by the Island Sun. To participate, come to the Derby Tent to register and have your picture taken by 3 p.m. Pictures will be posted in the tent.

At 4:30 p.m., contestants will meet at the Derby Tent, where the crowd will judge and winners will be announced at 5 p.m. Prizes for first and second place will be gift certificates for area shops and restaurants.

Event parking at the Island Community Center and at CrossPointe Fellowship is free with free trolley rides to Pine Avenue.

FROM PAGE 3And, of course, kids who win games get to slime a person.”

In addition kids can paint Tom Sawyer’s fence and participate in art projects in the art tent nearby.

islAnd histORiCAl MusEuMCarolyne Norwood will sign copies of

her two Island history books from 11 a.m. to noon at the Island Historical Museum, 402 Pine Ave. Books are “The Early Days” and “Tales of Three Cities.”

ROsER MEMORiAl ChAPElThe chapel, which celebrated its centen-

nial in 2013, will be open for prayer and historical information from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop by and ask about what Fig New-tons have to do with this beautiful chapel at 512 Pine Ave.

The historical book “Our Church And How It Grew And Grew And Grew” was published for the centennial and details the history of the church. It will be for sale along with centennial mugs and other memorabilia.

FOOd: Food and wine will be the stars Activities list

FROM PAGE 8I did not feel it was necessary to

poll the whole association.“I have stood up before this and

previous commissions asking for help with speeding issues, particu-larly on Key Royale Drive. I cannot believe that we have resident ho-meowners who have not received the message.”

CROssWAlk siGnsTitsworth said she feels there

are too many signs at the cross-walks since the chief added one in the middle of many of them to complement the two on each side.

Tokajer said the two on the sides are required by Florida Statute and regarding the new signs in the middle of the cross-walks, “I’ve gotten hundreds of e-mails and calls from people say-ing thank you and that it’s really working.”

Titsworth said the complaints she’s heard are that they cre-ate sign pollution, are ugly and people stop when there’s no one in the crosswalk. She also said trucks have a hard time getting by the ones at the marina.

Tokajer said he is considering a flashing light with a push button at that location.

Zaccagnino asked Tokajer to look at the city’s signs and see if any could be eliminated.

Monti said the rental and sale signs create pollution and that the crosswalks signs work and “people like them. Don’t compro-mise safety.”

Dave Leising of 79th Street, thanked the chief for the new crosswalk signs in the middle of the road and asked why all of the crosswalks don’t have them.

Tokajer said he ordered 10 as a trial and has ordered more for the rest of the crosswalks.

Leising also complained about drivers accelerating as they enter Holmes Beach from Anna Maria, and said, “We seldom see anyone stopped in our neighborhood,” to which Tokajer replied, “You will.”

Sheridan said he wanted “to commend Chief Tokajer for ad-dressing the issues regarding pedestrian safety, speeding, un-safe passing and seatbelt use.”

He asked the commission to consider increasing the police de-partment budget and establishing a dedicated traffic patrol division.

I have stood before this and previous

commissions asking for help with speeding issues,

particularly on Key Royale Drive. I cannot believe

that we have resident homeowners who have not

received the message."

Andy sheridanKey Royale Homeowners' Association vice president

sPEEd: Residents vent over speed cushion

TOM VAUGHT | SUN

Cancer awarenessAnna Maria Mayor SueLynn read a proclamation at the city commission meeting April 24 to make May 17 Power of Purple Day for the Relay For Life event that will be held at Coquina Beach May 17 and 18. Nancy Ambrose, right, was there representing the Relay For Life.

44 THE SUN classified APRIL 30, 2014

Call us today! 941-778-3986

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TEST VEHICLES NEEDED for EV charging stations on Anna Maria Island. We have checked out the Nissan LEAF, Toyota plug in Prius, Generic EV conversion and the Tesla. Need a Chevrolet VOLT and any other electric vehicles. For more infor-mation email [email protected]

CAPT GREG BURKE, Duncan Real Estate Need listings, all inventory sold or pending Call 941-592-8373 email - [email protected]

BEACH YOGA ON Satur-days & Sundays at 8:30am at the end of Pine Ave by the Sandbar Restaurant by donation. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED at AMICC. Help your community by giving of yourself. Vari-ous positions available. Call Sandee 941-778-1908 ext 0

THE BEST VOLUNTEER position on the island. The AMI Historical Museum needs docents and bread makers. Call Dusty at 941-779-7688.

ROSER FOOD BANK needs donations of cash and non-perish-able food. Donations boxes are located at the Church, Moose Club, Walgreen's and The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper (corner of Gulf and Palm).

OUR DAILY BREAD of Bradenton is looking for volunteer servers 9am-noon. Ask for Penny 941-745-2992

AUCTIONS

AUCTION: 5/15/2014 –10am 3BR/2BA W/at-tached Garage 1,562 Sq.Ft. At 200 W. Atlantic Ave. Del-ray Beach, FL. Call Sharon: 954-740-2421Visit: www.irsauctions.GOV for info

AUTOMOTIVE SALES & SERVICE

POWER WINDOW and LOCK repair. Licensed, mobile, Guaranteed. Call for Free estimate. 941-780-1735 MV 46219

2004 INFINITI G35 SEDAN 153,000 miles in great condition and runs great $5,700 Call 941-448-5207

DONATE CARS, TRUCKS, SUVs, Vans, Motorcycles, RVs, Boats & More! All Ve-hicles. All Conditions. Top Tax Deduction. 239-204-5177 www.GoodwillCarDonation.ORG

BABY SITTER

BABY SITTER. Honor stu-dent with own transporta-tion. Experienced, Refer-ences available. Call or text Amanda at 941-713-3219

BOATS: PARTS & SERVICES & SALES

BOAT SLIPS FOR RENT. Up to 60 feet. Two minutes to Intracoastal Waterway by Cortez, Parrot Cove Marina 941-795-0088 BOATS SALES ARE VERY GOOD, Sold out again. We need Boats! www.islandboatsales.net We also Buy Boats. 941-228-3489. Dave-Island Resident & Owner.

TRAILER ESTATES BOAT SLIPS $ 6 per foot .Minutes from Sarasota Bay. Repair shop & fish cleaning station on site. Call T.J. 941-756-7177

AMI BOATERS SELLING or BUYING, call Captain Dave! World Class Yacht Sales 877-901-BOAT. [email protected] Bringing buyers and sellers together!

SNOWBIRDS, CLEAN YOUR BOAT Thorough-ly before leaving it all summer. Scrubbed, Sanitized, Stainless Polished, Spotless! Is-land Boat Sales. 941-228-3489 Maintenance Cleanings too!

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

OWN YOUR OWN Medi-cal Alert Company. Be the 1st and Only Distributor in your area! Unlimited $ return. Small investment required. Call toll free 844-225-1200.

CARPET CLEANING

QUALITY COUNTS. CAR-PET cleaning. Upholstery cleaning. Tile & grout cleaning. Island's favorite cleaner. Manatee Chamber Member. Great price/free estimates. Call 941-756-1082

CLEANING SERVICE

C & T HOUSEKEEPING. For all your cleaning needs. Free Estimates. Reasonable rates. Senior discount. References available. Call 941-962-2512

CLEANING: RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL & RENT-ALS. "Have it done your way, we care about our work" Call 941-756-4570

PRESSURE WASHING AND WINDOWS resi-dential, commercial & resorts. Roofs, buildings, houses, driveways etc. Call 941-251-5948

COMMERCIAL SALES/LEASES/RENTALS

OFFICE SPACE in Hol-mes Beach. $375 to $875.month. STORAGE SPACE $95 to $195/month. Call 941-737-1121

ANNA MARIA CITY Gulf Drive Frontage Commercial 2 Lots - 104x120 Real Estate only $1,200,000. Call Alan Galletto Island Real Estate 941-232-2216

RESTAURANT/OFFICE/RETAIL 1113 sf Kitchen Equipment include Gulf Drive Bradenton Beach $495,000 Call Alan Gal-letto Island Real Estate 941-232-2216

COMPUTER SERVICES

EMPIRE COMPUTER SER-VICE Computer problems fixed in your home or office. The fastest friendli-est service around. Serving the Island since 2004. Call 941-739-6424

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

MATH COACH- Retired College Professor now has openings for basic math through pre-calculus. Call Myra 941-313-0528

EMPLOYMENT

EXPERIENCED NAIL TECH - manicures, pedicures, gels, acrylics. Must be patient, friendly, and reliable. Excel-lent income opportunity at upscale LBK salon Call 941-387-9807.

PART-TIME SALES Clerk. Evenings & weekends. Re-tiree's welcome. Gift shop on Anna Maria Island. Call 727-244-5906

AIRLINE CAREERS BEGIN here - Get FAA approved Aviation Maintenance Technician training. Hous-ing and Financial Aid for qualified students. Job placement assistance. Call Aviation Institute of Main-tenance 877-741-9260 www.FixJets.com

NURSING CAREERS BEGIN here - Get trained in months, not years. Small classes, no waiting list. Financial aid for qualified students. Apply now at Centura Institute Orlando 888-220-3219

FOR SALE

NATUZZI BLACK PREMIUM 90" Sofa with matching ottoman $600 OBO. Drexel solid white washed oak 5 drawers chests (3) $150 each. Call 941-779-2240

GARAGE, MOVING, RUMMAGE

& YARD SALES

SALE! NIKI’S GIFTS & AN-TIQUE SHOP 5351 Gulf Dr, Holmes Beach. Select Ster-ling & Gold jewelry 50% to 60% off. Select gifts, furni-ture, Bric-Brac, glassware, art, driftwood 25% to 85% off. All miniature pewter animals 50% off. Henry Link Wicker bedroom set. Antique Dealer Space Available. 941-962-1954 Open 7 days 9:30-5.

ROSER THRIFT SHOP Spring Sale 10am - 1pm Saturday, May 3. All Shop and Annex items will be 50% off! 511 Pine Ave Anna Maria. Call 941-779-2733.

GARAGE SALE SUNDAY May 4. 9am-1pm. 4707 2nd Ave, Homes Beach. Vintage wedding decora-tion, table setting/burlap runners and more!

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

TILE! TILE! TILE! All varia-tions of tile supplied and installed. Quality workmanship. Prompt, reliable, many Island ref-erences. Free estimates. Neil 941-726-3077

RENOVATION SPECALIST ALL carpentry repairs, Wash Family Construction, locally owned and operated CBC 1258250 Call 941-725-0073. KERN CONSTRUCTION NEW Homes & Remodel. Design/Build. Since 1968. State License # CRC1327296. Call Jerry Kern 941-504-2222 www.kernconstructioninc.com

PAINTING INTERIOR/EX-TERIOR. Clean professional service. Free Estimates. Call Wayne Lewin 941-726-8414

“HONEY DO" HOME Re-pairs & Handyman Services. 35 yrs experience. Painting, drywall, tile, woodwork. All tasks. Call 941-896-5256 or 941-807-5256 www.honeydohomerepairinc.com

HOME SERVICES

HEADED BACK HOME? I'll keep an eye on your seasonal home for you until you get back. Weekly or Monthly in-spections. Email reports after each visit. www.amivhc.com or Call 941-685-8999

GENERAL BELLE PRESSURE Cleaning & Sealing. Inside/outside. Tile, grout, pool cages, patios, driveways, etc. Commercial & Resi-dential. Call 352-223-1134

DRAIN CLEANING James VanFossen A.K.A. “RIP” Call 941-301-6077

INTERIOR DESIGN

THE HOME STYLIST Inte-rior decorating. Vacation Homes & Rentals. Great packages that meet your budget. Call to schedule consultation. Debbie Wag-ner 941-518-8783

LANDSCAPING & LAWN CARE

STRAIGHT SHOT LAND-SCAPING. Save water, gas, maintenance fees and the environment! Shell your yard. $50/yd installed. Call Shark Mark 941-301-6067

R. GAROFALO’S Interlocking brick pavers, driveways, pa-tios, pool decks. Free esti-mates. Licensed & Insured. Call Rafael 941-778-4823 or Veronik 941-526-7941

TOP NOTCH LAWN CARE For all your land-scaping needs. Commer-cial and Residential Call 941-932-6600

ELI’S IRRIGATION New in-stall/repair. Pumps, pools, irrigation, landscape light-ing and pressure washing. Call 941-580-2054

SHELL DELIVERED AND spread $50/yd. Haul-ing all kinds of gravel, mulch, top soil with free estimates. Call Larry at 941-795-7775, "shell phone" 941-720-0770

LOCKSMITH

ISLAND LOCKSMITH, “Lock Around the Clock”. Licensed/bonded/insured. Call 941-778-1661 or 941-713-4414

LOST & FOUND

LOST CAT “SISSY” Gray shorthair (looks like Rus-sian Blue) white spot on chest. 13 years old. Around 6th St & Gulf Dr, Bradenton Beach. Call 941-567-6535

LOST CAT Orange & white. 17 years old. 500 block of 67th St, Holmes Beach. Approximately on April 23. Call 941-773-2274

LOST CAT. Gray Tiger with white paws. No tail. 56th St, Holmes Beach. Call Roe 941-524-0465

LOST GOLD PINKY ring with amethyst stone vicin-ity of Cortez Kitchen and Swordfish Grill. Call 941-778-8359

LOST SET of KEYS in Hol-mes Beach February 19th. Call 941-778-3330. Please leave message

LOST CAMERA in Bra-denton Beach on Sunday February 8. Call 217-841-0007. REWARD. Valuable pictures.

LOST PANDORA BRACE-LET many charms. Great sentimental value. Call 518-365-2702

MISSING 18 INCH GOLD chain with diamond drop, sterling silver seed brace-let , location Blue Water Beach Club between 9/12 & 9/13/2013 heartbroken was gift from husband 45 years ago REWARD please call 863-668-8566 no questions asked

APRIL 30, 2014 classified THE SUN 45Call us today! 941-778-3986

MOVING & STORAGE

MARTIN’S MOVING YOUR Island movers! Of-fering dependable, com-petitive rates. No hidden costs. 941-809-5777.

TWO MEN and a TRUCK. Movers who care. Local and Long distance. www.twomen.com Call 941-359-1904. We sell boxes!

PAINTING & WALLCOVERING

PAINT! PAINT! AND MORE 16 years of experienced interior/exterior custom painting. Pressure clean-ing, drywall repairs and texture finishes. Many Island references. Please call Neil for free estimates. 941-812-0507

“WIZARD OF WALLS” Established 1980 Prompt quality service. Paperhanging/removal Faux finishes. Interior painting. Mary Bell 941-794-0455

WALY PRECISION PAINTING custom painting, pressure washing, commercial/resi-dential, interior/exterior, drywall/stucco, Licensed & insured. Call 941-448-1928 or 941-580-4005 www.WalyPrecisionPainting.com

PERSONAL SERVICES

ALL IN ONE SERIVICE: Do you need a babysitter, Pet Sitter, Senior Care At-tendant, Errand Runner? I have provided these services to many on the Island and in Bradenton. I would love to have you as my client too. I can fit any budget. Give me a call or email: Melissa: 941-350-2892 [email protected] Look forward to your business.

SMALL ODD JOBS, yard work, walk dog etc. Call George 941-773-5518

CHUCK'S MOBILE UPHOLSTERY Island resi-dent. Call 941-565-1867

THE TINT GUY." Com-mercial, residential, automotive, marine. Free estimates. All work guaranteed. Over 25 years experience. Mobile service available. Call 941-201-2649

PET SITTING

ARE YOU WANTING to vacation and not worry if your pet is lonely. I will overnight in your home, so your animal can stay in his own environment. Home Sitting is also available. Great References. Call Mary 941-405-2496

PHOTOGRAPHY

NEW AERIAL AMI PHOTOS. PhotosFromTheAir.com. email: [email protected] or Call 941-773-9834

POOL SERVICES

FOUR SEASONS POOL SER-VICE. Anna Maria Island & West Bradenton. Certified pool operator. Residential/commercial. Licensed & Insured. Call Dennis Clark 941-737-5657

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

"PERSONAL TRAINER" A.M.I. Fitness. Blake Fors-berg ACE-certified. Special deals this month includ-ing no membership fee if you work with me. Call 360-271-8439 [email protected]

AMI VALET LLC Professional parking services. Restau-rants, weddings, any & all special events. Insured & Licensed. Years of experi-ence. Call 941-565-0137 [email protected]

AT YOUR SERVICE Personal & Professional assistant. Great rates. References available "Let me do what you are un-willing or unable to do." Call Cindy 941-812-2238 [email protected]

REAL ESTATE HOMES & CONDOS FOR SALE

SPACIOUS 3BR/3BA Con-dominium rarely available in wonderful bay front complex with pool and tennis courts. Taste-fully renovated to include newly tiled kitchen & family room with a peak of the bay and a split bedroom plan. Centrally located in Holmes Beach, with a short walk to shops. Ground-floor unit with covered parking and private storage. Family oriented and pet friendly. Offered at $450,000. Call Green Real Estate @ 941-778-0455

DIRECT Gulf front Condo. Bradenton Beach. Solid 10% Investment rental in-come. $299,000. By Own-er. flipkey.com/124227. Call 941-962-8220

ACTIVE 55+ COMMUNI-TY with heated pool and boat docks. Beaches are 5 min. away. Beautifully Remodeled in 2012, 2BR/2BA, villa with open floor plan. Turnkey Furnished. New De-signer kitchen includes Stainless appliances, granite tops and a large island cook-top. New bathrooms and walk in closets with additional storage. Enjoy the con-venience of your own washer & dryer within the unit. $159,900. Call 303-884-9479

PERICO BAY CLUB CON-DO for sale. LOWEST PRICE IN COMMUNITY. Light & Bright with Vault-ed Ceilings…in beautiful condition…$173,000!! Call today! Kathleen White 941-773-0165 Island Real Estate.

ISLAND HIDEAWAY only a block from beach 3BR/2.5BA. Oversized garage. Meticulously maintained. Lush tropical landscaping. Can be rented weekly. $599K. Call Karen Day Fineout. Wagner Re-alty.941-518-3682.

BRING YOUR BOAT! Canal villa with no bridges to ICW. 2/2 with carport. 23 foot dock. Open plan, Update kitchen & baths. $259,900 Katharine Pep-per, RoseBay Interna-tional 941-755-2100 or 941-792-9459

IMPECCABLE TOWN-HOME only a short walk to beach and shopping. 2BR/3BA + Den. End Unit. 2 car garage. Can be rented weekly. Call Karen Day Fineout. Wag-ner Realty. 941-518-3682

INVESTOR'S DREAM: TRIPLEX 1 block to Bay, 2 blocks to Gulf. 3 rent-able units or live in the 3BR/2BA up and rent the two 2BR/1BA's down. $579,000. Call for more info. Carolyn Spencer, En-gel & Voelkers Anna Maria Island Realty-538-6660 or 730-0496.

BY OWNER: LOVELY 2BR/2BA condo at Run-away Bay. New Kitchen cabinets, counters and many other updates. New paint throughout this year. Great Pond View. Great income property or second home. $319,999 George 312-321-7501

LOOK AT HIS 2BR Remod-eled in beautiful water front Cortez Co-op Park 55+. Have your winter solved for next year. Call for personal showing. 740-398-9846 or 740-507-5606

LOANS FOR LANDLORDS! We Finance From 5-500 Units As Low As 5.5 %. 1-4 Family, Townhome, Condos OK. Contact B2R: 1-855-940-0227 www.B2RFinance.com

4BR/3BA HOUSE on 71.5 acres with 18 stall horse barn in Parrish, Florida. Call Steve Geor-gie 941-321-6253 at Keller Williams Realty

REAL ESTATE: LOTS FOR SALE

BUILD YOUR DREAM HOME West of Gulf Drive, QUIET Street, Beach Close, 64’x80’ Lot at 112-79th Street, Holmes Beach, $659,000, 941-778-6364

RENTALS: ANNUAL

2BR/2BA Perico Bay Club, new tile, ground level, lake view, pool, tennis, workout room. Washer/Dryer carport. Secured entry. 1.5 miles to island. condo application required $100 Available May 1. $1350 first & last / $1350 security deposit. 2BR/2BA Perico Bay Club lake & estuary view, pool, tennis, workout room. Wash/Dryer carport. Secured entry. 1.5 miles to island. condo application required $100 Available ASAP. $1300 / $1300 secu-rity deposit. DUNCAN REAL ESTATE 941-779-0304 www.teamduncan.com

ANNUAL RENTAL and CONDOMINIUM Associa-tion management serviced by (2) offices open 7 days a week! Contact [email protected] – 941-345-1295 - Island Real Estate of Anna Maria Island, Inc. 2BR/1BA LOCATED IN Beautiful Cortez Co-op Park 55+. Beautiful Sunset Views. Available May 1. Call for personal showing. 740-398-9846 or 740-507-5606

RENTALS: SEASONAL & VACATION

TIFFANY PLACE Gulf Front Condo for Rent Incredible views from living room and master bedroom. 2BR/2BA Green Real Estate Call 941-778-0455

ANNA MARIA ISLAND, Fl Condos. Pool beach access, fully equipped $650-$750/wk Redekercondos.com 941-778-1915 VACATION RENTALS – BRADENTON, houses or condos. Weekly or monthly. Call 941-794-1515. WWW. Coastalpropertiesrealty.com Suzanne Wilson, PA, Broker

WILLKOMMEN AUF AMI! Besuchen Sie Island Real Estate in einem unserer Inselbüros (6101 Marina Drive oder 419 Pine Ave) mit unserem deutschsprachigen Re-servierungsservice und erhalten ein freies Island Real Estate Baseball Cap! Wir geben Ihnen gerne mehr Auskunft über unsere 250 ausgewählte Feriendo-mizile für Ihren nächsten Urlaub!

RENTAL INVENTORY NEEDED!! Help us fill our waiting list for 2015.Call Tracy or Amberly at 941-778-4800 A Paradise Vacation Rentals

OFF-SEASON 2BR/2BA CONDO all inclusive $1800/mo. Call Suzanne at Coastal Properties Re-alty, 941-794-1515.

ART STUDIO SUBLET May15 thru October 15. Convenient island location at AMI Art League. Private and quiet space. Call 941-778-5176

HOLMES BEACH FUR-NISHED 2BR/2BA. Block to Beach, large kitchen, dishwasher, microwave, washer/dryer, central A/C, lanai, pool. $1000/mo plus utilities. Avail-able June 1 thru January 2 Call 847-769-6175

RENTAL WANTED

FULL-TIME WORKING STUDENT searching for studio apt or room to rent. Non-smoker, friendly and quiet. Contact 941-565-1430, Email [email protected]

REAL ESTATE: OUT OF AREA

RETIRE TO KENTUCKY’S BlueGrass Country! Enjoy maintenance free living! Brand new luxury homes Beautiful 3 BR/3 BA, 1,800 sf, from the low $200’s. Lowest price per sq ft in the area! Mild climate, low taxes, minutes to shopping, dining, medical & Keenel-and Horse Racing. Perfect for retirement/2nd home. Call now for details: 877-333-2412, x 121 SugarTreeHomes.com

NEAR BOONE, NC 2+/-ac. tract 350ft of rushing streams 3000ft elevation private and secluded underground utilities and paved roads from only $9900. Call 877-717-5263 ext 91

SEAFOOD

"DAY BOAT CAUGHT SEAFOOD” Cap't Anthony's Seafood, LLC. 107 Spring Ave. 941-778-2141 Fresh grouper, Red Snapper, Mullet, Stone Crab, Octopus, our FAMOUS "Manali Dip" a must have!!! These fish were sleeping in the gulf last night and prepared to be on your table today! CAUGHT & PROCESSED LOCALLY BY CAPT ANTHONY MANALI, AN ISLAND LOCAL FOR OVER 50 YEARS!!

TRANSPORTATION

AMI TAXI metered-on-call-cards accepted. Airport services: Tampa $85, Sara-sota $35, Clearwater $75, Fort Meyers $150, Orlando $150. Call 800-301-4816. [email protected], www.amitaxi.com

46 THE SUN classified APRIL 30, 2014

Call us today! 941-778-3986

TRANSPORTATION

TOWN CAR SERVICES, All airports served. Local and Long distance services available. Call Glen 941-225-0072

TRAVEL

"TO ITALY WITH LOVE TOURS" small private/personalized groups to Enchanting Sperlonga on The Mediterranean. 13 Nights at "Marconi's Charming B&B". Relaxed Day Trips: Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Positano, quaint villages. Great Price, all-inclusive approx. $4,500 - $5,500 with airfare. June Morrocco, Owner/Guide. Call 541-474-3541. www.toitalywithlovetours.com

AUTOMOTIVE


business & service directory Call today to place your ad:941-778-3986

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the sun - april 30 2014

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