Key West Citizen

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Conchs ready for crucial matchup — Page 1B
Friday
STILL
50¢
October 28, 2016 ◆ Vol. 140 ◆ No. 302 ◆ 20 pages
Screwworm treatment continues
WEATHER
Nearly 700 Key deer
receive anti-parasite drug
Parker Curry, third grade,
Poinciana Elementary School
BY TIMOTHY O’HARA
Key West Citizen
See forecast on Page 2A
The head of the Florida
Department of Agriculture
had flies in his hair and crawling down his back Thursday as
he arrived at a box designed to
release radiated screwworm flies
deep in the woods of Big Pine
FLORIDA KEYS
Sixth case of Zika
confirmed in Keys
The Florida
Department of Health has
confirmed a sixth case of
travel-related Zika in the
Florida Keys.
The Florida Keys
Mosquito Control District
said it has ramped up its
efforts in the Duck Key
area to fight the latest case
of the tropical mosquito-transmitted disease.
The infected person
acquired the disease
outside of the United
States, according to health
department officials.
There have been more
than 800 cases of the
tropical disease in the
state, with more than
70 of those cases being
locally acquired within
Florida, according to state
officials.
Also, there have been
travel-related cases in Key
West, Big Pine Key, Grassy
Key and Marathon. The
state health department
has refused to give a location for one other case.
The virus causes flulike symptoms and has
been linked to the birth
defect microcephaly in
newborn babies, which is
transmitted to the fetus by
mothers who acquired the
disease during pregnancy.
TIM OHARA/The Citizen
From left,
Commissioner of
Agriculture Adam
Putnam and Jason
Duval clean out
a device used to
release sterile
screwworm pupae
Thursday on Big
Pine Key as part of
the screwworm eradication program.
Key.
Commissioner of Agriculture
Adam Putnam led a field trip
for South Florida reporters into
the wooded area off Long Beach
Drive, one of the Keys’ most rural
areas.
The Department of Agriculture
See SCREWWORMS, Page 12A
Complex
proposes
80 more
units
A HEAD ABOVE
BY SCOTT UNGER
Key West Citizen
ROB O’NEAL/The Citizen
Amanda Stiffler’s ‘Divas’ headdress was an early crowd favorite Thursday night during the 34th annual Headdress Ball at
the Truman Waterfront. The show is the Key West Business Guild’s premiere event and featured some two dozen contestants.
Check out our daily coverage and weekend special section on Fantasy Fest events and festivities.
FLORIDA KEYS
Smugglers face
decades in prison
Fest prepares for wet, wild weekend
Two men accused of
smuggling 22 people into
the Florida Keys in March
will plead guilty next week
as part of plea agreement
with prosecutors that will
likely curb hefty prison
sentences for at least one
of them. Page 5A
BY MANDY MILES
Key West Citizen
In 27 years, rain has never washed
out the Fantasy Fest parade, and
event producer Linda O’Brien isn’t
about to start worrying about it
this year.
“The parade goes off rain or
shine,” she reminded festival participants on Thursday. “This is my
27th year and it’s never rained on
my parade, except for the one year
the theme was Aquatic A-Frolic, so
it was sort of appropriate, and even
then, the rain held off until the last
two or three floats passed the judg-
ON THE RADIO
Steve Smith talks about his
bid for a sixth term on the
Mosquito Control Board.
than 100 marchers, and some of
them would have been separate
entries before,” Fitton said. “We’re
ready and excited, come what
may.”
And wet weather may be coming.
“Rain will certainly hurt the attendance,” said Jodi Weinhofer, president of the Lodging Association of
the Florida Keys & Key West.
She said that obviously, people
who have booked hotels in advance
and who are flying down will still
come, but added, “we also get a
lot of people who drive down from
See FEST, Page 12A
See APARTMENTS, Page 11A
Also on today’s show:
• Ron Cooke — sports
• Andy Newman — TDC
• Dave Rice — county
commission
• Kay Harris — KW Citizen
• Mark Porter — school
superintendent
• Saundra Parker — Fantasy
Fest parade
• Steve Estes — News
Barometer
New details emerge in bank robbery case
BY ADAM LINHARDT
Key West Citizen
The homeless man who
robbed the Centennial
Bank on Whitehead Street
Tuesday afternoon of $3,200
did so because he is schizophrenic, could not function
in society and he wanted to
go to prison, according to
police officers he spoke to
NEWS: 7:30, 8:30 a.m., noon,
5 & 6 p.m.
Evening Edition 5-5:30 p.m.
INDEX
ing stand, then the skies opened.”
There are no rain dates or postponements for the official parade
or tonight’s Masquerade March.
The parade will be shorter this
year than in years past, with an
estimated 32 entries, compared to
40 or so last year, and as many as 60
in previous years.
Event spokeswoman Peggy
Fitton explained on Thursday that
some of this year’s floats include
large numbers of marchers who
represent a combination of a few
separate float groups from previous years.
“We have a few groups with more
A proposed 80-unit
expansion of Ocean Walk
Apartments will move
forward to the Key West
Planning Board after a hearing with the Development
Review
Committee
Thursday.
The $6.7 million planned
expansion will include the
demolition of an existing
administrative building and
construction of two 40-unit
buildings. Construction will
take place in two phases,
each comprising one building. Phase two will commence within five years
of completion of the first
building. The apartments
will house 24 deed restricted
affordable units and 56 market units, according to plans.
Development plans also
call for the construction of
a game room, exercise room
and a fenced- in dog park.
Ocean Walk Apartments,
3900 S. Roosevelt Blvd.,
currently houses 296 apartments and more than 600
residents in two crossshaped buildings.
Developers secured 40
BPAS units in 2015 but may
be required to wait until the
2017-18 allocation cycle for
the remaining units due to
an August City Commission
resolution that designated
all units in this year’s allocation for affordable housing.
Donna Bosold and Jim
Hendrick, who are both
◆
CLASSIFIEDS – 1-4C
after his arrest.
Stephen Daniel Stump,
36, entered the bank at 701
Whitehead St. at 12:32 p.m.,
demanded money and told
the teller he had a bomb in
his backpack, according to
police. There were no injuries reported.
He then left the bank,
walked up Angela Street
to the newly renovat-
COMICS – 6 A
CRIME REPORT – 2A
KEYSWIDE CLASSIFIEDS ◆ keysnews.com/classifieds
ed Mangoes restaurant,
ordered a
Long Island
iced
tea,
gave
the
bartender
a $50 bill,
took one sip
and then
Stump
returned to
the bank to
“turn himself in” after hear-
CROSSWORD – 3C
ing police sirens, according
to multiple police reports.
Mangoes later returned the
$50 to police.
Officer Brenda Sue Sellers
described Stump’s demeanor as calm, cooperative,
lucid, immediately responsive and he did not appear
to be under the influence
of drugs or alcohol while
she drove him to Monroe
KEYS CALENDAR – 2A
OPINION – 4A
County Detention Center
on Stock Island following his
interview with the FBI at the
police station.
“While en route to the jail,
Stump spoke freely about
what he had done and why,”
Sellers wrote in a report. “He
said he needed help for his
schizophrenia and this was
See ROBBERY, Page 12A
SPORTS – 1B
FOR CLASSIFIEDS ◆ 305-292-7777, Option 3