Candidates For Sheriff

Address Sex Allegations
Against Peryam

MANDINA: “THE MOTHER’S DIARY
RINGS OF ANGUISHED TRUTH”

DOWNS: “THE WORD THAT
COMES TO MIND IS ‘PREDATOR’”

DAVIS: “DURING THE CAMPAIGN,
I WILL NOT USE MY OPPONENTS’
ALLEGED INTEGRITY ISSUES
AGAINST THEM”

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

Two of three candidates
for Sheriff contacted by Key
West The Newspaper this
week— Attorney Phil Mandina
and activist Sandra Downs—
say that, if elected, they would
reopen Sheriff Rick Roth’s
unfinished investigation concerning
Capt. Bob Peryam.

Peryam, a 27-year veteran with
the Monroe County Sheriff’s
Office (MCSO) is also a candidate
for Sheriff.

Candidate Ken Davis
said that, during the campaign,
“I will not use my opponents’
alleged integrity issues against
them.” But he also said that,
if elected, “I will address any
internal affairs investigation,
past or present, that requires
review.”

Last month, Sheriff Roth’s
office released a report of a secret
investigation that had been
conducted in 2005 and, then,
reopened last month. Roth
had launched the investigation after Diana “Dee” Kelley of Big
Pine Key had complained that
Peryam was having a sexual affair
with her 23-year-old daughter,
Courtney.

HURRICANE SPECIAL

The Day the Big
One Hit Key West

WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF A
CATEGORY 5 STORM HITS KEY
WEST? THIS FICTIONAL
ACCOUNT, WRITTEN BY A
HURRICANE EXPERT, MAY
PROVIDE SOME INSIGHT

EDITOR’S NOTE: June 1 marks the beginning of another
hurricane season. This fictional account of a direct hit by a Category
5 hurricane first appeared in Key West The Newspaper
in June 1995. The author is a former hurricane consultant to
the state’s Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services.
It was written years before Wilma hit Key West or Katrina hit
New Orleans in 2005.

by David Wiseman

It was 5pm, Monday, September 29, and like most of the Key
West residents who had refused to leave, only a few Key Haven
folks even bothered to take notice as the water rose higher on
their canal docks than was usual for a no-moon high tide.

Down the road at the Boca Chica Naval Air Station, the
flight operations officer worried about the increasing amount of
seawater at the end of his runway while he continued loading
military dependents on Air Force C-141s bound for hurricane hole
in Orlando. Key West International Airport ground controllers,
on the other hand, were directing a U.S Air Dash-7 from Tampa,
three quarters full of German tourists, to its arrival gate.

A couple of Conch kids had somehow dug up surfboards
from God knows where and were wistfully gazing reefward from
a Smathers Beach lightly speckled with sunbathers wrapping
it up for the day. Tourists, either oblivious or ignorant of what
was going on, beeped past them on rented scooters.

A View From the Top

THE NEW JEWFISH CREEK BRIDGE at Mile Marker 107 was opened last week. This photo
shows the spectacular view from the top. Only the northbound lane of the $93 million bridge is
open now, but traffic is flowing in both directions. The southbound lane is scheduled to open in
September. See County Commissioner Sonny McCoy’s column on this topic on page 10.

Where’s Rhonda’s Column?

Rhonda Linseman-Saunders,
whose column appears
in this space weekly, had her
baby at 4am on Memorial Day.
Mother and baby are doing fine.
She and Bobby have named the
little boy Dutch. Eight pounds,
six ounces, 20 inches long. We
hope she’ll be back soon.

Win a Lunch

With a
Naked Boy

“Naked Boys Singing!,” the smash hit musical review, continues
at the Waterfront Playhouse through June 14. Each performance
features a raffle drawing for “Lunch With a Naked Boy.” The
winning ticket, to be drawn each evening just before the Act II
curtain goes up, will win lunch with one of the show’s performers.

Raffle tickets are $5 and proceeds benefit the Waterfront
Playhouse. Participating restaurants are Antonia’s, Azur, Banana
Cafe, Camille’s, Island House, LaTeDa, Louie’s, Martin’s, Pier
House and Square One. Tickets to the show are $35 and available
through the Waterfront box office at 294-5015 or online at www.
waterfrontplayhouse.com.

Jazz Concert

Will
Feature Music Room
Students

The Music Room, under the direction of Robin Kaplan,
presents a high-energy jazz-themed concert this Sunday, June
1st at 1pm at the Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Theatre Foyer
on College Road. Entrance to the jazz concert consists of a tax
deductible donation of $10 per person with all proceeds benefiting
the local SPCA.

The students will be performing songs from
“The great American songbook” along with some hip Latin-jazz
tunes accompanied by an all star rhythm section featuring Skipper
Kripitz on drums, Joe Dallas on bass, Tim McAlpine on guitar
and The Remaining Ten Band. Joining this instrumental ensemble
will be vocalists, Melody Cooper, Peter Diamond and Kathleen
Peace. You will also enjoy a very special guest performance by
the legendary jazz steel-pan musician, Othello Molineaux.

Caring for the Animals

During
Hurricanes

KWTN Team Report

Thanks to a federal law
passed after Hurricane Katrina,
Monroe County Emergency
Management officials have
finally relaxed restrictions on
the ability of pet owners to bring
their pets to shelters during
hurricanes.

The PETS Act— the Pets
Evacuation and Transportation
Standards Act of 2006— requires
city, county and state
governments that want federal
emergency funding to have a
plan in place for pet owners.
So Monroe County Emergency
Management officials
have worked out a deal with
the School Board to allow pets
in four schools that are used
for shelters here— Key West
High School, Sugarloaf School,
Stanley Switlik Elementary
School and Coral Shores High
School.

There are some rules,
however. The animals will be
segregated from the people in
the shelters. And pet owners
must bring all pet supplies,
including cages, food, food
bowls, medication and leashes.
And owners must be able to
show up-to-date shot records
for their pets.

Opinion

The Hurricane Speech

by Dennis Reeves Cooper, Editor & Publisher

I have a “Hurricane Speech” I give to newcomers
to the Keys. I tell them that they need to make up
their minds about whether they are going to go or stay
when a hurricane threatens. And I give them some
homework to help with their decision. Part of that
homework is a copy of David Wiseman’s classic piece
of fiction, “The Day the Big One Hit Key West.” See
page 1. After reading that, why would anyone even
consider staying here in the face of an approaching
hurricane?

But I also give the newcomers a copy of Ed
Swift’s thoughtful commentary, “Do We Really Need
To Evacuate?” We have published updated versions
of that piece several times in the past. After reading
that, why would you want to go? (If you haven’t read
that commentary and you want a copy, email us at
the address listed in the box at the lower righthand
corner of this page.)

But, I tell the newcomers, whatever you decide,
you need a plan. If you decide to routinely leave
every time the Emergency Management people tell
you to go— which could be three or four times every
hurricane season— you need to know how you’re
going to do it and where you’re going to go. But if
you’re going to stay, advance planning is even more
important. Know that you are probably going to lose
your electricity when the storm hits. So, you need to
think about all the things that the hurricane guides tell
you about— like non-perishable food and water and
candles and flashlight batteries and a portable radio.

But, I tell the newcomers, while preparing for the
storm is important, preparing for the “after” is even
more important. The storm will only last for a few
hours. The “after” could last for days or longer. Were you here for Wilma? The storm itself was a wimp, as hurricanes go. The “after” was a doozy.

But the main message of my speech is this: If you are thinking about staying and you may be assuming that the government will be here to help you during the “after”, you need to be the first one on the plane or on the road heading out to someplace else. If you make the decision to stay in Key West, you are expected to not only be fully prepared to take care of yourself and your family, you should also be ready and willing to help give a little help to your neighbor and his family if they need it.

And there is one more rule if you decide to stay: No whining!

ON THE SONNY SIDE

The View From the Top
Of the Jewfish Creek Bridge

by Charles “Sonny” McCoy

Last Thursday saw the first of a half dozen major
improvements in the Florida Key’s infrastructure
that had been bitterly opposed for years. The Jewfish
Creek Bridge and the accompanying Eighteen Mile
Stretch was dedicated and partially opened to traffic
with great fanfare and no opposition. Half of the four
lanes is flowing to allow the remaining two lanes
and appurtenances to the ramps to be completed.
While work on this stretch is far from complete, it
will relieve the need for traffic on the old road which
ultimately will be removed and allow for a greater
flow of water between the Atlantic and the waters
of Florida Bay.

The views from this high bridge are spectacular
(See photo on page 2) and may be tempting for future
drivers to want to stop and take pictures, so it might
be prudent for visitors and us natives to purchase
these panoramic views from venders in South Florida
and the Keys. When the Seven Mile Bridge was first
opened it was an immediate attraction that brought
not only Americans, but many citizens from around
the world to marvel at this long bridge that we now
take for granted. Even with the exorbitant cost of gas
prices, there will be motorist that will be attracted to
drive this new high bridge that transitions the traveler
into an entirely different world of tropical waterways
and Islands.

Adrienne At Hog’s Breath

SINGER/SONGWRITER ADRIENNE will be playing in
the
Noon-4pm slot at the Hog’s Breath Saloon this
afternoon, Friday,
May 30. She’ll also be there the next two Friday,
June 6 and 13.
You may know her as the lead singer for Injade.