Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 10

ST PFTFRSBt IRfi TIMFS WFPNFSPAV AUGUST 19 3B suncDast DIGEST Teachers to get in pay raises Academy firm on dental policy Crystal Inverness CITRUS jj Brocvtll Spring Hill HERNANDOl Dade City PASCO New Port Richey Wayward turtles helped into Gulf INDIAN SHORES A Madeira Beach police officer, an environmentalist and four bystanders saved 71 baby loggerhead turtles that were lured away from the water by a light on shore early Tuesday The newly hatched turtles, which need to reach water to survive, were taken to safety in the Gulf of Mexico Their instinct is to head for light, but man-made lights on developed beaches are brighter than the Gulf at night, when the turtles hatch. Indian Shores is northwest of St. Petersburg. LuU an 8 or 9. Compared to what other districts around the state have been able to do with the money allotted by the Legislature, Pinellas came out well, PCTA executive director Jade Moore said.

Hillsliorough County, for example, still is negotiating its contract, but the administration there has said it may have no money for raises other than the normal amount a teacher receives for moving up a year on the salary scale. Pasco County had a 7.5 percent increase in money budgeted for salaries, and it raised its beginning teacher salary to $18,000 from $17,000 and its top pay to $32,050 from $30,250. Other new benefits in the Pinellas contract include extra pay for teachers who have put in more years as coaches, advisers and other extracurricular sponsors. In other words, a coach who has been coaching for five years would earn more extra pay than a first-year coach. The hourly rate for night school teachers was increased by $1 to $12 per hour, and a committee was established to look into early retirement incentives.

And the contract would allow a one-time signing bonus as an incentive for a teacher to agree to work in Pinellas in a critical need area that the system had not been able to fill. Ctearwaler.l HILLSBOROUGH Tampa Urgo, 'TH Brandon lsL Pe'rsburg 7 zl PINELUS I I they said, often made little more than those with several years less experience. The minimum the salary for a beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree will increase from $18,050 to $19,100. The maximum the salary for a Pinellas teacher (with a doctorate) will go from $30,850 to $32,750. The average salary in Pinellas, for a teacher with a master's degree and eight years' experience, will increase to $23,150 this year.

That salary last year was $21,400. The contract will be voted on next week by the teachers' union and the School Hoard. Both sides said they were pleased with the agreement. "We went into this year thinking the financial picture was going to be pretty bleak in the district." said Ron Stone, executive assistant superintendent for human resources. On a scale of 1 to 10.

PCTA president Don Macneale said he would give the salary negotiations By WILMA NORTON Timet Stiff Write? CLEARWATER Pinellas County will spend on pay increases for its 6,100 teachers this year, and the teachers with the most experience will get the biggest raises. The county has 7.8 percent more money for raises this year than last year, but th.it doesn't mean every teacher will get a 7.8 percent pay increase under the contract agreement reached Tuesday between administration and Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association (PCTA) negotiators. In some cases, the increase in a salary category will be as little as 6.1 percent. Salary increases of up to 20 percent were awarded in categories for those with 15 and 16 years of experience. Both the administration and the teachers' union said as negotiations began that they wanted to better reward the most experienced teachers.

These teachers, Police give name of man found in motel TAMPA Police released the name of a 44-year-old Sarasota man whose body was discovered in a Tampa motel room Monday. A maid found Gilbert Taylor Ward of 7133 Point of Rocks Circle lying in Room 154 at the Interchange Motor Inn, 109 Fowler Ave said police spokesman Steve Cole. The cause of death had not been determined Tuesday, but authorities are investigating the case as a homicide. Ward appeared to have been struck, but police would provide no other details. Cole said investigators had recovered Ward car, but he declined to say where it was found.

Ward checked into the motel Sunday night and was alone when he arrived. Cole said. Woman shoots intruder in her house ST. PETERSBURG When Carol Earp came home from work early Tuesday morning, she knew something was wrong. Earp, 41, took a pistol from its hiding place and slowly moved through her home.

As she approached a bedroom, a man with a bandana over his face and socks on his hands appeared in the doorway. The stranger carried a knife with a 4-inch blade. Earp fired, hitting the man in the face and left arm. James David Philbm, 23. was in the intensive-care unit of Bayfront Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon.

He was listed in serious but stable condition. When Philbm is discharged from the hospital, he will be arrested and charged with armed burglary, said police spokesman George Pinckney Earp acted in self-defense and faces no criminal charges. Pinckney said By KARL VICK Timet SUM Wntw CLEARWATER The Air Force Academy had an answer Tuesday for Marcus Christian: Maybe next year. But probably not. The overbite that disqualified the Clearwater youth from appointment to Air Force officer training this year would almost certainly disqualify him again later, according to a spokeswoman for the Air Force surgeon general.

"The only time they accept people with problems with their teeth is when corrective work on the problem is very close to being completed," said spokeswoman Judy Knight. "Say three or four months left." Christian, 18. has an overbite a "dental malocclusion" that caused him little trouble U-yond a self-conscious smile until this summer. Then, after first congratulating him on winning a place at the Air Force Academy, the Defense Department cited his teeth as the sole reason for withdrawing the offer. The episode has left the Boca Ciega High School graduate frustrated and uncertain of his future.

A Largo orthodontist offered to fix Christian's bite for free after reading about his disqualification in Saturday's f'rtmburg Times. Christian at first declined Dick Sa-firstein's offer with thanks, then reconsidered long enough to sit for a preliminary examination Sunday. He will learn next week how much work would Ik needed, but he fears it would involve years. Meanwhile, reporters pressed the Air Force for an explanation, and its answers left Christian wondering whether he still wants in. "I really have not received anything (hat has told me why I would be so wrong," Christian said.

"That's kind of poor." "He has an identifiable problem," said Col. Thomas Charnm, chief of the dental branch at the Defense Department's Medical Examination Review Board, which screens candidates for all service academies. Charron acknowledged that Christian's overbite does not stand in the way of shaking or eating but said it could lead to future problems. "And you have to look 15 years, 20 years, 30 years down the road. Say 10 years from now he loses all his teeth.

How are we going to treat him if he's stationed in Thailand? They're siipixised to lie fit for worldwide duly. "If it can Ik corrected, that's different," Charron said. "But it has to Ih- corrected before admission." To that, Christian asks why he saw cadets wearing braces when he visited the academy this spring. "There are, at all academies, people who have minor malocclusion problems," Charron said. "And some of them are treated, and some of them are not." He pointedly added, "I'm a dentist, and I can tell a major malocclusion." U.S.

Rep. Michael Bilirakis, who nominated Christian to the academy, plans no apeals on his la-half, according to Pat Faber, Bilirakis' district operations director. "My primary concern is an education," said Christian, who had perfect grades in high school. He said he now expects to work his way through college, "It'll be a hard road, but they say you'll appreciate it more the harder you have to work," he said. "I'll end up appreciating it a whole lot by the time it's over." Tarpon officials' responses stay private ST.

PETERSBURG Requests from several Tarpon Springs officials to suppress or change parts of a grand jury report about city government will not be made public yet. Circuit Judge David F. Patterson ruled Tuesday. Patterson also said hearings on those requests will stay closed because the report, called a presentment, is still sealed. Those who have seen it say that while no one was charged with criminal misdeeds, the presentment is highly critical of past and present administrations in Tarpon Springs.

It suggested disbanding the police department' and letting the sheriff handle law enforcement or, failing that, abolishing the city entirely. The presentment was sealed until those mentioned in it had a chance to respond and possibly have parts altered or expunged. Five current or former city officials said they filed responses. The St. Petersburg Times and the Tampa Tribune asked Patterson to open the responses and the hearings on them.

Compiled by STEVE MILLBURG from staff reports i.fi. ms Timet photo JIM STEM The British have landed The Concorde, flagship of British Airways' fleet, takes off from Tampa International Airport on Tuesday after a brief stop to drop off passengers returning from London. The supersonic jet, now in its 11th year of operation, also dropped off passengers in Fort Myers on Tuesday. It was to return to London this morning. Rain brings out allergy miseries How to get allergy relief The summer rains have brought more bad news: a rash of mold spores tiny airborne particles of mushrooms, mildew and other fungi.

Florida's mild climate makes mold spores a year-round problem for allergy sufferers, but it's worst during the hot, humid summer months, doctors say. On the plus side, the rain has helped clear the air of pollutants that build up during hot, dry weather. Rain also reduces grass pollen, virtually a year-round problem on the Sun-coast. "It all depends on the person's allergies," says Dr. Stephen J.

Klemawesch, a St. Petersburg allergist. "Some get better when itTains, some get worse." About 20 percent of the population has some type of allergy disease, says Dr. Stephen J. Kornfeld, an allergist at Mease Hospital and Clinic in Dunedin.

Klemawesch says his pollen counter first detected ragweed on Aug. 7. Heavy rains last week helped release the pollen, so it has reached a high level sooner than normal, he says. Some pharmacists say they've noticed increased interest in allergy drugs, but others said business has remained unchanged. Downing, the Brandon private investigator, finally has taken a major step in solving his problem.

He's now one of Lockey's patients. "For the last 10 years I've been taking over-the-counter stuff," Downing says. "Nothing has helped." Tests showed Downing has multiple allergies. "He's allergic to trees, grasses and weeds," Lockey says. Nasal sprays and antihistamines offered Downing little help, so Lockey plans to begin a series of shots in a treatment called immunotherapy.

The injections contain extracts of allergens, the agents that cause Downing's misery. The shots cause the body to build up immunity to the agents. The series of shots may take three to four years or longer, Lockey savs. Doctors offer several suggestions for hay fever sufferers: Stay In an air-conditioned environment. Vacuum regularly and thoroughly to keep dust down.

Avoid high-pollen activities such as mowing grass, or wear an inexpensive mask to filter out the pollen. Try over-the-counter antihistamine drugs. Ask your family physician for a prescription antihistamine or nasal spray. Over-the-counter nasal sprays should be avoided be-, cause they can be addictive. See an allergist.

By WILLIAM FOX Timet Stett Writer Watery eyes, runny noses and sneeze attacks. No one who has hay fever needs to be told its symptoms. "You're just absolutely miserable I get sinus headaches and everything," says Richard Downing, a 29-year-old Brandon private investigator whose allergies afflict him from early spring through late fall. One of the worst times of the year has arrived in Florida the ragweed season. It and other weeds are blooming profusely, experts say, and wet weather has made it especially bad this year.

"A very rainy summer has given us a bumper crop of ragweed," says Dr. Richard F. Lockey, professor and chief of allergy and clinical immunology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa. "The worst time of year here in Florida is the spring when the oaks bloom," Lockey says. "The second worst is now with the ragweed." Deputy's mistake costs driver his license TAURUS REVOLVERS "I wasn't counting on having to pay that much, that's for sure.

John Hamill 4" or 6" Model 66 $199.95 2" 85 Stainlesi $209.95 2" 85 Blue $179.95 Approved Courses Netewiry lor Concealed Weapon Permitt. Certificate Available We Buy Guns and tried without success to keep Hamill from being penalized, Bocchichio said. Karleen DeBlakcr, clerk of the circuit court, said her office notified Pinellas law enforcement agencies about the changes by July 1 and sent cards listing the new fines for officers to carry. "It's not our obligation to do that, but we try to," Mrs. DeBlak-er said.

"If an officer makes a goof, people will send in the wrong amount of money. We have no authorization to accept less than a fine is supposed to be." Previously, courts just sent notices to people when fines were late. Now, because of new state laws, late fees are charged and driver's licenses are automatically suspended, she said. violation had increased to $54 on July 1 four days earlier. Neither Hamill nor the deputy knew the fine had increased.

Hamill, who works full-time at a body shop, mailed a $52 money order to county traffic court on July 29, within the 30 days allowed before a penalty is assessed for late payment. On Aug. 6, Hamill said, he got his money order back in the mail. With it was a notice from traffic court, saying he had paid the wrong amount. Not only was his money order $2 short, the notice said, but now it was considered late.

So he was assessed a $10 late fee. And his license was suspended. "I have to drive a wrecker sometimes at work, and I have to have a license," Hamill said. "I Open Man -Fri 9 to 6 Sat 9 to 5 By JANE MEINHARDT Timet Staff wmw CLEARWATER A traffic ticket ended up costing 17-year-old John Hamill $89 and his driver's license because of a mistake made by a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy. It all began on the Fourth of July.

Hamill admits he ran a red light at Ulmerton and Starkey roads that day and deserved the ticket he got from Deputy John Meagher. However, what happened when Hamill tried to pay the fine is not fair, he said Monday. "I don't see why I have to (pay) because of someone else's mistake," said Hamill of Largo. On the ticket, the deputy marked the fine as $52 for a moving violation. But the fine for that i couldn't believe it." To reinstate his license, he had to pay anotner $25.

That brought the tab for the $52 ticket to $89. "I wasn't counting on having to pay that much, that's for sure," Hamill said. Sheriff's Lt. John Bocchichio said the deputy did make a mistake when he wrote the amount of the fine on the ticket because he hadn't heard yet that the fines had been changed. When he found out, he called the circuit clerk's office irVf III' i YiVJ 1 1 1.