CORTEZ – The Fifth Annual Stone Crab Festival was bigger and better, thanks to a cool breeze and mostly blue skies and plenty of those colorful claws from the Gulf and bay.

Festival organizer and Swordfish Grill General Manager Bob Slicker said they sold more than than 2,400 pounds of stone crab during the two-day event that had an estimated total attendance of 9,000 people.

"This was the best festival ever. Everybody seemed to be in very high spirits, Mother Nature cooperated all weekend, and there's nothing like seeing a village get together and pull off a festival like this. A big thanks to all the sponsors, vendors, musicians, artists and all the people who showed up. We were very proud to show off our community to the rest of the area," Slicker said Monday morning.

The vendors saw more people too.

"I've had a lot of people look at my artwork and I've sold quite a few," said artist Pat O'Neil.

Photographer Nick Donatello echoed Neil's remarks.

Slicker said he's hopeful this event becomes something people look forward to and celebrate the seafood that comes through Cortez.

 

ANNA MARIA –City Commissioner Dale Woodland recently praised Deputy Patrick Manning and his supervisor, Sgt. Russell Schnering, for a citation being issued to a vacation rental guest who received noise complaints on consecutive nights.

During the Oct. 27 commission meeting, Woodland referenced the monthly Code Enforcement and Parking Report included in the commissioners' packets and he noted that the Sheriff's Office received seven noise complaints between Sept. 16 and Oct. 18.

Woodland specifically referenced the noise ordinance citation issued after noise complaints were received on Saturday, Sept. 17, and Sunday, Sept. 18, regarding a five-bedroom vacation rental at 9405 Gulf Drive.

The property appraiser's website lists Shawn Kaleta as the property owner and the property known as Tortuga Bay is included among the vacation rentals offered at the Anna Maria Vacations website.

In reference to a call received at 7:32 p.m. on Sept. 18, an e-mail Manning sent to Schnering later that night said, "The call was a repeat event from the previous night, but with a different caller. Last night a verbal warning was issued. Upon arrival, I could hear music coming from the rear of the residence. I made contact with Jorge Corzo. I issued a citation for a noise violation."

Adopted last December, Ordinance 15-801-1 states that a noise ordinance citation carries a $500 fine.

Manning's e-mail also notes that he spoke on the phone with the rental agent, Anita Kendrick.

"She was advised concerning the noise, verbal warning from the previous night and citation tonight. She was advised about a possible eviction if another call would be received and verified. The other issue I did not address was the number of cars and overnight guests staying at the house. Up to 10 cars were seen tonight and 12-15 adults present," Manning's e-mail said.

An e-mail Manning sent Schnering the previous night said he responded to a noise complaint at 8:32 p.m. and observed numerous cars in the driveway and could hear music and loud voices coming from the rear of the property.

"I made contact with the renter (Corzo) at the front door and had a lengthy discussion on the laws in the city of Anna Maria concerning noise. He assured me his party guests would be advised. I cleared with a verbal warning for now," Manning's Sept. 17 e-mail said.

"That's the first time I've seen a citation," Woodland said in regard to a verbal warning being followed the next night by a citation.

"I think it's positive thing. I really think our long-term future with this issue is enforcement. I hope we get this to be the norm because when this is more the norm we're really taking care of the problem," he added.

Woodland expressed his opinion that less than 10 percent of vacation rental guests and properties create problems for their neighbors, but he then added, "If you're one of those people that's affected, it's a nightmare, and we need to get this as close to zero as possible."

Woodland concluded his comments by thanking Schnering, who was present, for his deputy's actions.

 

 

HOLMES BEACH – Flora Webb, the wife of Anna Maria Commissioner and commission candidate Chuck Webb, was arrested on burglary charges Thursday morning.

She is accused of burglary of an unoccupied structure and stealing a ream of copy paper worth $5 from the office of Dr. Scott Kosfeld and Island Family Physicians, which is located in the same two-story building at 3909 East Bay Drive where Flora Webb works at the Webb, Wells and Williams law firm.

Authorities say the alleged crime was captured on video surveillance on Friday, Oct. 21, and reported to the Holmes Beach Police Department on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

On Thursday, Nov. 3, Mrs. Webb was arrested at the law office, transported to the county jail and later released on bond.

The police report filed by Officer Steve Ogline states that between 7 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Oct. 21, Flora Webb entered Kosfeld's office, rummaged through several areas inside the office and left a few minutes later with the copy paper in hand. The report says she was able to unlock the door by unknown means.

"The victim provided me with a copy of a video he obtained from a surveillance camera he installed in the office after he recently starting having money turn up missing from his petty cash drawer. I viewed the video and can clearly see a white female with blonde hair going throughout the office looking in drawers and checking areas as if she was looking for something. The victim advised me that one of the drawers she opened was where he usually keeps petty cash, but he left it empty after having money missing two weekends in a row," the report states.

Kosfeld identified the suspect as Flora Webb, and he told Ogline about another incident that took place in 2014 when he returned to his office after hours and found his front door unlocked and Mrs. Webb inside.

"She told him she found the door unlocked and was inside checking to make sure everything was alright. The victim said he suspects Webb of having a master key," the report says.

"Over the last several years we have noticed items missing from our office: rolls of stamps, reams of paper, medications off my desk and four weeks ago $100 from the petty cash drawer. The next weekend another $100 bill went missing. At no time have I ever given her permission to enter my office after hours," Kosfeld's handwritten statement says.

Businesses in dispute

On Friday, Chuck Webb questioned the timing of the police being contacted less than a week before the conclusion of the city election in which he is seeking reelection.

"It's amazing to me the arrest occurs right before the election. It's a setup over a $5 ream of paper. This is dirty pool," he said.

Webb then explained that his law firm filed a lawsuit against Kosfeld and his wife, Erin, in April seeking payment of $48,525 in legal fees and $13,580 in accrued interest for legal services provided when the Kosfelds' home was being foreclosed on in 2010.

"After an extreme amount of work, we reached a favorable settlement, and they were able to modify their mortgage and keep their house. While we were doing the case, he tells me he can't pay his bill, so I carried him for about two and a half years. His bill is $63,000. He refuses to pay it," Webb said.

An affirmative response filed by attorney John Harllee in May claims the Kosfelds never entered into an enforceable financial agreement with Webb in regard to attorney fees and a line of credit. Harllee has asked the court to declare the attorney fees "excessive and unreasonable" and he contends the Kosfelds are not obligated to pay the $63,000. Webb disagrees and the lawsuit remains unresolved.

When asked why his wife was inside Kosfeld's office after hours, Webb said, "She was given a key to the office. The offices here lend paper to each other all of the time. Flora is a patient of Dr. Pelham, which is Kosfeld's partner, so there has been a long and friendly relationship between Flora and their staff."

Webb said they will fight the charges.

Additional investigation

A follow-up report filed by Det. Sgt. Brian Hall on Friday provides additional details. It says Kosfeld was concerned about the pending litigation between himself and Webb, and that is why he wanted to speak with his attorney before contacting the police.

Hall's report notes Kosfeld's concerns about possible HIPPA law violations regarding the privacy of patients' medical records and mentions another incident that occurred about a year and a half ago when Mrs. Webb was found inside Dr. Paul Barrese's office by a front desk receptionist who comes in on weekends to clean. Barrese's office is in the same building as Kosfeld's and Webb's and the locks to his office were then changed. The office manager at Island Family Physicians told Hall that several years ago, there was a master key that allowed entry into the building and some of the individual offices.

"It is possible the defendant has one of these keys. It was never common practice to share office supplies between offices and the defendant would never have been issued a key to the doctor's office," Hall's report states.

After reading the report, Webb said, "This will be fully investigated. The facts stated are not accurate or complete."

 

CORTEZ – The 66 Cortezians who fought for their country will be honored at the Cortez Cultural Center's Tribute to Veterans on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 1-4 p.m. at the center, 11655 Cortez Road W.

Cortezians will be modeling historic military uniforms that belonged to Cortez veterans, and visitors will enjoy a free fish fry and children's games. They are also asked to bring a side dish if they can.

One or more of the three surviving Cortez veterans who fought in World War II also may be on hand for the celebration – Albert Few Jr., and Cleve Adams and C.D. Adams, two of six brothers who served.

Albert Few Jr.

His dad, "Tater" Few, was a Cortez fisherman, but Albert G. "Little Spud" Few Jr. cared more about planes than boats.

"I signed up the day after Pearl Harbor and went into the Air Force aviation cadet program," Few said at his Bradenton retirement home. "In October 1942, they sent me to North Africa and we did missions against the Germans for Montgomery's English army. We lost about 30 percent of our men the year I was there."

Few flew "83 or 84 missions" in P-40 Warhawks and P-51 Mustangs over North Africa, Sicily and Italy, strafing and bombing German troops.

Later, in the reserves, he flew F-86 Sabre jets for four or five years, teaching others how to fly.

He became an aerospace engineer and worked on the design and development of the Saturn V missile program with rocket scientist and ex-Nazi Dr. Wernher von Braun at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., after von Braun surrendered to American soldiers and joined the Allied war effort. Few's 30-year career at NASA included working on the Space Shuttle program.

Few, 95, wrote an autobiography, "The Fighter Pilot from Cortez," available at the Cortez Cultural Center.

Cleve Adams

Cleveland Thomas Adams enlisted in the Navy in 1940 with his friend, Bridger Watson Jr., of Bradenton, and was assigned to the battleship U.S.S. Pennsylvania, stationed with the fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

On Sunday, Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese launched a sneak attack on the fleet, he was transporting Catholic sailors from the ship to Mass as the first bombs began to drop. He thought they were U.S. fighter planes on practice runs, but that they were too close to the fleet for safety, his sister, Doris Green, recalled in her book, "Fog's Comin' In."

When he arrived back at the ship, he found the Pennsylvania badly damaged but still floating, and his friend lying on the dock, the first war casualty from Bradenton.

Adams later was injured by flak when his ship was attacked by the Japanese.

At 96, he is retired in California.

C.D. Adams

Clyde Dillard Adams was forced to parachute from his B-17 bomber after it was shot down early in the war. As he was trying to dig up turnips to eat, German farm women armed with pitchforks captured him, and he was held as a prisoner of war by the German army for seven years.

After the war in Europe ended, he was released and returned home to Cortez on leave before shipping out to the Pacific. While he was home, the Japanese surrendered and the war in the Pacific ended.

On V-J Day, as his family gathered around the radio at their home in Cortez to hear President Harry Truman's speech, Green recalled that Adams stood alone in the kitchen, at attention, tears streaming down his face, staring out the window.

Adams, 93, is retired in Sebastian, Fla.

The Cortez Cultural Center, operated by the Cortez Village Historical Society (CVHS), features a growing military collection, one of several collections focused on life in the historic fishing village. Anyone with photographs or information about Cortez veterans is invited to share it with the center. Visit "Cortez Village Cultural Center" on Facebook.

 

The big war, World War II, had just ended, and a lot of us kids in Cortez were waiting for our dads to come home from that awful war. Now, I was a war baby, born Sept. 19,1941, just a couple months before the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. I remember well where I was at when my dad, Raymond Stargel Pringle, came home. He looked so cool in his starched khaki uniform with the sergeant stripes on his sleeve.

My mom and so many others of the moms worked and slaved to keep our families together and fed. I recall going out to the "Kitchen" with mom to harvest scallops along with a lot of other Cortez kids and their moms. The Kitchen is the flats just off to the left of Cortez in Sarasota Bay looking toward the southeast at what is now known as Coral Shores. The flats is a term the Cortez fishermen use to describe the shallow water seagrass beds; the scallops somehow thrive in the seagrasses. During that time scallops were so plentiful, it was hard to walk in the water without stepping on them. It seemed they flourished in these crystal clear waters.

All the moms would take the mullet skiffs out with us kids in tow to pick up scallops. Now, to explain, the mullet skiff is a non-motorized shallow-drafted wooden boat the commercial fishermen use to put their nets in. They would pole their nets out with a poling oar, a long, 16-18-foot piece of wood that was fashioned into a long oar My granddad, Nash Pringle, made poling oars for many years. The fishermen towed their mullet skiff behind the launch or scooter. Well now I'll explain, the launch or scooter. It is the vessel that has an in-board motor in it; most were open, but some had cabins or a tarp covering it from stem to stern to protect from the hot sun. They were used to tow the mullet skiffs. The fishermen would work together in crews to be able to catch fish better. I will explain this way of fishing in a later article.

Now, back to us kids and our moms scalloping. Our dads made scallop boxes that we used when the tide was high. The scallop box was a waterproof wooden frame with a clear pane of glass in the bottom of the box that would float in the water. The moms could see plainly the bottom and also find the scallops a lot easier on high tide. My wife, Janet, and I donated the only one that I know in existence to the Cortez Museum several years ago, and somehow it is at the Taylor Boat House at the end of 123rd Street West. Hopefully it has not been lost.

All of us kids had a total blast in the Kitchen, swimming and chasing the girls with crabs or other creepy crawlers. Moms would scold us sternly. We spent some of our time picking up scallops but the rest of the time, we romped and played. The moms would fill the skiffs with scallops that were just the beginning of the hard work. They would come home and open scallops for hours and put them in different size containers. Now, I don't want to offend anyone, but the moms would sell the scallops to the Yankees that came from the North for vacation. It is so sad to see the bay get so polluted now-a-days, that the scallops have almost disappeared.

Now, back to when dad came home. I was playing in the back yard of the house my family, and I lived in directly behind my grandmother, Loney Pringle's house. I was playing with one of my closest friends, Carl "Trigger" Mora. I looked up when I saw a man in a crisp uniform walking through my grannie's yard coming towards me. I realized it was my dad! I didn't wait to go around to the gate so I climbed over that six-foot fence and ran yelling at the top of my voice in glee! I can still recall the hug and the excitement that I felt, even though I was only five years old.

I feel I should explain my heritage in Cortez. My grandmother had three sisters and all but one lived in Cortez; Lulu, Leatha, and Leala, my great aunts. Leatha was Thomas "Blue" Fulford's mom, Leala was Alcee "Boogie" Taylor's mom. I think that I am kin to everybody in Cortez. Ralph "Pig" Fulford and I were talking one day, and we figured out that I was kin to him and his wife. Ralph ran the Fulford Fish Company for many years; he was one of Tink Fulford's sons. My, the stories that I have to tell of my little part of heaven named Cortez. Hopefully I can get some of them told correctly.

There were several of the young men that grew up in Cortez that served our nation well in WWII; some came back with serious injuries, one never came back. I am still very proud of those sun-tanned commercial fishermen that went off to war so long ago. All of them have passed away now and so are their stories.

When I was in my teens and early 20s, I would sit in a swing with Marvin "Uncle Marvin" Carver, situated by his house. I always called him Uncle Marvin. I would listen to his other commercial fishermen friends tell their memories of how it was in the teens, 20s, 30s and 40s in Cortez.

How, during the war years their families survived on the bounty they caught in the sea. They caught mullet and would smoke them and take their product to Bradenton to the grocery stores and trade them for meat, canned goods and other groceries they needed. This way of trading went on well up into the early 50s. I know because my granddaddy, Nash Pringle, had a large smoker that smoked many mullet at a time. I went with him quite a few times to Friendly City Market in Bradenton to trade for beef, pork and canned goods. How in those trying times everybody pitched in to help each other. I spent many hours in that swing in the shade of a mango tree listening to those wonderful stories the fishermen would tell.

I never could understand why those folks in Bradenton would trade their good beef and pork for our crummy mullet until one day, sitting with a friend of mine while I was attending school at Manatee High, one of my buddies and I were telling stories about each other's experiences. The subject came up about smoked mullet. He looked at me and said, "You guys from Cortez sure were crazy for trading us those delicious smoked mullet for the beef and pork we got so tired of eating." I laughed and finally got it, we were trading the seafood they liked for the hamburger we liked, and we both had a great laugh. I have reminisced many times of that conversation; I guess it was one of the good old times!

The war was over and things started getting back to a normal routine of Cortez commercial fishermen going to work, supplying fresh wholesome seafood to people all over the world. The people living in the war ravaged places were desperate and starving. The commercial fishermen of Cortez did their part in helping feed the masses wholesome seafood.

BRADENTON BEACH – It was not known at publication time whether Bill Vincent won or lost the Nov. 8 election for the Ward 4 Bradenton Beach City Commission seat, but win or lose he is believed to have set a city record for campaign fund raising.

As of Nov. 3, Vincent, a Pines Trailer Park resident and first-time candidate, had reported $7,626 in campaign contributions and $7,354 on campaign expenditures.

At the conclusion of that same reporting period, his opponent, former Mayor John Chappie, had received $4,615 in contributions and had spent $4,436 on his bid to rejoin the City Commission after spending the last eight years as a county commissioner.

As of Nov. 3, the two candidates combined had received $12,241 and spent $11,790, making this the most expensive city commission race in recent city history. Chappie and Mayor Bill Shearon said last week they could not recall a city race in which more money was raised or spent.

In the summer and fall of 2015, then-Mayor Jack Clarke raised and spent $6,258 on his reelection bid. Shearon, who was trying to regain the mayor's seat he lost during the recall election earlier that year, raised and spent $2,989. Combined, Clarke and Shearon spent $9,247 on a race that ended in an exact tie. Shearon was then declared the winner of the race after drawing the infamous ace of clubs that bested the 10 of clubs drawn by Clarke.

In 2013, Shearon spent $1,800 on his first successful bid for the mayor's office, compared to the $1,200 spent by incumbent Mayor John Shaughnessy.

Key contributors

Vincent currently serves on the city's Scenic Waves Committee, and his contributions included $500 from Scenic Waves Committee chair Tjet Martin and $100 from committee member Bona Wortman. He also received $500 from Bradenton Beach Planning and Zoning Board member John Metz and another $500 from Metz's wife, Leeann.

Other contributors included Bradenton Beach Marina President Mike Bazzy, $500; The Pines Trailer Park, $200; Marie Pracht, $1,000; and Barbara Hug, $250. Many of Vincent's smaller contributors listed out of state addresses, but are seasonal residents of the trailer park.

Much of Chappie's support came from the local business community. Donors included Island Time Lodge LLC, $500; resort owner and realtor David Teitelbaum, $500; hotelier Danny Canniff, $500; Silver Surf Gulf Beach Resort, $500; Bridgewalk Partners LLC, $500; WELD Inc./Sandbar restaurant, $250; and The Pines Trailer Park, $100.

Chappie supporters who serve as appointed board members or elected officials included Scenic Waves Committee member Betty Rogers, $200; Planning and Zoning Board chair John Burns, $100; and County Commissioner Carol Whitmore, $100.

Anna Maria fund-raising

In the city of Anna Maria, first-time candidate Brian Seymour reported raising $2,000 and spending $1,940 as of Nov. 3. Seeking reelection, incumbent Commissioner Chuck Webb raised $212 and spent $173.50. Incumbent Commissioner Nancy Yetter raised $200 and spent $78 on her campaign.

ANNA MARIA – On Monday, Oct. 31, the city of Anna Maria received two more Bert Harris claims, the first claims received since Sept. 29.

The claims are for adjacent vacant lots at 146 Crescent Dr., owned by Crescent Cottages I LLC, and 142 Crescent Dr., owned by Crescent Cottages II LLC.

A letters contained in the claim package list Keith Carter as the manager for the property at 142 Crescent Dr. and Mike Stringer as the manager for the property at 146 Crescent Dr.

Carter's claim lists $245,744 in assessed lost value associated with the proposed construction of a six-bedroom vacation rental that has not yet been built. Stringer's claim lists $249,400 in assessed lost value for a six-bedroom vacation rental that has not yet been built.

The city has only received two previous claims for undeveloped properties. One of those property owners received a settlement offer from the city; the other did not because the property is considered to be unbuildable lot according to city codes.

The previous 70 Bert Harris claims the city received pertained only to the occupancy limits contained in the vacation rental ordinance the city adopted in November 2015. Unlike those claims, the two claims filed on Oct. 31 also reference the city ordinances adopted last November that pertain to habitable area and to swimming pools and hot tubs counting as impervious surfaces when calculating the allowed lot coverage.

As of last week, City Attorney Becky Vose had not yet reviewed the newest claims or presented proposed settlement offers to the City Commission.

HOLMES BEACH – The city received two more Bert Harris claims on Nov. 2, both from the Najmy Thompson law firm.

One was for 211 54th St. It states that the before condition of the property is an eight-bedroom, two-story residence that can accommodate 19 guests and that ordinance 15-12 restricts it to a lower occupancy. It claims a loss of $395,000.

The second one was at 4804 Gulf Drive. It states the before condition is a six-bedroom, two-story residence that can accommodate 16 guests and that ordinance 15-12 restricts it to a lower occupancy. It claims a loss of $270,000.

Ordinance 15-12 calls for a maximum of four bedrooms in single-family homes and two per side in duplexes in the R-2, R-3 and R-4 zoning districts.

The city's previous Bert Harris claims include 306 Clark Drive, $84,600; 128 49th St., $351,000; 7003 Holmes Blvd., $106,000; 214 54th St., Units A and B, $730,000; 307 66th St., Unit A, $345,000; 113 36th St., Unit B, $210,000; 309 65th St., Unit B, $275,000; 106 75th St., $225,000; 205 N. Harbor Drive, $195,000; 206 N. Harbor Drive, $345,000; 316 63rd St., $105,000; 301 74th St., $195,000; and 7003 Holmes Blvd., second claim, $235,000.

The total of all the claims to date is $4,066,000.