The Key West Citizen Newspaper, March 13, 1953, Page 1

Warmest City In Nation Today Was KEY WEST at VOL, LXXIV No. 62 Eight-Year-Old Boy Spends Nearly 24 Hours In Chains County Officials Powerless To Take Action. Against Parents @y Jim cops An eight-year-old boy spent all of Wednesday night and most of Thurs- day chained to his bed amid indescribable squalor in the heart’ of Key West, but Monroe County Juvenile Au- thorities are powerless to take any action against the parents because they lack the facilities to care for the boy and his brother and. sister. ; Juvenile Court Judge Eva Warner Gibson made the discovery yesterday, morn- ing when she went to the boy’s home on Galveston‘ Lane to investigate com-/ plaints of neighbors that} the boy had been unruly. Accompanied by aide Isabel Fleming and Police Lt. W. L. | James, she found the terror strickeri lad held fast to his bed with a one inch chain around ‘his ankle, securely | shackled with a lock. ... She immediately ordered that an “othe scene, aad a oe ck a the company) oF this reporter the youth was again chained to the bed. But, Judge Gibson, under the present County Juvenile Court setup, can do nothing—although the parents are liable to jail terms for their inhumane treat- ment of the child, there would be no way of caring for the boy and his brother and sister since there is an acute shortage of foster homes and there are no suitable juvenile’ detention quarters. } Yesterday, as we arrived at the SECURELY SHACKLED to his bed in the shack which he shares with his parents, a brother and sister on Galveston Lane, an eight-year-old boy displays his chains for The Citizen pho- tographer. Lad spent all of Thursday night and most of yes- terday in this manner. Juvenile authorities are powerless to jail the parents ‘because they have no facilities to care for the children.—Citizen Staff Photo. Drunken Driving Marathon Man KEY WEST, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, MARCH 13, |No Tumor Is Found In Brain Of Baby Jasper No Operation Needed Now; Baby’s Sight Still Uncertain BY DOROTHY RAYMER A story which began on a note | of doom, spun out on a thin jthread of hope, has today soared ‘into a song of life. Definite word ‘has been received in the case of |Baby Jasper Walker who was ,econdemned to die four months | ago. He has no brain tumor. He ‘will live. Whether or not he will ‘see normally depends on medical science. A series of telegrams received jhere established the facts in the | case, |_A local physician instrumental jin getting little Jasper to the | Mayo Clinie in Rochester, Minn., jhad word yesterday from the ex- ;amining specialist there. The 1 ;y , wire stated: “No tumor found in | slides. Will do air studies to- ; morrow. Complete report. later.” This morning, the air studies had been done, and Charles Blun- dell, president of the Key West Shrine Club which is acting as \coordinating unit for alerted Key |West citizens who took active H part in help for the baby, re- }ceived a more detailed message jsent by Mrs. Jasper Walker now | with her child in Rochester. | 1% read: “No operation need- ed right now. X-rays show air | chamber and everything in head normal. However baby will | need operation when he Is two years old for placing plate | where bone was removed (from | skull in first operation done months age.) More tests being made to determine just what is wrong and can be done. X-rays show a miracle for | saw the others and know that every- Wires were also séfitito¥ the baby’s maternal grandmother, Mrs. Norcisa, and to this reporter telling the good news in brief, The local doctor whoexamined the baby a few weeks ago and relayed his finding to the Mayo Clinic, said that the final treat- ment for the child can only be determined after al) the diagnos- tic examinations are completed. The current examination has to do with four tiny openings in the head. The spinal fluid circulates through the brain through these 16th Charter Is Presented In Behalf Of Rotary- Sponsored Group Rotarian Hollon R. _ Bervaldi, who is retiring after 39 years of WILLIAM R. PORTER seene, we found the boy sitting morosely on @ dirty mattress seeping out from ai id a pile of refuse and soiled clothing. The chain was around his ankle and xe looked at us with shame-filled syes. When the mother saw us, she remained in one corner of the ell-shaped shack and = main- tained @ disjointed tirade of ep- tithets, aimed apparently at Judge Gibson who admonished her for chaining the tad “after her earlier warning. The boy's father was working at time—he picks wp odd jobs around the waterfront although he has never been employed steadily. “L just can't trust that boy” the mother screamed, “I'm try- ing.to raise him up good but he is just a bad ‘boy.’ Judge Gibson quietly told her the | Fine Imposed Harold J. Cobb, USN, was fined | $50 on a drunken driving and no | drivers’ license charge this morn- ing by Criminal Court Judge; Thomas Caro. H Other men fined for various of- fenses were as follows } Charles Fernandez, Jr., five dol- | lars, reckless driving; Bill Crespo, $10, drunkenness; F. R. Hunt, five dollars, improper license tag; Wil- | bur Stanley Downing, $10, reckless | | driving; Donald Merk Green, $10, | reckless driving; John Lee Ogden, five dollars, reckless driving; ; Jerry Skinner, $10 bond estreated jon a reckless driving charge; | Leonard William Kermick, $15,/ | reckless driving, and William Hart- | wig. Jr., costs or 30 days, drunken- ness. | | Charged With Child Molesting An unidentified resident of Marathon is out on $2,000 bond follewing charges of lewd and lascivious behavior with a 10 year old child, Justice of the Peace R. D. Zetterower said at neon. The identity of the man was not disclosed by the Peace Jus- tice of the Third District. His preliminary hearing which will be closed te the public will take place next week. Juvenile Court Judge Eva Warner Gibson went to Mara- thon this morning to confer with Zetterewer on the case. She and County Solicitor Allan and it is necessary to find out which opening is blocked. There may be a chance that pressure released in this instance will im- prove Baby Jasper even further. His inability to see correctly is sue to the optic nerve. The ad- | {hesion itself was possibly caused by inflammation of the brain {coverning during an attack of | meningitis which occurred when old. He is just six months old jnow. Medical science advances | lrapidly. There is a chance that | feven the blindness is a temporary | condition. And there is faith. A moth- | er’s faith and Intuition made | Mrs. Walker refuse to give up when she was told Baby Jasper } should be taken home to die. j From there on, neighbors be-/ | gan a collection to send the baby service to the Post Office Depart- ment, and 14 years as Postmas- ter was bonored yesterday at the regular meeting of that group. Bervaldi was cited as a man e co J8|who “has carried into practice, | probably due to adhesion of tis-|the Rotary Club principles that,| There will be two perform- ‘he profits most who serves the best’.” In @ citation read by the Rev. Ralph Rogers, Bervaldi was also commended for his “pub'i service in the best interests of |the child was only two months |the community.” He will be pre-| sented with a copy of the Rotary Club citation and at the suggest- ion of Rotarian J. J. Trevor, a copy will be sent to the Post Of- fice Department. Bervaldi an nounced his retirement from the post which he has held for 14 years, last week. At their luncheon meeting in St. Paul's Parish Hall, the club members were treated to a crowded program including an that the boys was not-bad but that | MAN HOSPITALIZED he might become so if this sort} IN AUTO ACCIDENT weet oa Gert aus Seoank Norman Markwell, 715 Semi- up. good, | wasn't drug up,” the /D0le Street, is in the Monroe Gen- . eral Hospital, recovering} woman shouted She then launched into a senseless gibber- | {0m Injuries ineurred poe roe (Continued On Page Three: jmobile accident on hitehea: | Street, between Eaton and Caro- | line Stroets, last night. Police Lieutenant Gene Hernan- |dez said that he was following Paint Your Roof with RUST CURE head Street at a rate of 60-miles | per hour when it crashed into the; {Continved On Page Three) STOPS RUST AT ONCE PHONE 2.5485 2417 Harris Avenue Also Repairs and New Roofs Put On B. Cleare will go te next week's hearing in Marathon. The man has lived in Mara- thon for several years, Zette- rower said. He further said that because of the “nature of the case and the circum- stances” he would prefer not fe reveal his name at this time. This is the second child molestation charge brought in less than s week. Parents of the child signed the affidavit insulate Your Heme With CELOTEX ROCK WOOL BATTS STRUNK LUMBER YARD Fresh Bait ee ©. Sul! Fishing Tackle ea Boxed Lunches a too WALT'S OVERSEAS LUNCH STOCK ISLAND Attention, Fishermen! LET'S GO DOG RACING TONITE Rain or Shine | to a New York hospital for fur-j| address by Rotarian Robert J ther treatment because At that time, she said;eau of Investigation. st uld not give up, although: Wall, in commenting on the | advised by Miami hospitals that / “extremely active’ Key West Ro- lthe case was “hopeless.” The tary Club, particularly their work j baby had gained weight and was/With the Boy, Scouts. said that resting normally for a child his “the Scouts tend to put the FBI i i in service a j Guan wouldn't like to see that happen. | A young sailor, Bill Miller,|, The FBI man went on to out- m the USS Gilmore. learned line the scope of bis service. He ne case and came Citizen with the tip. To arouse (Continued On Page Three: helper public does not Rave a clear idea of the function of the FBI Contrary to the popular notion, the said, the FSi bas so jurisdic- tion over traffic in narcotics. counterfeiting and enforcement of the alien jaws. These problems jot law enforcement sre handled jby other government agencies jand while the FRI is happy to ' } ST. PATRICKS’ DAY BENEFIT BALL TONITE Cerebral Palsy Assn. However, there are 120 differ- CASA MARINA HOTEL | ext cicistions over which the Fed oem. feral Bureau of Investigation does . have jurisdiction, Wall pointed Public ne Adm. 1.0 ‘ cenbe ies the oo (Continued Oe Page Three) wnenns Music Mrs. | Wall, Special Agent in Charge of | Walker believed her son could be|the Miami Office, Federal Bur- | to The Pointed out that generally, the | ! - on the Island. | ; Honor Bervaldée= I Agent At Weekly Luncheon Meeting Thursday | Legion Sponsors 'Cireus March 21 Arthur Sawyer Post No. 28, | American Legion, will present the Kelly-Morris Circus in the city on Saturday, March 21, for a one-day stand. The circus lo- | cation will be on the area adj |cent to the Poinciana Elemen- | tary School. | ances presented, 4:15 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. | The duration of each perform- jance will be 1 3/4 hours and | consists of 16 acts. | Tickets for the event are now | being sold by Legionnaires and | jmembers of the Auxiliary Unit No. 28. It was stated that the | (Continued On Page Three) The Associated Press Teletype Features and Photo Services. For 73 Years Devoted to the Best Interests of Key West. Will R. Porter Dies Suddenly In Miami KW Bank Leader And Financier Survived By Widow, Daughter Will R. Porter, 82, one of Key West’s most promin- ent citizens and scion of the Island’s pioneer family died suddenly this morning at his Miami Shores home. The news of his death was telephoned to his only child, Mrs. Jessie Porter Newton at her Caroline Street home at 9:30 a.m. Mr. Newion plained to. lenve | SESS City Commission - immediately for Miami and is ex- To Meet Tonight. rected to bring her late father back to his home city where he The City Commission will meet tonight in special session will be buried. The former President of the to hear a report from City Manager Dave King on his Florida National Bank, and one trip to Washington this week of its earliest officers was at in connection with the finane- one time the largest landowner He had moved to Miami Shores ing of the repairs and additions in recent years, but home is where the heart is, and Will Por- ter’s heart was in Key West. The Citizen interviewed him last-July.on. the occasion of his visit to the Island for the Masonic Award of 50 years membership.- He stayed, as he always did on ais visits here, at his home, 314 Duval Street. He kept his: resi- dence here, so that he coyld come back to the city he loved four or five times each year. Wili Porter was born in Key West, then taken by his parents ‘o Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tor- tugas where his father, Dr. J. Y. Jorter was post surgeon, When they returned to Key West in 1872 the Porter family lived in the mansion: at the cor- uer of Caroline and Duval Street, where his father died in 1927. Will Porter, instead of emula- which has been set for 8: p.m, = sold the terests. z 7 i i ; i | | ! : z i ° | ! é 28 f I x & #28 S8 pes 2 & i i E uy F of the Key West Lodge of Elka, 551. He was also a member of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Com- mission during the Holland Ad- (Continaea On Page Three) li if f il Fs i & $ 2 2 Guaranteed Minimum Salaries May Be For Top County Officials By Legislation Legislation getting guar- anteed minimum salaries of | $9,600, plus expenses will} | be submitted in April for} the Office of Tax Assessor, see Tax Collector, Circuit Court Clerk and other top Sd officials. At present these offices) are operating on « fee sye-| item, which county officials} throughout the state a trying to abolish. | li i ag * 2 | i port. The Bhs f | mum, except the sheriff. Tax As-itheir elected sessor Gandolfo’s minimum guar- . oe antee is $7,500; Tax Collector 30 percent Howard Wilson's, $6,000 and Earlity problems. Adarns, $%,900. The maximum |say, would each can earn in a year of fees {salaries so etet $° BE edge 7 ath BL Ht H . ine! i | HI the ad , fj H rt ? Ma s Ei; Be i ‘ i i! fied a & | { f tH 1 dz it