Week in review

LETO STUDENTS BUY DECALS FOR GRADES: In the aftermath of Sept. 11, Leto High School chemistry teacher Roohi Junejo told students they could buy American flag stickers from her to boost their grades.

By buying a sticker for $1, a student could raise his grade by .01. The more stickers bought, the more the grade would jump.

At least seven students spent a total of $20 on the stickers last fall. Though school administrators dispute his claim, one student said his B went to an A after he bought five stickers.

Some students were outraged by the practice, viewing it as grade selling. Some educators said Junejo may have violated the state ethics code by which all teachers must abide.

But school officials found nothing wrong with her peddling stickers for extra credit. They decided against an investigation or disciplinary action, saying no student's final grade was changed because of the bonus points.

"Her intent was patriotic and humanitarian," said Hillsborough County schools spokesman Mark Hart. "We aren't going to sanction her for supporting the victims of Sept. 11."

ANOTHER DOG ESCAPES PEBBLE CREEK VET: Her owners had just set sail on a seven-day cruise when "Megan," a skittish Shetland sheepdog, made her great escape from the Pebble Creek Animal Hospital on Monday. By Wednesday, a massive search was under way for the missing canine -- the second to flee the pet hospital in recent months.

The first, a 15-pound terrier mix named "Dizzie," vanished from the facility in October after a veterinarian checked a scratch on her paw. The dog was later discovered on the side of the road after being hit and killed by a car.

Terry Wolford of Tampa Palms, the daughter of the dog's owner, said Pebble Creek workers told her that Megan, who is scared of strangers, pulled out of a slip leash during a walk and darted into the woods. Wolford's son said he saw the dog Tuesday on his morning bus ride to Benito Middle School. But he could not get to a phone quickly enough.

Residents last week were asked to contact the Pebble Creek Animal Hospital at 973-8566 or Wolford at 978-0878 if they saw the dog.

MUGGS' TRAINER DIES: Carmine "Bud" Mennella and J. Fred Muggs were about as close as a man and an animal could get.

They traveled the country and world together, thrilling hundreds of thousands of onlookers with Muggs' feats of simian intelligence. Mennella, a big-hearted Italian from a poor Brooklyn neighborhood, was the trainer; Muggs was the devoted and charismatic chimpanzee who responded to his commands.

Muggs' popularity is credited with saving NBC's Today Show from an early demise in the 1950s when the now famous program was struggling. Mennella, who lived in Citrus Park, died Sunday at age 80.

"You could see the love between the animal and the trainer," said Gerald Preis, Mennella's son and longtime member of the entertainment team. "He responded to Buddy out of love. If Muggs made a mistake on stage he would rush over to my dad and give him a kiss, as though to say, 'I'm sorry. I goofed.' "

In recent years, Mennella rarely saw Muggs, who is now 50. Though the pair lived in the same compound off Gunn Highway, Mennella was increasingly crippled by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and had trouble getting over to Muggs' separate 2,400-square-foot home.

TAMPA AIRPORT ACES SAFETY INSPECTION: The Federal Aviation Administration announced that three Florida airports, including Tampa International, have been given special awards for perfect safety inspection scores five years running.

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