Week in review

MORE IDEAS FOR BUCS CAMP SITE: Since the Hillsborough County Commission sacked plans for a new Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility off Morris Bridge Road, some commissioners want to shut out other potential developers, too. Commissioner Chris Hart proposes putting the 70-acre property, surrounded by more than 16,000 acres of preservation park land, into the county's Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program.

"You don't have to live there to know what a precious site this surrounding area is," Hart said Monday.

Although Hart's proposal already has support from some commissioners, he has a long way to go. Adding properties to the county program involves a lengthy review process that probably can't be finished before December 2003, said Peter Fowler, acting county parks and recreation director.

Complicating matters is the voluntary nature of the program, and so far the property owners have shown little interest in selling the land for preservation. The Southwest Florida Water Management District, which owns the surrounding land, says the asking price of $3.5-million -- $50,000 an acre -- is much too high. Hart sees Swiftmud as a potential partner in buying the land.

Saying the training facility would encourage sprawl, Hart joined four other commissioners in rejecting the Buccaneers' request to rezone the property. Some saw the vote as revenge on the Buccaneers organization for the deal the Glazer family, the team's owners, worked out with the previous board to build the Raymond James Stadium with Community Investment Tax money.

In addition to Swiftmud, Hart said, he wants the county to explore partnerships with the state and private environmental groups, such as the Nature Conservancy. Hart also wants to open talks with the Buccaneers about using other sites, including the University of South Florida.

RETIREE KILLED IN LAKE MAGDALENE HOUSE FIRE: A 56-year-old retired newspaper employee died in the fire that started a little before 1 a.m. Wednesday and roared through a modest block home on Lake Byrd Road in the Lake Magdalene area.

Linda Diana Clark, whom everyone called "Dee," had recently retired from the distribution department of the Tampa Tribune to devote herself to a new job, said her stepson Ed Clark. She was going to become a full-time grandmother to her four grandchildren.

"That was basically the focus of her whole life now," Ed Clark said. "Four grandkids with one more on the way. The sad part is the missing out with the grandchildren. That's what she was living for. She was hoarding the toys, buying the outfits and the whole Dr. Seuss book collection. She was looking forward to reading those to them."

A neighbor called the fire department at 1:07 a.m. When firefighters arrived about six minutes later, the house was in flames, Hillsborough Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley said.

The fire started in the master bedroom, although Dee Clark's body was found in another part of the house, Yeakley said. Mrs. Clark may have been trying to flee the house, he said, and may have become disoriented before succumbing to the smoke.

Dee and Bill Clark were parents to Ed Clark, 32, Ben Richards, 36, Scott Richards, 40, Wendy Worrell, 30, and Tracy Mueller, 31. All the sons serve in the military, said Ed Clark, a warrant officer stationed at MacDill Air Force Base.

"She was the key person who made sure all of us stayed in touch," Ed Clark said. "With five kids scattered to the four winds, and three of them in the Army, she kept us up with each other."

TEEN CONVICTED IN ASSAULT ON OFFICER: Prosecutors said Orlando Jones pulled a gun on a Hillsborough County sheriff's deputy during a traffic stop in north Tampa. Jones' attorneys said the deputy mistook what may have been a cell phone or beeper for a gun. A jury agreed with the prosecution Wednesday, finding Jones, 15, guilty of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and armed burglary of a conveyance. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Jones, who was tried as an adult, also was found guilty of grand theft of a motor vehicle, being a minor in possession of a firearm and aggravated fleeing and eluding.

"I feel like the prosecutor is trying to make a name for himself at the expense of my child," said Jones' mother, Tangelia.

But Assistant State Attorney Curtis Allen said Jones was willing to shoot at a deputy while being surrounded. "If he's brazen enough to do that, we have a concern for what Orlando Jones may do to someone who isn't armed," Allen said.

The incident happened on June 17, 2001. That's when sheriff's Deputy Jason Joyner saw a group of teens driving a purple Dodge Stratus stolen from a hotel parking lot in north Tampa.

He followed the teens for a mile before they came to a stop on Fowler Avenue and Spectrum Boulevard. After calling for backup, Joyner and Deputy Matt Lucky approached the car: Joyner on the driver's side, Lucky on the passenger's side.

Joyner told jurors that when he approached the driver's window, he saw Jones with his left hand on the steering wheel and his right hand cupped on his leg. "I could tell he had something in his hands," Joyner said. When he realized it was a gun, he ordered Jones to drop it. Instead, he said, Jones raised the gun to his stomach. So Joyner pulled out his gun and fired once, striking Jones in the chest.

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