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Briefs

Lightning blamed for man's injuries

By Times Staff
Published August 23, 2005

SEMINOLE - A propane worker was taken to a local hospital Monday after a lightning bolt apparently struck near him.

The man was working in the area of 122nd Street and 81st Avenue in Seminole about 1 p.m. as a severe storm rolled through. A lightning bolt apparently struck his service truck as he was touching it, said Alison McCarty, spokeswoman for Seminole Fire Rescue.

The man was knocked to the ground. He suffered minor burns to his left arm and said his arms and legs tingled. He was stuttering, which he never had done before. He also was disoriented for a time and had a headache, McCarty said.

McCarty said the man appeared to be in his 30s.

House fire victim still hospitalized

TAMPA - A 71-year-old woman who suffered severe burns when her house caught fire over the weekend remained in critical condition Monday, according to officials at Tampa General Hospital.

Marlene Spencer suffered second- and third-degree burns to about 20 percent of her body from the fire that began Sunday morning inside her townhouse at 3002A W. Mason St. The fire appeared to have started near her couch from a coffee cup warmer, officials said.

They credited a neighbor, 59-year-old Don Reymers, with pulling Spencer from inside her house and giving her CPR before paramedics arrived.

The fire remains under investigation by the local fire marshal's office, but officials on Sunday said it did not appear suspicious.

Memorial services scheduled for priest

Memorial services have been scheduled this week for the late Rev. Michael J. Finnegan, who died Friday at 57 after falling ill in the rectory at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Largo.

The reception of the body is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at St. Catherine of Siena, 1955 S Belcher Road, with visitation to follow until 8 p.m. Evening prayer will be sung at 7 p.m. A funeral mass will be celebrated at the church at 11 a.m. Friday. Burial will follow at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Clearwater.

Finnegan was a priest for more than 30 years and also served at Nativity Church in Brandon and St. Cecelia Church in Clearwater.

More money paid to CSX in Crosstown project

TAMPA - The Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority increased a construction agreement with railroad owner CSX by a half-million dollars for work on its elevated highway from Brandon to Tampa.

Authority members added to the contract Monday, raising the total of an existing construction agreement by $565,000 to $915,000. The elevated, reversible lanes are being built within the medians of the Lee Roy Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

The additional money will let CSX hire flagmen for as long as 36 weeks to direct traffic CSX land in the area, which surrounds 22nd Street. It also pays CSX to hire a contractor to do work around three columns that are being replaced.

The authority is demolishing and reconstructing three bridge columns on CSX land.

Six Colombians indicted for cocaine on boat

Six Colombian men were booked into local jails Sunday after 3 tons of cocaine were found on their freighter last week, authorities said.

On Aug. 16, the Coast Guard cutter Venturous, based out of St. Petersburg, intercepted the 93-foot freighter Mr. Simon in the Caribbean north of Colombia, said U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Steve Cole.

A federal grand jury indicted: William Enrique Gomez Acevedo, 45; Cipriano Jose Henry Martinez, 62; Miguel Enrique Sinclair Christoper, 44; Calixto Jose Gonzalez Padilla, 31; Mario Villalobos Guerrero, 49; and Edward Grenard Prime, 34, on charges that they conspired to possess and distribute the cocaine.

[Last modified August 23, 2005, 12:03:31]