Slain lottery winner's popcorn shop is up for sale
By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER
Published August 25, 2005
Hours after the fatal shooting of Jeffrey Dampier Jr., the Illinois lottery winner who used the winnings to move himself and family to FishHawk Ranch, relatives posted a sign in the window of Dampier's Channelside popcorn shop:
"Due to a family emergency Kassie's Popcorn is closed temporarily."
This weekend, a new sign hung in the window: "Business for sale."
Boxes littered the floor. Dampier's beloved sports jerseys and other collectibles still hung on the walls, but the bags of popular caramel and cheese-flavored popcorn were gone. Someone had taken down the picture of granddaughter Kassie, the store's namesake.
But Jason Volkman, the attorney representing Dampier's wife, Crystal Dampier, knew nothing about the for-sale sign until a St. Petersburg Times reporter called to ask about it.
"We're going to pull it off the market, if in fact his wife is selling it," Volkman said.
Volkman said Dampier, 39, had a lot of assets that need to be sorted out before Kassie's is sold. In 1996 Dampier and Debra Jackson, his wife until their 2000 divorce, won a $20-million Illinois Lotto jackpot.
After the divorce, Dampier relocated his family to Hillsborough, buying houses for several relatives. Authorities say one of his relatives - his sister-in-law - conspired with her boyfriend to rob and shoot Dampier the night of July 26.
Crystal Dampier's sister, Victoria Jackson, no relation to Dampier's ex-wife Debra; and Jackson's boyfriend Nathaniel Jackson (no blood relation to any of the women) are in the county jail on charges of first-degree murder.
The violent death of Dampier came as Kassie's, which opened in January, grew in popularity.
"They loved Jeff first, and then the popcorn," said Susan Martin, Channelside marketing director. "He made a lot of friends."
Martin said she saw the for-sale sign, but has not heard from the Dampiers to confirm any plans they have for Kassie's.
"We would love for them to reopen," Martin said Wednesday, "but I'm sure it's very overwhelming for them."
Attorney Volkman, meanwhile, is trying to determine how Dampier wanted his assets doled out.
"I'm told there is a will out there," he said, "but I am still trying to find it."
TAMPA MAKES PUSH FOR FIT FIREFIGHTERS: The last thing you want if your house or business is burning to a crisp is a sluggish firefighter who's been eating too much of that firehouse chili.
Tampa Fire Rescue and City Hall leaders don't want that, either. They are using $15,000 in taxpayer money to put 23 Tampa firefighters through a weeklong training program aimed at curbing on-duty injuries and keeping them as fit as they can be.
Capt. Bill Wade, spokesman for Fire Rescue, said the fitness push is crucial.
"They are working long shifts, and sometimes they wake up a few times a night out of a dead sleep and have to go full bore within minutes," Wade said. "That's very taxing on the body, particularly the heart."
Nationwide, half of all on-duty firefighter deaths are cardiac-related, Wade said.
Tampa Fire Rescue is the first Bay area fire department to participate in the national fitness initiative.
The men and women who complete this week's training will be certified as Peer Fitness Trainers. They will visit fellow firefighters across the city "to spread the gospel of taking care of yourself," Wade said.
Fitness tip No. 1: Hold the cheese on that chili.
TRUCK BRINGS GOOD NEWS TO STATION 21: Tampa Fire Station 21 had the less-than-desirable distinction earlier this year of being the fire station where it was discovered that two strippers had posed for a nude photo shoot organized by firefighters.
This week, the New Tampa station got some good, scandal-free, G-rated news.
Fire Rescue officials on Tuesday announced the purchase of a $500,000 truck for Station 21 that is designed to tackle fires down low and in high places.
It features a high-pressure pump that moves 1,500 gallons of water per minute, a 500-gallon water tank to quickly attack small fires, and a 75-foot ladder with a nozzle that supplies water to high spots.
This afternoon, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio and Chief Dennis Jones will be at the station to unveil the new truck.
No strippers allowed.
Contact Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler at 813 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com