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By Times Staff
Published May 18, 2006

Painter of famously cheeky art dies

The Ocala artist who created the bare-bottomed Coppertone Girl has died. Joyce Ballantyne Brand was 88. She had a heart attack recently and died in her sleep Monday. Daughter Cheri Brand Irwin, 49, was 3 when her mom painted her as a blond girl whose trunks were yanked down by a puppy. The work earned the artist $2,500.

Divorce granted to Joy Culverhouse

Without fanfare, the five-year marriage of Joy McCann Culverhouse and Dr. Robert M. Daugherty, ended Wednesday. Mrs. Culverhouse, 86, widow of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse Sr., told a judge her marriage to Daugherty, 72, the former dean of the University of South Florida medical school, was irretrievably broken. No financial settlement was asked or offered, and a judge quickly okayed the dissolution of marriage. Now, Mrs. Culverhouse and her attorneys return to probate court to deal with claims that her foundation violated a 1997 agreement by donating millions to some institutions with close ties to Daugherty.

Storm prep special: permanent pet IDs

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay is offering ID microchips for pets this weekend. Pets can get lost in hurricanes because they lack IDs. Microchips are implanted under the skin The first "Microchip Days" are Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Humane Society, 3607 N Armenia Ave.; and Sunday; 1 to 4 p.m. at Golden Corral Restaurant, 6942 W Hillsborough Ave.; $15. Call (813) 876-7138.

Instant classrooms stacking up in Citrus

And now for something new in school construction. At Lecanto High in Citrus County, workers began lowering prefab concrete classrooms into place Wednesday. The work is quick, and the result is supposed to be able to withstand a Cat 5 hurricane. The ready-to-use classrooms, stacked two-high by crane, should be done soon.

Area schools among best on writing FCAT

When it comes to rating the state's schools, much comes down to improvement on the FCAT. And on the writing portion of the test, 35 area schools ranked in the top 100 in improvement at their levels, according to new lists released by the state Department of Education Wednesday. Pasco County led the way, with 12 schools on the lists. Hillsborough had 10, Pinellas six, Citrus five, Hernando two.

[Last modified May 18, 2006, 06:09:15]