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Letter to the editor

1981: Boy says he saw lion; police skeptical

By Times Staff Writer
Published October 21, 2007

Sept. 19, 1981

CLEARWATER - There are pink elephants and then there are "screeching" lions.

A 14-year-old Clearwater boy who called police Thursday night was sober but startled after seeing what he insisted was a lion under a tree in his front yard.

The boy, who was home alone, said the kingly beast had large yellow eyes with black slits, was 3 feet tall, 4 feet long and heavier than a large German shepherd.

The boy said he heard a "loud screech" before seeing the lion. "He was very startled but is sure the animal was a lion," according to a report by police officer Rick Trombly.

After he saw the beast in the front yard, the boy "watched the animal walk from the front to the back yard and lay down," Trombly said.

Trombly said he checked the area around the boy's home but couldn't find the lion or its footprints.

Mysteriously, Trombly said he "did find a tree with several areas missing bark that appeared to be fresh."

Aug. 19, 1971

Oven believed cause of blast

CLEARWATER - An explosion that ripped the bow off a 65-foot yacht late Tuesday at a dock at Island Yacht Harbor is believed to have been caused by a faulty gas oven on the vessel, an official at the Clearwater Fire Department said Wednesday.

The yacht, Allegro, belonging to Robert McClelland, 45, of Fowler, Ind., exploded about 10:35 p.m. and went to the bottom in about two minutes, said fire Lt. William Peart, who lives on a boat which was docked about 70 feet from the Allegro.

The value of the 1929 Lawley-made boat was estimated at $15,000.

The boat had begun taking on water about a week ago, and McClelland came here from Indiana to have a leak near the rudder fixed, Peart said. The marina where the boat was docked is covered by a metal roof. "When she blew, pieces rained down on that tin roof for what seemed like five minutes," Peart said.

Dec. 14, 1977

Pinellas pollutes, state says; curbs expected

Pinellas County, widely touted as a tourist mecca of sparkling waters and immaculate beaches, has been designated by the state as a major violator of federal clean-air standards.

The designation is expected to result in federal restrictions on future industrial growth in the Tampa Bay area.

A two-year study forwarded by the state to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that the Tampa Bay area - and especially Tarpon Springs - has the heaviest concentration of air pollution in the state.

The study shows that all the major metropolitan areas in the state except Miami violate the standards, but the greatest violations were concentrated in Tarpon Springs.

Tarpon Springs was the only city in the state shown to have photochemicals, sulfur dioxide and dust in concentrations greater than considered healthy by the EPA.

April 22, 1975

County airplane for prisoners

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Department will get a six-seater airplane declared surplus by the military, County Civil Defense Director Lyle Fox said Monday.

Fox said the plane, previously used for gunnery spotting, will be used to take prisoners to other cities.

Looking back

Headlines through the years

A look back at the events, people and places that made North Pinellas the unique place that it is. The information is compiled from past editions of the St. Petersburg Times.

[Last modified October 20, 2007, 21:16:48]