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Safety Harbor Obituaries

Pedro Pabon-Crespo, 88, Safety Harbor, died August 1, 2006 at James A. Haley VA Medical Center, Tampa. He came here in 1999 from his native Puerto Rico, and retired from the U.S. Postal Service where he was a post office guard. He was an Army veteran of World War II and enjoyed Latin music. Survivors include three daughters, Iris Lopez, Safety Harbor, Blanca Aldea, Boynton Beach, and Elizabeth Pabon, Atlanta; three sons, Pedro Jr., Palm Harbor, James, Puerto Rico, and Louis, Wingdale, NY; a brother, Felix, and a sister, Prebo Pabon, both of the Bronx, NY; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.

Patricia J. Cromie, 79, Safety Harbor, died August 3, 2006 at home under the care of Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. She was born in Detroit and came here in 1970 from Frankenmuth, MI. She worked 23 years in Pinellas County as a hearing aid specialist and state examiner for hearing aid licensing. She was a member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Largo, and the Red Hat Society at the Barrington, Largo. She was an avid golfer and enjoyed playing cards, traveling, and arts & crafts, with a special interest in ceramics. Survivors include two sons, Thomas, Atlanta, and Christopher, Brandon; three daughters, Robin Strohm , Safety Harbor, Kimberly Stryjewski , Medfield, MA, and Lois Clark, Madison Heights, MI; a brother, Thomas Peters, Vero Beach; 13 grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Helmuth F. Hoell, 79, Safety Harbor, died August 6, 2006 at Mease Countryside Hospital, Safety Harbor. He was born in Czechoslovakia and came here in 1974 from Brattleboro, VT. He was a self-employed building contractor for 30 years in Vermont and locally worked as a wine steward at Long Boat Key Club. He was a member of Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, Safety Harbor. He enjoyed golf, bingo, playing cards, feeding ducks, fishing and cooking. Survivors include two sons, Robert C., Clearwater, and Perry, Omaha, NE; and three grandchildren.

James Robert “J.J., Jimmy, Big Bro” Johnson, 58, Safety Harbor, died August 6, 2006 at home. He was born in Brooklyn, NY, and moved here this year from Grapevine, TX, where he owned Jim’s Courier Service. He had been a seasonal resident here since 2004. He worked as a longshoreman in New York and was an Army veteran of the Vietnam War. He was a member of New Hope Fellowship Church, Chico, TX, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 10093, Safety Harbor, and Amber Glades Community, Safety Harbor. Survivors include his wife of 15 years, Laura; a stepson, John M. Marshall III, Hometown , IL; a stepdaughter, Tyra K. Marshall, Grapevine; a brother, Gary, Queens; two sisters, Arlene Prost and Dawn Valentine, Brooklyn; several nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews; and a granddaughter, Zaylak Baldwin, Grapevine.

Justin P. Kampfe, 25, Safety Harbor, died August 12, 2006 at home. He was born in Vail, CO, and came here in 2005 from Phillipsburg, KS. He was an Army ranger and served in Afghanistan and Falusia. He was a member of Zion Lutheran Church, Phillipsburg. Survivors include his father, Roger L. II, Aransas Pass, TX; his stepmother, Ginger Kampfe, Phillipsburg; a sister, Elyse Kampfe, Manhattan, KS; two stepbrothers, Tyrel A. Billings and Joshua D. Billings, both of Phillipsburg; and his paternal grandmother, Doris Kampfe, Phillipsburg.

Jean Sidnie Bain, 77, Safety Harbor, died August 19, 2006 at Hospice House Woodside, Pinellas Park. She was born in Berlin, WI, and came here in 1958 from Milwaukee. She was a beautician and was Lutheran. Survivors include a daughter, Wendy, Safety Harbor; two sons, Scott, Longview, TX, and Craig King, West Allis, WI; a brother, Elmer Pomeroy, Wisconsin; and three grandchildren.

Anthony John Adamowicz, 64, Safety Harbor, died August 24, 2006 at home under the care of Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. He was born in Highland, MI, and came here in 1996 from Michigan, where he worked 34 years as a facilities engineer for Ford Motor Co. He was Catholic and a member of the Dunedin/Clearwater Elks Lodge 1525. Survivors include his wife, Carol; three sons, Daniel, Plymouth, MI, and Ronald and Jason, both of Livonia, MI; a daughter, Jacinda Baker, Westerville, OH; two brothers, Arthur, Northville, MI, and Joseph, Belle River, MI; two sisters, Susan Rees and Judy Anderson, both of Farwell, MI; and eight grandchildren.

Janet L. Goldstein, 56, Safety Harbor, died August 26, 2006 at Morton Plant Hospital, Clearwater, She was born in Springfield, MO, and came here in 1985 from Highland Park, IL. She was a surgical nurse at Morton Plant Hospital and a member of Heritage United Methodist Church and the North Pinellas Republican Club. Survivors include her husband of 35 years, Harvey; a son, Todd, Safety Harbor; a daughter, Amanda Becker, Alexandria, VA; her mother, Mary Lou Piercey, Clearwater; and a grandson, Tyler Becker.

Paulette Ann Perkins, 58, Safety Harbor, formerly of New Port Richey, died August 27, 2006 at Marliere Hospice Care Center New Port Richey. Born in Paterson, NJ, she came to Florida in 1989 from Indiana. She was a state of Florida program supervisor and member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church. Survivors include a son, Dr. Michael Perkins, Silver Spring, MD; her parents, William and Esther Gross, New Port Richey; and two brothers, Ken Gross, South Lake, TX, and Bill Gross, Galesburg, MI.

Mary Lou Stewart, 68, of Largo and formerly of Safety Harbor, died August 28, 2006 at Hospice House Woodside, Pinellas Park. She was born in Moss, MS, came to Safety Harbor in 1981 from Oklahoma City and moved to Largo in 1997. She was a vice president at Barnett Bank and a docent at Eckerd College. She was a volunteer at the Lord’s Kitchen at Shiloh Baptist Church and was a past president of the Palm Harbor Rotary and the Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks. She enjoyed traveling. Survivors include two daughters, Margie Strealy, Oklahoma City, and Darleen Bradley, Hot Springs, AR; and four grandchildren.

Join The Drive To Find Cure For Cancer

The American Legion Auxiliary Post 238 of Safety Harbor is conducting a two-month fundraising effort to help research efforts to find a cure for cancer. The drive kicked off on Labor Day with a cakewalk and is continuing with the sale of “Stars for Research” at $1 each in the Post Hall. Each star purchased is an entry in a raffle.

The public is invited to join in a fundraising dinner 5-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 in the Post Hall. Cost is $7 for a pork roast dinner with all the trimmings. Musical entertainment will be provided by Kali & Friends.

The cancer aid and research drive will continue throughout the year. The next major event will be a Poker Run in March, sponsored by the American Legion Bikers Club.

For more information or to make a donation, call 727-726-9601.

Roundabout Way To Solutions

Stop signs and raised brick walkways that act as speed humps are the first structural elements city commissioners should consider to control the flow of traffic through downtown Safety Harbor. That message from local residents came through loud and clear when the city held an open house in August for a presentation of consultants' recommendations on "transportation issues that affect mobility within the downtown area." Increased emphasis on enforcement of existing traffic laws already is under way as we suggested in May when the consultant's recommendations were first revealed. Common sense and fiscal caution argue that the city take small steps before seriously considering more expensive and complicated plans such as installing traffic circles and landscaped medians on some of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

In fact, many residents reacted with outright anger at the suggestion of roundabouts, even though consulting engineers tried to explain that lessons were learned in Clearwater's debacle at the entry to Clearwater Beach. After redesign, that complicated intersection now generally is acknowledged to be functioning as intended. The proposed "traffic circles" — deliberately not called roundabouts — would be single lane, meaning they would not involve the lane changing collisions that were the bane of the first Clearwater Beach roundabout. The key question is whether there is enough available right-of-way to even remotely consider traffic circles. In each of the two locations under consideration, South Bayshore Boulevard/Seventh Street South and Main Street/Ninth Avenue, the city currently does own small parking lots. The Main Street location, however, also involves CSX Railroad right-of-way. It is notoriously difficult to negotiate with the railroad, which has little incentive to accommodate the whims of local government. Without the railroad's cooperation, however, it is pointless to contemplate a traffic circle that would be bisected by a railroad track.

The argument for a traffic circle on Bayshore at Seventh is weak. The city is trying to discourage cut-through traffic on neighborhood streets, not facilitate it. The primary accomplishment of this traffic circle would be to make Seventh more heavily traveled. Meanwhile, the first success the city has experienced in controlling that cut-through traffic was to place stop signs on Seventh, a deliberate inconvenience. Its second success was the recent installation of rubber speed humps on Seventh Avenue South. The combination, neighbors report, has resulted in a reduction in the cutthrough problem. How a traffic circle helps is completely unclear.

Once again, the common sense of local residents seems to suggest the best solutions. Start slowly; first with enforcement. Secondly, consider adding a few more stop signs on residential streets. Thirdly, consider a few raised brick walkways on Main Street to discourage speeding and encourage pedestrians. After evaluating those steps, then it may be time to again consider more radical engineering solutions, but not until there is better evidence that they actually will provide a benefit.