The Florida Keys Only Daily Newspaper, Est.

1876
Hurricane Guide Inside and online
May 28, 2014 Vol. 138 No. 148 46 pages Wednesday
FOR CLASSIFIEDS 305-292-7777, Option 3 KEYSWIDE CLASSIFIEDS keysnews.com/classifieds
INDEX CLASSIFIED ADS 4-6B COMICS 6A CRIME REPORT 2A CROSSWORD 5B KEYS CALENDAR 2A OPINION 4A SPORTS 1B
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.: A man
suspected of killing three
people at a Florida home
died in Tennessee on Tuesday
from what appears to be a
self-inflicted gunshot wound,
authorities said.
David Eugene Smith
called 911 Tuesday morning,
telling a dispatcher at the
Knox County Sheriffs Office
that he was the man wanted
in the slayings and said he
wanted to die at the hands of
law enforcement, the sher-
iffs office said in a state-
ment on its website. Smith
said he was staying at a Days
Inn in Knox County, where
he holed up during a SWAT
standoff. Page 3A
WEATHER
Rachel Owens, third grade,
Gerald Adams Elementary School
See forecast on Page 2A
FLORIDA
ON THE RADIO
Dr. Aaron
Morehouse,
Executive
Director
of the
Experiment in International
Living, talks about the 21 Keys
students who will spend the
summer overseas.
Also on todays show:
Judd Wise, KWHS
Frank Sauer,
Monroe County Coalition
Rick Ramsay, Sheriff
Kevin Madok, Monroe County
Heather Carruthers, FIRM
Steve Miller, LK Chamber
Liz Young, Arts Council
NEWS: 7:30, 8:30 a.m., noon, 5 & 6 p.m.
Evening Edition 5-5:30 p.m.
WATFORD CITY, N.D.: A
rare North Dakota tornado
that critically injured a 15-
year-old girl and hurt eight
other people at a workers
camp in the heart of the states
booming oil patch packed
winds that peaked at 120
mph, the National Weather
Service said Tuesday.
The twister touched down
Monday night at a camp
just south of Watford City,
about 50 miles southeast of
Williston. Page 7A
NATION
STILL
50
ROB ONEAL/The Citizen
Rod Rodriguez plays weekdays at 2 p.m. at St. Pauls Episcopal Church on Duval Street. Rodriguez will have his debut show at St.
Peters Church on Center Street on June 25.
Three men wearing ban-
danas forced their way into a
mans Grassy Key home early
Monday and shot him in the
leg before robbing him of
prescription pills, according
to a report from the Monroe
County Sheriffs Office.
The 39-year-old victim did
not suffer life-threatening
injuries and was treated at the
scene by paramedics.
The three suspects, mean-
while, remain on the lam,
according to detectives.
The victim told deputies
when he answered a knock at
his front door at Mile Marker
58 of U.S. 1 at 1:15 a.m., three
men burst into the house
yelling for him to get on the
ground, according to reports.
He told detectives he strug-
gled with one of the suspects,
who was armed with a hand-
gun. At some point during that
struggle, the gun fired and he
was shot in the leg.
The victim got up and ran
out the front door toward a
neighbors house yelling for
help. As he was running, he
heard two more gunshots
behind him, reports state.
Detectives found a bullet
hole in a storage trailer parked
Man shot in home invasion, robbery
CITIZEN STAFF
A second member of Key
Wests Sustainability Advisory
Board has resigned in the
wake of the city commissions
May 6 vote to keep Waste
Management on board as Key
Wests trash hauler.
Citing incredulity at the 4-
3 decision to revert to twice
weekly trash pickup for the
new $53 million, 7-year con-
tract despite city staffs advice,
Ross Williams emailed his res-
ignation to Mayor Craig Cates
on Monday.
The new contract, which
starts Jan. 1, scraps the citys
once a week pickup schedule
that staff installed last summer
as an effort to increase recy-
cling rates.
This recent decision by the
Contract
drives
1 more
to resign
BY GWEN FILOSA
Citizen Staff
Photo courtesy of ERICH BARTELS/Mote Marine Lab
A diver swims past a lionfish off Key West.
State fishery managers will
unveil a new lionfish smart
phone app today as yet
another weapon in the battle
to eradicate the invasive fish
that is taking over the Florida
Keys reef.
Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission
(FWC) will unveil the new
application in an hour-long
Twitter chat event starting at
2 p.m. The free app will allow
fishermen and divers to
report encounters with lion-
fish and learn more about
the species, FWC spokes-
woman Amanda Nalley said.
On Tuesday, Nalley did not
disclose too many details
about the app, as the FWC
wants to unveil those details
today at its Twitter chat event,
she said.
The chat will begin with
a short video, followed by
fun facts and a chance to
ask questions about lionfish
and the new app, Nalley said.
Participants will also be chal-
lenged by a series of trivia
questions with the chance
to win a recently redesigned
FWC to unveil lionfish
smartphone app today
BY TIMOTHY OHARA
Citizen Staff
See LIONFISH, Page 3A
See RESIGN, Page 3A
See SHOT, Page 3A
Sustainability
board down
to 5 members
When not in use, the Bible-
black grand piano that sits
inside St. Pauls Episcopal
Church on Duval Street is
hidden by a dark protective
cover that drapes even the
keys from view.
The fitted cover is topped
with a framed sign that asks
visitors to refrain from play-
ing the instrument unless
first granted permission by a
church leader. Rod Rodriguez,
a Texan and longtime drifter
who landed in Key West a
couple years ago, is one of
those who has permission to
make the piano sing.
Like a black stallion,
Rodriguez called the Yamaha
on a recent afternoon, as he
gently uncovered the piano
before opening the top to
expose its belly of strings and
hammers. A granddaddy.
Rodolfo Paz Rodriguez, 49,
born in Lubbock, Texas, the
This piano man plays to heal
Plans free meditative concert June 25 as debut
KEY WEST
BY GWEN FILOSA
Citizen Staff
See PIANO, Page 8A
The Monroe County School
Board on Tuesday voted to give
Superintendent of Schools
Mark Porter and his adminis-
tration the green light to add
three new employees to the
payroll.
The vote was not unani-
mous, however, and there were
a number of pointed questions
from board members who
want to make sure their new-
found financial stability isnt
See SCHOOL, Page 8A
Florida triple-homicide
suspect dies in Tenn.
Rare North Dakota
tornado hits 120 mph
Board
adds 3 new
employees
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
Citizen staff
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