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The Florida Keys’ Only Daily Newspaper, Est. 1876

Conchs host middle school tourney — Page 1B

September 29, 2015 ◆  Vol. 139 ◆ No. 272 ◆ 14 pages Tuesday 

FOR CLASSIFIEDS ◆ 305-292-7777, Option 3KEYSWIDE CLASSIFIEDS ◆ keysnews.com/classifieds

INDEX  ◆  CLASSIFIED ADS –  4-6B  COMICS – 6A  CRIME REPORT – 2A CROSSWORD – 5B  KEYS CALENDAR – 2A OPINION – 4A SPORTS – 1B

The Florida Keys

Mosquito Control

District has scheduled

aerial adulticiding mis-

sions today, from 6:30

to 8:30 a.m., over Ocean

Reef, Key Largo, Upper

Matecumbe, Windley

and Plantation. The air-

plane missions will be

completed, weather per-mitting, using Dibrom.

For information, call the

district at 305-292-7190.

 WEATHER

Cesar Castro, third grade,

Montesorri Charter School

See forecast on Page 2A

SPRAYING ALERT 

ON THE RADIO

Mike Petro talks about

being reunited with his wife

and family who have been

detained in Turkmenistan

for the past three months.

 Also on today’s show:

• Neda Preston — KWHS

• Richard Payne — city

commission candidate

• Beth Ranson — Mosquito

Control

• Capt. Steve McAlearney —NAS KW

• Craig Cates — mayor of Key

West 

• Sean Morton — Sanctuary

• Shelly Krueger — Extension

Service

NEWS: 7:30, 8:30 a.m., noon,

5 & 6 p.m.

Evening Edition 5-5:30 p.m.

State proposes

land swap plan

The state agency that

oversees development

in the Florida Keys has

proposed a plan to

reduce the number of

vacant lots once the

Florida Keys reachesbuild-out, which could

occur within the next 10

 years. The state granted

the Florida Keys possibly

its last Rate of Growth

Ordinance (ROGO)

building allocations and

they run through the

 year 2023. Page 3A 

FLORIDA KEYS

Mars appears to

have flowing water

Mars appears to

have flowing rivulets of

salty water, at least in

the summer, scientists

reported Monday in a

finding that could have

major implications for

the possibility of life

on the red planet. “It

suggests that it would

be possible for there to

be life today on Mars,”

NASA’s science mission

chief, John Grunsfeld,

said at a news confer-

ence. Page 3A 

SCIENCE

STILLSTILL

  ¢50¢

 A Big Coppitt Key mother and her

son were reunited with the rest of their

family Sunday, after Turkmenistan

government officials finally let them

leave that country after detaining

them nearly three months.

 Aziza Petro and son Mikey, 4, flew

into Miami International Airport

on Sunday and were reunited with

Mikey’s father and Aziza’s husband

Mike and the couple’s daughter

Mercedes, 11, who was only able to

leave Turkmenistan less than two

 weeks ago.

 Aziza Petro was born in

Turkmenistan, but has lived in the

United States for nearly 20 years, she

said.

“I still can’t believe I’m back,” Aziza

Petro said. “I am still shaking. I am so

happy.”

Petro took the children to see family

in Turkmenistan and to visit her moth-

er’s grave, having been led to believe

that leaving the country would not

be an issue. However, Turkmenistan

officials refused to allow Aziza Petro

to return to the United States, citing

See REUNITED, Page 7A 

The Citizen Review Board

decided Monday night to

close its investigation into

the arrest of a homeless man

involving the use of a Taser,ending months of discussion

regarding the incident.

The April

30 arrest of

Troy Shane

Carswell, 45,

has spurred

d i s c us s i o n

among the

a l l - v o l u n -

teer board

that investigates complaints

against Key West police offi-

cers in that Carswell has not

publicly criticized police over

his 10:50 p.m., April 30 arreston the 500 block of Duval

Street for trespassing and

resisting arrest.

The incident was wit-

nessed by CRB board mem-

ber Joe Pais, who told the

panel he felt Officer Nicholas

Galbo was overly aggressive

during the arrest and wrote

things in his arrest report that

 were inconsistent or not fac-

tual with what Pais observed.

Pais suggested the board

send a letter to police Chief

Donie Lee requesting he

reopen the department’s

investigation into the matter

and take appropriate action

even though the department

already found no wrongdo-

ing on the part of Galbo.

That motion was voted

down, leaving the board to

vote on whether to drop its

own allegations of excessive

force and untruthfulness

against Galbo, which passed

4-2.

CRB votes

to dropTasercase

Jeremy Wilkerson is just as

comfortable in the 2-year-

old classroom at a local

day care center as he is in a

board room.

Despite his crisply

starched shirt and dress

slacks, the director of com-

munity relations for Wesley

House Family Services

gamely joined the enthu-

siastic tots for snack time

Monday, easily folding his

long legs around a minia-

ture chair and positioning

himself at a tiny table, where

milk and animal crackers

 were served and shared.

The kids and staff greet-

ed Wilkerson warmly at

the Inez Martin Child Care

Center on Varela Street,

 which is operated by Wesley

House as part of its mission

to support the children and

families of the Florida Keys,

 whether through subsidized

child care, foster and adop-

tive services and parenting

classes.

“I actually owned a pre-

school in Houston for four

 years before we moved to

Key West,” Wilkerson said

 when asked about his inter-

est in and connection with

 Wesley House. “I’ve always

been passionate about

early education; ever since

I realized that by the time a

child is 5 years old, they’ve

already learned half of what

they’ll learn for the rest of

their lives. It’s so crucial that

 we start them out right.”

 Wilkerson’s pre-school in

Texas included infants up to

kindergarten.

“The success of a child

means everything to me,”

 Wilkerson said, pulling up

to the day care center on

his cherished motorcycle.

“Because anything that hap-

pens to kids at such a young

age is not their fault, and

 we need to give them the

tools, support and resources

to succeed.”

His opinion of the

Houston area changed

 when he and his wife, Kim,

a home health care nurse

 with Island Home Care,

See WILKERSON, Page 7A 

 TOGETHER AGAIN

 Wife, son detained in Turkmenistan released after three months

Jeremy Wilkerson puts kids first

BY TIMOTHY O’HARA 

Key West Citizen

BY MANDY MILES

Key West Citizen

BY ADAM LINHARDT

Key West Citizen

See CRB, Page 7A 

ROB O’NEAL/The Citizen

Mike Petro is finally reunited with his wife Aziza, daughter Mercedes, 11, and son Mikey, 4, after being separated for nearly

three months.

FAMILIAR FACES: An ongoing series that looks at the people who make up our island community 

ROB O’NEAL/The Citizen

 Jeremy Wilkerson is director of community relations at Wesley

House Family Services.

Carswell