The Times

Wednesday, January 5, 1977, page 1 (of 23)

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Retirement surprises police chief

By ANA MARIA ALVAREZ Staff Writer At 69, Coral Gables Chief of Police William G. Kimbrough knew he had to retire sooner or later, but he never thought it would happen the way it did. The chief's sudden retirement on Dec. 31 came as a surprise to a great many people, including Kimbrough himself. He was asked to retire just a few hours after he received a note saying his retirement date had been extended until April, and just a week or so before the results of a survey of the police department were to be released. "I have no objection to retirement. I have thought about it for sometime," said Kimbrough, who has headed the department for 32 years. "I just don't appreciate the approach and the way it was handled." At 9 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 30, Kimbrough received a note informing him his retirement date as chief of the Coral Gables Police Department had been extended for another three months, or until April 1, 1977. There was nothing unusual about the note, since Kimbrough's retirement date had been extended in the same way for the past 14 years. An hour later, however, he received a call from City Manager J. Martin Gainer, who asked to see him right away. "As I sat down, Mr. Gainer remarked that he would rather take a whipping than tell me what he had to say," said Kimbrough. "The purpose of the meeting was immediately clear, and I interrupted him to remind him that twice before I had advised him that if he and/or the city commission were not satisfied with my work as chief of police, all he had to do was call me on the phone and from that moment on we would be divorced." According to Kimbrough, Gainer told him he should retire before the results of the police force survey are released. "He said that the survey was highly complimentary to me, but that I was 69 and would be 70 on July 3, and I should request my retirement before the report comes out next week," According to Gainer, he asked Kimbrough to retire because of his age and because "things are calm now." "If he was to retire, it would be best that he leave before the report comes out because, when it does, I don't know what might happen," said Gainer. McManis Associates, Inc., a Washington, D.C. management and research consulting firm, was in charge of the survey of the police department. According to Gainer, who said he had not seen the completed report, the results will be made public within a week or so. See MANAGER, Page 2 "'I have no objection to retirement ... I just don't appreciate the approach and the way it was handled." William Kimbrough

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Times Guide

Serving The City Beautiful Since 1926 4627 Ponce de Leon Boulevard Coral Gables Florida 33146 Florida's Best Suburban Newspaper Phone 665-7981 36 Pages Vol. 51 No. 2 Wednesday, January 5, 1977 10 Cents

Environmentalists meet in Gables to map strategy to save the bay

By KAY SEVERINSEN Staff Writer Rules that would permit drilling for oil or natural gas in Biscayne Bay were lambasted by environmentalists at a meeting with Florida Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officials Wednesday. "They (DNR) have twisted the law around to mean something it was never intended to mean," said Rep. John Cyril Malloy, who wrote the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve Act in 1974. Malloy's act was edited improperly after it passed the legislature and was then incorrectly interpreted by DNR officials to mean drilling would be permitted under certain circumstances, he said. Malloy is honorary chairman of Save the Bay, Inc., a caucus of representatives from groups concerned about the preser- See SAVE, Page 32

The Old Year's last baby . . . No fanfare but a last minute tax deduction

By KAY SEVERINSEN Staff Writer New Year's babies get free diapers, bank accounts and lifetime supplies of cod liver oil, but what about those born a few hours before midnight, Dec. 31? Their lucky parents not only have another smile around the house but they can deduct that new smile from their 1976 income tax, even though he was only around for a few hours that year. A number of families in South Dade had such a break, including Molly and Phillip Thibedeau, of 5650 SW 128th St., and Sheri and George Luthin, of 11145 SW 70th Terr. For the Thibedeau's, the arrival of Mark Raymond on Friday, Dec. 31, at 10:24 p.m. was a real surprise. They weren't expecting him for another 10 days. Weighing in at eight pounds, four ounces, Mark arrived on his grandfather's birthday, another happy surprise, Mrs. Thibedeau says. She and her husband used Awake and Aware, a non-anaesthetic birth method, and delivered Mark in about three hours. His parents had been waiting for Spencer George Luthin, for 11 days so the Luthins were well prepared when he was born at 2 p.m., Friday, Dec. 31. Spencer weighed seven pounds, 11 ounces. Sheri and George also used the Awake and Aware method. "It was fantastic to see our child come into the world," raves his father. "It's absolutely the best way you can do this." George admitted that he played a secondary role in the whole procedure, though. "I just tried to keep Sheri relaxed and give her positive waves." The Luthins have another little tax deduction, Brooke, aged four. Sheri Luthin holds her son Spencer, who was born on the last day of 1976.