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Serving The City Beautiful Since 1926 Florida's Best Suburban Newspaper 4627 Ponce de Leon Boulevard Coral Gables Florida 33146 Phone 665-7981

40 Pages Vol. 51 No. 6 Wednesday, January 19, 1977 * * 10 Cents

Poem to Jimmy gets her an invite, but D.C.'s too cold

Margaret Taub of West Miami proudly holds the invitation to the Presidential Inauguration she received last week. She got the surprise invitation after writing President-elect Jimmy Carter a letter and a poem. Guess who that smiling fella is. Photo by KAY SEVERINSEN By KAY SEVERINSEN Staff Writer Mrs. Margaret Taub was not expecting the big white envelope in her mailbox last week. Stamped with the seal of the Inauguration Committee, the envelope contained an invitation to President-elect Jimmy Carter's inauguration on Thursday. "I was just so flabbergasted, I had to sit down in a chair," bubbles Mrs. Taub. "I couldn't believe it, why me?" Maybe it's because Mrs. Taub wrote Carter a poem and a letter of encouragement during his campaign. But she won't be going to the ceremony. "I would have to go out and get winter clothes and a coat, it's cold up there," she says. "And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I don't want to go to a hotel by myself, or eat alone in some big strange dining room." The invitation was for one person, she says. When Carter was nominated, she wrote him a letter of encouragement. "I just told him what I felt, and how glad I was we were going to have a new government and new leadership." Just after his election, Mrs. Taub wrote Carter a poem about his new job and how she would like to ease the burdens of the presidency. She proudly shows a postcard of Carter, with a hand-written note from him thanking her for her strong support.

Reaction to survey varies among Gables officials

By ANA MARIA ALVAREZ Staff Writer The former chief of police thinks the recommendations in a survey of the Coral Gables Police Department can only ruin the city's law enforcement organization. Coral Gables City Manager J. Martin Gainer, on the other hand, thinks the observations made in the report can only help to improve what he termed a "very good and very outstanding police department." Coral Gables Mayor Robert B. Knight said the report, perhaps the first of its kind ever conducted in the city, was very good and the first of many to be conducted in other city departments. According to the survey, conducted by a Washington, D.C. firm, Coral Gables residents are paying much more than they should for the level of police service they receive. The study blamed weak and outmoded management practices for such inefficiencies. The report also stated that the police department in the City Beautiful provides a high level of service—responding to virtually all calls from residents—and has low response time. "I think it is a professionally prepared report," said Knight. "I don't think it is highly critical of the police department. It states that the department maintains the standards and level of service that the citizens of Coral Gables desire. The report is being studied and evaluated before any decisions are made, according to Gainer. "It would be premature to make any decisions at the present time," said Gainer. "I think it was a fine and very professional report, and we will be making decisions about the recommendations at a later date." Among the 16 recommendations made in the report—and perhaps the most controversial—was a 12 per cent reduction of personnel. "A reduction in personnel would be very, very bad in my opinion," said William G. Kimbrough, retired Coral Gables Chief of Police. "The residents of Coral See MANAGER, Page 10

Ma Bell gives residents in SD wrong number

By KAY SEVERINSEN Staff Writer For two years, Ted Mason, Sharon Scharbert and Sheila Goldberg of Kendale Lakes have been paying 25 cents a month too much for their telephone service. And Southern Bell doesn't know how many others there are like them. "When I first moved here five years ago," says Mason, "we were told that there would be a mileage fee because we lived so far away from a switching station. But last year they built one at 107th Avenue and Kendall Drive and our rate didn't change." Mason says he didn't notice that he was still paying extra until the rates were published a couple of weeks ago. Mason pays $13.10 each month and says he should be paying $11.85 if the new switching station is servicing his neighborhood. It is, says Bob Self of Southern Bell, and it has been in operation since February, 1975. The company will now credit Mason for $6 for the past two years. Mrs. Scharbert and Mrs. See LAKES, Page 4

A peek inside

The pianist Ivan Davis, who can really make a piano cry, talks about his first love — music — and about his other passions — TV sports and cooking. See story, Page 18 The winningest And then there's Duff Daily. To the chagrin of other powerboat racers, the young South Miamian won another one. See story, page 36