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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-11-16 Bolstered by family ties, he showed some steel (Palm Beach Post)♦ ♦ HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL William T. Dwyer 11, Miami Edison 10 IN SPORTS MARLINS-ROCKIES TRADE Johnson, Hampton reportedly near deal IN SPORTS SUPER SOAPS WEEKEND 35 gorgeous stars! Thousands of screaming fans! IN ACCENT The Palm Beach Post Saturday, November 16, 2002 Final Edition • PalmBeachPost.com , `I missed cheerleaders the most.' MATT COUSINEAU, paralyzed Boca High football player who rejoined his team upon release from the hospital Staff photos by BOB SHANLEY Members of the Boca Raton High football team stuck a helmet on Matt Cousineau at halftime of their playoff game Fnday and paraded him on the field. Player's body broken, not his spirit Matt Cousineau, who broke his neck Sept. 8, revels with teammates. By LONA O'CONNOR Palm Beach Post Staff Writer HOLLYWOOD — It was a playoff game, but for one player it was homecoming, the biggest and best one of his life. Matt Cousineau shooed his mother away so he could roll his own wheelchair out onto the bumpy turf of the football field. His Boca Raton High School teammates yelped with delight as they caught sight of him, cheerleaders launched into an impromptu cheer and Cous- ineau, 18, was swept away in a sea of crayon -yellow jerseys. "I'll go in, I'll go in!" he joked from the sideline. Tivo grueling months of recuperation were forgotten. He was back with his boys, chewing tobacco, swear- ing like a truck driver and grin- ning nonstop, jubilant. Jackson Memorial nurse Earline Campbell kisses Cousineau on the cheek while he's being discharged Fnday after nearly two months in the hospital. It was Cousineau's first time back on a football field since a Sept. 8 water accident broke his neck and left him partially par- alyzed. "I missed cheerleaders the most," he told one teammate. He forced another one to stuff a chaw of tobacco in his cheek, since his own hands were not cooperating. He has limited use of his hands and has learned to move his body weight with the strength of his arms. His long- term prognosis is unclear, since the healing process usually takes a year. Doctors and physical thera- pists praised his tenacity in quickly mastering the wheel- chair and dozens of other daily tasks with only partial use of his hands. His youth and athletic ability are his best friends in the ongoing process of recovery, therapists said. After nearly two months of slogging through rehabilitation therapy at Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami Cousineau was discharged Fri- day afternoon. His prescription from Jackson neurologist Barth Green: "Get back with your friends " And so, barely an hour after arriving home in Delray Beach, Cousineau, along with his par- ents, 'Ibm and Lori, piled back into the car and headed south to Hollywood, where the Boca Bobcats were in a playoff game against McArthur High School. At halftime of the game Bo- ca eventually lost 27-22, his teammates stuck a helmet on his head and paraded him the length of the field. A hero's re- ward, though Cousineau, a sen- See PLAYER, 15A ► Hebron ambush kills 12 Israelis 50 cents Gunmen in the mostly Palestinian city target settlers returning from prayer and soldiers guarding them. By LARRY KAPLOW Palm Beach Pout Staff Writer HEBRON, West Bank — Palestinian gunman ambushed Jewish settlers and soldiers here Fri- day night, killing at least 12 Israelis and wound- ing 15. The attack in the divided and notoriously volatile West Bank city was likely to prompt a stiff Israeli military reaction and perhaps a new cycle of violence. The attack occurred about 7 p.m., when Jewish settlers near Hebron were walking from Sabbath prayers in a heavily guarded corridor through the predominantly Palestinian city. Hebron, with about 130,000 Palestinians, also is home to about 6,000 Jewish settlers, 450 of whom live in its downtown area. The settlers were reportedly walking along "worshipers' lane" from the 'Ibmb of the Patriarchs, holy to both Muslims and Jews as the location of the tomb of Abraham. They were headed from the nearly 900-year- old towering stone structure to the settlement of Kiryat Arba, adjacent to the city. The attack appeared to be a coordinated ambush that brought gunfire and grenades on the settlers and the soldiers escorting them. See MIDEAST, 11A ► States doing little to upgrade security after FBI warning By ELISABETH BUMILLER and JODI WILGOREN The New York Times WASHINGTON — White House officials said on Friday that they were taking extra precautions to protect the nation's most critical facilities from terronst assault after an FBI warning that Al- Qaeda may be planning "spectacular attacks" with mass casualties in the United States "A lot is being done to bring additional pro- tective measures, particularly to critical infra- structure," said Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's national security adviser, in a briefmg with reporters. White House officials said that by critical infrastructure, Rice meant nuclear plants, chemical plants, oil refineries, airports, railroads and bridges, among other potential targets. Despite the alert, however, domestic security chiefs from several states said on Friday that they had done little more this week than pass the warning on to local law enforcement agencies Sir TERROR. 9A ► IN L.A. CELL, POLITICAL PROFILE State Sen.-elect Jeff Atwater BOOKING FOR STARS Bolstered by family ties, 'he showed some steer In Room 7021, now occupied by Robert Blake, prisoners get beefsteak dinners and a view. By CHARLIE LeDUFF The New York Times LOSANGELES—There is no question as to which is the most exclusive penthouse apartment in the City of Lights. Among the amenities there are soaps, conditioners, razors. A continental breakfast is of- fered; a picnic -style lunch and a warm beefsteak dinner. The pillows are feather, the compli- ♦ mentary slippers are canvas, the bed garments orange. There is a library and plenty of solitude. The suite occupies a corner lot, the view is umque and the security is excellent. The bellhops dress in green and Copyright 2002 Palm Beath Put Vol. 33 No. 1& 5 asdlons M28I4t 10000 wear white gloves. All this at the very reason- able rate of $53 45 a night. Even so leave your wallet at the front desk Your money is no good here, taxpayers pick up the tab. Do not bother to call for reservations for Room 7021, for none are accepted. It is the do- micile reserved wholly for men whose reputations are drifting from famous to infamous and for a smaller circle of men whose actions are said to be so heinous even bad men despise them. Welcome to the Los Angeles See CELL, 8A ► By GEORGE BENNETT Palm Beach Pad SteWriter NORTH PALM BEACH — New state Senator and Repubhcan rising star Jeff Atwater's politi- cal blood comes from his mother. Patricia Atwater is the granddaughter of former Democratic Gov Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, the second cousin of former Democratic Gov. Cary Hardee and the daughter of New Deal -era Democratic National Committeewoman Enid Brow- ard Hardee. But her Old Florida Democratic heritage goes only a little ways toward explaining her Republican son. When she talks tennis, one understands a bit more At 76, Patncia Atwater still cuts an athletic figure and looks capable of zipping a forehand ground stroke past anyone who underestimates her. She was a tennis pro until a few years ago when her late husband became ill. See ATWATER, 10A ► • Atwater's political pedigree, 10A Weather: Showers storms likely. High 81 low 62 FORECAST ON BACK PAGE OF SPORTS DEAR ABBY 2D BUSINESS IE CLASSIFIED 2F COMICS 10D CROSSWORD 9D CROSSWORD 7F DEATHS 10C EDnORIALS 22A HOROSCOPE 2D LOTTERY 2A PEOPLE 17A SCORES 118 STOCKS 3E THEATERS 3D TV LISTINGS 9D WEATHER 12B FOR HOME DELIVERY CALL 561-820-4663 NETS 93 H8( Malvo won't get better treatment For latest developments in the sniper case, visit PalmBeachPost.com • Jeff Atwater sits in front of family photos in the liv! Beach house with sister Patti Unruh (left), ano Iraq inspections start accelerated Viewing of alleged weapons sites expected to start Nov. 27. Story, 3A County has first West Nile victim Offlciaib believe a n►IW, 49, caught the disease from a mosquito. Local, IC • 10A THE PALM BEACH POST • SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2002 Politics runs in Jeff Atwater's family His connections, past... Jeff Atwater's mother, Patricia, comes from a line of prominent Democrats. But his father was a lifelong Republican. . • . and present One sister is married to influential lobbyist Hugo Unruh. Gov. Napoleon Broward. Jeff Atwater's great-grandfather. The Democrat served from 1905 to 1909. Broward County Is named for him. Gov. Cary Hardee, Jeff Atwater's mother's second cousin. The Democrat served from 1921 to 1925. Hardee County is named for him. Enld Broward Hardee, Jeff Atwater's maternal grandmother She was a Democratic National Committeewoman in the 1930s and '40s. John Atwater and Patricia Hardee Atwater, Jeff Atwater's parents She came from a Democratic family; he was a Republican who was a World War II fighter pilot, FBI agent and later public safety director in North Palm Beach, where the family has lived since 1966. John Atwater died in August 2001 at age 77. Jeff Atwater is the fifth of their six children. Jeff Atwater 44, is a banker who served on the North Palm Beach Village Council in 1993-94. He was elected to the state House as a Republican in 2000 and to the state Senate Nov. 5. Patti Unruh, one of Jeff Atwater's older sisters, ran the grass -roots portion of his House and Senate campaigns. She's married to prominent lobbyist Hugo Unruh and is a high school friend of County Commissioner Karen Marcus. Barbara Jeanne 'B.J.' Atwater, Jeff Atwater's younger sister, is active in Democratic politics in Missoun, most recent- ly as manager of the state Democratic Party's coordinated campaign. `I'm going to stay focused on going the distance' ► ATWATER from 1A "I've always been good at sports," she says. "That's a problem with me. I like to win. I don't like to be second." Jeff Atwater showed some of that same competitive drive in Florida's most closely watched and lavishly financed state legislative race Atwater overcame a double-digit poll- ing deficit to defeat popular Democratic Attorney General Bob Butterworth for the Dis- trict 25 Senate seat. Atwater, 44, will be sworn in Tuesday in Tallahassee. Bare -knuckle TV ads marked the Atwater - Butterworth contest and sur- prised some who regarded Atwater as an affable, easygo- ing state House freshman — the kind of guy remembered by one of his sisters for never arguing line calls when he played in youth tennis tourna- ments "I was glad to see his strong backbone that he showed," says John R. Smith, chairman of the Economic Council's Business Political Action Committee. "Jeff won that race because he showed some steel. He didn't back away or bend when the chal- lenge came.' "I thought he was a very genteel person... . I did not expect that kind of campaign out of Jeff Atwater,' says state Sen. Ron Klein, D Delray Beach, who headed the Senate campaign effort for Florida Democrats. "It was disappointing." Atwater's ads depicting Butterworth as a tax hiking liberal were "misleading," Klein says. And he says ads by a mysterious outside group attacking Butterworth's wife's business dealings were out of bounds. Atwater, who compiled a conservative, pro -business record as a rookie House member, makes no apology for the tax ads. He agrees with Klein about the attacks by a group called People for Integ- rity in Government — but says he had nothing to do with them. A grieving family united Butterworth aired some controversial ads as well, sug- gesting in one spot that Atwa- ter voted to let children take guns to school. That charge, extrapolated from Atwater's vote for a 1,800-page educa- tion bill, led to an Atwater re- sponse ad accusing Butter- worth of "attacking Jeff Atwater and his family. ' Claiming his family had been wronged sounded like candidate hyperbole. But it's difficult to separate family from Atwater or his campaign. Patricia Atwater walked precincts and put up signs for her son. Her daughter Patti Unruh — the wife of lobbyist Hugo Unruh and longtime friend of County Commis- sioner Karen Marcus — ran her younger brother's impres- sive grass -roots operation. Carole Atwater, the candi- date's wife, enlisted her friends to stuff envelopes at the family's dining room table Jeff Atwater's brother Mike and sister Enid helped as well. Family members networked with business associates, col lege friends, church and PTA members and others to woo voters and recruit about 300 campaign volunteers It became a kind of family therapy, Patti Unruh says, af- ter her father died of cancer in August 2001. Four of John and Patricia Atwater's six children still live in North Palm Beach. They get together frequently, but the gatherings had be- come painful after John At- water died. "This was good for us," Patti Unruh says of her broth- er's campaign. "It was great for my mom. She knocked on more doors than anyone." BILL INGRAM/Staff Photographer Jeff Atwater and family members celebrate his state Beach. Atwater, who defeated Democratic Attorney Senate victory Nov. 5 at the Sheraton in West Palm General Bob Butterworth, will be sworn in Tuesday. 'I always sald to Jeff, If we can get you In front of people, they'll never vote for Bob Butterworth.' PATTI UNRUH Jeff Atwater's sister John Atwater was a World War II fighter pilot and FBI agent who moved the family to North Palm Beach in 1966. When he retired from the FBI in 1978, he became public safety director in North Palm Beach. While Patricia Atwa- ter often spoke proudly of her family's Democratic history, John Atwater was a Republi- can who didn't talk much about partisan politics. But he often spoke of hard work, re- sponsibility and patriotism. Despite their partisan differences, both parents shared conservative views. Lifelong Democrat Patricia Atwater felt her party lost its moral compass during the Bill Clinton -Monica Lewinsky scandal. She switched her registration to Republican in 1999. "What I hated most was the Democratic Party did not want him impeached and stood behind his not taking responsibility," Patricia Atwa- ter says. Jeff Atwater, the fifth child, grew up with a sense of responsibility, his mother re- calls. She remembers him earning money as a teenager by mowing lawns, delivering papers and busing tables. With their mother's encour- agement, Jeff and younger sister, Barbara Jeanne known as B J. and now active in Democratic politics in Missouri — took up tennis and often competed in tour- naments. Jeff Atwater didn't see athletics as cutthroat compe- tition, his mother says, but 'learned to get along with kids" by playing sports. "He was good at them, but he's not — I mean, he likes to play them but it doesn't control his life ' B.J., who would attend Flagler College on a tennis scholarship, had more talent — and fire. "You could hear her (B.J.) three courts away if some- body gave her a bad line call," Patti Unruh recalls. 'Jeff would be like, 'It's your call.' " It's not that he was a milquetoast, Jeff Atwater in- sists. It's just that he saw a tennis match the way he would later view his banking career or his political cam- paigns — as lengthy battles. "It wasn't worth arguing over one lousy call " he says. Besides, opponents would of- ten make a bad call on pur- pose as a "psyche job" to try to get him to loose his cool. He wouldn't play that game. I knew there were people that would serve harder or have a better ground stroke," Atwater says, "but I'm going to run down every ball and stay focused on going the dis- tance." After playing on the tennis team at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Atwater went to the University of Florida. He tried out for the school's nationally ranked tennis team but didn't make it. He succeeded elsewhere. Atwater was a resident assis- tant in a dorm, president of his fraternity and a member of the Blue Key honor society. He graduated with a finance degree in 1981 and was hired by Barnett Bank in Jackson ville. Atwater rose through the management ranks and by 1991 returned to Palm Beach County as a director of retail banking. He was elected to the North Palm Beach Village Council in 1993 but resigned in 1994 to move to Vero Beach to be president and chief ex- ecutive officer for Barnett's Treasure Coast operations. By 1996 he was president and CEO of Barnett's Broward County operations. He returned to Palm Beach County in 1998 when NationsBank acquired Bar- nett and Atwater became a senior vice president. He's now head of Palm Beach County operations for River- side National Bank. When a north -county state House seat came open in 2000, Atwater ran against business- man Carl Domino and school librarian Helen Zientek in the GOP primary. Domino spent more than $248,000 to Atwa- ter's $147,000 in the primary. But Atwater ran a methodical campaign with sister Patti or- ganizing the door-to-door can- vassing He astounded his ri- vals and many observers by getting 71.2 percent to win the three-way, then polled 57.6 percent in the general election to win the seat. Personality, not just cash Atwater quickly made friends in Tallahassee. His lo- cal colleagues made him chairman of the Palm Beach County legislative delegation this year. When the GOP - controlled legislature drew new post -census political boundaries, influential state Sen. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, suggested carving a Senate seat for freshman House member Atwater. With state Sen. Debby Sanderson, R-Fort Lauderdale, falling out of favor with the GOP leader- ship, legislators redrew her Broward-dominated coastal Senate district to make it one dominated by Palm Beach County tbters and tailor-made for Atwater. Atwater filed to challenge Sanderson. After a few months, she dropped out. With Democrat Bonnie Weaver the only other candi- date in a GOP -dominated dis- trict, Atwater seemed to have an easy ride to the Senate But the day before the candidate filing period closed in July, term -limited Attorney Gener- al Butterworth shocked the political establishment by fil- ing for the seat. Atwater was an instant underdog. Early Republican polls showed him trailing by about 20 points. But the state GOP, seeing the Republican tilt of the district and hoping to knock off a prominent Democrat who might one day run for governor, invested big bucks in Atwater. The party paid for TV ads and a mailing in early September to boost Atwater's profile in the dis- trict. But Atwater knew that if he didn't gain in the polls, the party would spend its money elsewhere. By early October, polls showed Atwater within striking distance. The GOP ponied up more money. Between the $735,538 At- water raised and the money spent by the GOP and People for Integrity in Government, Democrats estimate Atwater had more than $3 million in backing to approximately $1 million for Butterworth. The GOP says $3 million sounds high, but won't reveal how much it spent. Patti Unruh disputes that money alone won the race for her brother. The campaign knocked on more than 20,000 doors and got Atwater in front of numerous groups. "I always said to Jeff, if we can get you in front of people, they'll never vote for Bob Butterworth," Unruh says. She organized neighborhood walks four nights a week and on Sundays in key precincts And she mined her contacts, especially in Broward County where Atwater was less known, to set up appearances before groups of voters. The Atwater campaign sought out people like Jack Cooney, president of an um- brella group of 36 condo as- sociations in Lauderdale -By - The -Sea. Atwater set up a meeting, made a good im- pression and asked Cooney for the names of other people to meet. Then he called them. He met with Lauderdale -By - The Sea voters at an outdoor breakfast event. While Atwater was per- sonally connecting with vot- ers, Cooney says: "I don't think anybody saw Butter- worth at all here. And it showed in the voting." Another person working for Atwater in Broward Coun- ty was Julie Novakovic, a PTA vice president and genuine soccer mom with three kids in youth leagues. She is not a political or civic activist. But she was a sorority sister of Patti Unruh at the University of Florida. She ended up walking her Coral Ridge neighborhood handing out literature several weekends, organizing volunteers to stand outside a precinct on Election Day and helping host a meet -and -greet party that about 70 of her neighbors at- tended. 'All my friends that went there, they said after they met him they were strongly going to vote for him," Novakovic says. "I never ran into anybody from Butterworth's campaign. I know they were out there. I thought I would run into But- terworth people, but I didn't." Atwater ended up winning not only his base of Palm Beach County with 56.5 per- cent of the vote but also But- terworth's home turf of Brow- ard County with 53 percent. His overall 55.2 percent showing against one of the state's most recognized Dem- ocrats had Florida Republi- cans crowing "It was a really big deal," says state GOP spokesman Towson Fraser. "We had someone we believe is an up- and-coming star in the Re- publican Party in a Republi- can district, and the Demo- crats thought they could come in and take it. It meant a lot to win it — and win it decisive- „ y Though officially certi- fied as an up-and-coming star by his party, Atwater won't indulge in speculation about his political future. "There's a level of respon- sibility that comes with this seat," Atwater says, "to show that we can do more than just run a campaign, that we can serve as we did in the House." 0 george_bennett@pbpost.com What Sign Are You? Get your daily horoscope from Joyce Jilson in Accent. PRESS Ts GIGANTIC ART SALE 0 0 THIS SUNDAY ONLY 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. All First Quality Original Oil Paintings 00 OPEN TO THE PUBLIC ONST V ALL PAINTINGS UNDER Includes Giant 24' x36" Sofa Size Oil Paintings. Over 2 000 Original Oil Paintings to Choose From. WHY PAY MORE! Buy direct from America's largest framessaler Join the of original oil paintings and p icurethousands of our satisfied customers. FREE ADMISSION • FREE PARKING WiiMl� Palm Beach Airport Hilton y� 'ram Southern Blvd. & 1 95 Personal Checks ki �Is S and HICKEY - FREEMAN John Catalina of Hickey Freeman, will be in our shop to personally present their new clothing collection. 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