============================================================ DIGITAL DIGEST � http://www.naplesnews.com � December 31, 2004 ============================================================ Subscribe to the Naples Daily News: http://web.naplesnews.com/circulation/ TRAGEDY IN ASIA: QUESTIONS REMAIN FOR COLLIER WOMAN WHO SURVIVED CATASTROPHY You can see it in her face. Her dark eyes are glossy from tears. They're weary from the nightmares that keep her awake at night. You can see it on her fingers. Her nails on her right hand are broken, all ripped away during her struggle to stay above the gushing water. Valerie Leclercq displays her right hand like she's showing off a ring. But instead she looks at her jagged nails. TRAGEDY IN ASIA: TEXT-MESSAGED RUMORS KEEP NERVES ON EDGE PHUKET, Thailand � Word over text messages Thursday afternoon on this tourist destination island off Thailand's southwestern coast was of another tidal wave heading toward shore, one not as large as the series of tsunamis that hit on Sunday, but a wave, nonetheless. There was another earthquake, this one in the Bay of Bengal off India, came another message. The town of Patong had been entirely evacuated, read the message that came over a cell phone. YEAR IN REVIEW: 2004 WAS THE YEAR OF THE HURRICANES Most will remember 2004 as the Year of the Hurricanes but Collier County had its share of other stories that people won't soon forget � the suicide of a prominent attorney who had faced child sex charges and the surprising resignation of the public schools superintendent. Yet nothing could compare with four major hurricanes brushing by the county from Aug. 13 � when Hurricane Charley struck to the north � to a month later when Hurricane Jeanne pummeled the east coast and missed Collier by a few hundred miles. SHERIFF HUNTER'S APPEAL HAS INFREQUENT PRECEDENT TALLAHASSEE � Collier County Sheriff Don Hunter's budget appeal to the Florida Cabinet is not unprecedented but does represent a rare maneuver afforded sheriffs and is taken up reluctantly by the governor and other top state officials. Law enforcement representatives and former members say the Cabinet rarely is required to act on such cases, which are usually resolved before they reach the panel. DEPUTIES: MAN STUNNED ADMITTED USING COCAINE The 19-year-old Fort Myers man who died nearly eight hours after being hit with a Taser stun gun by Collier County sheriff's deputies told hospital officials that he had taken cocaine while at a North Naples club just before his encounter with law officers. New information on the death of Christopher Hernandez, including his suspected drug use at Club Zero and the presence of a loaded handgun and two black ski masks found in the car he was a passenger in, was released Thursday evening by sheriff's officials. Get details on all these stories and more at http://www.naplesnews.com PERSPECTIVE: GUEST EDITORIAL: NEW YEAR'S EVE -- GOOD RIDDANCE TO 2004 Get thee behind us, 2004. It was hardly the worst of years, but it was a year of economic readjustment, of hellish war in Iraq and of a presidential contest that seemed as if it would never end. Time passes slowly when you are in pain, and the political pain was considerable because of the anger on both sides and a division between Americans that seemed to grow wider daily. See more of today�s Perspective stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/perspective BUSINESS: ZIGZAG NOT JUST HOW PEOPLE WALK ON NEW YEAR'S EVE This holiday weekend, you may not have to call your partying short, even if you drove to the New Year's celebration yourself. There is a new alternative to leaving your car parked in front of the bar or at a friend's house in case you sipped one too many cocktails. And it also eliminates having to get a friend or taxi to take you back the next morning to pick up your car. See more of today�s Business stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/business NEAPOLITAN: REVIEW: "THE KING AND I" IS A LATE CHRISTMNAS GIFT Sometimes, the gifts that arrive after Christmas are the best. That's definitely the case with "The King and I," playing at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall in Fort Myers through Jan. 2. This gem of a show is lovingly and lavishly wrapped in gorgeous costumes, intricate sets and a marvelous myriad fabrics, colors, patterns, designs and textures. The actors, however, are not at all upstaged because they possess such immense talent. See more of today�s Neapolitan stories at http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/neapolitan
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