Sebastian Sun from Sebastian, Florida • 4

4A Sebastian Sun Week of April 23 1999 FAMILY a P'S NEIGHBORS Bv Steve Newman EARTH WEEK: A Diarv of the Planet Q- 4 fd avftnjts 34 VellSV5 Os ee fNawanrhab Ki i Pakistan -3r Pakistan Wildfires Windy and dry weather raised the threat of wildfires across the southeastern United States where flames have already charred thousands of acres of forest and brush Residents of 60 homes near the western North Carolina town of Wilkes boro were placed underan evacuation order as a large forest fire raced through the area Florida Governor Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency after an index of fire potential in the state rose above 600 on a scale where 400 denotes significant danger The state was ravaged by massive blazes last summer Cuban firefighters brought one of the country's largest forest fires on record under control but not before it had devastated 19770 acres of pine and eucalyptus forest In Pinar del Rio province of For the week ending April 16 1999 caused hazardous air pollution Species Confusion A Spanish pig that had been raised as a dog went A into a depression when It Record Heat Blistering temperatures were recorded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on April 8 with midday heat in the shade reaching 111 degrees Fahrenheit The maximum was the highest reached for the month of April since reliable records began in 1974 The previous record was 110 degrees in 1980 Such high readings are normally expected during the summer months when large parts of the Arabian peninsula regularly reach 122 degrees Bengal Storms At least 12 people are dead hundreds of others Injured and dozens left missing after three days of severe storms in southern Bangladesh The storms pounded the region with heavy rainfall and winds up to 60 mph Power poles were uprooted and homes flattened by the powerful gales according to Moyezuddin Khan District Commissioner of Bhola district on the southern coast Spring Twisters I At least six people were L-ji killed dozens hospitalized i-1 and hundreds of homes destroyed after a tornado packing winds of more than 250 mph cut a 25-block swath of destruction through Cincinnati's northeastern suburbs Tornadoes hail and thunderstorms also pounded six other Midwestern states Eruption Molten lava flowing from Mount Cameroon missed the homes of 1 000 people who had been evacuated after the volcano began erupting on March 28 Residents of Bakinguili and Batoke had been ordered to leave when a river of lava began moving toward their homes But the molten rock shifted direction and headed toward the Atlantic Ocean away from populated areas of the west-central African nation Recent eruptions have contaminated water and Deforestation Victims China now has fewer than 20 Siberian tigers living in its wilderness and researchers blame their disappearance on a loss of habitat caused by deforestation The latest findings emerged from a two-month joint study by wildlife experts from China the United States and Russia The study focused on the major tiger habitats of Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces in northeastern China Heilongjiang has only five to eight wild Siberian tigers with about 10 living in the wild of neighboring Jilin Earthquakes Two days of minor tremors in metropolitan Los Angeles rattled nerves and set off car alarms but caused no significant damage Earth movements were also felt in northern Tunisia northern Greece Taiwan and Fiji was forced to live with other pigs Madrid's daily Mundo reported The owners of the176-pound male pig Trufo had treated it like a pet dog walking It on a leash feeding It milk and biscuits washing It with shampoo and teaching it to sit on its back feet But when the owners moved to France the one-year-old porker was left at a pig farm near Madrid where it fell into a month-long depression because it could not stand the bad smells and the pig fodder rufo was finally cheered up by the arrival of a female and assumed his role as a pig But he still expects to be kissed goodnight the newspaper reported Additional Sourcoo: U8 National Earth-quaka Information Cantor and tha Undid Nationa Wortd Uotoomkgical Organization Jerry Mekler The Sun Mosaic tile artists Joseph DiStefano and his wife Kay admire a new work recently in their Sebastian home Dying art preserved by Sebastian couple most of which are imported from Italy the DiStefanos work as many as six hours a day According to DiStefano the only way a student may learn the art is through intensive individual training from only a master He says that no art school teaches die kind of ancient mosaic work they currently do That is why he feels it is so important that he and his wife continue the tradition Kay DiStefano a former school teacher has been learning from Joseph for the past four years and savs she is nowhere near being entirely comfortable with the craft However she is proud of the few works that she has completed on her own as is her husband has come a long way and I A dying 2000-year-old art form that began in Italy and Greece is getting a well-deserved reprieve from a Sebastian couple who are among a handful of mosaic tile artists worldwide still phing this ancient trade Seventy-two-year-oid Joseph DiStefano and his wife Kay may be the onlv such artists in Florida who painstakingly create large framed multicolored tiled murals from tiny Venetian tiles Joseph DiStefano has been creating mosaic art for more than 43 years and as he modestly put it have yet to learn everything there is to know about this His love for mosaics traces back Local briefs dren's Discovery Center Christ By The Sea Preschool Child Care Center Head Start of Indian River County (seven locations) First Baptist Church Preschool For Kids Only of Veto Beach Komcr Day Care Center Kidz Place Preschool La Petite Acadcmv Learning Nest Preschool Maitland Farm Preschool Miss Day Care Center and Pre-School Childcare and Preschool I and II of Verolnc Redlands Christian Migrant Association (four locations) Redeemer Lutheran Preschool Ross Small World Child Care St Child Development Center Sebastian Private Elementary and Preschool Suncoast Primary School The Place Tiny Treasures Childcare TLC Preschool of Sebastian Inc Treasure Coast Montessori Schoollnc and Child Care and Preschool I and II can last event of the season will be a at Hobart Park at 12:30 pm May 4 Food and games will be available for all Call Eleanor Glen for tickets 664-1881 Brevard Orchestra to present Mozart The Brevard Community Chorus ami Orchestra conducted by Robert Lamb will present Requiem at 8 pm May 1 in the King Center fix the Performing Arts Featured soloists for the evening will be Kristen Hanley soprano Linda Ghising mezzo-soprano Frederick Kilgallin tenor and Gary Johanning baritone Tickets are S15 fen: adults $10 for students and seniors and are available by calling the King Center Bax Office at 242-2219 forts the Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition and die Indian River County Department of Health have presented each center with a certificate of achievement Each center is protecting its children and the community by ensuring that all preschool children in the center are fully immunized IRG Healthy Start Coalition and IRC Department of Health are also cooperating on another joint project TLC Newborn which is funded through a grant from the United Way Success by 6 Initiative TLC Newborn provides supportive phone calls and educational mailings to new parents For more information about this free service for Indian River County parents please call TLC Newborn at (561) 770-5419 Polish American Club picnic Bay Polish Ameri County praises child-care centers In recognition ofPre-K Immunization Week Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition and Indian River County Health Department are honoring licensed childcare centers in Indian River Countv that have reached a 100 rate of immunization among their preschool children Florida law now requires that all preschool children attending childcare centers licensed by the Department of Children and Families nave up-to-date immunizations Senior Community Health Nurse Caroline Greathouse has been assisting die childcare centers with this mandate and has announced that children in all of the following centers are fully immunized: ALTI Wa-basso Child Development Center Bright Promises Preschool Chil to a casual meeting with an art professor and master of mosaic art (one of four or five masters in the world) who began teaching him while he was still employed at Pratt and Whitney Gxp in West Palm Beach as a systems analyst Both natives of Florida the DiStefanos moved to Sebastian from Boca Raton four years ago and set up a workshop in their garage to continue their love of the ait Now a master himself DiStefano has distinguished himself in art circles for the beauty and rarity of his work Today more titan 140 examples of this work are displayed or owned throughout the state and in other parts of the world The murals which look like rare oil paintings cover such subjects as seascapes lighthouses birds and religious themes Locally three of his murals are on display at the Sebastian Chamber of Commerce and a number have been shown in churches and museums in the Sebastian area Other areas where his works have been shown include the Melbourne Airport a government building in gallery centlv completed religious work entitled will for the first time be shown on the Internet through a Cultural Alliance Website Since each tile is hand-cut and hand-placed in the piece it often takes 300-400 hours to complete one mural DiStefano said Wonting from thousands of different tiles am very proud of Joseph said am delighted that she chose to follow this wonderful art and that there exists one more artist who can eventually teach others This is the only way we can keep it He sap he teaches Kay through a system much like ESP where he says voice I connect with the DiStefano sadly admits that the source of the tiles which is primarily in Italy is fading fast Where once there were dozens of Italian sources to his knowledge there is only one factory remaining still producing this special type of mosaic tile Because of the time demands of their work the DiStefanos have no other hobbies or pastimes They admit that they have made the time to walk a mile every day and Joseph a former semi-pro football player stays in pretty good shape Currently DiStefano is embarking on a lecture tour that gives him an opportunity to talk to senior and community groups about the lost art of mosaic tiling And he and Kay plan to return to Italy to a town called Avilla where he says he inherited a centuries-old castle He says he has no plans as yet for the castle but a good bet that he'll open up some sort of artistic avenue in his attempt to keep the art of mosiacs alive Anyone wishing additional information regarding purchasing or displaying his work can call DiStefano at Mosaics (561) 388-4038 To recognize them for their ef- The NEIL STACY Old South Sales Family Owned and Operated since February 1992 Best Selection Best Prices Free 90 Day 3000 Mile Warranty with Sale Subaru Wagon? Loaded Aj Must SEE Puzzle Answers Puzzle on page 6A Cars Trucks Sales Vans Utility Old Solltt? SalGS Leasing 916 US 1 Sebastian 589-2021 106021stStVero Beach 563-9692 DID YOU KNOW? RECYCLABLE! For more information about recycling call 770-5298 Ntnet-nine cents of every dollar contributed to the United Way of Indian River County stays In the county supporting 28 agencies and touching one out of three residents I I I.