Week in review

MCKITRICK TEACHER IS A "SURVIVOR': First-grade teacher Jan Gentry disappeared in June after telling co-workers she was headed to Texas to care for her ill mother. But once friends saw their noticeably thinner colleague at McKitrick Elementary's back-to-school barbecue, the questions began.

Gentry, 53, had been on the remote island of Koh Tarutao off the southern coast of Thailand, earning a place in pop culture history as one of 16 contestants on the reality TV show Survivor: Thailand.

"We sort of figured it out," said McKitrick principal Lisa Yost, who knew Gentry had applied for the show.

CBS officials on Thursday released the names of the 16 contestants in the fifth edition of Survivor, which debuts Sept. 19. In the reality TV game show, participants face harsh deprivations in an isolated environment under constant camera scrutiny, voting one of their number off every three days. The final winner, chosen by a "jury" of ejected contestants, wins $1-million.

Gentry, a mother of five, said that "age is not a factor" in a video clip aired Thursday on Inside Edition. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Gentry moved to the Tampa area in 1998, working first at Bellamy Elementary School and then at McKitrick.

"I think she could teach a brick to read," Yost said, adding that Gentry wants to make sure the Survivor hype doesn't overwhelm her students.

HAGAN'S NO-SHOWS BECOME AN ISSUE: Where was Ken Hagan on Monday night? Home in New Tampa, caring for his 5-month-old son Jake? Or at Raymond James Stadium, rooting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Hagan wasn't at a political debate in Temple Terrace, attended by all five of his fellow candidates for a north Hillsborough seat on the County Commission. It was at least the fourth debate Hagan missed.

Hagan said he looks forward to debating his rivals, but is needed to care for his baby. But Jennifer Motsinger, campaign manager for opponent Denise Lasher, said she saw Hagan at the stadium.

Hagan, 34, said his wife, not he, attended the game. Back in Temple Terrace, candidate Jim Davison challenged the absent Hagan to debate "any time and anywhere." Davison said later that Hagan's absences "brings the person's character into doubt."

Hagan's credibility also came into question when the St. Petersburg Times asked him to remove two past Times articles from his campaign Web site. Each had been stripped of sentences mentioning Hagan's opponents; one was missing more than 13 paragraphs. Hagan said he had never read the articles on his Web site, and didn't know they had been doctored. The articles were gone by Wednesday.

COUNTRYWAY DRIVER RELEASED FROM JAIL: Driving a souped-up sports car, Richard Delrio hit and killed a young mother as she pushed her newborn girl across the street in November 2000. Jurors decided it was vehicular homicide. But a judge tossed out the jury's verdict on Monday, calling the death an accident and setting 19-year-old Delrio free.

Prosecutors said Delrio ran a stop sign in his Mitsubishi Eclipse and cut a corner too sharply when he struck 26-year-old Michele Calta, whose last act before death was to push the baby in the stroller to safety. Defense attorney Joe Episcopo told the judge the death was the result of Delrio's "inattentiveness," rather than criminal recklessness, and criticized the jury's finding of guilt as "an emotional verdict."

Hillsborough Circuit Judge J. Rogers Padgett agreed that there was no criminal act.

Michael Calta, the victim's brother-in-law, said his family was "shocked and devastated" by the ruling.

WHARTON FCATS FOUND: School officials have found the 47 missing FCAT tests from Wharton High School, but the affected students may still have to retake the exam. The tests turned up at their destination, in the Iowa City offices of NCS Pearson, the company contracted to grade the state's Florida Comprehensive Assessment Tests. They were found in a box marked "Do Not Score," said schools spokesman Mark Hart. So nobody scored them.

Officials say the critical mistake apparently occurred at Wharton High. The 47 students had missed the initial administration of the test and also missed the first makeup exam. That's why their test booklets were marked "Do Not Score." The designation was supposed to be changed after the students took the test. That didn't happen.

Although school officials are trying to grade the tests in time, they are warning students to assume they will have to retake the FCAT in October.

BUSCH TO CLOSE DOLPHIN SHOW: After 22 years of wowing and soaking audiences, the Dolphins of the Deep show at Busch Gardens will close Sept. 2. The dolphins, two sea lions, two otters and their trainers will move to Orlando's Sea World.

Busch promoters hope to pump up enthusiasm from the younger set with a new exhibit called Haunted Lighthouse, a 25-minute adventure film based on a story by R.L. Stine, author of the popular Goosebumps books. It's set to open next spring.

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