One of my favorite photos. Palmetto Bay's finest capturing a non-native snake in 2005.

The capture of the 13 foot python in Palmetto Bay on Christmas Day provides me with the opportunity to share one of my favorite photos taken during my two terms as founding mayor. This photo was taken on October 12, 2005, and shows one of Palmetto Bay's original policing unit officers and high school friend, Ofc Randy DiStefano, participating in the capture of a non-native snake.  I believe this snake was captured on Franjo road in the parking lot of a former grocery store, where Palmetto Bay's village hall building now stands.  If I'm correct, this is not too far from where the 13-foot Burmese python was captured on Christmas day.  Are the snakes both part of an existing feral colony of snakes in the area or both recently escaped pets?  Regardless, both are examples of the extent of the problem.

Officer Distefano passed away on December 5th, 2007, after battling cancer.  Officer Randy DiStefano was also a Palmetto Bay resident with his wife, Rose.  He will always be remembered as a friend as well as an original member of the Palmetto Bay Policing Unit and as Palmetto Bay's first motorcycle patrolman within the Palmetto Bay policing unit. We miss you Randy!