News
This Memorial Day, consider helping this WW II veteran meet his goal
May 27, 2016
BY SUE ERWIN – The GoFundMe account to help send a Veteran to the 75th anniversary of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 2016, has grown to nearly $1,000 in the past 16 days. Help is still needed to send En…
Chamber announces new officers, dates for Ladies Day and WRTT announced
May 27, 2016
The Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce has announced that new officers were elected at their monthly meeting on Wednesday, May 25, and that dates for the 2017 Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament and the…
Kids Classic to be held June 4 … it’s not too late to sign up!
May 27, 2016
■ STAFF REPORT – The Gasparilla Island Kids Classic roster is filling up fast, with 29 boats signed up so far to fish the world’s great kids’ fishing tournament. There is still time to get your team…
Sundown puts the rest to bed at WRTT
May 27, 2016
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE – Capt. Timmy Smith hadn’t caught a lot of tarpon this season up to the time of the 2016 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament, held last week on Thursday and Friday, May 19 and 20…
Manatees ‘making merry’ leave beachgoers concerned
May 27, 2016
■ BY SUE ERWIN – Boca Grande resident Tom Shaffer was taking his regular morning stroll on the beach around 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 14 when he noticed a peculiar group of manatees frolicking in very…
Cars in the trees, a battery and a theft reported
May 27, 2016
■ STAFF REPORT – The sheriff’s office activity log for the island has been a little busier lately, with a vehicle accident, an assault and a theft reported recently. On Friday, May 13 at appr…
Lemon Bay soccer star with island ties keeps going strong
May 27, 2016
■ BY SUE ERWIN – Stephanie Tieu is a rising senior at Lemon Bay High School, and she’s been an avid soccer player for the past 14 years. She currently plays forward for the Lemon Bay Manta Rays. Her…
Profile: Betty Hill
May 27, 2016
■ BY SUE ERWIN – Betty Hill distinctly remembers arriving in Boca Grande for the first time in 1955. It was a time when there was, quite literally, nothing here with the exception of about 125 people…
Ladies Day committee thanks all for a great time
May 27, 2016
To the Editor: The Boca Grande Area Chamber of Commerce’s 26th Annual Ladies Day Tarpon Tournament had a successful outcome with a field of 36 boats and 11 total tarpon released on May 7, 2016. Brend…
Thank you to all who have served
May 27, 2016
To the Editor: We will always be grateful and thankful to the Beacon for the story of John Bourgoin and Walter Tatko. Great story about two great guys who contributed to victory in WWII. They were in…