Local Briefs: intro fishing, Fire Service volunteer, disaster mitigation and woodpecker
Intro fishing for adults at El Jobean Pier
Charlotte County Community Services invites those aged 50 and above to participate in free active programs aimed at fostering social connections and well-being.
One such program, Instructor-led Pier Fishing, is scheduled for Saturday, March 23, from 8 to 10 a.m. Participants will convene at the El Jobean Pier on River Beach Drive in Englewood, where members of the Port Charlotte Fishing Club will provide equipment and guidance. Fishing rods, bait, and basic instruction will be supplied for a rewarding fishing experience. It’s important to note that participants under 65 must acquire a fishing license for this activity.
Registration is required by calling 941-627-1074. However, programs may be subject to cancellation if fewer than 5 participants register.
Barrier Island Fire Service volunteer
The Barrier Island Fire Service Municipal Service Benefit Unit Advisory Board is seeking a volunteer to fill a vacant position with a term ending Oct. 31, 2025. Applicants must be residents of Charlotte County and reside within the unit.
Submit applications to the Public Safety Department, 26571 Airport Road, Punta Gorda, FL 33952. Call 941-833-5610 or email Todd.Dunn@CharlotteCountyFL.gov.
Disaster mitigation ideas welcomed by Charlotte County
The Charlotte County and Punta Gorda Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group will hold one of its yearly public meetings at 2:30 p.m. on April 4. The meeting will be held in the Emergency Operations Center at the Charlotte County Public Safety Building, 26571 Airport Road., Punta Gorda, FL, 33982.
The job of the workgroup is to propose projects and identify funding sources for mitigation activities. Completed projects lessen environmental impacts, help reduce the loss of life, and lower the economic costs of disasters.
The public is invited. Participant names, emails, and comments will become a public record at the meeting. Contact the Charlotte County Office of Emergency Management at 941-833-4000 or Emergency.Management@CharlotteCountyFL.gov.
Headstrong species on Audubon good news list
Local photographer Len Tatko caught this pileated woodpecker (pictured above), or Dryocopus pileatus, in his yard in Cape Haze. The woodpecker is a “good news” species. It became rare with logging, but numbers increased in the 20th century. It adapts well where unmolested, according to Audubon, to “parks and woodlots around the edges of large cities.”
