Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.
David Leon Hayes, 74, passed away peacefully on May 11, 2023 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, surrounded by his loving children and wife. David was born on July 28, 1948 to Harold and Marilyn Hayes in Tiffin, Ohio. His collegiate scholastic endeavors took a pause when duty called to defend his country in Vietnam, much like […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial.
This week is one I have been dreading and looking forward to all at the same time. The youngest of my five children will be graduating from The Island School and moving on to bigger things. This was the first year since 2006 that I haven’t had to fill out a registration form for the […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: After a record attendance of nearly two thousand people during last year’s 15th annual Buchan Fly-In, the Scholarship Committee decided to move ahead and award three well-deserved aviation scholarships. In spite of the inability to hold the Fly-In this year since the airport was under storm restoration by Sarasota County, the 74-year-old […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Columns.
FIVE YEARS AGO There were many tears and laughs at The Island School graduation, as nine students tossed their caps in the air. TEN YEARS AGO Capt. Stevie Ahlers took first in the World’s Richest, where 63 tarpon were released. The Reference Room in the Boca Grande Community Center closed after opening in 1987 […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in News.
For several years now, groups that use the Community Center facilities, especially high-use groups, have been talking about making improvements: The Historical Society needs more space; Royal Palm Players needs a better back stage; Friends would like more comfortable seating and high-tech equipment in the auditorium; Boca Bargains needs more space; the duplicate bridge group needs space; The Island School needs a little more space and a dedicated room for lunch and after-school programs; all groups could benefit from a dedicated meeting room. This list goes on and on.
What would be needed is to restore and renovate all that is wonderful (that includes leaving the exterior of our buildings as they are), and modernizing the guts of the entire facility, addressing issues such as ADA compliance, HVAC shortcomings, technology challenges and opportunities, and general needs for more and better space. After all, some 34 island organizations use the Community Center at one time or another during a season.
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
When Jordan Rivera saw the line at the bathroom in the local bar called Bandito’s early Sunday morning, he did what a lot of guys would do in the same circumstance – he went outside to find a place to take care of his needs. Guys are usually lucky to be able to do that, […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in News.
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
While the adults are getting ready to “Howl” at Sunday night’s Howl at the Moon Tarpon Tournament, young fisherfolk from throughout the area are getting ready to have their own tarpon tournament next weekend. The Howl will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, May 28. Awards will be given out at Whidden’s […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
This week island resident Gary Martin was out in his boat going around the island, looking for gunk. It’s not an activity that a lot of people partake in, but he is very concerned about the vast amount of floating organic matter in our harbor and backcountry water. Gary had already seen it in the water in front of his island home – patches of what appears to be sludge mixed with collard greens, followed by a disturbing absence of seagrass in the shallow waters right outside of his home. But he wanted to see how far it went and how much there was.
He took Boca Beacon Publisher Dusty Hopkins with him to take photographs. Gary thought they would have to go down to Redfish Pass to see large amounts of the gunk, but they didn’t get that far. They had already seen three huge fields of it before they got anywhere close. They also saw more bald spots in the harbor and Intracoastal where the seagrass was gone.
Written by Boca Grande Health Clinic on . Posted in Health & Wellness, News.
Strokes happen when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted or reduced, which prevents brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients, which leads to brain damage or death. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stroke is the fifth- leading cause of death in the U.S. and is a leading cause of long-term disability.
May is National Stroke Awareness Month, an opportunity to learn about stroke prevention and treatment. Stroke risk increases as we age. Women generally live longer than men, so it’s not surprising that more women have strokes over their lifetimes than men. In the U.S., one in five women between the ages of 55 and 75 will have a stroke, according to the 2006 Framingham Stoke Study.