Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
The Boca Grande Fire Department responded to two calls recently involving the water, including a man stranded among sharks and another who suffered a medical issue while jet skiing. A day of fishing went off on kind of a crazy tangent for a local fisherman after the Boca Grande Fire Department had to rescue him […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
Work has already begin on the Gasparilla Island Light, a.k.a. Rear Range Light, on Gulf Boulevard. According to Sharon McKenzie, the executive director of the Barrier Island Parks Society, Inc., the fence has been put in place around the structure, and over the next few weeks they will be working on various metal parts of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
Long-time island resident Zelma Otto reached her 90th birthday recently, and it was celebrated by many at the Rotonda Lakes Clubhouse near her home. She was all dressed in purple for the occasion and got to spend some time with three of the island boys she helped to raise – Seth Joiner, Parker O’Bannon and […]
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BY MARCY SHORTUSE – Lee County Department of Transportation will be coming to the island to begin roadwork that includes a bigger bike path at the south end and Gasparilla Road widening. Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC was chosen to do the road resurfacing and bike path widening. The cost of the project is […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
On Tuesday, the Barrier Islands Park Society (BIPS) announced that they had received final written approval from the United States Coast Guard to commence “rehabilitation of the Gasparilla Island Rear Range Lighthouse.” The long-awaited enabling document means work can begin immediately on clearing the construction zone and proceeding with metalwork repairs, replacement parts construction and, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
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 $1,900. But donations are still needed to help send Englewood resident John Seelie to the services in Hawaii. Gasparilla Inn Golf Course employee Cathy Joel lives next door […]
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BY SUE ERWIN – Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association volunteers said the storms over this past weekend destroyed a good amount of the remaining sea turtle nests on Boca Grande beaches. One volunteer said there were nearly 40 nests just before Hurricane Hermine, and she counted only about 12 existing ones on Monday, September 5. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
Joyce Jacobs, associate director of the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida, has announced that she will retire on June 30, 2017, after almost 24 years of service. During her tenure, Jacobs has seen Harry Chapin grow from a grassroots organization that distributed a few hundred thousand pounds of food a year to a […]
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SUBMITTED BY THE BOCA GRANDE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – At the Boca Grande Community Center there is a meeting room whose plaque reads, “Arthur A. Houghton Jr./ Reference Room/ Dedicated February 21, 1991/ For the purpose of stimulating the young to read and for the use and enjoyment of all Islanders.” Arthur Houghton and his wife, Nina, were winter residents […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Opinion.
BY BOB ELLIOTT – It’s time to offer a mea culpa to Mr. Al Gore or whoever invented the internet. All I was trying to do in previous columns was to point out that the internet has caused a certain level of attention-deficit disorder in its frequent users and has put a crimp on clear, concise, written […]