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Island School hopes Monday open

BY CHRISTINE OLIVER, HEAD OF SCHOOL Students’ first day back to school is tentatively scheduled for Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. However, we still need the all-clear from the county. Lee County Facilities and several teams from Fireservice Emergency Disaster Response are currently at The Island School. They appear to be on schedule to be out […]

HELENE TIMELINE

Hurricane Helene brought the second highest water levels to Southwest Florida in 60 years (after Hurricane Ian). Below is an approximate timeline of Helene’s impacts on Gasparilla Island over the last week, gathered from Beacon reporting and local weather stations. Thursday, Sept. 26 1 p.m.: Wind gusts, minor bands of rain and high tides. Power […]

Briefly: Battery on island

On Wednesday, September 25, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a battery on island, according to a department report. Deputy David Scozzafava and Lieutenant Mike Sawicki responded to the victim, identified as Christopher Eastman. Eastman stated he was with a coworker, identified as Daniel Lofsten, for Dun-Rite Carpet and Tile, and they went […]

Lithium batteries and salt cause extra fire risk

In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, local fire departments, including the Boca Grande Fire Department, are responding to alarms relating to lithium batteries. When exposed to water, these batteries can rapidly deteriorate, overheat, and release gasses that may cause explosions and fast-moving fires. The rule is that if they have been damaged by water, get […]

Boca Bargains moves merchandise 

BY WENDY FREEMAN, BOCA GRANDE WOMAN’S CLUB The interior of our building at the Community Center took in a lot of water and mud, and there was plenty of damage. Floors will need to be replaced. Most of our cabinets, shelving, rolling racks etc., will also need to be replaced. Our amazing team of Jinny […]

Health Clinic operations detailed

BY MARK DRISCOLL, CEO The Boca Grande Health Clinic is operational with a small team onsite and physicians on call for urgent care. As you can imagine, our doctors have been busy over the last few days mending broken bones, and attending to falls, bites and scrapes. All those injuries we typically see after major […]