Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community, News, Sports & Outdoors.
When Capt. Sandy Melvin, Bill Klettke and Michael Vaughn founded the Gasparilla Island Kids Classic more than a decade ago, it was with one objective in mind – to create a fast-paced, action-packed fishing tournament for kids, while teaching them about the value of helping others. Kids helping kids. That was what it was all […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
The Boca Grande Historic Preservation Board held their monthly meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to discuss three Certificates of Appropriateness, which were all passed unanimously. Disaster Relief Fund, administered by the Lighthouse United Methodist Church of Boca Grande, has announced that the last day to donate to the fund will be January 31. Included in […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Obituaries.
Sandy Bylaska, tournament judge extraordinnaire and such a well-loved woman in our community, has passed away. She is now with the love of her life, husband Jackie. Sandy did not mince words. If she didn’t like you, you knew it, but she rarely got too mad over things that didn’t matter. To her friends and […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.
Lots of people in Boca Grande love to walk the beach in the morning. Most of them do not make the trek if the weather is nasty, or if the sun gets too hot. There are some folks, however, who do not do their beach walking for exercise or meditation. They do it to protect […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Entertainment, News.
Lemon Bay High School band students are gearing up for concert and jazz season and getting the help of some top-shelf professional musicians along the way. Two big names in jazz will be visiting the school and performing concerts as part of the band program, according to Philip Eyrich, the director of bands at the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
It was hard for Vanita Auville, co-supervisor of Gaston Tree Debris Removal, to pinpoint when they would be able to finish up work at the end of Wheeler Road, but she did say that they would be working on setting the future dog park back to rights – at least as much as they can […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community History, News.
The history of Gasparilla Island is rich, which is why new events scheduled by the Boca Grande Historical Society are always eagerly anticipated. To begin, History Bytes will be held every Wednesday in February at 11 a.m. in the Johann Fust Library Loggia. “Final Rest,” the first program, on Wednesday, Feb. 1, will be presented […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Police & Fire.
On Saturday, Jan. 21 at approximately 7:46 p.m. the Boca Grande Fire Department responded to the 500 block of Gulf Boulevard for a golf cart on fire, fully engulfed. It took some time, but firefighters eventually got the fire extinguished, with full loss of the vehicle. While the final determination of the cause of the […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Sports & Outdoors.
It’s obvious that cleanup and rebuilding on the island are moving forward at a good pace, but what about the effects of the storm in local waters, and on fishing? According to local fishermen, the fish are biting … it’s the anglers that are the problem. There simply aren’t enough places for fishermen to stay. […]
Written by Boca Beacon Reader on . Posted in Letters to the Editor, News.
To the Editor: I am writing to thank Boca Grande-area residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Generosity throughout contributed to a successful shoebox gift collection season at drop-off locations for the Samaritan’s Purse project Operation Christmas Child. Across the U.S., the project collected over 9.3 […]