Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Inspire. Educate. Preserve. Those are key efforts that the Barrier Island Parks Society board members strongly hope to achieve in 2018. BIPS held its monthly board meeting on Wednesday morning at the Amory Memorial Chapel at Gasparilla Island State Park. The focus of the meeting was implementation of the 2017-2020 strategic […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
Provided by Lee County Sheriff’s Office The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, in the interest of public safety, has issued a traffic notice. There will be one-way traffic at Fourth Street and Bayou Avenue/Harbor Drive from 8 p.m. to midnight on New Year’s Eve during the Millers Marina fireworks presentation. Vehicular traffic will flow north to […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT The year 2017 was relatively quiet on the island, shy of Hurricane Irma, a new look for the Range Light and new preserve land at the Causeway thanks to the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association. We mourned the passing of several beloved island faces, including Creighton Sherman, Dee Wheeler, Doris Bishop and […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: The Charlotte County Airport Authority announced the total passenger count for the twelve months ending Nov. 30, 2017 is 1,368,754. The Punta Gorda Airport passenger count for November 2017 was 110,097. This is a 14.46 percent increase in passenger traffic from November 2016, when there were 96,188 passengers. In November, there were […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ STAFF REPORT The Island School received notification of a significant gift to the 2017-18 Annual Fund. A very generous anonymous donor has offered to match all contributions to this year’s Annual Fund on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a total of $100,000. The Annual Fund provides almost 20 percent of the budget and is vital […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Two major structural repairs have recently been completed at the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse at Gasparilla Island State Park. Barrier Island Parks Society Executive Director Sharon McKenzie said some work has been completed on the assistant gatekeeper’s house, which was built in 1890. “There were some structural items that needed to be repaired, […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Bobbie Marquis ran a successful consulting business serving clients in Boca Grande and in the Englewood area for years, and now she’s working on the island full time as the executive director for the Johann Fust Library Foundation. She officially accepted her new title in November, but she’s been serving as the interim […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News, Obituaries.
Mike Gary, 92, of Port Charlotte died Thursday, Dec. 14 at Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Port Charlotte. He was born August 10, 1925 in Barbour County, Alabama to the late W.I. ”Bud” and Lillie Ora (Creel) Gary. Mike was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, serving until the war’s end. When he returned home […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News.
To the Editor: Our program for the 2017/18 season is off to a great start. We hope you have seen a copy of Happenings, our program guide, which is now a 44-page magazine about all the programs offered at the Community Center. If you don’t already have one, please be sure to pick one up. […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY SUE ERWIN – Residents and guests of Boca Grande will be able to enjoy browsing through local produce, seafood, flowers and a variety of other items a bit earlier this season when the Boca Grande Farm and Fish Market returns on Friday, Dec. 22. “We planned the opening day so we can catch some […]