Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in Community, News, Police & Fire.
Planning begins to ensure island leadership is ready for hurricanes Leaders of many island organizations gathered Monday to talk about the upcoming hurricane season and working together in the event of future emergency. The event was held at the Boca Grande Fire Department and led by Chief C.W. Blosser. The event began with a report […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Education, Events, Featured News, News.
Each year, the fifth graders at The Island School write of their favorite moments at the school, and their future plans, just before graduation. Below, our graduates: Sophie Benson I was very fortunate to have gone to this amazing school, especially starting in kindergarten. Although it is sad to leave The Island School, I’m looking […]
Written by Anna Ridilla on . Posted in Breaking News.
Heading to Alabama; left island Wednesday The surprise visit of one of the last two remaining Navy PT boats to Gasparilla Island caused a stir on its visit this week. A Facebook post called the ship a “bad boy as it floated by the house.” “What an incredible sighting tonight as I was sipping champagne […]
Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Breaking News, Sports & Outdoors.
For the first day of the 2024 World’s Richest Tarpon Tournament “Blaze” is leading, according to leaderboard results. The tournament began this week and was held Wednesday, May 22 and Thursday, May 23. As of press time there were a total of 56 fish released by 20 boats on Wednesday for day one of the […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Columns, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
BY CAPT. SANDY MELVIN Tarpon season continues in full swing. There are thousands of tarpon around right now and you can catch one just about any way you want. The traditional pass fishing has been on fire, but also those fishing the beaches and the harbor, both with spinning tackle and fly fishing are catching […]
Written by Delores Savas on . Posted in Columns, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
“As crude a weapon as the cave man’s club, the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life – a fabric on the one hand delicate and destructible, on the other miraculously tough and resilient, and capable of striking back in unexpected ways. These extraordinary capacities of life have been ignored by the […]
Written by VAN HUBBARD on . Posted in Columns, Community, Opinion, Sports & Outdoors.
BY CAPT. VAN HUBBARD Editor’s Note: Van Hubbard’s column Hook, Line and Sinker appeared in the Beacon beginning in 1988. We are delighted to welcome him back. I’m returning to the Boca Beacon because I realize how important Boca Grande is to my career and life. I first traveled to Boca Grande because it offered […]
Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.
Running for a local office on Gasparilla Island is sometimes more complicated than one might expect. Because there are two counties on the island, if an elected board, like the Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority, serves both Charlotte and Lee County residents, a candidate for one of those boards must be “qualified” by the Florida Division […]
Written by Guest Columnist on . Posted in Community History.
BY CAPT. ROBERT JOHNSON Editor’s Note: The late Capt. Johnson wrote a history of The Boca Grande Quarantine Station during the COVID-19 outbreak for the Beacon. We are reprinting the May 2020 story. The Boca Grande Quarantine Station, located on the south end of the island, was built in 1892 on the beach next to […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Obituaries.
Livingston Byrns Sheppard II was born in the Appalachian mountains of Jenkins, Kentucky to his father Livingston Byrns Sheppard Sr and mother Mecca Vicars, both of Virginia, on April 19, 1928. Growing up in coal country he met his wife, Glenda Huskisson of Virginia. The two married young and Livingston attended the University of Virginia […]