Skip to main content
Search Results for “pit

Memories of Eldred’s Marina by Tim Dixon, Part 1

It all started in the 1960s when my Granddaddy, Alfred Bavis Dixon, known by most folks as Alfred or A.B., bought a parcel of mostly submerged land from Bert Cole. Mr. Cole had purchased the deed from the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers when the Corps was building the Intracoastal Waterway, which stretches from Massachusetts to Brownsville, Texas. The Corps approached upland and adjacent landowners and sold off parcels of submerged and partially submerged land in order to help fund the massive project. Granddaddy was a dreamer and doer, a visionary, no stranger to long hours of hard work, a man far ahead of his time. He went to the proper authorities and obtained permits to dredge and fill the parcel, and then he brought a dredge that he had built with his son Ormand to his new dream. He never asked for any special favors, no government grants, no subsidies. All he wanted was to be left alone with his task. He got as much fill as he could get when the big dredge came through digging the waterway, and he dredged up more when he built the basin and channel out into the bay. The first time I remember going to “The Point,” as we all called it, I was just a kid, and Grandaddy had the dredge set up digging the channel out to the bay. I must have been about 10 years old at the time, and it was a very exciting time for me. We were living in Virginia then, and I had never seen anything like that.

OBITUARY: Todd Vaughan

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Todd Kirkpatrick Vaughan on July 11, 2022 at home on Boca Grande.Todd finally succumbed to battling cancer at the age of 80.  Todd is survived by his loving wife, Janie (Susemihl Griffin), his brother, Randolph Meriwether Vaughan (Maureen), his two children Hayley Vaughan Burner […]

OBITUARY: Dr. Dick Morrison

Dr. Richard (Dick) Morrison, 86, died July 5, 2022, at Tidewell Hospice House. He was born Nov. 10, 1935 to Russell and Sylvia Morrison in Detroit, Michigan and moved to Venice, Fla. in 1970. In Venice he started a surgical practice known as Surgical Associates of Venice and Englewood, and held roles as president of […]

REMEMBRANCES: America in 1962, when the world almost ended

In the U.S., rumors were spreading that the Soviets were doing something in that island nation just 90 miles from our shores. But what? We had been sending U.S. Air Force U-2 spy planes over Cuba since the end of the failed Bay of Pigs mission, but the flights had been halted on September 10 due to highly publicized U-2 incidents elsewhere around the globe. When ground-based intelligence pointed to offensive missile sites, the overflights were reinstated on October 9, and on October 14, photographic evidence was gathered that the Soviets were indeed constructing medium-range and intermediate-range ballistic missile launchers there. After verification by CIA specialists on October 15, the President was notified of their findings on October 16.

Island roads, south bike path undergoing repairs

The roadwork scheduled for Boca Grande has begun. In April the Lee County Department of Transportation approved a plan on behalf of Lee County commissioners that partners the county with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida, LLC in resurfacing Boca Grande roads.

OBITUARY: Larry Twitchell

Retired Air Force Major General Larry Twitchell of Placida, Florida passed away on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, Sarasota, Florida. Larry was born on Aug. 26, 1943 in Romulus Mich. He was preceded in death by his parents, John L Twitchell, Alice Bouts Twitchell, and son Jon. He married Pamela McCartney Twitchell […]

Just a friendly reminder: Take lightning threats seriously

It’s no surprise that electrical devices are susceptible to strikes; it is estimated that a lightning strike contains around 30,000,000 volts, and a quick zap to a 12-volt device will certainly destroy it. But lightning is like horseshoes: “Close” counts. There can sometimes be collateral damage when a nearby boat gets hit, either the result of the lightning’s powerful electromagnetic field or the current induced by the field running through the boat’s shore-power cord. This can create strange problems: Some electronics may work fine, others that are adjacent might not, and still others may only work partially. In some cases, compasses have been off by 100 degrees.

‘Howl’ ends tarpon tournament season: Baby ghost takes first place, ‘Last Fish’ Lamar takes second place and last fish while Miss Aubrey takes first fish

“Lamar was making a strong run late; it scared me,” Nelson said. “He hooked his fourth one with like 40 minutes left, and I thought ‘Oh, man, he’s making a run at it.’ Then we got our fifth and released it, and I felt pretty comfortable for a bit … until Lamar got his fifth and let it go with about eight minutes left in the tournament. That’s still plenty of time to get a sixth.”

OBITUARY: Pattie Cleghorn

Pattie Cleghorn (nee Hart), born November 15, 1941 in Toronto, passed away peacefully in her sleep on Friday morning, June 17, 2022 at the South Muskoka Memorial Hospital in Bracebridge Ontario after a long battle with lung disease.  She was predeceased by her parents, Eileen and Harry Hart, and is survived by her long- time […]

Governor DeSantis vetoes bad water bill SB 2508

Halfway through the Florida legislative session in February, Florida Senate leaders fast-tracked Senate Bill 2508 which included major water-related policy changes that would write into law preferential treatment of the industrial sugar industry. It was filed as a budget conforming bill which allowed it to circumvent the standard legislative process and minimized opportunity for public input.