Skip to main content
Search Results for “rid”

Kerfuffle and confusion at the old bakery as crews clash over miscommunication

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.

Thursday morning got a little crazy over on Railroad Avenue, as demolition crews showed up to start on the old Bakery Building at the same time T. Steele Construction was there to work on the new cell phone tower site. Neither crew knew the other would be there, and apparently Aaron Diaz, owner of The Barnichol, didn’t know demo crews would be beginning today, either, and was concerned for the safety of his store patrons. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the person charged with dealing with the bakery demolition was out of the country.

An agnostic view of Boca Grande’s alien visits over the years

Written by Garland Pollard on . Posted in News.

In the wake of the recent explosive hearings in the U.S. Congress on UFOs, now called Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, the sole report of a 1999 UFO hovering near the causeway to Boca Grande still remains a mystery.

The report was from Dec. 18, 1999, when an unknown couple is alleged to have come onto the island and seen a “football-field-sized saucer with blinking white lights, that made no sound as it traveled across the sky.”

The report is one of over 8,000 sightings of mysterious things in the air over Florida, according to the National UFO Reporting Center (NUFORC).

Hurricane Ian book features Boca Beacon article about Little Gasparilla Island

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Community History.

Gulf Coast Writers Association Inc. (GWCA), Southwest Florida’s 28-year-old meeting ground for writers, editors and their associates, announced today that Leoma Lovegrove, internationally-known artist whose work is in the collections of the Carter and George W. Bush Presidential Libraries, has painted the artwork for the cover of “Storm Stories – Hurricane Ian,” its anthology of personal experiences during the storm as recounted by local residents and photographers. The book is planned for publication on September 1.

The Boca Beacon will be featured in the book, with a story that ran not long after the storm, called “This may be our slice of paradise, but putting it back together will be no piece of cake.”

OBITUARY: Joe D’Angelo

Written by Staff Report on . Posted in Obituaries.

Sadly, our family announces that Joe D’Angelo departed this world on August, 1, 2023, at the youthful age of 86. He peacefully passed away at his home in Rotonda West, Florida.  Joe was born in Passaic, New Jersey to Elsie and Tony D’Angelo, a proud Italian family. After Belleville High School he joined the U.S. […]

PROFILE: Amy Cyr

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Profiles.

Amy Cyr loves music, and she has since she was very young. Now she has joined The Island School as its music teacher, and she hopes to pass that love on to the young people there. 

Amy is excited about her new position at The Island School, and she feels it is the ideal place for her. 

“I’ve never really wanted to overextend myself to the point where I’m not giving my best to anything. You know, it’s easy to get like that when you want to have your hands in so many different things – you’re not giving your best to any of them. So, I’ve never pursued a full 9 to 5, because I work at night a lot and I’m a stay-at-home mom. Because The Island School is a smaller school, the schedule works out a lot better for me than a traditional K –12 public school. So it was an ideal situation, especially now, with both of my children being in school full-time. That opens up a brand new world. Now I have 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.open; it’s completely different.”

Drilling equipment to arrive soon? We hope so

Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Community.

Drilling equipment to begin construction of the new permanent cell phone tower may show up as early as next week, according to representatives of the Boca Grande Cell Phone Tower Committee. After numerous frustrating delays and red tape, this is definitely good news.

One committee member, Steve Raville, said they had a call earlier this week that has given them some hope.

“There have been a number of delays in the proposed demolition of the bakery, relating to engineering and permitting issues,” he said. “Vertical Bridge has reviewed the situation with the various involved individuals and determined that construction can proceed and need not be delayed by the bakery situation.”

Local men to take Honor Flight this fall

Written by Sheila Evans on . Posted in Community, News.

Two local men will be taking the trip of a lifetime in October, as they have been chosen to be aboard the second Honor Flight from Southwest Florida in a year. Pastor Gary Beatty of island’s First Baptist Church and his parishioner, Robert Armstrong, both served their country admirably and feel blessed to take part in this adventure.

Beatty said he had two special goals for himself. The first was to go to Israel, and the second was to go to Washington, D.C. to visit the veterans’ memorials. A couple of years ago his first dream was fulfilled, and now he is excited to have the second one come to fruition.