Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ BY SUSAN HANAFEE Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of articles about the forces that have shaped development in Boca Grande and on Gasparilla Island. It’s a scene from the early 1980s that islander Sue Shaffer will never forget: Creighton Sherman climbing to the top of the Silver King complex with […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE Chase Taylor is a very lucky little boy. After being hit with a foul ball at a Stone Crabs game on August 8, he is not only well on his way to recovery but also got to meet Tim Tebow in person. Stephanie Wheeler Taylor, the daughter of local fishing captain […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News, Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN Mitch Smith recalls spending the summer months of his youth at day camp at the Boca Grande Community Center. His father, Myron, worked for a cleaning business on the island for many years. His mother, Janice, worked as a teacher in Charlotte County for many years and now works for the Department of […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, News, Opinion.
■ BY MARCY SHORTUSE This week many of us watched in horror as Hurricane Harvey turned into a nasty houseguest who wouldn’t leave and left thousands of people in Texas and Louisiana homeless, displaced and, in some circumstances, dead. It was an unprecedented storm in the fact it stalled out over land and dropped enough […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, Letters to the Editor, News.
To the Editor: Thanks for all the verbal support received concerning leafblower noise and health hazards. Remember … if daily and weekly leafblowing were done every other day and week, noise and pollution would be reduced by 50 percent immediately! Speaking of pollution, here are some “fun” facts: All four-stroke engines fire ALL of their […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News.
■ BY SUSAN HANAFEE Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of articles about the forces that have shaped development in Boca Grande and on Gasparilla Island. As the tarpon season is getting underway in 1975, a station wagon backs into a gas pump at Millers Marina, rupturing a 5,000-gallon tank. The resulting […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
■ STAFF REPORT – The installation of the Boca Grande swing bridge’s new scale lane is almost complete, and it is scheduled to reopen on Monday, Aug. 28 at 5:45 a.m. The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority originally installed the truck scale in 2000. Removal of the old scale began on Monday, July 31. GIBA Executive Director […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Profiles.
■ BY SUE ERWIN – Known for her smiling face and pleasant manner, Karen Kelley wears many hats at The Island School, where she has been employed since the school started back in 1999. Karen worked in the office that first school year, eventually leading her to other positions as a paraprofessional, creative arts and drama teacher, as […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Featured News, News, Obituaries.
Patricia Ann Heisel, 84, died July 30, 2017, at her home at Walloon Lake, Michigan, surrounded by her husband of 61 years and five children, after a brief and brave fight against acute myeloid leukemia. Pat and her husband, William, split their time between Boca Grande and Walloon Lake. Pat enjoyed volunteer work tutoring migrant […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in Editorial, Letters to the Editor, News, Opinion.
To the Editor: As his time on our island winds down, the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association wishes to extend a generous thank you to Dr. Jeff Humbarger for his years of dedicated service to our organization. Dr. Humbarger brought fresh insight along with a tremendous work ethic and enthusiasm to the turtle patrol. Despite […]