Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Letters to the Editor.
To the Editor: In the course of events, both public and private, no one person or entity can possibly take sole credit for the success or failure of any undertaking. The event is the sum of so many moving parts, and those parts require much in the way of planning and coordination. So it is […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY JACK SHORT Charlotte County Fire and EMS and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office were part of the response team that may have saved a man’s life after he nearly drowned on May 25, Memorial Day, in Gasparilla Pass, north of Gasparilla Island. According to representatives of CCSO and Charlotte County EMS the victim, Chris […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
Several incidents kept area firefighters busy over the Memorial Day weekend, but none of them were on Gasparilla Island. We did have one crime report, though. On the afternoon of Saturday, May 23 firefighters from Charlotte County were battling a brush fire that burned more than 100 acres just northwest of Coral Creek Golf Course […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY JEAN NETHERY The Beacon welcomes back our occasional writer, Jean Nethery, who is writing this time about Ireland. This is part one in a two part series. As our Boeing 757 touched down on the Dublin runway I could almost hear the angels singing “When Irish eyes are smiling, sure ‘tis like a morn […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
BY JACK SHORT The Gasparilla Island Bridge Authority closed its swing bridge briefly to road traffic and for at least 19 hours to boat traffic beginning Sunday afternoon, according to representatives from GIBA and the United States Coast Guard. During an opening at 4:45 p.m. on May 24, the bridge tender noticed that wedges which […]
Written by Marcy Shortuse on . Posted in News.
BY MARCY SHORTUSE Island sea turtle patrollers were full of excitement on Thursday, May 28 when they realized they had their first confirmed green turtle nest on Gasparilla Island. “We’ve got a green!” was the post on Facebook by the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association. They noted the green turtle’s “enthusiastic nesting style,” and said, […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in Editorial, Featured News, News.
BY CARROLL SWAYZE Excitement is brewing as anglers and artists alike prepare for the 2015 Tarpon Festival in downtown Boca Grande on June 4 through 6. Each year thousands of people travel to the Englewood/Boca Grande community from all over the world to take part in this annual Tarpon Fishing Tournament and Festival. The week […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News, Obituaries.
Virginia Jeane “Shay” Wilber, born in Albany, N.Y. on October 7, 1979 to the parents of Mr. and Mrs. David F. Wilber III, died unexpectedly at home on May 20, 2015. Shay grew up in Oneonta, N.Y. where she attended Valleyview Elementary and Oneonta Middle School. During High School, she attended Miss Hall’s School in […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News, Profiles.
BY JACK SHORT Sometimes it takes a few knocks at the door before someone finally answers. For Rev. Matthew Morgan Williams, the new pastor at the United Methodist Church of Boca Grande, the call to pastorship came knocking three times before he knew he had to say yes. Matthew was raised a devout Christian and […]
Written by Boca Beacon on . Posted in News.
Twenty five years of dispute seemed to have been put aside — at least for a day or so. The ink was barely dry on an agreement between the Boca Grande Isles Property Owners’ Association and defendants 5F, LLC, and 5F BA, LLC, when those three entities and several other parties were named as defendants […]