Campus: K-8 school proposed to replace hurricane damaged facility

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The new site is 3 5 miles away from the existing site at Northwest additional $10 to $15 million as material cost and labor costs would increase The duration would add approximately six months, as well as increased safety and security issues on an occupied campus

The existing campus, 360 Santa Barbara Blvd N sustained significant damage from Hurricane Ian as the school had torrential rains inside the building for 12 to 14 hours due to severe roof damage

“The damage far exceeded the 50 percent rule where we should start to consider replacing the building ” Wagner said

There are weekly live lessons through Zoom with teachers to go deeper into the standards In addition students have to create an agenda for themselves have biweekly discussion based assessments and log into class every day and making the best of it moving forward It replaces the capacity lost but meets longterm needs of the district

The students were moved to portables on the Cape Coral Technical College campus

It was very important that we kept the community of learners together Those students are in a portable campus adjacent to the site he said Wagner said within three days of sending an email to the Florida Department of Education they received approval to demolish the old building which will cost $3 million He said FDOE officials said they would expedite the process if they considered demolishing the building

“The recommendation is to hold that piece of land for future district use It’s a valuable piece of property that could be used for the district, Wagner said

Snook season’s officially open; some fishing tips

Ira s, Union, Armed, White, Black and Sword spine are names of just six of the 13 species of snook known to swim in Atlantic and Pacific waters with the Black snook growing the largest like the 59-pound 8-ounce Costa Rican giant holding the current world record There certainly could be more species discovered in the future as Ira’s snook was first documented in Brazil as recently as 2019

In Southwest Florida, we deal with four species with the Common snook the largest of the group A 44 3pounder from Fort Myers holds the current Florida State Record slot

Most old salts know that snook are born male with some becoming females at 18-22 inches The Common snook has a high dorsal fin that s divided The Sword spine is our smallest snook, but has the largest scales

As the name implies, the Fat snook is short and stout and our Tarpon snook is the only snook with 7 anal fin rays while the rest of the group only has 6

That s all good and fine, you say, but I like eating snook and harvesting has been closed for years trying to help snook rebound from the big freeze back in 2010 Well you must not have heard Gas up the boat and clean the grill because as of March 1, running to May 1 a snook measuring not less than 28 to not more than 33 inches can be the guest of honor at your next bar-b-que It's one per angler per day and remember that in addition to your regular saltwater license, you ll need to purchase a snook permit In the past I enjoyed a snook dinner once or twice a year but nowadays not everyone agrees with this opening and would like to see even more population growth before harvesting is allowed Visions of 2010 s dead snook-choked canals the surface so thick with the dead and dying you could almost walk across them, still haunts many locals Even though there is no legal commercial harvest allowed and even at one per day, recreational anglers will still harvest large numbers of one of Florida’s most popular inshore gamefish species during this short season Hopefully fisheries biologists have made the right call in opening this harvest considering hurricane related water contamination still an unknown long-term factor plus ongoing red tide events both occurring as the fish start making their way to local beaches for their summer spawn

During this transition to the Gulf it s now your job to figure out the best spots to intercept them for sport or food Locals and guides all have their time-tested hot spots but for the new angler it can be confusing simply because it all looks good!

Where do I start?

Firstly if you’ve grown up throwing top-waters, swimming plugs and spinnerbaits for largemouth bass, you’re already ahead of the game as the same basic lure choices, equipment, techniques and shallow cover presentations also catch Florida snook

Location is your challenge As mentioned, snook are moving to the Gulf so along the way look for likely snook-holding cover like docks piers seawalls, bridges, anything to break the current flow so they can hide behind it conserving energy while waiting to dart out and grab prey being swept along by a strong tidal flow If there’s enough water some mangrove shorelines all oyster bars and especially island points should get attention

Tip: Fish for snook during stronger tidal flow days Consult your tide chart for this information

Tip: The typical walk-the-dog topwater retrieve works well but as the water warms, try a medium fast, erratic and splashy panic retrieve every 4th or 5th cast

Each year giants are caught by patient anglers simply fishing half a ladyfish or mullet head on the bottom The live bait trophy hunter will be using a 12-inch live mullet with heavy rod line and leader

Capt George Tunison is a Cape him at 239-282-9434