Veterans Assistance Program to meet Friday at the Beacon

The Veterans Assistance Program will meet Friday, May 5, from 9 a m until 12:30 p m , at the Beacon of Hope, 5090 Doug Taylor Circle, St James City

One of the things that will be discussed is the expansion of possible benefits from Agent Orange exposure in overseas coun- tries during Vietnam

If you have any health issues that you feel could be related to this or any other service acquired injury or disease, please stop by the Beacon

Call the Beacon of Hope at 239-2835123 to make an appointment cal Atlantic for the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season,” CSU officials stated “The anomalously warm eastern and central tropical and subtropical Atlantic favor an above-normal season ”

The CSU team bases forecasts on a statistical model, as well as four models that use a combination of statistical information and model output from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the UK Met Office, the Japan Meteorological Agency, and the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change These models use 25 to 40 years of historical hurricane seasons and evaluate conditions including: Atlantic sea surface temperatures, sea level pressures, vertical wind shear levels (the change in wind direction and speed with height in the atmosphere), El Nino (warming of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific), and other factors

CSU said that thus far, the 2023 hurricane season is exhibiting characteristics similar to 1969, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2014 and 2015

“Our analog seasons exhibited a wide range of outcomes, from below-normal seasons to hyperactive seasons,” said Phil Klotzbach, research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science and lead author of the report “This highlights the large uncertainty that exists with this outlook ”

CSU predicts this year’s hurricane activity will be about 80% of the average season from 1991–2020 By comparison, 2022’s hurricane activity was about 75% of the average season Last year’s season will be most

Reipel

From page 1

Pine Island American Legion in tow to take Reipel to his birthday celebration at the VFW, for which Ferguson said Reipel seems to have great affection

“What do you give someone turning 103? You give

Sister-Corps

From page 1 participated in 10 environmental cleanups or remediation, and given $152,000 in direct aid

“We are not first responders,” Gibbons said “We come in when other agencies and organizations start to leave and give hope to those still in need ”

Some of the women involved come aboard with skills, but the organization also provides training and hopes to increase this for participants When they were working on Pine Island, a volunteer from Michigan who was also

May

From page 14

On the lower water look for tailing redfish on the flats and also in the deeper sand holes mentioned for sea trout

For a variety of fish, nearshore artificial reefs are a great place to look You may hook into about anything from smaller fish like snapper to huge goliath grouper and everything in between An assortment of tackle from light to heavy, a variety of bait and an open mind is the key to taking advantage of what these areas offer on any given day Reefs are a great place to experiment and try different things while keeping your eyes open for unexpected visitors Permit should make their way to many of the reefs this month While they will eat a live shrimp, they seldom pass on a small live crab

May will give us consistent days of great weather with blue skies and light wind Our summer afternoon thunderstorm pattern will kick in so always keep an eye on the sky to stay ahead of an approaching storm Good weather remembered for its two major hurricanes: Fiona and Ian, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in Southwest Florida, resulting in more than 150 fatalities and $113 billion in damage

“It takes only one storm near you to make this an active season for you,” said Michael Bell, professor in the CSU Department of Atmospheric Science

The CSU team will issue forecast updates on June 1, July 6 and August 3

The Tropical Meteorology Project team also includes Alex DesRosiers, a PhD candidate in the same department Bill Gray, who originated the seasonal forecasts, them the gift of community,” Ferguson said

Anyone who would like to take part in this special celebration, in any way, can call Ferguson at 804-8954604 working here gave them a class in installing sheet rock and the potential for great fishing, what’s not to like about the month!

A total of 48 women came to the area over the twoweek period The youngest was 45; the oldest at 82 worked in the kitchen The group is looking for more volunteers and has begun soliciting grant funding as well as i n d i v i d u a l d o n a t i o n s o n i t s w e b s i t e w w w S i s t e rCorps org “Our ultimate goal is when disaster hits, we’re one of the first organizations people think of,” Gibbons said.

To keep up on current fishing regulations, you can go to www myfwc com or download the Fish Rules app for the latest rules and regulations

If you have a fishing report or for charter information, contact Gulf Coast Guide Service at 239-410-8576 (call or text); on the web at www fishpine island com; or via email at gcl2fish@ live com

Have a safe week and good fishin’

As a lifetime resident of Matlacha and Pine Island, Capt Bill Russell has spent his life fishing and learning the waters around Pine Island and Southwest Florida, and as a professional fishing guide for the past 23 years

Letters to the Editor

From page 4

In summary, Mr Commissioners and Lee County planners encourage all of our great building industry to only build ranches and farms in our rural areas of Lee County No houses plastered next to each other or apartments stacked up to many stories upon each other Stop this by commission denials and law edicts Support a modern civic center with all the different facilities for all clubs tenants and expos to make this wonderful fairgrounds and civic center facility a proud area and we can all use for the next hundred years. The 4-H clubs, rural community and residents of Southwest Florida will thank you all

Oh, yes, please stop the RV park in Alva Obviously that is not a rural entity

Carl Veaux Cape Coral

Island Mahjongg

MahJongg is played every Thursday from 1-4 p m at St James City Civic Association, however there will be no MahJongg on May 4 as the center will be closed for renovations

Play will resume the following Thursday, May 11 SJCCA is located at 4th Avenue and Lemon Street in St James City

Top scorers on April 27 were Carolyn Kelly with 9 5 p o i n t s , P e g g y F i n l e y w i t h 8 0 a n d M e l a n i e Giangrant with 75

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