Cape Coral Weekend Breeze

INSIDE: Bernier announces he will not run

Oasis captures first state volleyball championship

By CJ HADDAD cjhaddad@breezenewspapers com

Despite being the lowest seed in the tournament and having to face higherranked opponents along the way, the Oasis Sharks volleyball team made school histor y l a s t w e e k e n d b y t a k i n g h o m e t h e Sunshine State Athletic Association 4A State Championship

The Sharks (8-10) dispatched of Merritt Island Christian School in the finals in straight sets, sweeping the series 25-16,

“I’m just elated with the way this team has grown and bonded with each other. They have fully embraced the family-first mentality that we tried to set when taking over the program this year. In the finale, every player, regardless if they were a started or not, got to see the court and receive playing time and all contributed to this championship ”

25-23 and 28-26 Oasis was led by Jordan Baksh with nine kills, Ellie Henkle with eight kills, and Gracyn Hendershot with six

Justin Altman, head coach

kills Setting up the offense was Mia Poskon and Lexie Skorzak, who combined for 15 and 10 assists, respectively

SWFL Eagle Cam’s 12th season takes wing

By CHUCK BALLARO

The answer looks to be yes

Virginia Pritchett-McSpadden, one of the founders of the Southwest Florida Eagle Cam, said M15 was seeking one toward the end of last season after eaglets E21 and E22 fledged.

“There were some potential new females in the area showing signs of meeting a mate He was away from the nest area for a couple weeks a n d r e t u r n e d w i t h o n e o f t h o s e f e m a l e s , ”

Pritchett-McSpadden said “They showed signs of courtship and this week entered a potential bond Signs are that M15 found a new mate ” Pritchett-McSpadden said she doesn’t know exactly how old the female is but, in looking at her plumage, this could be her first mate That would make her between four and seven years

See EAGLE CAM, page 13

M15 with potential new mate

PHOTO COURTESY OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA EAGLE CAM/WWW SWFLEAGLECAM COM

“I’m just elated with the way this team has grown and bonded with each other,” said Oasis first-year head coach Justin Altman “They have fully embraced the family-first mentality that we tried to set when taking over the program this year In the finale, every player, regardless if they were a started or not, got to see the court and receive playing time and all contributed to this championship ”

See OASIS, page 45

Two-day concert; multiple bands

B y C J H A D D A D c j h a d d a d @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m A f t e r m i s s i n g a y e a r d u e t o H u r r i c a n e I a n , a l o n g - s t a n d i n g t r a d i t i o n f o r m u s i c l o v e r s a c r o s s S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a r e t u r n s t o C a p e C o r a l n e x t w e e k e n d O n O c t . 1 3 a n d 1 4 , t h e 1 2 t h a n n u a l 2 3 9 F e s t i s b a c k i n f u l l - s w i n g , w i t h a l o n g l i n e u p o f l o c a l b a n d s r e a d y t o j a m a w a y a t t w o d i f f e r e n t v e n u e s B o t h R a c k ’ e m S p i r i t s & T i m e s a n d O l l i e ’ s P u b R e c o r d s a n d B e e r w i l l p l a y h o s t t o t h e f r e e f e s t i v a l c e l e b r a t i n g a l l t h i n g s p u n k , s k a , a n d r e g g a e m u s i c o v e r b a c k - t o - b a c k d a y s “ I t f e e l s g r e a t t o b e a b l e t o b r i n g t h i s b a c k , ” s a i d e v e n t o r g a n i z e r a n d m e m b e r o f B a r g a i n B i n H e r o e s , E r i c D e M a y o “ I t r e a l l y i s a r e l i e f , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r l a s t y e a r , a s w e w e r e s o c l o s e t o t h e d a t e o f t h e s h o w ” N e a r l y 3 0 b a n d s w i l l b r i n g t h e i r t a le n t s t o t h e C a p e t o p e r f o r m o r i g i n a l s , c o v e r s , a n d t o s h o w c a s e t h e i r t a l e n t s w i t h t h o s e t h a t c o m e o u t T h i s f e s t i v a l i s o n e t h a t h a s a l w a y s g r o w n o v e r t h e y e a r s , a n d c o n t i n u e s t o p r o v i d e a n o u t l e t f o r t h e p o p u l a r g e n r e s o f m u s i c T h e r e ' s s o m e t h i n g f o r a l l t a s t e s

See 239, page 8

Cape continues to gather solid waste collection information

City is exploring whether

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

Cape Coral City Council has again expanded the scope of a consultant contract to further explore the cost of bringing solid waste collection services in-house

Wednesday’s vote approved a fourth amendment to the contract with Raftelis Financial Consultants, increasing it another $13,865 for a total contract tally of $107,250

The amendment expands the combined residential and commercial collection in-housing analysis report They will focus on comparable municipal-run solid waste systems, municipal solid waste systems that have recently taken over solid waste services, develop an online community survey to gauge interest and dividing the city into two collection areas

Solid waste services are currently provided by a contracted private vendor, Waste Pro

Councilmember Robert Welsh pulled the item from the consent agenda as he thought they had had discussions through multiple workshops.

“We have gone through this with three amendments

to bring services in-house by creating a municipal-run system

Why a fourth amendment? Why keep paying consultants?” he said “I thought we decided to put this to bed ”

City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn said the first engagement with the company was to analyze the routes in the city to make sure they have an efficient service and maybe try to look at possibilities of taking services inside The second was added to analyze commercial to see if the commercial could offset residential costs

From there a discussion was had with Council that included a series of unanswered questions, which utilized the services of the analysis again Ilczyszyn said the discussion included whether to split service areas into more than one franchise, keeping it a contract service though with possibly more than one private provider Hypothetically, that would be for the north and one for the south with two service providers

“Most likely not a north, south because there is going to be some commercial for both franchises,” he said, adding that they would have to find that dividing line in the city “In addition to that we were asked some questions about whether or not taking one service over horticulture internally, franchise for others ”

Ilczyszyn said the subject matter experts have the ability to analyze the impact on the market, rates, and what amount of equipment would be needed

“This last amendment is for a little over $13,000 We will come back to you all with the output and look to try to close up that discussion,” he said.

The consultant contract was awarded to Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc, out of Charlotte, North Carolina

on Nov 9, 2021 for $45,130

The initial contract was to prepare a financial forecasts model and to evaluate solid waste collection services alternatives, as well as compare services costs, which identified issues, advantages and disadvantages

The scope continued to evolve adding the three amendments

■ The first amendment added commercial routing analysis This tacked on another $14,580 on June 21, 2022

■ The second amendment added residential and commercial collection services and converting the pilot citizen bulk site to a permanent full-service convenience center for $22,905 on March 14, 2023

■ The third amendment addressed in-house residential and commercial services financial modeling changes projected out 20 years with labor costs updates This was for $10,770 on Aug 29, 2023

According to documents posted to the city website, “as the current solid waste service provider services residential and commercial, City staff needs to understand the combined costs and needs to provide in-house, both residential and commercial services, along with implementing a permanent full-service resident convenience center ”

Council asked for additional information on Aug 23, expanding the combined residential and commercial collection in-housing collection analysis report

There is another presentation anticipated for the Nov. 29 workshop

Garden tours return to Museum of History

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers

com

Monthly garden tours will begin again on the grounds of the Cape Coral Museum of History to showcase

F l o r i d a F r i e n d l y l a n d s c a p e s a n d

native plants

L e e C o u n t y M a s t e r G a r d e n e r

Carolyn France, and volunteer in the garden at the museum, said the garden

tours will begin again next week and continue the second Wednesday afternoon of each month October through April

The tours began in 2015 but were put on pause before COVID began T h e F l o r i d a F r i e n d l y Garden Tour will be held f r o m 1 t o 4 p m Wednesday, Oct. 11, at the C a p e C o r a l M u s e u m o f History, 544 Cultural Park B l v d N o r e g i s t r a t i o n i s required

She encourages the community to attend to learn about Florida friendly landscapes and native plants

“They can see what their favorite plant is going to look like at maturity and get s o m e i d e a s f o r b u t t e r f l y plants,” France said. “We have a little bit of an herb garden, not huge ”

France said right now they have four master gardeners, which increases by two in the winter, to maintain the grounds around the C a p e C o r a l M u s e u m o f History, except the rose garden, which is maintained by the Garden Club of Cape Coral

The garden is natural and i n c l u d e s F l o r i d a f r i e n d l y landscapes

“ W e h a v e a l l n a t i v e , f r i e n d l y , n o n - i n v a s i v e p l a n t s i n t h e l a n d s c a p e , ”

France said

In 2012, she became a master gardener and began volunteering at the garden 10 years ago

“It’s a master gardener project, which was started before I got there,” France said “It’s fun It’s kind of like my garden now ”

it would be cost-effective

OPINIONS

CAPE CORAL BREE ZE

RAYMOND M. ECKENRODE Publisher

VALARIE HARRING, Executive Editor

CHRIS STRINE, Editor

2510 Del Prado Blvd • Cape Coral, FL, 33904

• Phone 239-574-1110 – Fax 239-574-5693

Member Florida Press Association

Pip, pip hurray

The Southwest Florida Eagle Cam’s 12th season took flight on a wing and a prayer Sunday: It looks like international star M15 has found a new mate and fans everywhere are hoping a new brood of eaglets can erase some of the sadness of matriarch Harriet’s apparent demise last season

Since its launch on the Pritchett property in September of 2012, the 24/7 raptor reality show has recorded more than 210 million views from more than 190 countries worldwide

It has a near cult following and no, we can’t explain why any more than we would even attempt to expound on the popularity of The Kardashians

What we do know is that for many of us here in Southwest Florida, the eagle cam is more than a guilty pleasure it’s a seasonal tradition with a huge fan base of social media pages filled with photos of the family happenings from nest refurbishment and the laying of the latest clutch, to the first pip breaking through the shell and the raising of the hatchling through their first flights.

T h e r e ’ s h a p p i n e s s t o b e f o u n d a t t h e h o s t s i t e , https://dickpritchettrealestate com/

And there’s drama as well because, as anyone who’s ever watched “The Lion King” knows, natural selection is not always pretty

But through the harshness of eaglet deaths, great horned owl attacks, and even the passing of the original nesting pair Ozzie and Harriet, we continue to watch, we continue to learn, and we continue to hope for the successful raising of those eaglets that grow from raggedy fuzz balls to young adults on the hunt in a matter of mere months

To M15 and the young miss with whom he is apparently engaging in a bit of nest building.

We’ll be among those tuning in, once again

This week’s poll question:

What do your think of the ouster of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy?

∫ About time

∫ Not much either way

∫ It was a mistake on the part of Republicans

∫ Other

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Honor donor’s intent for Jaycee Park

To the editor:

The person who gifted Jaycee Park to the county in 1971 knew what a real park looked like, wanted the people to have that kind of park, and never would have dreamed that the park would be changed from a green, shaded, quiet park with picnic tables, grills, shelters, a playground and shaded paths to an Entertainment Center with food trucks, a bar, and a bandshell, all businesses that have no place in the original gift to the people

To the Cape City Council, city manager and assistant, please honor the gift of long ago and walk away from this $12 million dollar makeover

Sally Flash Cape Coral

Save Jaycee Park

To the editor:

Why is the Cape Coral City Council so intent on drastically changing Jaycee Park? There has been major push back from the neighborhood residents being impacted but Council just isn’t listening The Parks Department’s own Master Plan designates Jaycee Park as a “Neighborhood Park ” (Approx 10 acres in size) The amenities being proposed (bandshell, food trucks, outdoor bistro and bar) are amenities designated for “Large Community Parks” of more than 100 acres And the demographics of the area near Jaycee Park (53% over 65, median age 66) won’t support this type of concept

Council claims it wants to attract boaters to the park, but the water amenities are in Phase 2 and require Army Corp of Engineers approval. This permit has not even been applied for yet and could be years away, yet they want to move ahead with making all the other land changes not even knowing if ACOE will approve Plus, there is a similar private enterprise (bar, food trucks, boardwalk) being built less than 1 mile away from Jaycee Park

Overall, just a poor plan The results of the on-line survey done by the Council are skewed as there was no selection provided to account for “none of the above” and so can’t be trusted A “Save Jaycee Park” petition with over 4,800 signatures has been provided to the Town Council but has resulted in minimal dialog Please listen to the taxpaying people that live in the area and put this concept somewhere like Tropicana Park where the demographics are a much better fit

Bill Pranger Cape Coral

Thank you to Cape Coral City Council

To the editor:

Having just marked the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ian, I thought it would be appropriate to extend a heartfelt and much deserved thanks to the Cape Coral City Council Just to be clear, however, this debt of gratitude isn’t owed to our current city councilmen and councilwomen, but instead to those who faithfully served our city in 2014

Previous poll question

One year later, are you still feeling the impact of Hurricane Ian?

∫ Yes, our is a loss that time hasn’t healed 9%

∫ Yes, insurance issues 35%

∫ Yes, housing or employment issues. 4%

∫ In terms of normalcy, we’re getting there 24.5%

∫ No 27 5% * 69 votes

One year ago last week, our community was devastated like never before As Hurricane Ian approached, my wife and I chose to remain in our home of 20 years, which is located just across the canal from the Four Mile Cove Ecological Preserve in Cape Coral Ultimately the storm passed, and despite many hours of mental and emotional exhaustion, we were extremely fortunate Unlike many other members of our community whose homes were completely devastated by the unprecedented storm surge, we escaped flooding by a mere few inches

With this as context, I’d now like to explain why the thanks I earlier offered is so greatly deserved. You see, there is only one reason why I believe we were spared the worst of Hurricane Ian, and that is because the Four Mile Cove wetlands absorbed much of the catastrophic storm surge, thus saving our home from flooding

In 2014, the then-owner of a parcel of private land abutting the preserve petitioned the City Council for a modification to the Future Land Use map This 194 acres was, at the time, zoned for single family homes Not content with the profits to be gained from the sale of their land with that zoning designation, the owners, with the assistance of lobbyists (including a former Mayor of the City of Cape Coral), pres-

sured the city to redraw the zoning map Their offer: in exchange for the rezoning of the uplands of this parcel from single family to high-density multi-family, the owner would transfer a number of acres of wetlands on the property to the City of Cape Coral-to be preserved in perpetuity Upon further scrutiny, it was obvious that the acres offered in exchange for the proposed rezoning were basically without value to the owner, as they were completely unsuitable for development

Thankfully, the City Council at that time saw the proposal for what it was: a fools bargain arranged to enrich a select few at the expense of the entire city and community Following much public outcry and pointed criticism directed by several astute individual councilmen, the owner and their lobbyists ultimately withdrew their proposal during a very heavily attended City Council meeting It had become obvious that the City Council was not going to go along with their scheme To no one’s surprise, the owner flipped the property soon thereafter Obviously, they never intended to develop the parcel, but simply to convince the city to amend the zoning map in order to maximize their gain Who can blame them for trying? Several years later, this parcel was purchased through the Lee County Conservation 20/20 program at a reasonable market price

If the specious proposal described above sounds familiar, it should This is almost the exact same offer being extended in relation to the current rezoning and development proposal for the 350 acre parcel of undisturbed land on the southern tip of Cape Coral, now commonly referred to as Redfish Point The main difference: this deal is even worse for the city and its residents First, the private parcel in question is currently zoned as “Natural Resources/Preserve,” not “Single Family,” as had been the Four Mile Cove property There is vanishingly little preserve designated land remaining in Cape Coral, and the proposed change would be a dramatic alteration to the Future Land Use map

Next, the location of this preserve land offers even more surge protection and wind mitigation than does that of Four Mile Cove It is arguably more ecologically sensitive, with a higher density of threatened species and a more extensive critical mangrove coastline Additionally, the conceptual 200 slip riverfront marina and yacht club would necessitate the dredging of tens of thousands of cubic yards of river bed and coastline, an idea so radical and destructive that it was never included in the 2014 Four Mile Cove proposal.

Finally, and perhaps most egregiously, the acres of nondevelopable wetland being offered to the City of Cape Coral isn’t just in exchange for the extremely lucrative proposed rezoning In this case, the owner and their representative would also require the city to carve off a piece of Rotary Park which would then be razed and paved over, so as to allow for ingress and egress of what is now an inaccessible preserve parcel The access road to the property would then run parallel to the entire length of Rotary Park, completely transecting it from the wetlands, thus irreparably and permanently disrupting the habitat and hydrology of one of Cape Coral’s few remaining green spaces. Such an agreement would fly in the face of the conservation easement of the park that specifically forbids such development “forever ”

The fact is this: without the wisdom and forethought of those serving on the Cape Coral City Council a decade ago, our home and countless others like it would not have escaped devastation from Hurricane Ian I implore the current council members to follow their lead, and choose the community, environment, and common sense over cronyism and developer greed Vote NO on the rezoning of Redfish

Point Vote NO to the destruction of Rotary Park

Dr. Christopher Robben Cape Coral

Wheel of for tune

T o t h e e d i t o r :

T h a n k s f o r “ C a p e C o u n c i l o u t l i n e s l e g i s l a t i v e p r i o r -

i t i e s ” s t o r y p u b l i s h e d S e p t 2 9 I t t e l l s u s t h a t c i t y h a s a “ s e n i o r g o v e r n m e n t r e l a t i o n s c o n s u l t a n t ” t o a d v i s e t h e C o u n c i l o n h o w t o g e t m o r e m o n e y o u t o f t h e s t a t e T h a t i n c l u d e s h u s t l i n g t h e L e e C o u n t y d e l e g a t i o n , a s w e l l a s

m a k i n g t r i p s t o T a l l a h a s s e e L e m m e r e s t a t e t h i s , j u s t s o t h a t w e u n d e r s t a n d t h e

From

page

u n h o l y d y n a m i c t h a t i s “ i n p l a y ” h e r e . S p e c i f i c a l l y , w e a r e p a y i n g t h i s c o n s u l ta n t t o t e l l o u r p a i d C o u n c i l h o w t o m a ss a g e o u r p a i d d e l e g a t i o n i n t o m a s s a g i n g o u r p a i d s t a t e g o v e r n m e n t i n t o s p e n d i n g e v e n m o r e o f o u r m o n e y o n t h e i r p r o je c t s S h o o t m e

L a r r y G i l l i s , f o r m e r d i r e c t o r - a t - l a r g e ,

L i b e r t a r i a n P a r t y o f F l o r i d a C a p e C o r a l

If it takes a shutdown to curb debt so be it

To the editor:

It’s only money!! We are now facing a government shutdown, temporarily averted but kicked down the road again until Nov 17 Many don’t seem to be too excited about our debt and don’t want a shutdown but

The annual interest payment is approaching one trillion dollars In 10 years, that will be $10 trillion if we don’t increase the debt anymore $20-30 trillion at the present rate!

What has the debt bought us? Enormous inflation Our dollar is now worth about 80 cents compared to a few years ago Gasoline is almost double and many items in the hardware and grocery stores are 50% more Then of course we have to pay much more interest forever now

How much will we suffer if the government were to shut down, a highly exaggerated term The big expenditures will be unde-

terred The military, Social Security and Medicare will continue and interestingly those employees in our government that are furloughed will be reimbursed for not working when this is over Paid vacations to all Hardly any of us will be inconvenienced unless we go to a federal park

So why aren’t our political congressmen and president handling this continuing problem Simple The Democratic Party is a special interest party and they gain power by rewarding their special interest constituencies Further, they can make hay for the next election by blaming the Republicans for shutting down the government

On the other side, the Republicans were responsible for zeroing debt with Clinton in 1996 Perfect combination The Democrats raise taxes and the Republicans reduce spending

Incredibly the conservative President Trump allowed an increase of $8 trillion of debt during his tenure His big tax bill which was intended to boost the economy when it did not need a boost was a terrible bill Unfortunately, Biden was elected president and his actions were contrary to what Trump would have done negating the benefits of the tax bill that might have compensated for much of the debt

Then Biden went crazy giving away money partly due to the pandemic but mostly due to paying off special interests resulting in inflation He brags about the economy which in part he bought with debt and in part was due to recovery from the pandemic

Many other consumer cost is out of con-

trol such as gross pricing and entrapment by the pharmaceutical industries The second largest lobby is enormously effective with Congress, the White House, doctors and consumers Pharmaceutical advertisements are hilarious spouting the magical work of a new drug while warning that the side effects include about every possible harm including death And unbelievably they are effective

Of course, the money spent on the pandemic was largely a waste Two examples: Would you believe Bill Gates, George Soros and Buffet were also sent a check? How stupid does one have to be to send $900 to someone making millions or even hundreds of thousands

Then we learn that there was as much as $400 billion of fraud when the criteria for compensating companies was so ill conceived Most of that fraud was from thieves outside of our country Our government doesn’t even know how to give money away.

Do we need a shutdown I say yes It’s only money but my money and I don’t want 20% of my taxes going to interest I don’t want the shutdown to end until our politicians start protecting the taxpayer from debt

John A. Benedict Cape Coral

Voting democratic is counterintuitive

To the editor:

Human-caused global warming is a total lie Finally, thousands of scientists and meteorologists are fed up with being used as the source of these lies and are making their

voices heard Democrats and socialists are using these lies as their excuse for their nonsensical push to reduce or eliminate fossil fueled anything and everything Thus, government promotion of electric vehicles and expensive specification modifications to all our home appliances, the latest being gas fired furnaces This is all political propaganda as none of it will have any significant effect on global air temperatures, certainly not when populous countries like China and India ignore the whole thing

Anyone who ever took an Earth Science class in high school should remember the benefits of CO2 in the atmosphere Nature uses CO2 to stimulate plant growth that has provided abundant food throughout history Eliminate CO2 and we will have mass starvation

Then there is the inexcusable mess at the borders, both North and South Biden should be jailed for deliberately promoting mass illegal immigration including the explosion of illegal drugs that are killing too many of our young citizens

This is all to maintain control of our citizens by a deep state of unelected, overpaid, self-appointed masterminds using a collection of illegal Biden presidential executive orders It is no wonder we have out of control inflation and massive federal deficits in the trillions

In conclusion, any vote for any Democrat is just plain stupid no matter who is the opponent.

Neil Miller Cape Coral

School District works to improve student enrollment process

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

The School District of Lee County continues to make strides in providing better customer service for those who are enrolling their child in the district for the first time, or re-enrolling with new technology and online options

Student Enrollment Executive Director

Soretta Ralph said in late June, early July they launched the QLESS system, which is an online appointment scheduling service

Families can make an appointment to join the line, get information of when the appointment is, enabling them to leave and come back if time allows

Parents can either use their cell phone to text an appointment or use the kiosk at the district office

“QLESS provides updates to the cell phone every 15 minutes through a text to tell them how much time until the next appointment,” Ralph said

The system also provides the district with metrics to see how many families are using

the program by showing customer appointments, customers that left the line, no shows and customers actually served by staff

Ralph broke down data from Aug. 28 during the Tuesday afternoon school board meeting

There were 997 customers who used the app on that day alone to make an appointment or join the line Of those, 347 were no shows

“They held the spot, but after 5 minutes they did not arrive to the staff member,” Ralph said, which could be for a number of reasons, such as parents not being able to wait that long

The data further showed that 145 were in the virtual line but put their status to wanting to leave the line.

“Five hundred and five customers were summoned and received customer care,” Ralph said

On average, an enrollment specialist spends 22 minutes assisting a family

Parents now have the opportunity to also register their child or re-enroll their child through FOCUS Ralph said her staff receives

notification when submitted, they validate and review the information and follow-up through FOCUS

The presentation also went over enrollment numbers

■ Aug 10, 2022 – 82,956 students

■ June 6, 2023 – 88,269 students

■ Sept 1, 2023 – 90,276 students

“We are still enrolling students every day,” Ralph said

Numbers were also broken down for those enrolled in Lee Virtual School, both full-time and part-time

Full-time:

■ Aug 10, 2022 – 826 students

■ June 6, 2023 – 772 students

■ Sept. 1, 2023 – 826 students

Part-time:

■ June 6, 2023 – 66 students

■ Sept 1, 2023 – 904 students

Ralph said students who are part-time are enrolled at a brick-and-mortar school while taking classes through Lee Virtual School

There are a variety of reasons students take advantage of the part-time option courses

not offered at brick-and-mortar school, work ahead for early graduation, or eighth grade students taking courses to get it out of the way before high school.

Exceptional Student Education enrollment was also broken down:

■ Aug 10, 2022 – 15,493 students

■ June 6, 2023 – 15,835 students

■ Sept 1, 2023 – 14,769 students

Student Enrollment Exceptional Student Education Coordinator Kristin Sinclair said they have seen an increase of 462 students since the first day of school

The enrollment numbers are further broken down into pre-K students with disabilities

“They cannot do it online,” Sinclair said of enrollment Staff will meet with families We had 190 pre-K students at the start of the 2022-2023 school year with an increase of 163 students during the school year,” she said

On Sept 1, 2023 there were 497 students enrolled

School district committee bringing sales tax info to the public

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

The Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee has begun taking information out to the community on what they do, and how the half cent penny sales tax is being used in the School District of Lee County

The first presentation was brought before the Foundation of Lee County Public Schools last month with more than 50 in attendance

“It was a complete and fun presentation, and a lot of information was shared and wellreceived,” Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee Liaison Susan Malay said

The district provides a Change for

Change summary for each school highlighting the Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee projects completed by the half cent penny sales tax funds

Malay said the Change for Change Program campaign was launched in 2017 with a goal to collect sales tax and reinvest it in new or aging schools The voters authorized four categories for expenditures construction and major renovation, safety and security, technology and maintenance

The district has eight schools that are between the ages of 40 to 49 years old, seven schools between 50 to 59 years old and 21 schools that are more than 60 years old Malay said there were depleted revenues, or taxes coming in for funding for

repairs and maintenance of the buildings

“The sales tax funds for Fiscal Year ’24 is about $383 3 million,” she said

After the voters passed the referendum for the half cent penny sales tax in the fall of 2018, the oversight committee was formed with the first meeting held in March 2019 and every quarter since then The committee continues to vote that the district’s expenditures are consistent with the plan and approved project list

According to the district’s Change for Change website there has been a total spent of $92,593,169 26 for planned projects; $92,601,936 69 for maintenance projects, $51,066 528 31 for safety projects and $82,119,486 83 for technology projects

One of the planned projects is for the Cape Coral Technical College expansion, which includes an estimated amount of $2,435,397 98 with $80,926 20 spent so far

The maintenance projects include such items as PE and playground improvements with a total spent so far of $959,528 71, roof replacement with a total spent so far of $16,141,126 41 and school equipment with a total spent so far of $901,844 62

,

O c t o b e r

PHOTO PROVIDED

Bargain Bin Heroes will be among the multitude of acts to perform at a pair of Cape Coral venues.

From page 1

“ A l l m u s i c l o v e r s w i l l f i n d s o m e t h i n g t h e y l i k e , ” D e M a y o s a i d , a d d i n g h e o f t e n h e a r s c o m m e n t s f r o m a t t e n d e e s s t a t i n g t h e y d i d n ’ t k n o w t h i s k i n d o f “ s c e n e ” w a s a l i v e l o c a l l y “ S o m e p e o p l e h a d j u s t m o v e d h e r e , o r h a d b e e n l i v i n g h e r e f o r a c o u p l e o f y e a r s , a n d g o , ‘ O h ? I d i d n ' t k n o w m u s i c l i k e t h i s w a s i n S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a ’ ” D e M a y o s a i d b a n d s c o m e f r o m a l l a r o u n d t h e s t a t e t o p l a y 2 3 9 F e s t , m a n y o f w h i c h h a v e p l a y e d c o u n t l e s s t i m e s , a s w e l l a s n e w a c t s “ I t ’ s a l w a y s a r e a l l y f u n t i m e A n d n o w w e h a v e t w o v e n u e s , ” D e M a y o s a i d “ A s t h e e v e n t g r e w , w e n e e d e d m o r e s p a c e a n d c o u l d i n v i t e m o r e b a n d s I t m a k e s f o r a c o o l b a c k - a n d - f o r t h b e t w e e n t h e v e n u e s I t ’ s a l m o s t a m i n i f e s t i v a l a t t h a t p o i n t w h e r e y o u c a n r o t a t e a r o u n d T h e y ’ r e j u s t a f e w y a r d s a p a r t f r o m o n e a n o t h e r ” O r g a n i z e r s h a v e d o n e t h e i r b e s t t o o f fs e t b a n d t i m e s t o g i v e a t t e n d e e s t h e b e s t c h a n c e t o c a t c h a s m a n y a c t s a s t h e y ’ d l i k e “ Y o u w o n ’ t g o w i t h o u t h e a r i n g m u s i c , ” D e M a y o s a i d T h e g e n r e o f m u s i c , w h i c h i s u s u a l l y f a s t - p a c e d a n d o f t e n w i t h j u b i l a n t t o n e s f r o m h o r n s a n d b r a s s , c a n b r i n g a p o s it i v e v i b e w h i c h h a s b e e n n e e d e d o v e r t h e l a s t 1 2 m o n t h s “ I t ’ s d e f i n i t e l y a t h i n g t h a t p u t s y o u i n a g o o d m o o d , ” D e M a y o s a i d “ T h e f u n n y t h i n g a b o u t s k a a n d r e g g a e , a n d w e j o k e a b o u t t h i s a l l t h e t i m e , f o r t h e m o s t p a r t t h e r e a r e s e r i o u s l y r i c s a n d t h e m u s i c i t s e l f i s a l w a y s u p b e a t a n d h a p p y Y o u s t a r t p i c k i n g a p a r t t h e l y r i c s a n d y o u c a n s e e s o m e o f t h e s e r i o u s t o p i c s c o v e r e d , b u t w i t h a n u p b e a t a t t i t u d e I t ’ s a l m o s t t h e r a p e u t i c i n t h a t w a y ”

A s f a r a s b e i n g a m u s i c i a n , D e M a y o s a i d 2 3 9 F e s t e a c h y e a r i s l i k e

C h r i s t m a s “ W e l o o k f o r w a r d t o i t a l l y e a r , ” h e s a i d “ I t ’ s o n m y m i n d a t l e a s t h a l f o f t h e y e a r w h i l e p l a y i n g s h o w s l o c a l l y O t h e r b a n d s a l w a y s a s k m e a b o u t t h i s o n e i f w e ’ r e o u t o f t o w n p l a y i n g ”

T h e f u l l l i n e u p f o r 2 3 9 F e s t 2 0 2 3 f e a -

t u r e s : O l l i e ’ s P u b O c t 1 3

8 : 4 5 - 9 : 1 5 p m - L i g h t y e a r s l a t e r

9 : 4 5 - 1 0 : 1 5 p m - E f f i t

1 0 : 3 0 - 1 1 p m - F u a k a t a

1 1 : 1 5 p m - E x c e p t Y o u

O l l i e ’ s P u b O c t 1 4

5 : 1 5 - 5 : 4 5 p m - K S e a

6 : 0 0 - 6 : 3 0 p m - C o r n e r e d

6 : 4 5 - 7 : 1 5 p m - S o c i a l I n f a n t s

7 : 3 0 - 8 p m - R a t h a n d t h e W i s e G u y s

8 : 1 5 - 8 : 4 5 p m - C o l o r b l i n d d i n o s a u r s

9 : 0 0 - 9 : 3 0 p m - B i l l y D o o m i s D e a d

9 : 4 5 - 1 0 : 1 5 p m - B a y S t r e e t

1 0 : 3 0 - 1 1 p m - D o n e F o r

1 1 : 1 5 p m - K i n d l y S h u t U p

R a c k ’ e m S p i r i t s & T i m e s O c t 1 3

8 : 1 5 - 8 : 4 5 p m ( o u t s i d e s t a g e ) -

F u t u r e b y g o n e s

8 : 5 5 - 9 : 2 5 p m ( i n s i d e s t a g e ) - T h e e

B u t c h e r C a b a l

9 : 3 5 - 1 0 : 0 5 p m ( o u t s i d e ) - A b o r t i o n t w i n s

1 0 : 1 5 - 1 0 : 4 5 p m ( i n s i d e ) - F

1 0 : 5 5 - 1 1 : 2 5 p m ( o u t s i d e ) - P e r f e c t s e q u e n c e

1 1 : 3 5 p m - P u n k c o v e r b a n d

R a c k ’ e m S p i r i t s & T i m e s O c t . 1 4

5 - 5 : 3 0 p m ( o u t s i d e s t a g e ) - F o r t h e M o m e n t

5 : 4 5 - 6 : 1 5 p m ( i n s i d e ) -

P e r s e p h o n e ’ s C h o i c e

6 : 2 5 - 7 p m ( o u t s i d e s t a g e ) - T h e P a t i n a T u r n e r s

7 : 1 0 7 : 4 0 p m ( i n s i d e ) - T h e S t r i p C l u b M o m s

7 : 5 0 - 8 : 2 0 p m ( o u t s i d e s t a g e ) -

F o o l i s h r e l i c s

8 : 3 0 - 9 p m ( i n s i d e ) - D i a l D r i v e

9 : 1 0 - 9 : 4 0 p . m . ( o u t s i d e s t a g e ) -

N e v e r l e s s

9 : 5 0 - 1 0 : 2 0 p m ( i n s i d e ) - B B H

1 0 : 3 0 - 1 1 p m ( i n s i d e ) - R o x x R e v o l t a n d T h e V e l v e t s

1 1 : 1 5 p m ( i n s i d e ) – i n d i g o I

R a c k ’ e m S p i r i t s & T i m e s i s a t 1 0 1 1

S E 4 7 t h T e r r a c e i n S o u t h C a p e

O l l i e ’ s P u b i s a t 1 0 1 9 C a p e C o r a l

P a r k w a y

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t t h e e v e n t ' s

F a c e b o o k p a g e b y s e a r c h i n g 2 3 9 P u n k

S k a R e g g a e F e s t

Slow Ride: Foghat to bring ’70s rock to Caloosa Sound Amphitheater

By NATHAN MAYBERG nmayberg@breezenewspapers com

When it comes to gritty 1970s hard rock anthems, few songs bring into focus those pictures of long hair and loud music blasting from big muscle cars quite like Foghat’s “Slow Ride ”

Nearly 50 years since that song rocked the charts, the English group is bringing their act to Fort Myers next week for a show at the Caloosa Sound Amphitheater in Fort Myers Oct 12 in anticipation of their long-awaited 17th album, new album, Sonic Mojo, to be released Nov 10 Foghat Records

Foghat drummer Roger Earl, currently the sole original member still playing in the group (original singer and lead guitarist Dave Peverett died of cancer in 2000), spoke with Breeze Newspapers ahead of the show over the phone from Long Island where he has called home the last few decades For a band with eight gold records, they have stood the test of time

They are ready to release their 10th album with new singer Scott Holt as well as longtime guitarist Bryan Bassett (known for his guitar work on Wild Cherry’s “Play that Funky Music”). Their latest album “Sonic Mojo” will be released Oct 10 and the band will be playing three songs of the album, which was recorded in the band’s studio outside of Orlando

Their latest work mixes their hard rock edge with their blues influences, as well as country and gospel Earl cites Rock and Roll Hall of Fame drummer Earl Palmer (Little Richard, Fats Domino) as an early influence as well as blues drummers Freddy Below and Frances Clay as other key influences

Earl grew up in post-World War 2 in bombed-out London with a family that grew vegetables and raised chickens under food

rationing The son of a car factory worker, the sound of ’50s rock and roll pioneers Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis is what initially led Earl to music And of course Chuck Berry “We would all be out of business if it weren’t for Chuck Berry,” Earl said Later would come a love for country legend Johnny Cash and the blues titan Willie Dixon.

Foghat’s first claim to fame was a version of Dixon’s song “I Just Want to Make Love to You,” a blues standard first recorded by Muddy Waters which the band turned into a radio hit Earl said the group would later meet Dixon while performing in Chicago in the

1970s

“He invited us to his house on the south side of Chicago,” Earl said They stayed up late playing music, eating and listening to some of Dixon’s old records, Earl said Earl said Dixon was imposing at six feet, six inches tall “He was very warm and very knowledgeable about music he produced and wrote. He was easy to talk to and a smile never left his face,” Earl said

Earl’s older brother Collin got him into Johnny Cash, by buying his Sun Records albums Cash was not well known in England at the time “What I liked about Johnny is he

always had a story,” Earl said Collin would become a successful musician in his own right, playing with the group Mungo Jerry who had a major hit with “In the Summertime ”

Before Foghat, Earl and other members of the group played in the band Savoy Brown

There is only one song that Foghat closes out their sets with – it’s "Slow Ride "

“It’s an industrial love song,” Earl said With song lyrics that kids today would call a hookup song, and the power chord anthem of the main riff, the song clocks in at more than eight minutes long "Slow Ride" was catchy enough to become a radio hit yet sophisticated enough with its bass jams, rhythm changes and extended solos to retain significance decades later

Earl credits the arrangement to the band’s bassist at the time – Nick Jameson, who would go on to be known as a character actor on shows like “24” and “King of Queens” and as a voice actor. Earl said it was Jameson who came up with the timing of the smashing cymbals for the chorus part of the song “Just go ‘bang,’” Earl recalls Jameson saying to him

The loss of Peverett was tough on Earl personally He suffered from kidney cancer before dying at the age of 56 “I don’t think he got the best treatment,” Earl said “I miss him ”

The band’s new singer Scott Holt “gives everything he’s got,” Earl said “He never gives less than 110% ” Another former member, bassist Craig McGregor, died of lung cancer in 2018

“It’s a tough business unless you are willing to give everything you’ve got,” Earl said

The show at the Caloosa Sound Amphitheater at 201 Edwards Drive in Fort Myers starts at 7 p m Tickets start at $37

PHOTO PROVIDED

Foghat, will perform at the Caloosa Sound Amphitheater in Fort Myers on Thursday, Oct. 12. Foghat is led by original drummer Roger Earl (third from left). He will be joined by (left to right) singer/guitarist Scott Holt, bassist Rodney O’Quinn and guitarist Bryan Bassett.

0

Volunteer tree planting will also offer free trees

O c t o b e r 6 ,

f

e x p o s e d p r o p e r t y , i s p r o v i d i n g t h e t r e e s a n d w i l l h a v e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a t t h e p l a n t i n g t o h e l p d e m o n s t r a t e t o p a r t i c ip a n t s t h e p r o p e r w a y t o e n s u r e a h e a l t h y f u t u r e R i n g l a n d s a i d t r e e s o f f e r v a s t b e n e f i t s

o r t h e c o m m u n i t y a t l a r g e T h r i v i n g u r b a n f o r e s t s b o l s t e r h u m a n h e a l t h , f r o m e n c o u r a g i n g p h y s i c a l a c t i v i t y t o r e d u ci n g r e s p i r a t o r y i l l n e s s e s s t e m m i n g f r o m a i r p o l l u t i o n U r b a n t r e e s f i l t e r t h e a i r b y r e m o v i n g p o l l u t i o n w h i c h i m p r o v e s a c i t y ’ s o v e r a l l a i r q u a l i t y T h e y a l s o r e d u c e r u n o f f o f s e d i m e n t , p o l l u t a n t s , a n d o r g a n i c m a t t e r i n t o s t r e a m s , i m p r o vi n g o u r w a t e r q u a l i t y T r e e s h a v e a l s o b e e n s h o w n t o r e d u c e c r i m e , l o w e r s t r e s s l e v e l s , a n d d e v e l o p c o m m u n i t y p r i d e T r e e s a l s o p r o v i d e s h a d e A n d i n S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a , t h a t ’ s a h o t c o m m o di t y “ S o m e o f t h e a r e a s I ’ v e b e e n w o r k i n g o n f o r 2 5 y e a r s a r e n o w 1 0 0 p e r c e n t s h a d e d , ” R i n g l a n d s a i d H e a l s o n o t e d t h a t p i n e t r e e s s p e c i f ic a l l y a r e v i t a l t o k e e p i n g t h e e a g l e p o p ul a t i o n i n t h e C a p e “ O s p r e y s w i l l n e s t i n a n y t h i n g , b u t e a g l e s r e a l l y l o v e t h e b i g p i n e s , ” R i n g l a n d s a i d “ I f y o u ’ r e n o t p l a n t i n g m o r e p i n e s , y o u c a n e x p e c t e a g l e s t o n o t h a v e a p l a c e t o n e s t Y o u ’ v e g o t t o c o ns t a n t l y p l a n t , b e c a u s e i t ’ s a l o n g p r o c e s s T h e y a l s o s t o o d s t r o n g d u r i n g H u r r i c a n e I a n ” T o v o l u n t e e r w i t h F u t u r e F o r e s t r y i n p e r s o n , o r t o d o n a t e t o h e l p r e b u i l d t h e l o c a l u r b a n f o r e s t , v i s i t w w w F u t u r e F o r e s t r y o r g F o u n d e d i n 1 9 7 2 , t h e A r b o r D a y F o u n d a t i o n i s t h e l a r g e s t n o n p r o f i t m e m -

b e r s h i p o r g a n i z a t i o n d e d i c a t e d t o p l a n ti n g t r e e s , h a v i n g h e l p e d p l a n t m o r e t h a n 5 0 0 m i l l i o n t r e e s i n n e i g h b o r h o o d s ,

c o m m u n i t i e s , c i t i e s a n d f o r e s t s t h r o u g ho u t t h e w o r l d M o r e i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e a t w w w a r b o r d a y o r g

Bernier will not run for elected superintendent post

Two candidates have filed to seek newly created office

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

While two candidates have filed paperwork to run for the newly created elected s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s e a t , t h e c u r r e n t L e e Schools Superintendent, Dr Christopher Bernier, announced Thursday he will not seek the post to be decided in 2024

As of press time, Denise Carlin and Morgan Wright, both Republicans, both educators, have filed, according to the Lee County Elections Office website

Lee County voters approved the change from appointive to elected office via a referendum in November of 2022.

The measure, which was placed on the ballot by the State Legislature and was opposed by the School Board of Lee County, passed with 62 15 percent of the voters in favor, making the superintendent’s post another elected constitutional office in Lee County as of the 2024 General Election

The existing system of having the superintendent appointed by the School Board had been approved by Lee voters in 1974

The elected superintendent will serve a four-year term

“ A f t e r e x t e n s i v e c o n t e m p l a t i o n a n d reflection, I have chosen not to pursue the u p c o m i n g e l e c t e d p o s i t i o n o f

Superintendent of Schools,” Bernier wrote in an email sent to the Lee County schools community Thursday “I want to assure you that this decision was not made lightly; it demanded careful consideration I want to underscore that my decision is founded on a profound respect for our School Board and the dedicated students, families, teachers, and staff who collectively contribute to our thriving educational community ”

He went on to write that although he

Dr Christopher Bernier, superintendent of the School District of Lee County

supports the community’s decision, which w a s b a s e d o n t h e r e f e r e n d u m v o t e , “becoming an elected superintendent was never my aspiration Ultimately, this realization led me to determine that running for election was not a reasonable course of action for my educational journey ”

Bernier will remain the superintendent throughout his existing contract term

According to Bernier’s contract “should the outcome of the November 2022 Lee County election result in the approval of the ballot initiative to create an elected superintendent of schools position, the terms of this agreement will officially end upon the swearing in of the elected superintendent in November of 2024 ”

“We must remain steadfast in our commitment to addressing the challenges that impact the future of the children we serve Our communities’ commitment to our students and educational mission continues to inspire us I have the utmost confidence that together, we can continue to lead our School District toward our stated vision of b e i n g a W o r l d - C l a s s S c h o o l S y s t e m , ”

Bernier said.

Eagle Cam: New technology this year

From page 1

old, the same age M15 was when he showed up in 2015 after Harriet’s original cam mate Ozzie went missing Ozzie was found, treated for injuries and CROW on Sanibel and released He returned to the nest but was critically injured again, perhaps as he attempted to retake his territory, and died.

The new female has not yet been named, and, assuming M15 does accept her as his mate, it’s not yet known if any new brood will pick up the E-number sequence or whether their numbered designations will start anew

McSpadden said giving the eaglets formal names risks viewers becoming too attached as was seen early in the cam years

“When Mother Nature isn’t pretty and something goes wrong, people get upset so we use those scientific names to keep a b o u n d a r y t h e r e , ” P r i t c h e t t - M c S p a d d e n said

This year’s eagle cam will have new features and bring back old ones, continuing with the increase in technology the SWFL Eagle Cam has presented since starting up in 2011

There will be two ultra-high definition 4k cameras placed strategically in the nest tree Cam 1 will again have the functionality to pan and zoom on action happening in and above the nest, giving viewers an

Viewers of all ages can watch and track the action on the SWFL Eagle Cam website, dickpritchettrealestate.com, the official Facebook page, Instagram account and YouTube channel.

up-close view into an eagle’s ecosphere Cam 2, the “Nest Cam” will feature eyelevel up close footage of nest activity

The 360-video camera returns after sustaining damage last season during Hurricane Ian This camera will also allow viewers to jump into the driver seat and experience real time 360-degree views of M15 and any future eagles in the nest.

Soon, they should have a fourth camera called the “pond cam” that will give a look south at the pasture

“The second nest camera gives a different view of the nest After the hurricane last year we wanted to do something different,” Pritchett-McSpadden said “The detail we’ll be able to bring will be unprecedented I believe we are the only eagle cam to have 4K capability ”

Viewers of all ages can watch and track the action on the SWFL Eagle Cam website, dickpritchettrealestate com, the official Facebook page, Instagram account and YouTube channel

REAL ESTATE

How Casualty Loss rules benefit homeowners

Mr. Feichthaler:

I read a story in the Breeze last week about “casualty loss” rules, and how it can provide an income tax benefit Is this related to the $1 1 billion FEMA gave to Lee County? More importantly, is this real?

Dear Gladys:

With Hurricane Ian now a year behind us, the fallout continues to impact thousands of our friends and neighbors Problems with roofing c o n t r a c t o r s , u n r e s p o nsive insurance companies and FEMA recons t r u c t i o n r u l e s h a v e made life difficult for m a n y T h e C a s u a l t y Loss rules are the one bright spot in the current landscape

Gladys M

Eric P Feichthaler Real Estate Law

The tax benefit available to homeowners in Lee County is not related to the FEMA payments to be received by Lee County Rather, it is a long-established code section available to taxpayers There are two ways to value a loss due to a hurricane: First, there is the possibility of deducting out-of-pocket losses from adjusted gross income However, there is an alternate way to value losses, based on change in value of the home after the storm

Based on my clients’ experience here is a typical example: A home worth $600,000 prior to the hurricane will appraise immediately after around 12% lower, or $72,000. The IRS then subtracts out payments received from insurance companies In our example, we will value this at $25,000, for a net loss of $47,000 Then, the IRS requires that 10% of adjusted gross income is excluded from deduction For a couple making $90,000, $9,000 would be deducted, leading to a total deductible loss of $47,000 - $9,000, or $38,000

At a tax rate of 22%, the above example would yield a tax refund of $8,360 00 The more expensive the home, the greater the potential benefit And, the lower the amount of insurance proceeds received, the greater the potential refund. Those that have made no insurance claims for losses, interestingly, have a greater ability to deduct the loss in value

Most of my clients have already filed their 2022 tax returns, however these refunds are still available through amending the return The benefits far outweigh the costs in doing so for nearly everyone I have evaluated

This is the one situation where the federal government is providing relief to the everyday homeowner, whether working or retired For those that have not sought this significant refund, a tax attorney or your CPA is the best resource to start Wishing you the greatest of refunds, and, to answer your question, the refunds that are coming back to my clients are very real

Eric P Feichthaler has lived in Cape Coral for over 35 years and graduated from Mariner High School in C a p e C o r a l A f t e r c o m p l e t i n g l a w s c h o o l a t

See CASUALTY LOSS, page 15

T HE BREE ZE

State of confusion as Fed’s great unwind causes uncertainty

We have been noticing a growing state of confusion about a lot of things lately, and when it comes to the economy, inflation, interest rates and the real estate market, confusing and contradicting data points seem to reign supreme Much of this confusion is being caused by the Federal Reserve’s “great unwind” from its lengthy period of loose, “free money,” 0% interest rate monetary policies to its shift to a rapid tightening in the form of sharply higher interest rates

In addition to aggressively changing the direction towards higher interest rates, the Fed has also been ridding its balance sheet of the “troubled” assets it bought through its Quantitative Easing programs during past financial crises, which is also pressuring interest rates higher Basically, we are witnessing the Fed’s shift away from a multi-year monetary experiment that created the widely accepted “new abnormal” of record low interest rates that over-stimulated the economy and the markets, and the move back to the “old normal” of higher interest rates In reality, nobody knows how this will play out, but all of the pundits, economists and market analysts seem to have a firm opinion about what will happen next

and Geri Quinn

Homing In

For example, this week the yield on the 10-year Treasury Note, which is the benchmark for setting mortgage rates in the marketplace, has spiked up to the 4 8 % r a n g e T h i s r a t e i s q u i c k l y approaching the 5% levels last seen back a r o u n d 2 0 0 7 , j u s t b e f o r e t h e G r e a t Recession changed everything Prior to 2007 there were periods of time when 5% plus on a 10-year Treasury was considered “normal,” and back then it was normal for savers to earn more than 5% o n m o n e y m a r k e t a c c o u n t s B a n k Certificates of Deposit paid rates of 7% plus, and mortgage rates were above 7% So for a lot of people, a 7% to 8% interest rate on a mortgage does not seem like a big deal

Let us try to explain On the one hand, some of the economic data would seem to indicate that the Fed is gaining control of the wild levels of inflation and the experts holding cards in this hand are convinced that the Fed has all but engineered a soft landing to the economy These experts were telling us not to worry when mortgage rates spiked higher into the 6 5% range, because they claimed rates would be back down into the 5% range before the end of this year On the other hand, the Fed keeps saying it plans to keep interest rates higher for longer and it seems that for every positive piece of economic data that comes out, another report indicates troublesome economic turbulence is just over the horizon Experts holding cards in this “other hand” believe things are about to get a lot worse before they get better They point to the sudden rise in mortgage rates to the 7 6% level this week, with the next move to 8% mortgage rates sooner rather than later

We could continue breaking down all of the confusing and conflicting economic and market data, but we’ll concentrate on interest rates for now Many of us have been around long enough to remember when interest rates were higher

and we mean a lot higher

than they are today

For some historical context, the highest mortgage rates in history were back in the 1980s, when 30-year fixed mortgage rates hit their peak level of 18 63% in October 1981 The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury Note reached its all time high of 15 82% in September 1981 So the return to “normal rates” for some people is a problem for others who have a personal world reality tied to the more recent record low rates on a 10-year Treasury that was at 0 318% on March 8 2020, and the all time low on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.65% in January 2021. It all comes down to a personal perspective and for a lot of people today, a mortgage rate over 7% seems outrageously high From a purely mathematical perspective, sharply rising mortgage interest rates have become a game changer for a lot of potential buyers Simply put, higher interest rates raise the costs of borrowing and can throw the debt to income ratios required to obtain a mortgage completely out of whack for a lot of people So someone who qualified for a mortgage when rates were at 5% or 6%, may not have enough income to support buying a home with a mortgage rate of 7 6% Add in the costs for property taxes, along with the rising costs for homeowners and flood insurance, and even more potential buyers will be forced to the sidelines The other part of this equation deals with the formula that says for every 1% increase in mortgage rates, a person's buying power is reduced by approximately 11% So homes become less affordable for a lot of buyers, and as more buyers get eliminated from the process it can start putting more downward pressure on home prices This

See STATE OF CONFUSION, page 15

REAL ESTATE BRIEFS

CRA approves increment rebate to Alessio Development

The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency h a s a w a r d e d a t a x i n c r e m e n t r e b a t e t o A l e s s i o Development FL, LLC in the not-to-exceed amount of $11,405 347 76 to develop 2501 Alessio Drive in Fort Myers

The proposed project is located in the Dr Martin Luther King, Jr Blvd redevelopment area and consists of two parcels with commercial flex space Tenants include Ace Pickleball, West Shore Home, Felder Group, Glendale Supply and Kava Kulture

The project total cost is estimated $49,832,475

The CRA’s increment rebate program is a special funding tool available to local governments to help spur economic development for projects that provide a community benefit, and which demonstrate a financial gap

More information can be found on the CRA’s tax increment rebates by visiting https://www fortmyerscra com

The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency was created in 1984 by the City of Fort Myers, Florida, under Florida Statute Chapter 163 The Fort Myers City

C o u n c i l m e m b e r s , s i t t i n g a s t h e C o m m u n i t y Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners, oversee the Agency’s programs and policies The Fort Myers CRA office is located at 1400 Jackson St , in the historical downtown River District

Wor thington Realty launches new website to enhance user experience

Worthington Realty has launched a new website at WorthingtonRealty com designed to enhance the user’s experience The expanding boutique real estate company is taking the buying and selling journey to the next level with the new site as it offers in-depth information on the company, MLS listings, available rental properties, service offerings and more

Worthington’s new owners, Michael and Susana Davis and Brian Rodgers, acquired the company back in April and have quickly made their presence felt by enhancing services, growing the company’s established brokerage and sales teams, and now launching the new website

See REAL ESTATE BRIEFS, page 15

Bob

Rosy Tomorrows sold to longtime Southwest Florida entrepreneurs

W o r t h i n g t o n R e a l t y I n c l a s t w e e k announced that it has brokered the purc h a s e o f o n e o f S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a ' s favorite destinations, Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm in North Fort Myers Broker Brian Rodgers represented the buyers

The 86-acre property was purchased by l o n g t i m e e n t r e p r e n e u r s a n d R o s y

Tomorrows customers Rodney and Stacey Poole, who will introduce the new concept, B l o s s o m & B r i e F a r m s i d e D i n i n g & Events in the near future Named for its current residents, “Blossom,” the donkey family matriarch, and “Brie,” the Jersey dairy cow, Blossom & Brie will continue the legacy of farm-side dining, special e v e n t s a n d w a r m h o s p i t a l i t y t h a t h a s delighted guests for years

Rosy Tomorrows Heritage Farm was founded by Rose O’Dell King. Over a decade ago, O’Dell King, a former sheep

farmer, French Culinary Institute-trained chef, certified sommelier and food and wine

columnist, wanted healthy, good quality food for her family After searching for a year, she and her husband, Gary King, found the nearly 100 acres in North Fort Myers where Rosy Tomorrows currently sits They decided that they could produce food organically, holistically, sustainably, humanely and as close to nature as possible on that land and did so for the past 10 years

Founded in 1989, Worthington Realty is a boutique real estate company specializing in residential sales, rentals and development within Lexington Country Club in Fort Myers and surrounding communities Its office headquarters are located at 8880 Gladiolus Drive, Suite 102, in Fort Myers For more information, call 239-437-3334, email info@worthingtonrealty com or visit WorthingtonRealty com

State of confusion: Uncertainty caused by the Fed’s great unwind

From page 14

raises the likelihood that more homes will sit on the market unsold for longer as the i n v e n t o r y b u i l d s a n d t h e c o m p e t i t i o n between sellers to reduce prices increases creating what can become a negative feedback loop

So what does the future hold for interest rates, the economy and the housing market? A lot of experts are still expecting to see lower interest rates next year, and they are still calling for a soft economic landing, while believing home prices have likely already bottomed Others see growing risks of a chain reaction in the form of a “financial accident causing something to break” if interest rates continue to rise the way t h e y h a v e b e e n r i s i n g . N o t a b l y , R i c k Santelli, a well-known long-time market commentator and editor for the CNBC Business News Network, warned this week that “the Fed is running out of tools” as he

presented his case for substantially higher interest rates over the next seven years Even if he is only half right, it would be a problem for home prices All of this just illustrates the state of confusion

In our local market the activity remains on the slow side as the inventory continues to rise In our casual conversations with a number of Realtors, most are noting a lack of showing appointments Although seasonality is a possible reason for the slower market, the higher interest rates above 7% could finally be weighing on the market.

As of this Tuesday, Oct 3, the number of active listings for Cape Coral singlef a m i l y h o m e s i n t h e M u l t i p l e L i s t i n g Service continued to climb, reaching 2,042 homes on the market at prices ranging from $215,000 to $7 59 million The number of current active listings was up from 1,987 homes two weeks ago The current median list price dipped slightly to $511,225 from $515,000 on Sept 19 Out of the 2,042

active listings, a total of 557 homes or 27 3% of the homes available on the market are new construction homes

The number of pending single-family home sales under contract with buyers in Cape Coral continues to decline, sinking to 610 on Oct 3, from 647 two weeks ago

The current list of pending sales range in price from $175,000 to $3 395 million

The second lowest-priced pending sale was at $249,900 The median pending sales price came in at $399,900 with a total of 402 of the 610 pending sales priced at $450,000 and below Twenty pending sales were priced at $1 million and above

Of note is that 45 4% of the homes currently under contract with buyers in the Cape are new construction homes either already built or being built in 2023 We will have more on the competition between existing homes and new homes next week

The sales data for this article was

o b t a i n e d f r o m t h e F l o r i d a R e a l t o r s Multiple Listing Service Matrix for Lee County, Fla , as of Oct 3, 2023, unless otherwise noted It was compiled by Bob and Geri Quinn and it includes information specifically for Cape Coral singlefamily homes, and does not include condominiums, short sales or foreclosures

The data and statistics are believed to be reliable, however, they could be updated and revised periodically, and are subject to change without notice The Quinns are a husband and wife real estate team with the RE/MAX Realty Team office in Cape Coral They have lived in Cape Coral for over 44 years Geri has been a full-time Realtor since 2005, and Bob joined Geri as a full-time Realtor in 2014 Their real estate practice is mainly focused on Cape Coral residential property and vacant lots

Casualty Loss: Rules one of the bright spots on current landscape

From page 14

returned to Southwest Florida to practice law and raise a family He served as mayor of Cape Coral from 2005-2008, and continues his service to the community through

From page 14

Visitors to the site will be able to see h o m e s l i s t e d f o r s a l e o r r e n t a c r o s s Southwest Florida Additionally, guests

the Cape Coral Caring Center, Cape Coral M u s e u m o f H i s t o r y , a n d C a p e C o r a l Kiwanis He has been married to his wife, Mary, for over 20 years, and they have four children together. He earned his board certification in Real Estate Law

from the Florida Bar He is AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell for professional ethics and legal ability, and is a Supreme Court Certified Circuit Civil M e d i a t o r . H e c a n b e r e a c h e d a t e r i c @ c a p e c o r a l a t t o r n e y c o m , o r 2 3 9 -

REAL ESTATE BRIEFS

can select to view available listings specifically in Lexington Country Club as well as A m e r i c a ’ s f i r s t s o l a r - p o w e r e d t o w n , Babcock Ranch in Charlotte County Worthington has been a part of the

Southwest Florida community for nearly 35 years and has been a strong partner to home buyers, renters and investors as they seek trusted expertise in residential sales, rentals and development in the areas in and

542-4733

This article is general in nature and not i n t e n d e d a s l e g a l a d v i c e t o a n y o n e I n d i v i d u a l s s h o u l d s e e k l e g a l c o u n s e l before acting on any matter of legal rights and obligations

around Lexington Country Club and at Babcock Ranch

To learn more, visit WorthingtonRealty com

Poison apples, ‘acid rain’ and temporary mildness: beware the lethal Manchineel tree

By DEBORAH HAGGETT news@breezenewspapers com

The Halloween season tends to lead me to the dark side This year is no different Let me begin my story with a caution: Beware the “manzanilla de la muerte,” little apple of death hanging sweetly from the deadly Manchineel tree, Hippomane mancinella This “beach apple” masquerading as a common, wild, small, green apple lurks on the Manchineel tree which hides among the mangroves of t h e C a r i b b e a n , M e x i c o ,

C e n t r a l A m e r i c a a n d

Southern Florida including the Everglades and Keys

As it ripens, the apple turns a tempting green-yellow color

Welcoming veterans home to Southwest Florida

GARDEN CLUB OF CAPE CORAL

The tree impersonates a tall shrub and grows in clusters reaching 50 feet tall The clusters can present as a single or multi-trunked tree with reddish, gray-brown rutted bark In botany, the leaves are described as “simple” as they are contiguous single blades attached to a petiole The Manchineel leaf is long and narrow with serrated edges and alternates along the stem The yellowgreen flowers emerge from leafless spikes Readers are strongly encouraged to examine the attached photographs and commit them to memory as all parts of this tree are labeled as lethal!

I discovered the grim story of this tree as I was kayaking along a mangrove tunnel off the coast of Captiva Island Our guide told the historical lore of Ponce de León and the European explorers who attempted to colonize Florida. In a battle with the Calusa people, Ponce de León was struck by an arrow dipped in the sap of the Manchineel tree and subsequently died Other explorers attempted to cut down the tree only to be covered in blisters on their skin and mouth Those who touched their eyes with sap on their hands experienced temporary blindness lasting for two weeks

Standing under the tree in a rainstorm is also a threat

Each raindrop dripping from the tree will burn your skin, giving new meaning to the term “acid rain ” Not only is the sap dangerous, the scent of the tree is toxic, causing asphyxiation, another reason to avoid close proximity to the Manchineel tree In addition, destroying the tree by burning is ill advised as the smoke will cause severe respiratory distress

Why then has this tree not been eliminated?

In nature, every organism has its place in the circle of life The Manchineel tree is a food source for a striped

See MANCHINEEL TREE, page 43

M e m b e r s o f t h e O a s i s H i g h School JROTC, right, representatives of the Daughters of the A m e r i c a n R e v o l u t i o n , a b o v e , and others were on hand at Southwest Florida International A i r p o r t i n F o r t M y e r s l a s t Saturday to welcome local veterans returning from Washington, D C , after Mission #25 of the Lee-Collier Honor Flight

PHOTOS PROVIDED

The Belonging Co coming to Fort Myers for Worship Nights Tour

Nashville-based group to perform Thursday at Life Church in Fort Myers

The Belonging Co Worship is coming to Fort Myers Thursday, Oct 12, for its Worship Nights Tour!

Based in Nashville, Tenn , The Belonging Co is a local church known for its emphasis on worship The Belonging Co Music features artists such as Natalie Grant, Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes, Danny Gokey and more Since starting in 2014, The Belonging Co has grown to see thousands every week for their services and has released six worship albums Their most recent album, “Pneuma,” released earlier this month!

Life Church, 11735 Plantation Road, Fort Myers, is hosting the event Tickets are on sale now and an be purchased by visiting thebelongingcoworship com

There are three ticket options: General Admission, Early Entry and Leadership Co:

■ General Admission tickets grant general entry starting at 6:30 p m

■ Early Entry tickets give access to seating starting at 6:15 p.m. before General Admission doors open at 6:30 p m Ticket holders must arrive before General Admission doors open at 6:30 p m to be able to take advantage of this limited ticket type

■ Leadership Co tickets include the best seating available and grant access to a 60-70 minute pre-event panel discussion with Pastors Henry and Alex Seeley and The Belonging Co worship leaders The panel will include discussion around various topics such as discipleship, building community and worship leading Following the panel discussion there will be a question-and-answer session Doors open at 4:30 p m , and the session begins at 5 p m

PHOTO PROVIDED

The deadly Manchineel tree

T HE BREE ZE EDUCATION

EDUCATION NOTES

Florida SouthWester n State College to hold Fall 2023 Open Houses

Florida SouthWestern State College will host its Fall 2023 Open House events at all FSW locations from 3-6 p m , Monday, Oct 16

Prospective students, their families and the community are invited to attend to learn how they can move forward with a degree from FSW Faculty, staff and FSW students will be available to answer questions about academic programs, student support services, financial aid, study abroad, honors programs and campus life

Attendees will also learn about FSW’s six bachelor’s degrees, workforce programs, Saturday Scholars program, and FSW for Hodges transfer opportunities A promo code to apply to FSW for free will also be available Fall 2023 Open Houses will be held at the following FSW locations:

■ FSW Fort Myers Campus, 8099 College Parkway, Fort Myers

■ FSW LaBelle Center, 1092 East Cowboy Way, LaBelle

■ FSW Naples Campus, 7505 Grand Lely Drive, Naples

■ FSW Punta Gorda Campus, 26300 Airport Road, Punta Gorda

For more information or to register for an FSW Open House, visit www.fsw.edu/openhouse.

Florida SouthWestern State College annually serves nearly 20,000 students globally, offering a variety of nationally-ranked, career-focused academic programs with two- and four-year degrees and professional certifications Study and travel abroad opportunities are available for students through FSW’s Center for International Education Students are also active in clubs and programs catered to their interests

Visit www FSW edu for more information

Cape’s Janito graduates from Marquette University

MILWAUKEE, Wis - Elizabeth Janito of Cape Coral graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Janito earned a doctorate degree in occupational therapy

Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university that draws over 7,500 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate and professional students from nearly all states and more than 60 countries In addition to its nationally recognized academic programs, Marquette is known for its service learning programs and internships as students are challenged to use what they learn to make a difference in the world

Find out more about Marquette at marquette edu

University of Nor th Geor gia freshman cadets complete FROG Week

DAHLONEGA, Ga -- One hundred and seventyeight cadets began their time as University of North Georgia cadets with Freshman Recruit Orientation Group (FROG) Week from Aug 13-19 FROG Week marks the transition from civilian to military life within UNG's Corps of Cadets These new cadets included:

■ Keila Creus of Cape Coral

■ Leonard Greco of Cape Coral

■ Joshua Sykes of Cape Coral

Positioned in the fastest-growing region of the state, the University of North Georgia comprises five campuses united by a single mission focused on academic excellence and academic and co-curricular programs that develop students into leaders for a diverse and global society

The University of North Georgia is a University System of Georgia leadership institution and is The Military College of Georgia With more than 18,000 students, the University of North Georgia is one of the state's largest public universities The university offers more than 100 programs of study ranging from certificate and associate degrees to doctoral programs

For additional information, visit https://ung edu/

OCTOBER 6, 2023

Rotary’s annual ‘Four Way Test’ essay contest for 8th graders underway

Rotary District Gov Alfred Current has announced the opening of the annual essay contest for eighth graders, based on Rotary’s Four Way Test, with a first place award for the district winner of $500 Rotary clubs in the district, which stretches from Palmetto to Marco Island and east to Clewiston, will sponsor local contests in their respective communities, with local awards, as well The annual contest is open to all eight graders (or equivalent middle schoolers) whether public, private, or homeschooled.

The Four Way Test, a test created by Rotary founder Herbert J Taylor in 1932 as a guide for his employees to help them make good decisions, has been adopted has a guide for all Rotarians, who pledge to consider the test in whatever they think, say or do

It asks:

■ First, Is it the Truth?

■ Second, Is it Fair to all concerned?

■ T h i r d , W i l l i t B u i l d G o o d W i l l a n d B e t t e r Friendships?

■ Fourth, Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?

Taylor believed the best competitive advantage to guide his failing aluminum cookware company facing bankruptcy was to implement a strong code of ethics He developed this simple, but effective test, challenging everyone in his

company to memorize and use it to guide their conduct in every aspect of their business and personal lives Taylor’s company not only survived but thrived

Contest competitors write an essay describing how The Four-Way Test can be applied to life challenges or decisions faced by them or others in their age group

“Last year’s winner, Piper Sheldon from Oasis Middle School in Cape Coral, sponsored by The Rotary Club of Cape Coral Goldcoast, titled her essay, “To Post or Not to Post,” a timely essay about the pressures students face in today’s online world ”

Local Rotary Clubs contact local schools, or are contacted by schools wishing to launch the contest in their schools, to initiate a school contest The club selects and awards local winners and submit their winning essays to the district Essay Contest Committee to be entered into the district competition The district will recognize and award a prize for first, second, and third place winners at its district conference at The Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center on Saturday, July 13, 2024

Rotary International District 6960 includes 53 Rotary Clubs with a membership of 2350 active Rotarians “doing good in the world ” For more information about Rotary District 6960 please visit www Rotarydistrict6960 org or www rotary org

Voice of the Constitution (Cape 912, Inc.) to hold Constitution Essay Contest

The Voice of the Constitution (Cape 912, Inc ) is holding a Constitution Essay Contest for 7th graders across Lee County The contest is being held in conjunction with the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools and is being offered as part of the social studies and language arts curricula for county students

The Voice of the Constitution's mission is "To unite, educate and take action to preserve the Constitution and the principals of our Founding Fathers," according to its website The 501 (C)(3) not-for-profit, volunteer organization in the Cape "has established an education focus directed to the young people in our schools and communities "

For the contest, students are invited to submit an essay

with each school submitting its two bet essays All partici p a t i n g s t u d e n t s w i l l r e c e i v e a p e r s o n a l p o c k e t Constitution, and the contest winners will be recognized at a Lee County School Board meeting with the top three finishers earning prizes for themselves and their respective civics teachers

The group also conducts its annual Read Across America, introducing 4th and 5th graders to passages of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution

The Voice of the Constitution (Cape 912, Inc ) meets the second Saturday of each month at 11 a m at the Brotherhood of Heroes Military Museum at 4522 Del Prado Blvd , S , Cape Coral For more information, visit https://www cape912 com/

FWC’s Florida State Fish Art Contest is open

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s annual Fish Art Contest is now open! Students in kindergarten through 12th grade can create an original piece of artwork and compete in this free contest for a chance to win state and national honors and prizes

In partnership with Wildlife Forever, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is excited to announce the second annual category for a Florida Native Fish Award! This State Specialty Award is an additional award to the national Fish Art Contest that participating students will qualify for by submitting a Florida native species

The goal of the Florida Native Fish Award is to celebrate fish species native to Florida’s inland and marine waters

“The Florida Native Fish Award is an amazing opportunity to introduce students to some of Florida’s most iconic native fish species in a fun and creative way,” said FWC Commissioner Sonya Rood “This award helps connect Florida’s students to the fish species that help make Florida the Fishing Capital of the World, which is critical in inspiring the next generation of fisheries resource stewards ”

One first place winner and one runner-up will be selected for each grade bracket (kindergarten through third grade, fourth through sixth grade, seventh through ninth grade, and 10th through 12th grade), one for illustrating

the best freshwater fish species and one for the best saltwater fish species Digital artwork will not be accepted this year, all submitted pieces must be created with a traditional media.

All first-place winners will advance to the National Competition to be judged for top prizes, such as Best of Show The deadline to enter is Feb 28, 2024, so start designing!

To enter, students from Florida should submit their entry at Wildlife Forever – Florida Art, consisting of the following:

■ An original piece of physical artwork featuring any fish including one or more of the following Florida native species from the same category:

■ Category 1 – Freshwater: largemouth bass, striped bass, black crappie, bluegill, redear sunfish, spotted sunfish, channel catfish, Florida gar, chain pickerel, bowfin

■ Category 2 – Saltwater: snook, redfish, spotted seatrout, flounder, tarpon, mahi-mahi, Spanish mackerel, hogfish, queen snapper, black grouper

■ A piece of creative writing, no longer than one page, about the chosen species (required for grades 4-12)

■ A Florida State-Fish Art Contest entry form

Note: Digital artwork will not be accepted this year, all submitted pieces must be created with a traditional media

Visit https://myfwc com/education/programs/fish-art/

We e k ly B R E E Z E R e c ap School District marks one-year Ian milestone at new location for Hector A. Cafferata campus

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Ian impacting the communities of Southwest Florida, the School District of Lee County held a special ceremony for the new Hector A Cafferata K-8 campus, which is scheduled to open in 2025

Superintendent Dr Christopher Bernier was accompanied by Hector A. Cafferata Principal Jason W. Kurtz and a few students at the new site, 214 N W 20th Ave ,

Thursday afternoon

“Today, we gather here with a shared purpose, a common resolve, and an unwavering commitment - to rebuild our beloved school in the wake of a devastating hurricane that struck our community,” Bernier said “This is not just about restoring bricks and mortar; it’s about rebuilding dreams, opportunities, and the future of our children ”

The former campus at 360 Santa Barbara Blvd , N , sustained significant damage from Hurricane Ian as the school had torrential rain inside the building for 12 to 15

hours due to severe roof damage The damage far exceeded FEMA's 50 percent rule, the point at which a rebuild to current codes, elevations and other standards is required

The students, once school resumed, were reassigned among campuses before they were moved to portables on the Cape Coral Technical College campus, where they will remain until their new school, a K-8 facility, is constructed

The Lee County School Board, in September, agreed to move forward with building a K-8 school to replace Hector A Cafferata Jr Elementary at a cost of up to $99,796,782 50

The approval was for a public-private partnership to Fortress Secured, LLC, out of Jacksonville, to build a new campus on a 30 77-acre site using funds from the capital budget and Hurricane Ian recovery funds

According to the district, contract services include a turnkey solution to build the school for a minimum of 1,500 student stations with a projected completion during the 2025 calendar year The cost includes a 25% contin-

Cape Coral’s Resilience Rally draws a crowd — and donations

By MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ news@breezenewspapers com

Cape Coral officials aimed to restock shelves while celebrating the community's strength in the wake of Hurricane Ian by hosting “The Resilience Rally” at the German-American Social Club Friday night

Rather than paying an entry fee, attendees were encouraged to bring non-perishable goods, pet essentials and other donation items Each item donated gave an attendee a raffle ticket with winners then drawn from the stage by Mayor John Gunter, City Manager Michael llczyszyn and other officials

“We still have a fight ahead of us and we have a lot of funding coming to our city We are going to make sure we put everyone’s state dollars to the right place,” said Gunter when pulling the tickets “We want to make sure we are stronger today than before the storm ”

Participants donated to their choice of non-profit organizations including the Cape Coral Caring Center, Cape Vineyard Church, Kiwanis, Faith Generation and the Military Order of the Purple Heart Aid came in multiple forms as some participants decided to donate money instead goods Tickets were given in exchange

for those monetary donations as well

“We are so excited to be here, and it’s an honor to have everyone donating to us,” said the Cape Coral Caring Center’s Operations Manager Wendy Wootton “The city has a big part in making sure that we have what we need, not only does the city, but all the local businesses around here are huge supporters of ours ”

Just an hour after the event started the Caring Center had already filled most of the floor of their van with goods

Ultimately, the rally brought 2,000 attendees generating $829 56 and 2,423 pounds of food for the Cape Coral Caring Center alone

There was also some fun to be had with two local acts, a headliner arranged through iHeart Radio, and numerous food trucks

The Resilience Rally was organized by the city to honor the spirit of the community as well as celebrate first responders

gency fee

“The hurricane may have damaged our school building, but it did not damage our spirit, our determination or our unity as a community In the face of adversity, we stand shoulder to shoulder, ready to embark on the journey of rebuilding, and together we shall overcome,” Bernier said. “Our school has always been more than just a building; it’s a place of learning, growth, and inspiration It’s where children come to discover the world, form friendships, and build foundations for their futures We owe it to them and the generations to come to ensure they have a safe, nurturing and conducive environment to thrive in ”

He highlighted some key principals as they move forward in rebuilding – safety first, learning continuity, community involvement, innovation and sustainability and hope and inspiration

“Our foremost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, teachers and staff The new school building must meet the highest safety standards, providing a secure environment for all,” Bernier said

Cape Coral Poker Run and Car Show Saturday

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

The Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral invites the public out this weekend for the fourth annual Cape Coral Poker Run and Car Show, which kicks off and ends at Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park

“We felt a need as a chamber to bring more of our events into the north Cape,” Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral Special Events Director Michelle Russ said, adding that they know the area is more mid-Cape now “It brings business in the north Cape that are members and broadens our wings a little bit ”

This year a car show was incorporated to draw more people out, while turning it into a longer, all-day event

Although they have had their fair share of challenges, especially last year with Hurricane Ian, the event brings people out and into businesses.

Activities will kick off at 9 a m Saturday, Oct 7, with breakfast at Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park, 35 N E Pine Island Rd , as well as registration

The Poker Run will start at 10:30 a m

The event will feature five poker run stops:

■ Gator Mike’s Family Fun Park/Latitude 78 Bar & Grille, 35 N E Pine Island Road, Cape Coral

■ Bubba’s Roadhouse & Saloon, 2121 S W Pine Island Road, Cape Coral

■ The Eagle’s Nest Restaurant, 10880 Stringfellow Road, Bokeelia

■ Nauti Mermaid Dockside Bar & Grill, 5951 Silver King Blvd , Cape Coral

■ First Round Draft, 1217 Del Prado Blvd , S, Cape Coral

Registration for the Poker Run is $25 per rider, $35 for rider with passenger and $10 for each additional passenger The registration is $25 for the car show entry and $35 for the car show entry and poker run Bikes and cars are welcome

Registration for both the Poker Run and Car Show can be found online at http://www capecoralchamber com or the day of the event Individuals can also call Russ at 239-549-6900, extension 111

The after-party, which will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. will include live music, vendors and prizes

The Car Show will feature different prize categories –Best in Show, Best Classic Car, Most Unique Car and People’s Choice

Prize packages will also be given for the Poker Run for the top three hands and the worst hand

“We encourage people to come out,” Russ said

Above, the Cape Coral Caring Center van is filled with donations at the city’s Resilience Rally Friday.

What is the BRCA gene test and who should get it?

About 3% of breast and 10% of ovarian cancers result from inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), breast cancer represents about 7,500 women who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes annually For ovarian cancers, this amounts to about 2,000 women per year

A genetic blood test called the BRCA gene test can help determine if a patient has an inherited mutation When mutations in those genes develop, there’s an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and other cancers BRCA stands for BReast CAncer gene

A positive or negative result can help determine a patient’s needs and health management The BRCA gene test can also help patients better understand their health To learn more or to schedule an appointment with your physician, please visit www.leehealth org

What

is

an Inherited Gene Mutation?

Lee Health

Some people have changes in the blueprint of a gene, which are known as mutations Some gene variants explain differences in people’s hair or eye color, while others can lead to a disease or increase the risk of illness

An inherited gene mutation can be passed on to the next generation According to the CDC, all women have BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, but only some have mutations About one in every 500 women in the United States has a mutation in her BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. It’s also possible to have a mutation in both BRCA genes

It typically takes more than one gene mutation to become a cancer cell But when someone inherits an abnormal gene copy, their cells start out with one mutation This makes it easier for other mutations to happen, which can lead to a cell becoming a cancer cell

Your doctor might suggest testing using a multigene panel, which simultaneously looks for mutations in several genes, including BRCA1 and BRCA2

A positive result does not diagnose any disease; it tells

you if you carry the gene mutation that increases your risk A negative BRCA test doesn't guarantee you will not get cancer It means your risk is likely the same as the general population.

Who Should Get a BRCA Gene Test?

Those with a family history of either breast, ovarian, or both cancers are premier candidates for the gene test If you meet any of these specifications, it’s recommended to get a BRCA gene test:

■ A personal history of breast cancer diagnosed before age 45

■ A personal history of triple-negative breast cancer diagnosed at 60 or younger

■ A personal history of two or more types of cancer

■ A personal history of breast cancer diagnosed before 50 and second primary breast cancer, one or more relatives with breast cancer, or an unknown or limited family medical history

■ A personal history of male breast cancer

■ A personal history of ovarian cancer

■ A personal history of breast cancer and one or more relatives with breast cancer diagnosed before age 50, two or more relatives diagnosed with breast cancer at any age, one or more relatives with ovarian cancer, one or more rel-

atives with male breast cancer, or two or more relatives with prostate cancer or pancreatic cancer

■ A personal history of prostate cancer or pancreatic cancer with two or more relatives with BRCA-associated cancers

■ A history of breast cancer at a young age in two or more blood relatives, such as your parents, siblings, or children

■ A personal history of breast cancer and Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish ancestry

■ A relative with a known BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation

One or more relatives with a history of cancer that would meet any of these criteria for gene testing

If you think you’re a candidate for the BRCA test or want more information, make an appointment with your physician by visiting www leehealth org

What Can You Expect from a BRCA Gene Test?

The BRCA gene test is like any other blood test A lab analyzes the results, and a physician will review them

Many people who get the BRCA gene test also work with a genetic counselor Those who test positive may feel various emotions, including sadness, anxiety, or anger. A genetic counselor can help you work through all of that

A genetic counselor is well-trained in helping patients deal with the results of a genetic test, offering options for management and ways to cope

Dr Mark Roh is chief physician executive of oncology services at Lee Health

Inaugural South Cape Save Second Base Walking Pub Crawl Saturday

The Inaugural South Cape Save Second Base Walking Pub Crawl is this Saturday, Oct 7, from 7-11 p m Participants in the 21+ charity pub crawl can enjoy a drink or appetizer sample at various South Cape hot spots All proceeds of the event will benefit Partners for Breast Cancer Care

Each attendee will be provided a passport to have stamped at all 11 locations to enter the grand prize drawing for a breast cancer awareness themed cooler, sponsored by Yuengling Flight To do so, drop your completed passport at a participating location

All-inclusive tickets are just $15 in advance ($20 day of event) Tickets are available online via Eventbrite

Unable to attend the pub crawl? You could still win two tickets to the Key West Express! Enter to win by purchasing a ticket to the Save Second Base Walking Pub Crawl Each ticket purchase is an entry to the drawing You do not need to be present to win The winner will be randomly selected by Monday, Oct 9

Check-in begins at 6 p m at Big John's Plaza Walk to each location to enjoy breast cancer awareness themed drinks or appetizer samples

Dr Mark Roh

HEALTH NOTES

Yazdani joins Physicians Primar y Care

P h y s i c i a n s ' P r i m a r y C a r e t h i s w e e k announced that Ashley M Yazdani, DO, has joined the pediatrics division at its Camelot and Cape Coral Pediatrics locations

Yazdani's experience includes serving as a primary care physician for children from birth through age 21, where she provided routine health assessments, sick child care, and preventative medicine at medical p r a c t i c e s i n W e s t A m h e r s t a n d G r a n d Island, New York She also collaborated with a health care team – Integrated Care for Kids – to provide optimal mental health care for patients

Yazdani earned a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale in 2014 Before that, she received a bachelor of science in biomedical science degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New Y o r k i n 2 0 0 9 I n a d d i t i o n , Y a z d a n i received postgraduate training as a pediatric resident at Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo, New York She is a m e m b e r o f t h e F l o r i d a M e d i c a l Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Osteopathic Association

Yazdani will begin seeing patients in O c t o b e r a t C a m e l o t P e d i a t r i c s , 9 3 5 0 Camelot Drive in Fort Myers, and Cape Coral Pediatrics, 1261 Viscaya Parkway, in Cape Coral For more information or to book an appointment, visit ppcswfl com or call 239-574-1988

Lee Health moves forward with plans to build new medical destination in For t Myers

The Lee Health Board of Directors has approved updated plans to build a new medical campus and healthcare destination in the city of Fort Myers on Challenger B o u l e v a r d T e n t a t i v e l y k n o w n a s “ L e e Health Fort Myers,” the property will be l o c a t e d o n 5 2 a c r e s o f l a n d b e t w e e n

Colonial Boulevard and Winkler Avenue

The new campus will be built in phases over several years

The board of directors was presented with a Revised Phase 1 Scope for Lee Health Fort Myers on Sept 14, 2023, which includes gradual relocation of key Lee Memorial Hospital programs, ambulatory service offerings, and new community access

The new campus will provide a destination for quality medical care for residents and visitors, new jobs, and it also ensures future access to healthcare by supporting the growing needs of the Fort Myers community and beyond.

Although approved for as many as 400 acute care beds, Lee Health anticipates that in the immediate future the campus will include an acute care hospital with approximately 120 beds, a skilled nursing facility, specialty services, a total of 18 operating rooms on campus, an emergency department, and observation rooms The state-ofthe-art healthcare campus will house ancill a r y a n d s o c i a l s e r v i c e s a s w e l l a s a Medical Office Building

Lee Memorial Hospital will continue to offer clinical services, including an emergency department, inpatient beds, and surgical services for the Fort Myers community and downtown area through September 2027

This project is the latest in a lengthy list of investments in the community to expand access to healthcare around the area Lee Health is working on investing into the future of Cape Coral at Bimini Basin, the Lee Health Outpatient Center at Surfside

and expanding Cape Coral Hospital, as well as future growth in Lehigh Acres The Richard M Schulze Family Foundation Cancer Clinic at the Bonita Health Center also opens on September 15, 2023

Dunkin’ donates $13,693 to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida

Dunkin’ has announced that $13,693 has been granted to Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida Thanks to the support from guests and the generosity of local Dunkin’ franchisees, the Dunkin’ Shine Gold program collectively raised o v e r $ 6 7 0 , 0 0 0 a t s e l e c t p a r t i c i p a t i n g Dunkin’ locations to support Childhood Cancer Awareness

As part of the program, guests were invited to make a $2 donation to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation from July 19 – Aug 5 and received a free Gold Joy Donut as a thank you

Grant funding will help enhance child life programming spanning from art, music and integrated therapy programs to electronic gaming equipment and specialized camps that provide joyful experiences and environments for patients and their families Since Shine Gold’s inception in 2021, Dunkin’ and the Dunkin Joy in Childhood Foundation granted over $1 2 million to local children’s hospitals through the Shine Gold program to bring joy to kids battling cancer and other illnesses

To learn more about the Dunkin’ Joy in C h i l d h o o d F o u n d a t i o n , v i s i t w w w b r i n g j o y o r g a n d f o l l o w u s o n Facebook or Instagram

Precision Healthcare Specialists adds Blackwell

Dr Lea Blackwell has joined Precision H e a l t h C a r e S p e c i a l i s t s , a S o u t h w e s t Florida Multispecialty Physician Group

She is a fellowship trained breast surgeon that dedicates her practice to the surgical management of breast disease. She has been practicing in the Lee County community since 2008 and focuses on a multidisc i p l i n a r y a p p r o a c h t o m a n a g e m e n t o f breast cancer

Blackwell, an accomplished breast cancer specialist, monitors high-risk patients for evidence of breast disease while providing effective, appropriate treatments to those diagnosed with breast cancer

A member of the American College of Surgeons, Society of Surgical Oncology, American Society of Breast Surgeons and American Society for Clinical Oncology, Blackwell integrates a multidisciplinary approach to breast cancer care by collaborating with a team of experienced physicians and health care professionals

With a goal of helping patients feel comfortable during and after treatment, Blackwell invented the “Blackwell Bra,” a c u s t o m - d e s i g n e d b r a o f f e r i n g s u p e r i o r comfort for women recovering from mastectomies, lumpectomies, augmentations, r e d u c t i o n s , a n d h e a r t o r l u n g s u r g e r y Blackwell received five patents for the “Blackwell Bra ”

Blackwell earned a bachelor of science degree from the University of Florida and a d o c t o r o f m e d i c i n e d e g r e e f r o m t h e L o u i s i a n a S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y S c h o o l o f Medicine in Shreveport She completed general surgery training at the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans and a breast s u r g i c a l o n c o l o g y f e l l o w s h i p a t Washington Hospital Center Blackwell will treat patients at Precision H e a l t h c a r e S p e c i a l i s t s ’ o f f i c e , 1 3 6 9 1

Metro Parkway, Suite 300, in Fort Myers. F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , p l e a s e v i s i t PHSpecialists com

Charity Pros’ ‘Hurricane Heroes’ All-Star concert Saturday

The Charity Pros’ ‘Hurricane Heroes’ All-Star concert will be held Saturday, Oct 7, at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers

Rock band Matchbox Twenty will headline the event, bringing decades of hits to the stage Special guest, Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame member and four-time Grammy winner Don Felder, formerly of The Eagles for over 27 years, will also be taking the stage

Mac McAnally of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band will kick off the event at 4:45 p m , followed by country music star and Fort Myers resident Jay Allen Southwest Florida rock band Red Hannah will perform its set, featuring appearances by local professional musicians Matty Jollie, Casey Bishop and Sheena Brook

During the event, local “hurricane heroes” who have made a difference in the community over the past year following Hurricane Ian, will be honored for their support

T

Marceno and the Lee County Sheriff’s Office; Mayor Dan Allers of Fort Myers Beach; Ed and Kim Ryan, founders of Beach Talk Radio; Pastors Shawn and Mallie Critser of B

Eldridge, owners of FK Your Diet For

Proceeds from the event will help support Music Alive SWFL, the Tabarrini Children’s Outreach Foundation and The Charity Pros’ “Megan’s Wish” program

About Charity Pros

Founded in 2019 by Megan Maloney, the Charity Pros is a Fort Myers 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that advocates and supports children’s programs focused on health, child protection, poverty, education and equality In addition, the organization has established Megan’s Wish, with a mission to grant wishes to children coping with traumatic circumstance, life-threatening medical conditions or those who have lost a parent or guardian For more information, visit thecharitypros org

Subaru Loves Pets Initiative to benefit Cape Coral Animal Shelter

For the third year in a row, Subaru of Fort Myers chooses Cape Coral Animal Shelter as recipient of Subaru Loves Pets Initiative during the month of October October 1st marked the beginning of Subaru Loves Pets month Through this initiative, Subaru and its retailers are committed to improving the lives of as many shelter animals as possible This October, Subaru and its retailers will once again partner with hundreds of local animal shelters to host adoption events and donate $100 for every pet adopted throughout the month

For the third year, Subaru of Fort Myers has nominated the Cape Coral Animal Shelter to be the recipient of this initiative In both 2021 and 2022, the shelter received the maximum amount ($3,100) and the goal is to reach that milestone again this year Subaru of Fort Myers will also host “National Make a Dog’s Day” event Saturday, Oct 21, from 10 a m until noon Pups that are looking for their forever home will be on hand and Subaru of Fort Myers will have some pet related items for everyone who stops by

“We are so grateful for the continued support we receive from Subaru of Fort Myers and Subaru America” said Liz McCauley, executive director of the Cape Coral Animal Shelter “As our title sponsor of our Walk, Wiggle, Wag and Run events and through our Subaru Loves Pets

relationship, we have seen first hand how much the staff at Subaru of Fort Myers loves and cares for animals ”

According to the ASPCA, nearly 6 3 million companion animals enter shelters nationwide every year, where

many live day after day without the love of a family or a home That’s why at Subaru, they believe all pets deserve a loving home and why they are the largest corporate donor to the ASPCA and local shelters throughout the country

Cape Coral Animal Shelter is at 325 S.W. 2nd Ave., Cape Coral, FL 33991 Call 239-850-2020 for additional information

Subaru of Fort Myers is at 2850 Colonial Blvd , Fort Myers, FL 33966 Call 239-323-9527 for more

‘Rat Pack Together Again’ at Cape Cabaret

The Cape Cabaret will be hosting a nostalgic night featuring the music of entertainers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr , this Sunday, Oct 8, at 6:30 p m

The musical journey of will feature Tony Sands' "Rat Pack Together Again," a tribute to the legendary singers b y i m p e r s o n a t o r s S a n d s ( S i n a t r a ) , R o b e r t C a b e l l a (Martin) and Jeff Foote (Davis Jr )

Guests can enjoy the Rat Packs' songs, comedy, skits and individual hits

The is a $25 cover charge with a $10 minimum purchase per person required

Tickets can be purchased on the Cape Cabaret website at https://capecabaret com

The Cape Cabaret is at 4725 Vincennes Blvd , in South Cape

Lee County Parks & Recreation offers Fall Festival events

The Lee County Parks & Recreation Department plans Fall Festival events throughout October

S

Events include:

■ 6-9 p m , Monday-Friday, and 10 a m to 9 p m

Gladiolus Drive, Fort Myers

The Fall Festival will include a pumpkin patch, bounce houses, hayrides, Scarecrows in the Park, the very popular Halloween Express train and concessions.

Parking for the Fall Festival event is $3 per vehicle

Prices vary per activity

For more information visit www leeparks org/lakespark or call 239-533-7578

■ 6-9 p m , Friday, Oct 20, Family Fall Festival, North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 North Recreation Park Way, North Fort Myers

This is a free family event for all ages Activities include a costume contest, candy, games, a photo booth, a live deejay, bounce house, prizes and more Community businesses and organizations will have booths setup with information, samples of products and candy

Admission is free.

For more information visit www leeparks org/nfm or call 239-533-7200

■ 3-5:30 p m , Thursday, Oct 26, Fall Festival, Boca Grande Community Center, 131 1st St , Boca Grande

This is a free family friendly festival for kids of all ages Activities include bounce houses, a cake and pumpkin walk, tractor pictures, guess the candy jar count and goodie bags One bag of individual wrapped candy per child is appreciated and may be dropped off at the community center before Oct 24

Sponsored by the Boca Grande Women’s Club, The

For more information call 239-533-2923

■ 6-9 p m , Friday, Oct 27, Trunk or Treat and Movie in the Park, Veterans Park, 55 Homestead Road South, Lehigh Acres

Everyone is invited to this family friendly event Activities include a Trunk-or-Treat and a Movie in the Park, featuring “Coco”, rated PG Movie starts at 8 p m Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District providing popcorn and water

Admission is free

For more information visit www leeparks org/veterans or call 239-369-1521

■ 5-9 p m , Saturday, Oct 28, Spooktacular Night, Estero Park, 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero

Come out to the park for a night of family friendly and spooktacular fun Activities include a trunk-or-treat and a Movie in the Park, featuring “Halloweentown” rated PG

Admission is free

For more information visit www leeparks org/estero or call 239-533-1470

For more information about Lee County Parks & Recreation locations, amenities, and other special events, visit www leeparks org, call 239-533-7275 or email leeparks@leegov com

Gulf Coast Village to host 16th annual Oktoberfest event

Gulf Coast Village will host its annual Oktoberfest celebration Wednesday, Oct 18, at 2 p m , in Gulf Coast Village’s auditorium

The Oktoberfest event will feature live German music, dancing an authentic German meal and a celebration of the fall season Guests will also have the opportunity to learn about Gulf Coast Village, the only Continuing Care Retirement Community in Cape Coral

“Our annual Oktoberfest always puts a smile on the faces of our guests and residents,” said Greg Anderson, executive director of Gulf Coast Village “They never miss

an opportunity to have fun, and it reminds us that we truly are a family here at Gulf Coast Village ”

As a CCRC, Gulf Coast Village is part of a group of senior living options that are sponsored by Volunteers of America National Services, a nonprofit that is dedicated to helping people in need live healthy and productive lives through an array of services and living communities Gulf Coast Village provides older adults with all levels of senior living at its award-winning campus, including independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and rehabilitation on campus, home health services or

continuing care at home through Senior Choice at Home Seating is limited; please RSVP by Wednesday, Oct

If you are unable to attend but would like to learn more about Gulf Coast Village, call 239-341-6216 or visit GulfCoastVillage org/Contact to schedule a tour of the community

Gulf Coast Village is located at 1333 Santa Barbara Blvd , Cape Coral, FL 33991 For more information, call 239-772-1333 or visit GulfCoastVillage org

Wicked Dolphin Distillery holds benefit for Pine Islanders

By PAULETTE LeBLANC pleblanc@breezenewspapers com

The Greater Pine Island Alliance held a fundraiser at the Wicked Dolphin Distillery in Cape Coral Saturday to benefit islanders who have been -- and still are -- affected by Hurricane Ian

Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane, who is personally responsible for the financial aid of a Pine Island family displaced by Hurricane Ian, attended the event saying he’s always happy to help Greater Pine Island

“This organization has really done an awful lot to help the island recover, so anything I can do to support the cause and try to be here to support them, I’m happy to do,” Ruane said

GPIA Executive Director Erin Lollar-Lambert said the amount of support for Pine Island from mainlanders never ceases to amaze her

“Just watching how Wicked Dolphin put this on for us, and the support of our external community means we have a much bigger extended family then we knew,” Lambert said Pine Island, she said, is very accustomed to being selfreliant, making efforts like this one a relief on the usual work load, which enables many more who were displaced, access back into their homes

“The road to recovery is long, but together, we are stronger than the surge,” Lambert said For questions on how to donate: erin@gpialliance org

Kava Culture announces South Florida winners in fall recipe contest

Kava Culture last week announced six mixologist winners from South Florida in its first Fall for Kava recipe contest

Winning drinks have names like “Maple Coffee Cake”, “Chocolate Pumpkin” and “Washington Apple ”

“The Fall For Kava contest winners thought a lot about the flavors of fall and ‘poured’ their best into these new drinks,” said Jacqueline Rusher, CEO of Kava Culture and Botanical Brewing Company in Cape Coral “Florida may not be about fall leaves, but we use crushed leaf for an extra mood-enhancing, alcohol-free experience There’s

no better way to welcome fall ”

Corporate leaders and store managers chose the following Kavatender winners: Tyla Gonzalez (Botanical Brewing Taproom - Cape Coral), Nichole Grothaus (Downtown Fort Myers), Melissa Zarrilli (Clearwater), Koda Brightbill (Botanical Brewing Taproom - Cape Coral), Gene Bailey (Key West), and Elijah Grant (Winter Springs)

The contest challenged Kavatenders (Kava Culture and Botanical Brewing bartenders) to create drinks that followed specific flavor profiles: Pumpkin Spice, Salted Caramel, Coffee, Apple Cinnamon, Autumn Chai, and Maple

All of the fall alcohol-alternative drinks are made with kava or elixir options

All of the winning non-alcoholic drinks will be featured on fall menus from now through Nov, 24, at all corporate

locations Winners also received a T-shirt for bragging rights and mentions on social media

Kava Culture was co-founded in 2017 by sisters Jacqueline Rusher and Caroline Rusher In 2020, the sisters started Botanical Brewing Company as an outlet to sell their plant-based brews

From left, Greater Pine Island Alliance director Erin Lollar-Lambert, Lee County Commissioner Kevin Ruane and Kristin Gustin at the GPIA fundraiser at the Wicked Dolphin Distillery in Cape Coral.

PAULETTE LEBLANC

Petruzelli new attor ney at Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Mor gan, PLLC

BUSINESS BRIEFS Tarpon Point Marina to hold breast cancer awareness benefit

Kirsten Petruzelli, a lifelong resident of Cape Coral, was recently hired as an associate attorney by the law firm of Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Morgan, PLLC She will focus on real estate and commercial litigation

Petruzelli is a member of the real property and trust law section of the Florida Bar She received her juris doctor from the Ave Maria School of Law earlier this year after receiving a bachelor of science degree in legal studies and an associate of science degree in paralegal studies from Hodges University

Prior to accepting her new role, Petruzelli served as a law clerk at Aloia Roland after gaining legal experience as an intern to a construction litigation attorney at Cleveland Construction, as a law clerk at Davies & Duke, PLLC, in Bonita Springs and as an intern to the general counsel at London Bay Homes in Naples

She also has an extensive background in real estate as a licensed title insurance agent and working at Cape Coral Title Insurance Agency in Cape Coral as Closing Officer and Marketing Director.

Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Morgan is a full-service law firm with practice areas in business and real estate law, commercial litigation, personal injury and wrongful death, civil litigation, family law, estate planning and probate It is headquartered at 2222 Second St in d o w n t o w n F o r t M y e r s L e a r n m o r e a t www LawDefined com or call 239-791-7950

Plumbing Nerds introduces new Cooling Nerds division

P l u m b i n g N e r d s , o n e o f S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a ' s providers of plumbing solutions, has introduced its new innovative HVAC division, appropriately titled Cooling Nerds, in response to growing customer demand for comprehensive home services

Cooling Nerds will be a source for homeowners throughout Southwest Florida seeking reliable and professional HVAC services The new division will specialize in emergency HVAC repair and diagnostics, air conditioning repair and replacement, heat pump repair and replacement, indoor air quality enhancements, routine HVAC maintenance and system upgrades and retrofitting

P l u m b i n g N e r d s a n d C o o l i n g N e r d s m a i n t a i n s offices in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Naples, and Bonita Springs, covering a broad service area across Southwest Florida

Established in 2007 and locally owned and operated, Plumbing Nerds is a fully licensed and insured plumbi n g a n d d r a i n s e r v i c e s c o m p a n y t h a t s e r v e s a l l Southwest Florida Plumbing Nerds is committed to resolving plumbing issues with cutting-edge equipment and technology while maintaining their unique brand of "nerdy" enthusiasm

For more information or to schedule plumbing or HVAC services, please visit www plumbingnerds com or www coolingnerds com

Waste Pro awards $10,000 to 10 employees celebrating 20 years of service

Waste Pro Founder and Executive Board Chairman John Jennings and President and CEO Sean Jennings surprised 10 employees on Sept 27 with breakfast, a plaque and a $10,000 bonus, thanking them for their 20 years of dedication and service

Among the employees honored during the celebration were Jeannie Amaro – Sanford, FL Customer Service Supervisor, Dave Black – Flagler County, FL, R o l l - O f f D r i v e r , D e r r i c k D a v i s – D a y t o n a , F L

e s i d e n t

President of Government Affairs, Christopher Dudley

Fanning Springs, FL Residential Driver, Nancy Finley

Northeast Florida Sales Representative, Russell Mackie

See BUSINESS BRIEFS, page 43

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

A month-long celebration has kicked off at different businesses at Tarpon Point Marina, who have created a bra design for the community to vote on, and later auctioned at the Pink Party early next month, to raise funds for a nonprofit organization

“I used to do it back in West Virginia when I lived there,” Celeste Clutter said “What we do, basically each participating business is responsible for decorating their own bra and they can decorate it in any type of theme they want ”

She said during the entire month of October, she encourages people to participate by patronizing the business and voting as many times as they want.

“We ask for a $2 donation every time they vote They don’t have to, but it is a fundraiser,” Clutter said

The businesses participating include Pinchers, High Tide Social House, The Yacht Chandler Nautical Boutique, Gather, Eva by the Sea, The Looke, Turquoise, Esterra Spa, The Nauti Mermaid, Gulf Coast Fudge Co and Lorne’s Gallery, all of which are located at Tarpon Point Marina, 5971 Silver King Blvd

“This is something I felt like I wanted to do Tarpon Point are clients of mine, and most have become friends, especially through this journey,” Clutter said of being diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy and radiation “They are very supportive to myself and my husband It’s something to give back to the cause and help them too ”

All the proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards Pine Divas United, Inc, a local charity that focuses on wellness

“The lady that started this charity is also a sister thriver, she is five years free,” she said of breast cancer “She wanted to give back to the ladies here locally by starting a charity here ”

After the month of voting concludes, everyone is welcome to join the Pink Party at Gather, 5971 Silver King Blvd , Suite 116, from 5:30 p m to 7:30 p m Wednesday, Nov 1 She said there will be a fashion show and auction, as well as pink drink specials, door prizes and live music The auction starts at 7 p.m.

The community will have the opportunity to bid on their favorite bra with the highest bidder receiving a $100 gift certificate to that business that designed the bra, as well as the bra

“Everyone is encouraged to wear pink,” Clutter said, adding that those who do will receive a discount “Have

some fun and support a good cause ”

Clutter was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma, a high Stage II breast cancer, that is estrogen and hormone produced, in April 2022, a week before her 50th birthday Her last day of chemotherapy concluded on Oct 10, 2022, which too was impacted by Hurricane Ian

“Ian hit between that fun time. That kind of put me behind on finishing off my chemo and starting my radiation,” Clutter said “I finished radiation at the end of the year The week of Christmas was my last week of radiation ”

With her type of cancer, the occurrence is very high, so she will not be in remission until she hits her five-year mark

“We call it thriving,” she said

Now she takes oral chemotherapy and a hormone blocker “I feel very blessed Attitude is one of the best things about my survival,” Clutter said about remaining positive through her experience.

She said she cannot say enough about her husband being there for her, as well as friends, family and her church family

Clutter wants to remind everyone to schedule their mammograms and have their breast checked

“Because mine tried to kill me,” she said

Farmer Joe’s to host first Fall Fest Saturday

Farmer Joe's will hold its 1st Annual Fall Fest Saturday, Oct 7, from 11 a m to 2 p m , at 1401 S W Pine Island Road, Cape Coral This free community event will include a pumpkin patch, hayrides, bounce houses, face painting and food and drinks available for purchase

As with Farmer Joe’s past events, guests can expect to browse booths from other local vendors, such as Bones Coffee and Wild About Popcorn

Other community partners will be at the festival The Cape Coral Fire Department will have a fire truck for residents and kids to learn about The Lee County Sheriff's Office will have its crime-fighting RoboDog for demonstration and the always popular Ice Cream Response Unit will be there to deliver sweet treats

Lee Snyder Sr , founder of Farmer Joe's Market, shared

his enthusiasm for the event

“At Farmer Joe's Market, we've always believed that our community is at the heart of everything we do,” he said “Our 1st Annual Fall Fest is a celebration of our shared love for our city, bringing families together for a day of laughter, delicious treats, and unforgettable memories. We can't wait to welcome you.”

For information, please visit Farmer Joe’s Facebook page at https://www facebook com/farmerjoesofficial

Farmer Joe’s is an independent grocery store It is known for a large produce section, which it sources directly from local farms as much as possible It also has a wide variety of specialty products, quality meat, seafood, prepared foods and much more Learn more at their website, FarmerJoes com

Grand reopening of Caloosa Trains and Hobbies R/C Park in Cape this Saturday

Following a month-long closure to “refresh” Caloosa Trains and Hobbies R/C Park, the facility will officially reopen the doors to its massive 8,000-square-foot R/C facility with a special Open House, Saturday, Oct 7, from 3-8 p m

R/C fans can now enjoy a redesigned and larger indoor R/C course for a greatly enhanced R/C racing competition and experience in air-conditioned comfort

The new larger indoor racetrack includes upgraded “racing carpet,” longer “full-on-power” straightaways, dramatically advanced twists and turns and a state-of-theart, fully computerized, competition race timing and results system

Caloosa Trains and Hobbies R/C Park is at 1490 N E Pine Island Road, Building 10, Cape Coral For more information, call 239-205-6654

PHOTO PROVIDED

Celeste and Michael Clutter

Land use change rejected

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

Saying the city needs commercial sites, Cape Coral City Council denied a request to change the city’s future land use map from mixed use to multi-family residential for a parcel on the northeast corner of the intersection of Del Prado Boulevard N and De Navarra

Principal Planner Chad Boyko said the applicant, Acorn Entrada, LLC, provided a revised amendment requesting amending 25 acres from the multi-family future land use to 18 67 acres The commercial acreage increased from 13 77 acres to 20 23 acres

Using those numbers, the 18 67 acres would have allowed for a maximum of 466 multi-family units With the 19 acres of mixed-use future land use, it would allow for 827,640 square feet of commercial space

Although there were amendments, city staff still recommended denial of the proposed future land use amendment as “the long-term benefit from retaining the entire site as mixed-use future land use designation is more valuable to the City than having a site with mixed-use future land use destination and the multi-family future land use designation ”

The request to change the land from mixed-use to multi-family with the modified version presented during Wednesday night’s meeting failed with Mayor John Gunter and council members Keith Long, Robert Welsh and Patty Cummings voting against the motion

“If we allow the city to evolve and grow, then that market will drive the commercial,” Long said, adding that if the commercial land is “given away” today and there is no commercial driver now, when there is it will have been used for residences and so longer available for the type of growth the city needs

“Part of our job is to be stewards of future generations of the city,” he said

Gunter said his position had not changed much as the question remains what is the need in the city in terms of land use

“This council has taken the position the need in the city is for commercial development If we keep taking chunks of land and changing it to multi-family, we are never going to get commercial We keep advocating for more commercial property you have to change results you have to have a change in approach We haven’t had a change in the approach, and we keep giving this land away I concur with staff my vote will be for denial,” he said

Councilmember Dan Shepherd said they have to be visionaries and look to the future He said he thinks big box stores are going to disappear

“I 100% agree (we need) to save as much commercial as possible,” he said “I am in the middle. I want to protect commercial, but at the same time to save a piece of property for

“This council has taken the position the need in the city is for commercial development. If we keep taking chunks of land and changing it to multi-family, we are never going to get commercial. We keep advocating for more commercial property you have to change results you have to have a change in approach We haven’t had a change in the approach, and we keep giving this land away I concur with staff my vote will be for denial ”

Mayor John Gunter

a big box store that might never come ”

The ordinance was scheduled for a City Council meeting on July 26, but was continued to Aug 16 The ordinance was denied by Council 4-3 and was later brought up for reconsideration at the Aug 30 meeting It was continued again to Oct 4, where it failed

Michael Price, director of the land brokerage division, said there was zero interest in the property until they started down the path of a multi-family portion on the site

“It’s not suitable for the retail development in the real world. We believe this plan accomplishes the goals of the City and property owner much-need housing and a substantial commercial component,” Price said

The shape and size of the parcel, as well as no median cut on Del Prado Boulevard near the property was also an issue, as those factors were not going to change over time, those in support of the change said

Gary Tasman, CEO and Principal Broker of Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida, said from the standpoint of how the market looks at this asset for the purpose of commercial, it will never work

“My recommendation is to look at it from a market value perspective My ask of this council is to consider the opportunity to generate revenue today as a multifamily parcel with supported commercial,” he said “If the market changes and somehow that becomes a viable fiscal property for commercial, let the market sit at that time ”

Tasman said if they do not get rooftops in this sub-area, or residential units, they are going to continue to develop on the east side of 41, outside of Cape Coral

BJM Consulting President Joe Mazurkiewicz said multifamily provides a better tax base than retail He said the limitations fall upon the access to the parcel He said the lack of access to 41 will be there permanently

“Staff is completely wrong, and I don’t say that very often,” he said “Their concept that time will fix this when rooftops show up around it is not consistent with the configuration and the layout of the site.”

LARC breaks ground on new group home

B y C H U C K B A L L A R O

n e w s @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m

A l i t t l e o v e r a y e a r a g o , H u r r i c a n e I a n w i p e d o u t t h e N o r t h F o r t M y e r s r i v e rf r o n t h o u s e t h a t a d u l t s w i t h d e v e l o p m e nt a l d i s a b i l i t i e s h a v e c a l l e d h o m e f o r m o r e t h a n 2 5 y e a r s F i v e a d u l t s w e r e d i s p l a c e d a n d a r e n o w l i v i n g i n t e m p o r a r y h o u s i n g

C o m e A p r i l , t h o s e a d u l t s w i t h s p e c i a l n e e d s w i l l a g a i n h a v e a p l a c e t h e y c a n c a l l h o m e O n T h u r s d a y , L A R C L e e A s s o c i a t i o n f o r R e m a r k a b l e C i t i z e n s h e l d t h e g r o u n d b r e a k i n g o n a n e w g r o u p h o m e i n C a p e C o r a l w h i c h w i l l r e p l a c e t h e h o m e t h a t w a s d e s t r o y e d A n g e l a K a t z , L A R C e x e c u t i v e d i r e ct o r , s a i d t h i s “ d r e a m h o m e ” w i l l h o u s e s i x r e s i d e n t s a n d w i l l s e r v e a s a s a n c t ua r y f o r s o m e o f L e e C o u n t y ’ s m o s t v u ln e r a b l e p e o p l e w h o h a v e p h y s i c a l a n d / o r i n t e l l e c t u a l d i s a b i l i t i e s “ I t w i l l b e a h a v e n t o t h e r e s i d e n t s w e s e r v e S o m e o f t h e r e s i d e n t s h a v e b e e n w i t h u s f o r m o r e t h a n 2 0 y e a r s a n d m a n y o f t h o s e w h o l i v e w i t h u s d o s o t h e i r e n t i r e l i v e s , ” K a t z s a i d “ T h e y h a v e a r a n g e o f a g e s a n d a r a n g e o f a b i l i t i e s T h e m o r e t h e y a g e , t h e m o r e a s s i s t a n c e t h e y n e e d ” A u s t i n C l i n t o n , p r e s i d e n t o f L A R C ’ s b o a r d o f d i r e c t o r s , s a i d t h e r o a d l e a d i n g t o t h i s w a s b u m p y a n d s h a t t e r e d t h e s e n s e o f s e c u r i t y t h e r e s i d e n t s h a d “ T o d a y m a r k s t h e b e g i n n i n g o f a n e w c h a p t e r , a t e s t a m e n t t o o u r c o m m i t m e n t t o t h o s e w e s e r v e A s i g n i f i c a n t s t e p f o rw a r d i n r e b u i l d i n g o u r h o m e a n d i n d ep e n d e n c e t o o u r r e s i d e n t s , ” C l i n t o n s a i d T h e h o u s e w i l l h a v e s i x b e d r o o m s , f o u r b a t h s a n d 4 , 8 0 0 s q u a r e f e e t o f l i v -

i n g s p a c e I t w i l l b e A D A c o m p l i a n t a n d w i l l c r e a t e t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l o f i n d e p e n de n c e a n d p r o v i d e i t s r e s i d e n t s w i t h a s a n c t u a r y “ W e w a n t t o g o h o m e a t n i g h t a n d f e e l c o m f o r t a b l e a n d s a f e w i t h o u r f a m i l y I t ’ s n o d i f f e r e n t t h a n a n y o t h e r h o m e , ” K a t z s a i d T h e c o s t o f t h e h o u s e i s a r o u n d $ 1 m i l l i o n , w i t h m u c h o f i t c o m i n g f r o m

i n s u r a n c e , m o n e y s a v e d f o r r e n o v a t i o n o n t h e o l d h o u s e , a n d t h e s a l e o f t h e p r o p e r t y T h e y a r e s t i l l t r y i n g t o r a i s e a r o u n d $ 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 t o f u n d t h e r e m a i n d e r , K a t z s a i d T h e s i t e w a s g i v e n t o L A R C y e a r s a g o a n d t h e y c o n s i d e r e d b u i l d i n g a h o m e t h e r e i n 2 0 2 1 H o w e v e r , t h e t i m i n g w a sn ’ t r i g h t K a t z s a i d t h e h u r r i c a n e m a d e t h e d e c i s i o n a n e a s y o n e

C u r r e n t l y , t h o s e w h o l i v e d i n t h e o l d h o u s e , w h o l o s t e v e r y t h i n g i n c l u d i n g m e m e n t o s , a r e w i t h t h e i r f a m i l i e s o r a r e b u n k i n g w i t h L A R C ’ s o t h e r r e s i d e n t s i n F o r t M y e r s T h e y w i l l m o v e t o a t r a n s it i o n a l h o m e n e x t w e e k “ T h i s w i l l r e t u r n t h e m t o s o m e k i n d o f n o r m a l c y w h i l e t h e y w a i t f o r t h i s h o m e t o b e c o m p l e t e d T h e l o s s o f t h e o t h e r h o u s e w a s t e r r i b l y t r a u m a t i c A l l t h e y h a d w a s t h e i r o v e r n i g h t b a g s t h e y h a d t a k e n t o a s h e l t e r , ” K a t z s a i d “ T h e y w a n t e d t o g o b a c k h o m e a n d t h e y c o u l dn ’ t u n d e r s t a n d u n t i l w e d r o v e p a s t t h e h o m e s o t h e y c o u l d u n d e r s t a n d t h e r e w a s n o g o i n g b a c k ” T h e n e w h o m e i s b e i n g b u i l t w i t h t h e h e l p o f S t e p h e n R B o w e n C o n s t r u c t i o n a n d D w a y n e B e r g m a n n I n t e r i o r s

B o w e n , w h o h a s w o r k e d w i t h L A R C f o r a w h i l e , s a i d t h i s i s a b i g d a y “ W e ’ v e p a r t n e r e d w i t h L A R C f o r a b o u t a d e c a d e a n d t h e y l o s t o n e o f t h e i r g r o u p h o m e s i n t h e s t o r m T h i s g i v e s t h e m a h o m e f r o m t h e g r o u n d u p a n d h a s a l l t h e f e a t u r e s t h e y h a v e n e e d e d , ”

B o w e n s a i d “ T h e f a c t s o m a n y p e o p l e s h o w e d u p t o d a y s h o w s t h e g r e a t w a y

L A R C w i l l b e a b l e t o c o n t i n u e t h e i r m i ss i o n ”

L A R C p r o v i d e s 2 4 - h o u r s u p e r v i s i o n i n a p e r s o n - c e n t e r e d , h o m e - l i k e e n v i r o nm e n t w h e r e r e s i d e n t s a r e p r o v i d e d w i t h l i f e - s k i l l s t r a i n i n g S i n c e 1 9 5 4 , L A R C h a s b e e n d e d i c a t e d t o m e e t i n g t h e n e e d s o f i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h i n t e l l e c t u a l a n d d e v e l o p m e n t a l d i s a b i l i t i e s a n d t h e i r f a mi l i e s i n S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a

L A R C s e r v e s m o r e t h a n 3 0 0 i n d i v i du a l s a n n u a l l y , a n d p a r t i c i p a n t s r a n g e f r o m 1 4 t o 8 0

CHUCK BALLARO

From left, Contractor Stephen R. Bowen, State Rep. Jenna PersonsMulicka, LARC Executive Director Angela Katz, designer Dwayne Bergmann, client Theresa Mount, LARC employee Vickie Chapman and LARC President Austin Clinton break ground on the new LARC group home Thursday.

0

Partnership to put more teachers in Lee schools

$3 million contract with Univesity Instructors to bring 25 full-time certified teachers key classrooms

O c t o b e r 6 ,

B y M E G H A N B R A D B U RY n e w s @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m T h e L e e C o u n t y S c h o o l B o a r d a p p r o v e d a c o n t r a c t w i t h U n i v e r s i t y I n s t r u c t o r s t o b r i n g 2 5 f u l l - t i m e c e r t i f i e d t e a c h e r s i n t o t h e c l a s s r o o m t o f i l l a p o rt i o n o f t h e v a c a n c i e s t h e s c h o o l D i s t r i c t i s e x p e r i e n c i n g “ T h e n a t i o n a l t e a c h e r s h o r t a g e h a s r e q u i r e d t h e S c h o o l D i s t r i c t o f L e e C o u n t y t o t a k e u n p r e c e d e n t e d a c t i o n t o f i n d a n d h i r e n e w t e a c h e r s , ” S u p e r i n t e n d e n t D r . C h r i s t o p h e r B e r n i e r s a i d d u r i n g T u e s d a y ’ s m e e t i n g “ W e h a v e i n c r e a s e d o u r r e c r u i t m e n t t o a y e a rr o u n d c o m m i t m e n t W e a r e g o i n g t o w h e r e t e a c h e r s a r e i n s t e a d o f w a i t i n g f o r t h e m t o c o m e t o u s T h a t ’ s n o t j u s t p h y si c a l l y , b u t t h a t i s t h r o u g h e l e c t r o n i c m e a n s a s w e l l O u r H R t e a m i s c o n t i n ui n g t o w o r k h a r d t o g r o w o u r o w n t e a c he r s t h r o u g h o u r h i g h s c h o o l a c a d e m i e s a n d o u r p r i n c i p a l s a r e w o r k i n g o n a c a d em i e s a n d s c h o l a r s h i p s t h a t c o u l d p o t e nt i a l l y l e a d t o e m p l o y m e n t . ” T h e s c h o o l b o a r d a p p r o v e d a n o t h e r n e w s t e p t o t r y t o b r i n g m o r e t e a c h e r s t o t h e s c h o o l d i s t r i c t t h r o u g h a p i g g y b a c k w i t h B r o w a r d C o u n t y P u b l i c S c h o o l s f o r

The teachers will go to the most at-risk schools with hard-to-fill openings at G Weaver Hipps Elementary School, Fort Myers Middle School, River Hall Elementary School, East Lee County High School and Oak Hammock Middle School

H i g h D o s a g e P e r s o n a l i z e d T u t o r i n g S e r v i c e s , w h i c h i n c l u d e s U n i v e r s i t y

I n s t r u c t o r s L L C o f B o s t o n , M A “ I t i s m y r e c o m m e n d a t i o n t h a t w e e n t e r i n t o a n a g r e e m e n t w i t h U n i v e r s i t y I n s t r u c t i o n t o p r o v i d e 2 5 s c h o o l t e a c h e r s f o r t h e s c h o o l y e a r T h e y w i l l b e a s s i g n e d t o t w o e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l s , t w o m i d d l e s c h o o l s a n d a h i g h s c h o o l U n i v e r s i t y I n s t r u c t o r s e m p l o y t e m p o r a r y t e a c h e r s s i m i l a r t o t h e c o n c e p t o f t r a v e li n g n u r s e s t o h e l p w i t h t h e n a t i o n a l s h o r t a g e o f n u r s e s , ” B e r n i e r s a i d H e s a i d t e m p o r a r y t e a c h e r s a r e n o t t h e l o n g - t e r m s o l u t i o n b u t a r e s h o r t - t e r m h e l p T h e t e a c h e r s w i l l g o t o t h e m o s t a tr i s k s c h o o l s w i t h h a r d - t o - f i l l o p e n i n g s a t G W e a v e r H i p p s E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l , F o r t M y e r s M i d d l e S c h o o l , R i v e r H a l l

E l e m e n t a r y S c h o o l , E a s t L e e C o u n t y H i g h S c h o o l a n d O a k H a m m o c k M i d d l e S c h o o l “ T h e a m o u n t b u d g e t e d f o r t h i s c o nt r a c t i s $ 2 9 m i l l i o n , w h i c h i n c l u d e s t h e n e g o t i a t e d 1 0 % d i s c o u n t t h a t w e n e g o t ia t e d H o w e v e r , w e w i l l n o t s p e n d t h e e n t i r e a m o u n t A g a i n , i t w a s a b u d g e t a r y e s t i m a t e b a s e d o n t h e c o s t o f t h e t e a c h e r s w o r k i n g a n e n t i r e s c h o o l y e a r W e c u rr e n t l y k n o w t h e s e t e a c h e r s w i l l j o i n u s a f t e r t h e s t a r t o f t h e s e c o n d q u a r t e r , s o t h e r e w i l l b e c o s t s a v i n g s o n t o p o f t h a t i n i t i a l n u m b e r i n t h e b u d g e t , ” B e r n i e r s a i d . H e s a i d i t w a s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h i s i s n o t a d d i t i o n a l m o n e y b e i n g s p e n t , a s t h e m o n e y o n t h e c o n t r a c t w o u l d h a v e b e e n s p e n t a n y w a y t o h i r e t e a c h e r s f o r t h e o p e n p o s i t i o n s

“ Y e s , t h e y d o c o s t m o r e t h a n t h e p e op l e w e h i r e t o f i l l s p o t s , b u t w e d o n o t h a v e t e a c h e r s f o r t h e s e c l a s s r o o m s a n d o u r s t u d e n t s d e s e r v e a f u l l - t i m e c e r t i f i e d e d u c a t o r t o l e a d t h e i r i n s t r u c t i o n a n d t h e o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e s t a f f d e s e r v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y n o t t o h a v e t o c o v e r a c l a s sr o o m u n c o v e r e d b y a g u e s t t e a c h e r , ”

B e r n i e r s a i d

B e r n i e r s a i d c u r r e n t l y t h e t e a c h e r s a r e p a i d m o r e t h a n t h e d i s t r i c t ’ s t e a c h e r s

$ 2 8 a n h o u r f o r d i s t r i c t t e a c h e r s , w h i c h b u m p s u p t o $ 3 3 2 1 a n h o u r i n c l u d i n g

b e n e f i t s , a n d $ 4 5 a n h o u r f o r U n i v e r s i t y

I n s t r u c t o r t e a c h e r s “ T h e y w i l l r e m a i n e m p l o y e e s o f t h e c o m p a n y u n t i l t h e e n d o f t h e s c h o o l y e a r

W e w i l l t h e n h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o o f f e r t h e m a f u l l - t i m e j o b I t i s o u r b e l i e f t h a t w e c a n c o n v i n c e t h e m t o s t a y o n c e w e c r e a t e c o n n e c t i o n s , a n d t h e y s e t t l e i n t o t h e w o n d e r f u l c o m m u n i t y t h a t i s S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a P l u s , a t t h a t t i m e w e c a n o f f e r t h e m t h e h e a l t h c a r e a n d r e t i r em e n t b e n e f i t s t h e i r c u r r e n t e m p l o y e r d o e s n o t p r o v i d e , ” B e r n i e r s a i d T h e d i s t r i c t h a s h i r e d 6 1 7 i n s t r u c t i o na l s t a f f m e m b e r s f o r t h i s s c h o o l y e a r

Clean Water in Lee County: Issues, Solutions and Actions topic of LVW meeting

The League of Women Voters of Lee County invites League members and the public to Clean Water in Lee County: Issues, Solutions and Actions, led by our speakers Joseph Bonasia, chair of the Florida Rights of Nature Network, and Codty Pierce, Calusa Waterkeeper Saturday, Oct 7, from 9:30-11 a m You can participate either by

attending in-person at The Collaboratory, 2031 Jackson St , Fort Myers, or via a Zoom link which will be provided to registrants

There is no charge to attend

Registration options are:

∫ Registration link at https://www eventbrite com/e/clean-water-

in-lee-county-issues-solutions-and-actionstickets-712167711797

∫ Email reservations@lwvlee org

∫ Call 239-278-1032

The League of Women Voters of Lee County Inc is a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to

increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy Information on the programs and issues of the League of Women Voters is available on the web at www lwv org, www lwvfl org, and www lwvlee org Call 239-278-1032 or e-mail lwvlee@gmail com

School District provides Ian damage update

By MEGHAN BRADBURY news@breezenewspapers com

Hurricane Ian damage continues to be repaired by the School District of Lee County

The school board received an in-depth review of where the district stands in regards to damages and recovery, as well as the financial impact and recovery during a Tuesday afternoon meeting

Damages and Recovery

M a i n t e n a n c e S e r v i c e s A s s i s t a n t D i r e c t o r T o n i D e n t - M c N a i r s a i d t h e Operations Department received 2,317 total service requests Of those 1,713 have been closed leaving 604 still in progress

“Advancements are made daily As of last Friday (Sept 29) an additional 11 were completed reducing to 593 This means we have now completed over 74%,” she said

Damage was sustained throughout all district sites with the most common being r e s t o r a t i o n o f c a m p u s r o o f s , d r y w a l l , floors, ceiling tiles, canopies, sunshades, athletic fields and fencing

“ P r i o r i t i z a t i o n o f s e c u r i n g b u i l d i n g envelopes and restoring interior learning environments and guaranteeing student safety has been paramount and has been assigned to completion,” Dent-McNair said

There should be full completion by the end of 2023 with the exception of Hector A Cafferatta and some roof repairs, she said, adding the district has been proactively implementing additional processes to piggyback contracts to help mitigate foreseeable issues to keep them on track of completing projects

The presentation highlighted the funds that are committed to the district $54 4 million for insurance, $10 9 million from FEMA, Lee County shelter operations at $1.2 million, Legislature Capital Appropriation the current projection of funding, which included $54.4 million for , $17.5 million in legislature capital appropriation for $17.5 million and Legislature Appropriations Program for $51 million for total funds committed of $135 million. The district has received $56 8 million and has expended $53 8 million so far

The presentation broke down the closed project percentages, in progress and open projects within seven categories athletics and fields, electrical, exterior, HVAC, interior, portables and roof

Athletics and fields

■ 62% closed

■ 22% in progress

■ 16% open projects

Electrical

■ 81% closed

■ 6% in progress

■ 13% open projects

Exterior

■ 76% closed

■ 10% in progress

■ 14% open projects

HVAC

■ 79% closed

■ 15% in progress

■ 6% open projects

Interior

■ 87% closed

■ 6% in progress

■ 7% open projects

Portables

■ 58% closed

■ 27% in progress

■ 15% open projects

Roof

■ 57% closed

■ 16% in progress

■ 27 percent open projects

The precentage of open projects are in the preconstruction phase, or preliminary work is being accomplished Supply issues are still a factor and, depending on the material needed the estimated time of arrival, is anywhere from six to 24 weeks, Dent-McNair said

“Roofing projects are the priority and last major trade to restore campuses that are ongoing throughout the district,” she said of the goal targeting the end of December for the major of roof repairs to be done “Some reroofs, due to some issues with material purchase that will linger into early part of 2024 ”

Financial Impact and Recovery

I

Director Joseph Mascali said the district’s financial losses are at a high of $277 million to a low of $240 million The initial loss estimate was $303 million

“The district was extraordinarily proactive,” he said, which reduced the overall impacts and mitigating further damage

In addition, the district relied on trusted local vendors to perform repairs, which greatly reduced the cost for the district

“The district also mobilized a small army to perform the repairs to bring down the cost,” Mascali said

Major loss categories include:

■ Property damage - $142 million

■ Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary School upgrade to a K-8 school - $57 2 million

■ Financial losses, lost tax revenue$9 7 million

■ Contents, vehicles and equipment$6 6 million

■ Temporary facilities, extra expenses - $36 6 million

The presentation highlighted the funds that are committed to the district $54 4 million for insurance, $10 9 million from FEMA, Lee County shelter operations at $ 1 2 m i l l i o n , L e g i s l a t u r e C a p i t a l Appropriation the current projection of funding, which included $54 4 million for , $17 5 million in legislature capital appropriation for $17 5 million and Legislature Appropriations Program for $51 million for total funds committed of $135 million The district has received $56 8 million and has expended $53 8 million so far

Mascali said the award provided from t h e s t a t e t h r o u g h t h e L e g i s l a t i v e Appropriation Program was $51 million, tied for the highest allocation for the program

“This award is essentially an advance of what the state anticipates FEMA is going to pay us,” he said “The state acknowledged permanent projects weren’t moving through FEMA quite as fast as they would like to see it ”

Mascali said the district submitted more than 147 applications totaling $147 million K i p p N e l s o n , d i r e c t o r , I m p e r i u m Consulting Group, LLC Director Kipp Nelson touched upon FEMA claims.

“So far we have received approximately $10 9 million in emergency w o r k f u n d i n g t h r o u g h FEMA and we have yet to receive any funding on the permanent work side,” he said “Some of it is due to FEMA facing multiple disasters throughout the country Due to the continuing resolution that Congress just passed they are now back to the table and ready to fund projects that were on hold d u e t o f u n d i n g r e s t r a i n t s o v e r t h e l a s t c o u p l e o f months ”

School

district to receive $51 million in Hurricane Ian recovery aid

State to provide interest-free loans to help entities pay for repairs while waiting for FEMA funds

B y M E G H A N B R A D B U RY n e w s @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m T h e S c h o o l D i s t r i c t o f L e e C o u n t y w i l l r e c e i v e $ 5 1 m i l l i o n i n a i d f r o m a $ 3 3 8 s t a t e H u r r i c a n e I a n r e c o v e r y p o t , a c c o r d i n g t o a r e l e a s e i s s u e d b y G o v . R o n D e S a n t i s l a s t w e e k T h e s e r e c o v e r y f u n d s a r e i n t h e f o r m o f a n i n t e r e s t - f r e e l o a n a s t h e d i s t r i c t a w a i t s F E M A f u n d s “ O n b e h a l f o f t h e s c h o o l B o a r d a n d o u r e n t i r e e d u c a t i o n a l c o m m u n i t y , I e x t e n d m y d e e p e s t g r a t i t u d e t o G o v e r n o r D e S a n t i s a n d t h e s t a t e L e g i s l a t u r e f o r t h e r e m a r k a b l e c o m m i t m e n t a n d s u p p o r t s h o w n t o o u r s c h o o l s a n d s t u d e n t s i n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e d e v a s t a t i n g h u r r i c a n e , ” s a i d S u p e r i n t e n d e n t D r C h r i s t o p h e r B e r n i e r i n a p r e p a r e d s t a t e m e n t . “ T h i s i n v a l u a b l e i n v e s t m e n t n o t o n l y s e c u r e s a b r i g h t e r f u t u r e f o r o u r c h i l d r e n , b u t a l s o d e m o n s t r a t e s t h e u n w a v e r i n g d e d i c a t i o n o f o u r s t a t e l e a d e r s h i p t o t h e w e l l - b e i n g o f o u r c o m m u n i t y T o g e t h e r , w e w i l l e n s u r e t h a t o u r s c h o o l s s t a n d s t r o n g e r a n d p r o u d e r t h a n e v e r b e f o r e , f o s t e r i n g r e s i l i e n c e a n d h o p e f o r g e n e r a t i o n s t o c o m e ” O n t h e o n e - y e a r a n n i v e r s a r y o f H u r r i c a n e I a n , D e S a n t i s a n n o u n c e d t h e a w a r d o f $ 3 3 8 m i l l i o n i n s t a t e f u n d i n g t o c o m m u n i t i e s i m p a c t e d b y t h e s t o r m T h e f u n d i n g i s f o r l o n g - t e r m r e c o v e r y e f f o r t s f o r s c h o o l s , s h e r i f f ’ s o f f i c e s , f i r e s t at i o n s , p a r k s a n d r e c r e a t i o n c e n t e r s ,

“On behalf of the school Board and our entire educational community, I extend my deepest gratitude to Governor DeSantis and the state Legislature for the remarkable commitment and support shown to our schools and students in the aftermath of the devastating hurricane This invaluable investment not only secures a brighter future for our children, but also demonstrates the unwavering dedication of our state leadership to the well-being of our community. Together, we will ensure that our schools stand stronger and prouder than ever before, fostering resilience and hope for generations to come ”

r o a d s , w a s t e w a t e r t r e a t m e n t p l a n t s a n d b e a c h r e n o u r i s h m e n t “ M y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n m a d e a p r o m i s e t o c u t t h r o u g h b u r e a u c r a t i c r e d t a p e a n d f i l l i n g a p s w h e r e f e d e r a l f u n d i n g e n d s f o r c o m m u n i t i e s i m p a c t e d b y H u r r i c a n e I a n , ” D e S a n t i s s a i d i n h i s S e p t 2 8 s t a t em e n t “ T h i s $ 3 3 8 m i l l i o n i n f u n d i n g i s g o i n g t o m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e a s t h e s e c o mm u n i t i e s a r e r e b u i l d i n g ” O t h e r f u n d i n g h i g h l i g h t s i n c l u d e :

■ $ 1 4 m i l l i o n t o F o r t M y e r s B e a c h F i r e C o n t r o l D i s t r i c t

■ $ 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 t o t h e C i t y o f F o r t M y e r s

■ 4 3 m i l l i o n t o L e e M e m o r i a l H e a l t h S y s t e m s

■ $ 8 m i l l i o n t o S a n i b e l F i r e a n d R e s c u e D i s t r i c t

■ $ 2 8 m i l l i o n t o t h e C i t y o f S a n i b e l

■ $ 5 1 m i l l i o n t o t h e C i t y o f C a p e C o r a l

■ $ 1 m i l l i o n t o C a p t i v a E r o s i o n P r e v e n t i o n D i s t r i c t

■ $ 3 5 0 , 0 0 0 t o C a p t i v a F i r e C o n t r o l D i s t r i c t T h e s e f u n d s c a m e f r o m T h e

H u r r i c a n e R e c o v e r y P r o g r a m , w h i c h w a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e F r a m e w o r k f o r

F r e e d o m B u d g e t T h e f u n d s a r e t o h e l p a s s i s t w i t h g a p s i n r e c o v e r y a n d r e p a i r s n e c e s s i t a t e d b y H u r r i c a n e I a n “ T h a n k s t o t h e u n w a v e r i n g s u p p o r t o f

G o v e r n o r D e S a n t i s a n d t h e i n v e s t m e n t o f t h e F l o r i d a L e g i s l a t u r e , t h e s e f u n d s w i l l f u r t h e r a s s i s t c o m m u n i t i e s a s t h e y c o nt i n u e t h e i r r e c o v e r y e f f o r t s , ” F l o r i d a

D i v i s i o n o f E m e r g e n c y M a n a g e m e n t

D i r e c t o r K e v i n G u t h r i e s a i d i n a p r ep a r e d s t a t e m e n t “ T h e D i v i s i o n a n d S t a t e E m e r g e n c y R e s p o n s e T e a m r e m a i n c o mm i t t e d t o s u p p o r t i n g t h e s e a r e a s a s t h e y r e b u i l d t o b e s t r o n g e r a n d m o r e r e s i l i e n t i n t h e f a c e o f f u t u r e s t o r m s ”

A c c o r d i n g t o t h e d i s t r i c t , t h e o v e r a l l e s t i m a t e d i m p a c t t o t a l s a n u p w a r d s o f

$ 3 0 0 m i l l i o n f r o m H u r r i c a n e I a n T h e d i s t r i c t c o n t i n u e s t o w o r k w i t h i t s i n s u ra n c e c a r r i e r s , F E M A , a n d t h e F e d e r a l D e p a r t m e n t o f E m e r g e n c y M a n a g e m e n t t o e n s u r e t h e y r e c o v e r f r o m t h e i m p a c t s o f t h e h u r r i c a n e A c c o r d i n g t o t h e d i s t r i c t , t h e $ 5 1 m i ll i o n i s n o t o n l y a f i n a n c i a l b o o s t , b u t r e pr e s e n t s a m o n u m e n t a l s t e p t o w a r d s r e c o v e r y T h e m o n e y w i l l g o t o w a r d s o n g o i n g p e r m a n e n t w o r k p r o j e c t s , a s w e l l a s p a v i n g a w a y f o r a r e s i l i e n t f u t u r e , o f f i c i a l s s a i d

Superintendent Dr Christopher Bernier

Fighting the lure of juvie tarpon

I got the call from a friend in Punta Gorda telling me I had to come up right away, “Tarpon are everywhere!

I know that juvie tarpon are your thing and my canal is loaded up; you’ve got to get up here!”

I could feel the adrenaline starting to course through my veins, hands already trembling as he d e s c r i b e d t h e e a r l y m o r n i n g a n d d u s k action I also knew that as soon as I hung up the phone, I should call my T A s p o n s o r ( T a r p o n Anonymous is a Miamibased dedicated group of p r o f e s s i o n a l t h e r a p i s t s t h a t c o u n c i l a n d h e l p rehabilitate juvenile tarp o n a n g l i n g a d d i c t s using one to one counseling and group therapy )

I called and was informed that my sponsor was away I immediately caved I could have called TA headquarters in Miami for an emergency sponsor but I was weak, confused and alone, instead loading the truck with gear and speeding north, powerless to stop

That evening the little tarpon were indeed rolling everywhere as I made cast after cast with my lightweight spin and fly gear, of course catching nothing which, of course, I already knew would probably happen before I left home

The following day I finally got through to my sponsor and told him what had happened I’m starting to believe that he may be organizing a family intervention when he returns with everyone writing letters of concern for my well-being, some sobbing, upset with me “wasting so much time obsessed with these stupid fish little you never catch ” I was at a low point and very disappointed in myself as well, later drifting off to sleep vowing to gain control

Early the next morning I opened the blinds and immediately saw that tarpon were rolling around my neighbor's dock I could feel the adrenalin start to pump and my hands beginning to shake In less than three minutes I had turned off my unfinished scrambled eggs, early popped the toaster, grabbed a rod and was out on the seawall casting, clad in red plaid robe, mosquitoes and green Crocs I couldn’t help it I’m weak

Actually, I do catch just enough of these 2 to 15pound canal fish each year on artificial lures and flies to keep me going back for more, but it’s never ever easy For whatever reason, I’ve found that smaller backwater

See JUVIE TARPON, page 43

TIDES CHART

Calusa Sportsman Foundation makes $170,000 donation to Valerie’s House

The Calusa Sportsman Foundation raised $170,000 for Valerie’s House and its new forever home during the 3rd annual fishing tournament recently at The Westin at Tarpon Point in Cape Coral Over three years, the foundation has raised $470,000 for Valerie’s House, which provides ongoing grief support for children and families grieving the death of a loved one

As Valerie’s House continues to grow and support families in need, a larger facility was essential to expand and provide the necessary services for the Southwest Florida community These funds have contributed to making that dream a reality with the new forever home to open soon at 3551 Shoemaker Lane in Fort Myers

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with this year’s turnout with over 70 boats on the water,” said Mark Wiles, one of the founders of the Calusa Sportsman Foundation “The

Captain’s Dinner was packed with fun, laughter and camaraderie that set the tone for the weekend’s activities The kindness that filled the room at the Awards Dinner that held 375 guests was truly humbling Thank you to all our anglers, sponsors, supporters, and volunteers who each played a role in the event’s incredible success ”

The Calusa Sportsman Foundation is a group of business leaders who have come together to host fundraising events for the avid sportsman The founding members of this organization are Mike Dannenhauer (Five County Insurance), Mark Wiles (Wayne Wiles Floor Coverings) and Jeff Richards (Better Buildings, Inc ) They are dedicated to creating fun outdoor activities with an overall goal of helping less fortunate resident’s in SWFL

For additional information about the organization, visit https://calusasportsmanfoundation org

Oasis’ Persechino voted

Breeze Athlete of the Month

The votes are in for the Cape Coral B r e e z e ’ s S e p t e m b e r A t h l e t e o f t h e Month, and the winner is Oasis High School’s Skye Persechino

The freshman broke a school record at the Pirate Invitational in Port Charlotte Persechino set a new mark to beat for the Sharks and finished first in the pool, swimming a 56 55 in the girls 100meter freestyle, a record that has stood since 2010

“When I broke the record I felt really good about it and very proud of myself,” she said during her nomination week “I love my teammates and everyone has been cheering and supporting me as well as each other on the team I also want to thank my parents for the support ” Voting for October’s Athlete of the Month will open toward the end of the month Stay up to date on capecoralbreeze com

Skye Persechino

Fueled by Fire 5K Race & Challenge Saturday at Tarpon Point Marina

Foundation has announced the second annual Fueled by Fire 5K Race & Challenge, set to take place at Tarpon Point Marina this Saturday, Oct 7, at 7 a m The date of the race kicks off Fire Prevention Weeks which begins Sunday, Oct 8 This event promises to bring together the community for a day of fun, fitness, and fundraising in support of our local community members and its heroes This 5K & Challenge includes running or walking

Wednesday Boys Golf

Cape Coral 1 7 4 , Mariner 1 8 7

through beautiful areas of the city and puts people's skills to the test as they engage in a firefighter physical obstacle course The goal of the Fueled by Fire 5K Race & Challenge is to raise funds to further support the mission and efforts of the foundation, which include but are not limited to funding CPR courses and resources for the community, promoting fire and life safety education, funding a local firefighter memorial, and more

For additional information, visit ccfdfoundation org

PREP REPORT

Sharks (14-5) with a 25-19, 25-21, 20-25, 25-18 victory

At Coral Oaks Golf Course Cape Coral (1 7 4 ): Justin Czerniak 38, Don Kennedy 40, Brady Fanter 42, Zachary Distel 55 Mariner (1 8 7 ): DJ Dwire 40, Alex Young 54, Brayden Nagel 44, Randy Wood 49

Volleyball

Ida Baker 3 , Mariner 0 : Cassara Easterwood's 10 kills led the Bulldogs to a 25-22, 25-15, 25-21 victory against the Tritons Madison Autrey added seven kills for Ida Baker, while Saige Thibodeaux had 14 digs and Taylor Foster made 23 assists.

Tuesday Volleyball

Bishop Verot 3 , Gateway Charter 0 : The Vikings made it 18-4 on the season, coasting past Gateway Charter 254, 25-5, 25-15 Madeline Knaak and Kerrigan Habing made 8 kills each, while Marissa Peck had 11 service aces Gateway 3 , Island Coast 0 : The Gators fell by scores of 25-9, 25-18, 25-16 North Fort Myers 3 , Bonita Springs 1 : North (13-5) bounced back from Saturday's tournament loss to the Bull

Port Charlotte 3 , Ida Baker 1 : Saige Thibodeaux had 19 kills and 32 digs for the Bulldogs in a 23-25, 25-17, 2523, 25-17 loss to the Pirates Cassara Easterwood had 12 kills Taylor Foster made 33 assists and 18 digs, while Savannah Scott and Jennifer Munera had 10 digs each

Girls Bowling

Oasis 5 , Dunbar 0 : Seniors Katarina Hagler (241) and Lexi Lenius (222) led the Sharks to a 766 total Cape Coral 4 , Bishop Verot 1 : Brooke Pabst bowled a 217 for Cape and Izzy Lentz had a 151 for the Vikings Bonita Springs 5 , Mariner 0 : Mariner (523) -- Malia Araujo 116, Regan Tucker 107, Alyssa Jenkins 115, Samantha Contino 82, Delaney Tucker 104

Boys Bowling

Cape Coral 4 , Bishop Verot 1 : Daniel Lynn bowled a 269 to lead the Seahawks, while Randy Ayala had a 226 game Seamus Murray led the Vikings, rolling a 213 Dunbar 4 , Oasis 1 : Nick Grande rolled a 125 and Charles Broadley a 124 for Oasis

Mariner 5 , Bonita Springs 0 : Mariner (868) -- Andre Enslin 162, Bo Laventure 187, Mike Testa 168, Chris Smith 147, Seth Schulte 204

Capt George Tunison

PicklePlex of Punta Gorda to hold ribbon-cutting today for 8-court expansion at FSW Charlotte campus

P i c k l e P l e x o f P u n t a G o r d a h a s announced the ribbon-cutting for the new 8-court expansion project Friday, Oct 6, at the Florida SouthWestern State College Charlotte Campus on 26300 Airport Road in Punta Gorda This includes the Chaplin Championship Court, a stadium court and six additional professionally sanctioned courts

The festivities were set to begin at 11 a m and include four lucky pickleball players having the opportunity to be the first to play on the Chaplin Championship

Court PicklePlex opened for play in June, 2019, with 16 professionally sanctioned courts The rapid growth of the sport found the demand for courts outpacing court availability Quickly PicklePlex began envisioning an expansion project and fundraising began With fundraising completed, construction on the new 8 courts began in January 2023 after repairs from Hurricane Ian damage were completed This brings the number of available courts at PicklePlex to

24 Melissa Eichmeyer, PicklePlex Board President, emphasized, “We are so excited to have 8 additional courts ready to serve our membership and visitors It gives us

Academy programming and accommodate tournament play and yet have courts available for open play It’s all about serving our community and this growing sport while accommodating players of all skill levels ”

501(C)(3) non-profit corporation that provides and maintains state-of-the-art facilities to grow the sport of pickleball and provides a safe and welcome environment for players of all skill levels, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds In collaboration with individuals and organizations, PicklePlex emphasizes education, healthy lifestyles and positively impacting our local economy

PicklePlex of Punta Gorda, Inc is at 130 E Marion Avenue #512691, Punta Gorda, FL 33951

Juvie tarpon: Little game fish have rolled into some local canals

From page 42

flats and mangrove tarpon are much more catch-able than their canal-dwelling, usually closed-mouthed cousins As for lures, think ultra-lite gear, long fine leaders and tiny lures and flies For best results I’ve found that spinning rod retrieves should be of a steady, medium speed, with very l i t t l e t o n o a d d e d e r r a t i c a c t i o n T r y always retrieving in the upper third of the water column For fly retrieves, experi-

From page 35

ment, but a foot-long slow pull then a short pause often provokes a strike, which could come on either the pull or pause Stay alert

For their bigger brothers still spread out here and there throughout the area, like us they to sense these first coolings of fall and although many will still hang on for quite a while longer, others have already left

Those remaining will hit the road for the trip south to Miami and points far

beyond when a few serious cold snaps come our way

Then there’s the other local group that just loves Southwest Florida winters and are genuinely puzzled as to why their cousins want to make that long and dangerous journey south, just to turn around and come back months later

The offshore red snapper weekend harvest continues this month and next along with open gag and black grouper, while inshore the redfish rodeo is definitely

BUSINESS BRIEFS

t r y ’ s f a s t e s t - g r o w i n g p r i v a t e l y - o w n e d waste collection, recycling, processing, and disposal companies Waste Pro serves more than two million residential and 100,000 commercial customers from over 90 operating locations Waste Pro is headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and main-

CAPE CORAL ANIMAL SHELTER

tains approximately 300 exclusive municipal contracts and franchises

Thomas joins Henderson

Franklin’s Land Use and Environmental Law Team

Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P A , has announced the addition of Colten Thomas as an associate in the Land Use and Environmental Law department His appointment follows two successful summer associate internships with the firm Thomas, a third-generation Fort Myers native, brings a deep connection to the community and a commitment to preserving the attributes of the city while fostering its growth He sees land use law as an opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the development of Southwest Florida while respecting its rich history.

A key pillar of Thomas’ approach to advocacy is his unwavering commitment to communication, transparency, and diligence Commenting on his new role at Henderson Franklin, Thomas stated,

Thomas is admitted to practice in all Florida state courts He earned his bachelor of arts in political science from Duke University, where he also competed at the Division-1 level in wrestling Thomas obtained his juris doctor from Florida State University College of Law He may be reached at colten.thomas@henlaw.com or by phone at 239-344-1213

Hedwig

Looking for a loving home

Mahal is a 1 to 3-year-old male He might not be as big and grand in stature as his namesake, but he is a terrier, so he definitely believes he is Mahal can be pretty timid around new people, but once he realizes you are a good person, his true, friendly personality comes out If you have the patience to make Mahal feel comfortable and loved, he will be your new BFF!

Hedwig is a 1 to 3-year-old female

She is a very friendly girl who is looking for her furever home Hedwig loves her people and will greet you when you walk

into her room With her bright blue eyes and snowy white fur, she will surely win over your heart with her good looks and sweet personality

If you are interested in meeting any of the animals available for adoption at The Cape Coral Animal Shelter, please visit its website at www capecoralanimalshelter com for more information

The shelter is located at 325 S W 2nd Ave , Cape Coral, and hours of operation are Tuesday and Thursday, noon to 5 p m , and Friday through Sunday, noon to 4 p m

underway Target snook on points, docks, lay-downs, any ambush structure they’ll be using on their way back to their winter homes

From one foot out to a hundred, this month Southwest Florida has definitely got your favorite fish

Capt George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide You can contact him at 239-282-9434 or via email at captgeorget3@aol com

Henderson Franklin has served the legal n e e d s a n d c o m m u n i t i e s o f S o u t h w e s t Florida since 1924 The firm has over 55 attorneys dedicated to providing a wide range of legal services in the areas of business and tax planning, estate planning, family law, business and civil litigation, e m i n e n t d o m a i n , i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y , workers’ compensation, employment law, real estate, and land use and environmental law

Henderson Franklin operates offices in Fort Myers, Bonita Springs and Naples F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n T h o m a s o r Henderson Franklin, please visit www henlaw com

City Electric Supply holding grand opening of new facility

City Electric Supply is celebrating the grand opening of CES Fort Myers East today, Oct 6, from 2-6 p m , at 5719 Corporation Circle, Unit 2, Fort Myers

The branch will also be raising money for Make-A-Wish

The event will feature product demonstrations, raffle prizes and more City Electric Supply is a family-owned electrical wholesale business dedicated to providing the best service and support for customers in the residential, commercial, and industrial markets since 1983

For additional information, please visit https://www cityelectricsupply com/ or call 239-900-0995

Manchineel tree: Poisonous

From page 17

iguana, known as the Garrobo, native to Central and South America Historically, and with extreme caution, dried lumber from the tree was harvested by Indigenous p e o p l e t o m a k e f u r n i t u r e . D r i e d

Manchineel apples and the gum from the bark are said to have medicinal properties Today, the tree has been listed as an endangered species in Florida

The Manchineel tree will continue to survive, but requires us to be extremely cautious when exploring the mangrove

coastline and the Everglades It is imperative to be mindful of any tree marked by a red ring near its base This marking is a warning of the toxicity of the tree Leave y o u r c u r i o s i t y b e h i n d a n d e s c a p e t h e clutches of the tree deemed to be the deadliest tree in the world

Happy Halloween!

D e b o r a h H a g g e t t i s a L e e C o u n t y Master Gardener Volunteer and a member of the Garden Club of Cape Coral Visit us at www gardenclubofcapecoral com

Supervisor, Garrey Thompson – Ft Pierce, FL Roll-Off Driver, and Denis ZeledonDaytona, FL Grapple Driver

Waste Pro USA, Inc operates in 10 southeastern states and is one of the coun-

Mahal

(Selected by the Breeze Sports staff)

Oasis: Sharks team rises from underdog to leader of the pack

From page 1

Regarding taking home a first-ever volleyball state tile for her school, Hendershot, a senior, said, “It feels like our hard work and dedication has finally paid off."

Senior Abbigale Llewellyn added, “It is an amazing feeling It is such a big accomplishment for our team I am glad we got to do it together and to go out in a great way ”

As for the feeling when the final point was won and the championship was secured, senior Alison Ortiz said, “It felt like time stopped and every emotion just became a happy and excited one There was no ‘me’ in that moment, only a ‘we,’ and a very proud team behind all the excitement ”

Poskon, another senior, added, “It was an awesome feeling to experience as our team dog-piled on top of one another in celebration. I couldn’t be more blessed with such an amazing and supportive team ”

The program has made great strides in just one year under Altman’s tenure, going from 2-9 last year to tops in the SSAC Altman brings more than two decades of volleyball coaching experience, and said he’s never quite had a team that has jelled as one like this group has

“We are often overlooked as we are part of an absolutely stacked district, containing four out of the top seven teams in the area But we continue to grow and the confidence is building,” Altman said “We look forward to embracing our challenges and we thank all the teams that we have been blessed to compete against this year as they have all made us stronger in the long run.”

Starting out the state tournament, Oasis was ranked 404th in the state, was the lowest seed and it had to take on a top 200 school in the first round The Sharks would win a five-set battle, 25-19, 23-25, 23-25, 25-21 and 1511 They were led by Baksh (19 kills), Henkle (18 kills) and Ortiz (12 kills) Sarah Mikulus anchored the defense with 40 digs Setters Poskon and Skorzak commanded the offense with 24 and 34 assists, respectively

Altman said their keys to success were trusting in one another, trusting in themselves that they could hang with their competition, and having a never-say-die mentality on the court

Senior Natalie McKenna said, “We are all very close on and off the court and are always there for each other through good and bad This definitely helps on the court because we’re like a family ”

Llewellyn added, “This group is so tight because of our family feeling This led to good communication and trust on the court ”

It always helps when you play your best at the most important time of the season, which Altman said also played a major role in his team’s success

“Our offense started clicking,” he said “We started hitting the ball well, starting to put it away We were always very good on defense, but we're starting to elevate our game despite being undersize compared to some teams in the area ”

The Oasis Sharks volleyball team made school history last weekend by t a k i n g h o m e t h e Sunshine State Athletic A s s o c i a t i o n 4 A S t a t e Championship Play on the court is not yet done for the squad, as it will also play in the FHSAA, not just the SSAC. The Sharks will look to finish the season strong and c a r r y m o m e n t u m i n t o d i s t r i c t p l a y, w h i c h starts in a few weeks

Altman took some time away from coaching over the last few years to watch his daughter pursue her collegiate volleyball career and spend time with family He said this group has rekindled his love of coaching, and plans on continuing at Oasis This is his first state championship win as a head coach (made appearance in FHSAA finals with ECS previously)

“The sisterhood of this team is unbelievable,” he said “They always want to stay late and work on things They have a hunger and drive to learn and grow, which I’ve rarely seen ”

As for what the girls think has made the biggest difference this year, senior Valentina Calleja said it’s the presence of Altman

See OASIS, page 47

PHOTO PROVIDED

Rowing club to offer how-to seminar on the water sport

B y C J H A D D A D

c j h a d d a d @ b r e e z e n e w s p a p e r s c o m H a v e y o u b e e n t h i n k i n g o f t a k i n g u p a w a t e r s p o r t ? P e r h a p s r o w i n g ? T h e C a p e C o r a l R o w i n g C l u b i s o f f e ri n g a f r e e c h a n c e f o r a d u l t s t o t r y t h e s p o r t o f r o w i n g n e x t S a t u r d a y i n C a p e

C o r a l , w i t h n o e x p e r i e n c e n e c e s s a r y t o t a k e p a r t T h e i n t r o d u c t o r y s e m i n a r w i l l t a k e p l a c e f r o m 8 t o 1 0 a m o n O c t 1 4 o f f o f O l d B u r n t S t o r e R o a d N N e a r E m b e r s P a r k w a y o n t h e t h i r d o f t h e “ S e v e n I s l a n d s ” T h e r e w i l l b e a b r i e f l e s s o n o n t h e n o m e n c l a t u r e o f t h e s p o r t a n d t h e t e c hn i q u e o f t h e s t r o k e , f o l l o w e d b y a c h a n c e t o r o w a s h o r t d i s t a n c e o n b e a u t i f u l C a p e w a t e r w a y s “ W e u s e d t o d o t h i s e v e r y y e a r o r t w o b e f o r e t h e p a n d e m i c a n d h u r r i c a n e , b u t p e o p l e c a n c o m e d o w n a n d h o p o n o u r r o w i n g m a c h i n e a n d l e a r n t h e b a s i c s , ” s a i d C a p e C o r a l R o w i n g C l u b B o a r M e m b e r L e n C a r d o n e O n c e t h e b a s i c s a f e t y a n d i n s t r u c t i o na l g u i d e s a r e g i v e n t o p a r t i c i p a n t s , a s h o r t r i d e o u t o n t o t h e w a t e r , l a s t i n g a t o t a l o f r o u g h l y 1 0 m i n u t e s , w i l l t a k e p l a c e “ I t ’ s t o g i v e p e o p l e a s e n s e o f i f i t ’ s s o m e t h i n g t h e y w a n t t o d o , ” C a r d o n e s a i d “ I t ’ s a g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t y f o r p e o p l e t o s t a r t i n t h e s p o r t o f r o w i n g , w h i c h y o u c a n d o a n y t i m e I t ’ s l o w - i m p a c t , a n d w e h a v e a l o t o f p e o p l e s t a r t i n g i n t h e i r 6 0 s , a s w e l l a s t h o s e t h a t w e r e c o l l e g i a t e r o we r s c o m i n g s b a c k ”

PHOTO PROVIDED

The Cape Coral Rowing Club is offering a free chance for adults to try the sport of rowing next Saturday in Cape Coral, with no experience necessary to take part.

R o w e r s i n t h e C C R C r a g e f r o m 1 3 t o 8 0 , a n d c o m p e t e a r o u n d t h e w o r l d C a r d o n e s a i d t h e r e i s n o b e t t e r p l a c e o n e a r t h t h a n C a p e C o r a l t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e s p o r t , w h e t h e r t o b e c o m p e t i t i v e o r j u s t f o r r e c r e a t i o n I t ’ s a l s o a g r e a t w a y t o g e t o u t a n d m e e t p e o p l e “ W e w e r e c h o s e n ( a s ) o n e o f t h e t o p f i v e p l a c e s t o r e t i r e a n d r o w , b e c a u s e o f

o u r m i l e s a n d m i l e s o f c a n a l s a n d w a r m w e a t h e r y e a r - r o u n d , ” C a r d o n e s a i d “ W e a l w a y s i n c l u d e s o c i a l i z i n g a f t e r e v e r y p r a c t i c e . W e e i t h e r g o o u t f o r b r e a k f a s t o r v i s i t l o c a l p l a c e s i n C a p e C o r a l a f t e r ” W i t h s n o w b i r d s s l o w l y s t a r t i n g t o m a k e t h e i r w a y b a c k t o S o u t h w e s t F l o r i d a a s w i n t e r a p p r o a c h e s u p n o r t h , t h e r o w i n g c l u b t h o u g h t t h i s t i m e o f y e a r

w o u l d b e a g r e a t o p p o r t u n i t y t o e n c o u ra g e r e s i d e n t s t o g i v e t h e s p o r t a s h o t C a r d o n e , 6 0 , d i d n ’ t t a k e u p t h e s p o r t u n t i l h e w a s i n h i s 4 0 s P a r t i c i p a n t s c a n c h o o s e h o w r i g o r o u s t h e y ’ d l i k e t h e i r l e v e l t o b e “ Y o u c a n c o m e a n d j u s t r o w a s m u c h a s y o u w a n t r e c r e a t i o n a l l y , a s w e h a v e a l o t o f m e m b e r s w h o j u s t s t a r t e d i n t h e l a s t y e a r o r s o O r , y o u c a n c o m p e t e a n d g o a s h a r d a s y o u w a n t , ” C a r d o n e s a i d “ Y o u c a n a l s o g e t i n g r e a t s h a p e P e o p l e d o n ’ t t h i n k t h e y w a n t t o c o m p e t e , b u t o n c e y o u e n t e r a r a c e , t h e y w a n t t o d o i t f o r e v e r . ” T h o s e w h o e n j o y t h e s h o r t i n t r o d u c t or y e x p e r i e n c e c a n r e g i s t e r f o r t h e c l u b ’ s “ L e a r n t o R o w ” c l a s s t h a t b e g i n s t h e l a s t w e e k e n d o f O c t o b e r T h e s i x - w e e k l e ss o n s r u n f o r t w o h o u r s o n S a t u r d a y a n d S u n d a y m o r n i n g s f o r t h r e e w e e k s s t a r ti n g t h e w e e k e n d o f O c t 2 8

C a r d o n e s a i d r o w i n g c a n a l s o b e a l u c r a t i v e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r y o u t h t o e x t e n d t h e i r a c a d e m i c c a r e e r b y t a k i n g u p r o wi n g t o e a r n a c o l l e g e o r u n i v e r s i t y s c h o la r s h i p

O n O c t . 2 1 , C C R C w i l l o f f e r t h e s a m e t y p e o f i n t r o d u c t o r y e v e n t f o r c h i l d r e n , w h i c h w i l l g u a r a n t e e a t t e n d e e s a f r e e t w o - w e e k m e m b e r s h i p

C C R C i s a s w e e p r o w i n g a n d s c u l l i n g c l u b , a n d i s o p e n t o a l l m e m b e r s o f t h e c o m m u n i t y , a s w e l l a s v i s i t o r s F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e c l u b , v i s i t w w w r o wc c r c o r g C C R C i s a t 2 0 6 O l d B u r n t S t o r e R o a d N

Oasis: Coach gets high praise from team; made them all ‘ a family’

From page 45

“He was able to take a team he barely knew and shape us into a family,” Calleja said “We have been able to play to our full potential because with him we aren’t to make mistakes and he makes every single of us feel seen ”

Ortiz added, “A major part of this change was a coach that truly believed in us and showed us that the game is more than just your own personal gain, but an o p p o r t u n i t y t o u p l i f t e a c h o t h e r a n d improve as a team as a whole ”

Play on the court is not yet done for this squad, as it will also play in the FHSAA, not just the SSAC The Sharks will look to

“A major part of this change was a coach that truly believed in us and showed us that the game is more than just your own personal gain, but an opportunity to uplift each other and improve as a team as a whole ”

Alison Ortiz, senior

McKenna added, “I hope we continue to have fun and make the most of every practice and game we have left

Calleja said, “We want to continue playing for each other and as one We want to stay disciplined and shock every opponent we face with our improvement.”

finish the season strong and carry momentum into district play, which starts in a few weeks Altman said while they have a big climb ahead of them, they hope to create some upsets along the way

“ T h e w a y w e c e l e b r a t e e a c h o t h e r brought back the excitement for volleyball that I had as a kid,” Ortiz said “With our passion and excitement, every game we get to play in playoffs will be a great one”

With just six seniors graduating and m a n y s t a r t e r s b e i n g e i t h e r j u n i o r s o r younger, this team could be a force for the next few years

C o n n e c t w i t h A s s o c i a t e S p o r t s Editor CJ Haddad on X (formally Twitter): @haddad cj

Wanted To Buy

Goldenretrieverpuppies7weeks old&readytogototheirhomes nextweek.AKCcertifiedwith championpedigreebloodlines, dewormed,healthcertificate& f irstvaccine.PassedtheOFA testforelbows,eyes,heart& hips.$1850.Call305-479-8890

239-236-5311

SavonaNeighborhood Semi-AnnualGarageSale (offDelPrado)

Friday10/06-Sunday10/08

ManyFamiliesParticipating ForUpdatescall239-841-4664 orfollowusonFacebook:

Cryptoquip Solution:

Fill in the blank cells using numbers 1 to 9. Each number can appear only once in each row, column, and 3x3 block. Use logic and process of elimination to solve the puzzle. The difficulty level ranges from Bronze (easiest) to Silver to Gold (hardest).

Bonded-LicCBC058576-Insured BulldogBuildersInc.com

AFFORDABLE FREE ESTIMATES

NewInstallation

IncludesPermit

2YearWarranty RainBirdContractor

A+RATED-ANGIESLIST

Installation&Repair

Licensed&Insured

FAMILYOWNEDSINCE1981

LEE#LSO200031

CAPE#06938

Sanibel#S11-000923

Residential/Commercia l FullServiceGeneralContractor

* A dditions

*Remodels

*Renovations

3 0YearsExperience

VeteranOwned

239-560-5448 bestorcontracting.com