WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30, 2022 FLIER INSIDE
Helping islanders Winn-Dixie donates holiday bags and food to the Food Pantry — INSIDE PINEISLAND-EAGLE.COM
VOLUME 46, NUMBER 30
M/PIFCD recognizes special help offered through the hurricane By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Island Fire Chief Ben Mickuleit and Capt. Bobby Barr don’t want the generosity and steadfastness of the team of firefighters on Pine Island through Hurricane Ian to be overlooked. The hurricane posed many challenges for the department, not the least of which was having the equipment split before the storm in an effort to control damage that
might be done by incoming winds and storm surge, Barr said. “We didn’t have our equipment — our fire engines. We had a limited number of them. We didn’t have ambulances, we didn’t have our utility pickup trucks. Obviously, the thought before the storm is to pull away from the storm surge,” Barr said. Although according to theory this is the right thing to do, it caused many challenges because the department
See SPECIAL HELP, page 7
In the wake of Ian, a new recovery team forms on Pine Island
Hugh Reid, the owner of the Dolphins Resort in Matlacha, provided this picture of the main building of the resort, which he fears will collapse due to surge damage caused by Hurricane Ian. He also said the rest of the park is unsafe.
By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Residents at Dolphins Resort want help staying put Owner wants everyone to vacate; cites unsafe conditions By PAULETTE LeBLANC
pleblanc@breezenewspapers.com
Ten-year Dolphins Resort resident Todd Victor is just one of several renters at the park in Matlacha who would like to get back to his normal life. After Hurricane Ian damaged many of the manufactured homes in the resort, those who were left began meeting to survey the damage. They paid out of pocket to have debris cleaned up and hoped to get much-needed help from the property management or owner. They are frustrated with what they say is a lack of cooperation. “They don’t do anything, they don’t return anybody’s
insidetoday
was cut off from the equipment they were trying to protect due to the island’s inaccessibility after the storm, he said. Fortunately, many of the firefighters had their own pickups that were on the island. These became a great deal more valuable than the fire engines would have been, Barr said. “Fire engines are great to transport fire personnel to a
calls, I’m kind of left in the dark. I feel like they’re trying to push us out,” Victor said, adding he has tried several times to reach someone in charge. The owner, though, says while he initially hoped for a better outcome, the park is unsafe due to damage and the residents need to accept this and leave. Dolphins Resort renters have received notices, dated Nov. 14, to vacate the premises. This letter came on the heels of a letter dated Oct. 31, just after the hurricane, letting residents know park owner, Hugh Reid, was then actively working to make repairs and get the park up and
Athlete of the Week...........8 Guest Commentary...........4
See DOLPHINS RESORT, page 13
Letter to the Editor............4 Obituary.............................9
Jay Sanderson, owner of Island Tactical, and American Legion Commander, retired Army Lt. Col. Aaron Barreda, met to discuss a new island recovery task force, they are calling GPIA — Greater Pine Island Alliance — a “COAD” organization. “The state and federal government recognize groups that get together to respond to disasters and a COAD is community organization active in disasters. The way we’re going to set it up is called the Greater Pine Island Alliance. We’ll be working with a local 501c3 until we gain our own non-profit status,” Sanderson said. This organization will have its own board and administrative assistant with the purpose of being a central command for all things that need recovery on Pine Island. The primary goal is to be as efficient as possible during the recovery process for islanders, Sanderson said. The group is now in the early stages of becoming officially organized in order to gain government recognition. They are in the process of organizing skilled volunteers and developing a plan of outreach and communication. The plan is to do a status check on all Pine Island residents, searching for those in need. “This is everything from mental health to insurance questions, FEMA advocacy and advocacy in general. We just want to make sure we’re reaching everyone,” Sanderson said. If you currently need help or have special proficiencies, such as, but not limited to, communication skills, medical skills or advanced volunteer organization skills, and are interested in getting involved with GPIA, leave a message for Katie Arnett at 239-373-2830 with your contact information and you will receive a call back
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