Marathon Weekly 24-0411

Come home to Key Colony Beach Club

Be inspired with ultra luxury island living at newly constructed Key Colony Beach Club, both buildings completed in 2023. This East-facing, two-bedroom, two-bathroom 2nd floor condo is the third unit in from the ocean! Features just over 1,000 square feet of living with oceanfront views from the open air balcony that expands the entire width of the residence. Weekly 7-day rentals permitted. Immediately upon stepping foot through the front door, you are greeted with 9-foot ceilings and exquisite views of the Atlantic Ocean from the impact-resistant sliding doors. A light and bright aesthetic allows further customization of any coastal decor you please (virtually staged photos give inspiration). The gourmet kitchen features a center island, white shaker-style cabinets topped with white quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, and an open concept that flows effortlessly into the expansive living area. Greet each day with stunning ocean views and sunrises from the east in the primary bedroom that also features floor to ceiling impact sliders and access to the open air balcony. Key Colony Beach Club's amenities are almost complete: in-ground concrete pool, white sandy beach, and courtyard landscaping. An elevator allows easy access to the second floor from the covered carport parking for two vehicles.

Staff Writers Jim McCarthy jim@keysweekly.com

Production Manager Anneke Patterson anneke@keysweekly.com

Executive Administrator

Charlotte Hruska char@keysweekly.com

Graphic Design

Javier Reyes javier@keysweekly.com

Irene de Bruijn irene@keysweekly.com

Diana Striker

For those who didn’t see the April 8 solar eclipse in totality, 2045 will be the next easy chance for Florida residents. A solar eclipse on Aug. 12, 2045 will go over a vast portion of the Sunshine State, from the Panhandle and Orlando to portions of South Florida. After that, the next solar eclipse isn’t anticipated to pass over the southern U.S. until 2078.

Tony Manero (Christian Fernandez) and Stephanie Mangano (Ella Dunn) lead a cast of disco dancers in the Marathon High School drama club’s production of ‘Saturday Night Fever,’ opening this Friday. See page 8. CATHY

WALTERS/Contributed

MARATHON CITY COUNCIL TACKLES INJECTION

WELL SITE, FINALIZES HOTEL ORDINANCE Session awards

$150K to nonprofits and clarifies lighting rules

ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

Alight agenda for the Marathon City Council’s April session saw a quiet close to a hotly-debated hotel and motel ordinance, as well as renewed debate over the site for the city’s upcoming deep wastewater injection well.

Three unanimously-approved resolutions, authorizing north of $3 million in payments to local firm Weiler Engineering as the city prepares for installation of the well, drew a group of public commenters opposed to its installation at the city’s Area 6 treatment plant on Coco Plum’s Avenue I.

Five commenters cited a prior feasibility study that identified land on Crawl Key currently owned by the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority (FKAA) as an alternate site, urging the council to further workshop the installation

site, pivot away from the Area 6 installation altogether, and consider effluent re-use as alternatives to the single deep well.

“Please do not ignore the feasibility study that the city received last year indicating Crawl Key is the best location,” said Cheryl Miller. “The Crawl Key site is large enough to allow for future effluent re-use, but the Area 6 wastewater treatment plant is not.”

City Manager George Garrett said that while he would continue discussions with FKAA and that changes in the installation site could be made relatively easily within the next few months, “until we have a firm agreement in hand and I can put that in front of (the council), we have nothing. We own Area 6.”

Garrett and City Attorney Steve Williams reminded residents and the council of a five-year time constraint dictated by Marathon’s previous settlement with Friends of the Lower Keys, which mandated installation of the deep well. Williams said penalties for failing to meet the timeline could total $1,000 per day.

“We can ask to negotiate with (FKAA), but at the same time, we had better be doing our other work concur-

rently and keep it moving on our side,” Williams said. “If we can get over there (Crawl Key), wonderful. … (But) I would, at all costs, suggest that we move urgently.”

Councilman Kenny Matlock pushed back against concern that the new installation would cause additional traffic, odor, noise and environmental concerns, arguing that once completed, the required pump equipment would effectively equate to “an elevated shed.”

“You’re not going to know it’s there once it’s in,” he said. “I’ve heard a couple people telling me they’re concerned about their canal being dirtier, but a lot of people fought because this is supposed to make it all cleaner.”

Twenty-eight nonprofits funded

Out of requests from 35 local organizations totaling more than $417,000, 28 will receive a share of Marathon’s $150,000 in nonprofit grant funding for 2024, after a unanimous vote from the council to approve a bulk list of awards.

The Marathon City Council opens its April session by recognizing athletes and coaches from Marathon’s girls weightlifting team, who returned from the FHSAA State Championships in February with four state medals. ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly

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MARATHON CITY COUNCIL

That list, generated by city staff to distribute the funds proportionally based on council members’ scoring of organizations’ applications, saw top awards between $12,800 and $13,400 awarded to Grace Jones Community Center, the Marathon Recreation Center and the Hammock House. The three organizations were also the top-awarded nonprofits in 2023, when the city grants were reinstated.

Funded nonprofits received an average grant of $5,357, with the smallest amount of $1,375 going to Habitat for Humanity of the Middle Keys.

Nonprofits not selected for grant funding in 2024 include the Conch Republic Marine Army, United Way of Collier and the Keys, I.CARE Corporation, MarineLab, Leadership Monroe County, Payton’s Promise Sanctuary and the Florida Keys Concert Association.

Hotel/motel ordinance unchanged

Heavily scrutinized by the public at multiple earlier meetings, the city’s hotel/motel redevelopment ordinance (2023-15) passed unanimously with no changes since its first approval in March. Along with increased provisions for affordable housing, the new ordinance continues to restrict development of single-bedroom hotel units as units of up to 1,500 square feet with three bedrooms in exchange for a reduction in the number of overall units. One-bedroom units may develop as two-bedroom units in exchange for a 10% reduction in the number of overall units, or as threebedroom units in exchange for a 20% reduction.

Public commenters, while applauding the council for preserving the existing ordinance, continued to criticize prior drafts of the rule, which they said were presented as standard policy changes, but raised infrastructure, environmental and traffic concerns if one-bedroom units were allowed to develop as larger suites with up to six bedrooms.

Shortened timeline for lighting ordinance

Marathon homeowners will have one year to bring their homes’ lights into compliance with the city’s new lighting ordinance (2024-04), approved 4-1 at its second reading, with Matlock as the “no” vote. While the city previously enforced a commercial lighting ordinance and provisions for residents in turtle nesting areas, the new ordinance targets fixtures

that could create light “trespass” over property lines.

Under the new rules, exterior lights must prevent glare that could affect passing motorists, bicyclists and others on roads and sidewalks. This can be accomplished using special bulbs, fixtures, or architectural features of a home such as porches and overhangs to “shield” light from traveling sideways onto other properties.

The council’s initial approval of the ordinance in March saw a threeyear compliance timeline shortened to two years. But on Tuesday, councilman Luis Gonzalez and Mayor Robyn Still said residents had expressed concern with the “generous” two-year timeline, later suggesting the oneyear horizon as a solution.

Matlock opposed the shortened timeline, arguing that the change would bring a significant unexpected expense to homeowners and that enforcement of the ordinance on a large proportion of non-complying homes would likely only come in response to resident complaints.

In other news:

• The council opened its meeting with a proclamation recognizing the Marathon High School girls weightlifting team. Sending six members of the team to the FHSAA State Championships in Lakeland in late February, the squad returned home with four state medals, including two first-place finishes in her weight class for sophomore Justice Lee Isom.

• With the approval of Resolution 2024-37, the city will construct an events tiki at Oceanfront Park. A $201,495 Tourist Development Council grant will fund the majority of the project, with a $50,000 contribution from city funds.

• Under ordinance 2024-05, approved unanimously at its second reading, property owners with a “principal structure” such as a singlefamily residence who construct accessory structures – such as carports or sheds – on a second lot contiguous or adjacent to this residence will be required to remove the structures if the two lots are divided into separate ownerships in the future. Pools may be constructed on contiguous lots sharing a property line, but not on adjacent properties across the street from one another.

FUGITIVE MARATHON PASTOR CAUGHT IN TEXAS

Monte Chitty will return to Keys to face sexual assault charges

AMarathon pastor facing charges for molesting a 15-year-old girl was taken into custody in Texas just four days after skipping his April 1 arraignment, Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay confirmed to the Keys Weekly.

Monte Chitty, 62, will return to the Keys to face charges of sexual battery, lewd and lascivious molestation and contributing to the delinquency of a minor after being apprehended in Woodville, Texas, MCSO said in a press release.

According to the release, Chitty approached a Texas church group working with homeless residents in the area before a church member there contacted law enforcement. The release called the work of the Woodville, Texas Police Department and U.S. Marshals Service “instrumental in apprehending Chitty.”

Originally arrested March 4, Chitty is accused of providing a 15-year-old girl with an alcoholic beverage that the victim believed was spiked with something else. According to the arrest report, the victim said she lost consciousness on a couch in the library of Marathon’s First Baptist Church after drinking it, and awoke to find Chitty molesting her.

Released from jail on a $75,000 bond shortly after his first arrest, Chitty’s bond was upped to its current amount of $1.3 million after he failed to appear before Judge James Morgan. Intelligence that day suggested that Chitty had left Florida traveling west in a white van with out-of-state plates.

Additional evidence presented in court that day, including recorded telephone calls during Chitty’s short stay in jail and his internet search history, gave prosecutors and detectives reason to believe Chitty would leave Monroe County.

After fleeing the Florida Keys on April 1, Monte Chitty was taken into custody when he approached a Texas church group just four days later. MCSO/Contributed

1. ‘Saturday Night Fever’ brings audiences back to the decades of platform shoes and disco outfits galore.

2. Flo Manero (Sierra Earnhardt, left) has some girl talk with Pauline (Elise Dolton).

3. Candy (Samantha Schofield, right) and Monty (Gabriella Doering) rock the mic.

4. Annette (Rylee Seligson) performs ‘If I Can’t Have You.’

5. The cast and crew of ‘Saturday Night Fever.’

6. Adrien Holdinga, left, as Gus, breaks it down on the dance floor with Savannah Garcia.

CATCH THE ‘FEVER’

MHS drama club revives 1970s disco classic

ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

Bring your “Boogie Shoes” and get ready for a weekend of “Disco Inferno” at Marathon High School. The drama club has a serious case of “Saturday Night Fever.”

Based on the classic 1977 John Travolta film, the jukebox musical version of 19-year-old paint store clerk Tony Manero’s story premiered in 1998 in London’s West End and is more family-friendly than its source material. But there’s still plenty of inspiration to take from the original film, the drama club cast told the Weekly.

“If there’s one thing you take away from that era, it’s the fashion, the dance and the music,” said Elise Dolton, who serves as the production’s student director alongside her on-stage role as Pauline. “I feel like a lot of people who are coming to the show are

trying to see if we’re doing it right.”

Tasked with playing Travolta’s legendary character as he leads his gang of friends (“The Faces”), junior Christian Fernandez said he tried to adopt an air of “overwhelming confidence, because he (Travolta) has this presence about him, and this overwhelming desire to be the best. And his walk is really iconic.”

“We had to teach him to strut,” laughed junior Ella Dunn, who plays Tony’s love interest Stephanie Mangano. “He had to watch the movie and take notes, because for a while we told him, ‘This is you, man.’ I mean, look at his shoes!”

The production marks the first musical for director April Sullivan, herself an MHS alum and former drama club member who this year took up the mantle of longtime club head Lyn Cox. And though her cast admitted their beloved former director left “big shoes to fill,” they praised a collaborative approach from Sullivan – and some leeway to go all-out with their disco costumes.

“April has definitely given

Photos by Cathy Walters and Alex Rickert.

us more creative license,” said junior Rylee Seligson, who serves as the student choreographer when she’s not pining after Tony as Annette. “We get to take some of the ideas we come up with and actually implement them in the show. … Elise has been actually directing, and I got to actually choreograph.”

Sullivan praised the leadership of club president Dakota Mertyris for “taking over handling the boys” and called Dolton “my ‘everything’ person.”

“When she’s not on stage, she’s out here with me taking notes and going over everything with the cast, and Rylee is the same way too,” she said. “Being these lead parts, they all have their little responsibilities, but the big thing that they’ve done all together is being able to be a role model for so many new students who joined this year.”

“I want this to be a student-run club,” she said. “It’s the perfect club for that. A lot of them want to continue theater after high school, and they need that experience running the show, doing choreography, stage managing – all of it.”

Curtains rise for “Saturday Night Fever” at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 12 and 13 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 14. Tickets are $15 and are available at the door of the MHS Performing Arts Center or by scanning the attached QR code.

Sullivan said the collaborative effort in bringing “Saturday Night Fever” to life was a conscious decision on her part.

JEN

ALEXANDER www.keysweekly.com

As one of only 47 sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida, Crane Point Hammock and Nature Center offers more than just history. Long known for its outdoor walking, kayaking and snorkeling adventures, the sprawling preserve is beginning to become a hub for events in the Middle Keys.

Crane Point is an undisputed ecological and cultural gem. Its lush tropical forest hammocks shelter rare and endangered species alongside archaeological and historical treasures. The diverse ecosystems within its 63 acres include a large thatch palm hammock, a hardwood hammock, a mangrove forest, tidal lagoons and wetland ponds, with each habitat providing a haven for a variety of wildlife.

As of late, however, the hammock has offered its patrons a bit more than just nature.

“We have four areas that have been designated as event spaces,” said Crane Point CEO Charlotte Quinn. “The center of our property has just been completed and there’s a beautiful fire pit there as well. With separate event spaces, Crane Point can accommodate a variety of functions, which is ideal for

ROOM FOR ACTIVITIES

Crane Point leaps forward with more event space and outdoor adventures

large corporate events or weddings."

Of the four designated areas, the first area is known as the Crane House. It pays homage to Francis and Mary Crane, the property's conservationist owners prior to the 1970s. Steeped in history, the recently-remodeled home showcases the legacy of the Crane family. Original ceiling decorations pay tribute to their Great Pyrenees dogs, rescued during World War II and brought to America before becoming the breed's founding bloodline in the U.S. Additionally, re-created indigenous artifacts reflect the couple's passion for collecting and preserving cultural heritage. Although all of Crane Point’s spaces have natural breezes, this is the only event space that offers an upstairs, air-conditioned option.

Nestled within the lush hammock is the Adderley House. Originally built in 1904, it’s a captivating example of Bahamian architecture and is the oldest surviving house in the Florida Keys beyond Key West. The Adderley House boasts a practical layout, measuring 30 feet by 21 feet. Its rectangular shape is punctuated by centered doors at the front and back, allowing for a cool breeze to flow through the eight windows. This seemingly simple structure is the only remaining building in Florida constructed using the unique "tabby" method. This involved burning oyster shells to create lime, which was then combined with water, sand, ash and the leftover shell fragments to form a strong concrete-like substance.

The third event space offered is the museum and accompanying courtyard area. While visiting, patrons may uncover the fascinating story of the Florida Keys at the museum and explore exhibits showcasing the area's natural wonders and rich history. Learning about the Calusa Indians, the first inhabitants, visitors can understand how Spanish explorers and pioneers left their mark and discover

tales of pirates who once roamed the waters of the Keys. The outside accompanying courtyard has a diorama replicating a vibrant coral reef teeming with life. Butterflies, colorful tree snails, artwork and land tortoises also surround the area.

Finally, made possible by the Marathon Wild Bird Center’s move to impressive new digs near the front of the property, Crane Point has a centrally-located area that has been recently cleared and is now available. As the largest of the center’s four event spaces, this expansive area in the heart of the property boasts ample room for large gatherings. Tents and canopies of twinkling lights may be used along with the surrounding vicinity of newly planted gardens, flourishing trees and finished walking paths.

“Each event space is different, and each has its own natural beauty," said Quinn. “We are continuing to enhance the event area with beautiful gardens and amenities all the time.”

Besides the abundant event options, there are many nature offerings and ways to gaze at local wildlife at Crane Point. Another recently-renovated area is the Wild Bird Center. For more than 25 years, the Middle Keys rescue hospital has served as a beacon of hope for injured wildlife. Under founder and director Kelly Grinter, a dedicated team of volunteers has a remarkable record of success, rehabilitating and releasing more than 16,000 wild birds back into their natural habitat. Recognized throughout the region, the team has an unwavering commitment to caring for Monroe County's avian population.

“Come see our bald eagle, Rita,” said Quinn. “She is the only bald eagle in the entire Florida Keys.”

More information is at cranepoint. net, marathonwildbirdcenter.org or 305-783-7551.

Crane Point CEO Charlotte Quinn, right, and Marathon Wild Bird Center veterinarian Dr. Geraldine Diethelm show off the new entrance to the Marathon Wild Bird Center. ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly

Mosquito Control: Keeping blood-suckers at bay for 75 years

The centuries-long battles with mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit within the tropical climate of the Florida Keys are well known.

In 1949, in an effort to combat these pests and their threat to public health, the Monroe County AntiMosquito District was authorized by an act of the Florida Legislature and later overwhelmingly approved by local referendum. In 1970, the name was changed to the Monroe County Mosquito Control District. It changed again in 2002 to the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD). But more than the name has changed for this independent special taxing district in the past 75 years.

Beginning in the mid-1940s, mosquito control in the Keys was conducted by a few individuals in Key West spraying DDT from a truck. After 1949, the Key West group was absorbed into the newly formed antimosquito district. Spraying by truck was expanded to the entire county and later supplemented by spraying from aircraft. Within a few years, it was determined that the mosquitoes in the Keys and elsewhere were becoming resistant to DDT, so throughout the 1960s several derivatives of DDT were used instead. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book “Silent Spring” was published, changing the world of mosquito control forever. Reaction to the book led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Soon after, DDT and other chemically similar pesticides were banned from use in the U.S.

The use of DDT over a 30-year span is credited with saving millions of lives worldwide and helping to temporarily eliminate some of the disease-carrying mosquitoes in much of the United States and Florida, including the Keys. For the next 30 years, without major threats of mosquito-vectored diseases, mosquito control districts, including FKMCD, were able to focus mainly on nuisance mosquito control, which again produced great results. This helped Florida and the Florida Keys become a year-round tourist destination, which contributed to a thriving economy. In addition, the science of mosquito control continued to expand with an increasing focus on protecting our fragile ecosystems.

Guided by the goal of continuous improvement, FKMCD has transitioned from a very humble beginning

to one of the leading mosquito control operations in the world. Today, our team of scientists and technicians use the most effective and efficient equipment, including highly advanced helicopters with precision dispensing systems. Our chemical technology has advanced from using almost exclusively broad-spectrum pesticides to using mostly new- generation larvicides when appropriate. These larvicides are non-toxic to humans and animals, protect our environment and are very effective in controlling billions of mosquitoes before the public ever sees them.

Since the year 2000, increased international travel, along with other factors, have contributed to a drastic increase in the number of mosquitoborne disease cases worldwide. In 2023 the Florida Department of Health reported that about 30 Florida counties had recorded local transmission of five different mosquitoborne diseases. This includes Miami Dade County, currently witnessing the largest dengue fever outbreak in the U.S. in more than 70 years. Fortunately, our science-based, proactive and robust mosquito control efforts at FKMCD have kept the Keys disease-free for another year, but we remain on high alert as we enter the 2024 season.

As we come full circle with the return of these diseases to Florida, we are much better prepared today to combat them. The mosquito control industry is now in the midst of a huge technological boom that promises to continue developing new products that yield improved results and economic value for the Keys. Only time will tell what new technologies lie in the future for mosquito control. We strive to do our best, and with the continued support from our community, FKMCD is working hard to remain at the forefront in science and best practices so that paradise will remain paradise for our residents and visitors.

To help us celebrate our 75 years of service to the Florida Keys and learn more about our comprehensive efforts to control mosquitoes, please visit us at keysmosquito.org.

Sincerely,

Phil Goodman FKMCD Commissioner, District II and board chair

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BAPTIST HEALTH UNVEILS WALSH FAMILY MEDICAL ARTS BUILDING

10,000-square-foot facility expands health care campus for Marathon

On April 8, the very first patients crossed through the doors of the Walsh Family Medical Arts Building located next to Fishermen’s Community Hospital.

The 10,000-square-foot facility will include primary care offices, physical, occupational and speech therapy, an oncology infusion section and offices for orthopedics, general surgery and gastroenterology.

More than 100 local dignitaries, elected officials, business leaders and hospital supporters heard from Baptist leadership prior to the ribbon cutting. ‘This building here has been a dream of mine since we first started talking about replacing the old Fishermen’s Hospital,’ said Baptist chairman Jay Hershoff. He added that more than half of the building’s $11 million cost was raised through philanthropy and gifts. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

The Walsh family recently pledged $5 million to support health care in the Middle Keys. ‘We are really excited to be a part of this,’ said Ocean Properties principal Mark Walsh, who first visited Marathon in the mid-’70s while running the Holiday Inn for his family’s hospitality group. ‘We get the importance of available, quality health care.’

The 10,000-square-foot facility includes a rehabilitation section and special entrance for oncology patients receiving chemotherapy infusions. ‘It’s nice to know that you can go right here instead of making a long drive,’ said Marathon Mayor Robyn Still.

THURSDAY, May 2, 6:15-7:30 p.m., Bud N' Mary's Marina Mandatory Team Leader meeting (in-person and virtual), gear pick-up and Mote coral nursery tour. Free beer from Florida Keys Brewing Co.

FRIDAY, May 3 and SATURDAY, May 4, Sunrise to Sunset Debris clean-up Key Largo through Key West.

SUNDAY, May 5, 12 noon-6 p.m. I.CARE Trash Derby Festival & Awards Ceremony at Founders Park Islamorada.

Food, Vendors, Raffle, Silent Auction and Awards. Performances by the well-known singer songwriter Leah Sutter and Southern Stampede, a touring rock band with amazing vocals and incredible guitar work.

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• Reserve a spot with your favorite dive shop

• Register your own team on your own boat

• Register your own team for a shore-based cleanup

OVER $3,500 IN CASH PRIZES PLUS DIVE GEAR RAFFLES AND GIVE-AWAYS.

www.icareaboutcoral.org

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1. Go to tinyurl.com/wbs24

2. Take approximately 10 minutes to complete the survey.

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SHIRLEY FREEMAN MADE HER MARK WITH CLASS & COMPASSION

Retired educator, former county commissioner, dies at 89

MANDY MILES

mandy@keysweekly.com

Shirley Freeman was born and lived much of her life in what she ruefully called “a man’s world.”

On April 6, she left behind a much different world — one she had helped to change — when she died at the age of 89.

She was Shirley Van Meter when she arrived in 1935 in a tiny Arkansas town during the Great Depression. But she was destined for faraway places, having always studied with yearning the pull-down maps that used to hang above the blackboard in every classroom in every school.

A dedicated student with an insatiable curiosity about the world around her and the people in it, she graduated from college and earned a master’s degree in education from University of Arkansas.

“After teaching for eight years in Arkansas, she applied to overseas embassy schools in Rome, London and Paris. She ended up in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), and took a position as headmaster of the American School,” according to a 2019 tribute compiled by the Lower Keys League of Women Voters. “After two years she returned to the United States to pursue her doctorate in international education and school management from Miami University in Ohio, where she also taught undergraduate courses. She has taught every grade level from kindergarten to graduate school” and lived throughout the United States, including San Francisco, Denver, Washington, D.C. and ultimately, Key West.

Having always noted the map dot called Key West on those classroom maps, and wondering what life must be like there, Van Meter applied in 1971, “basically out of curiosity” for a job as principal of the newly integrated Frederick Douglass School in Key West. Former superintendent Bookie Henriquez flew her to town from Ohio for an interview and hired her on the spot.

The rest is history.

A blind date in Key West introduced the Key West principal to Billy Freeman, for whom the county’s 2008 courthouse, the Freeman Justice Center, would be named.

Zonta Club of Key West, which Shirley Freeman founded in 1981, honored her in 2022. ROBERTA DePIERO/Contributed

But back in 1972, Billy Freeman, whose family owned the Porter-Allen Insurance Co. in town, was just wrapping up a 20-year stint as a Monroe County commissioner. A substitute teacher named Frances Signorelli (her husband, Louie, opened Louie’s Backyard) became friends with Shirley and wanted her to meet her husband’s friend, Billy.

The two married in 1973 and soon after, Billy Freeman was elected state representative. After a two-year term, he successfully ran for sheriff and set to work cleaning up the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office amid corruption and drug scandals.

“We had discussed me running for office after he retired as sheriff and I retired from education,” Shirley Freeman said in 2017. “I had been thrust into public life as soon as I met Billy, so everyone knew me as his wife, but I wanted to get to know them on my own.”

And she did. But she had to do it without her husband by her side. Billy Freeman succumbed to lung cancer in 1989, months after finishing his term as sheriff.

Shirley Freeman continued to fulfill their plans and won her first county commission election in 1992, becoming the county mayor and serving for two terms until 2000.

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A vessel carrying 14 Cuban migrants reached shore near Tavernier on the morning of April 4. CBP/Via X

Fourteen Cubans on a wooden vessel landed in the Upper Keys on the morning of April 4.

According to Samuel Briggs II of the U.S. Border Patrol, agents

and other law enforcement agencies responded to the migrant landing in Tavernier. Briggs said the migrants were taken into federal custody.

CORAL SHORES TEACHER HOSPITALIZED AFTER TRYING TO STOP A FIGHT

JIM McCARTHY

jim@keysweekly.com

ACoral Shores High School teacher was taken to the hospital after she reportedly tried to break up a fight between two students the morning of April 8.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Islamorada Fire Rescue were called to the high school after a fight broke out between two males. The teacher was trying to stop the altercation when she was knocked into a table and hit her head. She was treated at the scene and taken to

Mariners Hospital for head injuries. She was released from the hospital the same day, according to Coral Shores Principal Laura Lietaert.

On April 9, the sheriff’s office announced the arrest of 15-year-old Heikel Castro Moro, of Key Largo, for injuring the teacher while fighting another student. He was charged with felony battery on an educational employee and misdemeanor battery.

“Violence will not be tolerated in our schools and I will continue to take appropriate steps to ensure the safety of all students and staff,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.

1. Willy Wonka (Charley Dunn, center) leads the cast of ‘Willy Wonka Kids’ through their opening number.

ALEX RICKERT/Keys Weekly

2. Charlie Bucket’s poor bedridden grandparents are his greatest cheerleaders. From left: Grandpa Joe (Danny Diaz), Grandma Josephina (Adana Janes), Grandpa George (Daniel Gomez Giron) and Grandma Georgina (Aliyah Leatherwood).

3. Mr. Bucket (Tristan Wiley, left) tells Charlie (Joseph Koler) that the chase is on to find one of Willy Wonka’s five golden tickets.

4. The Candy Man (Ryan Bryk) always makes the world taste good.

5. No Wonka production is complete without a full cast of Oompa Loompas.

6. Phineous Trout (Hailey Borrego, right) interviews a spoiled Veruca Salt (Alani Banks, left) and Mr. Salt (Tyler Hill).

THE CANDY MAN CAN

Stanley

preps for a trip to Willy Wonka’s factory

The world’s most famous candy man and his worthy successor – along with a full host of Oompa Loompas – are set to light up the stage at Stanley Switlik Elementary next Wednesday and Thursday, April 17 and 18.

Following Roald Dahl’s classic book, “Willy Wonka Kids” tells the story of young Charlie Bucket (Joseph Koler) as he finds a proverbial needle in a haystack, winning a trip with a golden ticket to tour the legendary factory of chocolatier Willy Wonka (Charley Dunn) along with his Grandpa Joe (Danny Diaz).

As Charlie soon learns, however, not everything is as it first appears, and the promised “lifetime supply” of chocolate isn’t all that awaits his tour group inside Wonka’s enigmatic lair. To even make it to the end of the tour, he’ll have to sidestep tests that expose the gluttonous, selfish sides of his companions Veruca Salt (Alani Banks), Augustus Gloop (Luka Harrington), Mike Teavee (Bo Johnson) and Violet Beauregarde.

As always, on-stage magic is fueled

by a massive crew of off-stage helpers – both students and “big kids” – and in addition to her cast, director Allison Sayer heaped praise on assistant directors Abi Colella and Kara Pascucci, choreographer Lisa Scobba, set designers Shannon Wiley and Chris Bryk, props manager Laurie Gable, costume designers Riet Steinmetz and Kim Joly, and stage manager Ginger Sayer.

Directing her second Switlik production brought out “a lot of love from the community,” Sayer said, adding that she couldn’t be happier with a group of students ready to learn and roll with the punches through several casting switch-ups.

“I was nervous about doing a show of this magnitude, but I think the kids really stepped up learning their lines,” said Allison Sayer. “There are a lot of songs and a lot of dances, so that’s a lot for kids to do all that in a show, and they really absorbed it. I hear them in the hallway singing the songs, and they do love it, so at the end of the day that’s all that matters.”

“Willy Wonka” starts at 6 p.m. on April 17 and 18. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, with children age 2 and under admitted free. To purchase tickets in advance, scan the attached QR code.

ALEX RICKERT alex@keysweekly.com

Switlik

REEF CHATS WITH FRED THE TREE

Attraction on Old Seven Mile Bridge talks ‘Road House’

Hi friends! Reef the fox here with your weekly “Reef’s Report.” I have the interview to top all interviews this week.

I have another local celebrity who just made his Hollywood debut in the remake of “Road House.” Yes, that’s right, Fred the Tree.

You may be wondering how I was able to get such an exclusive interview? Let’s just say my paw has a wide reach and I know all the right people.

Reef: Hi Fred! I feel like we should have done this a long time ago, seeing as how we are both unique celebrities here in Monroe County. But as the saying goes; better late than never. And I promise I won’t pee on you. It is my favorite thing to do when claiming things I find fabulous, but in this case, I will be a respectable journalist and keep my bladder contained.

So, my first question(s) are about your recent appearance in the “Road House” remake. Did they ask your permission to be in the movie? Was a contract signed? And why the heck wasn’t your name in the credits?!

Fred: Ok, I am really sad I wasn’t in the credits either. Like, what were they thinking? They did ask my permission to be filmed and even went as far as asking the elves who decorate me every year if they would hold off my holiday attire for an extra couple of weeks. I was naked in my movie debut!

Reef: Woah, all naked on the big screen. I didn’t realize Amazon Prime was that sort of streaming service? Next up, how old are you? Because you look fabulous for your age.

Fred: 40ish, and thank you. I’ll start lying about my age soon.

Reef: Do you ever get scared during hurricanes?

Fred: I love a good blow — but prefer a light one to an Irma any day. My roots run deep in the bridge, so I’m just up here living my life to the fullest. I have heard that seeing me after Hurricane Irma gave a ton of hope to everyone and that was much appreciated.

Reef: What is the strangest thing you’ve seen watching traffic go by on the bridge?

Fred: I love the 7-Mile Bridge runners every year in April. Sometimes people moon me out their windows

REEF THE FOX

Reef is a red fox that was saved from a fur farm. He now lives in Key Largo with his human, Nicole Navarro.

when they drive by, but I especially love all the honks. Can we just talk about those slow drivers with their GoPros out the sunroofs though? Let’s keep the traffic moving, people!

Reef: Yeah, traffic is wild and hanging a $400 camera out the sunroof doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. Has anyone, besides your team of dedicated elves, tried to climb onto the bridge and get a selfie with you?

Fred: I’m pretty sure it might be frowned upon and super dangerous so I 10-out-of-10 do not recommend it.

Reef: What is the coolest bird you’ve ever had to stop and take a break on your branches?

Fred: I have a resident osprey who visits me all the time. One year, she even nested in me. It was the best.

Reef: I feel like we should campaign for you to be Best Local Celebrity this year for the Best of Marathon awards. What do you think?

Fred: #winning!

Reef: Finally, how can I become a Fred Elf and help dress you up for the holidays?

Fred: Ask my friend Kristen, she knows the big guy up north and might be able to help you get on the magic sleigh ride!

Well friends, that’s all for this week. Special thank you to Fred’s team of elves for coordinating this one-of-akind interview!

Until next time, Reef, over and out!

Then-5-year-old

MORE TEAMS, MORE MONEY

Annual mahi tournament’s cash pot grows with more boats

The 18th annual Tom Thumb Marathon Offshore Bull and Cow Dolphin Tournament is set to challenge anglers Friday through Sunday, May 3-5.

A grand prize of $18,000 cash will go to the team with the largest combined weight of a bull and a cow dolphin fish. The top prize payout grows as more boats register.

If the field grows to 90 to 99 boats, the first-place cash award will be $20,000. With a field of 100 or more boats, the first-place cash prize reaches $25,000.

Prizes also are awarded for the largest bull dolphin fish, largest cow dolphin, heaviest combined weight of three dolphin fish and for the largest wahoo, blackfin tuna and tripletail. Other awards recognize the top female angler, top junior angler and more.

Final registration, a captains meeting and tournament shirt pickup is by drop-in Friday, May 3 between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. at Two Conchs Bait & Tackle, 11499 Overseas Hwy.

Fishing is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5. Weigh-in each day is set for 4 to 6 p.m. at Two Conchs Bait & Tackle.

The awards banquet is planned for 7 p.m. Sunday at Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, 11710 Overseas Hwy. Non-anglers can purchase tickets to attend the awards banquet for $25 per person.

Teams can register online at marathonoffshoretournament.com. Through Thursday, April 18, the entry fee is $875 per boat with a team of up to six anglers. On or after April 19, the fee is $995.

Owen Mummau heads in to weigh his fish at the 2023 Bull and Cow Tournament. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

Fred the Tree is located on the Old Seven Mile Bridge. CONTRIBUTED

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HEALTH CARE CYBERATTACK

Nation’s entire payment system hit

At the beginning of 2020, the city of Marathon was hit with a ransomware cyberattack. The perpetrators found a way into the city’s main computer server, and they even found a path to the city’s offsite backup server. The perpetrators demanded a ransom be paid or the city’s records and data would forever be lost. The city paid, the data was recovered, and the investigation may still be ongoing.

Cyberattacks have become far too commonplace in today’s technology-reliant world. A huge part of the information technology market is driven by cybersecurity and protection of information assets. As fast as new protective strategies and techniques are developed, hackers seem to find ways around them.

On Feb. 21, Change Healthcare revealed that it suffered a cyberattack. Change Healthcare is owned by insurance giant UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers. Change Healthcare’s mission is processing billions of health care transactions nationwide, aligning billing with insurance coverage and ensuring prompt payment to providers.

This attack has basically paralyzed the nation’s health care payment system, affecting hospitals, providers and patients. The American Hospital Association has called it “the most significant cyberattack against the country’s health care system in history.” If that isn’t enough, Change Healthcare also has a relationship with state government programs and Medicaid, processing eligibility determinations and long-term assessments. According to the American Hospital Association, 94% of America’s hospitals have been financially affected by the cyberattack.

And if even that isn’t enough, Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, says that there’s no doubt that patient data was compromised in this cyberattack. Dean Sittig, a professor at the University of Texas Health School of Biomedical Informatics, said that once hackers have that data, they can use it themselves to scam or hack those consumers, their banks or credit cards.

How does this affect us locally? Local providers (hospitals, doctors, therapists, etc.) are unable to bill for services provided. That lack of cash flow affects their ability to meet staff payrolls and make vendor payments. Patients may be unable to get life-saving medications, or have to pay out-of-pocket to get them. And they now need to

be worried about what might have happened to their private information.

Larger providers may have reserves that will help them cover expenses until billing can resume. Smaller providers may have a much tougher time riding this cyberattack out, some not having any insurance income since January. Change Healthcare originally estimated its operations would be back online by mid-March; its timeline now extends through April 29.

At least two dozen class action lawsuits have been filed against Change Healthcare by law firms representing providers and patients. There likely will be more as the attack’s influence spreads and delays in service resumption mount.

What’s puzzling is the lack of a coordinated response from the federal and state governments. If this had been an attack on the nation’s energy grid or air traffic control system, there’s no doubt that there would have been a significant response from the authorities. Health care is a major part of the American economy, and an incident of this magnitude merits a real response. Strangely, this story hasn’t made headlines, even though it will most certainly negatively affect millions of people.

The federal government should immediately streamline the process for approving SBA loans to providers and offer whatever assistance possible to try to solve this attack and prevent future cyber-disasters. When one considers that our health care workers were the ones who put themselves on the frontlines during the pandemic — and are the ones who take care of us all the time — it’s the least we as a society can do.

— Catch John live Thursdays at Sparky’s Landing, this Saturday and next Wednesday at Isla Bella, and Sundays at Skipjack Tiki Bar. Find his music anywhere you download or stream your music. www.johnbartus.com

• johnbartus.hearnow.com

DIVA

3-year-old female mixed breed.

Looking for: For 365 days I’ve been looking for one thing: a home.

Turnoffs: Why won’t anyone adopt me? I love everyone.

SWIPE RIGHT

Adorable furry faces are waiting for families at the Florida Keys SPCA

Keys Weekly is thrilled each week to showcase some “furever” friends that are ready, waiting and available for their perfect adoption “match” at the Florida Keys SPCA’s Marathon campus – complete with their best qualities, preferences and turnoffs to ensure the best fit.

From cats and dogs to Guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, reptiles and birds, the perfect addition to your family is waiting for you at one of the SPCA’s two campuses, in Key West and Marathon. The SPCA’s knowledgeable staff will help with advice and care tips while working to ensure a good fit between each pet and its people. The SPCA’s Golden Paw program also provides special assistance with vet bills and medications for special-needs and older animals that require a little extra TLC.

See all the animals waiting for a home at fkspca.org. To contact the Marathon campus, call 305-743-4800 or visit 10550 Aviation Blvd.

AMIGO

8-year-old male domestic shorthair.

Looking for: I’m the new guy, so I’m not sure yet.

Turnoffs: I keep to myself – please be patient with me.

DADDY PEANUT

1.5-year-old male dwarf rabbit.

Looking for: I’m a family man, a hus-bun.

Turnoffs: People think rabbits belong in cages. No way!

John Bartus is a singer-songwriter and the former mayor of Marathon.

JOHN BARTUS

APPALACHIAN VOICES

REVIEWS FROM THE HILLS AND HOLLERS OF KENTUCKY

SOMEPLACE LIKE HOME

By Bob Conn

Jenny Caudill spent her whole life in Kentucky near the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Her father was a mechanic while her mother raised four children, struggling to stretch every dollar. Her mother was as tough as she had to be to keep the children away from the dangers lurking in a small town. Jobs were scarce, and they all wound up at the factory, bored and mistreated, stitching zippers into jeans. Jenny fell for the first guy who paid her any attention – Rob Lewis, an older boy who dropped out of school and was a handful of trouble. Everyone warned her, but once he was set on courting Jenny, she transitioned from her mother’s rules to a prison of Rob’s making. He drank, took pills and fought with everybody. With little education and a dead-end job, Rob found his power by lording over Jenny and their children. Living deep in the holler, Jenny was suffocating from Rob’s violent mood swings, and she needed to find a way out before someone got killed. Loosely based on her mother’s life, this author pulled all my heartstrings. Beautifully written, this quiet story is about family, motherhood and self-preservation.

First and foremost a reader, she has reviewed hundreds of books on her blog www.readingandeating.com. And, more recently, this new Keys resident has also begun writing.

HILL WOMEN

By Cassie Chambers

Cassie Chambers grew up in Owsley County, one of the most impoverished communities in Appalachia. Her mother, both beautiful and smart, left the family tobacco farm to attend college. As frightened as she was to leave, Wilma knew this was the key to a better life. Cassie stayed in the ramshackle home of her Granny, Papaw and aunt Ruth. She ran barefoot through the fields with her hardscrabble cousins. As Cassie matured, she strove for the same accolades her mother had: good grades and a step up on the steep education ladder. An opportunity for a unique boarding school in New Mexico took Cassie away from Kentucky for the first time. This turning point filled her with even more determination, which served her well as she later attended Yale College and Harvard Law. Torn between two worlds, it took years for Cassie to understand the beauty she remembered in the heroic mountain women who were brave, loving and tireless. With deep admiration and respect, Cassie yearns to find a compromise that will allow her the honors she earned while helping those left behind. Mesmerizing and compelling, this is nonfiction that reads like an inspirational novel.

THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK

By Kim Michele Richardson

In 1936, with few opportunities available, Cussy Mary Carter was lucky enough to get a job as a pack horse librarian. Through a government initiative, these women were hired to distribute reading materials to remote and impoverished communities in Appalachia. Cussy is the last of the blue-skinned people of Kentucky. Commonly known as the Fugates, they carry a genetic trait that led to a blood disorder called methemoglobinemia, causing their skin to appear blue. As one of the few literate folks in this area, Cussy, whom many of the locals found most curious, was as determined to bring comfort to this neglected community as she was to break down lingering prejudices. While the men risk their lives daily at the coal mine, these poor women work their fingers to the bone, barely scraping by. Witnessing the joy that books bring to the most troubled stops along her route brings Cussy unquestionable happiness. This novel delves into the intertwined narratives of heartbreak and beauty, offering an exploration of historical education and socioeconomic challenges that persist in our contemporary struggles. It emphasizes the transformative power of kindness and reading in shaping lives.

#WORTHWATCHING

“Hillbilly Elegy.” A tender glimpse of the American Dream blended with the drama of a dysfunctional Appalachian family narrated through the eyes of a young man caught between two worlds. Can be viewed on Netflix.

KAREN NEWFIELD

. E n j o y

E a s t e r B r u n c h

b y M a h i n a a t

I s l a B e l l a ’ s

T o w n S q u a r e

M a r c h 3 1 s t : 1 1 a m - 3 p m

HELEN, A HEIST AND HEADLINES

Wife of Righter Perky made her own news

FLORIDA KEYS HISTORY WITH BRAD BERTELLI

Brad is a local historian, author, speaker and Honorary Conch who loves sharing the history of the Florida Keys.

Helen Nellie Davis was no wallflower.

She was born on Dec. 11, 1879, in Baltimore. Because her story is more interesting and complicated than can be told in 900 words or so, this story will concentrate on the time she spent with her last husband, Righter Clyde Perky, the “bat man” of Sugarloaf Key. When Helen met Perky, she lived in New York but had spent several winters in Miami. Perky was a successful real estate investor who owned several companies in Florida and Texas. In 1926, he was the president of the Miami Motor Club and was living on Santa Maria Avenue in Coral Gables. They married on July 6, 1926. The intimate ceremony was performed at his home and attended by only one other couple. The newlyweds honeymooned in Cuba.

It would not be a particularly long or uneventful marriage. In October of 1929, the Perkys traveled to Chicago to enjoy the horse-racing season. On October 10, she visited the Hawthorne Race Track, where horses had been racing at the family-owned track since 1891. She attended the track with two people with whom she reportedly had become recently acquainted, James Lamorte and the “38-year-old divorcee Marie Knowles.”

While in the car and traveling home from the track, they passed through the Chicago suburb of Cicero when another vehicle pulled up and forced them to pull over to the curb and stop. Two men jumped out of the car. Lamorte was behind the wheel of the vehicle, and one of the men ran up and held a gun to his head. The other leaned through the passenger window and, holding a gun with his right hand, grabbed at Mrs. Perky’s purse with his left. The pistol was held under her chin. When she screamed, the gunman squeezed the trigger, and the bullet passed up through her chin and exited through her forehead above her left eye. Perky went limp, the bandit grabbed the purse, and the two men ran back to their car and sped away.

Miss Marie Knowles and James Lamorte, the two in the car with Mrs. Perky in the October 1929 Chicago Tribune. CONTRIBUTED

Helen Perky was rushed to the hospital, where doctors attended to her injury. While she was recuperating, a curious thing happened. Some anonymous person walked into the hospital and handed a nurse a “pasteboard box wrapped in white paper.” Inside the box was the $50,000 worth of jewelry Mrs. Perky had in her purse when it was stolen, including a pearshaped 16.5-carat diamond ring.

Mrs. Perky’s companions at the time of the attack were taken into custody for questioning. According to chief investigator Patrick Roche of the state’s attorney’s office, a secret investigation of Marie Knowles had been underway, and he thought that when she discovered she was being investigated, she had the jewelry returned.

Helen Perky recovered from the gunshot wound. However, her marriage proved more delicate. The Perky divorce was filed on Dec. 15, 1932, and made regular newspaper headlines in 1933. In March 1933, lawyers on behalf of Mrs. Perky filed a suit for separate maintenance, resulting in Mr. Perky being served with a series of injunctions. Those injunctions reveal that Righter Clyde Perky was more than just the guy who wanted to build a fishing camp and who built Sugarloaf Key’s famous bat tower.

Before moving any further ahead, one housekeeping matter needs to be addressed.

Since I began writing about Mr.

Perky and his bat tower, I have called him Richter, Richter Clyde Perky, and did so, in fact, in last week’s column. I am one of many who have made this mistake, as many stories about him also refer to him as Richter. While digging into old newspaper accounts (and with help from David Sloan), it became clear that I had been calling him by the wrong name for over a decade. The man’s given name is Righter Clyde Perky.

Righter or Richter, Perky had more interests than the bats and a tower that once stood on Sugarloaf Key at MM 17. Those interests were detailed in the injunctions from Mrs. Perky’s suit. In addition to having ownership in Perky Properties Inc., Perkall Properties Inc., Perky Mercantile Company, and the North End Development Company, there was the real estate company Island Holdings Company, where he had an alleged $500,000 in holdings.

Also listed as assets in the March 25, 1933 story in the Miami News were $150,000 in deposits at the First National Bank of Miami and $250,000 worth of stocks. The story also alleged that he owned the Perky Sponge Farm on Sugarloaf Key outright, all 5,000 acres of land and near-shore shallows and that it was valued at $500,000. He also had interests in the Commonwealth Royalty Corporation of Tyler, Texas, valued at between $250,000 and $1 million.

According to the newspaper story, “The injunctions are to prevent Perky from molesting his wife, obtaining a divorce from her without her knowledge, transferring his properties, cashing certificates of deposit in the First National Bank, or damaging property belonging to her. A $25,000 bond is to be required when he is taken into custody.”

The headline in the Miami News the following day read: “PERKY BEING HELD ON WRIT OF WIFE – Miami Real Estate Man Under Technical Arrest in Key West.” Nothing about the newspaper stories screams amicable separation, including the March 30, 1933 story in the paper. “Mrs. Perky claims her husband, through misrepresentation, obtained possession of $23,810 in jewelry he gave to her before their marriage, $20,000 in cash in the bank in her own name and $6,000 she made on real estate commissions.”

After the divorce, Helen D. Perky remained in Coral Gables. Her name frequently appeared on the local society pages. In 1938, she was again named in a legal notice posted in the paper regarding Mrs. Perky and the Key Largo North End Development Company. The property was being auctioned off to the highest cash bidder at the Monroe County Courthouse in Key West.

On Jan. 2, 1941, Helen Davis Perky died in her Coral Gables home after a brief illness.

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THERE AREN’T ENOUGH WORDS FOR BLUE

Indigo buntings don’t have a particularly distinctive shape. They’re round little things about the height and weight of a pack of cigarettes with a modest but sturdy triangular bill built largely for cracking seeds.

... is a photographer, writer, and semi-professional birdwatcher. He has lived in Key West for more than 25 years and may no longer be employable in the real world. He is also executive director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society.

No one is sure where, exactly, the name bunting came from, though one theory says it derived from the Scandinavian word “buntin,” which means short and thick, or plump.

But it’s not the shape of an indigo bunting that anyone really notices. It’s the color, at least when it comes to the adult males.

Technically it’s the indigo of its name, except on a color chart, indigo skews more purple than the bird. Indigo is also a dye, though, and if you look at pictures of the dried dye, the bird’s name makes more sense.

Indigo the color was given its name by Sir Isaac Newton, before he was a sir, but after his famous prism experiment that showed different colors were created by different wavelengths of light, and that there were seven colors in the rainbow of the visible color spectrum – colors every kindergartner can recite: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Newton named the color indigo after the dye, even though the dye and the color in the visible color spectrum are not the same.

There are actually a lot of people who believe indigo shouldn’t be one of the colors named in the visible light spectrum. They point out that indigo has the narrowest bandwidth of any of the colors in the rainbow, with wavelengths between 425 and 445nm, or a zone of only 20 nanometers, where red lives between 625 and 740nm, with a zone of about 115 nanometers. Pro-indigo people make the counter argument that yellow only occupies a bandwidth of 25 nanometers, which is not much wider.

Another argument against indigo having a place in the rainbow is the fact that of the seven colors, three are primary (red, blue, yellow). Three are secondary colors (green, orange, violet), which are made from combinations of two primary colors. Indigo sticks out like a sore thumb as the only tertiary color, which is made of blue and violet, a primary and a secondary color.

Interestingly, in modern times, indigo has disappeared from icons such as the gay pride rainbow, the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” and the My Little Pony lineup, but it seems to have retained its place in stickers of unicorns with rainbows in the background. Also: There’s the Indigo Girls.

So why did Newtown include indigo? Some believe it was because, despite being one of history’s great thinkers, he also had some occult beliefs (who doesn’t?) and considered seven a harmonic number, with seven notes in an octave, seven planets in the solar system (at the time), and seven days in a week.

According to one of my dictionaries of bird names (I own two; yes, I know I’m a geek), the bird was named after the dye, which is at least the right color.

Until 1882, when functional synthetic dyes were first created, if someone wanted a blue garment, it was almost always dyed with indigo, which was derived from plants that could not be grown in temperate Europe, but had to come from somewhere warm like Africa or East Asia. The name “indigo” is derived from the Greek for “from India.”

Making indigo dye was a complicated process. But, blue being a popular color, it was also insanely profitable.

Eliza Lucas, who was 16 in 1739 when her father left her to manage his three plantations in South Carolina, is often credited, along with her husband, Charles Pinckney, with bringing indigo production to the new world. Modern historians will usually point out that neither she nor her husband actually figured out how to cultivate indigo here, but rather the enslaved people working on her plantations who discovered a reliable method with knowledge they’d brought from Africa. Soon, indigo production was responsible for a third of the income brought in from exports in South Carolina.

One of the bleaker facts about indigo’s profitability is that slavery was not legal in

neighboring Georgia during the early part of this era, but became so in 1851, once the potential profit from indigo — and the laborintensive process to make it — was noted.

I can’t say I considered anything I’ve written so far when I saw an indigo bunting at the Botanical Garden last week. Some of that stuff I knew, some of it I researched. But I am generally too confounded with surprise or wonder any time I see an indigo bunting to think much about language and history, or even science.

The dumbfoundedness is not a result of rarity. This one bird was a precursor to the waves of indigo buntings – hundreds, but more likely thousands – that will come through the Keys in the coming weeks. They are skittish, at least when they are here, and usually give you just a one- or two-second look at best, but I’ve unexpectedly flushed 50 of them at a time from a single bush.

But they are just so blue, so (f-ing) blue that often I find myself almost paralyzed by the sight of them. It’s a regal blue that shifts into dark midnight, that shifts into deep cerulean, that shifts into Prussian blue, that shifts into a thousand other descriptives, none of them wholly satisfying.

And all of it glows just a bit, as if perhaps there is something electric behind it. That glow, I believe, comes from the fact that none of those blues are created by pigments.They are structural colors, created by minute particles in the feathers, all of them smaller in diameter than the wavelength of the color red, that scatter and reflect the blues in all different directions.

Because they tend to move fast through the open, I don’t have many good shots of indigo buntings. But this one I spied through a gap in the bushes, and managed to raise my camera fast enough to get a series of halfway decent shots. It felt something like catching lightning in a bottle.

A male Indigo bunting seen recently at the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden. MARK HEDDEN/Keys Weekly

MARK HEDDEN

Monroe County to host ‘tire amnesty’ days

Monroe County Solid Waste, partnering with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, will be hosting three free Earth Day tire amnesty events for Monroe County residents with proof of residency. Residents may turn in up to six non-commercial tires with no rims for three days on April 20, April 27 and May 4 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Monroe County transfer stations: Cudjoe Transfer Station, MM 21.5, Blimp Road; Long Key Transfer Station, MM 68, Overseas Highway; and Key Largo Transfer Station, 11180 County Road 905. Residents must be able to load the tires into a container at the transfer stations, but assistance can be requested by calling Melody Tuschel at 305-509-0325.

Keys Watercolor Society offers two scholarships

The Florida Keys Watercolor Society, now in its 44th year, is set to award two $500 scholarships to graduating seniors, whether enrolled in public schools or home schooled. Scholarship recipients must be pursuing a career in the visual arts. For more information and an application, email thefkwcs@ gmail.com or call 786-309-4595. Applications are due by April 30.

MLKAR car show to benefit

United Way Feed the Keys

On Saturday, April 20 at 9 a.m., the Heart of the Keys Young Professionals Network, run by the Marathon and Lower Keys Association of Realtors, will host a car show benefit at Town Square Mall (11400 Overseas Highway), with proceeds dedicated to fund United Way’s Feed the Keys summer initiative for local families. A $15 car entry includes a hot dog, chips and a drink as well as a chance to win a trophy. Coca-Cola and Centennial Bank will provide food and beverages for purchase. Admission to the show is $5 or a donation of three non-perishable food items. Pre-registration for cars is at givebutter.com/carshowbenefit.

Free flights for youths on Young Eagles Day

On Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Middle Keys Experimental Aircraft Association will host a Young Eagle Rally at the EAA Museum at the Marathon airport. During the event, youngsters ages 8 to 17 can take a free flight in an airplane, provided by EAA member pilots in order to inspire kids through an introduction to the world of aviation. Parents or guardians can go to youngeaglesday.org to register and get more information.

Marathon Library holds Bridgerton tea party

All are invited to a tea party at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16 at the Marathon Library to discuss Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton novels and the upcoming third series of the Netflix TV show “Bridgerton,” adapted from the books. Quinn’s books follow the lives and loves of the eight Bridgerton siblings, who live in Regency-era England. The third season of the Netflix show will focus on Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington – and Penelope’s best friend, Colin’s sister Eloise. Come share predictions for season 3 – and if you have a Regency-era costume, wear it! You do not have to have a Monroe County Public Library card to attend. All eight of Quinn’s Bridgerton novels, as well as several additional stories set in that world, are available to borrow from the Monroe County Public Library. You can browse the catalog at bit.ly/mcplcatalog.

UF/IFAS Extension offers CPR and first aid courses

UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County will be offering American Heart Association CPR (adult, child and infant) and first aid certification courses. There will be several courses offered throughout the Florida Keys. The CPR course costs $31 per person and the CPR/first aid combination course costs $41. Attendees will receive American Heart Association certification after the course. Courses will be offered at the following locations: Wednesday, April 24 at 10 a.m. at the Marathon Library; Thursday, April 25 at the Plantation Key Community Center; and Tuesday, April 30 at the Gato Building in Key West. For more information or to register for a course, call Monroe County Extension at 305-292-4501.

MHS football set to host live pro wrestling in May

On Friday, May 3, the Marathon High School football team is set to host a live pro wrestling fundraiser as Coastal Championship Wrestling visits the MHS gym for “Trouble in the Tropics.” The evening’s show will feature wrestlers Cha Cha Charlie, Ariel Levy, Ruthie Jay, Chris Farrow, Jackal Stevens and many more. The event is familyfriendly, and doors will open at 7 p.m. Tickets and additional details are available at ccwrestlingfl.com.

STATE OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

NOTICE OF INTENT TO ISSUE PERMIT

The Department of Environmental Protection (Department) gives notice of its intent to issue a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit renewal (DEP File No FLR04E132-004) for the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) to the FDOT District 6. The renewal permit requires the implementation of a Stormwater Management Program to control the discharge from the MS4 to the maximum extent practicable.

The intent to issue and application file and supporting data are available online at: https://prodenv.dep.state.fl.us/DepNexus/public/searchPortal or for public inspection during normal business hours by contacting the NPDES Stormwater Program by email, NPDES-MS4@floridadep.gov, by mail at 2600 Blair Stone Rd, MS 3585, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400, or by phone at 850-245-7561.

The Department will issue the permit with the attached conditions unless a timely petition for an administrative hearing is filed under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, Florida Statutes (F.S.), within 14 days of receipt of notice. The procedures for petitioning for a hearing are set forth below.

A person whose substantial interests are affected by the Department’s proposed permitting decision may petition for an administrative proceeding (hearing) under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. The petition must contain the information set forth below and must be filed (received by the clerk) in the Office of General Counsel of the Department at 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station 35, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000.

Under Rule 62-110.106(4), Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), a person may request enlargement of the time for filing a petition for an administrative hearing. The request must be filed (received by the clerk) in the Office of General Counsel before the end of the time period for filing a petition for an administrative hearing.

Petitions filed by any persons other than those entitled to written notice under section 120.60(3), F.S., must be filed within 14 days of publication of the notice or within 14 days of receipt of the written notice, whichever occurs first. Section 120.60(3), F.S., however, also allows that any person who has asked the Department in writing for notice of agency action may file a petition within 14 days of receipt of such notice, regardless of the date of publication.

The petitioner shall mail a copy of the petition to the applicant at the address indicated above at the time of filing. The failure of any person to file a petition or request for an extension of time within 14 days of receipt of notice shall constitute a waiver of that person’s right to request an administrative determination (hearing) under Sections 120.569 and 120.57, F.S. Any subsequent intervention (in a proceeding initiated by another party) will be only at the discretion of the presiding officer upon the filing of a motion in compliance with Rule 28-106.205, Florida Administrative Code.

A petition that disputes the material facts on which the Department’s action is based must contain the following information, as indicated in Rule 28-106.201, F.A.C:

a. The petitioner’s name, address and telephone number;

b. FDOT District 6, FLR04E132, Monroe County;

c. A statement of how and when each petitioner received notice of the Department action;

d. A statement of how each petitioner's substantial interests are affected by the Department action;

e. A statement of all disputed issues of material fact. If there are none, the petition must so indicate;

f. A statement of facts that the petitioner contends warrant reversal or modification of the Department action;

g. A concise statement of the ultimate facts alleged, as well as the rules and statutes which entitle the petitioner to relief; and

h. A statement of the relief sought by the petitioner, stating precisely the action that the petitioner wants the Department to take.

Because the administrative hearing process is designed to formulate final agency action, the filing of a petition means that the Department’s final action may be different from the position taken by it in this notice. Persons whose substantial interests will be affected by any such final decision of the Department have the right to petition to become a party to the proceeding, in accordance with the requirements set forth above.

Mediation under Section 120.573, F.S., is not available for this proceeding.

SOARING UP THE LEADERBOARDS

Key West’s Suharevskis notches personal record, state ranking | P.8

APRIL 11

Kaylee

points for her team APRIL 11

Kaylee is a multi-event studentathlete who works hard in the classroom as well as on the track.”

– Dave Perkins, Conchs head coach

3

15 event wins

Senior Kaylee Matas Cabezuelo was dominant in the field events at the track and field meet between Key West and Coral Shores last week, earning a trio of first places. Matas Cabezuelo was the top finisher in long jump, triple jump and discus, earning 15 points for her team. The talented athlete does not just excel in athletics, though; Kaylee was recently accepted at Georgetown University, where she plans to study biomedical engineering. Despite a full class load of the most challenging courses Key West High School offers, she never shies away from the hard work and dedication needed to win a variety of technical events on the track. For her three-win meet and laser-like focus, Key West’s Kaylee Matas Cabezuelo is the Keys Weekly Athlete of the Week.

RICK MACKENZIE/Contributed

With a vault of 14 feet, 11 3/4 inches in an April 4 meet against Coral Shores, Key West’s NiksDavis Suharevskis set a personal record en route to a third-place ranking in Florida for FHSAA’s 2A classification. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly

tracy mcdonald

fled to the Keys from the frozen mountains of Pennsylvania hours after graduating from college and never looked back. She is a second-generation coach and educator, and has taught in the public school system for over 25 years. She and her husband met at a beginning teacher meeting in 1997 and have three children born and raised in Monroe County. In her free time, McDonald loves flea markets, historical fiction and long runs in the heat.

sean mcdonald

grew up in Miami and moved to the Keys in 1997. He has spent the last 25 years teaching physical education and coaching virtually every sport for Florida Keys kids ages 4 to 18. If you are reading this and live or lived in the Florida Keys, he has probably taught, coached, or coached against someone you know.

Marathon - Alex Rickert alex@keysweekly.com

Upper Keys - Jim McCarthy jim@keysweekly.com

Key West - Mandy Miles mandy@keysweekly.com

The Keys Weekly Sports Wrap is proud to be the only locally-owned publication providing prep sports coverage from Key Largo to Key West. Together with our writers and photographers, we are committed to providing a comprehensive overview of the world of Keys sports with photography that allows our readers to immerse themselves in game action.

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Riding a 12-3 record at press time, Zack Payne and the Key West Conchs await their first playoff opponent after a first-round bye. MARK HEDDEN/ Keys Weekly

KEYS WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP PODCAST

In this week’s Keys Weekly Sports Wrap Podcast, Sean and Tracy will give you all the latest scores and statistics from this week’s games and events. You will find out the official opponents our local lacrosse teams will face in playoffs as well as behind-the-scenes details you won’t hear anywhere else.

LARIZ, ZIELS LEAD DISTRICTS IN STRIKEOUTS

Monroe County baseball season in full swing

Two Keys pitchers lead their districts in strikeouts. Key West’s Anthony Lariz leads 4A District 16 with 55 Ks and counting, while Marathon’s Dylan Ziels has fanned 58 to lead the District 16 3A charts. Both athletes will have ample opportunity to boost those figures in the upcoming weeks, which offer a whirlwind of scheduled games as Florida baseball barrels toward the start of the postseason on April 29.

The Conchs were busy last week with three games, beginning on April 3 at Columbus. The 7A Explorers held the Conchs to just 2 hits, both off the bats of freshmen. Nelson Ong and Auggy Davila each singled in the 10-0 loss. Anthony Lariz and Felix Ong shared pitching duties, combining for 5 strikeouts in 4 innings of play in Key West’s first mercy-rule loss of the season.

Two nights later, it would be the Conchs showing the mercy. Key West opened play against another 7A team, the Sailors of Sarasota, with a four-run first inning, applying immediate pressure and ultimately winning 10-0. In six innings, the Conchs totaled 11 hits with 3 from Steel Mientkiewicz, 2 from Nelson Ong, and 1 each from Davila, Lariz, Caden Pichardo, Jose Perdigon, Sam Holland and Roman Garcia. Senior Jacob Burnham was a force on the mound, striking out 11 over 6 innings, walking none and allowing a stingy 2 hits.

The next night, the Sailors came out on top, despite the Conchs out-hitting them 5-4. Noah Burnham, Jacob Burnham, Nelson Ong, Davila and Mientkiewicz collected 1 hit each in the 4-2 loss. Lariz started strong on the mound for Key West, striking out 4, giving up 1 hit and 1 walk but no runs in 3 innings. Felix Ong, Christian Koppal and Vinnie Moline combined for the remainder of the game. The trouble came in inning 5 when 5 walks, a hit and a sacrifice fly resulted in 4 runs for the Sailors. Key West now heads to the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina for the National High School Invitational.

Marathon improved to 12-4 after a pair of wins last week. The Fins started off with a resounding 14-5 victory at Miami Country Day. The Dolphins topped the Spartans on

April 3, fueled by 11 hits. Jack Dunn, Mason Thornton and Dylan Ziels had 2 apiece while Roco Piscetello, Dylan Williams, Leo Mendez, Gabe Leal and Aiden Gonzalez each had 1. Marathon stole a total of 6 bases, 3 by Thornton, and were error-free in the field. Thornton, Piscetello and Williams combined forces on the mound.

Their next victim would be the Chargers of North Miami Beach. Despite outhitting the Fins 12 to 6, the Chargers committed 6 errors and doled out a dozen walks to lose the advantage and the game. Leal and Thornton each had two hits and Jack Chapman and Mendez accounted for the other two. Leal pitched a full game for Marathon, striking out 3 with no walks.

Coral Shores played one game last week, losing to the 5A Thoroughbreds of Hialeah High 6-1 in Tavernier. The ’Canes had 5 hits, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 15 the Thoroughbreds racked up. Maykol BonitoRodriguez, AJ Putetti, Ben Friedman, Riley O’Berry and Zeke Myers each singled in the loss.

Top: Nelson Ong. Below: Anthony Lariz. GRACE ANDREW/Keys Weekly See more game photos at keysweekly.com

Key West boys lacrosse is riding a 4-game win streak, having not lost since March 15. The Conchs are picking up steam heading into district action.

The 11-3 Conchs get a bye in the first round of playoffs, which sends them directly into the semifinals. Their opponent is predicted to be Ransom Everglades on Friday, April 12 with the possibility of a last-minute change due to final power rankings, which occurred after press time.

The Conchs added three wins in four days, starting with Coral Reef on April 2. Smith Switzer, Carter Sessoms, Noah Collins and Max Louchheim netted 2 goals apiece, while Roman Van Loon, Reif Walen, Zack Payne and Kieran Smith each had 1. Mateo Lopez had doubledigit saves in goal, earning the Player of the Game award. Louchheim and Anthony Fernandez teamed up to win a majority of the game’s faceoffs to help Key West pull off a 12-8 victory over the Barracudas.

On April 5, the Conchs beat the St. Brendan Sabres, 13-7. Brooks Pellicier and Sessoms scored 3 goals each with Wallen, Switzer, Collins, Louchheim and Dreyden Telfer adding 1 each. Lopez collected 17 saves in goal to preserve the win.

Fernandez dominated faceoffs, winning what coach Alberto Piceno guessed would amount to about 15 once the game film was thoroughly analyzed. Piceno credited Louchheim with

Key West went on to beat Westminster Christian 7-5 the following night for their third win of the week. Collins was awarded the Player of the Game title in that matchup with 2 goals and 4 assists. Louchheim, Switzer, Sessoms, Pellicier and Mack Hill scored the rest. Lopez had more than 20 saves in goal and Fernandez was dominant on faceoffs.

The Hurricanes finished the regular season with two losses last week, with the first coming from Westminster Christian on April 3 and the next, two days later, against North Broward Prep. In the 12-3 loss to Westminster Christian, Lucas Carballo, Reed Tudor and Zane Martinez scored 1 time each. Brock Bynum had 19 saves in the 12-4 loss.

solid offensive and defensive play, awarding him Player of the Game for the win.

CONCH BOYS LACROSSE FINISHES REGULAR SEASON ON FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK

Giacopuzzi was elated with the team’s play.

“The girls played a beautiful game of lacrosse. Solid teamwork, patience with possession and the defense did a phenomenal job shutting down anything the Barracudas tried to do,” Giacopuzzi said.

Top left: The Conchs’ Carter Sessoms netted 2 goals in a win against Coral Reef on April 2 and 3 in a win against the St. Brendan Sabres on April 5.

Above: Key West’s Kaitlyn Piloto scored 3 goals and was credited with 2 ground balls, leading the scoring for Key West in a win against Coral Reef on April 2.

MARK HEDDEN/

Keys Weekly

In the game against North Broward Prep, Carballo had 2 goals and Tudor added another to his season stats in the 5-3 loss. Bynum saved 15 to keep the game close. The ’Canes could face Westminster once again on Thursday, April 11 in a district quarterfinal game, depending on the final power rankings from the FHSAA.

The Lady ’Canes lost a pair of games last week, ending their regular season with a 2-7 record. Coral Shores lost to Palmer Trinity 15-10 on April 3, then to NSU University School on April 5 by a score of 11-5. The Hurricanes’ first postseason opponent was not yet determined

Below: Coral Shores’ Shay Stober moves the ball upfield against NSU University on Senior Day on April 5.

DOUG FINGER/

Keys Weekly

as of press time.

The Lady Conchs faced two of their toughest opponents of the season last week, playing both American Heritage schools over the span of three days. Before that, they took on Coral Reef at home on April 2, beating the Barracudas 11-4. Kaitlyn Piloto scored 3 goals and was credited with 2 ground balls, leading the scoring for Key West. Taylor Gibson and Deanna Mercier each netted a pair of goals. Mercier had 6 draw controls, a pair of caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls; Gibson scooped up 4 ground balls. Maeve O’Hearn scored once, caused 2 turnovers, earned 3 ground balls and captured an interception to help on both sides of play.

Colbie Turner, Ava Brock and Ella Bishop each scored 1 goal in the win while Courtney Grabus was credited with 6 saves and 2 ground balls. Coach Marisa

Two nights later, Key West faced the defending state champions and No. 1-ranked team in Florida, American Heritage out of Delray Beach. The Conchs lost 18-1, but Courtney Grabus made 8 saves while Deanna Mercier prevented Key West from being shut out. The Plantation version of American Heritage ended in a 16-2 loss, but Giacopuzzi had positive takeaways from the game. She credited Bishop with her defensive play on Heritage’s topscorer, completely shutting her down and preventing a single goal from her. The game’s 6 yellow cards, 3 from each team, were a testament to the physical play and efforts on both sides to win.

Grabus was peppered with shots on goal, saving 10 from the scoreboard. Brock and Mercier, assisted by Eisley Whitehead, scored the Conchs’ goals. With official district brackets still in the works, Giacopuzzi offered her prediction, saying, “We will likely see Palmer Trinity again on our turf and will undoubtedly be looking for a redemption from our senior night.”

LADY ’CANES SWEEP WESTMINSTER

Dolphin boys earn first W

On April 4, Coral Shores hosted Westminster Christian for a set of tennis matches that produced mixed results. The No. 2 doubles team of Johann Smith and Jaden Heilbron picked up the only win of the day for the boys team. The girls had better luck, winning all seven matches. Charlotte MacEachern and Olivia Hughes won their No. 1 and 2 singles matches and teamed up to earn another victory in doubles action. Kai Guth and Kai Redruello did the same at the No. 3 and 4 spots in singles and the No. 2 doubles match. Macy Cakans added the final win of the day for the ’Canes, making it a clean sweep over the Warriors.

Key West spent the afternoon of April 3 in Marathon, where the girls picked up a win.

Amalia Strunk, Juliana Strunk, Violet Jangraw and Leyla Atilla racked up singles wins for the Lady Conchs. Eva Drozdetskaia and Amalia Strunk plus Zoe Gehin and Juliana Strunk earned doubles wins, as well. Marquisha Abraham of Marathon earned the only Fins win of the day at the No. 1 singles spot.

The Dolphin boys won their first match in over six years, defeating the Conchs 4-3. Adrien Holdinga won the No. 1 singles match, then Carlos Lezcano, in his first-ever season of play, earned his first win. Holdinga teamed up with middle-schooler Tanner Snowden to pick up their third doubles win of the season. Lezcano and fellow newbie Matt Delgado earned a doubles win as well, giving the Fins the win.

Conchs Devin Soni and Mason O’Conner each won their singles matches for Key West with their final point coming from a forfeit.

Tennis districts are April 15 and 16. Key West will play at Tropical Park, while Marathon and Coral Shores will compete at the Miami Dade College campus.

Charlotte MacEachern. DOUG FINGER/Keys Weekly

CONCHS’ POLE VAULTER LAUNCHES INTO STATE RANKINGS

Hurricanes’ runners have strong showings

An April 4 track and field meet between Key West and Coral Shores saw one pole vaulter launching his way to one of the best marks in the state.

Key West’s Niks-Davis Suharevskis and Ian Newton took first and second, respectively, in the pole vault at Coral Shores High School. Suharevskis launched himself to a personal best of 14 feet, 11 3/4 inches — a mark that currently ranks third in the state for 2A.

Key West’s boys racked up the points in a win over the Hurricanes, 107-38,

with a pair of wins from Jeef Dejean in the long and triple jumps and Colbin Hill in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Clerff Alexandre was second in triple jump and Andrew Fedor was second in the 1,600.

The Conchs’ Shane Lavallee was the fastest gentleman on the track, winning the 100-meter dash. William Forster and Rayan Barrios took first and second place in the 800, while Jeremiah Harvey won the 110-meter high hurdles with Anthony Jenner right behind.

In other boys events, Key West’s Anthony Jenner took two second-place

finishes in the discus and shot put. Brondson Etienne won the high jump event with Josue Quiche coming in second. Jean Louis won shot put and Noah Mercer won discus.

The Lady Conchs had a commanding performance in a win over the Hurricanes, 99-30. Dazmine Jenkins won the 100-meter dash, while Alyssandra Camargo took first in the 400. Colleen Barter was second in the 400. Caylaa Makimaa won the 1,600 with Naima Thomas finishing right behind her in second. Thomas went on to win the 3,200 with Lily Kaufman in second place.

Key West’s Grace Andrew won the 100-meter hurdles and Neslo Atilla finished first in the 400 hurdles with Valeria Juarez in second. Nesgaard was second in the 200 to round out running events.

In field events, the Conchs’ Kaylee Matas Cabuzeulo led the charge with three first-place finishes in long jump, shot put and discus. Audrey Smith was second in discus. Anabel Portuondo was first in the pole vault with teammate Ariel Newton in second. Nesgaard took first in the high jump with Portuondo finishing second.

Despite being the smaller school, the ’Canes had some strong showings in boys and girls events. The Lady ’Canes’ Brooke Mandozzi finished first in the 200-meter dash and second in the 100-meter, while Sammy Bates took first in the 800. Julieanna Oddo was second in the 100-meter hurdles while Sofia Jackson and Karala Gutierrez came in second in the long jump and shot put, respectively.

The Hurricanes’ boys saw first-place finishes from Ambrose Sanchez in the 400 hurdles, Adrik Gadea in the 400 and Ethan Marguet in the 200. Sam Harm was right behind Marguet for second in the 200. Jack Collins and Alaric Rodriguez earned second-place finishes in the 400 and the 3,200, respectively. Rex Mathews had a pair of second-place finishes in the 100 meter and long jump.

Top left: The Hurricanes’ Adrik Gadea runs to a first-place finish in the 400-meter dash during a track meet against Key West on April 4.

Top Middle: Key West’s Dazmine Jenkins competes in the 100-meter run at Coral Shores. Jenkins finished first.

Right: Key West’s NiksDavis Suharevskis set a personal best in the pole vault during an April 4 track-and-field meet at Coral Shores High School.

Top right: The Conchs’ Jeef DeJean won the long and triple jumps.

Bottom right: The Hurricanes’ Sammy Bates finished first in the 800-meter dash.

Photos by: Mark Hedden, Doug Finger and Rick Mackenzie

FINS WIN TWO

Conchs split double-header against AIE

Marathon improved to 8-2 last week with a pair of wins. The first was against Gulliver Prep on April 2 when the Fins beat the Warriors 9-8 at home. Allison Garcia struck out 7 batters in 7 innings. Garcia also registered 2 hits in the win. Sara Robinson had a pair of hits and Dani Perdomo, Shynell McGuire and Elena Eubank each had 1 for Marathon. On April 5, the Dolphins hosted Colonial Christian, winning 17-0 in just 3 innings. Garcia fanned 6 and had another pair of hits in the mercy-rule victory. Madelyn Thornton had the hot bat with 3 hits while Elena Eubank, Allison Helms and Maeve Merryman each had 2. Robinson added one more for an even dozen hits by the Fins.

Key West’s Lady Conchs softball team split a pair of games against Academy for Innovative Education on April 6. Key West won the first game of a double-header, 3-1, scoring all three runs in the third inning. Alexa Condella had a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs to lead the Conchs offensively. Nevaeh Arnold, Nina Manresa and Alexandra Rodriguez had a hit apiece in the win. Chloe Gilday commanded in the circle, striking out 6 batters over 7 innings and allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks. In game two, Key West took the early lead, scoring 2 runs in the first inning. Then AIE answered back with a run in the fourth before Key West re-took the lead, holding on until the seventh inning, when the Aviators tied it up. It would take 9 innings to decide a victor when a pair of doubles from AIE ended the game in their favor.

Manresa had 2 hits, including a double, in the loss. Scarlet Niles also registered 2 hits. Tavyn Gage, Shylo Sanchez, Vera Rodger and Maicey Malgrat accounted for the rest of the Lady Conchs’ 8 hits. Breanna Breener and Arnold split pitching duties. Key West, now 5-6, has plenty of opportunities in the coming week to get ahead on its record, with five games scheduled in just three days.

Sara Robinson. BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

Coral Shores has suffered a series of unfortunate events this season, in what head coach Lesa Bonee called “the most challenging and difficult year of my career.” The events have affected the team’s schedule and ability to play. Both Horeb and Dade Christian, two schools that were scheduled for matchups this season, folded due to lack of players and interest. This left the Lady ’Canes with four fewer games right off the bat. Next came an injury, forcing back-to-back cancellations due to the Hurricanes being short players; they had nine and a concussion set them back to eight. Unable to field a team for the past week and a half, they hoped to have a full roster this week, but Bonee received word her player would be out for the season, sending her scrambling to find a replacement so her team, all of whom are freshmen and sophomores, could continue the season. Bonee will have a few extra days to complete her search. Somerset South Homestead canceled its April 8 game against Coral Shores, citing the solar eclipse as the reason they would not be hosting the Hurricanes. Undeterred, the ’Canes will find a way to play at Gulliver early this week, then compete in their final home game of the season Friday, April 12 against Everglades City School at 5 p.m.

THREE KEYS LIFTERS STATES-BOUND

Coral Shores’ AJ Johnson qualifies for dual events

Coral Shores and Marathon sent their strongest athletes to Frostproof on April 4 for the FHSAA 1A Region 4 championships in boys weightlifting. When the chalk settled and the final weights were tabulated, a trio of Keys athletes made the cut to the big show. Marathon’s Tanner Ross and Chase Leird and Coral Shores’ AJ Johnson are headed to states to compete in Lakeland on April 20.

Though no Keys athletes won a regional title, which is an automatic ticket to the state meet, Johnson, Leird and Ross had high enough totals to qualify for at-large spots. Johnson, who is in the 219-lb. category, will compete in both the Olympic and traditional events. In the Olympic event, Johnson has the capacity to crack the top 10. Leird will represent the Fins in traditional lifts at 119 pounds and Ross will have a shot at a medal in Olympic lifts in the 199-lb. class.

Leird was third in the traditional event and likely would have been a double qualifier had he not scratched his three attempts at the snatch lift, negating any chance to move on in the Olympic event in which he was more heavily favored. Johnson was second overall in Olympic lifts and third in traditional. Ross finished fourth in Olympic.

Other standouts at regionals include Marathon’s Matthias Martinez-Velez, who was second in traditional and just 5 pounds from a regional title at 139 pounds. Damian Staciewicz was third in traditional and tied for second in Olympic lifts in the 154-lb. class. At 183, Max Childress finished second in traditional lifts and third in Olympic. Though runner-ups and athletes finishing as deep as fourth or fifth often get an at-large bid, this year’s competition in the northern portion of the state was exceptionally strong. Fortunately for MartinezVelez, Staciewicz and Childress, all have at least one more season to earn a trip to states.

From top: AJ Johnson, Tanner Ross and Chase Leird.

Photos by: DOUG FINGER and BARRY GAUKEL/Keys Weekly

FICTITIOUS NAME

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of Community Association Company located at 520 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: Community Association of Florida, LLC

Publish: April 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

FICTITIOUS NAME

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned, desiring to engage in business under the fictitious name of CAC located at 520 Southard Street, Key West, FL 33040 intends to register said name with the Florida Department of State, Tallahassee, Florida.

By: Community Association of Florida, LLC

Publish: April 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE WHEATON’S SERVICE CENTER gives notice that on 4/26/2024 at 10:00 AM, the following vehicle(s) may be sold by public sale at 101500 OVERSEAS HWY, KEY LARGO, FL 33037 to satisfy the lien for the amount owed on each vehicle for any recovery, towing, or storage services charges and administrative fees allowed pursuant to Florida statute 713.78.

Wheaton’s Service Center reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all bids.

2LNHM82W88X654258 2008

LINC

Publish: April 4 & 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

gives notice that on 5/10/2024 at 10:00 AM, the following vehicle(s) may be sold by public sale at 101500 OVERSEAS HWY, KEY LARGO, FL 33037 to satisfy the lien for the amount owed on each vehicle for any recovery, towing, or storage services charges and administrative fees allowed pursuant to Florida statute 713.78.

Wheaton’s Service Center reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all bids.

1FTVF14585NA05196 2005

FORD

Publish: April 4 & 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE

Notice is hereby given that on dates below these vessels will be sold at public sale on the date listed below at 10AM for monies owed on vessel repair and storage cost pursuant to Florida Statutes 328.17.

May 27, 2024 at 10:00 AM

Yacht Club Drive Marina, 107690 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo, FL Yacht Club Drive Marina reserves the right to accept or reject any and/all bids.

1994 CTY CTYD0011I495

$9,055.52

Owners: Cincinnati Financial Corp

Publish: April 4 & 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

PUBLIC MEETING NOTICE

The Monroe County Tourist Development Council will hold their regularly scheduled meeting at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. This will be a hybrid meeting of in person at the Marathon Government Center (2798 Overseas Highway,

Marathon, FL 33050) and Communications Media Technology using a Zoom webinar platform. Monroe County Tourist Development Council Meeting

Please click on the link below to join the webinar: https://mcbocc.zoom.

us/j/83300176016

Or iPhone one-tap:

US: +16465189805,, 83300176016# or +16699006833,, 83300176016#

Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):

US: +1 646 518 9805 or +1 669 900 6833

Webinar ID: 833 0017 6016 International numbers available: https://mcbocc. zoom.us/u/kdfeTtPHLB

The Visit Florida Keys Corporation will also convene during this meeting.

All Tourist Development Council Meetings are open to the public, and one or more County Commissioners may be in attendance. If a person decides to appeal any decision made by the board with respect to any matter considered at such meeting or hearing, they will need a record of the proceedings, and that, for such purpose, they may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based.

ADA ASSISTANCE: If you are a person with a disability who needs special accommodations in order to participate in this proceeding, please contact the Monroe County Administrator’s Office, by phoning 305-292-4441, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., no later than

Effective April 1, 2024, Karisa Falden, D.O., is no longer practicing with Baptist Health Primary Care at the following location: 5701 Overseas Highway, Suite 17, Marathon, FL 33050.

Patients who wish to receive copies of their medical records may log into our patient portal at myBaptistHealth.net, call 305-434-1400 or fax 305-743-0962 to request a records release.

Publish: April 4, 11, 18 & 25, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

five (5) calendar days prior to the scheduled meeting. If you are hearing or voice impaired, call “711”.

Publish: April 11, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE SOLICITATIONS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that

on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 3:00 P.M., the Monroe County Purchasing Office will receive and open sealed responses for the following: Shift in Centerline of Runway 7/25

Marathon International Airport

Monroe County, Florida

Pursuant to F.S. § 50.0211(3) (a), all published competitive solicitation notices can be viewed at: www. floridapublicnotices.com, a searchable Statewide repository for all published legal notices. Requirements for submission and the selection criteria may be requested from the County’s electronic bidding platform at https://monroecounty-fl. bonfirehub.com OR www. monroecounty-fl.gov/ BonfireBids. The Public Record is available upon request.

Monroe County Purchasing Department receives bids via the Bonfire electronic bidding platform. Please do not email, mail or attempt to deliver in person any sealed bids. Emailed/mailed/physically delivered bids/proposals/ responses WILL NOT be accepted.

The Monroe County Purchasing Department hereby directs that bids be submitted via the Bonfire electronic bidding platform at https://monroecounty-fl. bonfirehub.com, no later than 3:00P.M. on May 28, 2024. There is no cost to the bidder to use the Bonfire platform. Please do not submit your confidential financial information as part of your proposal. There are separate uploads for each set of documents, including confidential financial information. All proposals will be made public on the platform after an intended decision or 30 days, whichever is earlier, unless the bids/ proposals are rejected in accordance with F.S. 119.071. If your proposal document includes financial information, that information will not be considered confidential and will be available and viewable to the public in accordance with public records law. The bid opening for this solicitation will be held virtually, via the internet, at 3:00 P.M., on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. You may call in by phone or internet using the following:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://mcbocc.zoom. us/j/4509326156

Meeting ID: 4509326156

One tap mobile:

+16465189805,,4509326156#

US (New York)

+16699006833,,4509326156#

US (San Jose)

Dial by your location:

+1 646 518 9805 US (New York)

+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

MANDATORY PRE-BID

MEETING

Date: 04-25-2024

Time: 2:00 P.M., EST

***Prospective bidders failing to attend the Mandatory PreBid Meeting shall forfeit their opportunity to respond to the solicitation***

against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT SO FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

The date of first publication of this Notice is: April 11, 2024.

Co-Personal Representatives: RICHARD J. MCCAUSLAND

c/o Samuel J. Kaufman, Esq.

Law Offices of Samuel J. Kaufman, P.A. 3130 Northside Drive Key West, Florida 33040

Co-Personal Representatives: PATRICIA A. PIACENTINE

c/o Samuel J. Kaufman, Esq.

Law Offices of Samuel J. Kaufman, P.A. 3130 Northside Drive

Key West, Florida 33040

Attorney for Co-Personal Representatives: Samuel J.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent's estate must file their claims with this Court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE.

ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED.

NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED.

The date of first publication of this notice is April 11, 2024.

Personal Representative: Elizabeth Mcsherry 89 Pine Street South Paris, Maine 04281 Tel: (603) 986-1531

Attorney for Personal Representative: Anwar E. Hadeed, Esq. Florida Bar Number: 1018036 The Florida Probate & Family Law Firm Samah T. Abukhodeir, Esq. Florida Bar Number: 108015

(305) 735-6468 Email: Anwar@flpfl.com eservice@flpfl.com Publish: April 11 & 18, 2024

The Weekly Newspapers

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA PROBATE DIVISION CASE NO.: 24-CP-107-K IN RE: THE ESTATE OF RICHARD H. MCCAUSLAND, Deceased. NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The administration of the estate of RICHARD H. MCCAUSLAND deceased, whose date of death was January 30, 2024, Case: 24-CP-107-K, is pending in the Circuit Court, Probate Division, the address of which is 500 Whitehead Street, Key West, FL 33040. The names and addresses of

below.

creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate, including unmatured, contingent or unliquidated claims, on whom a copy of this notice is served must file their claims with this court WITHIN THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM.

All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands

and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate on whom a copy of this notice is required to be served must file their claims with this court ON OR BEFORE THE LATER OF 3 MONTHS AFTER THE TIME OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE OR 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE OF SERVICE OF A COPY OF THIS NOTICE ON THEM. All other creditors of the decedent and other persons having claims or demands against decedent’s estate must file their claims with this court WITHIN 3 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF THE FIRST PUBLICATION OF THIS NOTICE. ALL CLAIMS NOT FILED WITHIN THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN FLORIDA STATUTES SECTION 733.702 WILL BE FOREVER BARRED. NOTWITHSTANDING THE TIME PERIODS SET FORTH ABOVE, ANY CLAIM FILED TWO (2) YEARS OR MORE AFTER THE DECEDENT’S DATE OF DEATH IS BARRED. The date of first publication of this notice is: April 4, 2024.

EMPLOYMENT

Las Marias Medical Center- Hiring bilingual: Front Desk, RN, Medical Assistant & Local Driver. Tavernier, MM 91. 305-780-7730

Personal Assitant needed for Key Colony Beach couple. Two times/week - driving to doctor appts, handyman projects, gardening, light housekeeping, must be capable of lifting large male if needed and be good with animals. Must have references. Call Christina 954-483-5426

Joseph Molinaro CPA, LLC in Tavernier is looking for an Office Manager. Duties include answering phones, client screening, accounts payable and purchasing, accounts receivables, file management and other office duties. Must know Quickbooks desktop and Microsoft suite. Monday –Friday 10-5. Email resume Joe@jmolinaro.cpa

Hiring: Lead Gutter Installer - EXPERIENCE

REQUIRED – valid

Driver’s License - must be comfortable with heights - located in Tavernier. To apply, please call or text Jay 305-587-1581.

City of Marathon

Current Job Openings: Administrative Asst. Fire Department and Part-time Custodian/ Maintenance. Full Benefits for full-time positions. EOE Please see City website for details www.ci.marathon.fl.us

Marathon Yacht Club is hiring a part-time server. Private club, friendly atmosphere, guaranteed gratuities. Flexible lunch/ dinner shifts available Tuesday – Sunday. Must provide photo ID, social security card or passport, and checking account. Call 305-7436739 to schedule an interview or email office@ marathonyachtclub.com.

Marathon Yacht Club is hiring a full-time line cook. Private club, friendly atmosphere, afternoon/evening hours Tuesday – Sunday. Must provide checking account for direct deposit, photo ID, and social security card or passport. Call 305743-6739 to schedule an interview or email office@ marathonyachtclub.com.

Marathon Yacht Club is hiring a part-time dishwasher. Private club, friendly atmosphere, flexible afternoon/ evening hours available Tuesday – Sunday. Must provide photo ID and social security card or passport. Call 305-7436739 to schedule an interview or email office@ marathonyachtclub.com

The Cabana Club, an ocean front private swim club is now hiring for the following positions: Server, $10/hr + tips, 9:30am-7pm, Beach Shop Attendant, $18/hr, 9:30am-5pm, and Parttime Office Clerk, $18/hr, Thu/Fri/Sat, 9:30am-7pm. Apply in person at 425 E. Ocean Dr. Key Colony Beach or call 404-2193359 and ask for Dave.

The Housing Authority of the City of Key West now hiring the following positions: Housing Choice Voucher Asst., PT Receptionist, Housing ManagerMiddle Keys, HVAC Maintenance Mechanic, and Maintenance Mechanic (Maintenance Worker). To apply, please contact Human Resources at: martinezm@kwha.org or 305-296-5621

Applications are available at the Administrative Office located at 1400 Kennedy Dr., Key West, FL 33040 or online at www. kwha.org - EOE & Drug

The Monroe County Homeless Services Continuum of Care (MC-CoC) is seeking an EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.

The position of Executive Director is a full time exempt salaried supervisory position. This position requires a bachelor's degree in public administration, non-profit management, social services or related field - a graduate degree is preferred - and five (5) years of experience in management and supervision. The executive director will work with the Board of Directors to meet the goals and objectives of the agency.

Please send resume or contact Steve Torrence by email: eywsteve@icloud.com

FLORIDA BAY FOREVER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Free Work Place. This opportunity is covered under Section 3 of the HUD Act of 1968.

Place your EMPLOYMENT ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844

FISHING EQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Rods For Sale: Dolphin Time 4 Penn 30w 2 spd. w-star roller guide Rods 4 50w-w-rods as new 305-743-8860 call between 1p-4p.

HOBBIES/COLLECT.

PRIVATE COLLECTOR WANTS Rolex, Dive Watches and Pilot Watches. Old Model Military Clocks & Watches. Call 305-743-4578

Place your Hobbies/ Collectibles ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844.

HOUSING FOR RENT

Venetian Shores home for rent long term. 3BR/2BA on canal. Available now. $4,000/mo. utilities included. 315-405-5202

ANNUAL RENTALKey Largo - 2BR/2BA Spacious Doublewide, 1400 sq ft modular on canal w/40’ dock, direct ocean access. Very nice community. $3,500/ month 786-258-3127

3 BR/2 BA home for rent in Key Colony Beach. 75' premium dock. $3,800/month + utilities. F/L/S 786-229-0228

Efficiency for Rent in Marathon. Furnished. $1,200/month + water & sewer. F/L/S 305-610-8002

Place your Housing For Rent ad here. $25.00/ week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844.

RV LOT FOR RENT

RV Site for rent in Marathon. Up to 35', private gated property. $1,500/mo plus water & sewer (electric included). Dockage available - inquire for price. 305-610-8002

Workshop Manager (Key West)

Place your RV Lot For Rent ad here. $25.00/ week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844.

VACATION RENTAL

Key West House For Rent - 28 day minimum. Recently renovated. 2 Units: 3BR/3BA or 2BR/2.5BA. 1 block to Schooner Wharf @ Historic Seaport. Starting $214/night. Sweet Caroline Seaport. com

YARD SALES

Big, Big Yard Sale: 87847 O/S Hwy—Old Road Access Only. Furniture/Appliances/ Clothes/Fishing/Rugs and 32 years of hoarding more. Saturday, April 13 ONLY from 8a - 3p .

Yard Sale - unusual stuff, glass vases, old records, 2 wood file cabinets, lamps, armoire, etc. Sat April 13th, 9a-2p, 8026 Porpoise Drive, Marathon

Place your YARD SALE ad here. $25.00/week for up to 5 lines of copy. Call 305-743-0844 today!

FT administrative, salaried position. The Workshop manager will be responsible for all phases of the operation of the Adult Day Training Program in accordance with The Agency for Persons with Disabilities and Medicaid Waiver minimum standards. This includes the worksites and contracts, personnel, and training programs. The Workshop Manager will maintain a close liaison with the Group Home Managers and Medical Staff in order to maintain program consistency. Bachelor’s degree required and 2 years’ experience in field required. Computer skills: moderate to advanced. FL driver’s license with clean driving record. Pre-employment training online and in person. Ability to pass a Level II background screening and references.

Come join our family! EOE

Apply at the MARC office, 1401 Seminary St., Key West. Or online at www.marchouse.org. For more information, please contact hr@marchouse.org. Phone: 305-294-9526 *32

WE ARE HIRING!

The EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR is the key management leader and is responsible for overseeing the administration, educational programs and fundraising for the organization. Other key duties include marketing, community outreach and volunteer management. The position reports directly to the Board of Directors. For more information email info@floridabayforever.org. Learn more about our work at www.floridabayforever.org.

305-743-0844

Plant Store/Nursery Associate (PT/FT)

Position requires a min. of high school completion and 1 yr. exp. Must be knowledgeable in tropical plants and have good social/business skills, above average computer skills (knowledge of POS a plus). Must be able to lift at least 50 pounds. English language, speaking and writing, proficiency is a must. FL driver’s license w/clean driving record, references and background screening required.

Come join our family! EOE

Apply at the MARC office, 1401 Seminary St., Key West. Or online at www.marchouse.org.

For more information, please contact hr@marchouse.org. Phone: 305-294-9526 *32

e Turtle Hospital in Marathon

Join our team! Full and part-time Educational Program Guides/ Gift Shop Sales. Public speaking & retail sales experience helpful. $18/hour to start. Send resume to: turtlehospital@turtlehospital.org

FULL-TIME POSITION POLICE OFFICER

The City of Key Colony Beach is accepting applications for a FULL-TIME Police Officer.

Applicants must posses a current Florida Certification as a police officer. Applicants will undergo a thorough background investigation, including drug screening, medical, polygraph and a psychological exam.

Salary: $60,000.

Full Health & Dental Insurance, 457 (b) Participation.

Email resume to:

Chief of Police at: chief@keycolonybeach.net Or call for additional information: 305-289-1212 ext. 1

Preference in the selection of vacant positions will be given to eligible veterans and spouses of veterans. The Key Colony Beach Police Department is an EEO employer, drug-free and nicotine-free workplace.

NOW HIRING IN ISLAMORADA

MARINA CASHIERS

Must have customer service experience working in a retail environment and using a point of sale system. Additional duties include restocking, completing purchase orders, daily ordering of basic items in the store, and maintaining a clean appearance in the store. This is an hourly position and compensation is based on experience. Work hours are flexible and we try to maintain a set weekly schedule.

DOCKHANDS

Duties include customer service, helping customers with bait and ice and helping cashiers with restocking. Morning & a ernoon hours available.

Send resume to admin@cbtconstruction.com Or call 305-852-3002

Please respond by email (Ma at islamarinama @gmail.com) with any relevant previous experience and at least two references.

ADMINISTRATION/OFFICE HELP

Fast paced, busy resort in need of Of ce Help. Must be able to multi-task, stay calm under pressure and have great communication skills. Be dependable, able to work weekends, 3 to 4 days a week, hours til 7pm.

If you want to be part of a great team, please apply! Send resume to captpips@aol.com or come into the of ce at 1480 Overseas Highway, Marathon to ll out an application. CAPTAIN PIP’S IS

D’Asign Source is seeking the following professionals. Overtime and benefits are available. For full details, please visit: DAsignSource.com/careers

Interior Designer

Apply knowledge & creative skills to projects at our high-end design center. Must possess history of achievement in quality projects and a strong sales background.

The Advocate DUI Program is hiring for part time positions. DUI instructors and evaluators - 2 days a week, Bachelors or Masters degree in substance abuse eld required. Bilingual preferred, not required. Of ce located in Marathon. Contact Marcia at 305-704-0117.

•

OPENINGS AVAILABLE

PHYSICIAN PRACTICE OPENINGS

- Medical Assistant, Orthopedics, PT

- Patient Access Associate, Orthopedics, $1,000 Bonus, FT

TAVERNIER MARINERS HOSPITAL

- Cook, Per Diem

- Exercise Physiologist, Per Diem

- Manager Wellness Center, FT

- Multi-Modality Imag Tech, $20,000 Bonus, FT & PT

- Nuclear Medicine Tech, Per Diem

- Pool Group Exercise Instructor

- Pool Yoga Instructor

- Registered Nurse, Emergency Department, $25,000 Bonus, FT

- Registered Nurse, Multispecialty Acute Care Center, $25,000 Bonus, FT

- Registered Nurse, Surgery, $15,000 Bonus, FT

MARATHON FISHERMEN’S

COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

- ED Team Coordinator, Emergency Room, Part Time

- ED/Acute Care Tech, Emergency, Room, FT & PT

- Environmental Tech, $5,000 Bonus, FT

- First Cook, $5,000 Bonus, FT

- Multi-Modality Imag Tech, Radiology, $20,000 Bonus, FT

- Mechanic, Facility Operations, FT

- Medical Technologist, Laboratory, $15,000 Bonus, FT, PT and Per Diem

- Patient Experience Advocate, FT

- Radiology Technologist, $15,000 Bonus, FT

- Security Of cer, Security/Safety, FT & Per Diem

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

*Sign-on bonuses are available only for select full-time positions based on candidate experience.

APPLY AND LEARN MORE

careers.baptisthealth.net or call 786-243-8507

THE GUIDANCE/CARE CENTER, Inc. IS HIRING!

GCC offers excellent benefits for full-time employment, but we realize some would prefer part-time to enjoy the Florida Keys lifestyle more.

KEY WEST

Peer Support Specialist

Advocate (PT)

Behavioral Health Therapist (Adult)

Behavioral Health Counselor (Child)

Case Manager (Adult, Forensic)

Substance Abuse Counselor

MARATHON

Prevention Specialist (any location) Care Coordinator (PT)

Behavioral Health Therapist (Child)

RNs/LPNs - 3 shifts (PT/Per Diem)

Peer Support Specialist

*Support Worker – Assisted Living (PT)

*Behavioral Health Technicians

3 shifts (also Per Diem)

*No experience required for this position. Will train. A caring heart & helpful hands required.

Background and drug screen req. COMPETITIVE PAY! EXCEPTIONAL BENEFITS!!!

Check out all available positions at: www.westcare.com (search by zip code) EEOC/DFWP

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER IS HIRING

Volunteer Resources

Administrative Assistant (Full-Time, Permanent)

Facilities Maintenance Apprentice (Full-Time, Permanent)

Education Program Host (Full-Time, Permanent)

Staff Photographer

(Full-Time, Part-Time, Seasonal)

Media & Marketing Assistant (Full-Time, Permanent)

Visual Communications Coordinator (Full-Time, Permanent)

All positions can be considered for full or part-time unless notated. Apply at westcare.com and enter your availability. MARATHON

We are now hiring for the following positions:

Diesel Mechanic Truck Helpers

CDL Drivers

Applicants must apply in person to be considered.

4290 Overseas Hwy, Marathon

Membership & Development Coordinator (Full-Time, Permanent)

Medical Technician (Full-Time, Permanent)

Benefits include medical, life & disability insurance, 401(k) plan, paid vacation, sick time & holidays.

Full job descriptions available at www.dolphins.org/career_opportunities

Email cover letter, DRC application & resume to drc-hr@dolphins.org EOE

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER

58901 O/S Hwy - Grassy Key, FL

Teaching... Learning... Caring

•Health, Dental, Vision & Life Insurance

•Tuition Reimbursement

•Paid Holidays, Vacation & Sick Time

•401K Employer Match

Work with the BEST!

•Quarterly Cash Profit Sharing

•Fun, Fast-Paced Environment

•Great Hours

Voted Best Bank 2014 - 2023

Key West Full Time Teller

Customer Service Representative Administrative Assistant

Customer Service Representative/Online Banking

Islamorada Full Time Teller

Key Largo Upper Keys Floating Teller

Apply Online at KeysBank.com/Careers

DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTER IS HIRING

Membership & Development Coordinator (Full-Time, Permanent)

DRC has a full-time opening for a Membership & Development Coordinator. This newly created position’s primary focus will be to assist the Director of Membership & Development in helping the department (and position) grow in multiple ways. Benefits include medical insurance, 401(k), vacation & paid holidays.

Job description available at www.dolphins.org.

Email resume & DRC application to drc-hr@dolphins.org EOE 58901 O/S Hwy - Grassy Key, FL Teaching... Learning... Caring

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM OPERATORS

The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority is looking for Distribution System Operators to perform semi-skilled work, involving the repair and maintenance of FKAA water distribution and transmission systems. We provide on the job training for qualified applicants. Requires a High School, Diploma or GED and valid Florida Driver’s License. Salary:  $50,376.48. Excellent benefits and opportunities for advancement.

Apply online at www. aa.com/212/opportunities

ADA,

Take your Dolphin Pride on the road with a Dolphin Pride FREE CASH BACK Checking Account!

You can help your kids learn to live on a budget while supporting MHS by using their Dolphin Pride Debit Card!*

*E-statements, e-receipts, a debit card, savings and S15 checking account required. Specific transactions required for each reward level. Restrictions may apply. See us for details. NCUA Insured. See us for details.