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Post CommEnts At CAPECorAlbrEEzE.ComWEEKDAY EDitionFriday nightfootballthisComing in reezeBweekend’s ol athletic teamsClassified Marketplacecholocal high s Moreeasonsstart their sweekstion of theeuqteaiddcil can Coun Auctions & Bazaars Garage Sales Real Estate Marine General Notices Automotive Employment Business & ServiceDirectoryOasis High,Bishop Verothelp kick off2020 season— INSIDECAPE CORAL BREEZECape Coral’s Community Newspaper Since 1961Vol. 59, No. 73Wednesday, September 9, 202050 CentsFood bank offers help at Civic CenterBy CHUCK BALLAROnews@breezenewspapers.comAT A GLANCECars started arriving at the LeeCivic Center’s Tinsley Pavilionjust before sunrise Thursday, willing to wait up to three hours to getenough food to last through theweekend.By the time the Harry ChapinFood Bank drive-thru food distribution opened at 10 a.m., up to200 cars were waiting for foodbank volunteers to sign them inand pack the back of their vehicleswith boxes of food before sendingthem on their way.The event takes place everyThursday from 10 a.m. to noon.The Lee Civic Center is amongone of nearly a dozen distributionsthe Harry Chapin Food Bank doesto distribute food to families inCharlotte, Lee, Collier, Hendryand Glades counties.Since the pandemic, the foodbank has become a lifeline formany.Mary Wozniak, marketing andcommunications manager at HarryChapin, said the long lines at thesedrive-thru events have become thenorm.“People start lining up around7 a.m. or earlier and we will startTown of Fort MyersBeach is considering establishing new manatee speedzones.— INSIDEOfficers from FWC,Lee Sheriff’s Officelend a helping handNEWS OF NOTESeptember plantsale at Edisonand Ford WinterEstates SaturdayINDEXLegal Notices . . . 5-7Local Tides . . . . . . . 4Police Blotter . . . . . 2Sports . . . . . . . . . . . 4Weather . . . . . . . . . . 2748445 460101See FOOD BANK, page 2Manatee, victimof boat strike,rescued atMatanzas PassInside today’sBreezeThis Saturday, Sept. 12,from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,Edison and Ford WinterEstates in Fort Myers willhold a plant sale, open to thepublic. The sale will takeplace outdoors, in the GardenShoppe and surroundingareas.Additional plant vendorswill also be on site, includingCalusa Palms, Deep SouthNatives, K & K Super-blend,SunLand Orchids, andTaylor's Tropicals. Horticulturists will staff a “GardenGuidance” table and answerguests' gardening questionsAdmission to the plantsale is free (does not includetours or admission to themuseum, lab or riverside ofthe property).Refreshments will beavailable for purchase. TheGarden Shoppe is open sevendays a week from 9 a.m. to4:30 p.m.All visitors will be required to wear masks at theplant sale with social distancing and additional CDCguidelines being followed.The Edison and FordWinter Estates are at 2350McGregor Blvd., in FortMyers. For additional information, visit EdisonFord.org.30 minutes early because there areso many people. I talked withsomeone at the civic center whotook a nap in his front seat,”Wozniak said. People need foodand they’ll do what they need toget it.”The pandemic has helpedremove any embarrassment ofaccepting hand up regarding food,since so many people aren’t working, Wozniak said,“The whole point of them coming there is to get food and theyBy NATHAN MAYBERGnmayberg@breezenewspapers.comThousands gather on the water to celebrate TrumpBy CJ HADDADcjhaddad@breezenewspapers.comf you were out boating on Pine Island Soundand surrounding Gulf waters this pastSaturday, you might have seen what couldhave been the largest boat parade ever.Thousands of Donald Trump supporters cameout this past weekend to show their support forthe president’s bid for re-election.The boat parade, hosted by Rezny WealthManagement Inc., stretched miles long andbegan at the north and south ends of Pine Island.From there, a grand procession was made toCayo Costa.“It was huge,” said Brian Rezny, president ofRezny Wealth Management. “It was substantially more exciting than what I thought it wouldbe.”Rezny said as many as 11,000 boats couldhave participated, and is confident a minimum5,000 to 6,000 took part.“It was way bigger than I thought it was goingto be,” Rezny said of the parade that advertisedI7,000 boats. “There were just happy people —people waving American flags, just hooting andhollering to be part of a great country.”The caravan spread vastly long with vesselsdecked out in Trump flags, paraphernalia andpatriotic items. Boats in support of the presidentlined the Gulf side beach of Cayo Costa for milesfor food and conversation, Rezny said.“There were boats all the way down Cayo,”Rezny said. “They were three deep off thebeach.”Upon returning to the site the next day, hesaid he found almost no debris on the mile-longstretch of the beach he walked.“These people respected the property,” Reznysaid. “Most people were social distancing.People respected the environment and theyrespected each other.”Rezny, who had a plethora of Trump flags lin-See SHOWING SUPPORT, page 3Boaters gather at Cayo Costa Saturday.PHOTO/AERIAL & INTERIOR 360A manatee that was the victimof a boat strike, was rescued byFlorida Fish and WildlifeConservationbiologistsonSaturday at Matanzas Pass on FortMyers Beach and transported toZooTampa. FWC officers as wellas deputies from the Lee CountySheriff’s Office assisted with therescue.According to Adam Brown,FWC spokesperson, the 1,000pound female manatee was given ahealth assessment on site, data wasrecorded and she was taken toZooTampa for rehabilitation.Sandra Torres, senior directorcommunicationsforofZooTampa, said the manatee wasbeing “monitored closely” in acritical care pool at the zoo and is“considered stable.”Torres said zoo staff are “cautiously optimistic” about the manatee's recovery. “The first coupleof days following an injury are themost critical,” Torres said.“Our veterinarian Dr. LaurenSmith confirmed that (the manatee) did suffer from significanttrauma due to a watercraft injury,”Torres said.“Depending on the extent ofinjury and how they respond totreatment, the recovery can takeanywhere from three months to ayear,” Torres said. “Our goal isalways to release them back toFlorida waters specifically nearthe spot where they’re rescued asthat’s the area they are familiarwith.”The FWC transported the manatee to ZooTampa by truck.Manatees can stay out of the waterfor up to 24 hours, Torres said.The FWC urges those who seea marine mammal in distress tocontact the FWC immediately sotrained professionals can assessthe animal and give it the medicalattention it may need. The FWCSee MANATEE RESCUE,page 3Local TV station plans to build 110-footDoppler radar tower on Pine IslandResidents state concerns at public information meetingBy PAULETTE LeBLANCpleblanc@breezenewspapers.comA public information meetingwith Morris Depew Associatesregarding the planned installationof a 110-foot WINK NewsDoppler radar tower on PineIsland for parent company FortMyers Broad-casting, was heldTuesday, Sept. 2, at the Fishers ofMen Lutheran Church.The address of the site for thetower is 4798 Stringfellow Roadin St. James City. Fort MyersBroadcasting is ready to beginconstruction on the property,which it owns, on Pine Island, ifand when a hearing examinergrants permission to do so.A few masked islanders weresure to make the meeting, wherethey expressed some consternationover having the 110-foot towererected300feetfromStringfellow Road. Among thesewere concerns that surroundingresidents and wildlife might beinundated with unseen signals orfrequencies emitted from the radartower, that part of the propertymight be sold, rented or used forsomething else in the future, orthat it might open the door forother 110-foot or higher constructs.Local WINK News chief meteorologist Jim Farrell joined themeeting via satellite from thenews studio, where he was available to explain some of the benefits of the tower, and answer anymeteorological questions.See DOPPLER RADAR,page 2
Page 2Wednesday, September 9, 2020CAPE CORAL BREEZEcapecoralbreeze.comFort Myers Beach International FilmFestival to be streamed online Sept. 22-26By NATHAN MAYBERGnmayberg@breezenewspapers.comThis year’s Fort Myers Beach International FilmFestival will be virtual.Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 14thannual event will be streamed online from Sept. 2226, according to the festival Executive Director JaneenPaulauskis.“While we are disappointed not to see our filmmakers, patrons and volunteers this year in person, we aregrateful to make the 2020 Fort Myers BeachInternational Film Festival accessible in a way it hasnever been before,” she said in a statement.“Patrons will have the opportunity to live streamour selections and take part in discussions, workshopsand special events online via a brand-new platform,”Paulauskis said. “We look forward to connecting tofilmmakers with audiences as their work shines in away that keeps everyone safe during the pandemic.”Rather than an array of independent films fromacross the globe being shown at the Beach Theater onEstero Boulevard, this year’s films will be streamedonline. Workshops led by independent filmmakers willalso be online rather than in person.The movies shown will include local shorts, international shorts, short documentaries and student films.Among the movie highlights are the film “TwoWays Home,” which features Tom Bower. Bower’scredits include “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Die Hard 2,”“Georgia” and more recently Casey Affleck’s “Lightof My Life.”Opening night this year will start at 6 p.m. as aZoom networking event with award nominationannouncements.More information about the festival will be updatedon the festival’s website at FMBFilmFest.com.Next year’s film festival is scheduled to run fromApril 13-18.Doppler radar: WINK News tower to be built along Stringfellow RoadFrom page 1“The main benefit of having a local, dual poleDoppler radar,” said Farrell, “is that it adds to the safetyand security of everybody in Southwest Florida. Wewould, in effect, have a Doppler radar that would becapable of showing Southwest Florida more accurateinformation than is available now from any other radar,including the National Weather Service. The radar inTampa, Key West, and Miami are very good, but theyaren’t here. As a result, when they turn on the radars andthat radio signal goes out in a line of sight it ends up significantly over our heads, because of the curvature of theearth.”Although he said the signal from Tampa is the closestavailable to Southwest Florida, he explained that by thetime the signal reaches local airspace, it’s approximately10,000 feet, or two miles in the sky. He goes on to sayby having a local radar tower with the same dual polecapabilities, a signal could be measured much closer tothe ground. This sampling, he said, would allow moreaccurate information, such as whether or not a thunderstorm is capable of producing a tornado, which, whenmeasured two miles overhead, produces many falsealerts.CAPE CORALBREEZE (( %' 0( 15 - %#4 0/ '- 2#&0 -6& #1' 02#- *0/' 0523 0/ 2 # . 1 . 2'':'/'731#1'23 %0. #9.0/& %,'/20&' '84 "#-#2 ' #22 /) '84 *2 3 42 /' '84 *0/' #8 .# - “Having our own dual pole Doppler, especially on Pine Island in Lee County, will allow usmuch more accurate information in real timeat our fingertips. In certain weather situationsthat would translate to shortened warningtimes and better warning information foreverybody.”— Local TV meteorologist Jim Ferrell“Having our own dual pole Doppler,” Farrell said,“especially on Pine Island in Lee County, will allow usmuch more accurate information in real time at our fingertips. In certain weather situations that would translateto shortened warning times and better warning information for everybody.”Farrell said having had this signal available in a caselike Hurricane Charley would have given more information while the storm was still offshore, due to a more sensitive and powerful radar. It would not have helped, however, in predicting the turn taken by the storm, when itFood bank: Distribution at Lee Civic CenterFrom page 1don’t need to be embarrassed or ashamed. We’re there tohelp them,” Wozniak said.The need for food has increased 80 percent since thestart of the pandemic in March and has been sustainedsince. Wozniak compared it to the aftermath of HurricaneIrma, which, while intense, was relatively brief.Each family gets a pre-packed box of non-perishablefood that should feed a family of four for five days. Itincludes things like peanut butter, pasta, canned fruitsand vegetables, and they also provide fresh produce andsometimes milk, when available.“We give them whatever we have to supplement theboxes of food. At the civic center, we usually give 400boxes to families,” Wozniak said.Among the largest drive-thru distributions are one atCopperhead Golf Course in Lehigh Acres, which servesabout 600 families, and another at the Golden GateCommunity Center, which brings in more than 700. #52 ' #)-' '84 *0/' #8 .# - 0' !2510 '84 *0/' #8 .# - " ) (* % * 1 # )- %# ",/( ,#& / 0 ," * 1 (*)(* ,#(' % * ( %. ) (* % *#( # % )( , ! ) # , (*, 0 * '* " '! ,( " ) (* % * 1 % * ( %. ) (* % -02 &# 2'33 330% #4 0/054*'2/ '731#1'23 5 - 3*'2 330% #4 0/ *#. '2 0( 0.'2%' 0( #1' 02#-came close to Bokeelia, but he said, because you cannothave too much good information, it would still have beenof great benefit to locals.He describes the proposed radar as modern state-ofth- art, powerful equipment, adding that it’s the best youcan buy. He also explains that the Pine Island location isoptimal, since half of Southwest Florida is north of theproposed radar site and the other half is south.“This would give us excellent coverage for everybodyin the region,” said Farrell.Although Farrell admitted the tower will require agreat deal of power, he said he doesn’t see any realdownside, as the site will be both ascetically pleasing, aswell as operating on an FCC approved frequency, on thesame bandwidth as is allocated for all National WeatherService Doppler radars.“They’re harmless,” said Farrell of radar towers.“They’re not going to hurt the wildlife, they’re not goingto hurt the population. In some metropolitan areas, suchas Tampa, not only do they have the weather serviceNexrad dual pole Doppler, but individual television stations have them in very populated areas operating 24/7.If they were dangerous, they wouldn’t be allowed.”In North Fort Myers, there are other places for peopleto go. The Suncoast Neighborhood Task Force holds afood pantry on the second and fourth Saturday of everymonth from 9 a.m. to noon at the Community Center at2241 Case Lane.The Iglesia de Dios John at 16521 Slater Road holdsa pantry on the second and fourth Tuesday of the monthfrom 4 to 6 p.m.All Souls Episcopal pantry, at 14640 N. ClevelandAve., is open every Wednesday from 9 to 11 a.m.Bootstrap Ministry, at 2691 N. Pine Island Road, hasa weekly pantry Monday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.Fort Myers Spanish SDA Church, at 701 CamelliaDrive, holds a weekly pantry Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1p.m.The Lee County Civic Center is at 11831 BayshoreRoad.For more information on the Harry Chapin FoodBank, visit harrychapinfoodbank.org.POLICE BLOTTER(The police blotter contains public informationobtained from the Cape Coral Police Department, theLee County Sheriff’s Office and the Lee County Jailbooking log. Arrests made are suspicions of crime(s)committed. All persons are innocent until proven guiltyin a court of law.)Arrests Ricardo Mendez, 54, of 216 S.E. Van LoonTerrace, was charged Sept. 7 with fraud swindle obtainproperty under 20,000. Ribogerto Leon-Rojas, 60, of 1046 S.E. 11thTerrace, was charged Sept. 7 with simple assault intentthreat to do violence. John Scott Albinus, 62, of 727 S.W. 5th St., wascharged Sept. 7 with DUI unlawful blood alcohol ordrugs and refuse to submit to DUI test after license suspended. Ashley Danielle Blue, 34, of 1013 S.E. 24th Ave.,was charged Sept. 7 with DUI damage to property orperson of another and DUI influence of alcohol or drugs. Erica Lynn Brothers, 42, of 2102 N.E. 6th Ave.,was charged Sept. 6 with DUI influence of alcohol ordrugs, drug equipment possess and/or use, drugs possesscontrolled substance without prescription and carryingconcealed weapon unlicensed electric weapon or device. Ashley Orozco, 24, of 2102 N.E. 17th Place, wascharged Sept. 6 with battery touch or strike. Jordan West Mayer, 29, of 439 S.W. 19th St., wascharged Sept. 6 with DUI influence of alcohol or drugs. Kaitlin Abigail Hardwick, 26, of 1330 S.W. 47thTerrace, unit 106, was charged Sept. 5 with DUI unlawful blood alcohol .15 or higher or with person under 18in vehicle. Jerica Kiara Jerinyse Jefferson, 27, of 3822 S.W.7th Place, was charged Sept. 5 with aggravated batteryperson uses a deadly weapon. William Adam Crews, 40, of 2536 S.E. 25thPlace, was charged Sept. 5 with cruelty toward childaggravated child abuse, cruelty toward child abuse without great bodily harm and resist officer obstruct withoutviolence. James Allan Gafford, 46, of 1432 N.W. 27thPlace, was charged Sept. 4 with burglary with assault orbattery, battery touch or strike and damage propertycriminal mischief 200 and under. Elviss David Hernandez-Sira, 31, of 4112 S.W.9th Place, was charged Sept. 3 with larceny grand theft 750 less than 5,000. Cindy Joan Lynn, 50, of 1423 S.E. 27th St., wascharged Sept. 3 with battery on officer, firefighter,EMT, etc.
Page 3CAPE CORAL BREEZEWednesday, September 9, 2020capecoralbreeze.comTown of Fort Myers Beach takes step toinstitute manatee protection speed zoneBy NATHAN MAYBERGnmayberg@breezenewspapers.comThe Town of Fort Myers Beach Councilis moving toward establishing a new manatee protection boat speed zone fromMatanzas Pass through Estero Bay andBuccaneer Lagoon on the south end ofEstero Island, as part of a new ordinance upfor a public hearing Sept. 21.The new boat speed limit still wouldneed to be approved by the Florida Fishand Wildlife Conservation Commissiononce the town council approves it.The council, which has given the ordinance a first reading, was called upon to actby a group of citizens on Bay Beach Lanewho objected to actions taken last year byLee County Government and the FWC toroll back a no-wake, manatee zone inEstero Bay.The county took a year-round, no-wakezone and made it a 25 mph zone from Nov.15 to April and a minimum wake zone therest of the year.The Waterside Dock Association andPalms of Bay Beach CondominiumAssociation both objected to the measureon the grounds that it put threatened manatees at risk, drove away dolphins, andposed a danger to the boat docks there. Apetition drive was formed to implore thetown council to push back by drafting itsown speed zone ordinance which it has
Sep 09, 2020 · Vol. 5 9, No. 73 Wednesday, September 9, 2020 50 Cents WEEKDAY EDition Po
